SWNOVELXO Chapter 709, Fishman Warrior
The 'Thornfin Sea' fish people clearly possessed higher intelligence.
They not only displayed manners but also sought to engage Fang Hao in conversation to inquire about various matters.
It seemed, they were no different than any regular force.
Fang Hao even suspected that these fish people had been watching the battle from afar and only approached to inquire after it had ended.
"What did they just say to you?" Fang Hao asked.
"They asked about my origins, whether there is any news of the Father God, and the force I am now loyal to," replied the Blood Priest with his resonant voice.
Priests and other godly servants held high status among races that harbored belief in deities.
The appearance of a Priest from a bygone era had evidently caught the attention of these fish people.
Even though the Blood Priest now merely maintained a fish-like form of a Living Dead.
"Can they communicate?"
"They can communicate. I answered them that I had long since died, had no intelligence they required, and it was you who revived me and to whom I now owe my allegiance," continued the Blood Priest.
The made undead heroes had their memories altered.
Clearly, Nelson had erased the part about Fang Hao attacking the Temple and battling him, and replaced it with a narrative of Fang Hao awakening him.
Fang Hao nodded and continued, "Well, invite those who wish to talk to come over. I am also willing to maintain peace with the fish people."
He had even changed the ship's figurehead, naturally not wishing for a battle with the fish people.
At least, not until it was confirmed whether the location on the treasure map actually held any treasures; he was not keen on fighting the fish people.
There was no need, and the sea was not his focus for expansion.
"Yes, my lord."
The Blood Priest left and returned later, bringing a fish person through the ranks of the undead.
The body leapt, soaring from underwater to the deck.
[Kou Ci War General - Gulrukubagu (Purple Tier 4 Hero)].
A purple hero.
This 'Kou Ci War General' looked generally the same as the other fish people Fang Hao had encountered.
Its scales were more vivid in color, and its back sported a row of sharp spikes.
Its body was also somewhat larger than that of the usual Kou Ci fish people.
Most of its upper body was bare, save for two round heart-preserving mirrors at the chest.
They looked similar to women's lingerie.
They shone brilliantly under the sunlight.
But it was clear that this fish person was definitely male.
The lower body was covered by a skirt of armor, holding a trident in hand, with a belt carrying nails and a hammer-shaped tool.
It appeared specially used for gouging ships.
Fang Hao suspected more that if he hadn't dealt with that fleet, these fish people might have come to gouge the ship.
"I am Fang Hao. What would this leader like to discuss?" Fang Hao took the initiative to speak.
The fish person opposite him also observed Fang Hao intently, as did a few heroes by his side.
To the fish people, the sight of Lizardmen and Orcs was quite rare.
"Gulrukubagu, welcomes the arrival of our human friend," the fish person expressed his goodwill before continuing, "We heard fighting and came here to verify the situation."
The fish person's intonation was odd, but the system still provided a translation.
Fang Hao nodded and said, "That fleet thought I had just one ship and wanted to plunder me, so I had to teach them a lesson."
"Recently, there have always been battles involving ships around here," the fish person said.
"Yes."
The fish person general continued, "What is the purpose of your journey? We can escort your sea ships there."
Perhaps, the figurehead had had an effect.
The fish person displayed sufficient friendliness and even offered to escort his sea ship.
According to Bai Xuan's intelligence.
Fish people do not usually interact with foreign races; any ship force entering 'Thornfin Sea' would be attacked.
It was unusual for them to even make inquiries like this.
Thus, both the Federation and the Sea Tribe considered the fish people to be an uncivilized group incapable of communication.
Fang Hao smiled and said, "Actually, our purpose is to head to the 'Thornfin Sea' to discuss a possible collaboration."
"Collaboration?"
This response was clearly beyond the fish general's expectations.
Fish people typically did not contact the outside world, much less talk of collaborations.
"Yes, I have some equipment here that might be of use to you, and I would like to trade," Fang Hao explained.
Directly stating that he was here to treasure hunt in their central area seemed somewhat unwise.
A simple and reasonable pretext to check if there were treasures before deciding on the next steps.
The fish person thought for a moment, nodded and said, "I will convey your message back. You can wait here for my reply."
"Alright, these two sets of equipment are what I intend to sell; you can take them back," Fang Hao offhandedly took out two sets of equipment from the storage space.
One was the blue [Agile White Steel Set], inherently fish people gear.
The second was the purple [Wanderer's Set], also obtained from a treasure chest in the Fishmen Temple.
"Alright, do not leave this place," the fish person took the two sets, said his piece, then jumped back into the sea with the fish troop and left.
For the moment, Fang Hao could not leave.
After all, the items from those sunken ships had not yet been salvaged.
"Gulrukubagu, continue to lead people to salvage the goods; bring up anything of value before the fish people return."
Watching the fish general leave, Fang Hao continued giving orders.
"Yes, my lord."
Splash!
All the undead of the sea immediately dispersed, heading towards the sunken ships to continue salvaging goods.
...
Soon, the deck was piled high with assorted cargo.
Over a hundred field cannons, various equipment and weapons, gun bullets, covering the entire deck.
There were also gold and silver utensils, ship chandeliers, carpets, water buckets, mops, and even various vegetables and foods.
The variety was immense.
The field cannons, upon being salvaged, were immediately traded back by Fang Hao.
After all, space on the deck was limited.
Demitrija and Anjia were tallying the quantity of the spoils.
Fang Hao's eyes meanwhile fell on the nearby Book of Lords.
For transmigrators in the time of death, the Book of Lords would not vanish immediately.
