Cthulhu Gonfalon

How many murlocs were there on the Main Plane?

No one really conducted a detailed count for the statistics, but it was possible to make an estimation of the number.

The reproductivity of the murlocs was outrageously strong. An adult murloc could reproduce once a year, and about one thousand eggs each time. The eggs of the murlocs would hatch in 30 days, and after about three years, these murlocs could grow big enough to reproduce. Theoretically speaking, a pair of adult murlocs would become a thousand murlocs plus an additional two thousand young murlocs in three years' time. And after another three years… It would be better not to do the math. That number was more than enough to make anyone, who was intellectually normal, sink into despair.

Generally, people often used "an army of a million soldiers" to describe the massive size of an army. But for the murlocs, a mere million was not even enough to be considered a "big army"—at any random invasion of the Sea Race, there would be at least a few million murlocs in the army. It was not rare for them to have tens of millions of soldiers in their army either.

That was usually just the number of murlocs in a particular area of the sea.

These murlocs were barely considered as magic beasts, so they could survive just by relying on absorbing magic. If not for the fact that their survival rate was low and the death rate was high, it would only be a few years before the world comprised only of murlocs.

This time, all the murlocs on the entire Main Plane had gathered at the southern region of the sea around the Highest Tower. How many of them would that be?

Billions? Tens of billions? Or even more?

Anyway… Even if the mages of the Mifata Federation continued to bombard them so uncontrollably and indiscriminately, killing hundreds and hundreds of murlocs every single second, the loss was really nothing much to speak of to the entire murloc army.

This loss was not even significant enough to the common murlocs of large-scale tribes, who also would not take it seriously, much less the great army that comprised entirely of murlocs on the whole Main Plane.

Watching the endless stream of murloc soldiers charging out to land in such a mighty manner, one after the other without stopping, the mages in the Highest Tower all went pale in their faces.

"There's just too many of them!"

"Doesn't this bunch of shrimp usually bully the weak but fear the strong? Just a little hit will send them scattering off in all directions, isn't it so? Why are they so brave today?"

"They can't be under the control of that Yuslar, or whatever it's called, right?"

"It's possible… If they aren't under anyone's control, who would want to die in such a way?"

"Actually, death is also nothing much to the murlocs. The most common problem they all face is that there are just too many of them…"

Amidst the mess of murmurings, the legendary mages wore gloomy expressions as they started to discuss via transmission spells.

"Yuslar's aura has not disappeared. That fellow has not left."

"What on earth is it thinking? Is there anything to gain from staying here? Why not just scram out of here!"

"I'm guessing it wants to gather more sacrifices. After all, those murlocs may not have much of anything, but they have a large population. With such a population, isn't that equal to sacrifices?"

"The thoughts of a devil are really beyond our comprehension. We just need to do our jobs well."

"Shall we try to attack it? Perhaps that can drive Yuslar away."

"Don't complicate matters. Anyway, I give it at most, one day. After one day, even if Yuslar doesn't want to leave, it will be repelled by the Main Plane."

"That's just as well. Safety first. Now that we are in the period of troubled times, with wars going on everywhere, if we can stay out of trouble, we should stay out of trouble."

"But no, it's trouble finding its way to us!"

"There's nothing to be afraid of. If it's just trouble at this level that we are currently facing, then it doesn't matter how long we have to fight this war. It's merely the murlocs, how could they even think of breaking through our Highest Tower? That's really a joke!"

Speaking up to this point, the Legendary Masters could not help laughing.

Just as that mage had just said, the murlocs had very weak combat power. Not to mention the fact that there were so many mages' defenses in the Highest Tower now, the murlocs might not even be able to accomplish a breakthrough even if it was just an empty magic tower—strong walls and gates were more than enough to block them.

Since that was the case, what was there to be afraid of?

After the Legendary Masters reached a conclusion upon discussion, they arranged their respective work. The mid and high-level mages were tasked to build formations and organize schedules as they took turns to enter the defense array to launch attacks. The mid and low-level mages would continue to meditate to replenish the magic pool with magic. The Legendary Masters took shifts to rest, ensuring that there would always be two to three mages on duty at all times.

