Chapter Fourteen: The Merman Village

Early the next morning, before Liu Zong had even awakened, the rogue had already departed, leaving the rest of the group to tidy up the camp. With little left to do, the shaman began to speak to Liu Zong: “Today’s battle won’t be as troublesome as yesterday’s, but it won’t be safe either. The most important thing is that we’ve lost the advantage of the terrain we had yesterday, so you must be even more obedient today.”

Having spent a day among them, Liu Zong had grown somewhat familiar with the group, and he replied bluntly, “So how will you arrange things for me today? Am I still to be hidden away, forbidden to watch the battlefield?”

“That won’t be necessary,” the shaman replied with a smile. “Yesterday, we told you not to raise your head because the jackals possess the petrifying gaze—if you looked by accident and died, we wouldn’t be able to save you. That’s not the case today. We have an excellent vantage point for watching the fight.”

As he spoke, the shaman led Liu Zong down a small path. They hadn’t gone far before they came upon corpses lying by the roadside. The shaman explained, “That’s the rogue’s handiwork. He got up early to clear the way. The boss we’re facing today is holed up inside the village, so time is tight and we can’t fight the way we did yesterday.”

As they walked, they left the hillside behind, and gradually withered trees appeared nearby. Liu Zong noticed that, affected by the lingering gloom, these trees grew sparsely, and with the added damage from people, none of them were very tall.

Occasionally, some weak-looking animals appeared among the trees. From their sluggish movements, it was clear they existed only to serve as food.

Soon, the group reached the coastline. The shaman pointed to a cliff and said, “See that spot? It’s the highest place nearby. From there, you can see the whole mountain, and it’s also the vantage point the fishmen use to watch over their village. There’s a bronze bell there. Whenever an outsider enters the village, they ring the bell to alert everyone, so our first step is to take control of that spot.”

Liu Zong looked puzzled and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

The shaman just smiled. “It’s good that you don’t understand—many teams learned this at the cost of their lives. The principle is simple: this isn’t a game. The fishmen wouldn’t stand on that platform all the time; they need water, so they switch out every hour or so.”

Liu Zong shook his head again. “I still don’t really get it. What does taking this spot have to do with the fishmen coming to guard it?”

“Everything,” the shaman replied. “Like I said, it’s for watching the village. When an outsider appears, they ring the bell.”

Liu Zong stared at the shaman, still confused, but eventually nodded.

“So, ringing the bell means there’s an outsider in the village, and all the fishmen will rush out to join the fight. What do you think would happen if the bell rang several times?” the shaman asked, smiling.

“They’d send someone to check if something was wrong?” Liu Zong answered at once.

“If only they were that smart,” the shaman said, shaking his head. “They’re not. They’ll still rush out at the sound of the bell, but their enthusiasm will wane with each repetition.”

With that, Liu Zong understood the implication. He asked directly, “So what do you want me to do?”

“Smart. That’s exactly why I explained so much to you. I’m giving you a task: ring the bell up there.” The shaman glanced at the platform and nodded. “Looks like the rogue has already cleared it out. You’ll be safe enough there. You don’t have to ring constantly—just wait until you see we’ve found a safe spot and are ready for battle. Ring the bell once when we’re in position.”

By now, they had climbed behind the cliff to the higher ground. Just as the shaman had said, the place was relatively safe. The platform was set halfway up the cliff, and aside from a rope, there was no other way down.

At that moment, the fishmen on the platform had already been killed by the rogue. After helping Liu Zong climb down onto the platform, the rogue left swiftly.

Standing on the platform, Liu Zong looked down to see the fishmen village below. Half of the village was built over water, the rest in muddy ground. Some small fishmen scurried around the houses, while on the largest platform, a few fishman guards were patrolling. In the distance, it seemed that several crates were stacked at the center of the main platform.

Yet, the biggest boss was nowhere to be seen. This puzzled Liu Zong; he was about to look more closely when he noticed the others had already appeared near the village.

As before, the rogue took the lead, effortlessly dispatching the guards at the village entrance and opening a path.

Normally, such actions would have been noticed by the fishmen on the platform, but now Liu Zong understood: it wasn’t time for the shaman’s “ready signal” yet, so he simply watched.

With no interference, the four of them quickly seized a small house. Liu Zong saw the shaman look up at him and smile.

He watched the hunter summon his pet and the shaman plant a totem in the ground. Knowing the time had come, Liu Zong picked up a stone and struck the bronze bell on the platform with force.

The bell wasn’t loud, but its sound carried far. Instantly, the entire fishmen village was thrown into chaos, with scores of fishmen rushing from their homes, weapons in hand.

But the group had already hidden themselves well; except for a few fishmen in the nearby houses, no one noticed their presence.

The team moved with remarkable speed. Before those fishmen could call for help, they were drawn into the small house where the group lay in wait.

Now Liu Zong truly witnessed the team’s combat prowess—their coordination was flawless. The druid, transformed into a bear, swept all the fishmen together, and then the rogue and hunter moved in—one in melee, one at range, both with poisoned weapons.

In the blink of an eye, all the fishmen caught by the druid turned green.

From there, the fight was simple. On land, the fishmen had little combat ability to begin with; poisoned and thrown into confusion, they were swiftly wiped out by the hunter.

Afterward, the group didn’t rush to attack again, but lay low in the house. Once no enemies were detected, the remaining fishmen returned to their rooms.

The group then quickly secured another nearby house, prepared for battle, and once again Liu Zong rang the bell, drawing out all the fishmen from the village.