The mermaid is very similar to the mermaid in Western legends.

In the mythology of Earth China, there are also legends of sharks and shark beads. The sentence "There are tears in the pearl of the sea and the moon" in the Tang poem "Jin Se" is talking about shark pearls.

But unlike the Western merfolk, the mermaids do not use their singing to confuse and kill sailors. In ancient Chinese legends, the image of the merman is positive, beautiful, kind, and fascinating.

In this twin plane of the earth, the merman is not a legend, but a beautiful creature that does exist. Live in the South Seas of the Empire, vassalize the Empire, and serve the Empire.

Li Qing even suspected that the legend of the Chinese merman on Earth originated from the merman of this realm who also fell to the earth by accident.

Although he has never actually seen a merman, he can also imagine the beauty of the merman according to the legend. Especially when the merman is crying, the real sense of "tears", sad and moving, think about it, it makes people leisurely.

It's just that......

"The price offered by the general is too high."

Li Qing squinted his eyes and played with the best shark beads the size of a dragon's eye.

After a burst of five-color brilliance, the shark pearl has become brilliant and restrained, and has changed back to a crystal clear, pure and flawless appearance. But as long as you shake the shark bead gently, it will become brilliant and charming again.

"Promise protection, ten top-grade shark beads, if you make meritorious service, you can also reward the next shark magician......" Li Qing gently rubbed the shark beads and said slowly: "This price is so high that it is a bit unreal." I don't understand, how can a soldier in the middle of my silver be so valued by the general? In the general's fleet, there should be a lot of officers of my level, right? ”

"What Ben will value is not your present, but your future. Ben will think that you have a lot of potential and deserve Ben's attention. Long Linghan said quietly: "In addition, the descendants of the unequaled great snake are also worth betting on. If one day, she returns to her ancestors and cultivates the true body of the peerless serpent, then ...... The investment that would have been made today would have been well worth it, and it would have been worth the money. ”

"The future is too far away, who can predict?" Li Qing shook his head and sighed: "But the general's courage really makes me admire." Looks like I'm running out of options? ”

"Of course you can refuse." Long Linghan said lightly: "But Ben will believe that you are a smart person, and you should be able to make the right choice." ”

Li Qing finally took the shark bead and left the conference room.

He didn't make the so-called right choice, but he didn't have a choice at all - the higher the price Long Linghan offered, the greater her determination to ask Li Qing, Ni Yuanyuan, and Scarlett to participate in the war. And once he refused, Li Qing believed that Long Linghan would definitely not let anyone off the boat.

And if they fight with Long Linghan, they will become difficult to move an inch in the future in this war-torn world where there are many strong people - it is impossible for him not to take refuge in the empire that is close at hand and highly similar to ancient China, but to seek refuge in the enemy country of the empire, right?

For example, when you hear the name of their country and the name of the warship, you will know that the road is the mirror country of Japan on Earth. No matter what, Li Qing couldn't go to that Amaterasu country.

As for not relying on anyone, it is impossible to return to the earth directly, at present.

Although Su Su is here, Li Qing and the others will not be unable to return to Earth - Su Su has the ability to build a gate to the other world and bring everyone back to Earth. But the materials to create the Atlas Gate are not so easy to obtain.

Even if this realm and the earth are mirrors of each other, there is no too far distance in time and space, but to build a one-way portal, to say the least, there must be a legendary-level powerhouse soul as the main material.

The legendary powerhouse, here, but the force of the Zhenguo level is not as easy to kill as on the earth - the strong man of the Zhenguo is already very strong, and because of his status, there must be a large number of strong people under his command.

If you want to kill a legendary powerhouse in this realm, I don't know how many times more difficult it is than on earth.

Even if you don't use the soul of a legendary powerhouse as a material, the material that can be used to create the Gate of the Otherworld must be a very precious energy crystal. For example, treasures such as blood marrow.

But most of those treasures can be encountered but not sought.

Even if it hits, there must be a strong presence guarding it - Li Qing was able to get the blood marrow in the first place, and there was also a lot of luck. If it weren't for the werewolves attacking the vampire castle, all the vampire masters in the castle would have gone to face the werewolves, and Li Qing would not have had a chance to get the blood marrow.

Therefore, it is not easier to get a treasure of that level and use it to create a gate to the other world than to kill a legendary powerhouse.

However, if she is employed by Long Linghan and is valued by her, with her status and power, as well as her family connections, she may be able to get a treasure that can create a gate to the other world.

