The Atlantean palace today is unusually quiet.

Although the lights illuminate every corner of this magnificent building, the cold loneliness is still pervasive.

Aum sat on his throne, his father's trident beside him, his long blond hair tied back against his scalp, his outstanding face covered with frost, and the silver armor on his body added to his sense of murder.

The repercussions of Vico and Mera's announcement of an open break with Aum are simmering among the inhabitants and military of Atlantis.

Aum made a modest statement to the public that the rebellion was a fantasy of a handful of madmen and was nothing to worry about, in order to appease the panic of the population.

But when he was alone, the king's words came to mind about Vico and Mera.

"It is the right thing to do to obey the ancient covenant and face the enemy from darkness together, and it is the right thing for a king to do. No? Then I'm wrong about you. You can't tell right from wrong, you're blinded by the hatred your father left behind, you're not a worthy king. ”

"I am the princess of Zebel's kingdom, and no one can decide my fate. I stayed in Atlantis for Atlantis and have nothing to do with you. ”

The lights in the palace hall were bright, but no amount of light could dispel the psychological shadow that Vico and Mera had brought to Aum.

Orm didn't have any feelings for Mera, and that woman's status as a princess of Zebel's kingdom was the most important thing to him. So the woman rebelled, and Orm didn't care.

But Vico, a royal advisor with great prestige in both the military and the civilian system, and the teacher who taught Orm from an early age, chose a different path, which was a heavy blow to Aum himself and his rule.

Orm's father was a chief of the guard, and he didn't know how to rule the country, and even if he relied on the tradition of exile and sacrifice of Atlantana to the Trench Clan, Atlantis still relied on the people and policies left by the previous queen to function.

Vico's open rupture dealt a fatal blow to Aum's pro-war policy, and the civilian officials began to doubt his claims, and the army was weakened despite its support for him.

"Why? Teacher, why would you choose a damn half-breed mongrel? ”

Aum's cold personality makes him reluctant to show his emotions, and he tenses his body even when no one is around.

"But I will prove you wrong, and one day, I will lead the army of Atlantis across the land. When the time comes, I will go to you with the head of that half-blood bastard, and you will kneel before me and ask the king for forgiveness. ”

Orm took a few deep breaths to calm himself and rose from his throne.

He was going to pacify the generals of the army.

The generals Ken left behind were almost all Aum supporters, but what he needed was for them to support him in launching a war of unification against the bottom of the sea. In the context of Vico's defection, only a victory can cement Aum's authority as king.

"Long time no see, Your Majesty!"

Orm hadn't even walked down the steps when he heard a voice from the door of the hall that didn't belong to Atlantis.

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the trident in his hand, and with a twist of his wrist, the water in the hall was like an angry beast, surging towards the door of the hall with ten thousand powers.

Airplanes!

The entrance to the hall lit up with a red light, and the heat brought by the energy shield instantly evaporated the surrounding seawater, but the hot water vapor was absorbed by the seawater as soon as it was born.

"Wait—Your Excellency, I'm not here to ask you for a debt or trouble."

The voice of the black manta ray spread throughout the hall from under the black fly-like wetsuit, and no matter how special his wetsuit was, it could not stop the power of the water.

In the swarming water, all his weapons were useless, because he was fighting against the whole sea.

The bottom of the sea is indeed the territory of the Atlanteans.

"It's you, a human!"

Aum recognized the other party, withdrew the trident, stopped the attack of the sea water, and said lightly: "The transaction between us is over, although there is a lot of wealth in the ocean, it does not mean that I will accept the blackmail of a ground man!" ”

In order to incite Atlantis' hatred of the people on the ground and prepare to start his own war, Orm hired the pirate Black Manta Ray to launch several attacks on Atlantean territory in the name of humans.

The mercenary's abilities are good, but Orm has no intention of leaving the tool behind, especially in this situation.

"Since you've come here quietly, you've heard about the troubles that Atlantis is facing."

