Atlantis quickly trained an Army, and this time the scale was much larger than when they attacked the Surface.
The Atlanteans, after all, were a people living on the Undersea. Their unique geographical location dictated that their military development would lean more towards underwater combat.
Therefore, they had a very large number of submersible fighter jets, and these warplanes were useless when attacking the Surface.
At the time of the Surface attack, Orm's original idea was to use tsunamis to first weaken the Surface civilization, catching them off guard.
Then, a small number of amphibious combat units would push through coastal areas, establishing war outposts.
With this foundation, he would be able to call on other Kingdoms to join his camp.
He and Nereus had agreed that once he successfully advanced to the coastal areas, he would allocate a portion of his war zone to the Xebel Kingdom.
The Xebel Kingdom's land combat capability was worse than Atlantis's, making it difficult for them to serve as a vanguard.
But as long as they had a springboard, they could quickly develop and expand their forces.
Xebel's technological strength was inherited from Atlantis; given time, they could quickly mass-produce Soldiers.
The entire Undersea Kingdom had a population of over 500 million, and its war potential was not to be underestimated.
But all these plans were ruined by the Justice League. Once Atlantis's existence was exposed, the other Kingdoms would also be hard-pressed to escape.
Given the warlike nature of Surface dwellers, it was almost predictable that the flames of war would spread to the Undersea Kingdom's homeland. Nereus didn't know if their magic could hold up.
He detested Surface dwellers, but it didn't affect his objective assessment of their destructive power.
So he had to preempt, but their Xebel Kingdom lacked experience in Surface World combat.
Moreover, their war weapons could hardly reach the vital points of the Surface World, which made him cling to Atlantis.
He wanted the new King to continue Orm's previous responsibility and become Xebel's vanguard.
But he didn't expect this new King to have such a fiery temper. When he saw the corpse brought back by the envoy, he was furious.
"You said he wants to go to war with me?"
He heard these words and thought he had misheard. Did this person know nothing about politics?
Did he think I would really do something to Atlanna?
Wasn't Mera with him?
Having hostages on both sides meant I sincerely wanted to negotiate with you!
Was this new King a hothead?
No matter how many questions Nereus had in his heart, since Atlantis had already declared war on Xebel, they also had to prepare for battle urgently!
"Give the order, tell everyone to prepare for war!"
...Speed was of the essence. Arthur, leveraging the short-term prestige he had accumulated and the legitimate reason of "reclaiming Atlanna," quickly gathered a large Army and marched mightily towards the Xebel Kingdom.
This time, Dane also came with the Atlantis Army. He came to bring the "dream" here.
When the Atlantis Army arrived in the Xebel Kingdom's waters with their underwater warships and Mosasaur cavalry, the power of the dream stone also enveloped this nation.
Dane was surprised to find that the power of the dream stone seemed truly infinite. It continuously dragged two Undersea Kingdoms into the dream without feeling the slightest strain.
Moreover, because the people in the dream were also simultaneously providing power to the dream stone, the energy within the dream stone even slightly increased.
In a vast Undersea area, the opposing Xebel Kingdom Army had also assembled.
A man riding a giant seahorse emerged from the Army, leading the charge.
"Is that the new King of Atlantis approaching? I am Nereus, King of Xebel. May I invite you to discuss?"
Arthur also rode out on a Mosasaur, holding the golden trident in his hand.
"I am Arthur Curry, King of Atlantis!"
But Nereus's eyes were fixed on the golden trident. He could hardly believe it.
"Is that… is that…"
It was no wonder he was so flustered, because the golden trident had been missing for a thousand years.
Arthur raised the trident and pointed at him: "That's right, this is the trident you imagine. You are the King of Xebel? I ask you, why are you holding Atlanna captive?"
Nereus regained his composure, displeased with Arthur's condescending attitude, and said in a firm tone:
"She is a guest in my country and is doing very well. On the contrary, why did you senselessly kill my envoy?"
Arthur sneered: "Your envoy tried to threaten me into submission with my mother's safety. If such a fellow comes again, I will kill him just the same!"
Since it was the World of dreams, he dared to say anything harsh.
This generation's King Atlan is so fierce?
Nereus wondered in his heart, if that's the case, why are we still fighting?
