The alien creature disguised as Peacemaker returned to Checkmate and reported the results of his Atlantis mission to Amanda Waller.
Amanda was satisfied with the successful outcome, with only one question.
"Nanaue, is he dead or captured alive?"
"Peacemaker" shook his head, "I had already retreated at the time, so I'm not clear, but I guess, in that situation, his chances of survival are extremely low."
Amanda nodded silently and waved Peacemaker away.
She sat in her office, pondered for a moment, then picked up the phone and called General Lane at the CIA.
"General, it's me, Amanda. The mission you assigned has been completed."
"Yes, except for one person, no one was left alive. Yes, I understand... Thank you."
She seemed to have reached some agreement with the person on the other end of the phone, finally hanging up with a faint smile.
Coming to the floor-to-ceiling window, Amanda lit a lady's cigarette and held it in her mouth.
Vaguely, it seemed as if she softly said, "Don't blame me, Nanaue..."
...Let's turn our attention to Atlanna. While Dane was busy in Atlantis, Atlanna encountered a not-so-small setback with Nereus.
Originally, she thought that, through Mera, she could effortlessly mend the relationship between the two kingdoms, but it turned out she had underestimated the situation.
Nereus seized upon Atlanna's past mistake of having an affair with a Surface Worlder, stating that she had no authority to determine the direction of the two kingdoms' relationship... This directly denied her political career!
Atlanna was indignant but also felt a bit strange. After meeting Nereus this time, she felt that his attitude had changed significantly.
Moreover, she believed that this change had nothing to do with what Nereus claimed. She felt a little suspicious.
In the reception room, Mera came alone. She wanted to comfort Atlanna.
But before she could utter a word of comfort, Atlanna spoke first.
"Mera, recently, who has your father been in contact with more often?"
"Are you referring to within the country?" Mera asked, puzzled.
Atlanna shook her head and added, "I want to know if he has had deeper contact with anyone from another kingdom?"
Mera thought for a moment, then hesitated before saying:
"If I had to say who, it seems Father has been in contact with Orm more often lately... Atlanna, what are you suspecting?"
Atlanna rubbed her forehead. She could now basically confirm that her previous perception of Nereus was flawed.
It was very likely that he was not the peace-loving King everyone imagined.
Atlanna had observed on her way here and found that since her last visit, Xebel's military preparedness seemed to have greatly strengthened.
It should be known that while there were occasional frictions between nations, generally speaking, these were limited to diplomatic rhetoric and disputes between individual Soldiers; there was no need for large-scale military action.
Therefore, the size of the Armies within each territory was generally the same, but Xebel's military expansion had been carried out quietly, without any other country knowing.
What was he trying to do?
Moreover, Xebel's political system was similar to Atlantis's, also a parliamentary system, where the King did not possess absolute power.
So his military expansion must have been supported by the parliament, which made Atlanna very uneasy.
She was worried, what if the ambition wasn't just Nereus? What if the ambition wasn't just the parliament?
What if the ambition... was the entire Kingdom of Xebel?
If Orm and Nereus were in frequent contact, then he must have been able to discern this King's ambition, and the possibility of them having discussed forming a military alliance could not be ruled out.
If that were the case, then her coming today with the news that Orm had failed and been captured by the Surface Worlders might have been a foolish act.
She had essentially told Nereus that their military plan had failed. So what would Nereus's next move be?
She found out very quickly.
Not long after Mera arrived, a squad of Xebel Soldiers followed her there.
Mera turned back to look, her brows furrowing involuntarily.
"What are you doing here?"
The leading Soldier, clad in armor, bowed to Mera in apology.
"Princess Mera, please forgive me, this is King Nereus's command."
"Command what? Command you to place Atlanna under house arrest?" Mera said coldly.
"No, King Nereus merely instructed us to protect Atlanna." He didn't even address her as "King."
Atlanna's expression also darkened, "I have my own royal guard, I don't need your protection!"
The leading Soldier said stiffly, "We are only following King Nereus's orders, madam, and your royal guard is also under our protection."
Atlanna almost laughed in anger; what protection, this was imprisonment! Nereus definitely had ill intentions.
But she had no options now. She couldn't very well fight her way out, could she?
Not to mention she wasn't carrying her weapon; even if she was, she couldn't injure anyone within the Xebel Kingdom, as that would only give them an excuse.
But a thought flashed through Atlanna's mind, and she decided to rely on Mera.
So she whispered something in Mera's ear. Mera looked at the Soldiers outside the door and nodded imperceptibly.
As Mera swam past the Soldiers, she warned in a low voice:
"I hope you remember, no matter what orders you have received, Atlanna is still a member of the royal family, and that is indisputable."
"I hope you are careful in how you treat her. Father sent you here to protect her, not to deliberately provoke war with Atlantis, right?"
After saying these words, Mera left without looking back.
The Soldier's expression shifted, but in the end, he didn't dare to act rashly and led his Soldiers to guard the exit.
As for Mera, after leaving the reception room, she didn't return to her own room. Instead, she slipped out of Xebel when no one was paying attention.
She was too familiar with the country; she knew where to go with her eyes closed.
Xebel and Atlantis were not far apart, and her submersible was very fast. So, very quickly, she arrived at the national border entrance of Atlantis.
"Huh? Why is she here?"
The first to discover Mera was Dane, who was still maintaining the Dream Realm.
He hadn't withdrawn the Dream Realm because he anticipated that the mastermind likely had other designs on Atlantis, and he believed that dark hand would come again.
And this time, it would confront Dane directly.
But he didn't expect the mastermind, yet he waited for Mera.
He thought for a moment and still led Mera into the Dream Realm.
Now, the real Atlantis and the Dream Realm had overlapped. Without Dane's guidance, she would wander outside her entire life and never get in.
Mera had just crossed into the Atlantean border when her vision suddenly blurred, and she found herself in an unfamiliar room.
In the room was that Surface Worlder, Shazam.
"You, how are you here?"
This was a dry environment, and Mera was soaking wet. She subconsciously smoothed her damp red hair, but then quickly dropped her hand when she realized.
Dane turned to look at her: "I'm here to help Arthur with some matters. What about you, Mera, why are you here?"
Mera then remembered what she needed to do. She quickly said, "I want to find Arthur Curry and Vulko. King Atlanna is now being held under house arrest by my father in Xebel!"
Dane frowned slightly. He used his ability to summon Arthur.
Soon, the room door opened, and Arthur rushed in directly.
"Dane, you said my mother was in trouble! What happened?
Huh? Aren't you Mera from Xebel?"
As soon as he entered, Arthur noticed Mera was also there.
Dane explained, "Mera came to inform us that her father, Nereus, has now placed Atlanna under house arrest, for unknown reasons."
At this moment, Vulko also swam in from the Water membrane outside the door.
He heard Dane's words, was startled at first, then his expression immediately changed.
"Oh no! Nereus must have made some agreement with Orm. Now that he is imprisoned, he cannot fulfill his promise.
Now Nereus wants to use the King as leverage to force Atlantis to continue fulfilling the agreement."
Well, you just started and you already know everything. Either you've read the script in advance, or you were there when it happened.
Although Vulko appeared to be just a royal guard instructor, he actually acted as the King's right-hand man, doing the work of a prime minister.
With just a little thought, he pieced together the truth of the matter.
A seasoned political schemer, that's what he was...
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