Winner Takes All

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Chapter 108 – Sea Monster (Extra 8, Chapter 8) 

Title: 谁把谁当真 (Winner Takes All)

Author：水千丞 (ShuiQianCheng)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists ：黎朔 (Li Shuo), 赵锦辛 (Zhao Jinxin)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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Li Shuo managed to swim to Jinxin’s side and grabbed him. He then said sharply: “What are you trying to do? Are you crazy?” He said this while looking at Jinxin up and down. Seeing that he is still intact, his heart was finally relieved a little.

Jinxin said sadly: “Didn’t you want me to go to land with you?”

“I didn’t ask you to give up your voice, your fishtail, and the sea!”

Jinxin looked deeply at Li Shuo: “Then, are you willing to go back to the bottom of the sea with me?”

Li Shuo’s expression turned sad as well. He was immediately speechless.

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Jinxin lowered his head and whispered, “I am willing to go to land for you. How about you? You said you like me. What are you willing to do for me?”

Li Shuo suddenly felt as if he was struck by lightning. He lost his ability to speak for a long time.

He then only managed to answer with difficulty: “I… I have my responsibility. I don’t belong only to myself.”

Jinxin gritted his teeth: “You just don’t like me. You are lying to me.”

“I didn’t!” Li Shuo hugged Jinxin as he choked up, “I didn’t lie to you. Not a single word of mine is a lie. You must not give up on the sea. Don’t give up on those precious things. I like you just how you are now. You don’t need to change anything.”

Jinxin said sadly: “Then shall I give up on you? Compared to you, I can do nothing else.”

Li Shuo was shocked by the deep affection portrayed by Jinxin. There was no hesitation at all in what he was willing to do for him. Li Shuo fixedly looked at Jinxin with tears in his eyes.

Jinxin stroked Li Shuo’s cheeks. His eyes were confident and transparent, “Since we love each other, we must be together forever. All obstacles are just excuses. If you don’t want to come to the sea, I am willing to go to land for you.”

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“It’s not allowed!” Qun said sharply after watching for a long time. His face became even more unsightly. “I will never allow you to betray your own clan for a mere human being.”

“I’m not betraying anyone. I just followed my own heart.” Jinxin retorted, “Brother Emperor, you don’t understand at all!”

“You are so stupid!” Qun sternly accused, “Human beings are hypocritical and selfish. He never really takes you seriously. But you wanted to give up everything for him.”

“You’re talking nonsense.” Li Shuo retorted loudly, “I only have him in my heart. Jinxin is right. You don’t understand anything.”

The witch Isis knocked on a potion bottle impatiently. She said slowly, sounding like a sharp and ear-piercing noise, “It’s really touching. The love between you two. Unfortunately, this thing is of no value to me. So, Prince Jinxin, do you still want your legs?”

“I want it.”

“No!” Li Shuo snapped, “He won’t give you his voice. Never.”

Isis let out a sinister laugh.

Jinxin said angrily: “You don’t want to go to the bottom of the sea with me and you don’t want me to go to land. Is your wish only to be separated from me? Have you never thought of staying with me?”

Qun sneered: “Look. For human beings, you are just a part of his journey. It was only your own wishful thinking to believe that he likes you. Even if you get your legs, he will eventually abandon you!”

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Jinxin looked at Li Shuo, feeling completely at a loss. The circles of his eyes gradually turned red.

Li Shuo held Jinxin’s hand tightly and stared at Qun fearlessly: “You are not me. You have no right to speak for me.”

Qun narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Li Shuo looked directly into Jinxin’s eyes and said gently but firmly: “I don’t want to be separated from you. I never want to. I admit that I hesitated because I have the responsibility to protect my country. I’m afraid of letting those who don’t understand you judge you. I’m afraid of disappointing my relatives and people. And I am even more afraid of not being able to protect you. But now I understand that those are not important. We are already connected. I will never allow you to hurt yourself and I will not allow my own weakness to become an obstacle between us. I want to take you back to the Kingdom of Lambert!”

