Shui watched the rampage of Mercum from afar. The fire dragon king was certainly strong, to the point that Shui couldn't completely be confident about defeating it in a head-on battle, but after seeing it get tricked, he lost the desire to test his strength against it. Though it was only a subdragon, if it had stayed vigilant, then the effects of the hypnosis would have been severely limited, if not blocked entirely, thanks to its bloodline talents. Therefore, it was also to blame for falling into this predicament.
Shui noticed the smugglers as they stole eggs from its nest, but he did nothing. Due to the time spent with his sworn brother, Cin, Shui was more empathetic towards evolved beasts than most humans, but not to the extent that he would go out of his way to aid beasts he had never met before. Furthermore, his mission wasn't much different from what they were doing, so it would be hypocritical of him to stop them.
Judging by the state of things, it seemed like the smugglers would leave this incident as the winner, so Shui prepared to steal an egg before returning to the manor. However, he would soon realise that the situation had grown beyond the control of the organisation that planned it.
West of Mercum's territory was a collection of ponds and lakes where the water dragon king and its brethren resided. Of the five dragon kings, the water, fire, and stone dragon kings had territory adjacent to Garakil, so they were often targeted during breeding season, but due to the reclusive nature of the stone subdragons they were hardly affected. If Mercum was the only one affected by these smugglers, the water dragon king would have stayed on the sidelines, but that wasn't the case. There were those besides Shui who thought of taking advantage of the situation, although they were later than him.
While the professional smugglers targeted the wyverns in the fire dragon king's territory, the opportunists attacked the water subdragons. With no need to worry about the Garakil authorities taking their loot, all sorts of cultivators boldly attacked the subdragons to steal their eggs and carry away their corpses. However, these opportunists had forgotten the true owners of Scaly Canyon.
At the center of the largest lake inside the canyon, the water dragon king stood proud before its brethren. They were a variant of winged serpents, known as tsunami serpents, with aquamarine scales and translucent bug-like wings. Their lengths were the same, all several times the height of an adult human, but the water dragon king had two features that the others didn't. There was a straight, sharp horn on its forehead and a second pair of wings on its back.
"My blood comrades, since that brute is too hotheaded to teach these pests a lesson, it seems the duty falls on our heads."
To show their enthusiasm, the serpents released low howls reminiscent of a whale call. Compared to the wyverns that followed Mercum, the tsunami serpents were less aggressive, but they showed no mercy in battle.
"Good! Now follow my lead and let us drown these humans under our might!"
The water dragon king was the first to ascend, followed by the other tsunami serpents. With its authority over the water, the water dragon king immediately absorbed the water in the clouds and used it to charge its dragon breath. Only the dragon kings had bloodlines pure enough to utilise the defining technique of the dragon race, but the other tsunami serpents mimicked it using their innate spells. Once they were done charging, the serpents spat a ridiculous volume of water towards Garakil. Normally, the canyon would absorb most of the water, but this water was special. It instead gathered into a gigantic wave that could be seen from the city.
Funnily enough, it was the opportunists aiming for tsunami serpent eggs that failed to notice the wave. Two core disciples from Maiden Academy had been in the water dragon king's territory to look for materials to make an artifact. There was also a plan to fight against tsunami serpents for battle experience, but they hadn't intended to steal any eggs, and even when they saw several other groups making such attempts, they kept their distance. However, calamity wasn't something that avoided the innocent.
The two noticed the wave fairly early, but in what seemed to be an instant, the wave grew to an oppressive height. Even if they exhausted themselves running, they knew they wouldn't be able to escape, but that wasn't what stopped them from moving. The suddenness of this lethal threat was simply too much of a threat for them to overcome. Without discrimination, the wave approached with a steady and inevitable pace.
When the Thirteen Chiefs noticed the wave, they were similarly struck by despair. There was no way they would be able to properly lead an evacuation with the smugglers still causing trouble, and even if they did manage to get everyone out safely, it was hard to believe that the subdragons would let them off with just this. There was a giant protection array around the city, but it was unlikely to last more than a few seconds against the attacks of the tsunami serpents.
One of the chiefs had been helping the smugglers from behind the scenes, and he was particularly upset by this turn of events. If the Information and Internal Security branches launched an official investigation, he would likely be found out, but he had been prepared to leave the city with the treasures he gained from his deal. However, at this rate, it was unknown if he would even be able to survive to use the loot.
The peak Master that was slumbering within the residential region of the Alu clan was also awakened by the oncoming wave. With the arrays and hidden measures set up by the clan, he would be able to exert the same level of power as a True Master, so he could theoretically defeat the water dragon king. Unfortunately, this power boost was only effective within the confines of the city, so if the water dragon king kept its distance, he would only be able to wither away. Nevertheless, he couldn't afford to let the city be destroyed.
The old peak Master stood up and prepared to meet the incoming wave, but suddenly the water quickly vaporised, becoming steam that blocked the sight of the canyon from the city. Although the wave could no longer be seen, the steam was just as if not more ominous, so no one felt like celebrating.
"What, happened?"
That was the question on everyone's mind, even the tsunami serpents that created the wave. They were just as clueless as the cultivators waiting for their doom. Only the person moving towards the stunned subdragons despite this disaster had the answer to their query.