The Pacific Ocean, Mariana Trench.
This is currently the deepest known trench on Earth, located near the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific.
The Challenger Deep, the deepest point in The Trench, exceeds 11,000 meters in depth. Even if you were to invert Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth, and shove it inside, the summit would still be a long way from the surface.
Humans have landed on the Moon, 380,000 kilometers away, several times, but exploration of this trench, which is only over 10,000 meters deep, is almost at Zero.
There is only one core reason: the water pressure at a depth of 10,000 meters is terrifying.
Under that pressure, even a tank would be instantly crushed into a small biscuit. Apart from specially designed submersibles, any conventional object sinking to a certain depth would be directly pulverized. It is impossible for human flesh and blood to operate on the seabed, no matter how thick the equipment worn.
Even the Atlanteans, who are born adapted to the deep-sea environment, dare not easily approach this sea area.
Because this is the territory of The Trench.
They are not only huge in number but also fierce in temperament, fearless of death, and never fight alone. Even the most powerful nation of Atlantis dare not provoke these Beasts.
"Are you sure the holy trident is here?"
The Hellfire-skinned helicopter hovered above the sea. Mera poked her head out from the cabin door, staring down at the churning seawater below, her tone full of suspicion.
She agreed to help Darian and Arthur just to avoid being sacrificed to The Trench, yet Darian and Arthur turned around and brought her to the territory of The Trench.
Were they trying to see how fast she could die?
"One hundred percent sure, it's deep on the seabed beneath us."
Darian looked at the translucent golden guide line and nodded affirmatively.
Mera still didn't quite believe it.
After all, no one had ever truly seen the holy trident; that thing only existed in the ancient scriptures of the ocean nations.
Legend has it that King Atlan, who possessed wealth, fame, power, and all of Atlantis, said something before he died.
"Do you want my holy trident? As long as you get it, you can rule the entire ocean. Go find it, I left the holy trident there."
It was this remark that ignited the ambition of countless Atlanteans to unify The Seven Seas.
They left their homeland one after another, formed fleets, and searched for the holy trident throughout The Seven Seas. The magnificent Age of Discovery thus began.
But what was the result?
Wasting years of time, all fleets returned empty-handed.
Not to mention seeing the holy trident, they didn't even find any clues related to the holy trident.
As time went on, more and more people began to doubt whether the holy trident really existed. It might have been a lie fabricated by the first king to tease them, his descendants.
Later, those treasure-hunting fleets messed up ocean order, and various ocean nations had to issue a joint statement: only those with the Atlantis royal bloodline could use the holy trident; for others, even if they got their hands on it, it would be no different from a fire poker.
Relying on this statement, that crazy treasure-hunting craze slowly subsided.
The Age of Discovery, which had caused such a stir, didn't find the holy trident. Could Darian, a land-dweller, find it so easily?
Arthur didn't have much doubt about this.
Darian had always had the title of "Know-It-All" in The Seven, knowing a little bit about almost everything. Even Bruce used Darian as a human Google, so it was not strange that Darian knew the location of the holy trident.
Arthur asked Darian: "Darian, can you really go down together?"
Next, they were going to dive deep into The Trench. After all, Darian was not an Atlantean. He not only had to hold his breath for a long time but also had to resist the water pressure that could crush metal. This was not something that ordinary flesh and blood could withstand.
Darian did not answer. He directly stepped over the cabin door and fell straight toward the sea.
The moment he fell into the ocean, a weird scene happened.
The sea surface didn't splash at all, and not even a ripple spread out.
The seawater that should have been smashed open retreated actively as if it had consciousness, leaving a clear gap around Darian's body.
The water flow did not touch his body, and buoyancy did not take effect.
Darian hung in mid-air and had to spread his single wing to stabilize his posture; otherwise, he would have kept falling.
Arthur and Mera jumped into the sea right after him.
As soon as the two entered the water, they saw this completely unreasonable scene, and looks of shock appeared on their faces.
Mera exclaimed: "How did you do that?"
Darian said solemnly: "I have received the blessing of the ocean, so the seawater respects me and dares not get close."
