Chapter 55: Awaiting an Era of Brilliant Stars |
Luo Ke was Luo Ya’s second brother. Ever since Luo Ya became Pisces, their status had naturally risen as well.
Later, Luo Ya assigned them tasks, placing them in charge of forming teams responsible for the safety of their people.
However, this place was remote, and there had never been any danger. Moreover, everyone was a Recipient of Divine Grace— even wild beasts posed no threat to them.
This caused them to grow somewhat lax.
Unexpectedly, that very night they were informed that Luo Yi had gone to pick berries, yet had not returned even after an entire day.
Upon hearing this, Luo Xing hurried over. When he saw the footprints, his expression immediately turned grave.
“These are human footprints…”
“Why would there be human footprints here?”
An ominous feeling arose in his heart.
“Could it be that Luo Yi willingly went with them?”
Luo Ke thought for a moment and said.
His reasoning was that Luo Yi was a Recipient of Divine Grace. Even if she was far from the sea, with the power of Divine Grace, dealing with a few ill-intentioned people would not be difficult.
As for whether Luo Yi had been captured by a Recipient of Divine Grace of Leo, Luo Ke felt it was unlikely.
Although they were not of the same constellation, they could sense the starlight power within each other.
In theory, no one would dare offend a Recipient of Divine Grace of Pisces.
After all, Luo Ya, the Pisces, was still alive.
Luo Xing shook his head.
“Impossible.”
“Even if Luo Yi intended to leave with others, she would at least return to inform us.”
“She wouldn’t leave silently without even a word.”
“So I suspect Luo Yi was captured.”
Soon after, they discovered more footprints in the nearby grass, along with scorched marks and a faint smell of blood.
This scene confirmed Luo Xing’s suspicion.
“Let’s go! We’ll return and report this to Luo Ya.”
“This is no longer something we can handle.”
……
When they returned to Atlantis, preparing to report to Luo Ya, even worse news arrived.
Aside from Luo Yi, several other merfolk responsible for patrolling land areas had also gone missing!
“Damn it!”
“Are they trying to start a war with us?!”
The hot-tempered Luo Zhe roared.
He was Luo Ya’s third brother.
“Third brother, calm down.”
“It may not be them.”
Luo Xing said steadily.
“If not them, then who else could it be?”
“How could ordinary people capture our people?”
“Even if their strength is limited on land, escaping should still be possible. How could not a single one return?!”
Luo Zhe retorted.
“Enough.”
Luo Ya’s cool voice rang out, carrying unquestionable authority. As she looked at her brothers reporting to her, anger surged within her deep blue eyes.
“Whether it is the Theocratic State of the Stars, the three great duchies, or any other force…”
“Whoever dares to capture my people must pay the price!”
In Luo Ya’s view, this was not only an infringement upon the merfolk race, but also a blatant provocation against her dignity as Pisces!
If she could not even protect her own people,
what right did she have to stand among the constellations?
Yet Luo Ya was not blinded by anger.
The land was far too vast—she alone could not search for the captured people.
Thus, the priority was to resolve this issue.
She needed her people, even when away from water,
to possess sufficient ability to protect themselves.
In this way, not only could such incidents be prevented in the future, but there would also be enough manpower to search for the captured ones.
“You all go and strengthen patrols. Account for all those who have not returned.”
Luo Ya ordered.
“Yes!”
After everyone withdrew,
Luo Ya swam alone toward the temple at the center of the city.
She stopped before the divine statue and bowed her head devoutly.
“God!”
She recounted the situation of her people repeatedly going missing on land, as well as the predicament of the merfolk’s greatly reduced combat strength on land.
Although the most effective solution would be for the merfolk to never go ashore again from this moment on,
completely forbidding it would mean isolation and stagnation.
And Luo Ya deeply understood the importance of exchange and development.
In the past, it was precisely because Mo brought farming techniques that the Luo River Tribe had prospered.
Thus, she hoped that the merfolk could continue to maintain contact with the outside world and exchange new knowledge.
As for those who had been captured…
though Luo Ya was worried,
she did not believe they would meet with misfortune.
After all,
the three great duchies and the Theocratic State of the Stars were not fools.
Their Recipients of Divine Grace could sense the Pisces Divine Grace within Luo Yi and the others.
No one would fail to understand
the consequences of offending a constellation.
Thus, at most they would suffer some hardship, and perhaps would soon be sent back.
For this reason, Luo Ya was not overly anxious.
After hearing Luo Ya’s account, Huang Xing manifested as a figure radiating boundless starlight.
“Luo Ya, what do you wish to do?”
The God’s voice was calm,
yet seemed to see through everything.
Luo Ya raised her head,
her eyes filled with determination.
“God!”
“I want my people to be able to use the power of Divine Grace even when far from the sea.”
The power of the Twelve Constellations was essentially equal, each with its own focus.
The Divine Grace of Pisces reached its peak in water, and was naturally restricted on land.
As the saying went, one could not have both fish and bear’s paw.
“Luo Ya, how do you intend to achieve this?”
The God did not provide a direct answer,
but instead asked again, guiding her to think for herself.
Luo Ya fell into deep thought.
God asking her to decide herself
was both trust and a test.
But she had only recently become a constellation, and her past experiences were ordinary. Even though her wisdom had grown after becoming a constellation,
it was still not enough…
for her to come up with a good solution.
After a long time, she shook her head in dejection,
her face filled with shame.
“God! I… cannot think of anything.”
She felt she had failed God’s expectations.
Huang Xing was not surprised.
The civilization of this era was still in its infancy. People’s thinking was tightly bound by their environment and understanding, and few could break conventions and forge new paths.
Someone like You, who pursued breakthroughs by any means necessary, was ultimately an anomaly.
This also made the world, in His eyes,
seem somewhat dull.
Thus,
He preferred to immerse Himself in comprehending the world.
And then,
wait for an era of brilliant stars to descend!
“Luo Ya.”
The God’s voice pulled her out of her self-reproach.
“What is the Divine Grace of Pisces?”
“It is water.”
Luo Ya answered instinctively, somewhat confused.
The God said nothing more. The starlight-formed figure gradually dissipated, leaving Luo Ya alone in the temple, repeatedly pondering this simple question.