“Humans, this territory belongs to the Naga Kingdom. Leave at once!”
A Naga dressed like a guard barked harshly.
But far from being afraid, the players crowded around, their eyes filled with curiosity.
“This is pretty interesting. Four arms? Sss, I wonder what it feels like to have those on your body?”
“These scales look kind of slimy. Ugh, I'm a bit grossed out.”
“By the way, what race is this? Nagas? And where are the mermaids?”
Everyone chimed in all at once, completely ignoring the warning.
It wasn't that the players were reckless; it was mainly because the game didn't highlight enemies in red. What if they were friendly NPCs? Attacking first might trigger a penalty system. Besides, now that they were here and had finally encountered an ocean race NPC they could communicate with, wouldn't it be a massive win if they triggered a hidden questline like an undersea dungeon?
Even if a fight did break out, they weren't afraid. At worst, they would just resurrect back in town, and they could test how much EXP these Nagas gave while they were at it.
The Naga felt ignored and instantly grew furious.
Nozrak, the leading Naga, narrowed his eyes. What did he just hear? Mermaids?
These humans gathered on the shore... Could they be a slaving party here to capture mermaids?
A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. There had been some friction between the Nagas and the mermaids recently. If he could use these humans as a tool...
He immediately raised his hand to stop his subordinates' fury. A friendly smile appeared on his face, and his voice softened considerably:
“Humans, you came here for the mermaids, didn't you?”
The players were slightly taken aback.
Oh? It really was an NPC they could talk to?
Seeing their reaction, Nozrak became even more convinced that he had guessed correctly. He coaxed them, “You've come to the right place. We've also been searching the nearby waters for mermaids recently. If you can capture live mermaids and bring them to us... the price is negotiable. We'll buy them for double—no, triple the price! How about it?”
The players listened, completely dumbfounded. So this guy is treating us like human traffickers?
But after the initial confusion, they immediately realized what was happening.
A quest! This was absolutely a hidden faction-war quest!
They quickly exchanged looks. Miss Lilith had said that the mermaids were kind-hearted, making them clearly on the friendly side. This Naga wanted to capture them right off the bat, so he was obviously on the villain route.
Did they even need to think about which side to choose?
Naturally, they would play along to get information first, then turn around and report it to Lilith!
Besides... he was so ugly, he clearly wasn't a good guy.
Appearance is justice, don't you know?
With this in mind, they looked at each other again, nodded subtly, and put on cheerful smiles:
“Triple? Triple won't do! That's too little! We want five times!”
“Exactly, at least five times! Otherwise, it's not worth the risk for us.”
“Even five times is a bit low. There are so many magical beasts in the sea, we have to cover our potion costs too.”
The players clamored one after another, demanding exorbitant prices, completely unconcerned about making a scene.
“Impudent!”
The Naga guard beside him exploded on the spot, raising his spear and barking, “Humans, do not push your luck!”
With a clatter, all the Nagas raised their weapons, which glinted coldly.
The players didn't hesitate either. They instantly pulled out their staffs, longswords, and shields, spreading out into formation, each eager to try their hand.
Let's fight, who's afraid of who! They were just worrying about having no monsters to grind anyway.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Nozrak suddenly barked, “Stop!”
He swept his gaze over the growing crowd of humans, secretly astonished.
Every single one of these people actually had Bronze Rank strength. They were far too elite to be a mere slaving party.
If they really fought, his small group might not come out on top, and it would easily blow the situation out of proportion.
What a greedy bunch.
Suppressing his anger, the smile on his face remained unchanged. “Fine, five times it is! Consider it making a friend.”
With that, he took a deep look at the crowd and said coldly, “We're leaving.”
The players: “...”
They're leaving just like that?
“Wait, he's that easy to talk to? I was getting ready to fight.”
“Running away so fast, I was just about to cast my skill.”
The crowd pouted, their interest fizzling out.
They thought they were going to get a fight, but the other party slipped away after barely haggling. How boring.
Not far away, Hao Bai's party had also watched the entire exchange.
They had already assumed combat stances, only for the other side to be "talked" away in just a few sentences. It left them somewhat bewildered.
Momozi smacked his lips, looking disappointed. “Sigh, got excited for nothing. I wonder how much EXP you get for killing a Naga. They look way juicier than the wild monsters in the forest.”
Little Star chimed in with a sarcastic remark, “At least they left you a quest clue. It wasn't a total waste of time.”
Mengmeng also nodded. “They're just too ugly.”
...
Divine Kingdom of Light.
Iluvia finished watching the entire encounter between the players and the Nagas.
She couldn't help but ponder, “Nagas?”
She remembered that the Naga race worshiped Azsoth, the God of Hurricanes and Tsunamis, an ambitious ocean deity who had always wanted to usurp the Sea God's position.
“It seems the Naga Kingdom and the Mermaid Kingdom are at war again.”
Combining this with Nozrak's words, she quickly deduced the general situation.
The Ocean Pantheon was never a unified front, roughly divided into three factions:
First was the peaceful faction led by the orthodox Sea God, which advocated for the coexistence of all races and was recognized by most ocean races as their common ruler.
Second was the radical faction led by Azsoth, who had always wanted to overthrow the Sea God and take his place. Most Nagas and sea monsters sided with him.
The rest were the fence-sitting neutrals, who would lean toward whichever side was winning.
“Forget it, I can't do anything about this for now anyway. I should worry more about myself.”
Iluvia shook her head gently. Compared to the Nagas far out in the sea, the kobolds were of greater concern.
“Hmm... I wonder how things are going on Mikael's end.”
Rate on N.U.
