Chapter 70: Go to Hell, Player Number 12

After pressing the launch button, Xining simply kept clicking her fingers, firing out all the bombs, torpedoes, optical weapons, and electrical devices in one go.

In an instant, the ancient monument was bombed until it looked almost like a cratered wasteland!

Karathen was probably stunned as well. For over a thousand years, everyone who came here sought to take the trident, yet no one had ever wanted to destroy the treasure. Did they not know what the trident was? Possessing it meant ruling the seven seas and leaving a legacy for eternity!

How could anyone just blow it up?

Taking advantage of the moment before Karathen recovered its wits, Xining dropped a surveillance device and fired up the submarine to flee.

As she fled, she used the loudspeaker to broadcast: "In the name of Atlanna's son, the descendant of your master, I tell you that you are free. From this moment on, you no longer need to guard this place!"

By the time Karathen recovered its murderous intent and thought of giving chase, Xining had already switched on the submarine's high-intensity headlights, cutting through the Trench creatures packed as densely as a school of deep-sea fish.

The dense swarm of Trench creatures blocked Karathen's line of sight. Without a hint of mercy, Karathen plowed straight ahead, sending the creatures that failed to dodge flying, but by the time it burst out into the open, the submarine was nowhere to be seen.

Upon returning to the royal palace, Vulko came out to meet her, taking Xining's hand with tears streaming down his old face: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bringing Her Majesty Atlanna back safely. I was wrong about you before, and I will definitely persuade your mother that you are the most suitable candidate for the throne of Atlantis."

Things should have been this way all along. He had stayed by her side for so many years, only waking up to reality now.

Xining let out a long sigh: "Actually, I really wanted to abdicate in favor of my brother, but my brother has completely disappointed the counselor. I did all this for Atlantis!"

The subtext was: Even if you are blindly loyal, there should be a limit. The original body had ruled so well for so long, and Atlantis had flourished. Was giving the throne to Arthur truly for the good of Atlantis?

Yet, a facade of false affection was still necessary; otherwise, if Atlanna cast upon her that ageless and beautiful gaze, she might forget what she had just said.

Xining said gently: "Counselor, do your best. If my mother truly cannot accept it, we will still let my brother inherit the throne. It will simply be hard work for you, for the prosperity and dignity of Atlantis, to guide my brother on how to be a good king."

Thinking of the grueling days of tutoring over the past three days, Vulko immediately became resolute: "Your Majesty is the true King of Atlantis, there is no need for a replacement! I will do everything in my power to persuade Her Majesty Atlanna."

Xining smiled slightly: "But my brother should still be brought back as soon as possible to reunite with our mother. Also, tell him that Princess Mera is no longer my fiancée, so he is free to marry her. I am very tired today, so I leave the hard work to you, Counselor."

Imagining the dark seabed and the swarming Trench creatures, King Orm must be utterly exhausted, which made Vulko feel all the more guilty. Such a fine younger son—why on earth did he have to cling so stubbornly to the inept older one?

Returning to her chambers, Xining turned on the monitors. On one side were the movements of Arthur and Mera, and on the other was the situation at the ancient monument.

The monument had been blasted flat, and Karathen was currently using its massive tentacles, weeping as it tried to rebuild the place.

The most impressive trait of this plot was its utter lack of scientific logic. The old king had been dead for over a thousand years, yet his long hair was still flowing gracefully in the water. She truly wondered what kind of hair composition this was, as even seawater hadn't eroded it to dust.

And so, the skeleton, the trident, and the golden corn-kernel armor were all still intact. Until the male protagonist arrived, was it forbidden to disappear?

The monument was simple enough—just a pile of stones. It didn't take Karathen long to patch things back together with the remaining rocks, since there were plenty of stones around anyway. But it found itself facing a baffling dilemma with the scattered bones of its former master.

Wiping away its tears, it began carefully piecing things together with its massive tentacles like someone playing with building blocks.

Having lived for several millennia was not for nothing; as it pieced things apart, it suddenly slapped its forehead. Why bother doing it all by itself? It could hire helpers!

It scurried out and captured a few Trench creatures.

Once dragged over, the Trench creatures shook with terror. Staring at the pile of bones, they had no idea what Karathen wanted. Their intelligence was already lacking to begin with, and after exchanging a series of simple, clicking gibberish phrases, they seemed to understand.

Each of them picked up a bone and, with absolute confidence... right in front of Karathen, bared their sharp teeth and furiously began gnawing on the bones.

"Pfft—" Xining, who had been eating Arctic surf clams, instantly spat her food out, laughing so hard she nearly passed out.

Naturally, Karathen flew into a rage, slaughtering all the Trench creatures to use as dinner. Then, it went back to weeping while piecing together its former master's skeleton.

There was still plenty of time anyway, so she would let Karathen take its time piecing things together while she checked on what trouble Arthur and Mera had gotten themselves into.

After using the GPS tracker to locate the prehistoric monument, Mera leaped straight out of the aircraft. Arthur followed right behind and jumped too!

True to the halo of the protagonists, the two of them actually plummeted from such an immense altitude without falling to their deaths.

Upon hitting the ground, they began trekking across the boundless desert toward the monument, bantering back and forth the entire way.

When they arrived, the location was still just a desert, but Arthur suddenly fell straight through the ground.

Mera said with utter disdain: "If you really are a king, we are doomed." After saying that, she leaped down after him.

Xining hurriedly intercepted the audio captured by the bug, marked it in red, and placed it prominently on the screen.

When Vulko saw the words highlighted in red, he would surely click on them. He had previously mentioned that Mera harbored ambitions of seizing the throne of Atlantis, and this was the ultimate proof.

Although Vulko was blindly loyal, he was not stupid; otherwise, he could not have lurged in the shadows for so many years without a single mistake. Having served Atlantis for so long, he knew the kingdom's interests superseded everything else.

Next up was the old king's holographic projection appearing on the apparatus, telling them where to go next and leaving behind riddles to emphasize the supreme importance of the trident.

In truth, the location of the trident could be found without relying on this device at all. Just look at the ancient monument where the trident was kept—it was surrounded by piles of bones. Do not tell her those were all Karathen's snacks rather than the remains of people who had come looking for the trident.

And so, Mera and Arthur headed off to a picturesque, quaint island town, trading more cheesy banter and bickering. Beneath their seemingly confrontational yet cooperative relationship, their romantic feelings grew steadily stronger.

Upon discovering the location of the trident, King Nereus's forces and Black Manta arrived on the scene.

She truly had to hand it to the plot: once the original body stopped interfering with this matter, Nereus automatically turned rogue, upgrading to the primary antagonist. He gifted armor and weapons to the pirate. The pirate combined the armor and weapons into one, becoming Black Manta.

Meanwhile, Nereus genuinely wanted to bring his daughter back this time, as whether Arthur could acquire the legendary golden trident remained an unknown variable. Having offended King Orm, Nereus hoped to reclaim his daughter and offer an apology. Seeing that his daughter possessed a bewitching beauty, King Orm's mind clouded over in a daze, and he agreed to restore the engagement. As for that golden pitchfork, Arthur could go fetch it himself.

As for supplying weapons to Black Manta, it was also a test to see if Black Manta could kill Arthur. If Black Manta won, he would let Black Manta retrieve the trident. Since Black Manta wouldn't know how to use the trident anyway, he would end up handing it over in exchange for wealth and more advanced weaponry.

Xining felt utterly defeated; old man Nereus was truly the king of two-faced hypocrites.

And so, the two factions split: one team went after Mera, while Black Manta squared off against Arthur, resulting in a barrage of flying bombs and shattered walls and buildings.