Eagles fly in straight lines, covering the shortest distance. The Octopus King, however, traveled by sea. Although it was a longer route, its speed made up for it.
There was another difference as well: the eagle would stop to rest after flying for a period, while the Octopus King ran continuously in the water without a single break.
Thus, with these two different routes and modes of transport, the time taken to return to Yaoking City was roughly the same.
At six in the morning, it was the shift change for Yaoking's naval scouts. As two scouts were switching duties, one of them suddenly spotted unusual activity on the distant sea.
The two paused their handover and climbed back up the watchtower to investigate. They confirmed that an unknown monster was indeed rapidly approaching their base from the distant ocean. The two scouts exchanged a quick glance and scrambled down the watchtower. The incoming scout hastily blew the emergency whistle, summoning everyone to assemble. The other scout mounted his horse and sped towards the military camp, shouting loudly as he went.
"There is an urgent anomaly on the western sea. Inform General Leng immediately!"
"There is an urgent anomaly on the western sea. Inform General Leng immediately!"
"There is an urgent anomaly on the western sea. Inform General Leng immediately!"
Leng Qi, who was rinsing his face after his morning exercises, suddenly heard loud shouts. As soon as he understood the content, he quickly dropped the cloth rag in his hand and rushed towards the gate.
The scout, too eager, tumbled off his horse as he dismounted, narrowly avoiding being trampled. Leng Qi grabbed him and, after steadying him, berated him with displeasure.
"What's all the panic about? What happened?"
"General Leng... on the western sea, a monster appeared on the western sea and is approaching our base. Please go and see!" The scout clutched his scraped arm, his whole body trembling with fear.
Why would there be a monster out of nowhere? Seeing the soldier's fear, it couldn't be a false alarm. But they had been stationed by the sea for years and had never encountered such a thing. Leng Qi frowned, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the seaside.
After a night's sleep, Su Muqing felt sore all over. It seemed she had caught a slight cold from being in the rain for too long. She quickly drank some spirit spring water to boost her immunity, curing any illness and strengthening her body.
Just then, she felt the Octopus King's speed slowing down. Su Muqing peered out through the gaps in its suckers. Through the dense fog on the sea, she could faintly see some familiar sights.
Didn't that look like the naval base ahead?
Su Muqing patted the chair beside her. "Brother Leng San, are you awake? I think we've arrived!"
Leng Kui heard Su Muqing call him, rubbed his sore and tight temples, and opened his drowsy eyes. "We're here? The fog is so thick, I can't see anything clearly."
Hearing Leng Kui's hoarse voice, Su Muqing knew he had caught a cold too. "Brother Leng San, you've caught a cold too? Drink some spirit spring water quickly. Sister Cui Ping is about to give birth, and it wouldn't be good if you passed on your illness to her."
"Oh, okay!" Hearing that he might pass the illness to Su Cui Ping, Leng Kui immediately sobered up. He quickly extended his hand to take the cup and gulped it down in two swift swallows.
Leng Qi stood on the base's watchtower, his brow furrowed as he gazed into the distance. So it really was a monster? Fortunately, he had been stationed here for several years and was familiar with octopuses.
Therefore, Leng Qi immediately recognized this as a giant octopus monster!
Wow! Those things floating in the air must be the monster's tentacles, right? Just one tentacle was so thick and long. If all eight tentacles wrapped around them...
Alas! It seemed this situation would be difficult to resolve...
The Octopus King, having gained sentience, saw the crowd of people standing on the shore, fully armed. It guessed that these people did not recognize it.
It slowly dragged its hindmost two legs, drifting on the water. Its large, round eyes darted around, and its large, round head would sometimes perk up and sometimes droop, creating an incredibly bizarre spectacle.
Leng Qi drew the Spirit-Slaying Sword that Su Muqing had given him, his gaze sternly fixed on the colossal creature in the sea. The octopus tilted its head, somewhat confused as to why he was adopting such a battle-ready stance.
Seeing that the Octopus King hadn't moved for a while, Su Muqing looked out again through the gaps and finally got a clear view. They had indeed arrived at the naval base.
Huh? Isn't that person standing in front the person she knew as Leng Qi?
Su Muqing scratched the suckers on the octopus's tentacles. The octopus felt a tickle and retracted its swollen suckers. It brought its two hindmost legs, which had been coiled like seats, to the front, its tentacles slowly loosening to reveal the two people sitting on them.
Seeing the octopus monster make a move, Leng Qi didn't have time to think. He raised the Spirit-Slaying Sword and struck. However, the moment the sword energy was unleashed, he suddenly saw two familiar figures sitting on the monster's tentacles.
It's over! The person on the tentacles is His Majesty!
Leng Qi, filled with alarm, increased his internal energy and unleashed another burst of sword energy, intending to disperse the first one. The octopus sensed an influx of internal energy, followed by an even stronger one.
The Octopus King raised two of its tentacles and, with a gentle flick, effortlessly deflected both bursts of energy to the sides.
"!" The internal energy struck the sea surface, creating waves and splashes.
When everything calmed down, the sea surface was littered with schools of dead fish, dead shrimp, and other strange seafood. It was truly an unexpected bounty, a great harvest obtained without even trying.
The Octopus King stretched its two tentacles. Having been coiled all night, its originally long and straight legs had turned into wavy curls and refused to straighten.
Dragging its two spring-like legs, the octopus switched to its front two tentacles, tightly binding Su Muqing and Leng Kui's waists. It lifted them high in front and then swam towards the shore step by step.
"Your Majesty, Brother San." Leng Qi sheathed the Spirit-Slaying Sword and waved happily at the two.
"Ah Qi, we haven't seen each other for half a year. Are you doing well?" Leng Kui punched Leng Qi on the shoulder, feeling his familiar solidity. It seemed he hadn't slacked off on his training.
Leng Qi slung an arm around Leng Kui's shoulder, genuinely happy for him. "I'm doing very well, Brother San. Congratulations on becoming a father."
"Heh heh heh, thank you, thank you." Leng Kui scratched his head awkwardly, though he was inwardly quite proud.