Chapter 6: First Battle Against Murlocs, the Power of Language

The damage to the ship is much more severe than he imagined.

Not only have the two masts in the front and back been broken into two pieces, but even the sails hanging on them have only a little bit left connected to the hull.

This half-submerged ship looks like it has collided head-on with a reef. There are several large holes in the hull, and the body is covered with long and narrow cracks, which have broken directly from the middle of the ship.

Judging by the degree of distortion of the hull, it is estimated that even the keel has been broken.

Not to mention repairs, it is estimated that it can only be scrapped for recycling.

Before Ji Chen could even feel disappointed, there suddenly came a strange noise from the damaged ship, which made him instantly alert.

He immediately became vigilant.

Soon, hideous tentacles extended out of the black hole, and pairs of red eyes appeared.

"Ding ~ You have entered combat mode. Morale assessment in progress. The Lord of your side leads the army, morale +10. Close to the ocean, morale +3. Number Suppression, Morale +5.

Level Suppression, Morale +5. The level disadvantage, morale -5. [Troop characteristics: Cowardly, morale -15.]

" The morale of our River Murlocs is at 53 points. We have entered an advantageous state. "

Ji Chen's expression froze, and he felt happy.

Morale was one of the components of the battle system in the Lord of Glory.

Morale was in a balanced state when it was 50 points. If it was higher than 50 points, it would enter an advantageous state, and if it was lower than 50 points, it would enter a disadvantageous state. The former would increase the combat strength and will of the troops, while the latter would cause a decrease.

For example, if morale was lower than 10 points, they would flee. If it was higher than 90 points, they would attack crazily without caring about casualties.

Morale was determined by the number, quality, environment, and characteristics of the troops.

However, the cowardly behavior of the Murlocs actually caused a direct reduction in morale by 15 points, almost bringing it down to 50 points. It was simply demoralizing.

When he came back to his senses, the ferocious tentacles that had extended from the hull had already reached out, and even the monsters hidden inside had revealed their heads.

Ten tentacled monsters that were half the size of a human scrambled to crawl out of the hole.

These monsters had eight thick tentacles with suckers on the inside, each lined with thin, triangular teeth. The tentacles were connected to a huge head in the middle, which had a ferocious mouthpart facing downwards. Two round eyes grew at the base of each tentacle where they met the head.

At this moment, they seemed to have smelled the scent of food. They widened their bell-like eyes and crawled out of the holes in the hull.

[Shallow Water Octopus]

[Level: 2]

[Tier: 1, 3 stars]

[Skill: Tentacle Bind (White Skill: Binds enemies with its tentacles and attacks with sharp teeth)

Ink Spray (White Skill: Sprays ink from its mouth to obstruct the enemy's vision) 

[Military characteristic: Bind (likes to bind enemies with tentacles)]

[Do you want to get 'Asian Bind'?] 

*Asian Bind is a meme in the game League of Legends where champion Maokai used his ability to root and bind the enemy champion, Vayne.

As he watched the ten-headed octopus monsters crawling towards him, Ji Chen was not afraid, but rather excited.

After being strengthened, the River Murlocs had reached as high as 8-star Tier 1, completely overwhelming these octopuses in rank.

In his eyes, these octopuses were all walking food!

"Salted Murlocs, charge!"

"We're eating teppanyaki octopus tonight!"

" Caw caw caw caw!!! "

Upon receiving the order, the Murlocs' morale skyrocketed. Their eyes were determined (with dead fish eyes) and their expressions were excited (at the prospect of food) as they charged forward.

They outnumbered the enemy almost two to one (using their numerical advantage), and they were led by the great Salted Fish King (who had their backs).

How could they possibly lose against these ugly octopus monsters?

Ji Chen shouted and then immediately crouched behind a reef to watch from the sidelines. It was better to leave such a dangerous matter to the Murlocs.

"A gentleman doesn't stand under a dangerous wall."

