Chapter 2: The Siren Wave

“Ho ho ho, I never thought an old man like me would get to witness such a miracle!”

Brand, having come to his senses, looked at the black-clad youth in front of him and took a heavy swig of wine, laughing heartily.

“It was well worth the thousands of miles I spent carrying you on my back from Florence, lad.”

Ignoring Brand beside him, Li Ruoyi stared intently at the girl before him.

It was a day of heavy snow and wind; the clouds were invisible, as were the snowflakes dancing in the sky.

The warm firelight from the hearth flickered in the room, illuminating the white-haired girl.

He could not speak, though he wasn’t sure if it was because he simply couldn’t produce a sound.

He was certain the confusion didn’t stem from the sudden resurrection; rather, it was because the girl before him was so beautiful that Li Ruoyi found himself lost for words.

The girl gazed back at him with gem-like eyes filled with slight agitation.

“Are you the Human King?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

‘A… Human King?’

He only repeated her question.

He had never encountered such knowledge before, yet he understood what she was saying and knew his responsibilities and obligations as a Human King.

The necessary information had been forcibly poured into his mind almost the instant he was resurrected.

The girl said nothing, perhaps not daring to speak.

She and the middle-aged man beside her simply watched him in silence.

How could one describe her posture?

Even if great poets like Herodotus or Homer exhausted every beautiful phrase in the world, they could not do her justice.

Like the Venus de Milo, she represented a grand fulfillment, a profound revelation, and the very charm of the human form.

Li Ruoyi chanted these thoughts in his heart, but from the moment his eyes fell upon her—the moment that petite frame entered his sight—his perception of time had frozen.

His previous death felt as if it had happened just a second ago, yet in the next second after seeing her, both the fear of death that had saturated his body and his will to survive vanished entirely.

He even forgot the pain of his newly resurrected body.

The youth in black stood up and knelt before the girl.

He gently stroked her silver-white hair, and a strange sense of familiarity flowed into his hands.

Though they were strangers, it felt as if they were destined to meet.

Rhein’s cheeks flushed at Li Ruoyi’s approach.

Gazing into her eyes, Li Ruoyi became more certain that the feeling between them was not mere affection born of attraction.

It was something invisible yet tightly connected, like a chain—a resonance originating from the same deep, throbbing place in their hearts.

“A spark of love between a boy and a girl, ignited by a fated encounter!” Brand laughed loudly.

“Did I pick up an Anchises for our little Aphrodite?”

“Uncle Brand, stop it!”

Rhein, clearly embarrassed, hurriedly turned her head away to avoid Li Ruoyi’s gaze.

She wanted to create some distance between them, but her body instinctively refused.

Again, it wasn’t romantic love or physical desire, but a link from something deep within their bodies that locked them together.

After staring at Rhein for an unknown amount of time, Li Ruoyi stood up and slowly backed away.

“I am sorry… I was impolite.”

“It’s… it’s fine,” Rhein stammered.

Having faced a personification of death twice and now experiencing her first intimate contact with a male, even a mage beyond the ordinary felt at a loss.

“Actually, I might know someone who looks just like you.”

He hesitated to say something as absurd as ‘During the time I was dead, I often saw a girl who looked exactly like you.’

Through observation, Li Ruoyi became more certain that the girl who appeared in his dreams night after night during the ten years he was dead was indeed Rhein.

Though he could never see her face clearly in those dreams, if their silhouettes were statues, they would surely be crafted by the same master.

“Tsk!” Brand clicked his tongue in disdain, clearly viewing the two as a flirting couple.

“What a vulgar pick-up line. You should learn the communication techniques of us European gentlemen.”

“It’s bad news, Lady Rhein! The Siren Tide is back!”

A soldier in armor burst into the room.

“There are too many of them! The mortals’ firearms can no longer suppress them!”

“Notify the Combat Mage Regiment and the Warlock Group to establish a defense line immediately. Do not let them come ashore! Uncle Brand, please ensure the safety of the civilians.”

“Yes!” Brand and the armored soldier replied in unison.

The soldier ducked out of the room, and Brand grabbed his wine flask and followed.

Rhein ended the small talk and grabbed the snow-white leather gloves from the table.

Li Ruoyi quickly stepped forward and caught her hand.

He felt as if she would simply leap away if he didn’t stop her.

Rhein’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch as she looked at Li Ruoyi.

“Ruoyi, I will accompany you later for as long as you want, but right now…”

“I think now is exactly when you need me. You need my strength.”

The youth voiced his thoughts somewhat shyly.

Internally, he also instinctively didn’t want that mysterious connection to break.

Accompanied by several screams, a few soldiers failed to dodge a Harpy attack.

One soldier’s skull was ripped open by a Harpy’s sharp talons, killing him instantly.

