Chapter 167: The Wine Is Poisoned

At Hu Jie's signal, a soldier unlocked the iron box. He scrambled backward, terrified the undead siren inside might lunge out.

Perhaps sensing the aura of the living, the quiet iron box suddenly erupted with violent thuds. Bang! The door smashed open.

An undead siren stepped out. Its entire body was rotting, exposing stark white bone and several writhing black fleshy tentacles.

A foul, rotting stench laced with the smell of brine permeated the room, making several people in the crowd frown in disgust.

However, no one showed any fear. Everyone present was a transcendent; facing a sea monster barely stronger than an ordinary human, they naturally had nothing to fear.

Su Mu strolled forward like he was taking a leisurely walk in a courtyard. The sea monster roared and immediately lunged at him, the closest target.

The crowd watched Su Mu intently, wanting to see if he could actually kill a sea monster.

Just as the sea monster rushed him, Su Mu calmly extended a finger and lightly tapped the incoming black tentacles.

Swish!

A streak of azure light flashed, and the sea monster was reduced to ash!

The crowd jumped in shock. They hadn't even seen what happened clearly. Quickly looking at the ground, they found absolutely no seawater where the sea monster had died!

The undead siren... was dead!?

"It actually died!?" Pang Yang rubbed his eyes vigorously. Staring closely and seeing that there truly was no seawater, he said in disbelief, "This is impossible. We tried every method, but we couldn't kill the sea monsters. Yet Mr. Su killed one so easily with just a tap of his finger?

"Men, come quick! Bring up all the sea monsters from the dungeon."

"You son of a bitch!" Lu Dongliang's eyes flushed bloodshot. He grabbed Pang Yang by the sleeve and snapped viciously, "What do you take Mr. Su for?"

"Now, Mr. Lu, let's not ruin the harmony," Su Mu said with an intervening smile.

Lu Dongliang snorted coldly at Pang Yang and released his grip.

Pang Yang realized his words had been inappropriate and hurriedly apologized to Su Mu. "Mr. Su, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it, I just..."

Su Mu waved his hand and smiled gently. "I completely understand Mr. Pang's concerns. After all, this is indeed very hard to believe."

Pang Yang nodded repeatedly, an apologetic smile covering his face. "Thank you for understanding, Mr. Su."

"Therefore, I have a better proposal. How about Mr. Pang experiences it for himself?" Su Mu smiled and extended his hand toward him.

Pang Yang's expression changed drastically, and he scrambled backward in terror. "No, no, no... I was wrong, Mr. Su. I shouldn't have doubted you. I believe you! I believe you!"

Was he kidding?! That single tap could kill a sea monster; he didn't want to suffer the same fate.

Su Mu smiled faintly, his gentle gaze sweeping over the faces of the crowd. "If any of you still have doubts, you are welcome to step forward and give it a try."

The crowd's expressions shifted slightly, and no one dared to utter a sound. They had figured it out by now—this unfathomable Mr. Su seemed polite, courteous, and easy to get along with, but he was actually far more dangerous than Lu Dongliang, who would attack at the slightest provocation.

He was like a brightly colored venomous snake hidden in a primordial jungle!

"Haha..." Hu Jie laughed heartily, stepping in to smooth things over. "Everyone, today is a day of great joy! With Mr. Su's arrival, the sea monster crisis that has constantly threatened the Sea Kingdom has finally seen the dawn of a resolution! I strongly agree with the proposal Mr. Lu and Miss Mu made just now.

"Even if we aren't willing to risk venturing into the Black Fog, killing the sea god's familiar and the sea monsters is beneficial to everyone and the entire Sea Kingdom. I believe everyone here thinks the same.

"I have already sent people to prepare a sumptuous banquet. I invite you all to head over so we can discuss the specific countermeasures while we eat."

With the peacemaker Hu Jie smoothing things over, the crowd naturally had no reason to refuse. Furthermore, they wanted to rely on Su Mu's strength to handle the sea god's familiar, so they gladly accepted the invitation.

At the banquet, Hu Jie raised his wine glass high. "I propose we all toast Mr. Su. If not for Mr. Su's arrival, the Sea Kingdom would not have seen this dawn of hope. It wouldn't have been long before the entire nation was utterly destroyed."

"To Mr. Su!"

"Mr. Su is truly the savior of the Sea Kingdom!"

Currying favor with the strong was human nature, and the crowd naturally wouldn't let this chance slip by. They hurriedly toasted Su Mu. Pang Yang, who had offended him earlier, even chugged straight from the bottle as an apology.

For a time, the host and guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Only Mu Qing and a few others wore flat, uninterested expressions.

Looking at the beaming faces around the banquet, the disgust in Mu Qing's heart nearly overflowed. She wished they could immediately start discussing countermeasures, divide up the tasks, and set out to sea right this moment, rather than wasting time celebrating prematurely.

These people living in the Sea Kingdom had long since had their fighting spirit ground away. They were all nothing but useless gluttons!

In her frustration, she picked up her wine glass and took a light sip. But as the liquid went down, her expression shifted.

The wine was poisoned!

Forcing herself to stay calm, she quietly looked toward Su Mu, who was being toasted by the crowd. Watching him drink cup after cup, she grew extremely anxious.

Just as she was about to call out a warning, she realized something under the table was touching her leg!

She looked down and jumped in shock. The thing touching her leg wasn't human at all—it was a large, shadowy hand!

The large, shadowy hand let go of Mu Qing's leg and instantly melted into a puddle on the floor. The shadow writhed, sketching out a few words of darkness on the ground. Immediately after, it withdrew as rapidly as a ripple of water, ultimately returning to Su Mu's shadow.

Mu Qing's pupils shrank abruptly. Understanding what was going on, she casually went back to eating the seafood on the table, only sweeping her gaze toward Su Mu out of the corner of her eye.

Su Mu wasn't looking at her; he seemed completely immersed in the banquet.

As everyone drank, they discussed their countermeasures. Ultimately, with Hu Jie making the final call, they decided to implement a plan to lure the enemy. Under the guise of a sacrifice, they would attempt to trick the sea god's familiar into coming. In his words, he was the only one who could contact the sea god's familiar, and every sacrifice was handed over between him and the familiar.

With him handling it, there was a high probability they could deceive the sea god's familiar. If they succeeded, that would be for the best. If they failed, it wouldn't matter; at worst, they would just kill a batch of sea monsters first, then take the initiative to attack and annihilate them step by step.

After eating and drinking their fill, the crowd returned to their respective rooms to rest and build up their energy for tomorrow's great battle.

Night fell.

Su Mu stood alone in front of the window, admiring the bright moon rising over the sea. The silvery moonlight spilled across the ocean, sending sparkling ripples dancing across the water.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Mr. Su, have you gone to rest?" Hu Jie's respectful voice sounded from outside the door.

Su Mu's gaze shifted slightly, and a mysterious smile curled at the corners of his lips. "I haven't. Please come in, Mr. Hu."

Creak!

The wooden door was pushed open, revealing Hu Jie. He stood at the doorway, the moonlight hitting him and casting a long, dark shadow across the room's floor.

"Mr. Su." A hint of worry surfaced on Hu Jie's face. "I thought carefully about the countermeasures we discussed earlier, and I still feel there are some areas that can be perfected. So, I specifically came to discuss them with you. Please forgive me if the intrusion is inappropriate."

His Tinted Glasses reflected the silvery light of the moon, making it impossible to tell what Su Mu was thinking. His gentle voice rang out in the darkness: "How could it be inappropriate? I've been waiting for you."