Chapter 184 Sleeping Siren Cettus

"The sleeping Siren Cettus?"

Suren guessed that the snake tide forcing them southeast meant there must be danger, but he couldn't guess what kind.

Neither Tani nor his mother's special perception had sensed anything unusual before, so he hadn't originally thought it would be a powerful siren.

But after hearing the Medusa Queen's words, Suren thought it was indeed possible.

If it had been asleep long enough, the fish in the sea might not have noticed the presence of a siren.

Feigning ignorance, he used mental communication to ask, "What siren? How strong is it?"

The Medusa Queen responded, "According to you humans, Cettus is an Ultra-Order Siren. The largest island you see in the southeast is its spine exposed above the sea. Two hundred years ago, a group of powerful human adventurers awakened it, ultimately causing a disaster that lasted for months. This sea is not as simple as you see it. There are many God-blooded Sirens here."

"Ultra-Order?"

Suren's eyes twitched.

Looking at the island with a diameter of over ten kilometers at the end of his vision, he was greatly surprised: this was actually a siren?

If that was just its spine, how big would its main body be?

A siren the size of Lingdun City?

With that size, regardless of its rank, it would be almost invincible in this plane.

Besides this, Suren was also surprised that the tone of her voice made it sound like she had personally experienced the events of two hundred years ago. How long had this Medusa Queen been alive?

As one of the dominant high-level creatures in this sea area, the Gorgon race naturally had no need to lie.

Suren also chose to believe this statement.

However, there was still the same question: why would she remind him, a human?

Obviously, it wasn't out of kindness.

Mental communication was very efficient. In that instant, the Medusa sent another message: "You should also be heading for the Spring of Mimir, right? Then I can tell you that even if you escape alive this time, you will never be able to get close to Giant Island. Because the only safe route to Giant Island is through the Moon Strait. But there are already many human mages stationed there, and they have built many magic towers near the strait. Although your warships have many special features, you saw that forbidden spell magic released from there earlier. Do you think you can force your way through?"

"..."

Hearing these words, Suren immediately located the "Moon Strait" in his mind.

Currently, the strongest mages descending from the Celestial Plane to the Alchemy Plane were only Eighth-Order. To cast Divine Punishment Light (a forbidden spell), they would definitely need the support of magic towers.

The staff had already calculated the direction of the magic release, which matched this statement perfectly.

From this perspective, what the Medusa Queen said seemed to be true.

Suren vaguely guessed her motive and asked again, "Why are you telling me this?"

The Medusa Queen responded with only two words: "Cooperation."

"..."

Suren understood immediately.

He had personally witnessed this Medusa Queen killing a very powerful High-Order Gorgon in the suburbs of Silver Dragon Kingdom, Aiklunsa.

Therefore, the Gorgon race was not monolithic either; there were internal conflicts.

And now, those Gorgons were helping people from the Celestial Plane to besiege the Dawn Mercenary Group, so they had become the enemy's enemy...

But not necessarily friends.

Suren was not blinded by this "strong ally" who had offered herself, but instead acted very cautiously.

This Helen had completed her tribulation and become the Medusa Queen, rumored to have reverted to a true demigod bloodline.

Her arrogance might even surpass that of the dragons. Why would she cooperate with a human?

Suren didn't rashly agree but asked directly, "Excuse my boldness, Your Majesty has completed your tribulation, and now your strength is probably hard to match in the entire plane. Why would you choose to cooperate with us?"

At least they weren't enemies yet, and he had enough respect for this existence standing at the pinnacle of the plane's combat power.

But as soon as he asked this question, he didn't receive an answer for a long time.

As a demigod, the Medusa Queen had her pride. She would never answer questions that displeased her.

The communication was silent for a few breaths.

Suren guessed something from her reaction.

It seemed that this Medusa Queen had suffered some significant losses at the hands of those mages from the Celestial Plane.

Although a demigod's bloodline was strong, it wasn't necessarily stronger than those mages backed by true gods.

Although Suren was also curious about what losses the Medusa had suffered, he also knew that he definitely couldn't ask about it.

Moreover, the more arrogant she was, the more she disdained lies.

Besides, the Medusa Queen had sworn an oath to the Earth Mother, with an agreement of equality and non-aggression.

The probability of her actively harming them was low.

Suren made a decisive decision, stopped mentioning the previous topic, and said directly, "We can cooperate! So, Your Majesty, how do you think we should cooperate?"

Although it had only been two or three breaths, he had actually thought it through carefully. If the facts were as the Medusa Queen said, then cooperation was the only choice for the Dawn Mercenary Group.