For the sake of the long-term and the safety of Su Su, Xiaolongnu, and Song Qiqi, Li Qing could only choose to agree to Long Linghan's request.

As for the safety of Ni Yuanyuan and Scarlett......

He would do his best to protect them, standing in front of them in battle, and not letting any enemy hurt them.

……

After Li Qing left, the conference room fell silent for a while.

After a long time, Long Linghan sighed lightly, his eyes flickering and he thought to himself: "Actually, what Ben will value most is not your potential. Potential is only potential after all, and how useful can your potential be in this battle, in a full-scale war besieged by a multinational coalition?

"What really cares about this general is the strong man who can create a large-scale spiritual energy vacuum......"

No matter how strong the potential is, it takes time to transform. As a general, Long Linghan couldn't be stupid enough to invest heavily in the potential of Li Qing, Ni Yuanyuan and others.

Who knows if they will survive the next battle?

Who knows how long it will take them to turn their potential into considerable combat power?

Maybe until the end of the all-out war, their potential will not be fully exploited!

The reason why she made a heavy bet and did not hesitate to hire Li Qing and others at a price so big that Li Qing felt unreal was precisely for the strong man who caused the vacuum of spiritual energy!

Although none of Li Qing and the others admitted that the aura vacuum was caused by them, although with Long Linghan's unmistakable keen intuition, she couldn't find a flaw in Li Qing and the others, but her intuition told her that the person who created the aura vacuum was among Li Qing and the others!

What's more, her basis is not just intuition - when the aura vacuum occurs, she locks the central range of the aura vacuum at the first time with her powerful bloodline talent.

It was precisely because of this that she was able to lead the fleet to rush over as soon as the battle was over, and accurately found Li Qing and the others.

Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence in the world? In the middle of the ocean, you just happen to find such a ship? Her mermaids are always looking for enemy fleets. A mere "small boat" less than 20 meters long and unarmed, even if it has no sails or oars is very strange, it is impossible to attract the attention of the merman.

The factual basis for finding Li Qing and the others in the center of the aura vacuum, coupled with Long Linghan's intuition, convinced her that the strong man who could create the aura vacuum must be hidden in Li Qing and his party. It's just that it's impossible to determine who it is for the time being.

"On the battlefield, Li Qing may have the ability to protect himself. However, the descendants of the Peerless Serpent, as well as the Druid Siyi Maiden, lacked the power to protect themselves. The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and it is impossible for Li Qing to take care of them in all aspects. There will always be times when something goes wrong. At that time, it is impossible for that strong man not to come to the rescue of his companions! Then I'll be sure who that person is! ”

"Even if that person is not a powerhouse at the Zhenguo level, just the fact that he can create aura is enough for me to make a heavy bet. When the battle reaches a critical moment, a spiritual energy vacuum suddenly appears, even if it is just a short moment, it can change the situation of a battle or even a battle! ”

Reiki vacuum, fair to both parties. But if one side is prepared and the other side is not prepared, then when the aura vacuum appears, the side that has been prepared for it will inevitably gain an overwhelming advantage.

As an imperial general, Long Linghan made up his mind to win over that strong man to the side of the empire. For this reason, she did not hesitate to pull Ni Yuanyuan and Scarlett, two rookies, into the battlefield and kidnap them as hostages in disguise.

Although it is exactly the same as the little dragon girl, the souls are mirrors of each other. But the rear admiral of the Imperial Navy, born in a family of generals, experienced bloody battles since he was a child, and swore to be loyal to the country, Long Linghan, in terms of temperament, is completely different from Xiaolongnu.

The female general slowly got up, turned her head, looked at the imperial chart hanging on the wall with resolute eyes, and whispered: "All for the empire!" ”

……

"I'm sorry, Scarlett, Sister Yuanyuan, I still couldn't convince General Long in the end, but I had to accept her request."

After returning to the VIP room, Li Qing explained the situation of his negotiation with Long Linghan in detail, and repeated every sentence of dialogue word for word. At the end, he smiled bitterly and said to Scarlett and Ni Yuanyuan: "In the end, you still have to go into battle with me." ”

"It's okay." Scarlett took Li Qing's hand, and the jade blue eyes stared into his eyes, and said seriously:

"Although I don't know the bottom in my heart, I am indeed a little afraid of going to war, but as long as I am with you, I am not afraid of anything. Besides, I've long been determined to be a superhero who can fight alongside you. This battle is a test for me. I am confident that I will pass this test. ”

Ni Yuanyuan said: "Li Qing, don't forget what I said. Whatever choice you make, don't say sorry to me. ”

She once said that her life was already Li Qing's, and she wanted to become Li Qing's guardian knight. Therefore, even if Li Qing decides her life and death for her, in her opinion, there is no such thing as being sorry for her.