He had not experimented with the exact time.
But clearly, these little devils of death hadn't yet reached the time of disappearance.
Without any hesitation, he devoured them one by one.
[52 "Book of Lords" can be devoured.]
Then, a stack of Book of Lords turned into specks of starlight and merged into Fang Hao's Book of Lords.
[You have gained decision-making power over 52 territories.]
[Occupy/Abandon]
[Occupy: Will become your subsidiary territory, and development can continue.]
[Abandon: Will yield 50%-80% of the territory's resources and the territory will be abandoned.]
Fang Hao glanced at the location displayed on the map.
It was even further south, according to Captain Bai Xuan's sea chart in her cabin.
It must be the location of Giant Claw Island.
He chose to occupy one fortress.
The remaining 51 were all abandoned.
[You have occupied 1 subsidiary territory and possess the rights to this territory and its subsidiary city.]
[You can set 'Deputy Governor' in the Book of Lords.]
[You have abandoned 51 subsidiary territories and will receive 80% of the territory's resources, 50% of the territory's building resources returned.]
A large number of materials were transported from the direction of Giant Claw Island.
They went directly into the main city's warehouse.
On the map in the Book of Lords, those abandoned territories were once again shrouded in fog, unobservable.
[Book of Lords upgraded to Level 11, Marching Speed +8%, Resource Exploitation +10%, Troop Attack +5.5, Regional/World Channel Speech +110.]
These people had a low level in their Book of Lords, but they had quantity on their side.
From Level 8, it directly boosted Fang Hao to Level 11.
[Unlock new Blueprints: Dark Reef Fortress Construction Blueprint (Purple), Luminescent Fish Pond Breeding Blueprint (Blue), Coral Aquatic Prison Construction Blueprint (Blue), ..., White Steel Katana Production Blueprint (Blue), Hard Silver Katana Production Blueprint (Blue), ..., Sailboat Production Blueprint (Blue), Sea Tribe Large Sea Ship Production Blueprint (Purple)...]
One blueprint after another was unlocked.
With the advantage of numbers, there were still quite a sufficient amount.
From buildings, to weapons and armor, as well as sea ships, sails, and various tools.
But it was apparent, they all related to the ocean.
[Dark Reef Fortress: Hardy Wood 1500, Fine Crafted Stone Bricks 850, Coral Rock 450, Cast Iron Blocks 220, Metal Parts 150.]
(Description: A protruding and concealed reef, it will become the most solid fortress, blocking the enemy's navigation.)
From the description, the Dark Reef Fortress seemed to be a barrier to stop advancing ships.
But with a purple rating, it likely had some special uses.
[Luminescent Fish Pond] is a structure for breeding marine creatures, corresponding to farms and ranches on land.
Effect: Growth +15%, Reproduction +10%.
This blueprint was quite decent, at least he could use it.
[Coral Aquatic Prison] corresponds to constructions like the Blood Prison dungeon.
It included coral walls in the materials, used for detaining underwater prisoners.
As for terrestrial prisoners, it wasn't necessary to bother putting them into the Coral Aquatic Prison, as they would drown.
After reviewing the building blueprints.
Fang Hao quickly glanced over some equipment blueprints.
Eventually, his gaze settled on two katanas.
[White Steel Katana: Hardy Wood 2, Cast Iron Blocks 5, White Steel Ingots 5, Metal Parts 6, Linen 3.]
[Hard Silver Katana: Ironized Wood 1, Cast Iron Blocks 8, Fine Iron 3, Mithril 2, Metal Parts 5, Soft Leather 1, Linen 3.]
White Steel Katana was a blue-tier weapon, which he could produce and sell in the channel.
[Hard Silver Katana] had reached purple-tier quality, including Fine Iron and Mithril in the materials.
The weapon itself also had an increased sharpness of 7%.
It could be paired with Beiyehu as when she was summoned, she hadn't brought any weapons or gear.
He glanced at the remaining blueprints, mostly of ships and then everyday items.
He didn't pay much attention to those.
He couldn't use them himself and they weren't good for selling on the channel.
They were all trivial things.
...
While waiting for news from the Fishmen.
Fang Hao had switched out a few fishing rods and sat on the railing fishing with Anjia and others.
It wasn't that he really wanted to catch anything.
It was just to pass the time.
If he actually wanted to eat fish, the simplest way was to have the underwater troops catch it, and they could get several buckets in a moment.
They could even get you a shark if desired.
Splash!
The Ancient Blood Servant emerged from the water again, "Lord, the Fishman who left has come back."
"Let him come over."
Before long, the 'Kousting Warrior' who had left jumped onto the deck and said, "Follow me, I'll take you inside, but you need to restrain the Undead around you."
Hearing the agreement, Fang Hao also showed a smile.
The plan was going smoother than expected.
"Alright, let's go!"
The Fishman jumped back into the sea, leading a group of Fishmen ahead.
Fang Hao waved his hand and the White Sha Queen also slowly started to move, following closely behind the Fishmen.
...
They ventured deeper into the Thornfin Sea.
More and more Fishmen surrounded the ship, looking down.
All that could be seen were dense shadows.
The number of Fishmen was much larger than he had expected.
Soon, the leading Fishman gently knocked on the ship's hull and reminded, "We've arrived, follow me down!"
Go down?
Fang Hao was about to say, wouldn't it be inconvenient for me to go down?
The Fishman dived down with a splash.
He had no choice but to deploy the Demon Doll and also jumped into the sea.
"Gulrukubagu, come with me for a look." Fang Hao controlled the Demon Doll and spoke to the Ancient Blood Servant.