Chapter 194: The Dispersal of the Silver Moon and Changes in the Outside World
At the end of the direction pointed out by the Fragrant Cattail Spirit Cat, there sat the only mermaid mother who had lost her child.
She was quietly seated atop a rock by the sea, gazing silently at the distant view. There were no tears on her face, no dramatic grief.
But it was precisely this inability to show sorrow that was the most painful—the grief entirely buried within her heart.
Croyer observed her for a while, and could clearly sense her sorrow. The melody of her emotions had turned into a dark, gray piece.
Different races, same sorrow.
“Go on, go on. The boss has given you the power of the Void God!”
The Fragrant Cattail Spirit Cat, looking like a tuft of wild grass, swayed again, tossing a strange emblem to Croyer. It was marked with what looked like a claw-shaped imprint.
Then it wriggled a bit and promptly vanished, disappearing from sight.
Only the emblem remained in Croyer’s hand, flickering with an unsteady light, like the shifting phases of the moon.
Croyer stared at it, a peculiar look flashing in his eyes.
Make a wish to the Void God? You’ve got to be kidding...
“What is this...?”
“A miracle!” someone exclaimed.
The nearby merfolk immediately gathered around—since their tails hadn’t transformed into legs yet, they bounced along on their fins, which looked rather comical.
They all stared in amazement at the claw-shaped emblem in Croyer’s hand but tacitly said nothing.
Among them, the young prince of the merfolk pondered aloud, “This seems to be... the mark of the Void God’s guardian beast.”
As a member of the merfolk royal family, he was born with nearly complete access to the inherited knowledge of his kind.
What ordinary merfolk had to struggle mightily to learn, he merely had to study the ancestral lore thoroughly.
After all, bloodline was among the most unreasonable powers in existence.
The little prince tiptoed on the tip of his tail, curiously eyeing the mark in Croyer’s hand, even more puzzled. “Brother, how did you get it?”
Croyer smiled faintly. “Maybe it just found me pleasing?”
The little prince actually nodded very seriously.
“Lord Void God really does seem to like you.”
“Well, I did do him a pretty big favor.”
With that, he walked over to the mermaid mother and said, “Your god wishes to grant your wish.”
To be honest, he had no intention of playing the “understanding big brother” role, nor did he have much interest in the merfolk. They were nice to look at, sure, but... only to look at.
He simply couldn’t understand what sort of thoughts would compel someone to develop romantic interest in the merfolk, even if they were all undeniably beautiful—both male and female.
But he just couldn’t understand it, and certainly didn’t feel any desire.
“...Really? You’d give it to me?”
The mermaid mother looked utterly shocked, completely disbelieving.
She stared at the claw-shaped emblem in Croyer’s hand as if it were a treasure from another world, her eyes glittering.
“Mhm.” Croyer casually handed the claw-shaped emblem to her. “Now I’m satisfied too. Consider it a perfect ending.”
“The Water Luminary Crystal you used was refined by me. I’d like to see it come to a perfect conclusion.”
As soon as he said that, he felt a scorching heat behind him—it was the gaze of the mermaid women.
He immediately realized he might have said too much but remained calm, watching as the mermaid mother bowed to him in gratitude.
He watched as she made a wish to the emblem.
Gentle moonlight instantly cascaded from the heavens, piercing through the ocean. Waves and currents swirled around.
A small mermaid child slowly emerged from the moonlight.
And was immediately embraced by her trembling, ecstatic mother.
The two collapsed into tears.
Croyer, who witnessed the entire reunion, smiled faintly.
At his side, a soft yet commanding female voice spoke.
“Don’t make wishes to gods lightly.”
The voice was distinct yet ephemeral, brushing past Croyer’s ear before disappearing into the moonlight.
“!?”
Croyer turned his head abruptly, only to see the golden-haired mermaid smiling at him.
“I wish to entrust my son to your care. He is the representative of our merfolk.”
“This land has been affected by us and now cries out in pain.”
“We must restore it, but we don’t know how.”
“So we leave it to you. My son Treiden will assist you.”
Her expression mirrored that of the Merfolk King almost exactly, as though the previous words hadn’t come from her at all.
The Merfolk Queen saying not to trust the gods… That was rather unsettling.
Croyer suppressed his questions for now, pondering her words carefully, and hesitated.
“...Me?”
“But the northern region of the Norland Kingdom isn’t under the Mage Association’s jurisdiction. If I, a mage, interfere without cause...”
His meaning was clear.
The merfolk were, after all, a foreign race. If word got out that he was cooperating with them, someone might accuse him of colluding with non-humans.
“Don’t worry.” She offered a mysterious smile. “Right now, the Norland Kingdom’s army and mages have likely already gone to the Yavana Holy Mine.”
“Besides, whether the Norland Kingdom can even continue to exist is in question.”
“They’re too busy to manage their own internal affairs. You may proceed to implant your forces into the northern region as you please.”
“This was the agreement between the legendary mage Dantalian and us.”
Those words genuinely stunned Croyer—Whether it can continue to exist?