Jinxin looked at Li Shuo in surprise.

Li Shuo gently stroked Jinxin’s face: “I want to take you back to my country and tell everyone that you are the one I will be with for the rest of my life. No matter how many people object, no matter what I have to give up for this, I will never regret it. We can live in the sea. Just like when we first met. And I am willing to drink the potion for you at any time and accompany you back to the bottom of the sea. We don’t have to give up our hometown and relatives. I will try my best to get their understanding.”

Jinxin embraced Li Shuo excitedly. He then covered his lips with his own lips forcefully and kissed him passionately.

Li Shuo also responded with absentmindedness, feeling the deep love that tightly surrounds his body between the entanglement of his lips and teeth.

Qun rolled his eyes and turned around angrily.

Meanwhile, a strange smile appeared on Isis’s ugly face, which made people feel creeped out.

When the two separated from their intimate kiss, only then did Li Shuo remember that there were other people around him. He was a little embarrassed. But he didn’t forget his purpose of coming here so he said to Isis in a more polite tone, “Your Excellency, Jinxin won’t drink your potion. And he won’t trade anything with you.”

Isis shrugged: “Unfortunately, I’ve always wanted the merman’s singing voice as a collection. What a waste of my time.”

“Why do you have…this?” Li Shuo looked around. Except for some weird magic props, the ‘puppet’ in those glass showcases made his hair stand on end.

“They are all prices people paid for.” Isis sneered. “If you want to get something from me, you have to pay a certain price. This ship included. They are all prices paid to me by humans.”

“Then…” Li Shuo couldn’t bear to point to the little human girl in the showcase, “What about her?” The little girl looked to be only five to six years old. She was as beautiful as a little angel. Why did she become a half-dead collection belonging to this terrible witch?

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“Ah, this one.” The witch said happily, “She is my recent collection that I like very much. It was paid for by her father himself.”

“What?” Li Shuo stared at her incredulously as anger rose in his chest, “What kind of father would sell off his daughter!”

“People call him Captain Hawke.” Isis said with a sneer, “I heard that he is a very famous pirate on the Seven Seas.”

Li Shuo was stunned: “Jillian Hawke? Are you sure it’s the name? He’s the captain of the Red Vortex pirate group!”

The Red Vortex is the group of pirates who have been harassing Lambert and the merchant ships of neighbouring countries for a long time. They are the most evil and cruel bastards in the world.

Li Shuo led the Lambert navy to fight against the Red Vortex back then. He successfully sank four of Hawke’s warships. If he hadn’t accidentally entered the devil’s storm at sea, maybe he could wipe out the entire Red Vortex.

“Ah, probably so.” Isis stroked the showcase and looked at the little girl in fascination. She nodded with satisfaction, “She is a work of art. I can’t wait to change her into all kinds of beautiful dresses.”

Li Shuo bit his lower lip and looked at the little girl sadly. Jinxin felt his sadness and anger. He gently rubbed his palm using his fingertips.

“Please tell me what Hawke exchanged his daughter for with you.” Li Shuo had a bad premonition.

Isis laughed lowly: “Him? He demands the power to destroy all enemies and dominate the Seven Seas.”

Li Shuo felt like he had fallen into an ice cave. He then tremblingly said, “Lambert is in danger…” He grabbed Jinxin. “Take me back quickly. My country is in danger!”

Jinxin stroked Li Shuo’s hair and comforted him: “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” Jinxin spoke the language of sea monsters to Qun.

Qun turned away indifferently.

With a flick of his tail, Jinxin swam to the front of Qun. The two of them were talking back and forth, looking obviously not happy with each other.

Qun changed to speak in the words of the human beings and looked at Li Shuo coldly. He said loudly: “Since you choose to betray your own clan for this human being, then you won’t get the support of our army. You solve your beloved human’s troubles all by yourself.”

Jinxin pouted his mouth and ‘hmmffed’ angrily at Qun. He then pulled Li Shuo up with him and swam away without looking back.

Isis grinned: “They were really impatient. They didn’t ask me if I gave anything to Hawke.”

