บท 164: Slime Supremacy

I sit on the bed with the two jelly blobs glowing in blue and green respectively. Some traces of pink push through the two more powerful colours, coming from their cores. All in all, a random person entering the chamber could easily assume that we have a good disco club here rather than a sleeping cabin. I bet it looks even weirder from the outside as lots of light escapes through the big window in one of the wooden walls.

There's not much I can do for my lovely Slime friends right now so I choose the only option I have and just wait, watching over them. I certainly hope that there is nothing that can go wrong during the process they are currently going through. At least we are in a safe environment where nobody or nothing can interrupt them. I wonder if beasts and monsters that reach another evolution stage in the wilderness tend to get killed due to evolving at the wrong place or moment.

Nevertheless, there are no such concerns here on top of the comfy bed and inside a secure cabin. Just in case, I hop off the sheets and jog to the door to lock it. It's not like there are any bad apples on the ship but accidents can still happen. I might be acting paranoid at this point but I really want Safi and Emi to move a step higher on the ladder of their species without a single problem.

As for those species, there isn't that much known about their evolution path past Greater Slime and Queen or King Slime. The castle's archives and library noted some minor mentions of the stages after King or Queen but the information was very scarce and speculative. It's not every day that a Slime gets a chance to live long enough to become a King or Queen, not to mention anything past that. Those are things from ancient times.

I've been many things since my arrival in this world, and it looks like now it's time to become the guy who brings extinct species back to life.

And I'm not actually sure if that's a good or bad thing at this point, hah.

Well, it certainly is going to be great for us. A whole evolution will definitely push Safi and Emi way ahead in terms of ability power and strength in general. For them, it's like advancing a Tier or even a few at once. The advancement stages that they go through before evolving are much more spread out than the Tiers that humanoid entities use. So, I can expect to kick so much more ass soon. I'm almost shaking in anticipation to learn about them again, just like when we first met.

There's only one small matter that makes all of this a little bit dreary. And that is time.

I have no idea how much time they need to get to the next stage. It's my first time seeing something or someone evolve in my life. I've seen my beautiful Slime Queens advance a stage, and most of those events happened overnight, which means that a few hours was enough, but we are now talking about a full evolution. To some extent, it's like changing one's race or Class but being able to get something way superior.

We aren't exactly in a rush anywhere since we've just cleared up the underwater dome settlement from ugly fish dudes so it shouldn't be an issue to wait a day or two for them to finish. The Merfolk have to regroup and reorganise before they depart towards the new home of our Mermaid friends. I've contacted the Matron already and a small scouting squad should be on its way here to lead and partially escort them.

At the same time, I would really like to stay next to Safi and Emi the entire time until they wake up. If that takes multiple long hours then it might be a tad difficult. There might be moments when I'm needed outside or something. As for my body and its usual functions, I feel like I could even stay completely still without eating or drinking for a few days and not experience any backlash. Being a Primordial is such a cheat.

Considering my options, I place a hand on Emi's round and bouncy form. As delicately as I can, of course. I don't think they have suddenly turned as vulnerable as to be hurt just by my touch but there is no need to take any unnecessary risks.

I quickly learn just how much heat and energy she radiates from her core. It feels like I'm touching a fully-warmed heating pad that people sometimes sneak into their clothes in winter. Or even more, perhaps. That heat is strong enough to be released outside. Whatever is happening to their cores and slime, it's damn serious. They've never been this hot before.

Forgetting the part where they are always hot, of course.

Time passes slowly as I sit on the bed and bask in the glowing lights, unable to stop thinking about Safi and Emi. About two hours later, someone knocks on the door and I get up to open it just a little, creating a gap wide enough for both parties to see each other. It turns out to be Cornelia and Lianne, curious as to what is going on since the three of us have been missing for a while and there was nothing indecent being conveyed through our bond.

I explain the situation to them, pointing at the disco lights behind my back. Both women are surprised and extremely fascinated by the ongoing event. Contrary to my expectations, they suggest I remain with the Slime girls while they go and tell everyone not to disturb us. I thought they would want to join out of curiosity but it looks like I'm surrounded by precious wives that are even kinder and more caring than I assumed.