So he said: "Arthur, you and I actually have no deep-seated enmity. If you are willing to fulfill the alliance agreement between the former King Orm and me, I can overlook the killing of my country's envoy."
"You can also send people to take Queen Atlanna back. If needed, I can even apologize to you and Atlanna."
Arthur was very surprised that he would lower his stance so much.
This was because he didn't know how revered the golden trident was in the hearts of the Atlanteans.
The citizens had only heard stories of the trident, just like ordinary people heard stories of the Imperial Seal.
Once the item was found, they would be excited, thrilled, but that was all.
But for the Kings of various nations who knew more secrets, they were well aware that the trident possessed various incredible divine powers—a power that neither human strength nor technology could resist.
Although Nereus didn't show it, he was also intimidated. If the golden trident had even one-tenth of its rumored power, the troops he brought were just cannon fodder!
Though he was tough, Nereus wasn't stupid. Achieving political goals was his ultimate objective.
Arthur heard that a reconciliation could be reached without war, hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Orm… what agreement did he make with you?"
Nereus heard this and thought, there's a chance!
He quickly explained the things they had secretly plotted. When Arthur heard that their goal was actually the Surface World, his face had already turned very dark.
But Nereus didn't notice this change. He still lacked understanding of Arthur. He thought the change of Kingship in Atlantis was just the result of normal political struggle.
He didn't realize that it was a conflict of two completely different ideologies… So, without waiting for Nereus to finish, Arthur decisively stopped him from continuing.
"Enough!" Arthur's expression was grim. "I can tell you my answer right now."
"No!"
Nereus's expression changed dramatically, and his face also became gloomy.
"I heard you were a half-Atlantean, half-Surface dweller, and thought it was just a rumor…"
Because he didn't believe a half-breed could be recognized by the trident, yet the fact was before his eyes.
However, the stubborn Nereus didn't think so. He began to suspect that the golden trident in Arthur's hand was fake. How could a half-breed bastard get the trident?
So he immediately changed his attitude: "Orm was right, a bastard is not worthy of inheriting the Kingship of Atlantis!"
The thing Arthur hated most in his life was being called a "bastard"!
So, without another word, he swung the trident at Nereus.
Nereus was also a battle-hardened warrior. He parried with his trident and retreated with the momentum.
The force was heavy, but it wasn't impossible to fight!
He assessed the force in his heart and felt that this battle was not as hopeless as he had imagined.
"Since you insist on this, then let us decide the outcome on the battlefield!"
Arthur didn't use his full strength. Before coming, Vulko had repeatedly cautioned him not to let Nereus lose face in front of his people, even if all of this was fake.
Otherwise, even if everything reset in the Real World, the enmity between Atlantis and Xebel would be deeply ingrained.
A King's face was the Kingdom's face, and it could not be easily humiliated, so Arthur watched Nereus leave.
He waited until Nereus returned to his Army formation before raising the trident in his hand. The Army behind him stood ready.
"Atlantis! Attack!"
His voice, amplified by the trident, echoed across the entire battlefield. Under the King's command, the Atlantean Army began a barrage of cannon fire!
"Counterattack!"
Nereus also roared at the same time, his voice transmitted through equipment to all the Soldiers' ears.
The same ion beam weapons were fired from the Xebel Kingdom Army's side.
In an instant, the entire deep-Water area exploded with ion beam fireworks, a spectacular display of effects!
Dane, positioned far behind the battlefield, watched with relish. IMAX was nothing compared to this. Had you ever seen a live special effects blockbuster?
Mera watched all this beside him, her face a little pale, her hands tightly clasped together.
She still didn't know that all of this was just a dream.
"Why? Why must it be this way? This is a completely unnecessary war."
Dane comforted her: "Don't worry, what your eyes see isn't necessarily real."
Mera didn't understand what he meant, just staring at him with slightly reddened eyes.
"Can't... can't you stop them?"
Dane shook his head: "I can stop this war, but I can't stop all wars.
Nereus has a fighting spirit; he craves a war, whether against the Surface or the Atlantians. He needs a war to unleash his fighting intent."
Mera instinctively retorted: "Father, he's not like that."
"Really? Let's keep watching."
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