Chapter 92

# Chapter 92: <If We're Moving, Then>

The sight of the giant whales crossing the horizon and the sea disappeared. Instead, a human appeared in front of Kale.

"Master, it's been a while."

"Paseon, it's good to see you."

Paseon, a half-whale, appeared in front of Kale as a small humpback whale. The sky above the cliff was already dark, and only Raon, Choi Han, and Rosalyn were with Kale.

"Why did you call me suddenly?"

Paseon's gaze fell on the shell in Kale's hand. Even while in the midst of a fierce battle with the merfolk, he couldn't ignore this sound.

The signal sent by Kale was an 'emergency' signal. It was a sound that only whale-human hybrids could hear.

"Have you already needed our strength?"

One of the deals between Kale and the whale clan. Kale could use the strength of the whale clan.

Without hesitation, Kale got straight to the point.

"I learned about the group helping the merfolk."

"…What?"

Paseon's expression stiffened at the unexpected words.

The whale clan was already suffering from the mysterious humans who had occupied Hyss Island 5 and were aiding the merfolk. They weren't particularly strong, but the fact that they had allies was bothersome.

"One of my subordinates was badly injured while confirming this. The merfolk poison is urgent to treat, and I thought I should share the information."

But Paseon had a question first.

"Why did you find out about this, Master?"

Kale's mouth closed for a moment. Rarely, an awkward smile appeared on his lips.

"Just because I was concerned."

Even with Raon's presence, he spoke into Kale's mind.

-You're at it again.

But Kale brushed it off lightly, with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Anyway, haven't the merfolk become stronger through the Dark Forest near our territory? The whale clan is strong, so you should handle it well. I also wanted to do something."

Paseon thought Kale's annoyed expression looked like he was embarrassed. It was the same face he made when removing the merfolk poison from his leg.

A myriad of emotions flashed in the handsome man's eyes. Even under the night sky, his beautiful eyes were clearly visible.

Kale turned his head.

"Is that so?"

"It's not like we're strangers."

He gave a casual answer to Paseon's words and met the eyes of his companions.

Rosalyn and Choi Han.

The two stared at Kale intently. Their eyes were saying:

'Strangely, it's not far from the truth, is it?'

Then Paseon's voice was heard.

"Master, thank you. You saved my life last time."

Kale still didn't look at Paseon. But Rosalyn and Choi Han's eyes asked:

'When did you save him?'

Kale ignored their gaze. As expected, Rosalyn and Choi Han didn't ask out loud. Instead, Rosalyn spoke.

"Master Kale came here immediately after learning the information. He said it's urgent to treat the merfolk poison and inform the whale clan."

Kale conveyed his gratitude with his eyes. This was the first time someone helped him with such actions. Choi Han stepped back, tightly closing his mouth.

"Is that so? To treat the merfolk poison, we need a merfolk corpse."

"I'll go myself."

"Excuse me?"

Kale looked at Paseon again.

"We're going too."

There was something he had to do.

Of course, the words he used to package it were different from his true intentions.

"My strength is weak, so I can't participate in the battle, but I want to help at least a little."

He would just strike and run.

That was enough.

Paseon's eyes flickered.

The whale clan was already in a tough battle with the merfolk. They were prepared and had an advantage because they knew about the poison and the dead mana in advance.

The merfolk were numerous, and the whales, who had to protect weaker sea creatures, faced many obstacles.

So overwhelming strength was needed.

'Master said he's weak, but…'

Paseon's gaze shifted slightly to the black dragon.

Whether on the water's surface, on the island, or in the sea.

"Little whale, what are you looking at?"

The cute, pudgy dragon wrinkled its nose and struck a somewhat dignified pose. Paseon saw the dragon's power. It was overwhelming and miraculous.

"No, Dragon Lord."

"Hmph, I'm going too."

Paseon's polite demeanor made Raon snort and turn his head. At the same time, Raon spoke into Kale's mind.

-Is this okay, human? Was I great?

Kale nodded slightly at Raon. Raon did well. Whether the dragon was proud or not, Kale spoke to Paseon.

"I'll share the information on the way. I want to get there quickly. What do you think?"

Paseon naturally replied.

"Let's go right away."

"Alright."

Late at night, Kale quietly prepared to set sail.

Of course, it wasn't at the coast. Currently, soldiers from the Ubarr territory and the royal side were patrolling the coast and the village.

Kale was on one of the many small islands at the outer edge of the coast. He had already moved his party here during the day.

"Oh."

"Wow."

Paseon was taken aback by the people who were admiring. He had expected Won and Hong, but there were more people than he thought, and he could sense the aura of strong individuals.

Paseon wondered if he, being one of the weaker whales, was imagining things, but the reactions of the two orcas who came with him seemed appropriate.

"Aji, it's been a while."

Aji, the orca and bodyguard of the whale king Sikel, bowed with a slanted face and then turned his gaze away from Kale.