Qun narrowed his eyes as he looked at Isis.

Jinxin pulled Li Shuo and swam out of the seagrass forest.

Li Shuo said with lingering fear, “How did you figure out the direction in here?”

“Smell.” Jinxin said, “We will leave our own scent on the route we have travelled. But you will not be able to smell it.”

“You… Do you come here often?” Li Shuo looked at the bones on the seabed with lingering fear.

“When I was young, I used to come here to explore with my brother.” When ‘Brother Emperor’ was mentioned, Jinxin’s expression darkened. “Although he is stubborn, he treats me very well. Why can’t he understand me this time?”

Li Shuo was silent for a moment. He really didn’t want to speak up for that ferocious and terrifying sea monster. But in fact, he could understand his reasoning. He had no choice but to comfort Jinxin and said, “He is the heir to the throne. He has to bear more responsibilities.”

Jinxin was silent for a moment: “Is it just like you?”

“Yeah.” Li Shuo said worriedly, “The country’s happiness is above my own. Even my life…”

“I will never let anyone hurt you.” Jinxin looked at him with firm eyes, “I will protect you and your country.”

Li Shuo said gratefully, “Jinxin, thank you.”

After swimming out of the seagrass forest, Jinxin also summoned the school of swordfish. They took them to swim to Lambert Sea at full speed.

Li Shuo still couldn’t adapt to that speed. He almost fainted along the way. He managed to pull himself together but suddenly realised that there were several great white sharks behind them at some point. When compared to their huge bodies, the group of tiger fish, swallowing eels, and giant catfish swimming below seemed extremely small.

Li Shuo shouted: “Jinxin, behind us!”

Jinxin reassured: “It’s okay. They are my warriors.”

“Warriors? However, what we have to face may be a super warship equipped with the most cannons and deep-water torpedoes.” He thought that Hawke asked Isis for a powerful warship. After all, as a pirate, there is nothing more important than a warship. No matter how powerful these sea creatures are. It will not be bigger than a warship and their teeth will not be harder than the steel plate of a warship, not to mention the deadly gunpowder.

Jinxin said in a deep voice, “It would be much simpler if it was just a warship.”

“What?’

“Human ships are vulnerable to us.” Jinxin looked at Li Shuo, “Isis is a lunatic who is unafraid if the world will end up in chaos. What she gave to that human will never be an ordinary pirate ship.”

“Of course. Then maybe something bigger and stronger…”

Jinxin didn’t answer. He only smiled at Li Shuo: “Don’t be afraid.”

When they swam to the Lambert sea area, there was a different vibration from the waves on the bottom of the sea. The sound of cannons being fired out resounded continuously through the sea water.

A fierce naval battle is taking place on the Lambert Sea!

Li Shuo shouted: “Jinxin, quickly take me to my naval warship!”

Jinxin’s expression was serious. His eyes revealed cold killing intent: “Tell all your warships to return to the harbour.”

“What?”

“They will just be there to die in vain. Tell them all to withdraw.” Jinxin waved back to his army of warriors. He then pulled Li Shuo around the sea area where the battle took place and sent him all the way to the port.

As soon as Li Shuo came out of the water, he looked in the direction of the roaring cannons. He felt as if he was struck by lightning.

The vicious pirates of the Red Vortex reappeared in the Lambert sea area. Their number of warships was much less than before. There were only four of them. They were obviously the only ones left after he was defeated. There were no super warships as he had imagined. However, his Lambert navy, which was famous in the seven seas, was completely defeated. Two naval warships had sunk in the coastal waters and they seemed to have been brutally attacked and destroyed.

Li Shuo trembled: “…This is impossible.”

Jinxin pushed him onto the pier: “Quickly withdraw your navy warships!”

While speaking, a huge black and red coloured creature in the sea suddenly rushed out of the water. It smashed the bow of the naval warship with one blow. Li Shuo’s hands and feet were weak. It was the largest creature he had ever seen in his life. Countless cannons chased after it and bombarded it. But it all seemed to be of no avail.

