Who taught him to restore the country like this

Chapter 227 is the Hero

Tianhai North Island is a small island located north of Tianhai in the Star Empire, its area being only the size of a duchy in an ordinary kingdom.

The island has a unique structure; rather than being an island, it is more like a reef that emerges from the water after the tide recedes.

It is half underwater and half above the water surface all year round, but it will sink completely to the bottom when the tide comes.

The harsh living environment eliminated most of the races that wanted to inhabit it.

In the end, only the mermaids settled down, hence Tianhai North Island is also known as Mermaid Island.

Mermaids prefer peace and quiet and dislike noise, living in seclusion from the world for many years.

The surrounding kingdoms have always kept to themselves because the island's geographical location and living environment are unsuitable for development.

Until the end of the first war of the divine kingdoms, the Star Empire, which unified all the kingdoms near Mermaid Island, forcibly incorporated Mermaid Island into the territory of the Star Empire.

Mermaid Island protested, but all their efforts were met with firm resistance.

The Star Empire took a hard line, insisting that the mermaids on Mermaid Island, even though the territory was useless to them, must still make the mermaids on the island submit to the Star Empire.

The three major Vatican authorities have no say in this matter.

Only attacks launched by the Star Empire against neighboring kingdoms without cause fall under the jurisdiction of the three major papal courts.

Territories like Mermaid Island, which are not kingdoms and cannot participate in the war of the gods, would only see symbolic mediation from the three major churches if the Star Empire wanted to conquer them.

Under the constant harassment from the Star Emperor, Mermaid Island finally chose to submit in order to restore peace.

Having gained the submission of the mermaids, the old emperor did not make things too difficult for Mermaid Island. He only required them to pay tribute with some jewels every year and then let them grow freely.

After all, this small island is flooded from time to time, so there's really nothing worth investing energy in.

If it weren't for the discovery of a secret treasure in the divine realm that required the heart of a mermaid to unlock, Mermaid Island could have remained untouched and undiscovered forever.

"Are you going to the Sirens' tribe?"

On the ship flying the flag of the Rose Mercenary Group in the sky, Salom, dressed in a smart mercenary uniform and with her complexion beginning to recover, looked somewhat troubled after hearing Ron's request.

The mermaids of Tianhai North Island are divided into five tribes, among which the Sirens tribe, which lives on the water, has the largest population.

Naturally, it also became the first target that the heirs of the empire fought over.

The second prince lost the battle, and the first prince gained control of the area inhabited by the Sirens.

The area is currently occupied by the Silver Blade Mercenary Group, and if the Rose Mercenary Group wants to get in, they'll probably have to fight.

"What brings you to the Siren tribe?"

"Shalom asked."

"We want to send Luna back, and while we're at it, see if we can find any other clues about the Mermaid's Heart."

Ron said.

Other clues?

Salom caught these four key words.

The brave team already has clues about the Mermaid's Heart?

"If it's inconvenient for you, we can go there ourselves."

Ron continued.

"Convenient, of course convenient."

Shalom responded immediately.

Just kidding, she invited the hero to Tianhai North Island, how could she let the hero go to the Silver Blade Mercenary Group's territory alone?

Although a cooperation agreement has been reached with the hero, there is no written contract. If the Silver Blade Mercenary Group offers more tempting terms and lures the hero away, it would be a loss for them.

"I'll inform the team leader right now and have her make the arrangements for us."

Salom said.

In short, first keep the brave warriors in your camp.

Although this matter is difficult, as long as it is for the sake of finding the Mermaid Heart, it doesn't matter if it means fighting with the Silver Blade Mercenary Group.

"Thank you."

Ron thanked him.

With the Rose Mercenary Group clearing the way, he didn't need to worry about Luna being forcibly taken away by the Silver Blade Mercenary Group after entering the Siren Tribe.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. The news of Luna's mermaid phenomenon must have already reached the Silver Blade Mercenary Group.

Without a major conflict of interest, the Silver Blade Mercenary Group would not dare to attack the hero's team.

When conflicts of interest arise, especially concerning the Mermaid Heart, the Silver Blade Mercenary Group will not hold back.

As long as the hero isn't killed, it's fine.

"No trouble."

Shalom chuckled and said, "By the way, was that little girl from the Sirens tribe? What was with the mermaid phantom she had that night? Did she tell you?"

