Although he didn’t personally experience it, as a bystander, Nereus could still tell many things.
The force behind Vander Decken VIII’s punch seemed to have been entirely reflected back onto himself.
It wasn’t merely the recoil from striking stone, but some unscientific power that reflected the force of the punch itself back at the attacker.
The body shaped from Poneglyphs was already practically indestructible, and combined with this damage-reflection ability, it was basically Thornmail with infinite durability.
“Alright, that’s enough of your amateur skills. Switch to weapons and try attacking in other ways.”
Firearms weren’t mainstream weapons on Fishman Island, mainly because of the deep-sea environment. During underwater combat, bullets couldn’t travel far due to the environmental pressure.
Even this world’s mainstream firearms—those unscientific rapid-fire flintlocks—were no exception. In the deep sea, they were affected even more severely, and many times couldn’t even be fired.
Because of this, the standard underwater equipment of the Neptune Army was a type of rapid-fire harpoon launcher similar to a repeating crossbow.
But that didn’t mean firearms didn’t exist in the Ryugu Kingdom. Guns were still used in land battles, and the armory contained all kinds of weapons.
However, whether it was flying bullets or fired arrows, all of them were reflected back by Genbu’s turtle shell. They weren’t merely deflected aside; they were reflected back while retaining their original force.
After a barrage of attacks, Genbu remained completely unharmed, while Vander Decken VIII became utterly disheveled from constantly dodging the rebounding attacks.
Aside from that, perhaps because Devil Fruits were hated by the sea, Genbu itself only possessed the power to manipulate earth elements. Other than that, it could only rampage around by relying on its body.
This was also why Nereus needed to thoroughly understand its abilities. The powers of Mythical Zoans in this sea differed somewhat from what he knew.
The phoenix’s flames caused little harm to the living, while the Kirin’s power involved converting dreams and reality—these were direct examples.
If there was a weakness, it was its slow movement speed and complete lack of agility, along with an apparently lazy disposition.
Ever since this test battle began, it hadn’t moved from its original spot even once.
But that was enough.
As a special weapon, Nereus naturally had a way to deploy it. Like the meteor hammer, all he needed to do was throw it directly into densely populated areas.
Although Genbu held back and didn’t strike too hard because of Nereus’s orders, Vander Decken VIII still left the place covered in dust and looking miserable.
Still, that wasn’t a big deal to him. Before even leaving the room, he had already fabricated a new lie. For example, claiming that Nereus hadn’t had an opponent in a long time and had eagerly challenged him to a spar.
Whether others believed it or not was unknown, but at least it successfully fooled Vander Decken IX for the time being.
Perhaps because its original body was a Poneglyph that had remained in one place for hundreds of years, even after being granted a Devil Fruit, it still retained some of its original characteristics.
Genbu simply didn’t want to move. Once there were no more orders, it reverted to its original stone form and continued sitting in the open area, silently watching time pass by.
If Nereus gave it no commands, it would remain that ordinary Poneglyph.
The only difference was that its placement had been moved from the seabed of the Sea Forest to the entrance of Ryugu Palace, where it sat outside the gates like a stone lion guarding the residence.
Vander Decken VIII needed to come up with excuses to fool his child, but things on Nereus’s side were far less complicated.
By the time Nereus returned to his residence, Nanamo had already gone back to her room, while Chloe was being held in Amphitrite’s arms.
“Give her to me. Get a good rest tonight. You know my abilities, even if I don’t sleep at night, I can still recover my energy.”
“It’s fine, it’s still early. At most another year. Once she can control the flames on her back, we won’t need to do this anymore.”
Amphitrite gently rocked her arms. For Lunarians, the most difficult time to take care of a child was when they were only a few months old.
Right after birth, the flames on their backs hadn’t awakened yet. At that stage, cradles and baby beds could still be used normally.
It was the same once they grew older. But during the period after the flames first awakened, when they still couldn’t control extinguishing them, ordinary fabrics were completely unusable. They would be ignited by the flames before long.
At this stage, the parents generally took turns holding the child. If they truly lacked the energy, they would make a special kind of bed out of stone, metal, or other nonflammable materials.
With the adaptability of Lunarians, this wasn’t really a problem. Their infants didn’t even need to worry about getting sick; their bodies had already evolved perfect antibodies.
If something really did go wrong, it was most likely because someone had poisoned them, and not with ordinary poison either.
As for why Amphitrite chose to raise the child herself…
A child would grow up no matter how they were raised. When conditions were poor, some people even fed their children rice soup. But when conditions were already excellent, yet someone still insisted on raising a child in hardship mode, then the problem lay with the person.
No matter how great someone’s talent was, nutrition still had to keep up. Otherwise, even a natural monster like Charlotte Linlin could end up developing an eating disorder from hunger.
“Buru…buruburubu…”
While Nereus was busy taking care of his second daughter, the long-distance Den Den Mushi placed in the Royal Palace suddenly rang.
As Nereus picked up the receiver, the Den Den Mushi’s eyes turned into tiny dots, and its lips became noticeably thicker.
Even before the voice came through, Nereus already knew from the Den Den Mushi’s appearance that the person on the other end was Tiger.
“What is it, Tiger? Did something happen?”
“Your Majesty Nereus, apologies for disturbing you at this hour. But you previously instructed me to notify you if there was any related news. I’ve found Noland’s descendants.”
Fishman Island had only just entered the night, but in the North Blue where Tiger was located, dawn had already arrived.
After leaving Tiger behind in the Deul Kingdom back then, Tiger had remained there to assist with the kingdom’s development.
If one were to address Tiger by his official title now, he would be called Ryugu Kingdom’s Governor stationed in the North Blue, responsible for managing Ryugu Kingdom personnel in the North Blue, handling certain diplomatic affairs on behalf of Fishman Island, and overseeing the safety of the stationed forces.
However, that was only Fishman Island’s internal designation. To outsiders, Tiger was merely the leader of a civilian organization voluntarily helping other countries develop.
In Deul Kingdom, there was even a small “concession” that belonged to the Ryugu Kingdom, because modern Deul Kingdom had essentially developed by relying on the equipment and technology supplied by Ryugu Kingdom. [TN: Concession here means territory leased to a foreign power.]
Even though it possessed a relatively independent government, in many matters it still referred to Ryugu Kingdom’s suggestions, because these former slaves had neither a powerful military nor a sufficiently strong king. In many areas, they still had to rely on outsiders.
Back when the Dwarves helped cultivate the new Eve Tree, their wish had been to meet Noland’s descendants. Therefore, after their sphere of influence gradually expanded deeper into the North Blue, Nereus had continuously pursued this matter, and now there were finally results.
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