148: Chapter 148 To Speak or Not to Speak

After the Mantis Shrimp's voice fell, the undercurrents at the edge of the trench continued to surge upward.

The five demons of the Eastward Expedition Team stood at the edge of the trench in silence.

The Sea Turtle turned its head, its eyes staring at the trench as it chimed in.

"Mantis Shrimp is right. This trench is indeed far too strange. I wonder what so many demons are doing gathered here."

The Blue Crab's pincers opened and closed, making a soft clicking sound.

It spoke, its voice raspy.

"Oh, what's there to guess? Why don't we just catch one and ask?"

The Mantis Shrimp's compound eyes rolled, but it remained silent.

Bengbu's shell cracked open slightly, revealing its eyes as it stared down at the glowing eyes in the depths of the trench, before sweeping its gaze over its companions.

The Blue Crab's pincers clicked again, the Sea Turtle's head remained extended, and the Starfish's five arms continued to pat the sandy ground.

They were all waiting for Bengbu to speak; after all, Bengbu was the leader.

Bengbu's tongue slid out from its shell and waved toward the trench.

"Then let's catch one."

...

The walls of the trench were riddled with countless caves, some large and some small, varying greatly in size.

The glowing eyes peered out from the caves, staring at the five uninvited guests from the coastal waters.

Bengbu's gaze swept across the caves and landed on an inconspicuous opening halfway down the trench wall.

The cave was of average size, and just by sensing the demonic qi, one could tell that a Second-Turn demon lived inside.

Without a moment's hesitation, Bengbu's tongue pointed toward that cave.

The Blue Crab was the first to charge, its eight legs digging into the sand so fast that it resembled a chariot at full throttle.

The Mantis Shrimp flexed its body and leaped forward, carrying Bengbu on its back to follow.

Meanwhile, the Sea Turtle carried the Starfish, bringing up the rear as they lunged toward the cave.

At that moment, a Second-Turn Haishen demon was lying inside the cave, napping.

The Haishen was dreaming.

It dreamed that it was lying on the sandy seabed. Sunlight filtered down through the surface, warm and soothing, making its entire body feel incredibly comfortable.

It rolled over, exposing its belly to the sunlight.

Right then, something crashed through the cave entrance, sending sand and rocks flying as the seawater churned.

Five demons poured straight inside.

The Blue Crab's shell got wedged in the cave, its eight legs kicking against the walls, pincers raised high.

The Mantis Shrimp bounded in, its antennae flailing wildly in the water.

Bengbu lay on its back, its shell gaping wide as its eyes darted around the cave.

The Starfish slid off the Mantis Shrimp's back, its five arms suctioning onto the cave wall.

The Sea Turtle was still at the entrance. Its head reached inside, its slitted pupils staring into the cave, but its body was too large to fit, leaving it wedged there and blocking most of the opening.

The Haishen was startled awake from its dream. Its tentacles snapped back, and its body curled from a splayed-out position into a tight ball.

Its eyes bulged from its flesh as it stared at the five intruders, its face a picture of utter bewilderment at having its sleep disrupted.

Before it could even open its mouth to ask.

The Blue Crab's pincers had already reached out. Its left pincer clamped around the Haishen's neck, lifting it off the sandy ground.

The Haishen's body hung limp, its tentacles flailing in the air and its eyes bulging wide.

It wanted to cry out, but it couldn't make a sound because of the pincer gripping its neck.

The Blue Crab swung its right pincer, slamming it into the Haishen's belly.

"Are you going to talk?"

The Haishen's body arched violently, its flailing tentacles turning into spasms.

The Blue Crab swung its right pincer again, striking the exact same spot.

"Are you going to talk?"

The Haishen's body arched even more severely, the flesh on its belly trembling.

The Blue Crab swung its right pincer once more, slamming it down.

"Are you going to talk?"

This triple strike completely broke the Haishen's defenses, causing it to spew sticky filaments directly from its rear.

These filaments splashed onto the Blue Crab's pincers and the Mantis Shrimp's compound eyes.

They splashed onto the Starfish's arms suctioned to the wall, and into the partially open crack of Bengbu's shell.

The Blue Crab tossed the Haishen to the ground. The Haishen lay slumped on the sand, its belly still twitching.

The Blue Crab wiped the filaments off its pincers against the sand. Once they were clean, it raised its pincers again, intending to grab the Haishen once more.

Seeing the pincers coming for it again, the Haishen shrieked.

"'Are you going to talk, are you going to talk!'"

"I never said I wouldn't talk! But what do you want me to say? At least ask!"

"Ask!"

The Blue Crab's pincers froze in mid-air, its compound eyes rolling.

It seemed it really hadn't asked; it had been too busy beating it up!

Its pincers slowly lowered, rubbing against the sand as it pretended nothing had happened.

Bengbu shook the last of the filaments out of its shell, its eyes staring at the Haishen through the crack as it couldn't help but ask.

"Let me ask you: why are there so many demons gathered in this trench? What on earth are they doing here?"

Hearing the question, the Haishen's tentacles snapped up and whipped through the water, its voice rising several octaves.

"Just that? Why didn't you just ask in the first place!"

"You beat me up the moment you got here, and you didn't even ask afterward, expecting me to just say it on my own!"

"How was I supposed to know what to say? I didn't know what you wanted to ask! If you had just asked, I would have told you!"

The Haishen looked at the filaments stuck to the Starfish, Mantis Shrimp, and Blue Crab, its eyes full of sheer heartbreak.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to accumulate my filaments?"

After venting its frustration, and terrified that the Blue Crab would grab it again, the Haishen scrambled up from the sand. Supporting its body with its tentacles, it shuffled inch by inch toward the cave entrance.

Reaching the entrance, it stopped, pointed a tentacle upward, and said in a muffled voice,

"See for yourselves."

The five demons of the Eastward Expedition Team crowded toward the entrance.

The Blue Crab gripped the edge of the cave with its pincers and poked its head out.

The Mantis Shrimp followed with Bengbu on its back, springing to the entrance and looking up.

The Sea Turtle's head craned out from its shell, its neck stretching incredibly long.

The five demons craned their necks until they were sore, but they saw absolutely nothing.

Above the trench was still the same deep seawater, with undercurrents surging overhead and those glowing eyes blinking in the darkness.

Other than that, there was nothing above the trench.

The Blue Crab's neck was the first to give out. It lowered its head from its upward gaze, its compound eyes rolling as it stared at the Haishen, who was still huddled at the entrance.

Its pincers rose—not just one, but both of them, with the left in front and the right behind.

It didn't speak, but those raised pincers said everything.

The Blue Crab felt it had been tricked, and decided that this time, it wouldn't stop until it beat the Haishen so hard that it couldn't even squeeze out a single filament!

Seeing this, the Haishen instantly snapped to attention, its tentacles flailing as it shrieked.

"Wait! Just wait a bit longer! You'll see it soon! Really! I'm not lying to you! Just wait a tiny bit longer!"

The Blue Crab stared at the Haishen, its two raised pincers remaining in the air, its eight legs scraping the sand, ready to strike.

Just then, a sudden aura surged up from the depths of the trench.

This majestic aura swept through the entire trench, freezing the Blue Crab's pincers in mid-air and stopping the Mantis Shrimp's antennae from waving.

They could all feel the demonic qi within that aura.

This was a truly great demon!