Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1042 - 157: The Merfolk’s Song

Chapter 1042: Chapter 157: The Merfolk’s Song

"Every one of them has their own battle style, which indeed seems useful, but their styles are the results of years of experiences perambulating between life and death, articulated through their abilities in numerous battles. Such styles are only suitable for themselves, and no one else, even those with identical strength, can successfully adopt them. To try to do so would only result in confusion on the battlefield, and lead to a decline rather than an increase in power," Pannis explained in a serious, low voice. "Therefore, don’t attempt to imitate. While it might offer a short-term improvement, it is harmful in the long run. What you need now is to refer to their approaches, comprehend the reasons and purposes behind each of their choices, and then perfect your own unique style on that basis. Only by establishing your own style can you become a true strong warrior."

Catherine withdrew her gaze from the Shield Bearer and looked at Pannis’s face to offer her thanks, yet she managed to hold back her words. Instead, she revealed a sunshine-bright smile and nodded vigorously, "Understood. Don’t worry, we know what to do."

"I have always been confident in you," Pannis said with a smile, drawing a one-handed sword from behind slowly. "Opportunities like this sometimes never come in a lifetime. You girls keep going; I need to get moving too. If you stay idle for too long, your body starts to rust, and before you know it, you’ll end up like those rusted puppets in the puppet factory of the East District, immovable."

"You bastard, Pannis," Vivian’s face immediately turned red, and she glared at Pannis with gritted teeth, vehemently saying, "I knew Soul Whisper was not so simple. I’ve suspected for a while that during healing, you weren’t just talking to me but also peeking into my dreams, didn’t you? You damn pervert, I’ll blast you away with a Fireball one of these days."

Unfortunately, Pannis was destined never to feel Vivian’s anger, because at that moment, he had already charged towards the oncoming enemies just like the other Demigods.

It was not until then that the girls understood why Pannis managed to arrive in front of them to intercept the attack when the Thunder Element was unleashed yesterday afternoon; his speed was simply too fast. When he pushed his speed to the limit, he was even slightly faster than several of the knight’s Charge abilities. The Magic Swordsman’s magical skills could not only increase his own speed but also reduce his weight. Combined with his inherently rapid pace, the result was lightning-fast actions. One moment, he was standing beside the girls, and by just a blink, he was already next to Conaida, using the high-speed impact to slice directly through the stout bodies of two Legendary magical beasts, with cuts as smooth and neat as if they were naturally occurring.

Pannis’s battle style was extremely bizarre, perhaps because he knew a little bit of everything, he never confined himself to a single position, moving around the battlefield like the wind. When the frontline was under pressure, he would be there, employing Nellie’s style of lance defense with his one-handed sword for protection; when close combat support was lacking, he transformed into the sharpest blade, cutting through any enemy daring enough to step into his range. And when Flare and Alcmene were too occupied to attack from a distance, he would suddenly switch to a bow and arrow to shoot in the style of Flare, or he would simply toss a few Fireballs or ice grenades from afar, which although not highly effective, were enough to disrupt the enemy’s offensive.

"Hm? What is that..." Pannis, who had just joined the fight, suddenly looked in a certain direction with surprise in his eyes. Antuin, however, spoke calmly, "You’ve noticed it too? Just a little surprise."

"Yeah, just spotted it," Pannis shrugged nonchalantly, not even looking as he stabbed a magical beast in the eye with his sword, and taunted, "It’s quite unfortunate for it to have come across a Master of Illusion like you."

"Don’t worry about it, I didn’t feel any malevolence," Antuin shook his head, "It’s probably just a chance encounter. There’s no need to expend energy on it now. Let’s quickly finish the fight, and we can consider it afterward."

"I’m getting a bit impatient," said Doris of the Deep Sea Royal Family, who had unexpectedly reverted to her Ocean Form. Sitting on a tree branch and flicking her long fishtail, she emerged from a rapidly condensing mist above them, "We’ve barely entered the Forest and already encountered four battles. Seems our luck isn’t as good as we thought. These beasts are far less powerful than those inside, but they are more annoying; I don’t really wish to play with them anymore."

