Chapter 2404: Protecting the Husband

The Mermaid Queen flashed, appearing in front of Zu'an. "Dragon King," she said, "he's just an ordinary person; don't scare him."

Seeing the way she protected him, the Dragon King's eyebrows twitched. He had pursued her relentlessly for so many years; when had she ever shown him such concern?

Her current tenderness and anxiety towards another man felt like sharp blades piercing his heart.

Yet, looking at her incomparably beautiful face, he simply couldn't bring himself to be angry with her.

He could only vent all his anger on Zu'an. "Heh," he sneered, "do you only hide behind women? I wonder what the Queen sees in you."

Rage from Ao Wudi: 555555555…

Zu'an smiled slightly, completely unfazed. "You could also find a woman like that to hide behind," he retorted. "Why don't you look for one? You couldn't possibly be unable to find one, could you? Surely not? Surely not?"

Dragon King: "!!!"

He had never encountered such snarky remarks from Earth's internet, and was almost angered to the point of spitting blood on the spot.

Rage from Ao Wudi: 999999999…

The Mermaid Queen also wore a strange expression. She had originally worried her foolish guard would be bullied, but now it seemed the Dragon King was the one being tormented.

"How dare you offend my royal dignity! You're courting death!" The Dragon King could no longer hold back, directly lunging with a claw towards Zu'an's head. Judging by the force, if that claw connected, his opponent's head would undoubtedly burst open like a ripe watermelon.

Many powerful individuals present, who usually had disagreements with the Dragon King, uncharacteristically found themselves on the same side as him in this situation, wishing he would kill the Mermaid Queen's officially declared lover on the spot.

However, the Mermaid Queen, well aware of the Dragon King's temper, had already preemptively positioned herself in front of Zu'an.

The Dragon King, left with no choice, could only swing his mighty claw to the side.

The defensive array on the nearby palace wall flickered for only a moment before completely dimming, and the entire wall was instantly shattered by that single claw.

The powerful individuals from various sea factions present exchanged glances, all seeing the wariness in each other's eyes.

This Dragon King might typically be fond of women, but his cultivation had clearly not fallen behind at all.

Even Mojad gave him an extra glance, thinking that he had somewhat underestimated the Dragon King's strength, given how meek he had appeared before.

The Mermaid Queen looked coldly at the Dragon King. "Dragon King," she said, "you've gone too far."

At the same time, she secretly transmitted a message to Zu'an: "You're the person Suyin found. I don't have *those* kinds of feelings for you. Right now, I need you to play along with me."

Hearing her instruction, Zu'an couldn't help but touch his nose. Even in this situation, she hadn't forgotten her cover. If she knew the truth, he wondered if she would die of embarrassment.

He had to admit the Mermaid Queen was indeed very beautiful. Now, standing in front of him, they were very close.

He could clearly smell a faint fragrance emanating from her, and combined with her perfectly graceful back, it was enough to make any man's heart race.

He wondered what method she had used to conceal it before; Suyin hadn't had such a fragrance. It seemed she was also a good actress, not revealing any flaws in these details.

At this moment, the Dragon King was practically fuming. "Queen," he demanded, "do you truly mean to protect him like this?"

Rage from the Dragon King: 666666666…

The Mermaid Queen's expression remained calm. "He is my lover," she stated. "If I don't protect him, who will I protect?"

She had originally thought of adding, "Am I supposed to protect you instead?"

On second thought, that might be too provocative for him, and it wouldn't be good if it completely pushed him to the demon side.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zu'an seemed to hear the sound of a thousand hearts breaking around him.

The rage value in the background was soaring even higher.

He wore a strange expression; although he didn't want to get too deeply involved with a historical figure like the Mermaid Queen, this speed of earning rage points truly made it hard to stop.

The little maid, Cherry, was now so excited her small face was flushed red. She used to think the Queen wouldn't fancy anyone and had even worried she had lost the ability to love. But now she realized how fierce the Queen could be once she fell for a man.

She hoped the Queen's consort would be worthy of her affections.

"Just who exactly is this guy?" The Dragon King stared intently at Zu'an.

The Mermaid Queen smiled slightly. "He's just an ordinary little guard," she said, "but my liking him is enough."

After speaking, she quickly transmitted a message to Zu'an: "Don't misunderstand; I don't have any romantic feelings for you whatsoever. This is all just to get through the current crisis."

Zu'an nodded, watching her almost break character. He almost burst out laughing.

*The more seriously you pretend,* he thought, *the greater your future social humiliation will be.*

"An ordinary guard?"

"My liking him is enough."

Cherry blinked, thinking to herself that the Queen was truly good at pretending. How could the Queen's consort be an ordinary guard when he was so powerful?

Was she deliberately being modest? Cherry simply couldn't figure it out.

Just as Cherry was thinking her understanding wasn't deep enough, others, upon hearing such a description, were so angered they almost spat blood, realizing they couldn't compare to an ordinary guard.

The Mermaid Queen had such deep feelings for him.

Could this guard possibly be a legendary succubus?

In addition, some others' eyes flashed with malicious intent. How could an ordinary guard be so fortunate as to enjoy the love of the Sea Race's most beautiful woman?

The Mermaid Queen couldn't possibly be with him all the time, and when the time came, there would be a thousand ways to destroy this ordinary guard!

The Dragon King wanted to say more, but Mojad finally couldn't stand it anymore. He lightly coughed and said coldly, "I didn't come here to watch your lovers' quarrel."

The Dragon King's heart jolted. He knew he had already displeased Mojad and could only temporarily suppress the jealousy and rage in his heart, planning to slowly settle the score with that guard later.

Mojad looked at Zu'an, then shifted his gaze to Cherry. "Before, I sent Deputy Commander Sha to invite this young lady," he said. "Where is Deputy Commander Sha now?"

Cherry was, after all, just a young girl; how could she withstand the pressure from such a demonic behemoth? When he glared at her, her heart instantly panicked, and she subconsciously looked towards Zu'an.

"Oh?" Mojad raised an eyebrow, his gaze returning to Zu'an. "It seems Deputy Commander Sha has fallen into your hands!"

Hearing his words, a flicker of doubt flashed in the Mermaid Queen's eyes. This foolish guard had meager abilities; there was an unknown difference in magnitude between him and Deputy Commander Sha. How could he possibly be his opponent?

The Dragon King and other powerful sea race members, however, suddenly realized. So this kid was feigning weakness to ambush stronger prey. *I knew the Queen couldn't possibly like an ordinary guard,* they thought.

Zu'an shook his head. "Deputy Commander Sha? I haven't seen him," he said. "Please don't falsely accuse me."

In his heart, he also lamented that the Mojad before him was truly in high spirits, completely different from the decadent and fallen Mojad he had known before.

"Playing word games with me is useless," Mojad stated. "Finding the body will explain everything." As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from his spot, his figure reappearing deep within the palace.

The Mermaid Queen's face changed drastically. It was already too late to stop him, and her heart grew increasingly fearful that Mojad's strength was truly unfathomable.

The Dragon King and other powerful individuals had originally intended to protect the Mermaid Queen, but at this moment, they all watched coldly from the sidelines, wishing Mojad would find some evidence and then slap this unknown love rival to death.