Chapter 145: Human

Seeing this, Ethan wasted no time — he immediately charged forward, Zharok followed closely behind, joining the battle.

The Minion of Chaos tried to roar again, but was interrupted by Mira’s voice.

"Ahhh! Ahhh!"

Mira and the other mermaids began to sing loudly together, their song actually suppressed the roar of the Minion of Chaos, not only that, but their singing also granted buffs to Ethan and Zharok.

"Huh? My strength has increased."

’Is it buff magic?’ Ethan remembered Mira saying that all merfolk magic was related to sound, it seemed their singing could not only suppress the Minion of Chaos but also enhance their allies’ strength.

Swinging the Holy Sword, Ethan declared, "Since we have buff magic, there’s even less reason for us to lose."

Although the Minion of Chaos resisted stubbornly, it could not withstand the combined attacks of Ethan and Zharok, it dissolved into a cloud of white mist and vanished completely.

Just then, the doors burst open.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?!"

"What happened just now... Lady Mira, what on earth is going on?"

"It’s like this..." Mira explained the course of events to everyone.

Ethan walked over to the Queen and found that she had fainted, he gently shook her.

The Queen slowly opened her eyes, seeing Ethan, she said weakly, "You’ve returned... my love..."

"...What?"

Pearl and Zharok turned to Ethan in unison.

"When did you get married, meow?"

"If you become the Mermaid Queen’s mate, do you get to be the master of the ocean?"

Ethan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Mate?’ He had only met the Mermaid Queen for the first time today, how had he suddenly become her mate?

He was about to explain himself, but the Queen had already fallen back asleep, he sighed helplessly — it seemed he could only wait until she woke up to sort this out.

"Her Majesty the Queen’s curse has been lifted."

"Ah, yes!" Mira blinked, stunned for a moment, then rushed to share the good news with the other mermaids.

Hearing that the Queen’s curse had been lifted, the mermaids all broke into joyful smiles. "Really?!"

"That’s wonderful, I’m going to tell everyone the good news."

The mermaids cheered with joy, running around eagerly to spread the good word, watching their excited figures, Ethan smiled and shook his head.

A few hours later, the Mermaid Queen finally woke, hearing the news, mermaids from all over flocked to the Dragon Palace to pay their respects to Her Majesty.

Although the Queen was still pale, her mental state was much better, sitting on her throne, she spoke to the crowd. "Everyone has worked so hard during the time I was cursed, I am truly sorry, now, I have one thing to ask of you all."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty!" the mermaids said in unison.

Standing in the corner, Ethan watched the Queen with quiet curiosity, wondering what she was going to say.

"Prepare for battle."

"Battle?" Ethan and the other mermaids all revealed confused expressions.

"Battle with whom?"

Mira asked, "Your Majesty, who are we going to fight?"

"The forces of Chaos."

’The forces of Chaos?’ Ethan had never heard the term before.

The other mermaids clearly had, their faces turned grave.

"What are the forces of Chaos, meow?"

"Judging by the name, it’s definitely nothing good." Pearl and Zharok also felt very curious.

Upon receiving the order, the mermaids immediately got busy preparing for battle, the Queen watched their bustling figures, then turned to Ethan and the others.

"I truly do not know how to thank you, if it weren’t for you, I might have already died from the curse... And my death would have given the forces of Chaos an opening, they would have seized the Dragon Palace."

"It’s good that you’re alright, by the way, what exactly are the forces of Chaos?" Ethan asked.

"As the name implies — a group of individuals who worship Chaos, they probably haven’t laid their hands on the beastmen yet..."

"How did you get cursed? Could it be—"

"That’s right, my curse was inflicted upon me by the forces of Chaos," the Queen said in a low tone.

She had been cursed a long time ago, shortly after humanity had disappeared. "At that time, I fell in love with a human, he was a kind, brave, and righteous man."

"Did he look like Ethan, meow?"

"Yes, he looked very much like you, Mr. Ethan, perhaps because of the resemblance, I mistook you for my love."

"I see." Ethan nodded in understanding.

"If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize."

"It’s alright, what happened next?"

"Later... all humans disappeared. I was heartbroken, I couldn’t accept the reality, until a few years ago, a human — no, I should say a creature that looked like a human but wasn’t — found me." The Queen’s hands trembled, hatred? Fear? She clenched her fists and struck the throne.

"He said that if I submitted to him, he could bring humans back to life, as long as I handed all the merfolk over to him, he could reunite me with my love."

"You refused him?"

"Of course, I haven’t gone mad enough to sell out my people for a man, I refused, and he mocked me, then he placed the curse."

"Who was he?"

"I don’t know, he only called himself an emissary of the forces of Chaos."

"That’s truly terrifying," Zharok murmured.

The Queen nodded. "Even as the Mermaid Queen, I was completely unable to resist his curse."

"How did you learn to lift it? That man probably wouldn’t have told you."

"A long time ago, Lord Sea Dragon once fought against the forces of Chaos, he told us how to fight against them, which included how to lift curses, I found the method to cure the curse based on Lord Sea Dragon’s guidance."

"But didn’t you find the cure a bit late?"

"I had no choice, his notes were written in an incredibly ancient script, it took me a very long time to decipher the writing."

"Hmm... alright." Ethan nodded; he now understood the ins and outs of the situation.

The Queen smiled tiredly. "It really is all thanks to you, whatever you want, just ask, and I will do my best to fulfill it."

"I want the Water Spirit Tree."

"The Water Spirit Tree? That’s fine, but what do you need it for?"

"Many things, and I need it to help the World Tree grow." He patted Liora’s head.

Liora smiled happily.

The Queen only just noticed Liora, she studied her with curiosity. "Haven’t humans disappeared? How are you... And the World Tree — that is a legendary divine tree, yet you’re nurturing it? Could you be the incarnation of Harmony?"

"I’m not any incarnation." Ethan shrugged.

"I’m just an ordinary farmer."

After the conversation ended, Mira brought Ethan and the others to the Dragon Palace’s back garden.

Various corals and seaweeds were planted in the garden, along with several tall trees, judging by the fruits hanging from their branches, they had to be Water Spirit Trees.

"If you want a Water Spirit Tree, you can take one with you."

"No need, I just need some seeds." As long as he had enough seeds, Ethan could plant the Water Spirit Trees himself, he plucked the mature fruits from the trees and placed them into a leather pouch, the Water Spirit Trees bore a huge amount of fruit — Ethan quickly filled his bag to the brim.