That night, after confirming that the Mermaid Heart was not with Luna, Luna was protected by the Hero, and she never had a chance to ask him herself.

"That phantom is..."

boom!
bang bang-

Several loud explosions suddenly rang out, drowning out Ron's voice.

The ship began to rock violently, and Ron stomped his feet to steady himself.

At the same time, he grabbed Karina, who was losing her balance and almost fell.

A moment later, the boat stopped rocking.

"Thank you."

Karina thanked Ron.

Ron shook his head, looked at Keltia and Gratoni, whose heads had been pressed down by Gangji in a moment of panic, and asked:

"Are you guys okay?"

"fine."

Keltia, whose face was completely enveloped by Tsuna's hands, responded calmly.

"Let go of my hand, I can stand on my own."

Gratoni slapped Gangji's hand away in annoyance, feeling a sharp pain in his head.

If it weren't for his excellent physical condition, his head would have been crushed just now.

He strongly suspected that the kid had just used him as a support.

"Miss Salom, are you alright..."

Gratoni straightened his hair and looked at Salom, wanting to express his concern.

Salom, however, hurried past him with a solemn expression and went outside the cabin.

"What happened?"

She looked at a group of mercenaries who were launching an attack into the sea and asked loudly.

"Vice Commander, something terrible has happened! Our ship has been attacked by a sea monster!"

"It's a sea monster controlled by merfolk!"

The mercenaries on deck quickly reported this.

"Damn it."

Salom cursed under his breath, hurried to the side of the boat, and looked down.

Several enormous black shadows were seen swimming underwater, attempting to launch a second attack on the ship.

Surrounding these enormous black shadows were groups of smaller black shadows, resembling both humans and fish, swimming at an incredibly fast speed, faster than even a ship traveling at full speed.

"Smash them!"

"Shalom shouted."

"Isn't there a gentler way?"

Karina, who had come up to the deck with Salom, wanted to help, but was reluctant to do so.

From an outsider's perspective, they are invaders, and the merfolk are only doing this to protect their home.

"Princess Karina, do not underestimate war. Being soft-hearted towards the enemy is being irresponsible towards your own life and the lives of your comrades."

Shalom's expression was serious and left no room for negotiation.

The Star Empire is already at war with the Merfolk, so what peaceful approach is there left?

Karina looked at Ron.

The merfolk respect heroes, and if Ron were to step forward as a hero, perhaps he could stop this war.

"War and hatred cannot be resolved with a single word, Karina."

Ron's expression remained calm.

Mermaids respect heroes, but respect doesn't mean blindly obeying them. When you lack the ability to resolve others' conflicts, it's best not to use their respect for you to boss them around.

"I'm sorry, I oversimplified things."

Karina bowed her head and apologized to Ron. Then she walked to the side of the ship and joined the battle.

Ron neither stopped them nor joined the fight.

Kertia, Ganggi, and Gratoni all chose to remain on the sidelines.

They had learned about the situation on Tianhai North Island from Salom.

The Star Empire and the Merfolk have gone to war. Although the empire is powerful, it has not gained much advantage in the war against the Merfolk.

Because the merfolk hide underwater.

They are natural-born masters of naval warfare, and in the vast ocean, their full strength can be brought into full play.

If the empire's strongest warriors were to fight in the water, they would be considered quite good if they could unleash eight out of ten of their strength.

With the advantage of home ground and internal discord within the empire, the Merfolk were barely able to contend with the behemoth that was the Star Empire.

Their main action now is to attack and intercept ships heading to Tianhai North Island, depriving the people on Tianhai North Island of food supplies and forcing them to retreat on their own.

They are extremely skilled at attacking ships, and they succeed eight out of ten times.

Without an eighth-tier expert accompanying them, the Star Empire's ships would be sunk without a doubt.

If the Star Empire is still determined to come, then they must be prepared to sink their ship.

They shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing.

Of course, the main reason is that there is an eighth-tier powerhouse named Salom on this ship.

Although Shalom is a martial artist, at the eighth rank, the ranged damage a martial artist can unleash should not be underestimated.

The merfolk who attacked them were mostly ordinary sixth-tier merfolk, while the sea monsters were only seventh-tier.

Even with the combat advantage in the water, as long as Shalom doesn't foolishly jump into the water, they will have a hard time being a match for Shalom.

Especially with the support of Kaleina.

