Chapter 577: Mysterious Water Weeds, Based on Integrity

Following the direction of Ti Mo Xi's gaze, Xia Duo quickly discovered a burst of blood suddenly blooming on the water surface ahead; at the same time, the large ship began to slow down.

Before long, blood bloomed on the water surface one after another. At this moment, Xia Duo suddenly realized a problem: as land-dwelling creatures, humans have various ways to surround and annihilate other land creatures on land.

But it is not so easy in the water. Even if one knows the target's location, one still has to enter the water to engage in battle. Regarding underwater combat, Xia Duo had not seen any water-combat spells.

By the same token, there is aerial combat. Although humans can take to the sky via Flight, they are ultimately not as agile as creatures born with the ability to fly. Of course, compared to being in the water, aerial combat might be slightly simpler.

After all, it is very convenient to attack aerial targets from the ground.

Whereas in the water, because most spells are not adapted to the aquatic environment, the interference of the water body causes the spell effects to be greatly discounted.

Looking at it this way, Archmage Ti Mo Xi's choice to control the murlocs to fight indirectly is quite reasonable. If he were facing this situation himself, what would he do?

Just as Xia Duo was pondering this question, the battle underwater had almost come to an end.

Ti Mo Xi turned around again, looked at Xia Duo, and put forward a new request, "Lord Xia Duo, please search again. I have discovered that the murlocs here are somewhat abnormal."

"Abnormal? What kind of abnormality?" Xia Duo asked.

"You will know soon."

As the two were speaking, a surge of waves suddenly appeared in front of the large ship, and three or four murlocs emerged from the water, jointly restraining a murloc that was struggling desperately.

Looking at that struggling murloc, Xia Duo suddenly thought of what First Mate Lusi had said yesterday: those murloc bandits from before had water weeds wrapped around their bodies, and the leader even held a stone spear.

And this struggling murloc had water weeds wrapped around its body, but the problem was that the other murlocs restraining it were removing the water weeds from its body. Xia Duo saw it very clearly—

Those water weeds were clearly growing out of the murlocs!

And when the water weeds on this murloc were completely pulled out, it stopped struggling entirely, as if it were dead, yet it was indeed not dead, as its tail was still twitching unconsciously.

Could this be the abnormality the Archmage spoke of?

Xia Duo suddenly felt that he had gotten involved in something he shouldn't have. Just as he was considering whether to leave, Archmage Ti Mo Xi suddenly said:

"Lord Xia Duo, you see, those water weeds—it seems those water weeds bestowed wisdom upon these murlocs, or rather, those water weeds allowed these murlocs to regain their wisdom. No matter who did this, the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce will definitely pursue it to the end!"

Xia Duo didn't know whether to answer or not. Fortunately, the Archmage continued immediately: "This matter originally had nothing to do with you, Lord Xia Duo, and the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce does not wish to involve you. If you wish to leave, Lord Xia Duo, you may leave now."

Leave? Or not leave?

Xia Duo pondered. Clearly, Ti Mo Xi was being generous, but if he really left, it would certainly be noted by the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce. Xia Duo did not wish to offend such a large chamber of commerce with a mysterious background that collaborated with multiple Great Arcanists.

On the other hand, without his appearance, perhaps the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce would never have discovered the abnormality of the murloc farm. And considering that the murloc mucus would eventually be supplied to Great Arcanist Huo En of Jilan Tower, whether there were hidden dangers in that was hard to judge.

And if Xia Duo were the only one appearing at Maihete Lake yesterday, he would also have cleared out the murlocs. Of course, not as efficiently as Archmage Ti Mo Xi, but Xia Duo's Bloodline Ability allowed him to operate normally underwater, not to mention he also had Control Water; there were many ways to clear them out if he wanted to.

But in that case, Xia Duo would have to shoulder all the consequences himself. Whoever arranged these murlocs with water-weed wisdom would surely come looking for him after he destroyed them.

Even the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce would come for him because he destroyed the farm; it would be simply miserable.

Fortunately, the reality was not that bad, but it wasn't very optimistic either. The best approach was to stick with the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce, or at the very least, figure out who was behind this.

Numerous thoughts flashed through Xia Duo's mind. Almost without any hesitation, Xia Duo smiled and said: "The Archmage underestimates me. Since I have already agreed to help search, I will certainly help to the end. Daxia Territory has always been based on integrity, whether in business or in conduct."

"What a fine 'based on integrity.' Lord Xia Duo, I didn't expect you to have such consistent principles with our President. If the President knew, she would certainly be very happy."

As he spoke, Ti Mo Xi seemed to have suddenly changed into a different person. His whole demeanor became fanatical, and as he looked in the direction of Seventon, his eyes were full of infatuation, worship, and reverence.

However, this expression appeared for only an instant before he returned to his original gloomy temperament, saying confidently: "No matter who is behind this, they are ultimately just a low-class character hiding in a dark corner plotting conspiracies. Please rest assured, Lord Xia Duo, this matter will be resolved soon."

Xia Duo was half-believing and half-doubting. Just as he was about to speak, the Delayed Teleportation hanging on his body immediately detected a teleportation signal nearby. Xia Duo was already worried about the person behind this, and suddenly detecting a nearby teleportation, he almost didn't think twice and immediately chose to delay.

At the same time, he quickly notified Archmage Ti Mo Xi of the situation he had discovered. Unexpectedly, the Archmage just smiled and didn't make any preparations, instead giving him a comforting look.

Xia Duo was helpless and could only move toward the edge of the large ship, then cast a Protective Spell on himself. Unlike the Changxiao Hujia after waking up in the morning, the Protective Spell at this time was not known for its duration, but for its defensive strength.

Energy absorption, energy resistance, spell deflection, and so on.

However, the time for Delayed Teleportation is never enough to satisfy anyone. Xia Duo had only managed to cast two protective spells on himself when a black figure appeared on the deck, only a few steps away from Ti Mo Xi.

It was this figure that made Xia Duo pause his spellcasting. The black Mage Robe on the newcomer was very similar to the one on Ti Mo Xi. Combined with Ti Mo Xi's previous performance, if nothing went wrong, this person should also be from the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce.

"Ti Mo Xi, what on earth happened? Calling me over so urgently, don't you know I'm busy!" The newcomer seemed to be a very busy person; as soon as he arrived, he started complaining frantically. However, seeing Xia Duo made him restrain himself slightly:

"This is—"

"This is Lord Xia Duo of the Daxia Pioneering Territory in Nan Jing. We happened to meet, and I asked him for help," Ti Mo Xi explained.

"Nan Jing? Xia Duo? The one who created the Arcane Maze?"

"Yes!"

Ti Mo Xi didn't explain too much. He knew that his old friend was not interested in the Arcane Maze; instead, the water weeds growing on those murlocs might be more attractive to him.

Of course, he didn't forget to introduce this old friend to Xia Duo: "Lord Xia Duo, this is Saide, a Mage Consultant and Senior Arcanist of our Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce. He likes to study strange and curious things; he will definitely like the water weeds here."

After finishing, Ti Mo Xi seemed to suddenly remember something and added: "An investigation team will be coming over later. You won't need to be troubled with the subsequent matters, Lord Xia Duo. Of course, if you are not busy, Lord Xia Duo, you are welcome to stay and see the final result."

It might have been a test before, but Xia Duo reacted quickly; there would be no problem if he left now, but Xia Duo still wanted to see what was going on.