The Almighty Ring

The man who came for Jiang Fei was an NPC, the Master of the Seven Seas, King Elric, Ariel’s father!

When his beloved daughter died, Jiang Fei was felt guilty and embarrassed of himself. He did not want to meet King Elric but since he appeared, there was no escaping the talk.

“King Elric…” Jiang Fei fumbled with his words. He did not know how to address the matter.

“There’s no need to explain. I already know what happened,” said King Elric as he wanted Jiang Fei to know that whatever happened was not his fault.

“It’s because I’m too weak to protect Ariel…”

“Do not speak ill of yourself. When Ariel made the contract of Devotion with you, I understood how she felt about you,” said King Elric as he took a deep breath. He then proceeded to explain the concept of the contract, a secret that was not shared by anyone but the Merfolk.

The Contract of Devotion was known to the world as a life binding contract that would link the life of both the contractor and the contractee. However, up till this day, there was no one who had ever died in pairs.

When a Mermaid offered the Contract of Devotion to another male, she offered up her life to him. Under normal circumstances, both the Mermaid and the male partner would share one single life. However, when a real threat appeared, the Mermaid would do everything she can to make sure her partner survived. In the most desperate attempts, she would invoke the one forbidden skill to save him. A skill that would ultimately sacrifice one’s life in order to spare the other.

Ever since the discovery of the Contract of Devotion, almost every Mermaid was the first to sacrifice their lives to save their loved one. Hence, when King Elric saw that Ariel had made the contract with Jiang Fei, he accepted that fate and made peace with Jiang Fei.

“I’m not here for Ariel. I’m here to tell you that the Emperor of Sea is looking for an audience with you,” said King Elric.

“The Emperor?” said Jiang Fei.

“That’s correct. If I will find someone to blame for my daughter’s death, it would be the Light Faction. They are the ones at fault here. The blood of my blood has been taken from me and I shall have revenge. Thus, I seek help from the Emperor, and he has agreed to help. The Emperor might want to speak to you about this.”

“Very well, I shall answer his call,” said Jiang Fei. Jiang Fei was not comfortable with the topic since he knew that Ariel was not actually dead. However, even if he tried to explain, both the King and the Emperor would not believe him.

Jiang Fei left the girls and followed King Elric to the Endless Seas. Through a Teleportation Circle in the Eastern Sea, Jiang Fei arrived into the Emperor’s Palace.

With King Elric leading the way, the two arrived at the royal chamber.

“Please inform the Emperor that it is I King Elric and the Nephilim Warrior, Verdure Glider who have arrived to answer the Emperor’s call,” said the King to one of the Giant Whale Warrior, standing guard in front of the royal chamber.

In no time at all, the warrior returned and invited the two in.

“Follow me,” said the King as he walked in first.

Jiang Fei followed closely and was at ease. It was not the first time he had been into the Emperor’s royal chamber.

“Master of the Seven Seas, Elric is here to meet the Emperor!” cried King Elric as he bowed to the Emperor Poseidon.

“This one is honored to meet the Emperor again!” cried Jiang Fei as he did the same.

“Emm.”

The Emperor nodded slightly and turned to King Elric.

“Elric, allow me to explain the situation,” said the Emperor.

“Yes, Emperor,” said King Elric as he stood aside. He knew that the Emperor wanted to talk to Jiang Fei.

“Verdure Glider, do you know why I have called for you?”

As King Elric had said, Emperor Poseidon wanted to talk about Ariel.

“Is it about Ariel’s death?” said Jiang Fei.

“That is correct. I have mentioned that Ariel is my stepdaughter. And since I am the Emperor of the Sea, Ariel is the Princess for the Merfolk. Now, the Light Faction had openly killed my princess. What do you say I should do?” said Poseidon as his voice crackled with rage.

“In my humble opinion, I think the Emperor should make an alliance with the Nephilim race to turn against the Light Faction!”

“Smart young lad. Augustus’s daughter is one of the victims as well. I am sure that he will not cross his arms and mop about it!” said Poseidon as he slammed the armrest.

“Sigh…”

Jiang Fei suddenly went gloomy when Poseidon had mentioned Isabella. Even though Isabella’s character was still with him, she was no longer the same person she used to be. Her soul was gone. What was left of her was only an empty shell. He dared not meet the Nephilim King with the current “Isabella” less he would only receive the wrath of the Nephilim King.

“What about the Nagas?” said Jiang Fei. Even though the Merfolk and the Nephilim could form an alliance to pressure the Celestials, the Nagas would not stand idly by.

“You need not worry about them, for I have a plan,” said Poseidon.

“If that’s the case, this humble one could even have the Draconian involved in this,” said Jiang Fei. The God of Light and the Dragon God were the two races that Jiang Fei was not fond of. If the two races could go at each other, it would be delightful for Jiang Fei.

“Oh? The Draconians you say?” said Poseidon.

“That is correct,” said Jiang Fei with a confident nod.

“Hmm… I find your claim unconvincing as the Draconians are known for their neutrality. Having them to fight the Light Faction is highly unlikely,” said Poseidon. Even it was Jiang Fei, it might not work.

“The Emperor is correct at that. It would be improbable to have the Draconians make a move against the Celestials but if it’s the other way around…” said Jiang Fei, purposefully not finishing his sentence.

“Ahh… I see what you are trying to say,” said Poseidon.

“What if I told you that a Dragon has defiled the Tomb of the Pope, will the Emperor feel that the Light Faction can stay passive about this?”

“Is that true?” Poseidon roared. If Jiang Fei was telling the truth, the Church of the Light Faction would surely be at arms with the Draconians.

“It is true.”

“Very well. I will talk to Augustus about this matter,” said Poseidon.

“However, while we fight the Church, I cannot let the Naga make any move on the Merfolk. Here is where you come into play,” said Poseidon.

“Ding! The Emperor of the Sea, Poseidon has a Hidden Quest for you: Eliminate the Threat! Would you accept it?”

“This one will accept the task given to him!” said Jiang Fei. Jiang Fei accepted the quest, mainly because he knew he had wronged King Elric, as well as the entire Merfolk race. Jiang Fei accepted the quest even though he had not read through the description.

“Very well. I will have Elric here to explain the mission details to you later. One more thing,” said Poseidon as he reached into his back and placed something on a plate for his servants to hand to Jiang Fei.

“This will be helpful for your cause,” said Poseidon.

It was obvious then that the Emperor had already planned the mission before even asking for Jiang Fei to come. The meeting between the Nephilim King and he was nothing of Jiang Fei’s concern. The reason he had called for Jiang Fei was to complete the task at hand.