Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 645

Chapter 645: The City of the Whale Fall

Click-clack-clack…

The mech retracted.

Ethan stepped out of the armor.

Emery blinked in surprise. Ethan had been all aggression just moments ago—why the sudden change of attitude?

The question barely formed in his mind when a series of sharp cracks split the air.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“Ah—?” Emery’s vision blurred. It all happened so fast he could barely process it.

Of the four trident-wielding creatures, only one was left standing.

That one now dangled helplessly in Ethan’s grip, his fingers clamped around its neck. The other three were already airborne, hurled out of the protective dome and into the water beyond.

“You decide who gets to board and who doesn’t?” Ethan’s voice was calm, almost lazy, yet each word dripped with menace. “Who the hell do you think you are? Did you ask me, Ethan Caelum?”

The creature twisted in his grasp, its expression flickering between terror and rage. Its jaw split open, revealing a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.

“You’re still going to snarl at me?” Ethan’s tone darkened.

He drew his arm back and swung.

CRACK!

The Naga’s head snapped to one side.

CRACK!

Another slap, just as sharp, sent it reeling the other way.

Splash!

A cascade of fine, sharp teeth scattered into the water outside the dome.

“Is this thing mute now?” Ethan muttered, frowning at the pitiful sight before turning toward Emery.

Emery stood frozen, his thoughts blank. Even if he had wanted to intervene, he couldn’t have.

He had assumed any conflict would wait until they reached their destination. He knew the temper of these creatures—and he knew Ethan’s even better. His plan had been to mediate once they arrived, to make the Nagas shed some of their arrogance and treat Ethan with caution.

But Ethan hadn’t waited.

By the time Emery’s mind caught up, Regis, Dragon Child, and Starfall had already entered the dome. Each of them held one of the creatures Ethan had knocked away.

All three Nagas were limp, either dead or unconscious.

Starfall was staring at the one in his hand, tongue flicking across his lips. The sight made Emery’s stomach tighten. He remembered the last time Starfall had done that—when he’d turned giant Wyrms into something like spicy jerky.

A numb chill crept through him. Was bringing Ethan and his group really the right decision?

This didn’t feel like an operation anymore. It felt like the start of a full-scale riot.

When Lyla had been involved, they’d at least pretended to be acting for her sake. Now, it was different—there wasn’t even a pretense of restraint.

Emery realized, with a cold weight in his chest, that from the moment he had told Ethan about the mission, this man had never intended to negotiate.

And the fact that Ethan hadn’t harmed him… wasn’t kindness. It was indifference. Either he considered Emery a friend—or simply too insignificant to bother with.

“Hey, hey, what are you staring off for?”

Ethan clapped a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of it.

“Uh—they’re just Battle-Thralls,” Emery said quickly, forcing a nervous smile. “They’re underdeveloped, not very intelligent. Please, don’t take it too seriously.”

“Oh?” Ethan raised an eyebrow, his expression easing with mild surprise.

So all that display hadn’t even counted as an insult to their real masters?

“Just fodder, then. Can I eat them?” Starfall suddenly chimed in, his voice full of hungry curiosity. Emery caught the way he swallowed hard, as if barely holding himself back.

“No, no, no! Don’t do that! You’ll provoke their superiors for sure!”

Emery’s face went pale as he lunged forward, panic clear in his voice. If he was even a second too late, this man might actually take a bite.

“Ugh… fine, I’ll hold back,” Starfall muttered, disappointment in his tone. He tossed the limp creature onto the turtle’s massive shell.

“Can you control this turtle and take us there?” Ethan asked, turning to Emery.

Emery hesitated, then slowly shook his head.

“I can,” Dragon Child said calmly.

She raised her head and released a low, resonant Dragon’s Roar.

The sound was soft yet commanding, rippling through the water. The giant turtle shuddered beneath them—and then began to move.

It turned smoothly and shot forward, diving into the deep ravine below.

The speed was breathtaking. In Ethan’s mind, turtles were sluggish, lumbering creatures. But this one sliced through the water like a bullet train, leaving swirling trails of current and blurred cliffs in its wake.

Ten minutes later, a faint light began to glow in the darkness ahead.

Ethan leaned forward, eyes narrowing. The gloom of the deep sea slowly gave way to a vast sapphire brilliance.

The source of that light made him catch his breath.

Below them stretched an entire city—built not of stone, but of bones.

Colossal skeletal remains, interwoven and endless, formed towering arches and sweeping bridges. It looked like an underwater metropolis sculpted from the remains of giants.

“Are those… whale skeletons?” Ethan asked, his voice low with awe.

“The City of the Whale Fall,” Emery said, nodding. “We’ve arrived.”

The sight left Ethan silent for a moment. The soft, luminous colors that flowed across the bones seemed alive—like memories drifting through the water.

A certain passage drifted into Ethan’s mind.

Born to soar like a Roc, destined to fall like a Whale.

When a whale rises, the heavens tremble.

When a whale sings, the ocean stills.

When a whale falls, life begins anew.

Born in the sea, dying in the sea, returning to the sea, nurturing the sea.

A whale spends its life roaming the endless ocean, yet it touches the ocean floor only once—in death. From that silent fall, an entire world of life is born.

—

As they drew closer, schools of strange, luminous creatures swam around them. Ethan had never seen most of them before—some looked like ribbons of light, others like transparent serpents weaving through the dark.

The glowing whale bones rose around them like cathedral pillars, their faint blue radiance illuminating a massive dome that sealed off the city below.

Through that shimmering barrier, Ethan could see that the interior was dry. A self-contained world beneath the sea.

This was a city guarded by death—a sanctuary raised upon the sacrifice of countless whales.

Ethan felt his tension ease, if only slightly. A place born from such solemn devotion couldn’t be entirely evil. Still, the way they’d been brought here left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Tell me about them,” he said quietly. “What kind of beings are we dealing with?”

Now that they had arrived, Ethan was ready to listen. Before, his only thought had been simple and absolute: I don’t care who you are—cross me, and I’ll crush you.

Emery looked at him, hesitating before speaking. “They’re called the Merfolk,” he said at last. “Actually… I’m one of them too, in a way. I carry a trace of their blood. I didn’t even know until they found me.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Emery’s gaze drifted toward the shimmering city below, his voice lowering as if he were reciting something ancient.

“Beyond the Southern Seas dwell the Merfolk,” he said softly. “They live in the water like fish, yet weave the finest cloths beneath the waves. When they weep, their tears become pearls—and those pearls burn for ten thousand years.”

His words hung in the water like a song, fading into the slow pulse of the glowing whale bones.