Cave Refuge

"Having had the experience of the first attempt, we tried again, only this time, after hooking the fish a second time, we didn't slowly reel it in as we had initially, but rather several of us pulled together, with all our might, trying to fling the fish straight out of the water.

We thought so, and we did give it a try, and when the fish was flung into midair, an astonishing sight emerged; the fish that was hooked was growing larger and larger as it hung in the air.

It was precisely because the fish's size kept increasing that the force we thought would be sufficient to sling it onto the city wall ended up falling short, and the fish fell back into the water midway.

It was for this reason that we were able to confirm that the sizes of the fish in the sea were indeed growing continuously."

After listening to the Guard Squad Captain's account, Ye Liuyun felt a bit stunned for a moment. Had it still been before the Natural Disaster, he might have even thought of calling a mental institution, to help him book a bed.

But now, after the Natural Disaster, it was no longer surprising to see bizarre occurrences like this. After remaining silent for a while, many thoughts rapidly formed in Ye Liuyun's mind. Upon closer inspection, however, he ultimately abandoned these thoughts and could only give the helpless order, "as long as those creatures in the water do not approach our camp's city walls, there is no need to bother or interfere with their actions."

Ye Liuyun spoke this way out of necessity, as the only way to continue investigating the matter at this time would be to arrange for personnel to explore up close. However, sending anyone to do such a thing at this juncture was akin to sending them to their death. Therefore, the best response for now was to remain still.

Having reasoned this out, just as Ye Liuyun was preparing to call Dong Tianyu to leave, who would have imagined that the water pooled on the ground would slowly recede? As the water on the ground retreated, the shadows that had been hidden beneath it gradually revealed their true forms.

Looking at the creatures not far away, each with gaping mouths but bodies flat like catfish, all the survivors on the city wall couldn't help but wonder what those beasts could possibly be eating to reach such massive sizes.

Although everyone on the city wall, apart from Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun, had witnessed the entire process, they still found it hard to believe it, for they knew all too well how large the meat lump that had struck the wall was, becoming a fragmented mess afterward.

The school of fish did come to devour the bits of the meat lump, but though the meat lump was sizeable, it would have been conceivable if one or two fish consuming the fragments had grown to the size now before them. However, the number of these giant fish in the distance, while not carefully counted, would still likely exceed a hundred by any rough estimate.

After the pooled water receded, the fish group that was hidden under the turbid waters naturally came to be stranded, though some guards on the wall, leery of consuming the chunks of meat lump and uncertain of its edibility, were still tempted to try eating the fish from the school, given their sheer number and size.

At this point, even without the aid of Divine Sense like Dong Tianyu, who could directly discern the true thoughts of ordinary people, Ye Liuyun could still detect, from their expressions, the urge among these individuals to try the fish.

Just as Ye Liuyun was about to order that even if the water had receded, all inside the camp must remain there temporarily, the stranded giant fish started to writhe due to the lack of water.

As they twisted more violently, the soil beneath them somehow began to behave like the surface of the water, allowing the struggling aquatic creatures to move as freely on land as if they were in the sea.

With more and more of the fish mastering such abilities, eventually, when the majority of the fish had acquired the skill to move through the soil at will, the school of fish slowly disappeared from the surface, their final destination unknown.

Once the numerous and massive fish had left from underground, only a few smaller fish, still floundering about, remained on the ground.

Although the size of these remaining fish was somewhat larger than a hundred-pound green fish, in comparison to those departed giants, they appeared diminutive and almost cute. Dong Tianyu speculated that these fish, although somewhat changed in size, had not acquired the Earth Element ability.

When the school had first arrived to devour the shattered meat lump pieces, it was possible they hadn't managed to get any of the scattered fragments and had only consumed some of the blood that splashed into the water after the lump exploded.

Although the giant fish had left, Ye Liuyun still did not immediately order people to catch the small fish still thrashing on the ground, left behind in the wake of the departing school.

Despite the Guardians on the city wall being ready and eager, having primed themselves for action, Ye Liuyun waited a while longer before arranging a small team to go over and catch fish in several groups.