He might not feel a strong sense of belonging to this so-called kingdom, but a stable environment was still vital to him.
If a large-scale war broke out, it would be absolutely disastrous for the poor farmers just trying to live their lives.
The Merfolk Queen saw the shock in his expression.
She proactively explained, “Some problems have emerged at the Yavana Holy Mine that the Norland Kingdom must resolve.”
“Now we wait and see whether they can succeed.”
“If not, everyone will perish there. That’s responsibility—just as we merfolk must purify the sea.”
Croyer finally nodded.
“I understand.”
He resolved to quickly investigate the situation outside once he left and hasten the ascension of Viscount Cormoye to full baronial status, officially making him the feudal lord of the northern region.
Though Croyer’s domain lay beneath the ocean, the land above still needed fortifying. At the very least, a buffer zone should be formed to guard against what may come.
...
After asking a few more questions, Croyer left the Amniotic Sea with the young merfolk prince Treiden in tow.
What left him speechless was that although Treiden said he was going to stay with him, he actually brought along two guards.
These two guards were tall merfolk, and like most of their kind, they disliked wearing clothes. Their muscular, streamlined physiques were on full display, though they held staffs made of coral and pearl in their hands.
Although, to be honest, those staffs looked more like massive hammers.
Even more exaggerated than the “Codex Warhammer” used by battle clerics described in The Miracle of Light.
On top of that, the Queen had secretly given Croyer a Spatial Shell, packed full with a hundred shimmering Auro Powder Pearls, all produced by fifth-tier magic clams.
These rare pearls were pure water-element treasures.
Just placing them in an area would continuously generate seawater and magic suitable for merfolk survival—precious items cultivated by the royal merfolk bloodline.
To put it simply... it was for building a home for the merfolk prince.
Croyer found it reasonable that a mother would worry about her child and had no plans to divert the gift for his own use. Building a big fish tank for the kid didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Then, just as he was about to leave the Amniotic Sea, King Mihai also sent a gift—a vibrant blue sea anemone.
Upon closer inspection, Croyer found the water-element magic within it to be extraordinarily abundant. Its vitality was so strong that it rivaled even the Orpheus Oak.
The merfolk envoy delivering the anemone said, “This is the Auro Anemone, meant to serve as both a bed and food source for Prince Treiden.”
“You only need to irrigate it with water-element magic, and it will reproduce on its own. The newly grown anemones can be eaten directly or used as beds.”
“Of course, it’s also a key ingredient in a type of magic potion. Here is the recipe—please accept it.”
Wearing a deep blue robe woven from seaweed, the merfolk respectfully handed a parchment scroll to Croyer and bowed.
Croyer: “...”
One gives me a house, the other a bed and food, huh.
Just how little faith do you people have in me?
Also, why not give everything at once? Are you afraid the others will find out? Merfolk really are drama queens...
He had no choice but to accept the sea anemones. He was actually quite interested in such unique organisms.
Seeing him accept it, the merfolk bowed again and said:
“In due time, His Majesty will send envoys to discuss further purchases of Water Luminary Essence with you.”
“Farewell.”
With that, he dove into the sea and vanished.
Thinking everything was finally settled, Croyer turned around—only to have a tiny Fragrant Cattail Spirit Cat sprout from the ground like a mushroom.
It bounced onto his shoulder, brushing its tail-like body against his cheek.
It said, “Boss said I could follow you. There are still many parts of the outer seas that need purification.”
“...Fine, come with me then.”
The Fragrant Cattail Spirit Cat nodded happily and immediately leapt onto little Treiden’s head.
The merfolk prince looked utterly bewildered.
Then the two began chatting in whispers—topics ranging from which phase of the moonlight was brightest to when the moonlight was most comfortable.
As Croyer listened, he led the two of them into the whirlpool passage...
And finally returned to his Reef Island.
Treiden, naturally curious about the outside world, received Croyer’s permission and took a jellyfish-shaped magic device from the shell hanging around his neck, then climbed atop it.
The jellyfish wobbled as it floated upward, lifting him into the sky.
Croyer watched the pair depart, instructing the Wood Luminary Vine King and a few spirits to look after him, then entered his castle...
And collapsed straight onto his comfortable sofa bed.
Everything else could wait. Sleep came first!
...
While he slept...
The outside world was undergoing great upheaval.
First, the veil that had shrouded the entire sea finally dispersed, and wind from the ocean swept freely across the Northern Domain.
The moonlight and the towering blue tree vanished as if from a dream.
The sentries stationed at Reef Island’s port felt the change immediately and quickly sent word through the underwater tunnel, reporting everything that had happened to Robert and the Shark Tower Spirit.
Twenty-one days—not long, but not short either.
Without word from Reef Island or any support, they had grown increasingly anxious.
Fortunately, Father Kevin and his fellow clergy had remained at the docks. One reason was to guard the Mammon’s Greed Flowers that hadn’t yet been delivered to Croyer; the other was to await new orders from the knightly order.
With five Holy Knights stationed there, any danger could be swiftly dealt with.
But they couldn’t linger much longer.
As the sea wind began to sweep across the land, a new order arrived from the Order of Salt Knights.