Otherwise, even if they escaped this time, they would have no chance to break through the heavily guarded Moon Strait in the future to get close to the Spring of Mimir.

Even if they teleported there, they would probably fall into some magic trap set up by the enemy in advance.

Moreover, for Suren, even if there were changes, the situation couldn't be worse than it was now.

Suren chose to cooperate, and the Medusa Queen sent a mental message: "Sail directly south, and I will help you disperse the snake tide, but it won't last long, so you must hurry. About five nautical miles away, there is an Elephant Trunk Island. The cave there has a gap that leads to the edge of the plane's collapse. As long as you enter the gap, it will be enough for you to survive..."

Hearing this, Suren felt that the Dawn Mercenary Group didn't need anyone to show them the way to survive.

But after thinking for a moment, he directly issued an order to the Dawn Mercenary Group's communicator, "Tani, change course! We're sailing due south!"

In the cockpit, Tani responded without any hesitation, "Yes!"

Suren continued, "All high-level combatants, prepare for battle. Logistics team, be ready to activate the Void Alchemy Array at any time. Await my orders."

Everyone responded, "Yes!"

Everyone in the Dawn Mercenary Group had no objection to Suren's orders. Even though the south was a sea of snakes, the Night Watch's sails turned, and it charged straight ahead.

On the deck, Old Sword God Bartolo and Chiyo, along with several other high-level combatants with ranged attacks, were already standing at the bow of the ship. More than a dozen ultra-large caliber main guns also turned their muzzles towards the south.

Looking at the snake tide that completely covered the sea, everyone's expressions were very solemn.

There were too many poisonous snakes. They gathered in front of them like a wriggling high wall, blocking their way.

But the Night Watch's instantaneous change of course confused the Gorgons who were controlling the snake tide.

But in an instant, they gathered more poisonous snakes to block the way south.

However, perhaps because Old Sword God Bartolo's sword had killed a Seventh-Order Gorgon, providing enough deterrence, at least they didn't see any High-Order Gorgons coming to their deaths when they charged over.

As they got closer and closer, the Dawn Mercenary Group on the deck could clearly see the colorful, highly venomous sea snakes. Even with gas masks on, everyone smelled a foul odor after filtering the poisonous gas.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

The cannons kept firing, setting off clusters of flames in the snake swarms.

The close-in weapon system also "tat-tat-tat" poured tons of alchemical bullets like a rainstorm.

The poisonous snakes in the distance were smashed to pieces in large swathes, but they were quickly filled in by the poisonous snakes that came from behind.

The Night Watch was sailing at full speed, and the two sides were about to collide.

On the mast, Suren also frowned.

Just as he was preparing to activate the Alchemy Array for teleportation,

Suddenly,

A bizarre scene occurred.

The Night Watch pierced into the snake tide like a dagger, but before the impact, it was as if an invisible barrier pushed the snake tide away.

Suren clearly felt a mysterious force similar to dominance descending, causing the poisonous snakes that were about to hit the Night Watch to avoid it in fear. In the blink of an eye, a wide waterway was isolated in the sea of snakes.

Suren knew that this was the Medusa Queen hidden in the dark who had taken action!

Ordinary Gorgons could control poisonous snakes. As the queen, how could she not?

Seeing the passage in front of him, Suren issued an order without hesitation.

The Alchemy Sails on the Night Watch instantly lit up, and the wind howled. The huge black-sailed warship drew a white wave on the sea like a speedboat and rushed into the snake swarm waterway at high speed.

After diving deep into the snake swarm, Suren was even more amazed.

The poisonous snakes rolling in the sea and on the surface probably numbered in the hundreds of millions.

However, the Night Watch's sudden charge caught the enemy off guard. Seeing them rushing over, those Gorgons thought they were going to fight to the death. After all, there were top experts on the ship, and they were also afraid. They thought about using low-level poisonous snakes to wear them down first and didn't want to face them head-on.

But they didn't expect that their poisonous snake swarm would not only fail to stop the black-sailed warship, but instead actively created a path?

At the same time, the Eighth-Order Gorgon who had been hiding in the snake swarm didn't understand what had happened and roared in anger, "Damn it! Why would she help a group of humans?"

However, it was too late when they discovered it.

Suren's decision was decisive enough, and the Night Watch's speed was so fast that it took off without any hindrance. Before those Gorgons hiding in the distance could rush over, the warship had already rushed out of the sea of snakes.

As soon as the Dawn Mercenary Group passed, the snake tide that had just separated immediately closed again.

