At this very moment, if one were to look from afar, one could see two massive waves rushing toward each other from the directions of the sea and the shore.
One on the left, one on the right; one of Water, one of sand.
Two towering walls of waves, tens of meters high, collided with terrifying impact.
Boom—!!
A dull, thunderous roar suddenly exploded.
The towering White waves and the sky-filling yellow sand collided violently, casting massive amounts of spray and dust into the air.
Darian's base mental attribute had now exceeded one hundred points, and his control over sand had greatly improved.
Under his control, the sand wave acted like an iron wall, forcefully stopping the sea waves halfway.
The moment the seawater hit the sand, the enormous impact force canceled each other out.
The tide, which had been rushing straight toward the town, lost its forward momentum. Unable to push any further, it could only split along the sides of the sand wave, spreading toward the cliffs and beaches on the shore.
Although some seawater still surged onto the shore, it was no longer enough to cause destructive damage.
Having lost its impact force, the tide's momentum weakened, and the rolling waves slowly receded, the surging sea surface gradually calming down.
A cataclysm that could have wiped out the entire coastal town was resolved by Darian alone.
The town was silent as death at first, then immediately erupted.
Thunderous cheers and applause mixed together, mingled with the weeping of many survivors.
The survivors, with tear-filled eyes, looked up at the figure spreading its wings in the air, some even reaching out their hands toward the figure, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude.
A group of children recognized the figure and shouted loudly: "Long live Omni-Man!"
Seeing the disaster resolved, Darian returned to the shore and retracted his single wing, only to see Arthur looking at him dumbfounded, like a simpleton.
Darian felt a sense of satisfaction.
He went to all the trouble of showing off, wasn't it just for this effect?
Arthur finally snapped out of it and said in shock: "Darian, you actually have this kind of ability? Why didn't I hear you mention it?"
Darian was calm, looking indifferent: "I have always been low-key and never like to show off. Do I have to tell you every time I have dozens of abilities?"
Damn, he got to show off again!
Arthur's mouth twitched. His gaze swept over the calming sea, and he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Why is there a clump of seaweed floating there?"
Darian looked in the direction he pointed; there was indeed a greenish mass floating on the sea surface.
"That's not seaweed, that's a woman."
Darian had incredible eyesight and could see it was a red-haired woman wearing a dark green bodysuit, floating face up on the water, motionless.
[NPC: Mera Ze-Bella-Challa]
[Favorability: 0]
[Evaluation: Princess of Xebel, Queen of the Sea, skilled in Water control]
[Status: Unconscious]
Darian was a bit surprised.
He originally thought it was just a passerby who fell into the water; he didn't expect it to be a princess from one of the seven undersea kingdoms.
Can a fish be drowned by Water?
Darian waved his hand, and a mass of sand surged along the surface of the water, rolled up the woman named Mera, and placed her at his feet.
Arthur stepped forward and saw Mera's highly detailed face, his heart skipping a beat involuntarily.
Although he couldn't be a mermaid princess saving a prince, being a merman prince saving a princess didn't seem impossible.
"She looks like she's drowning, we need to perform first aid immediately."
Arthur knelt on the ground, reaching out to press on Mera's chest.
Darian kicked Arthur to the side.
"Let go of that girl, let me do it."
Just as Darian squatted down and prepared to give Mera CPR, Mera suddenly opened her eyes.
Darian felt a wave of disappointment: "Why did you wake up... cough cough, I mean, you finally woke up, that's great."
Mera blinked, her emerald eyes filled with a trace of confusion.
She propped herself up with her arms, wet red hair sticking to her cheeks, looking first at Darian, then at Arthur.
"Why am I here?"
"We found you at sea and fished you out. Where are you from?"
Arthur took Mera for an ordinary civilian from a shipwreck.
Mera stood up and introduced herself: "My name is Mera Ze-Bella-Challa, I come from the Kingdom of Xebel."
Arthur raised an eyebrow: "You are an Atlantean?"
Mera nodded: "That's right, I came to find you. Your half-brother, King Orm, has allied with the Kingdom of Xebel and officially declared war on the land. That tsunami just now was just the beginning."
