Chapter 394: War Descends, Evil Creatures Invade
At this very moment, Atlantis had entered full military readiness.
However, the palace was in utter chaos, filled with loud arguments.
One faction—the Elder Council—opposed mobilizing the military on a large scale.
Their reasoning: without clear intelligence, it would be a waste of resources. They insisted that proper investigation and confirmation were necessary, and that only the Elder Council had the authority to approve troop deployment.
On the other hand, Atlanna and Arthur stood firm on putting the entire military on high alert.
At the heart of the matter lay control over the military.
Currently, the Elder Council held legislative authority and was clearly aiming to seize command of the armed forces during this crisis.
If Atlanna were to back down now and proceed with a formalized military deployment as per their demands, then any future military action would require the Council's review and approval.
That would further strip the royal family of its authority, reducing them to mere figureheads.
Neither side was willing to back down, and the argument raged on.
Sitting on the throne, Arthur had a splitting headache.
This was exactly why he'd grown tired of Atlantis in the first place—the endless bickering.
Back when the previous king was overthrown, Arthur's ancestors had promised to share power with the nobles, which led to the current dual-authority system.
Meanwhile, Allen and his companions, locked in the city prison, were living in utter comfort.
Thanks to Queen Atlanna's special care, they were treated to three seafood meals a day, with entertainment facilities provided—it felt more like a vacation than incarceration.
They were simply lying in wait, ready to strike when Black Manta attacked Atlantis.
Once war broke out, they could act amid the chaos.
And frankly, this prison was never going to hold Allen—one quick portal spell, and he'd be back home.
At that moment, the four of them were watching Allen's palm closely.
A cluster of water vapor had formed in his hand, constantly morphing into different shapes.
"There's a crazy amount of water-element energy here."
Thanks to Allen's innate aptitude as a mage, he could easily detect magical elements, and was quickly developing water-based magic.
Of course, fully mastering advanced water spells in one go was unrealistic—it would take significant time and effort.
But with Allen's impatient nature, that kind of commitment was out of the question.
"You…"
Orm couldn't even come up with the right word.
Allen's talent for magic was terrifying. Orm's own achievements in water magic were extremely limited—he'd only learned enough to support his close-quarters combat.
As for Namor, he had never practiced magic at all—basically, a total Muggle.
Then again, he didn't need to. He was born with divine strength, the power of flight, and the ability to summon sea creatures. There was no point wasting time on magic.
"Done!"
Allen casually dispersed the water element in his hand.
The others were baffled.
Done with what?
All they'd seen was him playing with water—they hadn't realized he was researching magic.
"Through rigorous and meticulous experimentation, I've developed a water-type spell."
Allen pointed at T'Challa, and instantly, a streak of azure light shot into T'Challa's nose.
Uh…
The next second, T'Challa clutched his throat in distress, as though he were suffocating.
"Choking spell?" Orm guessed.
"Wrong," Allen replied smugly. "It's an Aquatic Respiration spell."
That's right—knowing that he, Morgan, and T'Challa couldn't breathe underwater, Allen had taken the time to create a suitable spell.
"This ensures that humans can breathe freely underwater," he said earnestly.
Namor asked curiously, "What about in a dry environment?"
"They absolutely can't breathe," Allen replied seriously.
In unison, four pairs of eyes turned toward the unconscious T'Challa, who was now suffocating.
The prison cell had no water at all—just plenty of oxygen. Which meant the spell had cut off T'Challa's ability to breathe on land.
Clearly, the Aquatic Respiration spell was highly impractical.
Inside the royal palace's boundaries, a controlled atmosphere created a dry environment for the Atlantis nobility.
After all, ordinary Atlanteans couldn't survive on land. Only the nobility and royal bloodlines were exempt from this limitation.
Allen dispelled the spell.
T'Challa immediately regained consciousness and gasped for air like a drowning man pulled from the ocean.
——
Atop the high walls of Atlantis.
Patrolling soldiers scanned the long line of sea creatures waiting to enter the city.
In the ocean, all sentient life was classified as Sea Folk. These included not just high-tech kingdoms, but also magic-wielding races.
You could tell by their transports—some arrived in sleek, sci-fi-like submersibles, while others rode massive marine mammals as mounts.
But all abided by the order set by Atlantis.
"Look over there! What is that?"
One soldier stationed on the wall was the first to notice a vast stretch of darkness rapidly approaching the main city.
"Activate the floodlights!"
A series of high-powered illumination devices came online, beams of blinding light piercing into the distance.
Hissss!
A shrill, piercing screech rang out.
The evil creatures that lived in the deep sea were extremely sensitive to light.
Before them surged an endless swarm of horrifying deep-sea monsters.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Control tower, we're under attack—under attack!"
"Those are the evil creatures of the deep!"
Panic spread among the guards, and even the orderly lines of Sea Folk waiting to enter the city broke into chaos.
Those toward the back of the line, sensing danger approaching from behind, immediately abandoned their plan to enter and shot up toward the surface without hesitation.
In a flash, the entire area descended into mayhem.
The ocean had many deep-sea zones, but all of them were considered forbidden territory by the Sea Folk.
Take the Trench People's domain, for example—it was merely a canyon compared to the true deep sea.
Due to the crushing pressure of the deep ocean, most Sea Folk couldn't even breathe properly there.
While they had no shortage of adventurers, not one had ever returned alive.
In contrast, they at least had a clear understanding of the Trench People's habits—and a slim chance of survival.
Less than a minute later, the city's defense systems came online.
Blasts of energy fire shot toward the incoming swarm of evil creatures—but with little effect.
Each beam only opened a brief gap in the darkness before more monsters swarmed in to fill it.
Some of the creatures at the front lines were over ten times the size of a blue whale—and could tank direct energy blasts head-on.
This was thanks to the immense pressure of the deep sea, which had given these monsters incredibly thick hides and terrifying durability.
Fortunately, Queen Atlanna had already pre-positioned her forces.
The supreme commander, realizing the defenses were ineffective, immediately ordered the army to move out and engage.
News of the assault reached the palace mid-argument.
The Elder Council, who had been on the offensive in the debate, instantly fell silent upon hearing the report.
Atlantis was under attack.
According to law, during wartime, all military forces fell under the king's command, and no one could interfere. Violation of this order could result in immediate execution.
"Follow me to battle."
Finally, King Arthur no longer needed to listen to the old fossils bicker. He raised his golden trident and launched himself from the throne.
Brute-force combat was his favorite way to solve problems.
The Elder Council members exchanged looks, their expressions filled with resignation.
For now, their hopes of seizing control of the military were dashed.
And during wartime, there was no room for political scheming.
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