Arthur stared at the circle of empty seawater around him and couldn't help but complain: "I think it's the curse of the ocean; the seawater is avoiding you."
"Hmm?"
Darian narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at him sideways.
Arthur realized immediately that he had spoken too quickly, so he quickly laughed it off and waved his hand: "Let's go, let's get down to business."
"Follow me, don't get lost."
Darian, being a generous My Lord, did not argue with the fool.
He dropped this sentence, flapped his single wing, and flew downward following the golden guide.
Arthur turned to look at Mera, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "It's very dangerous below. Since you are afraid of The Trench, why don't you stay above and wait for us?"
His intention was that he didn't want Mera to take risks, but he spoke too bluntly, and it sounded like a provocation instead.
Mera glared at him fiercely, her eyes sharp: "Who are you looking down on? I am a princess of the Xebel nation. If you intended to use a provocation, then congratulations, you succeeded."
"Uh, I didn't mean that..."
Before Arthur could explain, Mera snorted coldly, turned around, and dived straight into the deep sea.
Arthur was filled with regret.
If he had known, he shouldn't have spent all day hanging out in taverns with those rough men, which left him with no experience in talking to girls.
When he went back, he must ask Clark for advice. He heard that guy had a way with chasing girls.
The three of them sank into the deep sea one after another.
The seawater did not affect their vision, and the surrounding scenery could be seen clearly.
It must be said that the scenery of the shallow sea is indeed very beautiful.
The sunlight was mottled, the corals were gorgeous, and all kinds of seafood... ah no, aquatic creatures passed by, bringing a kind of healing tranquility.
However, as the three of them deepened into the seabed, the surrounding light began to become dim, the temperature dropped sharply, and the appearance of marine life along the way gradually became strange, increasingly deviating from the normal aesthetic category.
If the marine life in the shallow sea area could be considered cute and pleasing, then the further down they dived, the more sloppy and random the style of these marine creatures became.
At first, Darian could recognize most of the species, but later he didn't know many of them, and the only one he could name was the blobfish.
Speaking of which, this fish is also quite wronged, being called the ugliest marine creature in the world.
In fact, its appearance when living in the deep sea is definitely considered delicate among its peers, with a higher appearance than many fish in the shallow sea.
But once it is caught ashore, the external pressure changes drastically, and its body will swell and deform beyond recognition, just like a goddess who has removed her makeup and turned off the beauty software, completely a different species from its original appearance.
Except for the blobfish, the appearance of other deep-sea creatures is really hard to compliment.
Just as the saying goes, anyway, no one can see anyone in the deep sea, so everyone just grows as they please.
The three of them moved very fast and didn't take long to dive to a depth of several thousand meters.
The surrounding seawater had turned from deep blue to black. The sunlight couldn't penetrate even a trace here. The surroundings were quiet, and only some strange sounds came from time to time. If someone with deep-sea phobia came, they would probably faint on the spot.
Mera stared at the thick darkness under her feet and whispered a reminder: "Be careful, further down is the gathering place of The Trench. Those things are naturally afraid of light, so they have been entrenched in the deep-sea area without light all year round."
As soon as the voice fell, a burst of messy and harsh roars came from all directions, and it seemed that countless things were approaching them rapidly in the darkness.
Arthur and Mera were both Atlanteans, so they could see things in the pitch-black water, but seeing clearly at this moment only made their scalps tingle.
I saw that in the distance, dense half-human, half-fish creatures emerged from the abyss, so many that everything within sight was filled.
A rough glance, if not ten thousand, there were at least several thousand.
They looked very characteristic of the local area, that is, ugly and terrifying.
Gray-white skin tightly wrapped around protruding bones, limbs thin and long, webbed membranes between fingers, sharp red fins grew in several places on their bodies, and their open mouths were full of sharp teeth.
Mera's face changed suddenly: "It's The Trench! Run!"
Darian said happily: "Why run? Arthur can communicate with fish. Why not let him go and negotiate? Maybe they are just ugly on the outside, but actually very easy to talk to."
"I don't think this can be counted as a fish."