"I originally wanted to come and warn you, so I swam along the currents. Who knew that halfway there, a huge sand wave suddenly rushed at me? I didn't even have time to react before I was knocked unconscious. Do you know what that was about?"
Arthur: ...
Darian: ...
"Maybe you had a hallucination. Where would a sand wave come from on the open sea?"
Darian laughed it off, then changed the subject: "Since Xebel has allied with Orm, and you are the princess of Xebel, why run over to warn Arthur?"
Mera said seriously: "I don't want to see a full-scale war break out between the ocean and the land. Countless people would die, whether they are people on land or people under the sea."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Arthur.
"And you are the eldest son of Queen Atlanna, you also have the right to inherit the throne. Only if you become the king of Atlantis can you stop Orm, stop this war, and protect everyone."
After listening, Arthur felt very helpless.
Why is everyone running up to him to ask him to inherit the throne of Atlantis?
It's as if the entire Earth would be destroyed because of him if he didn't take that seat.
But he really didn't want to be any king. He was still young and just wanted to party every day.
Mera continued: "And Atlantis has allied with Xebel. As the princess of Xebel, I must marry the king of Atlantis for a political marriage. I really don't want to marry a warmonger."
"Hmm!?"
Arthur's expression changed instantly, putting on a righteous look.
"To tell you the truth, I actually have the same thoughts as you. I have long known of Orm's ambition, so I have already planned to set out to find the holy trident, take back the throne of Atlantis, and protect the peace of the land and the sea."
Darian: What a load of crap, that's not what you were thinking before.
Mera was stunned: "The holy trident, isn't that a legend?"
"Legends are only legends because no one has seen them, it doesn't mean they don't exist."
Darian said happily: "I have already found the location of the holy trident through magic."
Arthur was a bit confused: "Wait, didn't you just say it was quantum mechanics?"
Darian didn't change his expression: "magic is also a type of quantum mechanics."
Arthur doubted: "I've read books, don't lie to me. One is science, one is magic, how can they be the same thing?"
Darian patiently explained: "That is people's misunderstanding of magic. In fact, when mages use magic, they incorporate a large amount of applied scientific knowledge. For example, when they swing swords to cut people, they use leverage, gravity, and so on."
Arthur: "???"
No, why would a mage need to swing a sword to cut people?
Tut-tut-tut-tut-tut-tut—
In the sky, a helicopter flew toward them.
Apparently, the helicopter arranged by The Penguin had arrived.
The cabin door opened, and The Penguin, wearing a top hat, walked out, smiling all over his face: "Boss, this is the helicopter you wanted."
Darian raised an eyebrow: "Why did you come over?"
"For things you entrusted to me, Boss, I naturally have to make the trip myself."
The Penguin chuckled. This was the first time Darian had asked him to handle matters outside the company; he wasn't at ease handing it to others, so he just came himself.
"Not bad, not bad."
Darian nodded with satisfaction.
He had to admit, The Penguin was indeed worry-free as a lackey.
But he soon noticed something wrong.
Why was The Penguin's head at his eye level?
Darian looked down.
Well, a few centimeters of shoe heel.
Darian's face stiffened, and he scolded: "Hurry up and take off those elevator shoes. I hate dishonest people the most."
Even he only dared to wear three centimeters; how could he allow The Penguin to have more than him?
"Okay, Boss."
The Penguin didn't dare to disobey and quickly took off those outrageous elevator shoes, and several height-increasing insoles fell out from inside.
Darian: ...
Good guy, are you walking on stilts here?
The Penguin found a pair of shoes from the helicopter to change into and asked respectfully: "Boss, where are you going? I'll have the pilot take you there."
Darian didn't talk much nonsense, took out a map of the World, and pointed to a location in the Pacific Ocean.
The Penguin was a bit troubled: "The Pacific Ocean? Boss, this location is a bit beyond the helicopter's range. The fuel won't last. Unless we switch to a large ship, otherwise we'll have to fall into the sea halfway."
"No need."
Darian waved his hand and threw a ball of Hellfire at the helicopter.
