176 Cat Dad Returns to Gnoll Island
Chapter 176 – Cat Dad Returns to Gnoll Island
“Are you serious?” Mimir frowned.
“Another calamity-class fiend? What’s his name?” Taotie was interested.
Xiaomao coughed, “It’s a giant angler fish, munya.”
Mimir’s expression turned dark while Taotie beamed him with a bright smile. However, they said in unison.
“Not happening.”
Xiaomao was taken aback, “Why, munya?”
Mimir patted Xiaomao’s head and patiently explained, “Among all calamity-class monsters, this idiot is the most docile one.”
“Who’s the docile one?!” Taotie snarled at Mimir, but he got bonked by a cane.
“Ahem. Anyway, among the seven existing calamity fiends, Angler fish should never be freed regardless of the situation. Even if he and Pangu fall out, you must never free him.”
Xiaomao got curious, “May I ask why, munya?”
“Aren’t you a regressor? You should know the answer better than I do.”
“…”
Indeed, Xiaomao knew why the angler fish was dangerous. Its main power was similar to the mythic chalice in his inventory. However, angler fish, when he was unsealed, automatically generated 100 cubic tons of water every second. Its existence threatened everybody in the game world as it could drown the entire planet if it was left alone for too long.
Living in a water world was no issue for Xiaomao. However, for Lucky and others, it would be a huge issue as they needed to live on a ship for the rest of their lives.
Xiaomao also didn’t want to live in a water world. He agreed with Mimir’s point.
“I see, munya. Then, can we kill him, so we can obtain rare artifacts from his corpse?”
“Do you think calamity-class fiends are piggy banks? They’re not easy to die,” Retorted Mimir.
“Hahahaha! If one of us can die so easily, nobody would have given us the calamity-class title,” Taotie agreed.
“Yeah, all calamity-class monsters are all cockroaches. Look at this guy. He should have died twice or thrice already, but he’s still here with his full HP.”
“Who are you calling cockroach, you stinking geezer?!”
Both immortals pulled each other’s cheeks like kids while Xiaomao and others laughed at their interaction. As for the matter about killing or taming the angler fish of doom, Xiaomao abandonned the project as it was impossible.
.
With Mimir and Taotie on the ship, the trip home was fast and smooth. Taotie proactively hunted and collected sea monsters and fish while Mimir purified the meat for consumption. Fortunately, Taotie didn’t hog all the monster meat. He shared some large fishes that he got, but he consumed all guts and bones without leaving anything behind.
As Taotie continued killing, monster cores and corrupted spirit stones came out from the corpses. Since he had no use for them, he gifted them to Xiaomao.
Xiaomao and the crew were delighted. They gathered them in one of the cabins as they would use these items in the future.
After Taotie was full, he transformed into a Godzilla and carried the ship on his back while swimming in the sea. Several hours later, they reached the Northwest Peninsula.
“Hahahaha! This is refreshing!”
Taotie had fun swimming. On the other hand, Mimir sat on a chair at the back of the ship, reeling a dozen fishing nets with his telekinesis. Shepherd, James, Peter, John, and Andrew were there as well, collecting small fishes into their inventory.
Soon, Taotie brought the ship to Cernun Island. With him in the lead, no merman or mermaid dared to hinder the path.
Mimir and Taotie got off first. As soon as they landed on the island, a massive crocodile suddenly stood on two feet, revealing his location to the visitors.
Xiaomao and others looked up in astonishment. They had seen Cernun once, and they estimated that his length was about 200 meters or so. However, at the moment, Cernun was at least 500 meters tall when he stood on two feet.
Taotie, who was in a lion form, had planned to transform into a dragon Godzilla to compete in size. But when he noticed the level and the karma of Cernun, he had a second thought.
<strong>Cernun, Guardian of the World Tree, Level 9,999</strong>
Both Mimir and Taotie bowed to Cernun, and the latter nodded at them.
“Junior Mimir greets Elder Dragon Cernun.”
“Junior Taotie greets Elder Dragon Cernun.”
Cernun transformed into a two-meter tall humanoid dragonewt. He walked out of the forest and approached both immortals. On the way there, he smiled at both Shepherd and Xiaomao.
“Welcome to my domain. You must have quite an adventure, judging from your karma.”
“It was nothing,” Mimir still lowered his head.
“I can tell why you’re here. I’ll inform Lady Chang’e about your arrival. But before I proceed with the plan, I need to confirm it from your mouth. Will you join the Chaos Demon Goddess Faction and pledge allegiance to both Chang’e and her husband?”
Mimir looked up. He answered without hesitation, “I’m willing!”
Taotie glanced at Xiaomao and smirked. He gazed at Cernun, “I’m willing!”
“Good. Then, follow me to the Mermaid Kingdom. Oh, Xiaomao,” Cernun turned to Xiaomao. “A mermaid has left a message for you. If you need to upgrade your class to the second tier or awaken your cultivator class, go find her at the safe zone. When you’ve done everything, wait for me here.”
Xiaomao nodded. Then, the immortals walked into the forest and vanished.
After the seniors were gone, Xiaomao looked at his crewmates, “Let’s go to our headquarters (dungeon) and sort our inventory again, munya. We have too many fish, monster cores, and black stones. Let’s store the imperishable items in the warehouse and exchange some excess fish for better items, munya.”
The crew and Xiaomao got back to the ship. They sailed east toward Gnoll Island.
.
When Xiaomao was away, Nameless Nymph had developed and transferred many mermen to Gnoll Island to protect the dungeon. Half of the lush forest was cut down to make temporary shacks for the patrol guards, and a stone quarry was erected outside the dungeon.
Mermen, who never entered the gender-changing dungeon, were busy mining stones from a stone cliff. Despite having the head of fish, their two arms and two legs were nimble and strong enough to use pickaxes and peeled useful rocks and iron from the cliff.
A dozen mermaids floated in the air, carrying buckets, transporting transparent water from the mermaid sanctuary to the surface. They poured the water into water tanks in the temporary settlement for the workers to use. Then, they went back to the dungeon to carry more.
When Xiaomao arrived, he paused to admire how his island had developed.
“This place has changed a lot, munya!”