But in the blink of an eye, the snake tide turned around and chased again, and the two sides became a chase again.

Although the situation was much better than when they were surrounded just now, the Night Watch probably wouldn't be able to escape if it continued to run like this.

But at this time, Suren had already seen an Elephant Trunk Island in his vision.

With his perception released, he also clearly sensed the strong spatial fluctuations in the cave below the island.

"A spatial rift? There's actually such a place..."

Suren's eyes turned.

If they weren't locals, they wouldn't know about such a place.

Spatial rifts usually have spatial turbulence, which is extremely dangerous for others. If they are caught in spatial turbulence, they don't know where they will be exiled to.

But for Suren, who had the Ouroboros Time-Space Ring, this was actually a "geographical advantage."

He also knew why the Medusa Queen would let him come here. This was indeed a good place to hide.

Looking at the dark cave in the distance, the Night Watch plunged into it without hesitation.

After entering the cave, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed.

The creepy feeling of being stared at by billions of poisonous snakes disappeared instantly.

Everyone in the Dawn Mercenary Group breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Everyone dared to open their eyes.

This cave was very magical. The space inside was much larger than it looked from the outside. The top of the cave was a damp rock wall like stalactites, and there was a faint fluorescent light all around, which was some luminous algae.

Looking down, the sea water was very clear, and the fish in the water were swimming around in the fluorescent algae.

It was like an underground river, and the direction of the water flow was actually towards the bottom of the cave.

Suren sensed the surrounding space. It was indeed like an underground river below. The space was not small, and there were obvious chaotic spatial fluctuations.

"What exactly is this place?"

He observed the surroundings but couldn't figure out anything.

However, he did discover that the flow of this underground river seemed to be in the direction of Hell Volcano.

Fortunately, after entering this cave, the snake tide chasing behind them seemed to be afraid of something and didn't chase them anymore.

The Night Watch drifted along the river all the way to the underground river.

Even without being reminded, everyone on the ship was focused on observing the surrounding environment.

Since the Gorgons didn't dare to chase them into this mysterious cave, there had to be a problem.

Suren was looking for something.

After all, it was the Medusa Queen who had guided them here.

Instead of groping around blindly, it was better to ask directly.

Holding the black umbrella in his hand, he released his perception with all his might. Soon, he sensed a familiar soul fluctuation rushing in from the cave entrance.

The Medusa had helped the Dawn Mercenary Group and was also attacked.

Suren didn't dare to meet that "Helen" who could easily petrify him directly. Black Crow flapped its wings and flew towards the direction of the soul fluctuation.

Not long after, on a dark reef, he saw the figure covered in a black robe through Black Crow's vision.

Black Crow spoke in a human voice, "Your Majesty, thank you for your help."

Suren thought about completing the etiquette first and said politely.

However, the cloaked figure didn't accept this. She snorted coldly and said, "Humans are really hypocritical. You don't have to doubt that I will harm you. Since I chose to cooperate, I will naturally keep my promise."

Suren didn't take it to heart at all.

It was reasonable for these top-level existences to have their own pride and temper.

The Medusa Queen seemed to see through his concerns and directly explained, "This is the edge of the plane's collapse. The great war in ancient times shattered the plane. A high-level god and his disciple repaired the shattered parts of the plane, but because the plane was too completely shattered, the repair was not perfect. The aura of hell overflowed, so you have the volcano you see outside, and these plane rifts hidden under the sea..."

Suren's current spatial laws made it easy to understand these words.

In layman's terms, it was the sequelae left over from the ancient battlefield.

The Medusa didn't mention the origin of this place and continued, "If you want to go to Giant Island to find the Spring of Mimir, you can reach it from here, and you don't have to risk crossing the Moon Strait. And you can rest assured that that thing is a treasure to humans, but it's useless to my Gorgon race. Besides, the Cyclops are also descendants of the gods, and they are not so easy to provoke. I have no interest in antagonizing them..."

Hearing this, Suren was more inclined to believe it.

After all, the Gorgon race had lived in this sea area for countless years. If they were really interested in that spring, they would have fought to the death long ago.

Of course, he also captured another clue from these words: the Cyclops race was very powerful!

Black Crow continued to ask, "So, what kind of cooperation does Your Majesty need from us? Or rather, what do we need to pay to get your help?"

In the eyes of alchemists, equivalent exchange was the most reasonable law of nature.

So was cooperation.

Suren didn't expect to take advantage of this one at all.

He guessed that this Medusa Queen had probably been beaten, so he asked very euphemistically.