The moment the flame hit the fuselage, it spread rapidly like mercury, spreading along every crack in the casing. The nose of the plane gradually melted into a ferocious skull face, the observation windows turning into the two eye sockets of the skull, with roaring flames emerging from the edges.
The four rotor blades burned simultaneously, orange-red flames wrapping around the entire blade, the tongues of fire pulling out long trails of flame along the direction of rotation.
The tail rotor also changed, turning into a vertical ring of fire, spinning to form a burning halo.
In the blink of an eye, an ordinary helicopter turned into a demonic machine rushing out of hell.
Hellfire can not only be enchanted on weapons but also on vehicles, just like the classic motorcycle of Ghost Rider.
Everyone was stunned.
They had heard of magical girls transforming, but how could a helicopter transform?
"Let's go, get on the plane."
Darian pulled Arthur and Mera to board the plane.
The interior of the cabin hadn't changed much; the seats were still the original seats.
Darian said to the pilot: "Take off."
The pilot hadn't recovered from the shock of the helicopter's transformation. Hearing the order, he swallowed, trembling as he gripped the control stick and manipulated the helicopter to leave the ground.
With the blessing of Hellfire, the helicopter's performance was comprehensively improved, sweeping across the sea at an unbelievable speed, far exceeding the limits of an ordinary helicopter.
Arthur looked at this Hellfire-skinned helicopter and suddenly felt that his ability to talk to fish was a bit mediocre.
He turned to look at Darian, full of anticipation: "Darian, is this also magic? Can I learn it?"
Darian slanted a glance at him, his expression full of disdain: "You, the dignified Aquaman, can't even control Water, yet you want to learn to control Fire."
Arthur: ...
What a cruel truth.
And who said he couldn't control Water?
Every time he went to the bathroom, he could control the water flow up and down.
Of course, left and right were a bit difficult and needed practice.
"Wait!"
Mera suddenly stood up from the seat and said urgently: "Let me down, quickly."
Arthur said in surprise: "What's wrong?"
Mera was on the verge of tears: "I snuck out to warn you, I never thought about going with you to find the holy trident."
"Now that I have entered into a political marriage with King Orm, if I am discovered, it will be fleeing a marriage. According to the laws of Atlantis, it is equivalent to treason and will be sacrificed to the Trench tribe."
The Trench tribe were originally Atlanteans, but due to certain reasons, they mutated and became mindless monsters.
They were equivalent to Parademons in the sea and were also extremely dangerous existences. Even other undersea kingdoms dared not provoke them, so being sacrificed to the Trench tribe became the heaviest punishment, even more terrifying than the death penalty.
Back then, Arthur's biological mother, Atlanna, was sacrificed to the Trench tribe because she fled her marriage, which became a thorn in Arthur's heart.
Mera wasn't prepared for treason.
Just now, she was dazed by a series of events and followed them onto the helicopter in a daze, only realizing it now.
Darian waved his hand: "It's more dangerous for you to go back now. You've been out for so long, maybe Orm has already discovered you're missing. If they are waiting for you to go back to be held accountable, wouldn't you be walking right into a trap?"
"Besides, once we find the holy trident and Arthur takes the throne, clearing your name won't be anything more than a word."
"Darian is right."
Arthur hurriedly followed suit and nodded.
If Mera went back, the next time they met, they might have to call her sister-in-law.
Absolutely not!
"I..."
Mera hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed.
"Fine, I hope the holy trident you mentioned is real, so I won't have to be sacrificed to the Trench tribe."
Anyway, she never intended to marry Orm from the beginning. If it really got to the point where she had to marry, she would escape sooner or later. Getting on this thief ship... ah no, thief plane, was essentially no different.
Darian grinned: "Don't worry, I guarantee you won't even get to see the Trench tribe."
"Since that's the case, let me see the location of the holy trident. I am more familiar with the undersea World than you, maybe I can help."
Mera quickly switched sides and perfectly entered the role of one of their own.
Darian didn't hide it either, took out the map of the World again, and marked the location: "It's right at this location. I studied it a bit, it should be deep in the seabed."
Mera took one look at the location, and her eyes went dark.
"Here... this is the territory of the Trench tribe!"
Darian: ...
Arthur: ...