Chapter 219: The Abandoned Siren
A strong wind swept across the sea, stirring up waves in its wake.
In the vast expanse of the ocean, a particularly deep blue area stood out like a sapphire gemstone embedded within the water.
From high above, it resembled a sapphire eye.
This area was known as the Azure Eye.
Beneath the surface, hundreds of meters deep, lay a complex of buildings built upon a coral reef.
The hollowed coral formations had been transformed into delicate houses.
Scattered among the reefs were low-lying structures crafted from coral, shells, seaweed, and stones, arranged in a seemingly haphazard yet pleasing manner.
Beautiful sirens perched upon the coral reefs, gently swaying their serpentine tails as they sang in clear, melodious voices.
Despite being surrounded by seawater, their voices carried distinctly, resonating directly in the minds of those nearby.
Even more astonishing was the phenomenon that, within a hundred-meter radius around the palace, the seawater seemed to have been pushed away by an invisible force, creating an area completely devoid of water.
It was as if a giant bubble had appeared from nowhere in the deep sea.
Deep within the palace, in a spacious hall, whale oil lamps illuminated the entire space. Aida, kneeling before a long table, was prostrated on the ground, a look of devotion on her face as she uttered strange incantations.
As the beautiful sounds spread, wisps of starlight materialized from thin air, crisscrossing and landing on the table, outlining the shape of a book, which then became a tangible object.
It was a massive book, suspended horizontally, its pale green cover facing down, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, on which a jade-white gardenia was painted.
An invisible hand turned the pages, stopping at a specific one, where a black vortex appeared in the center, slowly swirling and expanding until it filled the entire page.
Then, a cool, clear female voice echoed from the vortex.
"Aida, the Reporting Day is still two months away. Why are you summoning me early?"
Aida, filled with apprehension, lowered its head and respectfully replied, "Respected My Lord, our clan is facing an unprecedented crisis, and we implore your salvation!"
"A crisis?" The cold female voice slightly emphasized its tone. "Explain in detail."
"Yes, My Lord!"
Aida quickly recounted the recent events.
After listening, the cold female voice fell silent for a moment. When it spoke again, there was a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Why wasn't this matter mentioned during the previous audience?"
Aida, shamefaced, replied, "I underestimated the enemy's power. I thought that after defeating the Deep Sea Naga and collecting enough Hearts of the Sea for your descent, you would lead us in dealing with those humans."
During the previous Reporting Day, Aida had concealed its error, failing to report the crushing defeat of the Siren at Coral Island for fear of Your Lordship's reprimand.
In its mind, it seemed impossible to prevent those humans from building islands, so it thought to temporarily ignore them and focus on defeating the Deep Sea Naga first.
Once My Lord had successfully descended, dealing with those humans would be as easy as flipping a hand.
Who could have foreseen their swift and decisive actions? Not long after the three islands were built, they formed a fleet and headed straight for their lair.
Aida had heard from its clansmen about the terrifying might of those metal giant ships, and now more than a hundred were approaching Azure Eye!
They had no means to resist them!
The only solution was to seek My Lord's assistance.
Faced with Aida's earnest plea, the cold female voice fell silent once again.
Just as Aida's anxiety reached its peak, the cold female voice finally spoke, but its words sent shivers down Aida's spine.
"You’re on your own."
As the voice faded, the book suddenly shattered into countless rays of light that dissipated into the air.
"My Lord!"
Aida abruptly lifted its head and cried out in panic.
Yet the table was already empty.
Aida hurriedly knelt on the ground again, chanting with even greater devotion than before.
But after a long time, she still received no response.
Aida finally stopped chanting, collapsing onto the ground, her face pale. The empty long table undoubtedly revealed a cold truth to her: the Siren clan had been abandoned by My Lord!
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted outside, jolting Aida out of her despair.
She quickly got up and stepped outside, only to see a clan member rushing over in a panic.
"Clan Chief, something terrible has happened! The humans are attacking!"
Aida's face instantly turned white. In that moment, she truly understood what it meant for misfortunes to come in pairs.
