Fierce Mermaid Princess

"If you lack wings, only your soul may pass through our maritime skies." ------------------- Ancient Proverb of the Western Sea Kingdom.

The mermaid princess ceased her haunting melody, luminous eyes fixing on Liu Zhenhan. "Was that ballad your creation, Beastman?" Her Atlantean Common Speech flowed like submerged chimes, each syllable carrying hypnotic weight.

Liu tightened his grip on the bamboo harpoon. Seawater erupted around them as twelve shadowy figures surfaced - Gablin clan demon shark warriors astride monstrous tiger sharks. Their kelp-woven armor clung to hydrodynamic frames, bone tridents gleaming like coral fangs beneath the pearl's glow. One warrior drifted closer, revealing webbed hands thicker than Liu's thighs and eyes devoid of warmth.

Helen's trembling intensified as the nearest warrior came into focus. Towering over two meters tall, his hammerhead-shaped skull bore the clan's signature vertical gill slits that pulsed with each breath. "Gablin mako knights..." she whispered through chattering teeth, "Living siege engines from the Abyssal Wars..."

The princess plucked her crystal harp, notes cascading like drowned bells. "By what madness do landwalkers trespass our domain? No earthly creature flies above Western Sea unchallenged!"

"Most Exalted Princess," Helen curtsied with impeccable grace despite her pallor, "We are but storm-lost pilgrims seeking homeland. No disrespect intended to Neptune's sovereignty."

"A vixen noble and..." The mermaid's gaze swept over Liu, her scaled tail slapping water rhythmically, "A swine priest? How quaint. Has Beastmankind fallen so low, or risen so high?"

"Divine selection transcends bloodlines, Your Eminence." Helen maintained her poise though her knees threatened to buckle.

The princess flicked golden tresses behind scaled shoulders, droplets sparkling like liquid topaz. "Lovers, are we? Let's test this bond. One may depart - the other becomes tribute to Amphitrite."

Twelve trident points converged on the raft. A mako knight executed perfect porpoise leap overhead, seven-meter predator clearing the vessel without ripple. Liu stared down the nearest shark's maw, its prefrontal "king" pattern glowing hellish crimson in the bioluminescent glare.

Guo Guo puffed his chest on Liu's shoulder, baring milk teeth at the leviathans. Helen's osprey circled above, acid glands pulsing as it screeched defiance.

"You mistake humility for weakness." Liu's knuckles whitened around his weapon, the bamboo shaft groaning under pressure.

The princess arched an eyebrow, water swirling around her reef throne. "This grunting hog dares lecture me? Richard! School these vermin in Gablin hospitality!"

A colossus dismounted, raft groaning under his 300-kilogram frame. "Three breaths, landrat." Richard cracked webbed knuckles that popped like ship timbers. "Your bones shall feed my steed. Your vermin pet makes dessert."

Liu's smirk mirrored his retort. "Bring your whole brood. Spare me repeat efforts."

Laughter erupted from the shark knights - "Mudcrawler!" "Hermit crab!" "Tidepool scum!" Their tiger sharks snapped jaws in syncopated rhythm, serrated teeth glinting.

The princess's tail slapped irritation, sending spray arcing over her throne. "Victory earns your passage. Death cements your folly."

Helen gripped Liu's arm, her whisper urgent. "Two millennia past, their stormcallers flooded continents! Gablin warriors shattered armies! Their suicide explosions..."

Liu shrugged, muscles coiling beneath salt-crusted skin. "Let history repeat." He stepped forward, bamboo lance humming through salt air.

The shark knight lunged with predator's grace, webbed hands outstretched. Liu pivoted, harpoon tip tracing silver crescent. Bamboo met scaled flesh with sickening crunch. Richard recoiled, forearm oozing black blood that smoked on contact with seawater.

"First blood." Liu twirled his weapon, eyes calculating the warrior's staggered breathing. Guo Guo chittered triumph, frost crystals blooming across his fur.

The Gablin roared, gill slits flaring crimson. Seawater coalesced around his fists into liquid gauntlets. He charged again, tidal wave force behind each step. Liu ducked beneath wild swing, harpoon thrusting upward. Bamboo splintered against abdominal scales, releasing geyser of iridescent fluid.

Richard collapsed, convulsing as his life essence stained the raft. The tiger sharks grew frenzied, snapping at their riders' restraints. The princess rose from her throne, crown blazing azure. "Enough! Cease this farce!"

Liu planted his boots on the shuddering raft, bloodied harpoon leveled. "Your move, scale queen."

Helen's voice cut through tension. "By Campos' light! His strength mirrors ancient epics!" Her trembling hands glowed faintly as residual hymnforce stirred.

The mermaid's laughter rang like shattered crystal. "Interesting... Very interesting..." Her tail undulated hypnotically. "Perhaps landwalkers still hold surprises. You may pass - but remember..."

She vanished in whirlpool explosion, warriors following in her wake. The raft rocked violently, leaving Liu clutching Helen as dawn's first light pierced the horizon.