"No need."
Just as King Orm finished issuing his order—
A cold, unexpected voice suddenly rang out in the hall.
"Who's there?!"
King Orm was startled.
He spun around abruptly, following the sound, only to see a young man with an Eastern face standing brazenly behind him, as if he had always been there.
Whoosh!
In an instant—
Orm's brows twisted together like a withered chrysanthemum in late autumn.
Shock. Rage. Confusion.
All kinds of emotions surged through him at once.
This was the royal hall!
One of the most heavily guarded places in all of Atlantis, protected by layers upon layers of checkpoints and elite troops.
How had this man infiltrated the hall silently, without alerting anyone?
No—calling it "without alerting anyone" wasn't even accurate.
Before this man spoke, Orm himself hadn't sensed anything at all!
"The Homelander!"
Two overlapping cries of alarm rang out at the same time.
Mera and Vulko both paled, their eyes bulging wide in disbelief.
The Homelander—he had appeared again?!
How did he get in?!
"Homelander? So you're the Homelander?"
Orm's gaze locked onto Alex, carefully scanning him from head to toe.
The confidence he had displayed earlier instantly evaporated by more than half.
In its place came an unparalleled sense of gravity.
This man… was truly not simple.
"There was a road to heaven, yet you refused to walk it."
Orm sneered coldly.
"There is no gate to hell, yet you barged right in."
He reached out, grabbed the trident resting nearby, and pointed it arrogantly at Alex.
"You're walking straight into a trap!"
Whoosh!
Before the words had even finished echoing, Orm lunged forward, closing the distance in a flash.
He thrust his trident straight at Alex with full force.
Clang!
The next moment—
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
Orm's trident froze in midair, stopped inches from Alex.
"What?!"
"That's… impossible!"
Orm's face twisted with extreme shock as he muttered in disbelief.
Because gripping his trident—
Were two fingers.
Alex's fingers.
That's right.
Alex had caught Orm's trident with just two fingers.
Who was Orm?
The current king of Atlantis—the strongest warrior of the entire ocean empire!
And yet—
His full-powered strike couldn't even break through someone's fingers?
What kind of joke was this?!
If he hadn't experienced it himself, Orm would never have believed it.
"I don't believe it!"
"I refuse to believe this!"
In shock, Orm let out a beast-like roar.
He poured every ounce of strength he had into the trident and thrust forward again with all his might.
But unfortunately—
Alex's two casual fingers were like the most indestructible defense in the world.
No matter how hard Orm strained, he couldn't advance it even a fraction.
Clang!
Another crisp sound rang out.
Alex casually twisted his wrist—
And Orm's trident snapped in half.
"My father's trident… actually broke?!"
Orm went completely blank.
That trident had belonged to the previous King of Atlantis.
One of the most powerful weapons in the entire ocean empire.
And yet—it had been broken barehanded?
With just two fingers?!
"The Homelander's physical strength… is this terrifying as well?"
Mera and Vulko were once again stunned beyond words.
They had known Alex's speed was monstrous, and his hydrokinesis even more so.
But they had never imagined his close-combat strength would be this absurd.
Even Orm had been utterly crushed.
"I haven't lost!"
"Even without my trident, I haven't lost!"
In the suddenly silent hall, Orm's nearly deranged roar echoed.
The tridentless king let out a furious bellow and threw a savage punch at Alex.
"Like an ant."
Alex replied flatly.
He threw out a casual punch of his own.
Boom!
Orm's body instantly flew backward like a cannonball.
He was hurled over a hundred meters before crashing violently into the ground.
Crack—crack—crack!
A massive crater formed on the floor, spiderweb-like cracks spreading in all directions.
"Pff—!"
From within the rubble, Orm spat out a mouthful of blood.
His insides churned violently, as if his internal organs had been shattered by that single punch.
His eyes were wide open, staring at Alex with sheer disbelief and horror.
He couldn't get up.
He was finished.
King Orm of Atlantis—
Was crippled by a single punch.
"Who is it?!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you alright?!"
Clatter—clatter—clatter!
Chaotic footsteps rang out alongside shouts of alarm.
Large numbers of Atlantean warriors charged in, weapons raised, surrounding the scene.
The once-spacious royal hall instantly became packed to the brim.
When they saw King Orm lying in such a miserable state—
Every one of them turned pale with shock.
"Fire!"
"Open fire immediately!"
Supported by a commander, Orm roared hoarsely.
Chi-chi-chi!
Chi-chi-chi!
Streams of energy bolts poured out like a storm, shooting straight toward Alex.
They were so dense they completely blanketed the space in front of him.
But Alex merely waved his hand.
A telekinetic barrier instantly formed in front of him.
All the energy attacks slammed into it—
And failed to cause even the slightest ripple.
In the next instant—
Alex waved his hand again.
A vast surge of telekinetic force blasted outward like a divine shockwave.
At the same time, a terrifying tidal wave erupted.
The Atlantean warriors firing at him were instantly swept away.
It was utterly overwhelming—utter destruction.
Off to the side, Orm was completely petrified.
He stared at Alex with wide eyes, utterly stunned.
Earlier, when Mera and Vulko had told him that Alex had single-handedly smashed the border forces and annihilated Vulko's reinforcements—
Orm hadn't believed a single word.
Because such a being simply shouldn't exist.
Unless the first King of Atlantis had resurrected—
And was wielding the Sacred Trident.
But now—
Orm finally realized, with bone-deep shock—
Everything Mera and Vulko had said was true.
This Homelander before him was truly monstrous to a laughable, absurd degree.
"Just who… are you?"
Orm's trembling, shocked voice rang out.
He stared at Alex and demanded an answer.
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