Chapter 421 - 411: Sailing Carnival 13

Their hands were bound, and a thick iron hook pierced through their fishtails.

Probably from being out of the water for too long, their tails had become extremely dry. On some, large patches of scales had flaked off, creating a truly miserable sight.

"Patience, what are these creatures?" Moira Lynch asked.

Deep Sea Blue Merfolk, also known as Azure Sea Sprites. They typically live peaceful, reclusive lives in the deep sea. There is one exception: when they are about to give birth, they must come near the surface.

Newborn Deep Sea Blue Merfolk are extremely fragile and must remain near the surface for ten days before they can follow their parents back into the depths.

This behavior also gives poachers an opportunity.

The skin of the Deep Sea Blue Merfolk, which emits a faint blue glow, is highly sought after by nobles. Luxury goods made from their hides are priceless and have no open market. The skin of a Merchild is considered the most precious of all.

Furthermore, the young of the Deep Sea Blue Merfolk are also popular pets among the aristocracy.

A single Deep Sea Blue Merfolk infant is valued at around one billion Gold Coins.

’How much?!’

’One billion!’

’Damn. No wonder they only searched for the first mate for a short while before giving up. So that’s it... these Deep Sea Blue Merfolk young are worth a fortune.’

’If Patience said these Merchildren return to the deep sea with their parents after ten days, that means they were less than ten days old when they were captured.’

"Monsters!"

’How is this any different from human traffickers?’

If there was one thing Moira Lynch despised in this life, it was human traffickers.

"Patience, based on what you’ve said, what’s the likelihood that the things following the freighter are the parents of these Deep Sea Blue Merfolk young?"

One hundred percent. The Deep Sea Blue Merfolk place immense value on their young. They will not abandon them, even if they are captured.

Furthermore, Deep Sea Blue Merfolk will even come to the aid of other captured members of their species, not just their own offspring.

Moira Lynch looked at the nearly lifeless Deep Sea Blue Merfolk young inside the container. ’I think I know how to communicate with them now,’ she thought.

’But first, I have to heal these Merchildren.’

’Otherwise, if the Deep Sea Blue Merfolk see their children in such a terrible state, they probably won’t spare the ship, even after getting them back.’

Although this affair had nothing to do with the players, if the ship went down, they would all go down with it.

So, with a mere thought, Moira Lynch moved the six Merchildren from the container into her space.

After doing this, she didn’t leave immediately. Besides the few containers holding food and wine, there were several others.

’This container held young Deep Sea Blue Merfolk, so what about the others? They couldn’t all be filled with them, could they?’

Moira Lynch controlled her Golden Celestial Eye, peering into one container after another.

Good news: the other containers held no more young Deep Sea Blue Merfolk. Instead, they were filled with all sorts of rare fish.

They were kept in tanks, some of which were even labeled with names, indicating they had already been sold.

According to Patience’s estimate, the total value of the cargo was at least ten billion Gold Coins. The few Merchildren alone accounted for six billion.

Moira Lynch took all the fish from the containers and stored them in her space.

Perhaps because of the sudden loss of so much weight, the freighter’s hull shuddered slightly, but it didn’t seem to attract anyone’s attention.

Only after confirming that she had taken all the rare fish did Moira Lynch retract her Red Celestial Eye.

The next moment, with a simple thought, she appeared inside her space.

The Merchildren had been temporarily placed in the miniature ocean within her space.

They didn’t wake up right away, likely due to the severity of their injuries.

Moira Lynch lifted them out and placed them in a pre-prepared swimming pool to make treatment easier.

The main reason was that the miniature ocean was already teeming with all kinds of fish, making it too crowded.

The Priest’s Staff appeared in her hand, and a green healing radiance instantly enveloped the area.

Under the treatment of the Healing Light, the Merchildren’s wounds gradually closed, and new scales had already begun to grow back on the patches where they had fallen off their tails.

After about fifteen minutes, Moira Lynch concluded the treatment.

The Merchildren had not yet awoken, but their wounds were healed, and their breathing had returned to normal.

Just then, one of the Merchild’s tails twitched. It slowly opened its eyes and looked around. Upon realizing it was in an unfamiliar environment, it instantly became wary.

Its eyes filled with terror, especially when it saw Moira Lynch.

The Merchild hugged its tail, trying to curl into a ball. Its body trembled uncontrollably, and it stared at Moira Lynch with eyes full of fear and uncertainty. It was a heart-wrenching sight.

"Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. See? I’ve already healed all your wounds."

Moira Lynch kept her voice as gentle as possible.

These Merchildren were still infants, and as everyone knows, you can’t reason with children. She could only prove she wasn’t a threat through her actions.

Fortunately, her approach seemed to be working.

The awakened Merchild looked itself over, then gave its tail a little wiggle. Sure enough, the wounds were gone. Some of the fear in its eyes faded, but it remained wary.

Thankfully, Moira Lynch wasn’t asking for much from the Merchildren; as long as they didn’t see her as an enemy, that was enough.

"Your parents are nearby. I’ll send you back to them in a little while."

The Merchild understood her, and its eyes instantly lit up.

’We’ve been held by those bad people for so long, our parents must be worried sick!’

Sensing the Merchild’s anxiety, Moira Lynch left her space.

Back in her room, she once again attempted to communicate with the Deep Sea Blue Merfolk trailing the freighter.

This time, Moira Lynch held all the cards. She was confident about this negotiation.

"I have your children."

Moira Lynch led with her trump card.

Sure enough, this time they didn’t refuse to communicate. A moment later, a majestic voice echoed in Moira Lynch’s mind: "Return our children, or we will tear you to shreds."

Moira Lynch: ...

’Listening to their tone, have these Deep Sea Blue Merfolk misunderstood something?’

Only then did Moira Lynch belatedly realize the ambiguity of her opening statement.

She hurriedly explained, "Don’t misunderstand! I’m not the one who kidnapped your children. I’ve already rescued them. Please, can you spare this ship?"

Moira Lynch rushed through her explanation, afraid that if she were even a second too slow, the Deep Sea Blue Merfolk would attack.