The order commanded them to proceed immediately to the Yavana Holy Mine, and assist the armies of two countries under the Codex Nation of the Holy Church in establishing a base.
The situation at Yavana Holy Mine was dire.
A swift and decisive strike against the cultists and the followers of the Fungoid’s Bitter Feast Mushroom was all but impossible. A full battlefront would have to be established instead.
Thus, they urgently needed to meet with Croyer.
They believed that since Croyer had been able to deal with the Mammon’s Greed Flower Vine, he might also have a way to handle Fungoid’s Bitter Feast Mushroom infections. If Croyer truly had a solution, it would be a great blessing.
So, the moment the barrier over the sea vanished, they set out immediately to find him.
However, before they even entered the sea, a massive Water Elemental emerged on the coast, wearing a solemn expression.
“The Atlantis Sea is merfolk territory. Without permission, no extraordinary beings may enter.”
Moonlight and azure seawater flowed in eternal cycles across its body, forming a luminous sheen that made it seem born of silver moonlight and the deep sea itself. Bottomless magic surged within it.
The leader of the knights, a powerful fourth-tier knight, immediately paled upon seeing this Water Elemental.
This was the Moon Sea Guardian of the merfolk.
Its strength came from the boundless sea and the moon. As long as those two forces existed, it could never be destroyed, and it could cast an array of water-based spells and divine arts.
Even a tenth-tier cardinal or archmage would be thoroughly thrashed by it here.
Within the bounds of the sea, unless one brought eleventh-tier great magic tools or was a grandmaster-level archmage, knight commander, sword saint, or even higher, no one could defeat it.
Father Kevin couldn’t help but ask, “We just want to see Croyer!”
“If Lord Croyer invites you into the sea, then you may enter,” the Moon Sea Guardian replied, still blocking their way.
But its respectful title—Lord Croyer—left the group exchanging astonished looks.
Lord Croyer?
What on earth had happened during this time for Croyer to suddenly gain such a title?
To earn the respect of the Moon Sea Guardian like that...
Could it be he married a merfolk princess?
...
Meanwhile...
In the Royal Capital.
Estena had just finished his duties for the day, sipping a cup of rich and fragrant Morning Dew Milk Tea as he sank into his spacious, comfortable chair.
“Who knows when we’ll return to normal… This milk tea’s become a craze.”
He smacked his lips, savoring the lingering sweetness.
Once Croyer’s milk tea shop had stabilized in the capital, it reopened—and was instantly swarmed by mages.
They truly couldn’t resist sweets.
And, to be fair, Estena himself had played a role in the shop’s success—
Ever since the capital’s senior mages had departed en masse, management of the city had fallen to younger mages like him.
Truth be told, the Mage Association had always been a somewhat detached entity, rarely involving itself in governance. But being headquartered in the capital, they were inevitably entangled in a few troubles.
With the seniors gone, positions had to be assigned based on rank and standing.
As a sixth-tier mage and the apprentice of Grand Mage Selestie, Estena naturally became the temporary head of the association—since seventh-tier mages typically took no apprentices.
As acting head, the milk tea shop he favored naturally gained the attention of all the mages.
No one dared cause trouble, and business was booming.
On a related note—
Though the veterans had all left, the young mages now in charge handled affairs with surprising efficiency.
After a brief adjustment period, Estena had grown quite comfortable in his new rhythm, and was even doing a respectable job.
He gazed out the window—sunlight bathed the towers and halls of the Mage Association in gold, lending vitality to the age-old structure.
“Who knows when… huh?”
Estena suddenly sensed something and quickly pulled out his Holy Spring Crystal Card.
A gentle, intellectual female voice rang out:
“Communication with the Reef Island Mage has been restored. You may now contact him. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
“It’s back.”
He considered for a moment, then sent Croyer a message, planning to meet in person when the latter was available.
After all, no matter how many messages you sent, nothing beat talking face-to-face.
As he was about to lean back and rest his eyes, a small owl-shaped mailbox spat something out in front of him.
A letter bearing the seal of the Royal Capital’s Heraldry Institute.
“Sigh, work never ends.”
Estena sighed in resignation and opened the envelope, only for his expression to turn strange.
“Requisitioning grain...?”
He sighed again, deeper this time, unsure what to say.
To call for a nationwide requisition of food in exchange for noble titles—what kind of mess had the outside world turned into?
Had things deteriorated so much that only food could carry them through?
Most shocking of all, the decree came directly from the Prince currently acting in place of the absent king—and it had passed through the Heraldry Institute and even requested assistance from the Mage Association.
That meant things were really bad—so bad that even the capital’s nobles had set aside their pride and profits to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible.
Because if you thought about it... the great nobles had far more land and food than any mage.
The fact that this wasn’t handled internally but instead made public was a signal in and of itself.
Estena thought for a moment and passed the decree along to the rest of the association, letting the mages decide collectively whether to help or not.
At the same time, he deeply hoped Croyer would wake up soon.
This wasn’t something he could talk to just anyone about—only Croyer could be spoken to freely and honestly.