But unexpectedly, the cloaked figure directly stated her cooperation needs, "Those human mages have a divine artifact projection that restricts my ability. You saw it just now. They are now allied with my traitorous clan and have occupied my Gorgon temple. So I also need an ally."

"Divine artifact projection?"

Hearing this, Suren's heart skipped a beat.

Anything else was fine, but anything involving gods was not easy to touch.

Cooperation was fine.

But he couldn't go to his death.

The Medusa Queen saw Suren's caution and sneered again, "Don't worry. That thing has a great impact on me. But for you, it's basically useless. So you don't have to worry too much."

Black Crow asked directly, "Can I ask what the specific function of that divine artifact projection is?"

Suren wasn't afraid of retreating. After all, the Celestial Plane was a mortal enemy that they would have to face sooner or later.

But if he could grasp the enemy's methods in advance, the chances of winning the battle in the future would be greater.

The Medusa was obviously very unhappy with this questioning tone, but after pondering for a moment, she still responded to Suren's words, "It's a shield that can immune any magic."

So that's how it was.

Hearing this effect, Suren immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

This was obviously used specifically to target this Medusa Queen.

It was immune to all magic, and the petrification curse was naturally also immune.

No wonder she suffered a loss.

The Gorgon race's strongest ability was their petrification curse. Once this method was suppressed, their main body's combat power would not be considered strong among those of the same rank.

At this time, the Medusa Queen said again, "I have already said what needs to be said. The content of the cooperation is that I need you to help deal with those mages, at least to restrict them from using that divine artifact projection. As for those traitorous members of my clan, you don't need to worry about them. In exchange, I will guide you to Giant Island. Of course, if you provide enough help, I will also give you enough treasures and ancient artifacts that you humans need."

Hearing these words, Suren, who was far away on the ship, lit up and immediately responded, "Okay. But we must sign a contract! We will do our best to help you within our capabilities."

Just guiding them to Giant Island was not a very tempting transaction condition.

But what was most abundant in this sea area, which was an ancient battlefield?

Of course, it was all kinds of treasures left over from ancient times!

The Gorgon race had lived in this sea area for countless years and must have collected countless treasures.

Maybe there were some treasures...

After all, equipment, cursed objects, and cultivation techniques were probably no different from stones to this Medusa Queen.

But for alchemists like Suren, the treasures handed down from the glorious alchemical civilization of the Dawn Era were definitely good things.

Moreover, having such an ally to deal with those mages from the Celestial Plane was also a great help to the Dawn Mercenary Group.

There was nothing else to hesitate about.

The Medusa Queen didn't say anything after hearing Suren's words, and her default was also permission.

The alliance was signed very smoothly.

This was an equal alliance. The two sides would not harm each other, and there were no coercive clauses.

Within the scope of the contract, both parties would do their best to help each other.

However, seeing that the alliance was signed so smoothly, Suren was somewhat surprised.

He thought there would be some intrigue and other clauses.

But there was nothing at all.

He thought that this "Helen" probably didn't know how strong the Dawn Mercenary Group was, but even if they were strong, they probably wouldn't be anything in her eyes.

After all, Bartolo, the highest-ranked person on the ship, was only Eighth-Order, a big order behind her, and his strength was also much worse.

But she still chose an equal alliance.

This was obviously a bit of a "lowering of her status."

Moreover, there were many powerful intelligent races in this sea area. She had more choices for cooperation. Why did she choose the Dawn Mercenary Group, these humans, to cooperate with?

After the contract was signed, Suren finally dared to go and meet the Medusa Queen in person after the All-Seeing Eye carefully identified that everything was fine.

He teleported to the cold reef.

Out of courtesy and the needs of the alliance, he naturally came in person to invite this ally to the ship.

The Medusa Queen didn't refuse the invitation, and the two walked on the water.

As they walked, Suren asked in a casual tone, "Your Majesty, I have a question. Can I ask it?"

The Medusa Queen didn't respond when she heard this, but she didn't refuse either.

Suren found that in front of high-level existences, there was no need to beat around the bush, so he simply asked directly, "I mean, our strength shouldn't be considered too strong in front of you, and it's not even as good as those mages. Why would you choose to cooperate with us?"

Hearing this question, the Medusa Queen still walked silently ahead, her snake-scaled tail moving on the water, creating circles of ripples.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Suren thought that he wouldn't get a response, so he shrugged and didn't take it to heart.

Unexpectedly, the Medusa Queen responded with something that didn't seem to be related to the question, "This sea area used to be a battlefield for the gods. It is impossible for humans without legendary status to get out alive."

Hearing this, Suren was thoughtful.

(End of this chapter)