Besides relaying the information to the other people, they decide to give me a helping hand and make it easier for me to stay by Safi's and Emi's sides. Doing pretty much nothing on the bed, I'm served tasty meals at regular intervals, brought to the cabin by the hard-working duo, of course. Neira and Meru poke their heads in too, wanting to see me and the unusual event.

And just like that, about half a day passes. It's a very late night, or maybe a super early morning when the sun is not yet even approaching the horizon from below, and there are no signs of change in the bodies of my bouncy friends. I thought that I could cheat the system and know the result ahead of time but their status windows still display the information from before their evolution. It seems that there is no other way than to wait patiently.

The girls choose to spend the night in a different place, leaving Lianne's cabin to us. We talk a little through the Whispers as they lie down in another, big bed all together. The topic is obvious. We mostly share our thoughts and opinions on the evolution. But, we do stray onto the situation of our new Merfolk allies at least twice before the girls go to sleep, leaving me alone with Safi and Emi. Thankfully, one night without sleep won't even be registered by my body. All hail Lumina.

Some more time passes and I can see the light coming through the window. It barely competes with the bright and pulsing glow the colourful duo emits but it's strong enough to announce the arrival of the morning. I've definitely felt things change overnight but Safi and Emi don't seem to be anywhere close to done yet. Now, I can't even access their status pages anymore. The tables show up as blank in every single row, column, and cell. At least we know there is some progress thanks to that.

A few hours later, the Merfolk finish their preparations to head out. Fheylan comes to Lianne's cabin, where I'm currently locked with the Slime duo, and we talk in front of the door. He thanks me again for helping them and promises that their tribe will never forget our kindness.

Before he leaves, he passes the farewell from Zheylu, the girl who volunteered as the lure yesterday. It looks like she is a bit too shy to do it herself, and it's of no real surprise after we consider everything that happened back then. Fheylan's knowing smile adds another layer to that situation and I shake my head with a chuckle. We might have gained another follower and this journey is nowhere close to ending.

Anyway, I watch from the window as the entire Merfolk tribe waves at me from the water and I wave back at them. The four Mermaids I recognize from the grand ceremony send me warm smiles and take the control of the entire herd of their aquatic cousins. I wish them luck and safe travels before returning to my duty of watching over the vibrant duo.

Finally, at around the twenty-fourth mark, something starts happening.

The light Safi and Emi emit rises in intensity so much that it almost blinds me. Not prepared for such a turn of events, I groan in surprise and cover my eyes, still trying to peek at my jelly companions. They glow fiercely together and the light gradually fades for them both at more or less the same time. They've become really well synchronised for some reason.

Wary of any other mischievous tricks from their evolution, I observe the spectacle unfolding in front of me ready for anything. Thankfully, it seems that the violent flash is a one-time event and nothing of sorts will happen again. I begin feeling Safi and Emi much deeper again when the glow disappears completely.

First thing to note, their slime became fully opaque during the process. I have two big blobs of sapphire and emerald jelly lying next to me. But, they are much different from what I can remember. The shade is much more detailed and noble for both of them. It's not just plain green or blue but more like the swirling galaxy glitter paint every single middle schooler girl is obsessed with at some point. The effect is much less artificial and much more magical, clean, profound, and mystical, though. Their names might actually fit them much more right now than before.

About two minutes after the glow has fully faded, Safi and Emi move for the first time since they've fallen asleep due to their evolution. Their round forms wobble a little bit and start changing shapes. In just a moment, they assume their usual humanoid figures and end up sitting on the bed by my sides. Naturally, without anything covering their enticing bodies. Not even their collars.

The second thing to note is the fact that they remained fully opaque with that swirling galaxy effect and how it makes them look. Previously, their entire figures were more or less monotone. They were of one single colour with just some minor differences here and there. But, overall, they were fully a certain shade of blue or green from the top of their heads to the far depths of their mimicked insides.

Now though, it's much more complex.

Their core bodies have one shade, let's say the darkest out of them all, while most if not all the minuscule details received their own palettes. Things like their mimicked nails, their girly parts, their nipples, their facial features, and so on, are much more defined in terms of colours. Especially when it comes to their mouths and eyes.

