176 Save the Merman

**Austin's POV**

*

We were flying in a plane over the forbidden valley. Since we all knew the same girl, Elizabeth, we naturally talked about her.

The Alpha of Poison Wolf, Caleb, used sign language to tell his sister, Carolina, what everyone said about Elizabeth.

From Elizabeth's experiences, we learned more and more about her.

No one was more shocked than I was.

I'll never forget the first time I met Elizabeth. She was only eight years old and as weak as a fragile glass. She cried and begged me to help her.

More than a decade has passed. She grew from a dummy who was bullied every day to a heroine who saved an entire pack and even an entire country.

It was hard for me to connect the Elizabeth of my memory with the girl they were talking about.

But all the facts forced me to accept it all.

Elroy said Elizabeth had led the giant wolves to drive out the invaders and help them survive the crisis of losing their country.

I, however, was seeking the help of the giant wolves.

No wonder Elizabeth always scorned me. Heroes never like cowards.

We all agreed that it was a miracle that Elizabeth had survived this long.

We all hope she will continue the miracle.

Please live well, Elizabeth. I really want to meet a new you.

"Wait! Slow down!" Julian, the king of the dwarf wolves, suddenly ordered.

All of us looked at him expectantly, "Did you see Elizabeth?"

"No, I saw a man. I think he is one of my people. He doesn't know that most of the people have managed to leave the forbidden valley. I should tell him the news."

None of us objected. Even the most quick-tempered Elroy didn't stop Julian.

Everyone sitting on this plane was the leader of a pack or country. It is our job as leaders to be responsible for each and every one of our people.

The plane landed slowly.

We all followed Julian off the plane. Only Caleb stayed on the plane to protect the pilot and his sister Carolina.

"Hello, I am the king of the dwarf wolves. Do you know that the curse has disappeared? Everyone can leave the forbidden valley now. Do you need us to send you up?"

The man turned around, and instead of showing excitement as we expected, he stared straight at Julian.

We all feared that this strange man would attack Julian, but then he suddenly said something that excited all of us.

"Do you want to find Elizabeth?"

"Where is she?" All of us asked almost simultaneously.

But soon, Brandon cautiously asked, "Who are you? Why do you know Elizabeth, and why do you know we're looking for her?"

Another equally cautious man, the alpha of the winged wolves, Isidore, did not speak as he spread his wings and flew behind the man to prevent the man from escaping.

The man wasn't afraid. He just stared at Julian and said, "Elizabeth is my best friend. She told me that she was the queen of the dwarf wolves. She did me a big favor and gave me a name, Francis."

We didn't let our guard down on him, and Julian continued to press, "Where is Elizabeth now?"

The man who identified himself as Francis pointed north and said, "The northernmost part of the forbidden valley is a sea. I once arrived there with Elizabeth. She said she wanted to try to swim across the sea, but she was swept under by the waves."

All of us were shocked and upset. We couldn't accept the fact that the girl we had been searching for so long had drowned.

Elroy even shouted outright, "This can't be true! You're lying! She couldn't have drowned!"

"She didn't drown. She could breathe underwater. And, she got to know a Merman who lived in the sea."

"She told me she wanted to live with that Merman forever at the bottom of the sea and asked me to leave. But I think she was coerced by that Merman, so I didn't leave and kept living near the sea."

"Take us to that sea! No matter how powerful the Merman is, we will defeat him and save Elizabeth!" said Julian. All of us nodded our heads.

Francis, however, shook his head, "There is no need for you to defeat him. He had already been defeated. That Merman used to be powerful. But his subordinates betrayed him, chained him, and forced him to kneel on the shore until he died."

"He deserved it! So where is Elizabeth now? Is she still at the bottom of the sea?"

Francis shook his head once again, "I found the Mermen kneeling on the shore a few days ago, and he told me that Elizabeth had left the sea. Since Elizabeth was carrying a piece of protective scale that belonged to him, he could sense Elizabeth's location."

Brandon said, "That means that if we save that Merman, he can lead us to Elizabeth, right?"

Francis finally nodded, "Yes. He may be the only one in the world who can sense where Elizabeth is. If he dies, then no one will know where to find Elizabeth. I tried to save him from his subordinates, but I failed and got hurt."

"I was about to start a second attempt to save him, and then I met you guys. I thought maybe we could work together."

We didn't fully trust what Francis was saying. It was possible he was lying.

But as far as I was concerned, I was definitely not going to let any opportunity to find Elizabeth pass me by. Even if it was a trap, I was going to check it out.

I looked at the others with questioning eyes, and they all nodded. It seems that everyone is thinking the same as me.

Even the most cautious Brandon and Isidore did not hesitate to follow Francis to the shore.

The sanest man cannot keep his sanity all the time.

We took Francis to the plane. Everyone watched him to prevent him from doing anything wrong, and we kept interrogating him.

"What was the hard part of the rescue mission?"