Kale's eyes and the intense gaze of the black dragon behind him made him uncomfortable.

"Damn it!"

Aji cursed, looking up at the sky.

Kale patted his back.

"I'll ride on your back. Please ensure a safe journey."

Aji had become a water taxi.

***

Swoosh— Swoosh—

Listening to the sound of the water being parted, Kale enjoyed the night sea. The orca's back was comfortable.

Tap. Tap. Raon tapped the orca's back. Won and Hong, afraid of the water, clung to the innermost part of the boat, next to Ron. They were more worried about Ron than Kale.

"Human, a whale's back is slippery."

"Of course it is."

"I see."

With a blank face, Raon lay down on the whale's back, following Kale. Aji, fittingly the strongest orca, was larger than the average orca.

At about 12 meters, it felt like a building was moving.

Kale looked at the other orca. The orca was moving at the same speed, and between Aji and the other orca, a medium-sized boat was being towed by mana ropes. Of course, Paseon was leading the way at the front.

'Super fast taxi.'

It was very fast. Kale looked at the other orca's back.

Rosalyn and Choi Han had strange expressions, and Hilsman, who was suffering from seasickness, sat with a complicated look, his mouth clamped shut. Turning his gaze from them, Kale enjoyed the night sky and the shining stars over the sea.

And he thought.

'One island can be destroyed, right?'

Enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, Kale arrived at Hyss Island 1.

Hyss Island 12 was close to the 'Cave' base on Hyss Island 5, so there was a risk of whales being seen. They planned to land on Hyss Island 1 and then move to Island 12.

"I'll bring my sister."

Paseon said with a determined expression that he would bring his sister, Witira.

During the move, Kale informed him that the group helping the merfolk was quite large and bold enough to cause a terrorist attack in the capital of Rowen Kingdom.

"Alright, come back quickly."

"Yes. Hyss Island 1 is within our sea territory, so the merfolk won't come here."

"Alright."

Paseon bowed and immediately moved away from the island. Aji and his subordinates followed Paseon without looking back.

"Master, should we set up a tent?"

"Sure. Set up the tent and then move Ron."

"Understood."

The wolf hybrid, Mes, answered dutifully and immediately went to Lak and Hilsman. Lak, the successor of the wolf king, was patting Hilsman's back, who was complaining.

Soon, under Rosalyn and Mes's lead, the party set up several tents on the coast of Hyss Island 1. Naturally, Kale was just watching.

In front of him was Choi Han. Kale called him aside.

"Choi Han."

"Yes."

"I know I'm being cowardly, but I think it's better to be cowardly than to get hurt."

Kale's goal was to quietly slip away without getting involved in the whale and merfolk battle.

"But there's something we must do this time."

Before the whale clan arrived, Kale had something to tell Choi Han.

"Do you remember the mage from the capital terror attack?"

Choi Han's expression hardened. The bloodthirsty mage, Redica, was the one who cut off his arm.

Kale whispered.

"He's the only one who saw Ron's face. There are two things I consider most important in this matter."

Their gazes met.

"One is to treat Ron's merfolk poison, and the other is to eliminate any danger to Ron or any of us. Do you understand?"

Choi Han answered without hesitation.

"I'll either remove the mage's remaining eye or kill him."

He added.

"Vicros will go wild, but it's better if I do it. He's not thinking clearly right now."

Choi Han clearly understood his task. He had let the mage escape, causing Ron to be in this state. Now, killing a person was something he could do without fear.

It wasn't without pain, but especially for scum like that, it was better to kill them.

"No, there's no need to kill him recklessly. I don't want to dirty my hands."

"It's not much of a strain, though."

Kale knew.

Choi Han was kind but had a faint boundary when it came to killing.

But Kale himself didn't want to get his hands dirty. He was a coward, and that was who he was.

"Choi Han, my plan is—"

At that moment.

Swoosh—

A massive sound of water being parted was heard.

Kale's mouth closed for a moment. The smell of blood instantly hit his nose.

He turned his head to the coast.

"Wow."

There really was someone fighting in such a brutal way.

No, it wasn't a person but a whale.

A giant humpback whale.

Witira, the successor of the whale king.

She appeared on the water's surface, covered in blood. It seemed she had been fighting the merfolk, bleeding profusely.

"Master Kale, it's been a while."

But her voice was calm.

At that moment, Raon's voice echoed in Kale's mind.

-I'm great, so I don't want to get my hands dirty! Especially not you!

Raon strongly asserted.

-Human, give me the mana stones quickly! I'll make dozens of magic bombs if you say so!

Hundreds of the highest-grade mana stones, which were incredibly rare and had immense destructive power.

The black dragon and Rosalyn.

"Choi Han."

Kale walked to the coast where Witira was and asked in a voice only Choi Han could hear. It was a task only a few could do.

"Can you hide well?"

The plan was called 'Reflection.'

Doing the same thing back to them. There was nothing more annoying and psychologically damaging than that.