Previously, their eyes were kind of full one tone too but now I can easily distinguish all the parts due to different shades. Their pupils, irises, sclera, and all the other parts are much more distinguishable. It definitely adds to their charm and beauty. Safi looks even more ladylike and mature while Emi is even more of a cheerful tomboy. Her cheeks, lips, and teeth are much sunnier now, with the former even sprinkled with some dark freckles.

There's one more very noticeable thing.

Both of them have something akin to an intricately crafted tiara hovering over their foreheads. The thin, small crowns are wider than the diameter of their heads by just a little and thus they don't rest on there but literally float in the air with a gentle sway. Something akin to a dazzling, clearly invaluable gem is embedded into the front of the tiaras, matching their colours to a certain extent.

Safi and Emi open their eyes by raising their fully functioning eyelids and take a glance around. I smile at them warmly, just waiting until they focus on me.

"How was your rest? Did you sleep well?" I ask when their gazes finally fall onto me.

"Master!" In an instant, Emi launches herself at me and pins me to the bed.

"Hahaha, calm down a little bit! I'm not going anywhere!" I laugh openly as the cheerful emerald girl nuzzles her entire self into me with a contented grin.

Somehow, I manage to sit up with Emi still latched onto my chest. I grab her tender, jelly butt and place her in my lap, letting myself actually see anything past her. As she hugs me strongly, pushing her elastic charms into my chest, I find Safi's motherly smile directed right at me.

"How long have we been sleeping, Master?" she asks softly.

"Pretty much a day to the very minute," I reply.

"Did you wait for us the entire time?" Her brows rise a little.

"Of course. I couldn't really leave you two like that when you were going through an evolution. And, don't worry. I didn't miss anything important. I wanted to remain by your side. It was my own, selfish decision." I chuckle at her.

"I see. I won't tell you that you shouldn't have then, Master." Safi lets out a quiet chuckle too. "Thank you for accompanying us. We could feel your presence at a few moments when our consciousness wasn't completely away. It was a very comfortable feeling."

"Evolving is scary. Master's warm hand helped Emi a lot," Emi joins in, rubbing her face into my neck while hugging me even tighter.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But, I knew you could do it. You are the most amazing Slimes in this realm." I pat her still solid but much more developed hair.

"It was a dark and empty space. Sometimes Emi felt like everything was very far. Emi couldn't sense Master anymore and it was the worst. Emi couldn't move and could only watch and wait. But, thanks to Master, Emi was able to wait patiently," she explains slowly.

I nod and caress her back, feeling the emotions she put into her words. "I'm glad that I could help you. I'm pretty sure you won't have to go through anything similar for quite a lot of time. If you even can evolve again."

"I think we can. At least that's how I feel. That possibility is still at the back of my mind just like when we were at the previous stage of evolution," Safi says, meeting my gaze.

"That's great. Though, I can't imagine what you might evolve into at that point. Hell, I don't even know what you are right now without checking your status." I shake my head.

"Safi and Emi are now Slime Empresses!" Emi announces happily, shoving her face in front of mine and grinning like crazy.

"I see. I guess the diadems do match that. Maybe the next step is Slime Overlord or Slime God." I laugh at the absurdity of my own words. "Or better, Primordial Slime."

"What do you think about those tiaras, Master?" Safi suddenly asks.

"They look cool, why?" I focus on the new addition a bit more.

"If you thought that they don't suit us, I was planning on hiding mine," she replies.

"Emi would too!"

"Oh. You can hide them in your humanoid shapes?" I don't hide my surprise.

Safi nods with a proud smile. "Yes. Our control over the slime making up our bodies is incomparably higher now. We aren't limited only to the appearance of the Human females whose memories we inherited. It's all thanks to one of our new passive abilities called Perfect Mimicry."

"Amazing. That must be why your bodies have much more details now. It's an impressive upgrade. What else does that skill allow you to do?"

Instead of answering, Safi closes her eyes to focus. My jaw drops open as I watch her external membrane gradually change colours. Why is such a small thing so shocking? Well, maybe because it isn't another shade of blue but a full palette of tones relevant to Humans. In just a few seconds, Safi turns from an opaque sapphire Slime lady into a beautiful, mature woman with dark brown hair, light skin, and deep amber eyes. I can even spot some brown details right above her precious place, looking as realistic as the actual thing.

