The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 88 Puppet

"Now all sorts of monsters have left their territories and are roaming around. That place is so dangerous, why would humans appear there? Are they plotting something? Or... have humans discovered that it leads to our tribe, so they've taken over the area?"

Raphael also stepped forward and asked Clark, but Clark just shook his head awkwardly.

"I'm not quite sure about that either..."

This is a lie. Clark is now essentially Klein. Through Yanami's translation, Clark's every word and action is now controlled by Klein.

But how could Klein possibly say all that? Besides, the reason Klein settled in the plantation was actually because there was a water source there and the caves were safe... Surely no fishman would believe that, right?

"So... how strong are humans?"

Klein did indeed hear the question, thought for a moment, and then instructed Clark to answer it.

Clark pondered for a moment, then adopted a serious and solemn expression, making the other fishmen sense his earnestness.

"That human... is extremely powerful. She controls a great many monsters, so I think it's best if we don't attack them rashly."

Klein's current goal is to get them to abandon their attack plans, but... Klein glanced at the bronze dragon beside him. Instead of sinking back to the bottom of the water, the dragon was listening to Clark's report on the plantation.

The dragon looked extremely ugly, though I'm not sure if that's considered ugly for a dragon.

On the contrary, the clan leader's expression relaxed. The strength of humans was now an advantage for him.

"I also think it's best not to act rashly. If there are many monsters, we simply don't have the strength to fight them."

Raphael, the fishman, glanced subtly at the chieftain before continuing to question Clark.

"A lot of monsters? How many? What kind of monsters are they?"

"I'm not entirely sure how many there are... but there are shadow wolves, thunder crocodiles, rock frogs, stone-like crabs, lions covered in swords, thunder antler deer, rock-armored bears..."

Clark recounted all the monsters he knew, exaggerating the combat power of the monsters on the plantation as much as possible. In order to avoid any discrepancies between the names of the monsters and those of the fishmen, he described the monsters in terms that the fishmen could understand.

Fortunately, the information about the communication fish wasn't very detailed, otherwise Klein wouldn't have been able to exaggerate it so much.

Sure enough, the fishmen's expressions began to change halfway through the conversation, and became increasingly ugly.

"How...how terrifying! What on earth did humans do over there? How could they control so many powerful monsters...Clark, it's truly a miracle that you managed to escape..."

"Yes, I also feel it's a miracle that I was able to escape..."

"Clark, how did you manage to escape?"

Before Clark could finish speaking, the clan chief, who had been silent, suddenly asked a question, staring at Clark with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

How did he escape back...? Klein pondered, realizing that his words just now seemed somewhat inappropriate. If humans are so powerful, how could Clark possibly have escaped back?

After thinking for a moment, Klein asked Clark to answer.

"Ah... it's because of the demonic tide. That forest is very unsettled. Many fleeing demons attacked humans. While humans were busy dealing with them, I took the opportunity to escape."

"So that's how it is... It's not just us who were attacked by monsters, humans were too. It's really not easy for you to escape back."

Raphael patted Clark on the shoulder and sighed, while the clan chief continued to stare at Clark for a while before slowly turning his gaze away.

"Clark, you must be exhausted after all this. Take a rest today."

The patriarch stopped looking at Clark and instead turned to the bronze dragon Mariens, bowing to him and intending to end the discussion once and for all.

"Lord Marion, thank you for your help today. If there's nothing else, please go back and rest—"

"Chief, Lord Marion."

Seeing that the chieftain wanted to let the matter drop, Raphael interrupted him again, smiling as he continued.

"Since humans are being attacked by monsters, wouldn't it be a good opportunity for us to attack them now, taking advantage of their distraction to reclaim the cave that rightfully belongs to us?"

"But there are many monsters on the human side—"

As the patriarch retorted, he turned around, only to hear the authoritative voice of the bronze dragon Mariens behind him.

"It's alright. These lowly monsters will run away when they sense my authority. It's no problem."

The patriarch received an unexpected answer, as did Klein.

The bronze dragon's might couldn't scare away the monsters controlled by Klein, since it was direct parasitism, not simple taming.

But the bronze dragon doesn't know that I've parasitized these monsters... This is troublesome.

If they really attack the plantation, I'll have no choice but to run away with Yanami.

Why are things happening lately always forcing us to run away?

Klein pondered a solution, while Raphael spoke up again.

"Lord Marion, how much longer can your barrier hold?"

"Five days. After five days, I will no longer have the magic to maintain the barrier. You will all have to fend for yourselves."

Raphael nodded in satisfaction upon hearing Marion's reply.

"Chieftain, we don't have much time. Shouldn't we attack humans and seek a new way out for our tribe?"

"this……"

The patriarch was unable to refute this, so Klein quickly asked Clark to add his own words.

"Lord Marion, from my observation, the monsters under human control don't seem to be simply tamed; they are mindless puppets. In such a situation, can your authority still be effective?"

"A puppet? I'm not quite sure about this either; perhaps it's the effect of magic."

Clark looked at the clan chief beside him, who then realized what was happening.

"Raphael, you heard it too, attacking under these circumstances is still too dangerous."

The patriarch glanced at Marion and added a sentence.

"Three days. We'll use three days to find another route. If we can't find one, we'll attack humanity. What do you think, Lord Marion?"

"Hmm...that's definitely the safest approach."

In the end, even Marion, who hated humans, agreed with the chieftain's idea.

"What do you think, Raphael?"

"So be it then, hmph."

Raphael glanced at the patriarch, then bowed to Mariens before turning and leaving.

The victorious patriarch watched Raphael's departing figure and sighed deeply, feeling both disappointment and understanding.

After all, that was a child he had personally promoted.

And so the matter was settled; Marion sank back to the bottom of the lake, and the merfolk tribe returned to peace.