Chapter 47: The Aquatic Demon Commander
The world's longest river. Nile River.
This great river originates from the polar ice cap in the far north, flowing westward and merging with over 7,000 tributaries along the way. The waves surge forward like a galloping horse, rolling in continuously. Then, in the tropical rainforest of Guyana, it radiates out into 5,000 distributaries, dispersing to all parts of the world, nourishing a vast land area of 90 million square kilometers. Among them, the most famous are the twelve long rivers that flow westward, resembling 12 dragons lying on the ground, connecting the northwest and southwest regions, and finally emptying into the boundless Western Ocean.
On this day, in the Delbail River, the largest tributary of the Pabai River, a sudden surge of water rose up, and several giant beasts emerged from the boiling water flow, facing the sky and letting out earth-shaking roars. These giant beasts were all tens of meters long, resembling electric eels, with steel teeth and sharp mouths, bursting forth violently. Their eyes were as big as lanterns, filled with bloodshot, radiating a fierce aura. Behind their heads was connected a massive iron chain as thick as an arm, one end deeply embedded in their scalp, sealed by magic. Although it looked rusty and rotten, it was exceptionally sturdy, making the giant beasts dare not struggle hard, lest they get themselves covered in blood.
These massive creatures do not belong to the demon beasts, but are sea kings that live in the depths of the ocean, terrifying beings left over from ancient times, between demon beasts and sea creatures. Although they are not demon beasts and do not have the ability to control elemental energy, they are the overlords of the deep sea, able to stir up massive waves, crush steel-reinforced bones, and are more terrifying than ordinary high-ranking water-type demon beasts. However, these few sea kings somehow ended up in a freshwater river from the depths of the ocean, were captured by the turbulent water demons, put on large iron chains with additional restrictions, and controlled by strong spiritual imprints, their lives completely under someone else's control, suffering from intense pain that penetrated to their bones every day. It can be said that they would rather die than live. Today, they finally managed to float up from the underwater world, come out and take a breath of air, why wouldn't they go crazy?!
Before these few Sea Kings could even savor the air, the surging water pillar suddenly changed and protruded from the river surface, forming three layers, transforming into a gigantic fortress!
The topmost layer of the fortress was a throne. A tall and sturdy, rough-faced water demon sat on it, observing all directions, listening to every sound, and exuding an aura of overwhelming power with every move. Next to the throne stood an iron instrument as thick as an arm, over four meters long, with one end inserted into the fortress in the shape of a ship's anchor weighing tens of thousands of tons, its tip a sharp blade, and above it, two curved blades resembling a hook, inserted back into the thick anchor body, along with a thick red axis that seemed to have been forged with molten iron. This formed an enormous, terrifying weapon weighing several tons. Just looking at it made one tremble with fear, sending shivers down their spine. What's even more unimaginable was that someone could wield this as a weapon, swinging it into battle to slaughter enemies. What kind of horrific strength was this?
Under the throne, that layer is quite large, and there are dozens of water demons, all naked without any clothes, revealing strong physique and muscles. Randomly posing a poss, it's probably more stunning than those muscle men in the bodybuilding competition. On the next level, however, are some strangely shaped, not fully evolved water demons, as well as some humanoid monsters that have evolved from other magical beasts.
It's said that these incomplete Panbai water demons don't know whether it's due to congenital deficiency or a case of atavism. Even with the blessing of the sacred object in the Water God Temple, they can only grow up to be this kind of person. As a result, they have become non-mainstream roles within the Panbai water demon tribe, being bullied by normal Panbai water demons every day, their status extremely embarrassing. Of course, although these incomplete Panbai water demons are not as powerful as fully evolved individuals, each one has the strength of mid-to-low level magic beasts from birth. When grouped together, they also form a formidable force. In terms of innate talent, they far surpass human commoners.
As for these grotesque monsters, they are all high-ranking demons who have come to surrender to the Water Witch. They want to obtain greater power or advance in rank, and think that by taking this special route, they can walk out a different evolutionary path. Therefore, they come here with all their might, willing to be enslaved by the Water Witch, just to enter the legendary Water God Temple, receive the blessing of the sacred object, and change their own evolutionary path. Of course, the result is that they become this inhuman creature, able to completely transform like the Water Witch, but in thousands of years, not one has appeared.
In fact, these humanoid creatures transformed from demons are not weak at all. Even the weakest one has a standard of entering the high ranks, but they can't compare to the orthodox Scylla water demons in lower positions, and even those non-mainstream water demons with weaker strength are better than them. They can only be assigned to do rough work like pulling carts and feeding horses (Sea King Beast). During battles, they are also sent to the front lines as cannon fodder. Overall, there is no future for them, and their lives are quite miserable. However, a large number of demons continue to come and join, hoping to gain favor from the Temple of the Water God. This also indirectly shows the ferocity and strength of the Scylla water demon clan!
