Chapter 1170
Chapter 1170 - 1156: Betrayal
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After a series of business dealings, Lu Ping’an’s Redemption set sail for the frontline.
If the previous trip to Mercury could still be called a journey, then what they were about to encounter might indeed be the real human purgatory.
".....So fishy."
This was not an adjective, nor was it within a specific room, standing on the deck of the Redemption, feeling the breeze brush against his skin, Lu Ping’an could already smell the thick scent of blood.
"It’s the scent of something fresh..."
But perhaps, one didn’t need to use their nose.
"...So it turns out that most of the blood of these creatures is red too..."
As the ship sailed into a red ocean and saw masses of sea beasts’ corpses floating on it, with scattered remains of Fishpeople and the Long Hand Clan amidst them, everyone knew they had entered a war zone.
Lu Ping’an and his companions frowned, instinctively tensing up, while the ordinary Long Hands and Fishperson Warriors remained calm.
Perhaps, to them, this was the actual daily life.
The lengthy Blood Sea region lasted for more than ten minutes before they passed through, by which time the Redemption had taken on a reddish tinge, just like the other shipwrecks floating on the surface of the sea.
And this was just the beginning.
The second wave, the third wave, when Lu Ping’an was too lazy to count how many times they had encountered the Blood Sea region, a sailor called out from the side of the ship.
"There’s a live one still floating, should we put him out of his misery with a stab?"
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an was taken aback. Was it that brutal?
"Which species is it?"
"Fishman, doesn’t seem to be one of the Lost Fishmen (Octopus)."
"...Pull him up."
And observing the "big Fish" that they hauled aboard, Lu Ping’an understood why the Fishman sailor could be so ruthless.
It was a giant Fishman over three meters long, but half of his body was torn open, most of his blood already drained away, with only those black, slender fish eyes still brimming with a desire for life.
Such severe injuries, to most people, were not worth the trouble and better off abandoned.
But for Lu Ping’an...
"Deferred payment..."
As long as there was still a possibility of survival, Lu Ping’an’s "rules" could bestow a new life.
When the wound on this unfortunate creature destined for death instantly recovered, from a shattered fatal injury to one requiring treatment for a moderate wound, the black-backed, white-bellied giant Fishman still glared with eyes wide open, yearning to live...
"Wake up, you’ve been reinforced, you can go back to the fight."
After a while, the Fishman was stunned, staggering to his feet, staring at his once-fatal wound in a daze.
"Suoche, how did you end up like this?"
"...Lord Sharkda."
Since there were acquaintances present, Lu Ping’an naturally stepped aside, allowing them to communicate, while he tried to understand the situation.
But after listening for a bit, he found it irrelevant... actually, this bulky fellow repeated the same thing over and over, "Met the Lava Clan, then got into a fight, and lost."
"Why start a fight, Meow?"
When Meow asked the question of the professionals, trying to fill in more details, the Fishpeople all turned their heads in a strange manner, looking at her with surprise.
"Meow? Is there something wrong with what I said, Meow?"
"Uh, don’t foes naturally start killing each other upon encounter? Is there a need for a reason..."
These self-assured expressions and remarks, on the contrary, made Meow seem very amateurish.
At this moment, humans were somewhat at a loss as well, although the information had already stated that the multiple sides had become arch enemies, this intelligent species, as soon as they confront each other, would fight to the death with such directness and brutality.
But if centuries of slaughter between civilizations and ethnic groups had become an inertia, then rationally speaking, it seemed inevitable.
If both sides have reasons to kill each other, then why waste words and forsake the advantage of striking first?
While Meow was somewhat autistic, only lord Sharkda had a subtle expression. He pondered for a moment, then pulled Lu Ping’an, who was still ready to watch the excitement, aside.
"Your Excellency, is there something wrong with the situation?"
"Uh, didn’t your people say that all of this is normal?"
"They don’t know... didn’t I mention before that there’s a Fishman City that has a secret trade channel with the dwarfs (Lava Clan)? I was talking about their ’Sandy Bay City’."
Lu Ping’an stroked his chin; wasn’t this also very normal? Just another game of betrayal.
"No, it’s not normal. For the Lava Clan, cultivating a trustworthy Fishman agent is extremely troublesome and time-consuming. Getting our ethnic group to accept such secret trades requires years, or even decades, of persuasion and favor-giving. Now that the Lava Clan has openly torn off their disguise, it means..."
"They don’t need you anymore?"
"Yes, this explanation is highly likely, but..."
After all, the Lava Clan is an external ethnic group. They crave the local resources, but inherently they cannot be considered water system beings, as their efforts to alter the environment stem from their inability to adapt to the local enviroment.
They also need local materials and labor... but in most situations, they "enslave" the local population.
Along the way, Lu Ping’an didn’t know how many Fishman corpses wearing collars he had seen. These fire attribute, hot-tempered dwarfs are classic examples of an interstellar colonization and slave system nation.
Such beings, who still secretly have many trade channels with other ethnic groups, and Sharkda’s Sandy Bay City is one of them.
Cultivating a White Glove isn’t as simple as giving money or resources. The Fishmen’s and Long Hand Clan’s hatred for the brutal Gray Dwarves is immense; only the lure of huge trade profits and regular "dividends" has successfully nurtured a long-term and stable trade channel.
Now that the other party has actively torn up this channel, naturally, it’s not good news...
"Either the other side has received large reinforcements and logistic support from their headquarters, or they have formed an alliance with another disaster group... No matter what the reason, it’s not good for the native inhabitants."
But the Fishman leader had a somewhat different opinion.
"... It’s also possible that it was my people who betrayed the alliance."
However, Sharkda proactively proposed another possibility; in fact, he felt this was the most likely path of development.
As a leader of a primitive civilization that had about the same level of education as prenatal tutoring, he was well aware of his people’s rational and moral lower limits... which was that there simply were none! If the benefits were sufficient, there was nothing they wouldn’t do.
Not every original village is associated with simplicity and kindness; on the contrary, the more wild and primitive the ethnic group, the more self-serving and short-sighted they become in the face of temptations, due to their long-term struggle with the scarcity of survival resources and the pressure of external disasters.
In Sharkda’s eyes, his ethnic group could indeed, on the spur of the moment or lured by some treasure, tear up a decades-long secret agreement and turn from cooperative partner to greedy thieves.
"... Actually, it’s more likely that my kind has betrayed."
Sharkda didn’t hide anything because some things simply can’t be concealed. The more sincerely he cooperated with the human alliance, the more necessary it was for him to be honest.
Fishmen are a loose group, referred to as Fishmen, yet in reality, they are a collective of countless different species, some of which may even have bloodline origins from different star systems.
He could not represent any other ethnic group, only himself and his own city.
And at that moment, the Fishman leader’s honesty surprised Lu Ping’an, who also chuckled.
"Rest assured, we’ll know soon enough."
"Soon enough?"
"Look over there."
The Fishman leader turned his head sharply only to see on the other side of the sea level, a steel warship of the Gray Dwarves, slowly approaching.
"Look, they’re staring at us first...."
— End of Chapter 1170 —