Others Summon Dragons, I Summon Legendary Knights Chapter 370 Losing Battle

Some individuals among the sea folk were born with inherent disadvantages compared to others. Those endowed with lesser mana often exhibited piscine characteristics, such as tails, webbed digits, scales adorning parts of their bodies, and in rare instances, teeth as sharp as razors.

Conversely, a select few, born into higher standing, possessed fully formed arms and legs, granting them superior control over their mana. Their swimming prowess was amplified by the ocean's favor, enabling them to manipulate water currents to their advantage.

The majority of them possessed the ability to tame monsters. By forging a bond with these marine creatures, they acquired formidable guardians, significantly more powerful than themselves, which served as potent symbols of status.

Ariel's expression softened as she observed Ella gracefully maneuvering through a school of fish, attempting to entice one into a taming bond with offerings of food.

Alas, the fish perceived her merely as an annoyance.

"Ella. Come here," Ariel approached her younger sister, drawing her into an embrace and playfully pinching her cheeks.

"Why are you so far from town?" Ariel, appearing to be on the cusp of seventeen, inquired with a feigned frown.

Ella's lower lip jutted out in a pout. "I'm not really that far. It's not... it's not too far." She tilted her adorable head over her sister's shoulder, only to realize the town had vanished from her sight.

She had simply been following this particular school of fish. Or perhaps it was the same one? She could no longer be certain.

The little girl sheepishly scratched her head.

Ariel glanced back towards the unseen town, then at her little sister. "Not that far?!" she exclaimed, fixing Ella with a stern look that caused the younger girl to avert her gaze.

Expecting a reprimand, Ella was instead enveloped in a sudden embrace as her sister propelled them swiftly back towards the town.

Ella gasped for air, momentarily breathless. She could feel the rapid thumping of her sister's heart. What had just transpired? How had the situation escalated so dramatically?

Could they have become the targets of a predator? That was the only plausible explanation Ella could concoct. She managed to crane her neck, attempting to discern what had prompted her sister's urgent flight.

What she beheld sent a jolt of terror through her. Orcs! Their formidable tusks bared and massive armored bodies bearing down on them.

Though not as swift as her sister, the water offered them no impediment. Leading the charge was the infamous orc depicted in their paintings, known as Conquest—a figure more terrifying than any creature lurking in the abyssal depths.

Ariel clutched the coral attached to a rope around her neck and blew into it forcefully. Her cheeks puffed out as she exhaled again.

At that precise moment, Conquest swung his trident, and the water erupted upwards in a relentless torrent, coalescing into an imposing wall before the two sisters. Ariel's attempts to breach it were futile; her very bones seemed on the verge of being crushed.

Her heart pounded erratically. She turned to face the encroaching orcs.

'Ella, stay behind me,' Ariel whispered, positioning herself protectively in front of her sister. The orcs closed in, but then, a colossal orca shattered the watery barrier, smashing into several orcs and tearing one in half with a savage bite.

"Ceto!" Ariel's eyes lit up with hope. She seized the orca's pectoral fin, hauling herself and her sister onto its back.

The majestic creature surged forward, quickly establishing a considerable distance between them and their pursuers, leaving the orcs floundering behind. Ariel risked a glance back, noticing Conquest's scowl.

In that instant, Conquest extended his hand and, through sheer will, manipulated the water, yanking her younger sister directly into his massive palm.

Ariel's head snapped back, her eyes distending to their absolute limit as Conquest crushed her little sister's head as one might a ripe fruit.

She froze, paralyzed by horror.

A sudden, thunderous explosion rent the water, and Conquest materialized directly before her. Ceto, the orca, lunged, aiming to sever his arm, but Conquest’s swift, brutal strike carved a gaping wound, dispatching the noble beast in a single, decisive blow.

He seized Ariel by the neck, his grip tightening relentlessly.

"You will serve as my messenger. Inform them of my arrival," he commanded, his voice a low, measured rumble. He released her only when she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

She was destined to endure the ensuing pain and hatred, utterly powerless to retaliate, for in this oceanic realm, he was not merely a demigod; he wielded a relic from a primordial, zero-generation deity!

His intention was clear: to return and subjugate this entire region. No one had ever conquered this water-dominated world, where dungeons were scarce, but this relic had irrevocably altered the landscape.

It served as irrefutable proof that even the ocean itself could be wrested from its native inhabitants.

***

News of the town's fall spread like wildfire; the battle was unequivocally lost.

Three figures occupied immense stone chairs, separated by several meters of water. Rocks surrounded them, and the ocean's expanse stretched out above. Schools of luminescent fish illuminated the depths, and rows of guards patrolled the waters overhead.

To an observer from afar, it would appear as nothing more than another colossal rock formation, barely breaking the ocean's surface yet encompassing a vast area.

The woman, adorned with striking purple hair, addressed the two men beside her. Both men possessed blue hair, one appearing to be in his early forties, while the elder, though perhaps in his sixties, bore skin unmarred by wrinkles or sagging.

"He has yet to return," she stated with a palpable sense of regret.

"So he's dead then," the younger man stated, earning a slight frown from the older one.

"Prince Jace. Your brother has not returned, and that is all you have to say?"

Jace looked between the two, as if his declaration was simple, unquestionable truth. "My brother is deceased. He tamed the ocean's greatest myth; he was the greatest king. I understand all of this, but it belongs to the past, and he is gone. What returned alongside that human is merely a puppet, a lingering echo, and I am far superior to such an echo."

"We are on the verge of defeat. People are perishing, and this is your sole concern?" the woman inquired.

Jace stood up. "He himself decreed it. He wished for that human to rule us, and then that human proclaimed that if he did not return, it meant he was dead! If he is dead, what purpose does our gathering here serve, other than to enthrone me and allow me to wage war against these orcs?"

He surveyed his surroundings. "Where is the water spirit? I am a most deserving champion. Grant me the crown, and I will undoubtedly prove my worth."

Where could it have gone?!

***

Unbeknownst to him, for several days now, a luminous blue water, piercing the ambient darkness, had been enveloping Percival, safeguarding his lifeless body from decomposition or predation.