“Jinxin, what is that?!” Li Shuo grabbed Jinxin and shouted loudly. “What is that?!”

Jinxin said solemnly, “Deinosuchus. It is a prehistoric giant sea beast. It has one of the best bite forces in the sea. Its skin is a hard shell that is difficult to be damaged by weapons. Li Shuo, go to the shore.”

Li Shuo gritted his teeth and said, “Lambert’s navy will never succumb to evil forces. We have the responsibility to protect our country. Let’s fight together!”

Jinxin stared at him for a few seconds before pressing on his neck and kissed him forcefully: “My love, the pirate ship will be handed over to you.”

The two looked at each other wistfully. Then, one jumped into the sea while the other ran to the navy pier.

When Li Shuo ran to the headquarters, the soldiers shouted in surprise, “Your Highness, where have you been?! Prehistoric sea beasts appeared in Lambert Sea!”

Li Shuo felt very guilty. As the deputy commander of the navy, he disappeared at such an important moment. He had no time to explain so he only ordered: “Send the command flag to our warships. Spread out to the east and west. Then, go around to the side of the pirate ship.”

“Yes.” More than a dozen messengers waved colourful flags——passed the order from the headquarters through the pier, the lighthouse, and all the way to the warships at sea.

“Anchor the 12th Spirit Dragon Star. Follow me to sea!”

“Your Highness, Spirit Dragon Star is too small. That monster on the sea…”

“To deal with such a giant beast, you need to use a flexible boat. Hurry up!”

Li Shuo ran to the harbour and led the navy to the Spirit Dragon Star. The Spirit Dragon Star is a supply and also a search and rescue ship with a long and narrow hull. It ran at extremely fast speed. Compared with large ships, they are more likely to escape the attack of the giant crocodiles.

Li Shuo commanded the warship to confront the pirate ship head-on. In the sea, the huge 20-metre-long prehistoric crocodile was fighting fiercely with Jinxin and the deep-sea warriors he brought with him. But the great white shark looked small and weak in front of it.

Li Shuo kept watching the colourful figure jumping out of the water and diving into the bottom of the sea. Fish that were torn apart kept turning over the sea surface. Blood stained the large area of Lambert Sea. He grew up in this area since he was a child and he had never seen such an afterimage.

The pirate ships were not their opponents so the two ships were quickly sunk. However, the situation in the sea was not optimistic. Just that one terrifying prehistoric sea beast could wipe out their entire navy.

“Your Highness, what…what is that?” The first officer pointed to the gorgeous merman jumping out of the sea.

“That’s your princess.” Li Shuo said without hesitation.

“What?…What?”

Li Shuo commanded the naval warship and completely wiped out the Red Vortex pirate ship. He even boarded the pirate ship and arrested Jillian Hawke himself.

“Stop your monster!” Li Shuo pointed his sword at Hawke.

Hawke laughed wildly: “It has already started. No one can stop it.”

“You lunatic.” Li Shuo picked him up from the ground and forced him to look at the messy Lambert Sea. “Look at everything you brought by trading your own daughter!”

Hawke paused and cried bitterly.

Li Shuo handed Hawke over to the navy. He will personally execute the bastard by hanging. But for now, he is going to help Jinxin.

He personally led the Spirit Dragon Star fleet to charge towards the Deinosuchus, chasing down the evil sea beast with short-barreled cannons and torpedoes.

The Deinosuchus was attacked from all sides. But its terrifying giant mouth and thick skin turned this battle into a one-sided massacre. Whether it was the teeth of the giant shark or the torpedo, it could only cause superficial damage to it. The prehistoric beast angrily wanted to destroy everything.

Big fish were swallowed into his mouth one after another

He was devouring and massacring everything in its path. Spirit Dragon Star was also torn to pieces bit by bit. Li Shuo felt deeply terrified looking at the huge black shadow on the bottom of the sea. The sea he cherished had become a bloody slaughterhouse.

