“Damn it… Whiskers!” Zachary shouted.

This was why he hadn’t tried to use Sugo for anything before. The slug was slow and not good for anything. Right now, it was even too far away and out of sight that he wasn’t able to cast a recall summon.

Whiskers, hearing his command, made a big splash and quickly came to him. Onkie also woke up and hurried over along with Dream. Zachary got on Whiskers’ back and held onto its dorsal fin as they took off. Dream swam beside them while Onkie paddled furiously to catch up.

Zachary nervously examined his soul bond with Sugo again. It was crying out to him, begging to be saved. He tried to ask what was eating it but got no sensible response. It was almost catatonic due to terror.

Strangely, he didn’t sense any pain. If it was being torn apart and eaten, Sugo should have been in terrible agony. Even for slugs and worms, they were capable of feeling pain. Even if it was not physical pain, it would be a pain within their soul as they were dying.

He could only urge Whiskers to swim faster. The giant catfish’s skin was smooth and slippery. He had no time to put on a rope harness so he could only hold on to its large fin.

They soon arrived above the area where Sugo and the other creature were. Zachary was still receiving mixed signals from Sugo. The water was clear but sunlight didn’t reach here so it was hard to see from the surface.

“Whiskers, dive!”

Splash!

He fought to keep his eyes open against the rushing water as they descended quickly. A large blob of seaweed appeared and Whiskers raced toward it. When they got closer, he could finally see what was happening.

Sugo’s voluminous mane of seaweed was entangled around a reptilian creature. It was about the size of Onkie, close to a meter long from nose to tail. It had four limbs with green, leathery skin marked with black dots. There was a large oval shell with square patterns of mossy growths that covered most of its body. A pair of lively black eyes, a triangular snout, and a wide, beaked mouth made up its head. It was a turtle and it was currently munching on Sugo’s seaweed with what could only be a happy expression.

With just a glance, Zachary understood the situation. Sugo, the silly slug, couldn’t tell the difference between its main body being attacked versus its seaweed. The countless stalks of seaweed grew out of its body like a person’s hair. Losing a few or even all of it wouldn’t hurt it all.

The turtle had been attracted by this. This wasn’t a bloodthirsty species that ate living prey. Seaweed and other aquatic plants were probably its favorite meals.

Whiskers was about to charge forward and attack but Zachary held it back. Sugo was in no danger at the moment. There was more than enough seaweed. He also realized something else that was much more important.

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As it munched away, the green turtle gave off a feeling of warmth and vitality. Eternum rippled around the turtle and Sugo. That energy was soft and comforting, filled with the aura of life. It exuded strength and gentleness at the same time. It was so familiar it was as if he had met an old friend.

No way… it was the mysterious creature!

Zachary’s mind spun as he tried to figure out what to do. He had to capture this turtle. He knew that if he didn’t, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

He poked Whisker’s side two times and they went up to the surface. After taking several deep breaths, he gathered his summons.

“Here’s the plan. Onkie, you will swim down and bite one of Sugo’s seaweed tendrils. Then, drag it to the surface and swim toward the island.”

“Onk!”

“Dream, keep an eye out. Lure away any wild Ensouled that tries to interfere. Whiskers, we’ll follow closely behind Sugo. If the turtle suddenly decides to give up and run, leave me and rush up to capture it inside your mouth. Make sure not to bite too hard or swallow it.”

The two fishes nodded.

“Alright,” Zachary patted Whiskers, “Let’s go!”

The party descended. Onkie carried out her task perfectly, biting onto a stray strand of seaweed. Its four legs turned into paddles as it wiggled and squirmed through the water in an inelegant manner. But it was effective and that was all that mattered.

Sugo was still crying at him through their soul bond. It wanted him to save it, to recall it back to its home within the summoning orb. There was no way he could do that; Sugo’s seaweed was the only thing keeping the turtle here. After this was over, he swore to properly train the slug so that it wouldn’t act so embarrassingly in the future.

Onkie broke the surface and swam towards the island, dragging Sugo and the turtle along. The turtle didn’t care and continued to eat. When it was done with one piece of seaweed, it didn’t bother with Sugo’s main body, merely starting on another piece.

Whiskers and Zachary followed close behind. They were steadily approaching the island. Once on land, he would find a way to trap the turtle there. He would string it from a tree if he had to and beat it into submission.

However, just as things were seemingly going well, Dream’s urgent thoughts arrived through their soul bond. Wild Ensouled were approaching, many of them. Dream wasn’t able to lure all of them away without putting itself in danger.

Zachary looked behind and noticed several shapes swimming through the water, just beneath the surface. Four faint ripples were visible, approaching rapidly. He immediately felt great danger. If he was on dry land, he would be confident no matter how many came. Few wild Ensouled would dare to go anywhere near Whiskers due to its size and strength. Since the three creatures didn’t even slow down; they were not weak, not afraid, or perhaps both.

“Whiskers, get ready. It’s up to you.” Zachary said.

When the battle began, he would have let go and swim to shore by himself. Whiskers wouldn’t be able to fight a full strength if it had to drag him along.

“Fight them off but make sure to retreat to the island as well.”

Whiskers acknowledged and faced the incoming threats. The four ripples finally got close enough. Zachary briefly submerged and saw them clearly. They were stone skin lizards. They had tough defense along with stubborn temperaments. Their claws were sharp and their bite was vicious. Still, they were no match for Whiskers one on one. It had killed many stone skin lizards in the past month.

The problem was that there were four of them this time. And all of them emitted sharp feelings of anger and hatred. After suffering for months, it seemed like they were determined to take revenge for their brethren.