Chapter 164 : Altar of the Sea(6)

With Soler's help, Urseca succeeded in getting out of the water.

“King. Let's retreat.”

“Kuhk……”

Sturdy Lizardfolk carried Urseca and Soler on their backs and reached the shore, a good distance away from the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Fortunately, because of the distance, the tens of thousands of eyeballs on the octopus's arms and torso were not clearly visible.

But that didn't mean the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was no longer frightening.

Despite being incredibly huge, the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes was not sluggish at all and swung its legs at a tremendous speed.

Every time its legs cut through the air like a whip, a deafening roar that seemed to tear the sky was heard, and an ominous aura billowed out.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes boasted a presence like that of a calamity.

Polarin charged towards that great calamity without hesitation.

A single bolt of lightning split the sky.

A thunderclap that shook the heavens and the earth was heard.

Then, the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes, its leg severed, shrieked and swung its remaining legs at a terrifying speed.

In truth, Urseca couldn't even properly see the fight between Polarin and the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

This was because Polarin moved at a speed that transcended cognition.

But one thing was certain: Polarin was overwhelming the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Sparks flew as lightning bolts successively struck the body of the great calamity.

The Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes writhed, spewing ink, and spread waves that caused status effects in all directions.

But the lightning did not stop.

It continued to strike down, attacking the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Finally, Polarin, who had been floating in the air with his sword pointed straight ahead, became a single point and pierced through the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes.

Seeing this, a shiver ran down Urseca's entire body.

‘That human, no, that person is different.’

He was different from any being he had ever seen before.

‘Isn't that person a being worthy of being called a king?’

He himself might be the king of the Lizardfolk, but that person was truly the king of the world.

This thought was not unique to Urseca.

The other Lizardfolk.

The outstanding Black Veil members.

Soler too looked up at the sky and thought the same.

In the end, the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes crashed into the sea, and everyone present was granted the ‘Blessing of the Sea God’.

But rather than feeling the changes in their own bodies, everyone just stared intently at the sky.

That was why, even after Polarin Adjak fell into the water, the only ones who jumped in were his companions, Keldric and Everchen.

The rest stood still, unable to say a word, and waited for Polarin to come up to the shore.

***

After the battle, I analyzed the new trait I had acquired.

Sea's Healing.

This trait had the most potent healing effect when in the sea.

But if that was all, I wouldn't have chosen it, no matter how much it was a healing trait.

Because Myeolji was not the sea.

Contrary to its name, Sea's Healing did not only manifest in the sea.

I was the first one to share this fact on the community forums.

I had shared the fact that a character with the Sea's Healing trait could recover outside of the sea as well.

The sea is the place where all life was born and the origin of mana.

The word ‘sea’ was also used in traits that reflected such characteristics of the sea.

‘Sea's Healing’ must have been one of those traits, as it had the effect of continuously healing living beings.

It was only more effective in the sea; the healing effect did not diminish in other places.

‘Constant healing.’ As I was realizing what a truly broken trait it was…….

Suddenly, Urseca appeared and knelt.

Urseca was well over 2 meters tall, and his body was densely covered in glistening scales.

And his whole body was bulging with muscles.

Such a powerful-looking Lizard King had knelt before me.

Urseca looked straight at me, who was feeling burdened, and continued to speak.

“You. My king. You are. You. I follow.”

Soler was also by Urseca's side. Soler too was flabbergasted.

“You're really……”

Only then could I grasp the situation. It seemed that what I had gained from this battle would not end with just a trait.

Urseca's gaze was completely different from before he had gone into battle.

Even when I, an outsider, had offered to help solve the Altar of the Sea problem, he had shown a friendly attitude, but now his eyes seemed to send me infinite trust.

Derix looks at me just like that.

“For now…… please get up, Lord Urseca. The Lizardfolk are watching.”

“Everyone. To the king. Knee. Must. Kneel. Sir.”

I grabbed the arm of Urseca, who wouldn't budge even when I told him to get up, and pulled him to his feet.

“Haha, you don't have to go that far. But there is something I'd like your help with.”

“What is it?”

“I want to become the King of the Inoe.”

“Inoe. Of. King?”

“Yes, the King of the Inoe. To do that, I want to first receive the support of the Beastkin, who are the most numerous and powerful among the Inoe.”

Urseca was lost in thought.

He spoke haltingly, but his brain wasn't at the level of a lizard.

He must have clearly understood what I said.

Urseca would know better than me what was needed to gain the support of the Beastkin, so I waited for his answer.

After being lost in thought for a while, Urseca's eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“Beastkin Conference. Propose. I will. Do.”

Ah right, there was that.

The Beastkin Conference could be proposed by any Beastkin king. But not all Beastkin were obligated to participate in the conference.

So, how many Beastkin kings participated in a conference proposed by one tribe was also an indicator of that tribe's power.

