CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER81-YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BROUGHT THE ENEMY HERE

Owen’s hands were swirling with arcanergy, oddly displacing the surrounding seawater and creating a space devoid of water.

This was not magic, merely a manipulation of arcanergy.

Standing in this waterless space, Owen held the seahorse race leader by the neck and said: "Take me to the neptune race’s strongmen, and I will spare your life."

The seahorse race leader made squeaking and whining noises.

"You don’t speak the common language?" Owen frowned, his expression darkening.

He hadn’t anticipated his plan hitting a snag right at the outset.

Was he really going to have to fight his way into the sea race’s encirclement?

He lacked that confidence.

The seahorse race leader twisted its body more frantically, continuously emitting sounds: "Squeak squeak yah yah jee jee---"

Owen felt a surge of annoyance: "Sea race is truly foolish, not even teaching them the common language."

At this moment, Morton spoke up: "He says, ’Kill me. There are no cowards among the seahorse race warriors.’"

Owen’s eyes lit up, turning to Morton: "You know the sea race’s language?"

Morton, having resigned himself to his fate, sighed deeply: "As someone who does business on the sea, it’s inevitable to deal with the sea race. Isn’t it normal to know their language? These sea races are proud; they never bother learning the common language."

"Good, good, good," Owen was overjoyed, "Having a translator is enough."

"Tell him to take us to the neptune race’s belly-general, or even the head-general," Owen instructed.

After Morton translated, the seahorse race leader’s thrashing became even more frenzied: "Squeak squeak jee jee jee jee---"

"Dream on, you damned human race," Morton muttered, stepping back slightly from the creature.

Owen’s face turned cold, as if a thin layer of ice had formed over it: "Refuse, and you die."

Morton translated each word precisely.

The seahorse race leader’s face broke into a frenzied smile: "Squeak squeak jee jee wah wah---"

"I am blessed by the Sea God. If you kill me, the Sea God will curse you. My brothers and sisters of the seahorse race will hunt you down to the human kingdoms. Do you dare kill me, despicable invader?"

Owen frowned, his trident piercing directly into the tail of the seahorse leader. Instantly, three bloody holes appeared, and blood gushed out.

The smile on the seahorse leader’s face froze as it began to howl furiously.

"Calm him down."

Indeed, the seahorse leader became more composed, realizing Owen was serious.

Owen’s eyes twinkled as he calmly spoke: "Tell me about your defenses."

The seahorse race leader sobered up and detailed their defensive arrangements. Heartstealer Island was completely encircled by the sea race.

The outer perimeter was heavily guarded, with sentries every few steps, and three layers of defense to pass through before reaching the inner core.

That area was guarded by the neptune race and the merfolk.

The defenses of Heartstealer Island were impenetrable, and without sage-tier strength, any attempt to force entry would be disastrous.

"Give up, human race invader. Leave now, and I can pretend nothing happened," the seahorse race leader said.

Owen slapped him across the face: "Now you will do as I say. Any deviation, and I will kill you. I can escape unscathed, while you will end up a corpse."

After Morton translated, the seahorse race leader nodded repeatedly, becoming as docile as a sea bunny.

Owen pulled out a chain from his space ring, designed to bind prisoners, and loosely tied Berkeley, Finn, Morton, Erin, and himself.

Of course, the bindings were loose enough that he could easily break free with a slight struggle.

As the group looked on in confusion, Owen handed the end of the chain to the seahorse leader: "Remember, we are now your captives. You are taking us to claim your rewards from the neptune race’s strongmen."

The seahorse leader held the chain, his eyes bulging with roundness, his mind filled with questions.

Despite his large head, his brain was quite small, unable to conceive of such a tactic.

This was typical of most races in this world, except for a few advanced races, the intelligence of others was indeed worrisome.

Owen moved close behind the seahorse leader, a dagger pressed against him: "If you dare expose us, I swear, you will die before we do."

Feeling the sharp pain at his waist, the seahorse leader nodded vigorously, like pounding garlic.

He led the group, holding the chain, swimming swiftly away.

As a creature of the sea race, the seahorse’s swimming was incredibly fast, saving Owen and his companions much effort.

As they approached Heartstealer Island, the surroundings became unusually bright.

The seawater turned extraordinarily clear, with sunlight seemingly penetrating through thousands of meters of water, illuminating the entire underwater world.

Moving forward, Heartstealer Island loomed ahead, shrouded in a thin mist, mystical and sacred.