"Now, that really is Perfect Mimicry…" I mutter under my nose, admiring what most likely is the appearance of the adventurer Safi consumed in the past.

"Master! Look at Emi too!" the girl in my arms complains and I turn my attention to Emi, who has already turned Human too.

A bright, tomboyish face greets me, blessing me with an enthusiastic, toothy grin. This version of Emi has light skin too just like Safi. Her short hair is dark blond and her eyes are almost acidic green. The rest of her is the same as before, meaning a short, curvy figure with a moderate chest, now even more appetising with proper colours applied. It makes me much more aware of our position as my member hangs out right in front of her hidden slit.

I chuckle awkwardly and place a delicate kiss on her cheek. "You look stunning like this. But, of course, I love how you looked before too. You don't have to mimic Humans or any other races for me."

"We know. This is just to showcase the mentioned ability." Safi smiles at me warmly, crawling closer on all fours, which causes her voluptuous chest to sway seductively. "While we can imitate others now, it isn't actually as perfect as the name suggests. Our bodies are still made of slime and a closer look will reveal the fact that it's just the external membrane that is coloured. We can't replicate hair or similar things, only being able to imitate it as well as a masterful sculpture."

"That's plenty already. It's more than enough to fool the majority of people. Especially Humans. And men. With how beautiful you are and can be, they won't even pay attention to details other than your womanly charms." I laugh openly, trying to imagine them walking through the streets like this.

"Which Emi does Master like more, then?" Emi asks, adorably tilting her head.

"The real one. And by that, I mean Slime Emi. The adventurer Emi is cute too, of course, but I have known Slime Emi for much longer and really like her," I answer, brushing Emi's sides gently.

They both turn back into their original palettes and Emi attempts to murder me with her incredibly strong hugs again. Safi reaches my side and places a hand on my thigh, just smiling at us gently.

"Are you curious what other abilities and skills we gained from evolving, Master?" she asks with a faint smirk.

"Who wouldn't be? I could technically check those in your status menus but I think learning about them from you is much more fun. What can my favourite Slimes do now?" Sensing some movement, I let Emi get off me and sit down next to Safi.

"Emi has a bunch of new abilities! Emi can now do this!"

The green tomboy extends her arm forward with her palm facing upwards. Her core flashes lightly and a surge of bubbles rushes from it to her hand. They push Emi's membrane up, creating a rounded shape atop her palm. Soon, it grows to the size of a volleyball and separates from her. She drops it onto the sheets and we watch as the jelly drop starts bouncing around and quivering adorably.

"Neat. You can now control slime outside of your main body?" I ask, poking the blob with my finger.

"While we actually can do that, it's not what Emi did," Safi says. "She used an ability called Create Slime. Its name should be pretty self-explanatory, right?"

My brows rise a little in awe. But, I don't get to admire her creation for too long as grey smoke starts escaping from underneath the new Slime and I let out a gasp, hastily grabbing it and lifting it up. While brought to life by Emi, it certainly doesn't inherit her intellect or memories. Thankfully, I react quickly enough to save Lianne's bed from getting melted. What can't be said about the sheets, unfortunately.

"Emi is so sorry! Bad Slime! Melting Master's things is very, very bad! Go back into Emi!"

Emi steals the blob from my hands and absorbs the entity within a few seconds. She smiles at me apologetically, looking a bit sad that her minion caused me inconvenience. I reach out to pat her head and reassure the emerald girl a bit since it wasn't really her fault. None of us knew what exactly to expect.

"Besides Create Slime, we now also possess the skill Call Greater Slime, which is something akin to a summoning ability," Safi continues presenting their new tricks. "If there are any in the area, they come to us, but if there are none, we can spend more mana to literally summon one from a different place."

"You can build your own little army with that. Depending on how many you can recruit, of course." I smile at the prospect.

"Emi should be able to create sixty Slimes before running out of mana!" the green tomboy exclaims, proudly puffing her delicious chest out.

"I'm more or less the same. And we can summon about thirty Greater Slimes." The blue lady nods. "Another new ability does something like this."

Safi's body partially loses its shape and becomes somewhat unstable, retaining a general humanoid size. Then, something akin to a cut splits her into two through the very middle, from top to bottom. A moment later, both halves grow in volume to match the original and become… her. Two Safis stare back at me with kind, ladylike smiles.