Li Qing was moved, but he just smiled heartily and said, "Well, when the time comes, we will fight side by side." I'm here to be your MT, and a cannonball hits, and I'll slap it back and fly back. ”

He said to Chu Lingfeng again: "Lingfeng, when the time comes, Su Su, Xiaolongnu, and Song Qiqi will rely on you to protect you." ”

Chu Lingfeng was holding his arms and leaning leisurely against the bulkhead, looking at the seascape outside the door. Hearing this, he didn't look back, and said lightly: "Unless I die, Su Su and the others will not be harmed in any way." ”

Although the tone is not passionate, there is absolutely no doubt about her commitment.

Li Qing smiled: "It's not that serious. As long as you don't break into the range of the battlefield and watch from a distance in peace, then no one will waste energy on a lifeboat. ”

He looked at Su Su again and said seriously: "Na, Su Su, I will hand over all the shark beads hired by General Long to you." That's a huge sum of money worth 10,000 taels of gold, you have to keep it! ”

Su Su pursed his lips and said, "Don't worry, knight, I know what you want to say." Didn't you just let me obediently take a dinghy away from the battlefield? I'm very well-behaved, I'll be obedient. ”

"Then I'll be relieved." Li Qing smiled happily, "Now...... You can take out your equipment, distribute it, and get ready for battle! ”

An hour later, several sailors brought food and drink to Li Qing and others, and by the way, brought a batch of weapons and armor.

Those weapons and armor are not ordinary goods. It was specially approved by Long Linghan for the use of the three combatants, Li Qing, Ni Yuanyuan, and Scarlett. It is a spiritual weapon forged by the Imperial Alchemist, which is equivalent to a Western magic item.

Among them, the full-body armor for Li Qing, Scarlett, and Chu Lingfeng seems to be light and thin, but in fact it is extremely tough. According to Su Su's identification, the defense power is equivalent to a homogeneous steel plate fifteen centimeters thick on the earth. It evenly distributes the impact force of an attack to all parts of the armor, so that the entire armor bears the impact. It also has the property of "not sinking when entering the water", and can be used as a life jacket.

Ordinary cannonballs can never penetrate this armor, and the dispersion of the impact can also prevent the person wearing the armor from being easily shocked to death.

This grade of spirit weapon armor, even in Su Su's opinion, is quite good. It is of the same grade as the armor on the previous officers. It is believed that even in the Empire, it is quite a good military armor.

Of course, since this is a world realm with extraordinary power, Li Qing is not sure whether the artillery will have special shells with unimaginable power. Wearing armor, perhaps, does not guarantee absolute safety.

However, it is better to have a nail than not to have a one. And sending this kind of battle armor shows that Long Linghan doesn't really intend to use Li Qing and them as cannon fodder. Li Qing also breathed a sigh of relief because of this.

Even Su Su and the others, who did not participate in the war, were given several pieces of soft armor for self-defense, as well as weapons such as short knives, daggers, and flintlock short guns.

Three hours later, the First Detachment of the Imperial East Sea Fleet, with the help of the merman, found the Second Detachment of the Amaterasukuni West Sea Fleet.

After finding the enemy fleet, Long Linghan immediately ordered the battleship Lieshan to let go of the towed Han Yan yacht, and at the same time ordered the flagship Shenglong to lower the dinghy, and let Su Su, Chu Lingfeng, Xiaolongnu, and Song Qiqi leave the battlefield in the dinghy. and sent a junior officer in the middle section of the red copper section to lead four sailors of the black iron pole section to protect the ship.

After doing this, another ten minutes or so passed, and eight enemy warships appeared in the lookout's field of vision.

In contrast, the enemy's second detachment also discovered the empire's first detachment.

The fleets of both sides quickly spread out in formation, full sails at full speed, approaching each other, and constantly adjusting their course, intending to seize the upper hand before the other side.

At the speed of the two fleets, after a maximum of half an hour, they will come into range of each other's naval guns.

The battle is about to begin!