Lantern Fish

The lifeforce of the big fish was extremely powerful, unlike anything Han Sen had ever seen before. He had seen much during his time in the Third God's Sanctuary, but nothing was comparable to that river fiend.

Han Sen grabbed Queen and did not move a muscle. The fish in front of them might have opened ten of its gene locks, so the last thing Han Sen wanted to risk was a provocation of its ire.

Furthermore, the school of fish following it were all sacred-blood at the very least. Their numbers alone would be overwhelming.

Queen did not know how powerful the fish were, but she knew Han Sen well-enough to know he wouldn't be so alert if they were not in peril. She complied with his obvious wish and stayed absolutely still.

The fish king must not have noticed the pair, so they merrily continued upstream.

Han Sen sighed. He was going to move once the fish were gone, but there were too many of them. The fish swarmed up and down every water stream they would need to cross.

After a while of waiting, the bright skies succumbed to the onset of night.

The river was sparkling beneath the moonlight, and the fish were all glowing and red. They illuminated the river beautifully. They were still all following where the fish king had gone, and the vast number that passed by was almost unbelievable.

Bao'er was captivated by the beauty of this sight, and like always, she wanted a closer look. She climbed onto Han Sen's shoulder, and using it like a springboard, she dove directly into the river.

The lanternfish were not afraid of her. Bao'er grabbed ahold of one of them and rode its back.

The fish was not angry or disturbed, and it just gave Bao'er a merry ride. One moment it would glide through the air, the next it would be doing spins underwater. Bao'er was delightfully happy while experiencing it.

"This isn't normal. It seems to me that something's afoot; let's take a closer look and see what might happen." Seeing Bao'er ride the fish, Han Sen wondered what the rest of the fish were all up to. He summoned Golden Growler, and with Queen, followed Bao'er and the fish upstream.

The river was completely red in their sparkling, ruby glow. If Han Sen had to wager a guess, he'd estimate there to be at least one million of the fish.

None of the fish seemed aggressive, and they didn't bother any of the creatures that could be spotted in the waters of the river, either.

Bao'er was jumping about in great merriment, hopping along the fish as if they were stepping stones. They were all still tame, none looking as if they wanted to hurt her.

Bao'er became braver and braver. When they reached the fish king, she hopped on its head repeatedly.

Han Sen sweated profusely at the sight of this. Even if it was tame and not hostile, it was common sense not to disturb such a powerful creature. You could never be too careful, and doing something that might provoke the anger of such a creature was just silly.

But, like the rest of the fish, it was uncaring. It just continued going upstream with the rest.

The further upstream they went, the steeper the trail became. It eventually took them to mountainous highlands, and so stern were the slopes, Golden Growler could barely keep up.

There was the occasional creature spotted alongside the river, but they all stayed away with the approach of the fish. They didn't seem as if they wanted to interact with them.

All creatures had territory to call their own, realms they fiercely protected and reigned over, and yet, all creatures were fine with allowing the fish to pass through unhindered. It was a strange occurrence that Han Sen had never seen before.

Han Sen eventually stood atop the peak of a mountain. In the distance, he saw a one-hundred-meter long water snake leave the river, allowing the fish to go on their way.

There was a ten-meter-long crocodile at one point, and even a toad that was carried by a toxic-looking cloud. They even passed a water dragon, which departed its waters politely, allowing uninterrupted passage for the fish.

"That fish is pretty bad-*ss." Han Sen envied the respect the fish received.

Seeing the docility of the red lantern fish king, even with Bao'er on its head, Han Sen fancied riding one of the lesser fish.

But he wasn't Bao'er, so he wasn't sure if he could. Creatures enjoyed attacking Han Sen, but they never seemed to go for Bao'er. If Han Sen jumped onto one of the fish, they could end up killing him.

"Where are these lantern fish actually going?" They followed the river for days, alongside the fish. And still, there was no end in sight. Curiously, though, the fish were beginning to pick up the pace and start swimming a touch faster.

The fish stopped playing around eventually and just keenly followed their king. When the fish king picked up its pace, many of the smaller fish ended up getting left behind.

In the end, even Golden Growler could not keep up. And that was even after going at full speed. Golden Growler was strong, but it hadn't opened many of its gene locks. As such, despite its good speed, it wasn't as fast it could have been, and compared to the fish king, it was rather slow.

Han Sen requested Bao'er to leave the fish and come back, but she shook her head and remained on top of the fish king.

Han Sen knew something big must have been on the verge of happening, but Golden Growler was starting to lag and get left behind just like the other fish.

Han Sen told Queen, "I'll go on ahead; you follow the stream with Golden Growler."

Han Sen stretched his Blood-Demon Dragon wings, and with his phoenix techniques, took off in a faster pursuit of the fish king. This combination allowed Han Sen to follow the fish king well, and he was no longer left behind.