Several others were snatched up and swiftly hurled into the sea.

“Aaaah! They aren’t the children of the sea god Thaumas and the ocean nymph Electra! How do they have such intelligence?”

A mortal soldier screamed while raising his gun and firing wildly at them.

The Harpies shrieked and circled in the sky, their high-speed movement making it impossible for bullets to find their mark.

Humans are land creatures; they don’t necessarily need to be killed directly in the ocean.

Simply throwing them into the sea is enough—even for a strong sailor, it’s as good as being half-dead.

A soldier who had been thrown in barely managed to struggle to the surface before the sea monsters swarmed him, tearing him to pieces.

This time, the soldier in the water had no strength to resist; only his screams dyed the surface of the sea red.

In just one encounter, the mortal troops on the dock lost seven or eight soldiers.

More importantly, several Harpies had already surrounded them.

The sea monsters and Harpies coordinated their assault from sea and air.

Their terrifying appearances alone were enough to scare the residents moving cargo on the dock out of their wits.

One Harpy circled high above, trailing foul miasma while shrieking and diving at Rhein with its claws.

“Monsters, don’t get ahead of yourselves.”

Li Ruoyi threw a punch forward, instantly spraying a burst of blood.

A massive hole was torn through the Harpy’s chest.

This wasn’t hyperbole; with the power of a Human King, Li Ruoyi’s strike was incredibly domineering.

Even the surrounding air wailed from the intense friction.

However, he had only been resurrected minutes ago and was facing this kind of monster for the first time.

His body was somewhat stiff and uncoordinated, leaving him momentarily unsure of how to respond.

Another Harpy took advantage of the chaos to strike, leaving claw marks on his shoulder.

Even with magic armor, blood sprayed from the wound.

Seeing an opening, several Harpies closed in, their eyes filled with greed and cruelty.

This was a Human King; the allure of top-tier human blood went without saying.

The scent of Human King blood spread through the air to every corner of the coastline.

The monsters swarmed toward them frantically.

“Get back!”

Rhein raised her left hand and fired a flash of magic power.

The sea monsters at the forefront were instantly turned into blood mist, their mangled limbs falling at Li Ruoyi’s feet.

The Harpies, seeing a gap in Rhein’s spellcasting, dove down from the sky once again.

“I really am being underestimated, aren’t I?” Li Ruoyi scratched his head.

With a thud, a long scythe descended.

It pierced through one Harpy while its sharp tip skewered the neck of another.

The two Harpies screamed, their faces contorting as they desperately tried to grab something.

But now, no matter how sharp their claws were, they were useless.

Next, Li Ruoyi raised his hands slightly, the light in his eyes shifting.

He rushed out, swinging his scythe.

A multi-armed sea monster blocking the path was instantly shredded into pieces under the swinging blade.

“Waah! Waah!”

With a shriek, the Harpies seemed to realize the strength of the Human King before them.

They beat their wings and quickly retreated several dozen feet.

But they did not leave; instead, they circled and flew around the humans below.

“Damn it! They aren’t the children of Thaumas and Electra; they are just descendants of Typhon and the serpent-woman Echidna! Why do they have such intelligence?”

The human commander couldn’t help but curse.

Weapons were limited. If not for the assistance of Lady Rhein’s mages, the Harpies in the sky alone would have been more than enough to give him and his soldiers a hard time.

Just then, a massive impact occurred.

The ships docked at the harbor rocked violently.

The mortals were knocked down by the sudden shock, falling onto the decks.

Two sailors screamed as they rolled into the sea; before they could call for help, they were swallowed whole by a giant shadow beneath the water.

“Something underwater is ramming the ship!”

“A giant sea monster is attacking!”

Soldiers and sailors screamed.

The human commander from before rolled to his feet, feeling so frustrated he could spit blood.

As of now, he had already lost half his men.

Six months ago, he had been full of ambition, promising the Nicolae family that he could steadily hold this last port in Northern Europe.

“Chief, it’s coming again!”

Before long, a sailor screamed.

Although it was a large ship with a draft of over fourteen meters and a very sturdy hull, it seemed unstable under the attack of that giant sea monster.

At that moment, a massive body emerged from the water, opening a maw like a bloody cavern.

“God! This is getting too difficult!”

Rhein had just finished dealing with the circling Harpies when she was enveloped by a massive black shadow.

BOOM!

The creature bit down.

This sea monster had razor-sharp teeth that could cut through iron like butter.

With a single bite, it actually crunched the giant ship docked at the pier into fragments.

The massive force surged onto the coastline, and the layers of giant waves it kicked up threw the mortals on the ship heavily against the masts.

The masts snapped instantly, and shards of debris flew into the sea.

The human commander slid down slowly, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

This was no longer a blessing from God; it was an invitation from Satan.