Chapter 443: Merfolk Corpses

Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

Even though Loren had successfully hit a merfolk, he didn't feel much joy, because the tsunami was crashing toward him.

"..."

If he didn't expose his abilities, Loren had no way to safely survive this natural disaster.

Loren wrapped the harpoon gun's rope around his wrist and tightly gripped Laila's hand with the other, unleashing his Abundant Magic at full power.

More and more plants began to entwine the tree trunk beneath Loren's feet, growing thicker and thicker while sprouting dense roots that firmly anchored the trunk and bound Loren's legs.

"Protect Master Mentor!"

The Church members below shouted as they reinforced the tree trunk under Loren with their own Abundant Magic, and the next moment, they were swallowed by the tsunami.

"..."

Loren held the rope tightly. This time, he was genuinely angry.

These people were still quite resilient; they shouldn't be swept to their deaths by a tsunami. But this group had been attacked because they were protecting Loren.

Otherwise, with their strength, even if they couldn't escape unscathed, they wouldn't have been directly swallowed by the tsunami.

Still, their sacrifice wasn't meaningless—Loren had successfully caught a merfolk.

"Did you mark it?"

"It's marked."

"Good."

The tsunami had passed, but the sea remained turbulent, swallowing the land.

Loren pulled the rope with all his might. The harpoon had barbs, so once it pierced the merfolk, she couldn't easily break free.

Under Loren's tugging, the merfolk's figure was yanked to the surface of the sea. Her staff was nowhere to be seen.

With one final, forceful pull, the merfolk flew toward Loren, who precisely reached out and grabbed her by the throat.

But the next moment, Loren froze.

The merfolk's skin had turned a sickly blue-green, and the hole in her chest was filled with rotting flesh, emitting a nauseating stench.

"She's been dead for a while?"

Seeing the merfolk corpse, all his previous doubts suddenly made sense.

So it wasn't really a merfolk attack—just a necromancer controlling a few merfolk.

"Troublesome. A real necromancer..."

While Loren was pulling the rope, Orianna had followed the other fleeing merfolk and also picked up a Merfolk Staff.

Originally, he planned to follow the thread, find their lair, and wipe them out in one go. But now that plan was ruined.

Loren's magic flowed through his hand into the merfolk's corpse, and gradually, he seized control of the merfolk.

Then Loren released his grip, and the merfolk fell back into the sea, swimming off into the distance.

"Why did you let her go?"

"She's under my control now."

Answering Laila's question, Loren dispelled the magic. The tree trunk beneath his feet began to shrink, sinking lower and lower.

This magically induced tsunami came and went quickly, destroying everything on the shore before retreating back into the sea.

Loren thrust Requiem into the ground and activated Entwined Roots at full power. He needed to find those swallowed by the tsunami as fast as possible.

Suddenly, Loren looked toward the sea. He sensed someone being pulled into the water. He quickly unleashed Abundant Magic, causing countless vines to burst from the beach. These vines stretched into the sea, fishing out those who had been dragged under.

Meanwhile, others gradually stood up. Those who chose to stay by Loren's side were all strong—this level of attack wouldn't instantly kill them, as long as they weren't swept into the sea.

"Go save those who fell into the water."

Loren tossed each of them a bottle of healing potion and started giving orders.

"Yes, Master Mentor."

They acted swiftly, joining the search for survivors as soon as they recovered.

Everyone searched for hours before finally gathering at the temporary hideout.

"How's the situation?"

Loren had already returned here to rest, waiting for the others and thinking about countermeasures.

"One dead, two missing. The rest have varying degrees of injury. Thanks to you, none are life-threatening. Your potions saved them."

The Bishop began reporting to Loren. He was the strongest and had the lightest injuries.

"Master Mentor, have you found anything?"

The scarecrow stationed here asked impatiently. He had lost a leg.

He'd been feeling frustrated lately, watching the merfolk destroy the city he was supposed to protect while he could do nothing.

"The real culprit behind all this isn't the merfolk."

"What?"

Loren's words caught them off guard, but they accepted the fact in just a second, listening intently to what he had to say next.

"These merfolk are all corpses, controlled by a necromancer to attack this place."

Loren had already released the merfolk corpse, so he had no evidence now. But Loren's words never needed evidence—his status was evidence enough.

"Then why would they attack here?"

"I don't know. But there's one thing I'm certain of."

Loren looked up, scanning the crowd, and said:

"That necromancer should be nearby. Otherwise, he couldn't control the corpses so precisely, nor could he have reacted so quickly.

"You said it yourselves, this attack was worse than the previous ones, right? So much so that you couldn't even make the best response."

"You're right."

People echoed Loren's words. A few sentences from him had reignited their fighting spirit.

Loren had only been here for one night, yet he already knew many things they didn't.

The scarecrows here had clashed with the merfolk several times and never noticed they were corpses.

But it wasn't their fault—the merfolk only appeared at night, hiding in the water, and without night vision, they couldn't see clearly.

"I suspect that after learning I was coming here, he stepped up the attacks, wanting to kill me here.

"But he still failed, and even exposed a lot of information to us."

"Do you have any plans, then?"

The scarecrows had already abandoned their own thinking, choosing to follow Loren completely. It hadn't been long, but they were already enjoying having an external brain.

"It's late. Go back and rest for now. I'll come up with a plan. All you need to do is conserve your strength, so you can coordinate with me when the time comes.

"Maybe I'll even have a prophetic dream tonight. Don't worry—I'll handle everything."

Loren's words were like a calming pill for everyone, while also covering his own tracks.

Movila and Orianna were already investigating those merfolk, but their methods were a bit unsavory. So Loren would need to use "prophecy" later to explain how he got the clues.

"Yes, Master Mentor."

No one questioned Loren's plan.