NOVEL NEXT Chapter 412: We should all respect culture
Damon grinned. He hadn't expected to achieve this much, but he was not going to say no to something good. "Yes." He immediately selected and accepted the offer.
The system chimed again.
[Ding! The Crimson Shoals are now under your command.]
[Ding! The Crimson Shoals' domain is now recognized as a Sanctuary Zone for you and your allies.]
[Ding! Allies within the Sanctuary Zone gain +10% Water Affinity and +10% Regeneration while fighting inside its bounds.]
"From today onwards, the Crimson Shoals are my own." Damon cleared his throat and said.
The merfolk roared in unison, the lagoon erupting in tidal waves that crashed against the shore as though the very sea itself was celebrating Damon's words. Tridents slammed against stone, tails whipped the crimson waters into frothing storms, and their chants shook the night.
"Blood God! Tide Sovereign! Master of the Shoals!"
Damon, by now, had finished absorbing all the blood essence. He was about to walk over to the merpeople, but he stopped and turned to his right instead. All the merpeople became anxious for a moment, but the next second, everyone saw a few more vampires walking towards them.
"Damon! Is everything alright?" Kate was running towards him at top speed.
Mark, Kaelthorn, and Ellora were right behind her, with Ellora dragging along Riven unceremoniously. The poor guy's body trailed the ground like a corpse, hitting this and that. However, no one paid any attention to him.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the merpeople behind Damon. It looked like the entire gang was ready to step into war, so Damon quickly asked them to relax. "Relax, guys. Everything is fine now. These are not our enemies. They are our new friends."
Kate blinked, wide-eyed. "Allies?"
Apparently, the group had come running over here because they too saw the murder of crows and figured it probably had something to do with him. But now the crows were nowhere to be seen. Instead, there were merpeople.
Damon smiled. "Yup. The Crimson Shoals have pledged themselves to me. From this moment forward, they are our allies."
The lead merwoman quickly bowed her head and greeted the group. "Please welcome to our humble lagoon. Any friend of our Lord is our honored guest. The sea opens its arms to you, as does our tide."
Kate nearly stumbled, still trying to process what she was seeing. This was the first time she was even seeing merpeople, and somehow they were already calling Damon Lord?
Mark exchanged a glance with Damon and then chuckled helplessly.
Kaelthorn and Ellora did not even look surprised. They simply took the information as a matter of fact.
While everyone stood silently, the lead merman took the opportunity to hurriedly invite everyone to another round of celebrations and a grand feast to commemorate the glorious day when they had been saved from the brink of death.
"Tonight shall be remembered for a thousand tides! Come! Feast with us, drink with us as we celebrate our new Lord and savior, Blood God!" He raised his trident high, and the lagoon erupted with cheers once again.
When they put it like that… Cough. Cough. Damon awkwardly cleared his throat. He had half a mind to refuse, but there were still a lot of matters left to be discussed. Besides, the others also deserve a break after the constant fighting, so he ended up accepting the invitation once again.
The merfolk moved quickly, transforming the battlefield into a place of festivity once more. Broken coral was cleared, tables of stone and shell were set, and glowing lantern-jellies floated upward, illuminating the lagoon in shifting shades of sapphire and crimson.
Platters of sea-fruit and roasted fish were carried forward, while sweet, glowing wines shimmered in coral chalices. The atmosphere, once drenched in dread, now throbbed with exhilaration and reverence.
Damon took it all in with a small smile. Everyone else was visibly dazed.
Even the usually stoic Mark seemed to enjoy the special dance show put on by the merwomen. Kate looked at both Damon and Mark staring wide-eyed at the girls, and she shook her head helplessly with a sigh.
Damon then leisurely explained everything that had happened. He leaned back against his coral throne, swirling the glowing wine in his chalice as he finished recounting the entire event. By the time he was done, the others were staring at him with a mixture of awe, disbelief, and exasperation.
Kate pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering, "Of course. Of course, you wiped out an entire flock of level one-hundred-plus demons in the time it took us to jog here. Why am I even surprised anymore?" Her voice was weary, but her eyes couldn't hide the pride glittering there.
Mark chuckled. "He probably did not want anything to happen to his dancers."
"Shut it," Damon replied dryly, though the smirk tugging at his lips betrayed him. He tilted his head toward the merwomen still twirling in the water, their jeweled scales shimmering with each flick of their tails. "What? It'd be rude not to appreciate the culture."
"Ya. I know you are a man of culture." Mark laughed again.
Damon wanted to say something, but seeing Kate's expression, he quickly turned away from the festivities like a gentleman, not even showing the least interest in seeing something like that. Not that it helped.
The next moment, a few merwomen glided over gracefully, their jeweled scales catching the lantern-light as they tilted their heads to the side, exposing their pale throats in solemn offering.
Kate's face twitched violently. "You've got to be kidding me."
Damon cleared his throat, trying to look dignified even as his fangs tingled with hunger. "It's… um… a cultural thing," he said quickly, raising a hand in a vague attempt to wave them off. The merwomen only pressed closer, their eyes glowing with reverence.
"Cultural thing, my ass," Kate muttered, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "If one more woman throws herself at you tonight…"
Mark nearly choked on his wine, laughing into his chalice. However, the next second, a couple of women glided over to him, and his stance quickly changed. "Relax, Kate. He's just… embracing diplomacy. We should all respect culture."