Chapter 435 - 433: Desperate Journey

Chapter 435: Chapter 433: Desperate Journey

The next ten-plus days were a desperate flight for their lives.

Jiao Yin was practically burning his origin power, manipulating powerful currents to propel the three of them through the deep sea like an arrow from a bow.

They dared not approach the surface, forced to travel through the dimly lit mid-level waters, relying on Jiao Yin’s perception to navigate around the territories of powerful sea beasts.

Food was scarce. They subsisted entirely on Jiao Yin catching the occasional blind, deep-sea fish, or on Hua Han mustering the strength to use his Illusion Technique to lure small schools of fish closer.

The child in Bai Wanwan’s belly seemed to sense its mother’s peril, its movements becoming abnormally frequent and forceful.

On the fifth day, their greatest crisis arrived.

They had been discovered by an elite team of Merfolk led by one of Jiao Ming’s confidants!

With them were two gigantic Crocodylomorphs, each the size of a small hill and covered in thick Bone Armor.

Clearly, Jiao Ming and the Crocodylus porosus Clan had gone all out, determined to cut off any chance of survival.

"Jiao Yin, don’t you forget, Jiao Yue is still in our hands. You’d best come back with us obediently."

The Merfolk who spoke completely ignored Hua Han and Bai Wanwan, his wary eyes fixed only on Jiao Yin.

After all, Jiao Yin was the king of the Merfolk and a powerful male.

"I will go back, but not now!"

Jiao Yin’s eyes turned bloodshot as he pushed his Water Control Power to its absolute limit. Countless high-speed, razor-sharp water blades formed around him, tearing into the charging Merfolk warriors. Blue blood and shattered scales flew in every direction.

"Wanwan, hold on tight."

He paused to shield Bai Wanwan before re-engaging his enemies.

Hua Han’s eyes erupted with a blinding purple light.

This time, he didn’t create an Illusion Realm, but instead directly launched a mental assault.

The two Merfolk warriors and one Crocodylomorph at the head of the charge suddenly froze, a brief look of confusion and pain in their eyes.

But more Merfolk and Crocodylus porosus immediately surged forward.

The two males’ Superpowers were being rapidly depleted.

"We can’t get bogged down in a fight. Is there a way to break through?"

"Yes!"

The moment the word left his lips, Jiao Yin dropped his defenses and poured all his power forward. He condensed a high-pressure waterspout powerful enough to rip through the deep sea itself, forcibly tearing a narrow gap in the encirclement.

"Go!"

Jiao Yin roared, grabbing Hua Han with one hand and holding Bai Wanwan tightly with the other. Like a burning meteor, he charged out of the vortex of blood and water!

Behind them, the furious roars of the Crocodylus porosus and the enraged shouts of the pursuing Merfolk faded into the distance.

The wounds on Jiao Yin’s body split open, his blue blood leaving a long trail in the seawater. His face was ashen, his aura incredibly faint, and he was running on willpower alone.

More than ten days later, just as Jiao Yin’s Talent Power was about to be completely depleted, they finally saw a continent on the horizon.

"Look! We’ve made it!" Bai Wanwan pointed ahead excitedly.

A faint, relieved smile finally appeared on Jiao Yin’s exhausted face.

When his feet finally touched the firm, wet sand, Jiao Yin’s vision went black. No longer able to hold on, he collapsed heavily onto the shallows, bringing Bai Wanwan and Hua Han down with him.

His Talent Power was completely exhausted, making it difficult to even maintain his human form. The scales on his lower body flickered in and out of view, and the outline of his fish tail struggled to appear from beneath his Jue Sha.

To lessen Jiao Yin’s burden, Hua Han had also been assisting him the entire time.

His own Talent Power was also nearly depleted, and he lay collapsed in his beast form on the sand, utterly still.

Bai Wanwan was completely disoriented from the fall, but she struggled to lift her head.

What greeted her eyes was a coastline of wet, black reefs shrouded in thick fog.

The air was thick with the briny smell of the sea and the scent of unfamiliar, decaying vegetation.

However, before they could even catch their breath, a dozen or so figures emerged from behind the fog-shrouded reefs and surrounded them.

These Beastmen had various forms, but they were generally not as tall and brawny as Chou Rong and his people, appearing more lean and agile.

Most of them had pointed ears and long or short tails trailing behind them. Their pupils glinted with a wary, spectral light in the dense fog.

They wore crude leather armor or woven grass clothes, holding sharply polished Bone Spears or Stone Axes. Their faces were painted with strange colors, and their eyes were filled with extreme tension, vigilance, and... hostility!

"Are they Wandering Beasts?"

"Catch them! Don’t let them get away!"

"That female’s belly is so big. She must have been kidnapped, right?"

"Be careful! That silver-haired one looks like a Merfolk!"

A clamor of hostile shouts erupted, the sharp tips of their spears nearly poking them in the face.

Clearly, this part of the continent, known as the Emerald Shore, was not a peaceful place.

"They’re not Wandering Beasts, they were persecuted by other Beastmen and washed up here."

Compared to the two males, Bai Wanwan was actually in better condition.

So she sat up and instinctively used her body to block the Bone Spears aimed at Hua Han and Jiao Yin.

After all, this was the Beast World Continent, and on the Beast World Continent, females were always treated better than males.

"You really weren’t kidnapped by them?"

"I wasn’t," Bai Wanwan immediately denied. "Are you often harassed by Wandering Beasts here?"

She then learned from the surrounding Beastmen that the area was frequently raided by Wandering Beasts.

The local Beastman Tribes were on high alert, and any unfamiliar outsiders were seen as a threat.

COUGH... COUGH...

Hua Han took a moment to recover, coughing weakly. He managed to force an extremely sincere, almost pitiful, smile onto his face. His voice was hoarse but clear as he called out in the common tongue of the Beastmen:

"It’s a misunderstanding! We’re from a tribe, not Wandering Beasts!"

He struggled to sit up and pointed at Bai Wanwan, his tone filled with grief, indignation, and helplessness. "Like you, we were also hunted by an alliance of evil Merfolk and Crocodylus porosus! That’s why we drifted here."

He skillfully played the victim, shifting the blame to the Crocodylus porosus and the Merfolk.

"Our female is about to give birth. We need a place where she can rest and deliver her child. By the Beast God, if you can just give us a place to stay, we will definitely fight against the Wandering Beasts alongside you."

Hua Han was exceptionally handsome. His gravely injured and weakened state, combined with his earnest words and the sight of Bai Wanwan’s large belly and helpless expression, was incredibly persuasive.

His mention of "being hunted by forces from the sea" and "only for the sake of their child’s birth" precisely struck the softest spot in the hearts of these Beastmen. Though they suffered greatly at the hands of Wandering Beasts, they were naturally protective of the young.

The surrounding Beastmen exchanged glances, their hostility clearly diminishing.

One of them, a male with lynx-like markings on his face who looked like a sub-leader, warily sized them up. His gaze finally landed on Bai Wanwan’s pained and stoic face.

After hesitating for a moment, he waved his hand.

"Take them to the ’Fog Whistle’ cabin! Keep a close eye on them! We’ll wait for the Clan Leader to be notified before making a decision."