“If the Lizardfolk propose a Beastkin Conference, how many would participate?”

“Contact. Those who received. All of them. Must come. Will. Do.”

Urseca grinned and pointed to the halo floating behind his head.

“Blessing of the Sea. As well. Lizardfolk who received. To see. They will.”

I could understand Urseca's confidence.

Originally, the Lizardfolk were one of the strongest races among the Beastkin.

This was because each individual was strong, and they also tended to reproduce a lot.

The already strong Lizardfolk had also received the Blessing of the Sea, so no Beastkin would be able to easily ignore them.

“Yes, then I'll leave the Beastkin Conference to you, Lord Urseca.”

“Leave it. To. Me.”

Urseca's scaly muscles, which had been burdensome at first, now felt reassuring.

As he said, it seemed unlikely that any Beastkin would be able to ignore Urseca and the Lizardfolk.

Urseca immediately called over a few Lizardfolk.

He then gave them some instructions, and the Lizardfolk each picked up a stone and stood before Urseca.

Urseca took the stones the Lizardfolk brought.

Then he began to press his handprint onto the stones.

The stones caved in as if they were modeling clay, leaving Urseca's handprint.

“Beastkin kings. To them. Take this. Go.”

“Yes!”

“I. Want to see them. Say that. Convey it.”

The Lizardfolk who took the stones immediately began to run.

The sight of the Lizardfolk moving in perfect order at their king's command was impressive.

It also felt reassuring to imagine them following my commands in the future.

Just then, a few Lizardfolk approached in a commotion.

“King. Elf tribe. Attacked.”

“Elves? Territory. Approaching. Are they?”

“That is right.”

“Immediately. Battle preparation. Do it!”

At Urseca's sharp voice, the Lizardfolk immediately rose and raised their weapons.

Not a single one complained, even though they must have fought a difficult battle in the process of destroying the Altar of the Sea.

But it was obvious who the elves approaching the Lizardfolk territory would be.

I spoke to the thoroughly enraged Urseca, who was holding up his curved sword.

“It'll be fine. They're probably my companions.”

“Companions?”

“Yes, my companions.”

Urseca shouted to the excited Lizardfolk.

“King. Companion, he says. Let them be!”

……It seemed I really needed to teach Urseca how to speak properly.

***

As expected, the elf approaching the Lizardfolk territory was Bea.

Bea entered the Lizard territory majestically, riding Nihel.

Behind her were five more Elf warriors.

They were also riding wolves, and their presence was just as formidable.

It once again reminded me of the fact that Bea was an Elf Commander.

Bea and the Lizard King Urseca exchanged a brief greeting.

“Elf Commander, Bea Hellinger.”

“Lizard King. Urseca.”

Perhaps because they both stated their titles, a great deal of dignity was felt even in the short greeting.

But that didn't last long either.

“You. King's. Subordinate?”

“King, you mean who…… Don't tell me you mean Polarin Adjak?”

“That's right. Subordinate?”

“No. I am Polarin's companion.”

“King's companion?”

“That's right.”

For some reason, Urseca's momentum weakened.

Not missing this, Bea puffed out her chest.

Before their relationship could get strange for no reason, I pulled Bea away.

“It's been a while, Bea.”

“It has been a while.”

The time we had been apart wasn't long, but since we had been sticking together for a while, I had been feeling Bea's absence.

It seemed I wasn't the only one, as Keldric and Everchen also greeted Bea warmly.

“You can't breathe underwater, can you, Bea?”

“We're no different from fish now, it's a shame you were away.”

“We've gotten a lot stronger too. You wouldn't know since you don't have the Blessing of the Sea, Bea, but……”

Keldric and Everchen poured out their boasts to Bea.

Bea had no idea what had happened after we came here, so I explained to her what had happened in the Lizardfolk territory.

“That octopus head was so big!”

When Keldric was explaining the battle with the Octopus of Ten Thousand Eyes, Bea listened with her fists clenched tightly.

“Haha, you see the tray floating behind the Lizardfolk's heads? We didn't get that, but anyway, the sea is our land now.”

“That's right. It's all thanks to the Blessing of the Sea, which you don't have, Bea.”

Bea shot them a look of feigned envy.

I hadn't even told Keldric and Everchen yet, but if I told them that I had even gotten the 'Sea's Healing' trait, they might faint from surprise.

Just as I was about to start bragging, Bea showed us her wrist.

“Do you see this? This is the Blessing of the World Tree.”

A round circle on Bea's wrist was emitting a faint light.

“The World Tree has shared its blessing with the Elf warriors. Now, the attacks of the Elf warriors will not miss their enemies. They have become able to hit any enemy.”

The World Tree bestowed a blessing to that extent?

In my bewilderment, I looked at Maron.

Maron trembled as if in defiance and shouted.

– Isn't giving them strength ultimately a path for your own sake. Do not be so harsh.