Francis replied, "That Merman is so badly injured that he could die at any moment, and he needs medical attention. The other end of the chain holding him is tied to the palace at the bottom of the sea. We have to break the chain to take him away. In addition, they can control the seabirds. The seabirds act as their monitors. Once someone approaches, the seabirds will alert and attack the comers."

Based on his description, Brandon pondered and came up with a battle plan.

Soon after, we saw the sea from the plane.

The black water was tumbling. Huge waves were lapping at the shore like angry beasts.

As we drew closer, we saw a man kneeling on the beach. His neck and wrists were wrapped in chains thicker than his arms.

As for his legs, they were pierced by two long swords and pinned to the beach, which made him unable to move, and had to endure the waves and the scorching sun.

"Didn't you say that this man in chains was a Merman? Why does he have legs?" The dwarf king raised his query.

"The last time I went to rescue him, he said he had been an alpha of the sea, but he had made a big mistake, and everyone hated him. His subordinates split his tail in two and turned it into legs in order to make him kneel down and repent on the beach forever until he died."

"What mistake did he make?"

"I don't know. I didn't have time to communicate with him too much because the seabirds found me. Many Mermen attacked me from the sea with bows and arrows," Francis replied.

Brandon said, "Then follow the plan. Elroy, you have the most strength.

We'll fix the others. You concentrate on trying to get the chains off."

"Okay."

The plane descended lower, and we all leaped from the plane.

Julian swung the King's Scepter. This was the first time I had seen him use it. Shortly after he held the scepter aloft, dark clouds quickly converged, and lightning streamed through them like snakes.

Soon a torrential rain fell, accompanied by a gale of wind. The rain and wind drove away all the sea birds.

Caleb chanted the spell. In no time, behind the locked Merman, seaweed grew wildly, and the sea began to freeze.

Isidore, meanwhile, flew to a high place, watching every move on the ground, ready to assist and sneak attack.

"Now is the time, rush!"

The rest of us covered Elroy and rushed up together.

The chained Merman was indeed in bad shape. His body was covered with wounds, but no blood was visible because the wounds had been soaked by seawater.

When he saw us, he showed an expression of surprise.

"Who are you?"

Francis said, "We came to rescue you for Elizabeth. You must stay alive and hold on until you lead us to Elizabeth!"

Elroy grabbed the chain on the chained Merman's wrist and tried hard to rip it off.

"Elroy, can you rip it off?"

"Maybe, but it will take time..." The waves hit Elroy, and I couldn't tell if it was seawater or sweat on his forehead.

Brandon and I slashed the chain with our swords. Sparks collided with each cut.

Suddenly, I noticed that the ice on the sea's surface created cracks.

"Watch out! The enemy is coming out of the sea!" I yelled a warning.

Caleb hurriedly reinforced the ice, but it wouldn't last long.

Soon, countless dark mermen with long black nails jumped out from the surface of the sea. Many seaweeds were wrapped around them, but they could not be stopped.

Some of them grabbed the chains to pull the injured Merman into the sea, while others rushed up through the waves to attack us with their nails and sharp teeth.

"Lightning!" Julian shouted, and several lightning bolts landed in the direction of the scepter swing and struck at the dark mermen.

The dark mermen let out ear-piercing screams and kept summoning their companions.

"You guys are really fvcking pissing me off!" Elroy roared as he grabbed all chains and swung them around, injuring many of the dark mermen who tried to approach.

Then he grabbed the chains and yanked them upward as if trying to pull something up on the other end of them.

"Fvckkkkkk-" Amidst Elroy's loud roar, we saw a pillar tied by chains being yanked out of the sea.

His terrifying strength shocked everyone, including us.

My Lord, did he destroy the building at the bottom of the sea?

Elroy smashed the pillar with one punch. Brandon and I both pulled out the swords that had pinned Merman's legs to the ground.

Isidore flew down from the sky and opened his arms wide, "Give me the Merman!"

Elroy lifted the Merman, who was still in chains, and threw him upwards.

Isidore caught him and flew with great difficulty towards the plane with him.

"Retreat! Get back to the plane!" Brandon commanded.

The pilot flew the plane to meet us. The Merman should have made it into the plane, and Carolina was smart enough to throw the chain on Merman's wrist out the hatch so we could grab it and get into the plane quickly.

When the last one got into the plane, we retrieved the chain back to the plane and closed the hatch.

Everyone was panting. We had won the battle, but it was no time to celebrate.

Countless seabirds gathered, and they formed an impermeable wall around the plane.

The pilot shouted, "They're attacking the glass! I can't control the balance of the plane!"

Suddenly, Francis stood up, "Open a window for me!"

"What are you going to do?" We were all surprised. Opening a window at this time would be a death wish.

"Open the window!"

After the fight earlier, we had built up some trust. Brandon said, "Just do what he says. Open the window!"

The pilot opened a window. We see Francis stick his head out and breathe a flame out of his mouth.

"Oh my moon goddess! He can breathe fire!" We were shocked and delighted.

The flames killed countless seabirds. An escape route appeared ahead of us.

Julian stared at Francis for a long time and suddenly said, "I know who you are. You are the legendary fire-covered monster in the forbidden valley."