The Murlocs and the octopus monsters began to fight. The leading Shallow Water Octopus waved its two tentacles and wrapped them around a Murloc. They wanted to use their binding technique, which they were most proud of, to bind these "dead salted fish" so that they could have a full meal.

However, when the tentacle touched the Murloc, it slid to the side due to the mucus on the Murloc's body. Seeing this, the dead merman's eyes flashed with pride and arrogance. This was a precious liquid bestowed upon them by the great Salted Fish King. How could these octopus monsters destroy it?

"Take my Salted Fish Thrust!"

The Murloc waved its short limbs, picked up the bone spear, and thrust it forward.

Splat~

The sharpened spear tip easily pierced through one of the octopus's tentacles without any resistance, exiting from the other side. The injured octopus began to frantically struggle. Its remaining seven tentacles waved in unison and clung to the Murloc's head like a face-hugger.

The sharp teeth on the suckers inside the tentacles began to squirm, biting into the scales like a grinder, trying to break through them and pierce into the flesh. However, for some reason, the sharp teeth that could easily break through the Murloc's scales in the past could now only leave shallow marks.

Feeling something sharp invading its body, the Murloc became completely furious. These damn octopuses usually enjoyed eating Murlocs, and now they were taking revenge!

While the Shallow Water Octopus frantically dug holes, the Murloc stabbed the bone spear in their hand into the octopus's head. In an instant, blue blood seeped out of the wound.

Splat ~

The bone spear was pulled out, and blue blood gushed out of the wound like water. A fishy smell spread and even the sea breeze couldn't disperse it.

The Shallow Water Octopus, whose head had been severely injured, became tired and the binding strength was not as strong as before. Its mouthpart contracted and expanded, spraying out a large amount of ink, hitting the Murloc in the face and splashing everywhere, causing chaos.

The fatally injured octopus struggled weakly, and the strength of its tentacles gradually weakened.

After being pierced through the head again, it fell weakly to the ground.

Although the Shallow Water Octopus was proficient in eighteen types of binding techniques, it was helpless and couldn't cause effective damage to the Murlocs. It was also outnumbered.

The defeat was only a matter of time. Surrounded by multiple Murlocs, the Shallow Water Octopuses fell one after another. The blue blood dyed the reef blue and was washed away by the seawater.

The shallow water octopuses had all turned into dead octopuses in just a few minutes, and the Murlocs were all alive. They raised their bone spears and began to croak happily.

"Ding ~ The battle has ended. You have obtained a glorious victory. No deaths, +20% extra experience."

[You have received 24 EXP. Current EXP: 24%/100%.]

[Your River Murloc has gained 24 EXP. Current EXP: 24%/100%]

Upon receiving the system notification, Ji Chen, who had been watching the battle from behind the reef, heaved a sigh of relief and walked out with a smile on his face.

After unlocking the node, the strength of the strengthened Murlocs significantly increased. This only made Ji Chen even more eager for the military talent tree, as even Murlocs with very low initial strength and potential could grow into powerful military types.

Walking in front of the Murlocs, Ji Chen spoke to them in an excited tone, his face full of praise.

"You guys did a great job!"

"Who says that the Murlocs should be hunted by other creatures? The world changes, and the Murlocs will rise!"

"I will lead you to become a powerful marine military force!"

"Let those species that once looked down on you feel inferior!"

Upon hearing his words, the Murlocs became excited and placed their bone spears on the ground, kneeling and bowing to him.

Their enthusiastic murmurings continued without pause.

"Long live the great Salted Fish Lord!"

"With the Salted Fish Lord's arrival, the blue sky and calm sea are guaranteed!"

"Ding~ Your speech has greatly inspired the Murlocs, and their initial morale will increase by an additional 15 points in the next battle."

So, did this mean that he have to give a motivational speech before and after every battle just to counteract the negative effect of the Murlocs' cowardly trait?

This is the power of language! (Strikes a tactical pose)