The merfolk soldiers were far out of their territory. Again. Apparently, their king had taken a sudden interest in objects from the surface world, and was sending anyone he could spare out to find things made by humans. But the soldiers didn’t seem to care at all about where they were, or whose territory they disturbed, so long as they found their precious objects. Karoko stayed hidden in the shadows, observing. The merfolk were noisy and disruptive, and had on several occasions scared off the fish and other animals that Karoko’s people, the Cephalopodians, needed for food. They also tended to damage plants and coral reefs as they collected the human items. It had become a real problem, but when the Cephalopodian king sent a messenger to ask the merfolk to stop invading their hunting grounds, the messenger was turned away and told that the merfolk were much more numerous, and therefore could do as they pleased. Karoko and his people found this answer to be… unsatisfactory. So now, open war had been declared, and the Cephalopodians were told that they could defend themselves and their territory by any means necessary. Karoko watched the soldiers carefully. He would give them one chance to talk things out. But he was also a trained warrior, and his sword was much sharper than the soldiers’ ill-kept glaives. One way or another, the merfolk would not be trespassing in his territory again. Rendered in Daz Studio Iray. Postwork in Pixelmator Pro. No AI used.