Proofreader&Editor: Lotas
Was it not Mera's doing?
Who else among the Atlanteans could control the currents?
Vulko reacted swiftly, attempting to reclaim the recorder that held clues to the Trident of Neptune, but the water, like a giant hand, swiftly carried the recorder to a figure.
A man with a tall stature and handsome features, reminiscent of an ancient Greek sculpture, stood with one hand behind his back and slowly reached out to catch the recorder.
"The Trident that can command the submission of Atlantis once recognized?"
"Who are you?"
Mera, like a startled fish, was on high alert, with currents swirling at her fingertips, ready to unleash a formidable strike at any moment.
This was her royal chamber in Zebel, not a park open to tourists. How could a stranger appear here so casually?
David glanced indifferently at the guards by the door who had been knocked unconscious by the water at some unknown time.
"Give it back!"
Vulko, enraged, lunged at David with a punch.
That recorder bore his hope of fulfilling the late queen's last wish.
Though not of royal Atlantean blood, Vulko's noble lineage was indisputable, his strength greater than that of a blue whale. With a mere movement, ripples spread through the water, his body shooting forward like a deep-sea torpedo.
But David only gave him a glance.
Suddenly, the gravity of the water realm intensified.
Bang!
Vulko smashed hard onto the palace floor, the ground cracking like a spider web, as if an aircraft carrier pressed upon him.
His head was embarrassingly glued to the ground, unable to move even a finger, his eyes straining to look up at the mysterious figure, struggling to speak.
"Who… who are you!"
Speaking was a struggle under the immense gravity.
But David had no intention of answering his question.
Whoosh!
The water converged like a turning python, striking fiercely at David.
Seeing such a display of strength, and the elder who had taught her combat skills as a child now helplessly pinned to the ground, Mera's heart chilled, and she swiftly attacked the intruder who had invaded her palace.
She could manipulate the form of water, altering its density and hardness.
Even the weakest stream, in her hands, could slice through steel, destroy walls!
But with a mere raise of his hand, David made her lose control of the water, which immediately dispersed.
"Impossible!"
Mera stepped back in shock, looking at her hands, her control over the water so easily stripped away.
She was like a child wrestling a toy from a giant, effortlessly losing control of the water.
Hum!
Another invisible gravity field spread.
Under the crushing pressure, the currents surged, Mera's chest tightened, and she was forced to kneel.
Facing the unfamiliar man, she felt humiliated, struggling to rise, but felt as if a mountain weighed upon her, unable to resist.
"Stop struggling."
David toyed with the recorder in his hand, then casually crushed it.
The fragments floated away with the water.
"No!"
Vulko shouted.
"What have you done? That was the only clue to find the Trident!"
He tried to rise in agitation, but was powerless.
The only hope for the late queen's son, Arthur, to ascend the throne was destroyed.
Mera, with her red hair disheveled, looked at David in astonishment, not understanding his actions. If not for the Trident's clues, why would he suddenly appear and defeat them?
"This recorder is of no use to me," David spoke.
"I've known where the Trident is for a long time.
I just never needed it, so I didn't retrieve it."
The recorder pointed to one of the seven underwater kingdoms of Atlantis, a lost nation, once a palace in the now-dry Sahara Desert.
There, one would find a bottle, which would then point to Sicily in Italy.
"Place the bottle on the statue of the first Roman emperor on the island, look through the bottle's mouth towards the sea, and you'll find the final location—the Trench, home to the Trench people."
The Trident was there.
The recorder was superfluous to David; he destroyed it merely to prevent others from getting the clues, not wanting his treasure hunt to be disturbed.
With such a casual tone, Vulko was shocked. Who was this man, and was what he said true or false?
He knew the location of the Trident that could control the seven underwater kingdoms of Atlantis, but because he didn't need it, he left it there?
"Heh…"
The red-haired princess, still proud and unyielding despite being forced to kneel, scoffed.
"What, you don't believe me?"
David raised an eyebrow.
He reached out, and a hand made of water tightly grasped Mera's neck, lifting her up.
"Let me go!"
Mera struggled with all her might to break free, but the hand made of water was like high-density alloy, and her powers like weak silt, unable to penetrate. Held by the water hand, she was like a bird caught in a trap, brought to David's side.
"Go back and tell Orm.
I've taken his betrothed. Let him gather all Atlanteans."
Ignoring Mera's futile struggles, David glanced at Vulko on the ground.
"When I return with the Trident, Atlantis will have a new king!"
His tone was as if stating an inevitable fact, completely disregarding the king of Atlantis.
"Don't go!"
Vulko struggled to rise and save Mera.
"Release Princess Mera!"
David, with Mera's neck gripped by the water, flew out of the palace under the watchful eyes of many royal guards, who, armed with spears, angrily charged at him.
With a wave of his hand.
Gravity waves spread, a dozen elite Atlantean warriors were sent flying like balls, crashing into the palace walls.
For Atlantis, David planned to execute a plan similar to that on Themyscira.
To rule them, yet have them begrudgingly accept his rule with resentment and helplessness.
"Even the wisest of kings cannot expect his subjects to think of him fondly every day."
David slowly flew over the kingdom.
Towers and unique buildings shaped like glowing jellyfish stood tall on the ocean floor, with shuttle-like underwater trains traveling between the advanced and developed cities.
"But on the contrary, humiliated and oppressed subjects will always hope for the tyrant above their heads to die!"
He wasn't that cruel; just having the Atlanteans harbor resentment was enough.
"Intruder, release the princess!"
A group of kingdom warriors, riding creatures resembling sharks, armed with spears and guns, charged forward.
Hum, hum!
He didn't even look, waves of gravity emanated from him.
In the sea-filled depths, huge ripples appeared, like unstoppable waves, the Atlantean warriors charging one after another were shaken away like leaves swept by the autumn wind.
It was like an underwater earthquake, the entire city shaking.
"Poseidon above, is that Princess Mera?!"
Countless terrified Atlanteans looked up to see a figure holding their princess, leaving unabated, an unstoppable deity, with no one able to approach.
Mera also ceased struggling in shock, staring at the seemingly indifferent profile, this man dressed in land-dweller's clothes possessing such formidable power!
"My daughter!"
Informed of the news, the majestic King of Zebel rode out on a giant seahorse, only to see the figure disappearing into the distance.
Vulko, disheveled, emerged from Mera's palace, clutching his chest.
"Vulko, what happened here?"
Seeing Vulko, who shouldn't be there, the King of Zebel immediately suspected his involvement and furiously demanded an explanation.
Leaving the Capital City of Atlantis.
David no longer deliberately slowed down, his speed suddenly increased, effortlessly reaching a staggering ten times the speed of sound, even in the deep sea that could crush steel!
He looked back at the rapidly shrinking Capital City.
"Having shown a bit of power, along with the words I left behind.
When I return with the Trident, Orm and Mera's father will probably be waiting with all the mobilizable Atlanteans from various nations."
"That should save me a lot of trouble."