Chapter 62: Go Die, Player 4

The stone statues built in the ancient era still stood today. The moment the seven kings raised their weapons high and formed an alliance face-to-face had been frozen forever in stone.

Xining’s immediate thought was that someone must have protected and maintained them; otherwise, after such a long time, the sea would have long since eroded them away.

Nereus and his army, mounted on giant sea dragons, had arrived early.

Although their equipment was not as superior as that of Orm, the king of Atlantis and supreme power of the ocean kingdoms, every sea dragon still held its head high, baring its teeth and lashing its tail alongside the formations of sharks.

"Your Majesty of Xebel!" Vulko, standing beside him, bowed respectfully.

Damn it. To the left were ungrateful traitors, a father-in-law who was a political opportunist, a fiancée who was cheating on him, an older brother trying to usurp the throne, and a mother who despised him... If Orm the original host hadn't been driven mad, how could a legitimate crown prince have lived such a miserable existence?

"Why did you ask me here today?" Nereus, seated atop his giant sea dragon, was also clad in full armor and a helmet.

His hypocritical demeanor made Xining feel like vomiting. Having seen plenty of manipulative drama queens in her life, she had never witnessed one so sanctimonious yet holding such a high position.

Something had to be said, so Xining followed the script and began: "In ancient times, the surface world sank into the ocean, becoming the seven great kingdoms: Atlantis, the Trench, Xebel, the Brine, the Fishermen, the Lost Kingdom, and one that fell. The Trench devolved, leaving only four major ones, of which Atlantis and Xebel are the most powerful."

Nereus sat there waiting. Next in the script, Orm would say that if they wanted to wage war, ancient law required the consent of at least four nations, so to attack humankind, Orm needed to form an alliance with him. Then he would persuade the Fishermen Kingdom and subdue the Trench. As for the remaining kingdom, it wasn't worth mentioning.

Instead, she heard Orm say with utmost solemnity: "Therefore, my marriage to Mera will be the most perfect political union."

Nereus was momentarily stunned: "You came all this way just to say this?"

"Indeed!" Xining nodded.

"Didn't you say there was an important matter?"

"Isn't this an important matter?" Xining smiled faintly. "I love Mera, your daughter, so I believe we should get married as soon as possible. That is why I invited you here today—to discuss this arrangement. Is three days enough?"

At this, Nereus was dumbfounded. Vulko was dumbfounded. Everyone was dumbfounded. Why wasn't he playing by the rules?

"Th-this..." Nereus didn't know how to respond for a moment. He hadn't expected this meeting to be about a wedding. Being a crafty old fox, however, he quickly regained his composure. "I will need to return and ask Mera about this, and I will give you an answer as soon as possible."

Xining smiled brightly, flashing six teeth. See that? The original host was actually quite handsome. "Doesn't a father make the decisions regarding his children's marriages? Well, let's add a few more days then, say, seven days from now. I fully understand your feelings—after all, a daughter is about to leave home. But modern women are so restless; I hope she doesn't end up like my blind, rebellious late mother, who ran off to the surface world and had a child with a lighthouse keeper."

Seeing Vulko's eyes widen, Xining sneered inwardly. She had wanted to say this for a long time. Judging by the host's looks, his father—the commander of the royal guard—must have been quite a dashing man as well. Yet Atlanna must have hit a rebellious phase, acting out wildly and running to the surface to bear a child with a lighthouse keeper.

And yet that blind mother of his had declared that his older brother was the rightful heir to the throne, and people had actually believed her judgment.

Don't assume the host's father only found out about Atlanna's firstborn son afterward. It must have been a political maneuver: he first married this foolish, reckless woman, fathered a legitimate heir with her, and only then sacrificed her to the Trench. Otherwise, given the capabilities of the guard commander, rather than injuring Atlanna to drag her back for marriage, he could have simply ordered her executed on the spot.

Atlanna had likely gotten married, borne a son, and continued to cause trouble, prompting her husband to sacrifice her in a fit of rage under the guise of an unpardonable crime.

Actually, despite seeming like a brainless plot, there was a lot of depth hidden beneath the surface.

Xining maintained the host's handsome, warm, and attentive smile. "Of course, Mera is definitely not that kind of person, but I love her, and just to be safe, we should make her queen as soon as possible. After the marriage, she will still be your daughter; she can visit you anytime, and you can come to see her as well."

Now Nereus was in a bind. At this very moment, his daughter was down at a seaside bar, her tight suit accentuating a slender wasp waist and long legs, exposing a cleavage that drew the eye, telling Arthur that his half-brother was about to wage war on humanity and that Arthur needed to return and seize the throne.

Since Orm was currently the King of Atlantis, his demands could not be easily ignored. Gritting his teeth, Nereus replied, "Very well! But seven days is not enough. Let's make it fifteen days."

"Reluctant to part with your daughter?" Xining narrowed her eyes slightly, feigning mild displeasure. "Since you've said so, fifteen days it is."

It wouldn't take fifteen days. According to the original plot, in about ten days, Arthur would successfully usurp the throne, and the defeated host would be escorted away and placed under house arrest by the guards. Besides, a woman like Mera was one the host only intended to marry for political reasons anyway; after being cuckolded, he wouldn't have wanted her even more.

"Since we've settled it, I shall take my leave." Xining prepared to pull the reins, turning her mount around to head back to the royal palace of Atlantis.

Suddenly, a submarine appeared in the distance, and with a *whoosh*, it fired a torpedo.

Now it was Xining's turn to be stunned. Weren't they supposed to have scrapped that thing? Why had it shown up again?

The torpedo struck right at the entrance of the ancient ruins, sending both factions' formations into chaos.

The submarine continued firing torpedoes, one of which sped directly toward Nereus.

Nereus turned his head to look, only to see Orm sitting calmly on his mount, far out of harm's way.

Nereus... Wait, this wasn't according to the script! Orm was supposed to charge over, knock him out of the way, and save him!

He had no choice but to save himself, hastily driving his sea dragon mount downward to dive. Even so, the shockwave generated by the passing projectile hurled both rider and mount crashing heavily onto the ocean floor.

Xining watched coldly from the sidelines.

Hmph, you clearly knew this meeting was about launching a war against humanity, yet you sent your own daughter to the bar to seduce your half-human brother—why couldn't a blast just blow you to pieces?!

*Boom!* The massive explosion caused huge boulders from the ancient ruins to rain down.

If this kept up, the heritage site would be destroyed! She had better intervene; if the ruins were ruined and investigations later revealed that the submarine belonged to the host, it would severely damage his reputation.

Thus, Xining had no choice but to pick up her silver trident, spur her mount toward the submarine, and slice a massive gash into its hull with the weapon, completely disabling it.

Riding back on her mount, Xining looked at Nereus and asked with feigned concern, "Are you alright?"

At this moment, Nereus was in a sorry state. His helmet had been knocked off, and his cheek was scratched raw by shells or stones on the ocean floor.

Furious, he made up his mind: "Humans did this! I am willing to ally with you and unite the other kingdoms to attack the surface world!"

Xining...

Xining's mouth twitched. "I only came here today to discuss a wedding; I never mentioned attacking any surface world."

Did she say anything about attacking the surface world? Did she? Did she?!