Chapter Twelve: The Sea King Battles the Sea King

Inside the royal palace of Atlantis, Namor sat on his throne, worried and troubled. The recent earthquake had unsettled him deeply; although Atlantis lay tens of thousands of meters beneath the sea, never in Namor's memory had such a tremor occurred.

Could this be connected to the Bottomless Abyss? Namor was gripped by a powerful sense of foreboding.

“Report!” A soldier burst in, interrupting Namor’s meditation.

“Report, Your Majesty! The land dweller—he’s returned! That land dweller has come back!”

“What!” Namor sprang up, startled and furious.

“He’s returned, bringing with him many gigantic monsters. General Sartu is leading the troops against him in a fierce battle. Your Majesty, please lead our forces to support them!” the soldier stammered in panic.

“Summon the defense army!” The maid quickly fitted Namor with his armor, and Namor seized the trident handed to him by his guards, striding out of the palace.

When Namor arrived at the entrance to Atlantis with the defense army, he was met with a scene of carnage. Countless Atlantis soldiers were locked in combat with grotesque giant creatures.

These monsters, hide-skinned and thick-muscled, possessed immense strength. The soldiers' water cannons had little effect against them, while the monsters’ attacks inflicted heavy casualties upon Atlantis’s ranks.

At the center of the chaos, a dark-skinned, golden-haired human stood atop a colossal octopus, wielding a golden trident that fired waves of energy at the Atlantis soldiers. The octopus lashed out with its tentacles, wreaking havoc among the defenders.

Namor’s eyes blazed with fury at the sight. “Sound the drums!”

Boom… boom… boom… boom. The resounding drumbeats echoed across the battlefield. Arthur turned toward the source of the drums, seeing rows of Atlantis soldiers mounted on sharks, arrayed in tight formation.

At the heart of the formation, clad in armor and holding a silver trident, Namor stood atop a whale shark.

So, he’s finally here.

Arthur gazed at Namor standing on the whale shark, and Namor stared back at Arthur atop the giant octopus. Namor raised his trident, pointing it at Arthur. “Attack!” he shouted.

Namor charged ahead, his whale shark speeding toward Arthur, followed by countless defense soldiers on their shark mounts. Arthur steered his giant octopus swiftly toward Namor, with dozens of monstrous beasts trailing behind.

As the two forces drew closer, Arthur and Namor’s tridents clashed fiercely. The giant octopus and whale shark collided with tremendous force. Arthur’s monstrous beasts plunged into the ranks of the defense soldiers, tearing through them, while the defenders, relying on their superior numbers and agility, unleashed waves of water cannon energy at the giants.

The impact of their collision sent both Arthur and Namor flying. Arthur recovered his balance after soaring a dozen meters, while Namor crashed into several soldiers behind him, uttering cries of pain.

Namor stared at Arthur in disbelief. The land dweller had survived the Bottomless Abyss and brought back so many gigantic creatures, and Namor could sense Arthur’s power had increased dramatically since before.

His right hand, which had just clashed with Arthur’s, still trembled. Namor noticed the golden trident in Arthur's hand—it was the Sea God’s Trident. Impossible!

Arthur’s trident looked exactly like the one Poseidon wielded in the ancient murals of the Atlantis royal palace. How could this land dweller have obtained the Sea God’s Trident? And how could the trident accept him?

Namor’s face was filled with incredulity as he demanded of Arthur, “Where did you get the Sea God’s Trident?”

“Is that what it’s called? Thanks to you, I found it in the depths beneath the abyss! It suits me perfectly,” Arthur replied, satisfied as he toyed with the Sea God’s Trident.

“How can this be? How is it possible?” Namor could not accept the fact that Arthur, having been cast into the Bottomless Abyss, not only survived but also acquired a divine artifact.

Arthur shrugged as if to say, 'Finding a divine artifact after falling off a cliff is standard practice—everyone sit down, no need to act cool. After all, I’m the protagonist of this novel.'

Namor’s fury rose as he glared at Arthur. “You traitorous wretch! Today I will execute you here!”

“With just you?” Arthur scoffed, utterly dismissive of Namor’s threats.

“Die!” Namor unleashed a surge of power from his trident at Arthur.

As expected, Arthur raised his trident and released an equally massive burst of energy.

The two forces collided, detonating with a thunderous explosion. Several Atlantis soldiers nearby were hurled away by the blast wave.

Arthur, trident in hand, charged at Namor, delivering a powerful downward strike. Namor raised his trident to block, the immense force driving Namor to one knee.

Namor pushed away Arthur’s trident, then swept low with a horizontal strike aimed at Arthur’s legs. Arthur dodged back, then thrust his trident at Namor.

Namor sidestepped and threw a punch at Arthur, who blocked it and spun to attack Namor’s chest with his elbow, causing Namor to stagger. Namor spun and delivered a side kick, sending Arthur flying.

Namor struck down with his trident, Arthur countered with his own, and both kicked at each other, their legs meeting in midair.

The battle between Namor and Arthur was fierce and evenly matched. Arthur’s strength surpassed Namor’s, but Namor’s combat experience was clearly superior. Arthur’s reflexes were astonishing, making it impossible for either to gain the upper hand.

Both possessed extraordinary resilience, exchanging blows—fist for kick—growing ever more ferocious as the fight wore on. Their tridents clashed repeatedly, ringing out with metallic echoes.

Elsewhere, the defense army and the giants fought desperately. Though the soldiers were numerous and agile, constantly bombarding the monsters from a distance, the beasts’ black skin was like thick armor, rendering the water cannon’s energy attacks almost useless. The monsters also possessed unexpected means of assault, leading to severe losses among the defenders.

Sartu, Atlantis’s great general, oversaw the battle and had just guided the Second Legion in defeating a giant lizard. Yet he remained anxious, realizing these beasts were far more difficult to handle than expected.

Particularly troubling were several monsters with formidable defenses and long-range attacks. The Third Legion faced a giant horned frog whose tongue, stretching hundreds of meters, could instantly snatch and swallow a soldier. The Fourth Legion confronted a giant crab—slow-moving but armored so thickly that energy water cannons could not harm it. The bubbles it spat exploded upon contact with people. Truly, these monsters from the Bottomless Abyss were terrifying!

Watching the mounting casualties among Atlantis’s soldiers, Sartu’s heart grew heavy. If things continued this way, Atlantis would fall. Now all hope rested on His Majesty defeating the human intruder—then the crisis would be instantly resolved.

Above the battlefield, Arthur’s giant octopus wrapped tightly around Namor’s whale shark, its eight massive tentacles constricting ever more, its toothed maw biting into the whale shark’s body, eliciting anguished cries.

Both Arthur and Namor turned at the sound.

“Well done, Little Eight!” Arthur praised. Namor saw his mount on the verge of collapse, his face darkened completely, his body trembling with rage.