The island was covered in towering trees, their leaves shimmering with emerald light.

The flowers on the island bloomed in vibrant colors, emitting an enchanting fragrance.

Though they couldn’t smell it, the sight of yellow bees fluttering around the flowers was enough to imagine the sweet scent being released.

Owen and his group were utterly captivated.

A ten-thousand-meter-deep sea, an island, birdsong, and fragrant flowers...

These seemingly unrelated words miraculously converged, manifesting right before Owen and his companions.

"My goodness, could this be a miracle?" Finn’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he signed, causing the chains to clink and clatter.

Morton rolled his eyes at Finn, internally scoffing at his naivety, but couldn’t help feeling a sense of superiority.

He remembered having a similar expression when he first saw Heartstealer Island.

"It’s just average. Gosa Waters has always been shrouded in mystery. We, the human race, haven’t fully explored it in tens of thousands of years."

"Even historical records related to Gosa Waters are pitifully scarce."

At that moment, Morton assumed the air of a condescending scholar, signing with a nonchalant "that’s all" expression.

Finn, annoyed by Morton’s smug look, raised his hand and hit him on the head, breaking free from the chains.

Owen turned back, his gaze sharp and piercing.

Finn, looking sheepish, quickly reinserted his hand into the chains.

Owen’s expression grew solemn as he gazed at the broad back of the seahorse race leader. What lay ahead was the critical part.

He looked around, feeling unexpectedly tense.

Heartstealer Island was heavily guarded by a vast army of the sea race.

The army was composed of various types of marine creatures.

Looking around, there were representatives of many species: sharks, sea turtles, octopuses, dolphins, piranhas...

"Squeak squeak squeak--"

A shark warrior approached, its eyes gleaming fiercely, glancing past the seahorse leader at Owen and the others.

The seahorse leader quickly responded: "Woo woo woo--"

Owen steadied his heart, his eyes lowered, without any sign of agitation. He felt a tug on the chain in his hand, relieving his anxiety.

Morton was the only one among them who understood the language of the sea race.

They had agreed beforehand that if the seahorse leader spoke as Owen had instructed, Morton would tug on the chain once to indicate everything was fine.

If there were any problems, Morton would quickly pull the chain three times as a warning.

Being seasoned practitioners, even the slightest change in force was perceptible to them, so this method of signaling was unlikely to result in any misjudgment.

The shark warrior opened its massive jaws, clearly amused. It stepped aside, nodding towards the interior:

"Zhi zhi wu wu gua gua---"

The seahorse leader hastily responded:

"Gua gua ji ji wa wa--"

After speaking, the seahorse leader, with a look of pride, tugged the chain and led Owen and the others deeper into Heartstealer Island’s defense perimeter.

Owen breathed a sigh of relief.

His fear was that the sea race’s simplicity would compromise their act.

But it seemed that under the threat of death, even a pig would play its part well.

The defense of Heartstealer Island was indeed strict.

After passing through four different checkpoints, the seahorse leader finally brought Owen into the interior.

The interior was markedly different from the outside. It was divided into two areas, one side being the encampment of the neptune race.

Their camp was located within a massive seashell, with the shell opening wide to form a huge tent.

Outside the tent, the neptune race warriors, each tall and imposing, armed with tridents and shields, were engaged in intense combat drills, honing their skills through sparring.

On the other side, the merfolk encampment appeared softer and more elegant.

Their camp was nestled within a vibrant coral reef, surrounded by beautiful seaweed and colorful fish.

The merfolk warriors, graceful in their movements, had long hair cascading down to their waists.

They wielded crystal bows and pearl shields, engaging in underwater tactical training.

The neptune race and the merfolk were almost indistinguishable from humans.

If not for the shimmering gill-like structures on their cheeks, one could hardly tell them apart.

Owen took a longer look, unable to discern their genders.

Perhaps the merfolk didn’t have genders at all?

At that moment, a neptune race warrior ran over from a distance, his face stern and commanding. The seahorse leader lowered its head submissively: "Squeak squeak squeak squeak--"

The neptune race warrior glanced at Owen and his group, then turned and gestured with a hand: "Zhi wu-"

Led by the seahorse leader, Owen and his companions entered the neptune race camp – the enormous seashell.

As soon as Owen stepped into the seashell, a loud voice rang out: "Foolish seahorse, was it you who brought the enemy here?"