"What?" I smile wryly, glancing between the two perfect copies of the sapphire girl.

"Doppelganger," the left Safi replies.

"A skill that lets us create a perfect copy of ourselves, minus the core," the right Safi continues.

"Because of that little detail, the range of our control over the copies is limited to about five kilometres right now," the left one speaks again.

"It can do almost anything that the original can. But, because of that, any damage to the slime the copy suffers affects the original since they are connected," the right one finishes.

"Wait. Did you say copies?" I blink a few times at her.

"Yes! Emi can currently make five more of Emi!" The happy tomboy grins excitedly.

"Oh gods… This is going to be so confusing for a while back at home…" I snicker under my nose. "But, at the same time, your availability will soar. You will really become unbeatable in the competition for the employee of the month with that, hahaha."

"Emi and Safi are already the best!" Emi extends her hand and Safi hits a high-five with her.

"Yeah, I can't deny that." I chuckle while shaking my head. "So, any other insane abilities that you are still hiding or are we past the insane surprises?"

"Well, there is that one about being able to control our slime outside of our bodies and over a great distance, which we have already mentioned earlier, but other than that, there's just one more. It's called Overgrowth," Safi says. "Unfortunately, we can't show it here. The ship might end up damaged that way. Or, it would become uncomfortable for you at least, Master."

"Goddammit…" I snort lightly. "What is it, then?"

"This size isn't exactly our actual size but it would be extremely inconvenient to always move around in the original one. Therefore, we can return to that size through this skill," she explains.

"Alright. How big are you really in that size?" I raise a brow at her.

"If I were to compare it to something… then the ship we are currently on should be a decent pick," Safi answers with a composed smile.

"WHAT?! THE ENTIRE SHIP?!" I raise my voice from pure shock.

"Yep! Safi and Emi are amazing, right Master?" Emi giggles sweetly.

"What the hell is after Slime Empress then if this isn't the pinnacle of your species." I laugh wryly while rubbing my eyes. "But damn, you girls really leapt ahead with that evolution. You were already dominating the battlefield. I don't want to think about what's going to happen from now on."

"We will be of greater use to you from now on," Safi says calmly.

"No doubt about that. The Sahuagins better start packing their bags. Nothing can survive the assault of two Slime Empresses." I rake my fingers through my hair, fixing it a bit.

"Our stats have risen too so that statement might not be entirely wrong," she adds.

"I forgot about that part. All the blame is on your incredibly bonkers skills and abilities. The gap between the evolutions is almost like an endless chasm. Should we take a look at your numbers, then?" I take a peek at both of them and receive confirmation pretty quickly.

Pulling up the menus, I navigate to my Partners and find Safi and Emi there. With a few quick detours, I arrive at our destination and bring up their respective windows, placing them next to each other.

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[INFORMATION]

Name: Safi

Age: 62

Race: Slime

Type: Blue

Evolution Stage: Slime Empress

Advancement Stage: 1/10

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[STATS]+100% (71h left)

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[INFORMATION]

Name: Emi

Age: 60

Race: Slime

Type: Green

Evolution Stage: Slime Empress

Advancement Stage: 1/10

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[STATS]+100% (71h left)

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"Hot damn. I'm fairly sure your own numbers have at least doubled. With the addition of the stats that you receive from me in return, you two might truly be unbeatable for most people and creatures." I scratch my head in wonder.

"We still can't compare to you, Master. This is just a fraction of your power. But, we are at least catching up bit by bit." Safi chuckles quietly.

"Maybe, but you weren't accidentally made overpowered by the Goddess. I guess Slimes were really something back in the day. A single Slime Empress or Emperor would most likely tip the scales of the battle heavily in the favour of the side that had the lowest losses. Having a giant, acidic Slime going alongside an army would certainly be a horrifying sight."

"How big are Master's numbers now?" Emis asks curiously.

"Here. You can take a look. I'm curious too." I switch the displays and bring forth my own window between us.

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[INFORMATION]

Name: Alastair Carter

Race: Primordial

Age: 28

Job: Slave Trader [▼]

Class: Sexmancer

Tier: 5

Titles: Otherworlder, Demigod of Lust, True Harem Lord, The One Who Controls Life

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[STATS]

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"Yeah. Things are as insane as I remember. There's no reason to even look anymore. With each day, we are straying further away from the Goddess." I snicker at the stats.