Arthur stared at the appearance of The Trench, which was enough to be the protagonist on an Alien set, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
Darian put on a straight face and lectured: "You are the future King of Atlantis. How can you have prejudices because of someone's appearance? You wouldn't be afraid, would you?"
Arthur glanced at Mera next to him and immediately straightened his back, pretending to be a tough guy.
"Okay, negotiate then. I wouldn't be afraid of them."
Arthur bit the bullet and swam toward The Trench. When The Trench approached a certain distance, he raised his hand and released a special sound wave.
This is how he communicates with other marine life.
Of course, some marine life without wisdom could be directly controlled by will. He was not a pervert, so how could he dare to eat those fish that could communicate with him?
After the sound waves spread, the movements of the first batch of The Trench actually slowed down.
They tilted their heads and slowly surrounded Arthur.
Arthur saw that it seemed to work, gained some confidence in his heart, continued to release sound waves, and said at the same time: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, I am your friend."
To show goodwill, he also stretched out his hand to the nearest The Trench, squeezing a smile on his face that he thought was friendly.
The Trench stared at the hand Arthur stretched out, tilted its head, and looked at it for two seconds.
Then it opened its mouth suddenly, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and bit down on Arthur's hand.
Friend, delicious!
"Shit!"
Arthur retracted his hand like lightning, backhanded a "friendship-breaking face punch" on The Trench's face, and blasted it away.
"Roar roar roar—!"
The surrounding The Trench, which were originally slow, were instantly enraged. The sharp roars suddenly rose, and countless The Trench rushed toward Arthur.
Arthur couldn't fight off countless hands with two fists. He had just smashed a few The Trench, and in the next moment, he was covered by many The Trench.
Darian, not far away, was startled when he saw this, and the golden light in his eyes instantly lit up.
"Arthur, hold on! I'll save you!"
"Wait..."
Arthur realized something, widened his eyes immediately, and made an gesture.
But before he could finish his words, two dazzling golden lightning bolts had already shot out from Darian's eyes, carrying sizzling electric currents, and blasted straight toward the group of The Trench around Arthur, directly electrocuting a large number of The Trench into grilled fish.
However, seawater is an excellent conductor. As soon as the current entered the water, it spread to the surroundings instantly.
Because Arthur was closest to The Trench, the current instantly spread to his whole body. His body surged with electric currents, his eyes rolled white, and his limbs twitched wildly.
Darian did not stop. The lightning in his eyes continued to be released. The The Trench surrounding Arthur fell in pieces, and the remaining The Trench also retreated screaming because of their fear of light, not daring to approach Arthur, who was surrounded by electric light.
After clearing a large open space, Darian put away the lightning in his eyes and flew to Arthur's side.
Looking at Arthur, who was already belly-up in the water, Darian's face was full of concern: "Arthur, are you okay? This bunch of The Trench are too unreasonable. Forget it if they don't want to negotiate, but they actually hit so hard. But don't worry, I have already avenged you."
"You... you..."
Arthur raised his finger to point at Darian, his finger shaking violently, and the corners of his mouth twitched, just like a stroke.
No matter how good his physical fitness was, he couldn't withstand the continuous output of Darian's new energy. Now his whole body was numb, and even his tongue was curled.
Darian reached out and grabbed his shaking finger, nodding earnestly: "You're welcome, we are all friends. Don't worry, these monsters can't hurt us."
As he spoke, he let go, raised his palm toward the The Trench that were attacking again.
Illumination Spell!
In an instant, a dazzling pure white light exploded from the palm, sweeping toward the surroundings.
Where the light passed, the thick darkness was instantly dispersed. The originally pitch-black deep sea became as bright as if a Sun had suddenly risen.
The The Trench, who were naturally afraid of light, screamed miserably when illuminated by the strong light, fled wildly toward the back, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
When the light slowly weakened, Mera dared to open her eyes and swept around. The dense The Trench just now had disappeared without a trace.
She turned to look at Darian: "You have this ability, why didn't you take it out earlier?"
Darian retracted his hand, looking honest and simple: "Oh, I forgot just now."
Mera: "..."
This guy was clearly doing it on purpose.
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