Eldritch Horror Theatre

Compared to the fishmen he had encountered before—creatures with a strikingly similar name—this supposedly legendary mermaid was entirely devoid of beauty.

But according to the bearded man's answer, this still counted as a top-tier catch for the poachers.

They weren't from Siren; if they actually ran into fishmen, they likely wouldn't stand a chance.

Right now, palpable excitement radiated from the crew as they rushed over to quietly encircle the mermaid.

As for their target, her slender body rose and fell with the waves to the rhythm of her own humming, completely oblivious to the looming danger.

Judging by her size, the mermaid hadn't reached adulthood yet—a fact also reflected by her earlier reaction.

She had shown a hint of alertness, true, but anything with a bit more experience would have been far more cautious.

Before the ship even came to a complete halt, Lane had already slipped silently from the deck into the water.

From this angle, his exposed skin had silently transformed, turning as rough as fish skin.

......

Swift as a swordfish, Lane quickly rendezvoused with the men forming the encirclement.

The men who had entered the water clearly possessed the ability to operate in rough seas.

Of course, "operate" was the extent of it.

Amidst the surging waves, even going all out only allowed them to roughly maintain their positions; they couldn't manage much else.

In contrast, Lane was remarkably more professional.

Throughout the entire process, he kept the Harmonica clamped in his mouth, playing a faint, ethereal tune that harmonized with the mermaid's humming.

The young mermaid clearly noticed it. She swam even more cheerfully, constantly looking around for the kindred spirit.

Even her two-toned tail fin seemed to gleam with a brighter vibrancy.

......

The next moment, as if a switch had been flipped, the wind and rain in the area came to an abrupt halt, and the water rapidly smoothed out.

Contrasting with the massive waves raging on the periphery, it felt quite like the tranquility of the eye of a typhoon.

The one wielding this power against the storm was clearly the person in charge, Lane.

The proof was that after his departure, the small boat had lost its previous stability, violently tossed up and down by the crashing waves.

Fortunately, the crew members left behind clearly didn't intend to just sit back and watch. They unleashed various methods at once, driving the small boat to quickly follow.

Faced with the sudden calm, the young mermaid finally seemed to sense the looming crisis.

And her reaction was remarkably swift.

A unique trill—like the surging of countless ripples—echoed out. Almost every man in the encirclement froze in unison before their movements grew sluggish, as if they were heavily intoxicated.

At the same time, the mermaid quickly dove deeper. Even her tail fin dimmed in color, blending seamlessly into the seawater until she was nearly impossible to spot.

Unfortunately, a sudden spray of bright red blood made her figure painfully conspicuous once again.

A uniquely shaped bolt from a Crossbow had driven straight through the mermaid's shoulder and neck.

Attached to the tail of the bolt, a line made of some unknown material extended all the way back into the hands of one of the hunters.

The line was incredibly tough. Screaming in agony, the mermaid thrashed violently, but her struggles did nothing more than dye the surrounding seawater crimson.

Only then did Lane finally stop playing the Harmonica and make a hand signal.

"Hurry it up. Her blood is still worth money."

......

'It was obvious the Night Watchers really didn't advise hunting mermaids!'

Fu Qian thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold.

Running into such a naive little mermaid, this crew had been entirely capable of capturing her alive and unharmed given the circumstances.

Yet Lane clearly had no intention of doing so, opting instead for the most efficient and guaranteed method.

It was likely because, under the strict decrees of the Night Watchers, the risk of trafficking a live mermaid was simply too high.

If he wasn't mistaken, this mermaid would probably be butchered and carved up right here on the ship, processed into various materials.

Of course, that was only their ideal plan.

......

Very quickly, the mermaid was bound and dragged all the way over.

Reeling in such a catch as soon as they set out to sea naturally left the hunters in high spirits.

However, they were clearly professionals. Instead of rushing to celebrate, they first hauled the mermaid onto the deck. They even strictly followed Lane's instructions, staunching her bleeding to avoid wasting any more valuable blood.

As Lane returned aboard, the ship regained its stability.

Aside from the initial harmonizing exchange, the entire hunt had taken just a few minutes.

Despite being driven to a dead end, the little mermaid hadn't given up hope. Surrounded by the hunters, she opened her mouth wide to bare her sharp fangs, trying her hardest to look as intimidating as possible.

Unfortunately, her fragile-looking body and a tail now dyed three colors by her own blood heavily undercut the threat.

"Rest assured, I'll make sure you suffer as little as possible,"

Lane said as he stepped forward, giving the Harmonica in his hand a shake.

"And I will remove your throat perfectly intact, allowing your voice to echo on for many years to come."

Pop!

In the face of this thoroughly cruel promise, before the mermaid in question could react, a muffled pop suddenly rang out. It sounded exactly like a balloon bursting.

Almost instantly, a splatter of green swept outward across the entire ship, followed by a sickly sweet, coppery stench that filled the air.

Caught entirely off guard, almost everyone found themselves speckled with traces of fluorescent green at a mere glance.

"Is this... the Curse Abyss?"

Lane sniffed his arm, his expression changing drastically in a flash.

"Why the hell is this on the ship?!"

The next moment, his head snapped up. After frantically scanning the deck, his gaze locked onto the only woman on board—who also happened to be the only person wearing a mask.

"Where is Delanlai?"

"Isn't he right—"

The masked woman reflexively glanced to her side, then froze.

"I told you to keep an eye on him, and yet you didn't even notice this stuff being smuggled aboard..."

Lane looked as if he wanted to eat her alive.

"The blood of the Curse Abyss is going to attract things we have no hope of fighting!"

"Should we turn back now?"

The crew members clearly understood the gravity of the situation, and someone immediately chimed in with a suggestion.

"It's too far. If we're caught midway, it's a guaranteed death sentence."

This time, however, it was the negligent woman who shook her head.

"Then what do we do?"

"Keep moving forward."

She pointed into the distance.

Keep moving forward...

The crew instinctively turned the thought over in their heads, then froze in collective shock.

"Are you insane?! Any further and we're in the Ash Sea! That's just a different way to die!"

"There's an island there. As long as we don't go too deep into those waters, we should have enough time for this stuff to wear off our bodies—unless our luck is absolutely terrible."

"That's still way too dangerous..."

Clearly, few agreed with such a mad proposal. The entire crew turned their eyes to Lane.

Hmm...

The latter didn't shoot it down immediately, instead taking a deep breath, visibly conflicted.

Unfortunately, before he could even finish drawing that breath, the ship violently lurched.

What's going on...?

Before anyone could grasp the situation, a massive tentacle shattered the water's surface and lashed out.

The man holding the mermaid didn't even manage a grunt before the blow mangled his body, sweeping him and his prize straight into the sea.

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