Such an arrangement should be more than enough.

As for those silly murlocs who kept charging at the defense line, this could just be taken as giving the young people some practical war experience and allow them to practice shooting.

From the Legendary Masters to the apprentices who practiced magic, not a single one of them thought much of the murlocs.

And below the surface of the sea, Yuslar's clone was gradually shrinking.

Along with the wonderful connection between its clone and its noumenon, the energy of Yuslar's noumenon was also continuously being drawn and extracted.

This extracted energy was not directly absorbed by that glowing shadow. It was first absorbed by that golden-green long spear, then filtered through the altar of skeletons. Finally, only pure power would remain and flow into the flowing shadow.

Such an arrangement could be said to be wonderful workmanship that excelled nature. It adopted the means of fighting fire with fire and used the insane power of large-scale blood sacrifices to absorb the chaotic properties of the abyss. When the two powers merge with each other and remain within the altar of skeletons, the altar would continuously gain strength, and finally, it would become a chaotic and evil magical object.

At the same time, the pure power that had undergone filtration would be given to the fictitiously-formed "God of the Murlocs," as the best form of nourishment, so that this god, who was about to be born, could have stable growth.

And that long spear that was once the trident of the Sea King was constantly being refined and improved in this process. Then finally, it was also restored to the level of a magical object.

When the newly-born God of the Murlocs grew up, it could immediately make use of the two powerful magical objects that it had at hand. Among all the newly-born gods, it would become the number one figure of them all.

This idea was so exquisite that despite spending a long time studying and deliberating, the elderly murlocs still could not find any problems. So they acted according to the arrangements set up by the God of Conspiracy without worrying about whether there were any other conspiracies.

Moreover, regardless of whatever conspiracy there was, the God of Conspiracy had fallen. What else was there to fear? What else was there to worry about?

Even if the God of Conspiracy had set up some traps, could he possibly come alive again to receive the spoils of war?

Deep in the abyss, Yuslar's noumenon was gradually weakened.

The key to this plan of the God of Conspiracy was to rob Yuslar of its power.

As a devil in the form of a murloc, there was certainly an indescribable relationship between Yuslar and the murlocs in the Main Plane. If it could wash off the chaos and insanity from its soul, or if it could become slightly weaker and severe ties with the abyss, it could easily become the god of the murlocs.

But Yuslar did not do so in the end. It would rather claim its place as king in the abyss and lead the group devils that took the form of murlocs. It was not willing to walk down the path of becoming a real god.

Demons were demons, after all. Their extreme chaotic nature had made them intolerable towards bondage. This was the same, even if they became gods.

Now, Yuslar was paying the price for its chaotic nature.

If it had been the God of the Murlocs, then all these arrangements would be of no use against it—power from the murlocs' sacrifices would have no possible effect on the God of the Murlocs.

But it had refused to become the God of the Murlocs.

So the part of its power that belonged to the "murlocs" was unable to refuse the summoning of the murlocs' sacrifices, which was not being continuously extracted.

No one knew exactly how long, but after some time, that channel of contact was suddenly cut off. The Lord of the Abyss, who had become so weak that he could hardly stand, let out a weird cry at once. And then, contact with the Main Plane was completely cut off.

It probably would not establish any form of contact with the Main Plane in the coming few hundreds or thousands of years.

And below the surface of the southern region of the sea around the Highest Tower, that glowing shadow gradually became clear.

He had scales that were similar to that of the murlocs, but he had long, sharp ears and smooth, long hair that the murlocs would definitely not have. He had a slender figure and straight posture, which was completely different from the murlocs who had bent bodies.

Facing the dazed elderly murlocs, he smiled. He donned a hooded robe that enveloped him in a shadow.

Inside the Pantheon Temple, the seat of the God of Conspiracy, that had earlier collapsed and vanished, resurfaced.

Not long after his fall, the God of Conspiracy had come back to life and returned!