"Well, to be honest, I don’t mind," Pannis said with a somewhat embarrassed smile. In truth, the continuous four battles, given the strength of the Demigods present, could have been ended in a few minutes each if taken seriously, without the need for delays. The purpose of dragging out the fight time was clear without needing to be said, and Pannis could guess it. The Demigods admired the courage of the adventure team girls and their sense of responsibility to protect the Yarran World for daring to deep dive into the Forest of Death at Legendary Rank alongside Pannis. They were even deeply impressed, so even when Catherine confronted the Demigods directly yesterday afternoon due to a misunderstanding, Antuin and Conaida only expressed admiration for the girls’ determination to protect their teammates and their steadfastness in their protective beliefs, without holding any grudge. Furthermore, during today’s battles, everyone actively displayed their combat techniques in front of the girls, hoping to improve their abilities as much as possible. Pannis was well aware of all this, which was why he told the girls from the start to watch and think carefully. Nevertheless, even so, the patience of the Demigods was limited; twenty minutes of consecutive, low-intensity, and meaningless fighting just couldn’t generate any enthusiasm, so Pannis could only sigh, "Since that’s the case, I’ll end the fight quickly."

"I’ll handle this; you go do what you need to do," Doris said with a teasing look. "I’ve placed my bets on those few kids, so don’t disappoint me, dear brother."

"Cough cough cough cough." Pannis coughed dryly, and with a mix of laughter and tears, he said, "What do you mean by placing bets? Who would wager on something like that with you?"

"Of course, it’s me, hiss hiss." The poor queen and Conaida were briskly left to be surrounded by magical beasts. Even Alcmene joined in, her lizard tail patting Pannis’s thigh as she said, "The one I bet on is the other side, hiss hiss, you better think carefully."

"You guys really have too much free time," Pannis pressed his forehead and moaned. "Isn’t there any other entertainment besides these boring things?"

"Oh ho ho, no other leisure activity is as interesting as this one," Doris chuckled lightly, then said seriously all of a sudden, "I’m going to sing now."

The next moment, her gentle singing voice emanated from Doris’s mouth and spread across the entire battlefield.

As members of the Deep Sea Royal Family, the merfolk rarely appear in the sight of those living on land. Most people living by the sea probably wouldn’t have the chance to see them in their lifetime. However, if those people had no issues with their hearing, they would definitely have heard of the merfolk’s legend, a tale that coastal inhabitants grew up with and knew well into their old age.

The legend of the merfolk was actually two extremes. On one side, the merfolk symbolized luck; sailors at sea, if fortunate enough to catch a distant glimpse of merfolk frolicking in the water, were assured that their voyage would go smoothly without encountering any danger. On the other hand, the merfolk were also very dangerous. This danger arose not only from the ferocious sharks that served as their steeds but also from their singing voices.

The merfolk’s singing, as beautiful as an Elf’s, was also filled with a seductive power absent from the Elves’ songs. This allure emitted naturally from their voices and wasn’t under the merfolk’s control. Mostly ordinary people inhabited the sea, and even if there were professionals, they were generally of Lower Rank. These people could not resist the merfolk’s enchanting songs. Upon hearing the singing, many would be spellbound and either aimlessly steer their ships towards the source, perhaps ultimately crashing upon reefs or becoming lost in the fog-filled Lost Area, or more directly, they might jump overboard and swim towards the singing, only to meet their end in the depths of the sea. In the past few hundred years, though, it seemed that tales of the merfolk’s singing had dwindled, as the merfolk, unable to bear innocent lives perishing because of their songs, seldom sang near the sailing routes anymore.

So, when Doris began to sing, within mere seconds, the entire battlefield fell silent. The chaos that once filled the battlefield—the birds’ chirping among the treetops, the magical beasts’ roars, the snapping of branches, the swaying of bushes—all these sounds meshed into one. But as soon as Doris began, all the creatures shut their mouths, the magical beasts ceased all movement, and time seemed to stand still, with every animal listening intently to Doris’s captivating voice. Even the girls seemed affected; in their eyes, Doris appeared extraordinarily beautiful, filling them instinctively with affection and the desire to prostrate at her feet, exchanging everything just for her singing to never cease.

However, the girls were of Legendary Rank, and the effect on them was minimal, with their reasoning quickly suppressing the impulses brought on by the enchantment. But the magical beasts weren’t as fortunate. Under the lure of the song, they gradually lost their sanity and, with the song’s progression, started attacking their own kind furiously to compete for a better spot to listen. Blood and flesh were scattered across the forest floor, and within minutes, there was no longer any standing magical beast on the battlefield.