Aum floated up the water, staring at the black manta rays that were habitually standing on the ground, and said in a deep voice, "If you fall into the hands of other people, it will be a very troublesome thing for me. So, you'd better fuck off now. For the sake of your mission, this king will spare your life. ”

"That's really thanks to your great kindness!"

Although Black Manta is a black man, he is also a racist, and he does not feel the need for Atlanteans to survive in this world, so he actively instigates a war between the ground and the sea.

The black manta ray only felt sick to his stomach for a while, and he wanted to take off the hood of this guy and beat him hard.

But thinking of the purpose of his coming here, he still endured the discomfort and said: "In fact, I came here today to solve this problem for you. ”

"What can you do?" Aum was instantly vigilant, and he would not accept anyone or force to take advantage of it.

"What can my employer, exactly, do for you?"

Seeing that Orm had no intention of refusing, the black manta quickly took out an instrument and put it on the ground.

A virtual image of Vandal Savage appears, and the black manta rays complete their mission and step aside.

"Hello, King of Atlantis, I'm Vandal Savage! I'm here to work with you. ”

Vandal went straight to the point, without any nonsense.

Aum looked at the virtual image in front of him suspiciously, frowned slightly, and asked, "I seem to have heard of this name, it is in the records of my ancestors. ”

Although he advocated sitting back and watching humans die, he still had people investigate the news of the ancient war. There wasn't much useful information other than legends, so he immediately remembered the name.

"I am the Eternal!"

Vandal smiled confidently, he was a cut above Orm, stared at the young king and said, "Do you know about the war on land? ”

Aum's gaze swept over the black manta ray next to him, and then landed on Vandal's image, and he shook his head again and again: "I believe that Your Excellency Savage will be willing to answer this question for me." ”

"Of course, it's my pleasure!"

Vandal didn't underestimate Orm, he raised his hand and waved, and a video appeared in the virtual image.

The origin of superheroes and the Justice League, the alliance of humans, the Amazon and Atlantis, the invasion of the Apocalypse. All presented in front of Orm without reservation.

The coalition filled the king's heart with hatred, because the emergence of this organization meant that Vico had completely fallen to Arthur's side, and that they would be able to survive and find a new order without Atlantis.

While hating these people, Orm was also shocked by the power of superheroes, and he knew very well that Atlantis's military strength was no match for these superhumans.

Especially Ian, who can summon a huge mech, seems to be the core of the Justice League.

"Are these people sure they want to support that half-blood bastard of Arthur Curry? This is interference in the internal affairs of Atlantis. ”

Listening to Orm's protest, Vandal laughed in his heart, this guy has already planned to invade the ground, and no one is allowed to resist, isn't this the biggest joke in the world.

However, from another point of view, Orm does see himself as a king, completely stripped of the shackles of morality, and does not care about anything in order to achieve his own goals.

Vandal thinks it's really cool!

This kind of person is exactly what the Illuminati need, the kind of crooked weak who only deserve to be in the childish club formed by the superheroes.

He said to Orm, "As long as you don't give up the idea of invading the ground, the people of the Justice League will not support you, and even help Arthur Curry fight for the throne of Atlantis." ”

"Then let them come, the throne of Atlantis belongs to me, and no one will try to take him away!"

Orm clenched his trident and slammed it to the ground.

With a bang, the sea suddenly exploded, sweeping in all directions, impacting the entire palace, and the huge force made all the life around tremble.

"You alone can't deal with the Justice League!"

Vandal who appeared here was only a virtual image, unaffected at all, and continued: "If you want to keep your position, you need a reliable ally. The Illuminati are the only ones who can help you, and only we can resist the evil League of Justice and interfere with the freedom of others. ”

"What's in it for what you call the Illuminati?"

Orm was similarly distrustful of Vandal, and he asked rhetorically, "Aren't you also a ground man?" When the army of Atlantis lands, you won't stop me? ”

"Our world is facing trouble you never imagined!"