Sure enough, shortly after Salom joined the battle, the mermaids and sea monsters attacking the ship were repelled.

The Rose Mercenary Group only managed to capture two radical mermaids.

After all, mermaids are agile in the water, making it virtually impossible to kill them or capture them all.

"You filthy mermaids, how many times have you attacked our ships this month?"

"I doubt you're blind. The Silver Blade Mercenary Group was the one that slaughtered your people. Can't you see the flag clearly?"

On the deck, two captured mermaids had their tails pinned to the deck by spears.

Shalom stared at them with disgust as he spoke.

"Hmph, you're all the same. Only by killing you all can we avenge our people."

A male mermaid stared fiercely at Salom, his eyes filled with hatred as if even tearing Salom to pieces wouldn't be enough to quell the hatred in his heart.

The other female mermaid also had hatred in her eyes, but her injuries were more serious. A steel anchor had pierced her abdomen, and she lay on the deck, barely breathing, too weak to speak.

"You keep talking even when you are about to die."

Shalom raised her long sword with a cold look in her eyes. She had no mercy for enemies who wanted to kill her.

"Vice Commander Shalom, could you hand them over to me for disposal?"

Just then, Ron, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, spoke up.

Salom paused, staring at the two mermaids in front of her for a moment before finally sheathing her knife.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, hero, to deal with them for me."

Salom didn't look at Ron, but turned and went into the cabin.

"Please bring him to my room, and it would be best to also call a doctor."

Ron spoke to the mercenaries on the deck.

The mercenaries on the deck looked at each other in bewilderment.

I understand taking them into the room for questioning, but why call the doctor over?

Could it be that the hero is being soft-hearted and wants to save these two mermaids?
The mercenaries were somewhat reluctant at first, but since the vice-commander had already spoken, they dared not neglect the hero's request.

The two pulled out the spear that was pinning the mermaid's tail, lifted the injured mermaid, and took her to Ron's room.

The two mermaids did not resist and remained in a state of shock throughout.

What did that woman say just now?
Brave Lord! ?

Is he a hero?
"Karina, could you please go and bring Luna over here?"

Ron then spoke to Karina.

Karina nodded.

Ron returned to his room.

Kertia followed.

Inside the cabin, two injured merfolk lay flat on the floor.

When the male mermaid heard someone enter, he looked over with a fierce gaze. When he saw that it was Ron, he paused for a moment, and then the fierceness in his eyes gradually disappeared.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

Ron placed the Hero's Sword on the ground, spreading his hands out to indicate that he had no hostile intentions.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Beretta, and I am the fifth generation hero appointed by the Radiant Church and the Kingdom of Orantia."

"Are you a hero?"

The male mermaid's pupils narrowed slightly, his joyful eyes tinged with disbelief.

"The real deal."

Ron smiled.

"Hero, Doria, can you hear me? It's the Hero!"

The male mermaid became agitated.

"My dear hero..."

Upon hearing this, the female mermaid struggled to get up and greet the hero.

"Cough cough..."

The next second, she spat out a large amount of blood.

"Sorry."

Ron picked up the Hero's Sword and swung it at the specially made steel anchor piercing through his abdomen.

In an instant, the steel anchor was severed.

While using magic to suppress the bleeding from his wound, Ron gently removed the steel anchor.

Just then, the Rose Mercenary Group's healer arrived.

"Could you please treat their injuries?"

Ron pleaded.

Although the doctor didn't understand, he still provided treatment for the merman as Ron requested.

The female mermaid's injuries were very serious, but fortunately, the doctor who arrived was a high-level healer.

Under the powerful healing magic, the horrific wound on the female mermaid's abdomen healed at a visible speed, the pain on her face gradually subsided, and her breathing became steady.

“I have treated her external injuries, and she is no longer in danger of death. As for her internal injuries, she will be unable to operate her magic circuits for a short period of time.”

The doctor stood up and said.

"Thank you, I appreciate your help."

Ron did not ask the doctor to treat his internal injuries as well.

After seeing the doctor off, Ron turned his gaze back to the two mermaids.

"Can you tell me your names?"

he asked.

"Silas, a warrior of the Sirens."

"Doria, a warrior of the Lorelei tribe."

The two watched as Ron announced his name and tribe.

"Hero, why do you ally with those invaders?"

Immediately afterwards, the male mermaid Silas asked with a serious expression.

(End of this chapter)