Chapter 1169 - 578: No Retreat Left

Quietly following the Fishmen squad to the coast, Dodd did not see the imagined scene.

According to the plan, that backup ship, which should have been ready with supplies, waiting for him to board and set sail immediately, had disappeared without a trace.

In its place was an enormous altar of unprecedented scale.

Coral with an oily, sweet color was forcibly shaped by some unknown power, twisted and proliferated under Magic Power; layer upon layer of steps were paved with dull stones from the deep sea, rough in texture and without luster, giving a dark and ominous feeling.

Among them, for Dodd, what chilled his heart and sent shivers down his spine was not this tall altar rising from the ground.

Just nearby the altar, amidst the coming and going Sha Hua Fishmen beside the coast.

Was a gigantic pit that made even a Senior Adventurer like Dodd feel faintly uncomfortable.

The soil on the edge had long been soaked in blood, revealing a nauseating dark brown.

The number of corpses piled layer upon layer so high it was difficult to discern the exact number, from afar looked like a mountain of flesh and blood rising by the coast.

Dodd did not know how deep this pit dug by the Fishmen was, nor did he know if what he could see was just the tip of the iceberg.

But just the part where the mountain of corpses protruded from the ground had already led him to suspect that the Fishmen might have slaughtered the entire Stodd Island in this time.

Until he saw a few familiar faces, now completely dead, among the pile of corpses, and the powerless remnants of a boat being washed by the waves near the reef not far away, as if it had been destroyed just recently.

He suddenly realized that these corpses used as offerings seemed not to be merely ordinary civilians from the island, but also adventurers killed by Fishmen, and... his loyal subordinates who were originally waiting to receive him.

The rage suppressed in his heart burst forth instantaneously, underneath skin covered with subtle scales, muscles engorged and expanded.

Just as he was about to burst out, at the critical moment of his Anger.

Behind him, a low, awkward voice ghosted softly.

"Your ascension ceremony seems to be quite unsuccessful, Dodd."

He spun around swiftly.

Revealed before his eyes was a frail, stooped figure.

Indeed a Sha Hua Fishman, but compared to those Elite Guards and even Fishman minions, its physique appeared shrivelled and thin, even smaller than some taller, more robust Humans, only just over 1.7 meters tall.

The deep blue fish scales were gray and rough, the facial area even showing signs of scales falling off due to age, exposing the underneath flesh marked with hideous grooves; eyes dull, yet not possessing the chaotic lackluster of one near death, reflecting a pearly faint white glow, barring all gazes attempting to perceive its inner thoughts through the eyes.

On its body, covered by a robe crafted from unknown Sea Beast Skin, embroidered with intricate patterns, and that Bone White Staff gripped like a cane with its end touching the ground, all this signified its status and role among the Fishmen.

――A High-Level Sha Hua Fishman Priest.

Unlike other Sha Hua Fishmen encountered previously by Xia Nan and others, this elderly Priest was very skilled in Universal Language, with hardly any noticeable accent heard in its speech.

Only in certain places, the speech carried some particular sluggish tone unique to Sha Hua Fishman Language.

Of course, "Dodd the Algae Scale" naturally wouldn’t take this moment to praise the Priest’s flawless Universal Language.

Completely unable to suppress the Anger in his heart, he shouted loudly at the Fishman Priest ahead, in a venting manner:

"Uek!"

"You killed my sailor! Destroyed my ship!"

"You damned old dog!"

Certainly not out of sympathy for his men.

The root cause of Dodd’s Anger was these Fishmen thoroughly cutting off his retreat, rendering the originally planned escape route completely failed.

After all, even though he had once almost touched the threshold of the Transcendent realm as an Elite professional, even now weakened by the dual setbacks of the Secret Realm and failed ascension, the dangerous aura naturally emitted under his rage had already made several Commander Fishmen behind the Priest raise their fins straight up, gills flaring out an involuntary sound of caution.

But that elderly Fishman Priest addressed as "Uek" by Dodd showed no obvious reaction.

Didn’t even lift its brows much, merely gazing at the other with its pearl-like glowing Fish eyes:

"This was our agreement, Captain Dodd."

"We provided numerous Deep Sea Resonating Stones for your ascension ceremony. How much these are worth in your adventurer market, how much time would be needed to gather enough of them, I suppose no reminder is needed from me."

"And in exchange, regardless of success or failure after your ascension ceremony." Uek glanced at Dodd’s somewhat trembling arm, "The remaining sentient beings on Stodd Island, chiefly those adventurers, also including the civilians originally living here, all became the property of us Sha Hua Fishmen."

"Of course, regarding the unfortunate fate of your sailors and ship, Captain Dodd, we express our apologies."

"If they had revealed their identity a bit sooner, the situation might be vastly different now."

All bullshit!

Before Uek finished speaking, Dodd was already cursing in his heart.