On the vast sea, a strong wind was blowing. A massive fleet of hundreds of giant ships sailed through the waves, entering the Azure Eye waters.
"It looks quite beautiful here," Artier exclaimed, gazing at the gemstone-like blue sea.
But then Coley's dull voice cut through her admiration. "Where are those Sirens hiding?"
"They're in Coral City, over two hundred meters underwater," Andrea said, pointing at the azure sea. "The Sirens should have spotted us long ago."
Sheman and the others nodded in agreement. With such a conspicuous fleet, the Sirens would have to be blind not to see them.
Since they hadn’t appeared until now, they must be planning to hide in the depths of the sea and resist stubbornly. After all, the ocean was their natural territory, difficult for humans to navigate.
Perhaps they thought that as long as they concealed themselves deep underwater, the Star Alliance would have no way to confront them.
"Let’s attack. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go back and report to Teacher," said Sheman.
Everyone nodded.
Having stayed in Rainbow Sea for nearly four years, they were eager to conclude their mission and return to Starlight Academy.
This battle was the first for the Navy Fleet. As long as the new fleet demonstrated sufficient combat power to prove that the Star Alliance possessed the strength to dominate the seas, their mission here would be complete.
As the command to attack was issued, the outer walls of the Magic Ship Metal suddenly glowed. The light expanded, transforming into a faint, barely visible barrier that enveloped the massive vessel.
From a distance, the ships of the First Fleet appeared to be encased in gigantic bubbles.
In the next moment, these bubbles broke the surface of the water, sinking into the depths below.
Heavy water pressure assailed them from all directions but only slightly deformed the light barrier, unable to penetrate this layer of protection.
Hundreds of Magic Ships slowly sailed and submerged into the sea.
Soon, a sprawling cluster of buildings came into view.
Numerous Sirens, wielding tridents, gathered in front of Coral City, their faces pale as they stared in fear at the enormous objects looming before them.
They had never imagined that ships capable of diving into the sea could exist!
The ocean, their stronghold, could no longer serve as a barrier. It simply could not halt the advance of these human invaders.
As the Magic Ships spread out, surrounding Coral City, despair gradually took hold of many Sirens.
At that moment, a figure suddenly emerged, swimming toward the Magic Ship.
"Chieftain!"
The Sirens recognized the figure and were immediately startled.
Several high-ranking Sirens prepared to follow, but Aida halted them with a wave of her hand.
Observing from a distance, Sheman felt intrigued by the Siren chieftain's intentions and ordered the Magic Ships to withhold their fire for the time being.
Aida approached the largest Magic Ship, opened her mouth, and her uniquely beautiful voice echoed far and wide through the sea.
"The leader of the Star Alliance, please come out and meet me!"
"What is she planning to do?" Fleming frowned in confusion.
Everyone else looked equally puzzled, their gazes shifting to Sheman and Coley.
Although Andrea was the nominal leader of the Star Alliance in Rainbow Bay, Sheman and Coley held the true authority.
Sheman glanced at Coley, noting his lack of intention to intervene, and then leaped off the deck.
"I'll go talk to her."
Controlling the water element, he created a bubble of waterless space around himself and quickly arrived before Aida.
"The leader of the Siren clan, what do you have to say?"
Aida assessed Sheman, appearing somewhat surprised by his youth. After a brief hesitation, she replied, "Can you make decisions regarding the matters of the Star Alliance?"
"Only within the boundaries of Rainbow Bay," Sheman clarified. "If the requests aren’t excessive, I can make decisions."
He faintly guessed her intentions.
As expected, Aida spoke in a low tone, "As long as the Star Alliance can guarantee the safety of our people and ensure that no harm comes to us, we are willing to surrender."
Sheman smiled slightly. "Of course, as long as you don't resist, we also wish to avoid unnecessary casualties."
Seeing Sheman agree, Aida let out a sigh of relief, though her feelings were quite complex. Abandoned by her Lord, the Siren clan had no strength to resist the Star Alliance; surrender was their only option. The anticipated grand battle did not erupt, saving them much effort.
