26. You Know
Xia Yi was unsure what reaction her barrage of attacks would elicit from her opponent.
But with the arrow nocked, she had no choice but to release it.
Choosing silence might only raise more suspicion, so she decided to take a gamble.
She watched the half-dragon creature nervously.
After hearing Xia Yi's speech, the half-dragon creature first fell silent, then became visibly agitated.
"Gumode na demilurom, Gumode na demiluroma, Gumode na demiluroma, Ake mode hamadi, Ake mode hamadi, Ham? Ham!"
Huh?
Xia Yi was initially taken aback. What was this creature saying?
Was it trying to communicate with her?
Then, the half-dragon creature looked at Xia Yi with what seemed to be respect and left without another word.
The crisis seemed to be averted.
Thank the heavens! Thank you!
The little princess silently expressed her gratitude.
The half-dragon creature seemed to have been influenced by Xia Yi's speech and went to another of its kind.
"Ham? Ham? Ham! Ham's ha de beham, Ham's de ha bebe, Ham's ha de beham, Ham's ha bebe, Ham? Ham!"
It had memorized Xia Yi's made-up speech and was reciting it to the other half-dragon creatures as if it were a precious treasure, eagerly sharing it with its companions.
But the other half-dragon creatures, lacking intelligence, just stood there confused after hearing it.
"Gumode na demilurom—"
"Roar!!"
Before it could finish, the creature was struck down, clearly misunderstood by its peers.
Not everyone can understand 'Ham.'
The two half-dragon creatures began to fight, biting and clawing at each other in a violent scene that grew louder and attracted more of their kind.
Gradually, it turned into a small-scale chaos.
Xia Yi was speechless.
But it was good for her; the more noise they made, the more they helped her by drawing attention away.
She walked towards the library building, and due to the commotion, she easily entered through the main door unnoticed.
The library's dome had collapsed, and much of the building was submerged in water, corroded away. The underwater parts were covered in moss and seaweed, and even aquatic creatures lived there.
As Xia Yi approached, a school of fish that had been gathered scattered at the sound of her footsteps, darting into the crevices of the submerged structure.
Where the water hadn't reached, there were remnants of bookshelves, now empty.
Such desolation and silence.
Xia Yi was still puzzled.
Golde had been bordered by the sea since ancient times.
Even before the Dragon War that affected all races, Golde's ocean had been there.
But why was there a city that had once seen civilization in Golde's ocean, never discovered before?
In search of more clues, Xia Yi examined the walls closely, finding some remnants of text.
These texts didn't belong to any known system, seemingly independent of all races on this land.
The mystery only deepened…
Boom!!
While pondering, Xia Yi heard a deafening noise.
What was happening?
The entire ancient city ruins shook violently, not like a natural earthquake, but as if some colossal being was returning, with waves crashing against the ruins.
She climbed to the second floor of the library and saw that the fighting half-dragon creatures had all stopped, looking in unison towards one direction.
Some presences clearly took precedence over their own.
The half-dragon creatures moved together, emerging from every corner of the ancient city ruins, converging in one direction.
The scene was eerie, as if the ancient city was still alive, and its half-dragon inhabitants were welcoming their king's return.
"Could it be Leviathan?!"
Xia Yi climbed higher.
Atop the library, she saw a behemoth returning from the sea.
It was Leviathan.
Surrounding Leviathan was a dark mass, like a school of fish escorting it.
If she wasn't mistaken, those were all half-dragon creatures, their numbers staggering.
Somewhere in the ancient city ruins connected to the open sea, Leviathan entered, docking at a sea-surrounded altar. Under the gaze of the half-dragon creatures, it closed its eyes and fell into slumber.
Now Xia Yi understood.
Golde's Black Tide was composed of Leviathan and these half-dragon creatures.
And within the Black Tide, there might be other beings, like the sirens she had encountered before.
This ancient City, hidden deep in Golde's ocean, was the Black Tide's habitat.
The sirens would set out first, using their song to subdue the coastal cities of Golde. When the time was ripe, Leviathan would lead the Black Tide from the ancient city ruins to swallow the lives of those in the coastal cities.
Transforming those lives into part of the Black Tide, they would then return here to rest.
Such a complete plan.
"But where is Sera?"
Xia Yi noticed that there was no sign of the red dragon among the Black Tide.
She felt uneasy.
Yet, rather than assuming something had happened to Sera, she preferred to believe that with Sera's strength, she had already escaped.
After Leviathan's return, the Black Tide dispersed on its own, and the ancient city ruins once again fell into silence.
Xia Yi jumped down from the top of the library.
As her feet touched the floor, cracks appeared.
"Eh?"
There was a vast hollow space beneath the library, and due to the collapse, all the water rushed in, carrying Xia Yi with it into the darkness below.
She fell into the water.
Oh, what bad luck!
Xia Yi quickly swam to the surface, not knowing where the current might take her to danger. She swam to the shore and climbed up.
Now, she was completely drenched.
"Where have I ended up now?"
Xia Yi looked around the pitch-black space, listening to the sound of flowing water, feeling quite helpless.
She snapped her fingers.
A basic fire spell, a small flame.
A tiny flame appeared on her fingertip, burning quietly like a lighter, providing a small degree of illumination.
Xia Yi began to look for a way out. She hadn't walked far when she saw something strange.
It was a massive stone slab.
The slab was covered in numerous inscriptions, none of which Xia Yi could understand, similar to those in the library.
Besides the text, there were also drawings on the slab, not just one but many, with a strong sense of logic and continuity, as if they were part of an epic.
She glanced over them and was shocked by the content.
It depicted a structure that should not exist in this world—
The Tower of Babel.
Here was recorded the truth shrouded in mystery, about Golde's ocean, this mysterious and unknown ancient city, and the Legendary Beast Leviathan!
Interesting
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