Suddenly, the Deinosuchus rushed out of the water again, knocking the Spirit Dragon Star that Li Shuo was navigating into the air. It opened its mouth wide, biting towards the hull of the ship. Li Shuo jumped into the sea to save himself.

The potion he drank hadn’t expired yet so he could still breathe underwater. But the water was already polluted by blood and debris. So his vision was extremely blurred. Through the dirty seawater, he saw the Deinosuchus killing with impunity. In contrast to the huge black shadow, there was a small coloured halo in the water. It is like the only ray of sunlight in the darkness. No matter how small it is, it can still illuminate the whole world.

Li Shuo swam towards Jinxin recklessly.

Jinxin nimbly swam around the Deinosuchus. He had already blinded one of the creature’s eyes. But the giant beast became even more manic. Jinxin was almost out of strength.

Li Shuo shouted: “Jinxin, let’s go ashore. It’s too big to go against!”

“If we go ashore, it will go ashore too. It can destroy everything near the shore!” Jinxin shouted, “Get out of here. I’m going to take it to the deep sea.”

“No. You will be eaten by it!”

“Just go!” Jinxin once again avoided the attack of the prehistoric crocodile, using his size and speed to dodge among the wreckage of the ship.

Li Shuo’s eyes were red with anxiety. He didn’t know how to help Jinxin. The fear of the prehistoric crocodile had surpassed their abilities.

Suddenly, there was an ethereal and beautiful singing voice coming from the sea. The voice was coming from far away. But it seemed closer to the ears. It was as if they were singing together. Li Shuo knew that it was the voice of the sirens.

In the distance, patches of lights of various colours appeared bit by bit. They were very small, but huge in number. They swam over like UFOs at a high speed. They were the beautiful merpeople that came one after another. They had different hair colours and tails. Their leader was none other than Qun, the black-tailed siren.

Jinxin was overjoyed: “Brother Emperor——”

Qun ignored him and continued to lead the sirens to recite a song. Jinxin also recited with them. The graceful singing resounded throughout the Lambert Sea.

Instantly, there was a tremor from the bottom of the sea. It was definitely not the vibration of the sea. But it came from the seabed. It was like an earthquake at the bottom of the sea. It spread vastly.

The Deinosuchus didn’t move. It was as if it was listening quietly. Not long after, it swam towards the deep sea at full speed.

It went to fight his real opponent; a prehistoric giant squid that came from the deep sea. The squid was as big as a mountain. It wrapped its tentacles-like long whips around the Deinosuchus. Their battle created a huge wave. The Deinosuchus was finally defeated and was dragged into the deep sea slowly by the giant squid…

Jinxin swam to Li Shuo’s side. His face was full of tiredness and he barely had the strength to wag his tail. Li Shuo hugged him and asked worriedly, “How are you? Are you okay?”

Jinxin shook his head: “The Siren witch’s power is to summon and control sea creatures. We can’t do anything about the weather.”

Li Shuo stroked his face feeling distressed: “I believed them because I doubted you.”

Jinxin smiled sweetly at him: “I won’t blame you for that.”

Li Shuo hugged him tightly. He choked up and said, “Thank you. Thank you.”

“I’m glad I can protect you.”

The two hugged each other in the Seven Seas as they kissed each other tenderly and affectionately. Surrounding them is not only the sea, but also the great joy of survival and recovery.

A heavy ‘hum’ sounded from behind them.

Li Shuo turned and looked at Qun in embarrassment.

Jinxin swung his tail and swam over. He then hugged Qun: “Thank you, Brother Emperor. I knew you would come to save me.”

Qun pushed him away and said with a straight face, “I just can’t allow monsters that should live in the deep sea to destroy the ecology of the shallow sea.”

Jinxin smiled and said, “Brother Emperor will definitely become the greatest heir to the Siren Kingdom in history.”

Qun looked at Li Shuo arrogantly: “What are you going to do now?”

Li Shuo said firmly: “I think my people should meet the hero who saved my country.”

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*GLOSSARY: Deinosuchus also known as Deino Crocodile is the prehistoric crocodile.

Next update: 2023.08.13

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