The arrangement for the Siren clan was left to Andrea, while Sheman and the others took Aida on a Level One Magic Ship back to Rainbow Bay and then immediately teleported to Long Lin.
Half an hour later, Aida met the true Controller of the Star Alliance in the Reception Hall.
"Sit," Su Nan gestured toward the sofa opposite him.
Aida sat down, somewhat reserved. On the way over, she had learned from Sheman that his teacher, who was also the Controller of the Star Alliance, wanted to see her. Now, faced with him, her clan's innate acute sense of energy made her acutely aware of the powerful pressure emanating from him.
What surprised and confused her even more was that this sense of pressure felt somewhat similar to that of her Lord.
"The Siren clan, did you truly receive the favor of God?" Su Nan asked directly.
Aida hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know anymore."
Before the arrival of the Star Alliance fleet, Aida had unwavering faith in My Lord, believing that My Lord was the legendary deity, the salvation of their Siren clan.
But shouldn’t a God be omnipotent?
Could a so-called 'God' who unhesitatingly abandons its followers in their time of crisis truly be considered a God?
Now filled with confusion and bewilderment, Aida’s thoughts swirled.
Observing the changes in Aida's expression and considering the Siren's act of surrender, Su Nan immediately deduced the truth and revealed a meaningful smile.
"It seems you've been abandoned by that God."
Before Aida could respond, her face grim, Su Nan quickly changed the subject.
"Tell me about your encounter with that God."
Aida sighed and began recounting her tale softly.
Her encounter with that God dated back fifty years.
In a major battle against the Deep Sea Naga, that being suddenly intervened, summoning waves and storms to rout the enemy and allowing the nearly defeated Sirens to survive, ultimately achieving victory.
When Aida sincerely expressed her gratitude and inquired about the being's name, it claimed to be the Ocean Goddess, sealed away for tens of thousands of years and only recently awakened.
Because the Sirens had been her followers before the seal, upon awakening and seeing the Sirens on the brink of annihilation by the Deep Sea Naga, she had offered her aid.
Hearing this, Su Nan immediately realized that the so-called Ocean Goddess was nothing but a fraud.
Not only had the Ocean Goddess never existed on the Starlight Continent, but even if one had, they would have been captured from another plane by the Wizard.
If that were true, when the Wizard left a thousand years ago, such a valuable entity would not have been left behind on the Starlight Continent.
Even if, just for argument's sake, an Ocean Goddess had truly been sealed somewhere on Starlight Continent, the continent currently has no followers of the Ocean Goddess. Lacking the faith and worship of followers and unable to absorb Faith Power, how could she have recovered her strength and awakened?
Absorbing power from another plane?
That was even more impossible; the Starlight Continent is still under plane blockade.
Thoughts raced through his mind, yet his expression remained completely impassive as he listened to Aida's tale.
Initially, Aida had been skeptical as well.
However, as the 'Ocean Goddess' imparted profound skills to Siren, taught them to master more powerful Illusion abilities, and even shared methods for cultivating rare plants, Aida's doubts gradually faded away. She began to believe that the other party was indeed the real Ocean Goddess, to whom she offered her devout faith.
Following that, the 'Ocean Goddess' issued an Edict, instructing them to gather Heart of the Sea. She claimed that as long as they collected enough Heart of the Sea, she would be able to descend in her Saint form and lead Siren to dominate the Rainbow Sea.
“Gather Heart of the Sea, is it?”
A pensive glint flickered in Su Nan's eyes.
Heart of the Sea was an extremely rare material, used to create Magic Items or certain precious potions, such as the Water Element Potion.
The latter was a valuable potion required by many wizards during their elemental transformations.
However, beyond that, he was unaware of any other uses for Heart of the Sea, nor could he grasp the true purpose behind the so-called 'Ocean Goddess's' demand for it.
"So, you've never seen her true face?"
"No." Aida shook her head. "My Lord, she said that she had just awakened, and her power was at a low point. She could only remain awakened for a short period each year, which is why she arranged an annual Reporting Day. Each time we met, she appeared before me in the form of a book."
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