The lowest-ranking beastmen (not in the classical sense) let out a loud roar, and seven or eight of them gathered together, pulling hard on the iron chains. The few sea beasts that were still frantically gasping for air suddenly became covered in blood, suffering greatly. After a few loud roars, these sea beasts, which had already learned their lesson, began to pull with all their might the massive structure behind them, made of river water and resembling a fortress, against the current and upstream towards the upper reaches of the Delbaryn River. Under the full force of the sea beasts' efforts, the fortress moved at an incredible speed, thundering across the surface of the river and sending up layers of waves that seemed to touch the sky, probably rivaling warships and surpassing most cargo ships. Even so, it took this fortress a good four or five hours to reach its destination.
This is already the edge of the Panbai River, and the control of the Panbai water demons here has become very weak. Only a small number of tribesmen who had committed crimes were exiled here, or incomplete evolution miscellaneous soldiers stationed here to guard this section of the river. And these Panbai water demons are what they call "roamers".
Treading on the soft earth, the Pabai water demon who had lived at the bottom of the water for many years couldn't help but feel a little unaccustomed. The Pabai water demon sitting upright on the throne, with an air of majesty like that of a king, suddenly opened its eyes and made a grab in mid-air. A large piece of trees was instantly uprooted from the rainforest on the shore, and several barbarians were lurking in the dense grass. However, at this moment, they were all caught by the Pabai water demon out of thin air, as if an invisible big hand had grasped their necks. Only a burst of bone-crushing sounds could be heard, and the next moment, these barbarians immediately turned into a bloody mist, which was blown away by the wind and completely dispersed in the air.
"You actually have the intention to kill me, how arrogant. This water demon shook its head and suddenly spoke to another place with dense trees: "No matter what tribe you are from, go back and tell your leader. I don't want to start a war, nor do I want to be an enemy of you barbarians, let alone get involved in your intrigue and struggle. Of course, if you still insist on being stubborn and ignorant, then you will have to bear the wrath of our water gods. I don't mind violating the agreement made with your barbarian empire a thousand years ago, coming onto this land, and exterminating all of you disgusting people. Alright, that's all I have to say, I don't want to say anything more. All of you can leave now!"
A rustling sound came from the woods, and it turned out that a number of barbarians retreated in a hurry, instantly disappearing into the vast rainforest.
"Lord Badak. This place has seen seven battles, and at least a dozen brothers have died here. Just as the messenger said." A long-eared, long-nosed beastman jumped onto the shore and took up a scouting stance, poking his head out to listen intently, sniffing the air with all his might, as if trying to catch any lingering scents, before carefully surveying the area and then turning to address the water spirit with reverence.
The Panbai River has 12 tributaries that flow into the Western Sea. Among them, 5 do not pass through any countries on the mainland and directly flow into the vast Western Sea after leaving the Gaya Rainforest. Therefore, at the confluence of these 5 tributaries and the sea, the Panbai water demons have built underwater cities, even dams as defensive fortifications, accumulating military strength, with hundreds of times more variant beastmen guarding them, controlling these strategic passes. The commanders-in-chief are all legendary strongmen-level Panbai water demons. As the largest tributary of the Panbai River, the Delbailon River is a vital passage that directly connects to the Western Sea, and its commander-in-chief is incredibly powerful, far surpassing the other four, rivaling only a few elders in the Water God Temple. He is the strongest warrior among the water demon tribe! And it's this one, named Badak, the Panbai water demon!
Badaq nodded and made a sound of agreement, his face expressionless. To be fair, this several-hundred-year-old water demon from the Pabai River, although he had never left the Pabai River basin or entered the human world, was by no means inferior to Mutta, that old fox with a belly full of schemes and plots, in terms of cunning. When he received the battle report, he immediately sensed that something was amiss, clearly someone was intentionally framing the water demon tribe, trying to provoke a war between them and the barbarians. Although the water demon tribe was brave and skilled in battle, never fearing war, even able to contend with the barbarian empire during its most powerful period, gaining sufficient speaking power. However, bravery is one thing, you can't just knowingly be used as a pawn and still rush forward foolishly.
Moreover, the centipede-like insect dies but does not stiffen, even if the current barbarian empire has been destroyed, the remaining power can still cause heavy losses. Furthermore, several months later, it is also a great tide that occurs once every seven years, at which time the seawater will pour into the several major tributaries of the Panbai River, bringing the mortal enemy of the water demon tribe, and putting immense pressure on Badaque. The main purpose of his visit this time is still to prevent this unnecessary conflict, so as not to waste combat effectiveness on disputes with barbarians.
"Find out for me, where is that little brat Holker! I'm going to pull this stinky kid out!" Badak suddenly said to the long-eared, long-nosed beastman, and with a raise of the terrifying divine sword beside the throne, he stepped down. Just as he stood up, the fortress condensed from the supreme magic burst into pieces, exploding into a shocking wave. And Badak's footsteps were in mid-air, each step having waves splashing behind him, making him look even more majestic and awe-inspiring, like a demon god descending upon the world!