"Isn't Master getting closer to the Goddess, though?" Emi frowns adorably.

"It's just a saying. Besides, I don't think I can get as high as the Goddess in terms of stats and skills. She is the literal Goddess of this world. How can a mere mortal dream to compete?" I hide the menus, swatting them away. "Anyway, the others have been waiting for you to wake up too. I think we should meet up with everyone and bring them the good news."

Safi and Emi agree and jump off the bed. I summon my diving suit while they get into their beloved maid uniforms. They hide their tiaras but leave the more sophisticated colour of their membrane on. We meet up with everyone on the main deck and the advancement of the bouncy duo quickly becomes a hot topic amongst my other companions and the crew members.

Since nothing is holding us back anymore, Alyssa resumes our journey and the ship sails ahead. They have been waiting here so that Safi and Emi didn't have to experience some kind of an almighty storm during the process. Our next goal remains Meru's settlement. This time hopefully without any more delays.

Though, it's not like we are expecting to see a lot there as it has been some time since the initial attack. But, it will be another step at taking down the feral army slowly approaching solid land. At one point, they won't be able to ignore us and we'll get them all in one place. Hopefully, we'll be able to handle their entire forces. Safi and Emi can literally disintegrate entire battalions if given enough time to wind up their attack.

Two more days pass before Meru informs us that we are close to her reef. The presence of Sahuagins in the nearby area isn't that high. It's clear that they took whatever they could and kept moving forward, already past this place long ago. But, it didn't mean that no individuals or other groups have remained there.

As the ship slows down, I find Meru by one of the railings and stop next to her, wrapping my arm gently around the sharkgirl's waist. "Do you think you are ready? This isn't going to be a pretty sight."

"Yes, I am ready." She finds my eyes and nods with visible determination. "This might have been my home, but it's not the first place I've seen in ruins after the invasion began, and it certainly won't be the last if we want to completely stop the conquest. We will have to start moving through the backline, which definitely is much more riddled with destroyed settlements and enslaved people."

"Good. Don't be afraid to ask for help. And I don't mean just the physical one. I'm always there for you if you need some mental comfort too. I know you know this already, but try to focus on the people you managed to save instead of those who might have perished." I affectionately graze her skin with my palm.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." She nods politely and I cup Meru's chin up to place a soft kiss on her plump lips. "Do you want to scout ahead?"

"For sure. Do only us two go or do we take someone else with us?" I ask as we start walking to the bow of the ship.

"It should be easier to move around with the lowest possible member count. We aren't planning to swim too far and engage anyway."

"As you wish. Let's go."

Informing the others about our plan and brief expedition, we jump over the railing running alongside the side of the ship. I activate the borrowing ability and land in the water already fully changed. The two of us bolt ahead. Though, I mostly follow her lead since she is the expert in these areas.

Soon, we start seeing something peculiar.

Big, thick seaweed is growing out of the ground, creating the effect of flags flapping around due to the wind. They aren't as numerous and dense as the vast forest inside which the Merfolks' settlement is hidden. They are more like sprinkled around the area, serving a similar purpose to trees inside a city.

Then, we spot a massive amalgamation of tall and wide corals of different colours, shades, and tones. It's clear that the majority of them have been either altered with magic or built with its help. There are parts that of course seem to have been created manually but it's obvious which option was more dominant there in the past. The buildings have plenty of different shapes and general architecture, even if almost everything is made of different shades of sea sponge and things like that.

It's my first time seeing a literal coral reef city like that and it's something amazing, even with the visible marks and other evidence of the battle that took place here a good few weeks ago. If my senses aren't misleading me, Meru's home is somehow still swarmed with Sahuagins. We might have to clear up a small city to reclaim it properly.

"Do you want to see if they aren't cooking up anything special in there?" I ask Meru.

"Yes. We should at least verify the numbers," she answers but I can see her gaze wandering off into the direction of the places she's the most familiar with, most likely.

Well, it's time to take back what is hers, and then what belongs to all the aquatic residents of this sea. The terror of the Sahuagins will soon come to an end.