As Ery continued his narration, Ethan felt a growing surge of interest. He hadn’t expected the rfolk to be real—actual, living beings rather than legends whispered by sailors.
The giant sea turtle beneath them had now slowed its pace. It didn’t attempt to breach the do above the subrged city but instead drifted downward, touching the seabed with surprising gentleness. It ca to a stop before a massive gateway frad by towering whale skeletons.
Here, countless rfolk swam gracefully through the currents. None slipped through the gaps between the skeletal walls; they all used the grand gate to enter or leave the colossal city. Ethan couldn’t help but wonder—how many of them lived here?
So of the rfolk were enormous, their serpentine forms stretching over a hundred ters long.
"Those giant ones hold the lowest status here," Ery explained quietly, as if afraid the creatures might overhear him.
The sea turtle advanced only halfway through the gate. When the waterproof shield on its back touched the city’s protective do, the two barriers rged, creating a transparent corridor that opened a safe passage for Ethan and the others.
Ethan’s curiosity sharpened. He was about to step forward when a sharp, grating sound tore through the stillness.
Screeech!
A chorus of high-pitched cries erupted all around them. Ethan looked up.
Inside the do, the rfolk who had been gliding through the waterless air suddenly froze, every head turning toward him. Their eyes locked on the four rfolk that Ethan’s group had subdued earlier.
Hiss! Hiss!
In an instant, countless rfolk bared their needle-like teeth, their hostility thick enough to taste.
Ethan touched his nose and sighed lightly. He had expected as much. This kind of reaction was inevitable.
The city ca alive with noise. Shrill cries echoed through the enormous structure, spreading farther and farther like ripples on the surface of a vast ocean. Ethan suspected this was their version of an alarm.
"Ethan..." Ery’s voice trembled, his face pale.
"Relax," Ethan said calmly. "As long as they hand over Lyla and the others, I won’t—"
Before he could finish, movent rippled through the crowd. The rfolk in the distance parted like a living tide.
From the gap erged a battalion of rfolk roughly human-sized, each carrying a gleaming trident. There were tens of thousands of them, every pair of eyes burning with hatred.
"Tch." Ethan’s lip curled in disdain.
Did they think sheer numbers would intimidate him? What good were these fodder fish?
He could sense that their strength was similar to the four he had just defeated. On land, their strength level would be considered formidable—early Transcendent-rank, comparable to Matriarch Whitmore. But the Matriarch herself stood at the peak of that realm, and these were far from it.
"Wait—there are stronger ones!" Regis suddenly warned, his tone tight.
Ethan sensed it too. As the ard rfolk assembled, the ones who had first spotted them quickly scattered. The soldiers didn’t attack; instead, they ford a wide periter, surrounding Ethan’s group in disciplined silence.
Then, as Regis spoke, the line of soldiers split open, creating a narrow passage.
Through the corridor, twelve figures appeared, moving slowly but with palpable weight in each step. The mont they ca into view, the giant sea turtle beneath Ethan lowered its massive head—a gesture of submission that needed no translation.
"Ethan," Starfall murmured beside him, his voice tense. "I think we’re in trouble. These twelve... they feel as strong as Dragon Child."
"Oh?" Ethan turned slightly toward Dragon Child, curious. "And what’s your current strength level?"
He could sense it—the similarity between Dragon Child’s aura and Regis’s. The two were almost equal in power, yet there was sothing different, a subtle distinction he couldn’t quite na.
"Beyond the late stage of the Voidbreaker-rank... half a step into sothing else. I’m not sure what that realm is called," Dragon Child said quietly, her eyes locked on the twelve rfolk approaching from afar.
"The Apex State," Ery answered.
"The Apex State?" Regis and Starfall exchanged puzzled looks.
"Yes," Ery said with a nod. "It ans ’Heaven and Man as One.’ That’s what your current level is called."
"Ah, so that’s it." Regis let out a slow breath, and the tension around him shifted. Now that they understood, both his and Starfall’s auras subtly sharpened, their energy stabilizing as if they’d finally anchored themselves. Realization brought confidence, and confidence brought power.
"I learned about this realm here," Ery continued, anticipating Ethan’s next question. "This city holds a vast archive of ancient texts—records passed down from ages long forgotten."
"Oh." Ethan’s reply was brief, but his eyes glead with intrigue.
So much of Earth’s history had vanished, its knowledge scattered and buried with ti. If the City of the Whale Fall truly preserved those records, it was an invaluable trove. He couldn’t help but wonder—did they have everything? Or were even their archives incomplete?
The thought sparked a flicker of calculation behind his calm gaze.
By now, the twelve small rfolk had stopped before them.
They were tiny—no taller than a ter—but the pressure radiating from them was unmistakable. Their presence weighed on the air, dense and suffocating. Ethan’s eyes narrowed. If the hundred-ter giants were considered the lowest in status, then these miniature beings must be the strongest of their kind.
Ery glanced back at him. "I’ll go talk to them. Promise ... don’t act rashly."
Without waiting for a response, he pushed off gently, gliding through the air as though still swimming underwater. The sight looked strange—there was no water here, yet he moved as if it were all around him.
When Ery reached the twelve small rfolk, their faces twisted in visible distaste. Ethan’s heart sank slightly. So that was how they saw him.
He rembered Ery’s earlier confession—that he carried only a trace of rfolk blood. It was clear now: he was a half-blood, or perhaps the diluted descendant of one. Among these purebloods, that made him little more than an outsider.
Watching Ery bow his head slightly, Ethan felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. There was sothing humiliating about it, seeing the man shrink before his own kin.
Ery began to speak with them. His voice was calm, but the rfolk’s expressions grew increasingly hostile. A few tis, he turned and gestured toward Ethan’s group, as if explaining their presence.
When the twelve small rfolk finally looked directly at Ethan, their faces hardened with arrogance and disgust.
Ethan frowned. What was with that look? Hadn’t they summoned him here?
Ery soon drifted back toward them, his expression dark and heavy.
"What did they say?" Ethan asked.
He already had a sinking feeling about the answer. His suspicion deepened when four guards erged from behind the small rfolk. Each carried what looked like iron shackles connected by long, black chains. There were four sets—one for each of them.
Ethan’s brow twitched. His expression stayed calm, but the air around him cooled noticeably.
The guards stopped a short distance away, waiting.
Ery hesitated, unable to et Ethan’s eyes. Finally, he let out a weary sigh. "You... do as you wish."
Ethan’s voice was low. "What do you an, ’as I wish’? And what are those things they’re holding?"
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