Chapter 72: Go Die, Playmate 14

Seeing King Orm acting as if he wanted to wash his hands of everything, and no longer easily pacified with a few soft words as before, Vike hardened his heart. "Legally speaking, Her Majesty Atlanna is already the former queen; Your Majesty is the true King of Atlantis. If anyone dares to object—even Her Majesty Atlanna herself—I will argue my case to the end. I also sincerely hope that Your Majesty will continue to reign for the sake of Atlantis."

Xining narrowed her eyes. "Is that truly what you mean?"

Having gone this far—words spoken being like water poured out that cannot be retrieved—Vike showed a rare firmness. "Yes, Your Majesty, that is precisely what this humble servant means!"

Xining patted Vike on the shoulder. "Thank you. I hope you can persuade my mother. For today, I would like to get a proper rest. Arthur is currently going after the Trident; by tomorrow, when he returns with it, he will likely issue a challenge against me."

Vike was stunned. "Why would he challenge Your Majesty?"

How should I know? Anyway, all the legitimate reasons for a challenge have been cut off, but according to the plot, he will probably still challenge me regardless.

Xining thought for a moment. "Perhaps to consecrate his weapon with me. Humans always love to baptize things with other people's blood. Weapons, military banners, treasures—they all believe these things can be charged with blood and life to enhance their value."

"Nonsense!" Vike finally flared up again. "If Arthur truly dares to do such a thing, he can use my blood instead."

"He truly dares," Xining said with a smile. "Military Counselor, you should go rest as well. There is no need to look for him; he will return soon enough."

Accompanied by a woman, holding the Trident, ending up with both love and the throne, winning public support and reclaiming his mother. By what right?

Returning to her room, Xining collapsed onto the bed and continued monitoring the unfolding events.

Nereus had indeed gone to the Fisherman Kingdom, demanding that its king join the alliance.

However, having evolved fish tails and valuing peace, poetry, song, and music, the Fisherman Kingdom naturally refused to participate in the war.

When talks broke down, Nereus lunged forward with his weapon. Complying with the secret instructions in King Orm's letter, the Fisherman Kingdom's monarch rolled his eyes and slumped down, feigning death.

"Your king is dead, and the princess succeeds to the throne... Long live the Queen!" Facing the terrified Fisherman Kingdom princess, Nereus flashed a villainous, "charming" smile—though naturally, such a smile looked much better on King Orm's face, whereas Nereus was just a scruffy, middle-aged man.

Meanwhile, Mera and Arthur were being hunted down with extreme prejudice by the countless Trench creatures. This time, of course, Mera had no Atlanna to rescue her. Atlanna was currently burying her ageless face in a massive mountain of paperwork.

Mera was chased to the brink of death. Her body was lacerated in numerous places by the sharp claws of the Trench monsters, her tight green scale-suit was torn to shreds, and her bountiful assets were practically spilling out. Ironically, Arthur remained completely uninjured, while Mera was battered to the point where her clothes were all but gone.

Given that Arthur was virtually impervious to blades and could shrug off a direct bomb blast without a single scratch, just how had those tattoos been hammered into his skin anyway?

The two of them scrambled ashore onto a small island. Strangely enough, the moment they reached the island, the Trench creatures stopped pursuing them, likely because it was Karathen's territory.

Arthur led Mera into a cave where Atlanna once lived to bandage her wounds. Both of them were overflowing with strong hormones—one shirtless, the other in rags that barely covered her body—yet while they endlessly exchanged smoldering, electric gazes, they simply refused to actually cross the line into anything unspeakable or inappropriate.

I truly admire Mera. Her father is the king of scumbags, and she is truly the queen of them. Even in this state, she still hadn't let Arthur steal a single kiss. It seemed that until Arthur got his hands on the Trident, he wasn't about to give any substantive commitments or "benefits." They certainly knew how to play the game.

Xining sent the submarine squad along with Vike to find Arthur.

Just as Arthur finished tending to Mera's bandages and they were gazing deeply into each other's eyes, their faces and lips coming agonizingly close without ever actually touching—having thoroughly exhausted their quota of romantic tension, with Arthur's eyes lingering lustfully over the tears in Mera's garments—Arthur finally decided it was time to claim the Golden Trident!

Mera remained in the cave to recover, while Arthur stepped outside onto the beach, where Vike and the submarine squad were already waiting for him.

"I've come to fetch you!" Vike said with his hands behind his back, sporting a neat topknot and a very debonair demeanor.

"There's no need. I'm going to get the Trident first," Arthur replied.

Vike arched a brow slightly. "Why go after the Trident?" Getting the Trident meant the power to summon storms and create tidal waves, yet this fellow couldn't even govern a single kingdom properly—how could he possibly hope to rule as King of the Seven Seas?

Arthur: "To get out of here, I have to retrieve the Trident and split the vortex."

Vike blinked with aristocratic refinement. "It seems unnecessary. I can take you out myself. Besides, our fleet has been sailing in and out of here two or three times already!"

Arthur froze, pondering this for a long moment before declaring, "I'm still going to get the Trident!"

Vike asked, maintaining his calm composure, "Why must you go after the Trident?"

Ghost knows why! Arthur's temper flared up. "I'm going to get it because it's my destiny. Yes, my destiny!"

Your damn destiny! If he had that kind of strong sense of responsibility, he wouldn't have abandoned Atlantis, left behind mountains of paperwork, and eloped with his future brother's fiancée. Go eat dirt!

"Your destiny is to inherit your mother's dying wish." At this mention, Vike felt a sharp pain in his chest. He had truly suffered enough over the past two days, but fortunately, he had now backed the right horse and had plenty of justification. "However, there is no need for that now, because you're simply not cut out for the job, and besides, your mother is still alive."

"Still alive?" Arthur was stunned. "You're saying my mother, the Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna, is still alive?"

"The former queen!" Vike corrected him. "So there are no dying wishes left to fulfill. Come back with me now and bring Princess Mera along. King Orm has annulled his engagement with Princess Mera, so you can marry her. Your family of four can finally be reunited."

Imagining a promotion and a pay raise, the squad leader immediately chimed in, "Her Majesty has also issued an order that once you return, people will be sent to renovate the lighthouse into a five-story ocean-view villa. The top floor will be the lighthouse itself, decorated with simple, comfortable elegance to give it a warm, homely feel."

Arthur froze once more. After a long silence, his heavily tattooed, muscular physique stood ramrod straight, radiating a powerful and robust aura. "I'm going to get the Trident first!"

Vike was completely baffled. "Why? Risking your life to get the Trident—if anything goes wrong, forget being the King of the Sea, you won't even have your life left."

The squad leader and the others were equally perplexed. "Why?"

Everyone chorused, "Why?"

Arthur didn't know either. After thinking for ages, he said, "I'll just grab it first and figure it out. Anyway, that thing looks very valuable." With that, he dove straight into the ocean and vanished instantly.

Vike felt yet another wave of deep disappointment. This fellow was simply not material for a king; he was just as headstrong as Atlanna, putting his own whims above the interests of the kingdom.

He let out a long sigh. "Go find Mera."