A kind of fanaticism appeared on Vandal's face, and he said excitedly: "In order to save the earth and save humanity, the Illuminati are willing to accept all forces. Your Majesty, you are our best ally, join us! ”

"I need time to think about it!"

Orm is still moved, he really doesn't have the certainty of dealing with the Justice League, although he believes in the supremacy of Atlantis, but he is not without brains, those superhumans are not vegetarians.

"Time is precious to us." Vandal said, "The Justice League is approaching, and evil forces are eating away at your subjects, hurry up or you'll regret it." ”

Orm's face was gloomy, and he watched the virtual image in front of him disappear, not saying a word.

A moment later.

"Black Manta Ray, are you interested in taking another commission?"

Aum regained his posture as a king.

"As long as you have money, I'll be there for you, Your Majesty the King of Atlantis!"

The black manta ray bowed.

"Very well, I want you to go to the Port of Mercy."

Port of Mercy!

Tom was making his daily rounds, overhauling the Lampman's mechanical parts to see what he had gained from his nets in the sea, walking barefoot on the beach and staring at the surface of the sea in a daze.

After doing this, the tower keeper, who was no longer young, returned to his hut, made a brief dinner, and turned on the television, which was playing the news.

"Since the formation of the Justice League, the topic has remained hot. In addition to the superheroes who are already well known, the two mysterious characters of Wonder Woman and Aquaman are the most concerned. So today we've got Professor Shen, an ocean expert."

Tom laughed as he watched the professor on TV talk about it, and none of the descriptions of Atlantis were right.

In the past, he feared that his son would be ostracized because of his identity, and he was always afraid that Atlantis' exposure would lead Arthur down an irreparable path.

But now that he has new friends and his own business, the old tower keeper doesn't have to worry about these things anymore.

Click!

The lighthouse suddenly lost power, and the whole hut was instantly plunged into darkness, and I couldn't see my fingers.

Tom didn't think much of it, the seaside is such a place, and things like this often happen. He grabbed the powerful flashlight on the table and left the hut to turn on the backup generator.

As soon as he walked out the door, the wind at sea hit him directly, and almost knocked Tom to the ground.

"Oh my God, what's going crazy about this sea today, and suddenly there is such a big storm?"

Tom muttered that he was unlucky, and that the greater the weather change, the more obvious the precursors, but today was different.

"Fortunately, I'm well prepared, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go to town to buy supplies to survive the storm in such a ghostly weather."

He walked step by step, and finally came to the ground where the backup generator was, and the sound of the sea breeze was blowing in his ears.

Click!

The lock on the hut was opened, and Tom pushed open the door, revealing a figure with red eyes glowing inside.

The unprepared old tower keeper was startled, sat down on the ground, and retreated, but the flickering light of the flashlight made the figure that came out of the hut even more terrifying.

"Who are you?"

Tom was startled, but quickly composed, realizing that the shadow in front of him was a human and nothing else.

"I'm a black manta ray, and someone asked me to invite you to the bottom of the sea!"

The black manta looked at the man in front of him with an old look, and shook his head slightly: "If you want to blame, blame your good son, who let him provoke someone who shouldn't be messed with?" Since you are his father, you are not innocent. ”

"You're not from Atlantis." Tom got up from the ground.

"I'm a pirate, and I'm only for money. If you have the money, I can let you go too. ”

The black manta ray nodded.

Tom opens his hands:

"That's all my assets, and there's certainly not as much Atlantis can give you."

"Then let's go, don't waste time. Don't think that someone can come and save you, but the employer said that he would take you back whether he lived or died. ”

The black manta ray's voice is cold.

"You must have taken me for Arthur."

Tom wasn't flustered because there was no way he could escape.

"Then let me inform him of the news!"

The manta rays tilted their heads, and after a few seconds, nodded to Tom.

Thereupon.

Arthur, who was being bloodied by Xuan Yizi with a snake-headed staff, received a call from his father:

"Arthur, I'm going to Atlantis as a guest"

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(End of chapter)