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"At the beginning of the last century, in order to resist the invasion of Atlantis, the Fish Kingdom, Zebel, and Saltwater Kingdom formed an alliance. The Fish Kingdom provided supplies, Zebel provided advanced combat power, and Saltwater Kingdom provided a large number of soldiers. The three countries united to fight against Atlantis. After dozens of battles, the situation finally stabilized. After the Queen came to power, she also made the decision to cease hostilities. We also held on, but unfortunately, after the Saltwater Kingdom was thrown into chaos, the balance was broken again."

“Om is different from the Queen. He is extremely ambitious and has launched several wars since taking power. This time, he has even deployed a million elite troops to our border. You must understand his purpose.”

"He doesn't want the treaty relationship between the two countries to continue. He wants us to break the deadlock ourselves and defeat them one by one. This deployment of troops to the border is a warning. If we refuse this demand, a million elite troops will invade our heartland..." He sighed deeply at this point.

“We have no choice. His Majesty the King does not want to antagonize Zebel, so he sent me to negotiate and preserve the possibility of cooperation between the two sides. But Nires is unwilling to back down. He hopes that the two countries will gather all their strength to fight Atlantis to the death.”

Atinel smiled sincerely.

"His courage is admirable, but unfortunately the difference in strength is too great. Atlantis has seven times the number of us, and a forced confrontation will only result in unnecessary casualties."

“Nierus is a stubborn fellow. I can’t persuade him, and he can’t persuade me. I know he wants to drag things out until we launch an attack on Atlantis. By then, even if we don’t want to fight, the people won’t agree.”

"A very clever tactic. Luckily, the Landers showed up."

Camilles asked, puzzled, "What do the Landers have to do with this?"

"That's not relevant, but the fact that the lenders defeated the princess's guards and captured Maria alive is relevant."

“Zebel is known for producing top-notch warriors, with the Princess Guard and Maria being among the best. Yet, they were defeated by the 830 Landians. If we challenge the Landians and win, it will be an excuse to break the agreement; if we lose, we can simply leave and shift all the blame onto the Landians. Even if Nereus is dissatisfied, he won't break ties with his people over two outsiders. His Majesty can also explain everything clearly.”

Artenaer looked around at the gathered crowd and smiled, "What do you think of this idea?"

After thinking for a while, the more they thought about it, the more empowered they felt.

Nilius wanted to stall for time, but His Majesty the King was unwilling to lose face, so the negotiations could only remain deadlocked. The appearance of the land people was just the right opportunity to stab them in the back.

Regardless of winning or losing, the responsibility can be placed on them. Of course, the only hidden danger is that they have offended the people of Earth.

They are just two land dwellers. If you offend them, can they really cause any upheaval?

Camilles couldn't help but admire it.

No wonder His Majesty put you in charge of negotiations; your resourcefulness is truly admirable.

Altaïr looked up, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

At this moment, the fisherman in charge of the paperwork spoke up.

"Sir, what should we do about the trial in two days? Should we attend, or should we just go through the motions?"

Altaïr squinted and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Kill him at all costs."

Chapter 1361 The Princess Kidnapping Case

"Didn't you say you'd make Rand take the blame? Why are you suddenly making this decision?"

Provocation and murder are two completely different concepts. Xu Fu was a guest of honor of the King of Zebel, and killing him would not be an explanation to the king.

Altaïr muttered to himself.

"This is Om's demand; he has presented us with conditions we cannot refuse."

The crowd remained puzzled: Prince Orm, though he hated the Landers, would not issue such an order from thousands of miles away.

Kamis hesitated and asked, "Does Prince Orm have a grudge against the Randians?"

"No."

"Then why...?"

Altaïr's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Because he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of his father, Ovax." He paused, and amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, he continued.

Do you remember Queen Atlanna's elopement twenty-eight years ago?

"Is that matter related to Her Majesty the Queen?"

"Of course it is."

Atner grinned: "It's normal that you don't know about the royal family's scandals. Back when Atlana was still a princess, she refused to listen to her father's pleas to marry the royal guard captain Ovax and ran away when the war broke out. This time, she was gone for several years. Outsiders only know that Atlana hid in the bottomless trench, but in fact, she has been buried."

"She not only went to Earth, but also fell in love with an Earthling and gave birth to a son. This illegitimate child was Orm's half-brother and also had Atlantean royal blood."

Hiss

This news was so explosive that all the fishmen instinctively pricked up their ears, stunned into silence.

"Because of this scandal, Ovax's personality changed drastically, and he became a notorious berserker. Orm was also greatly affected by this and hated Earthlings to the core." At this point, Atnera flicked her bloody hair and said with schadenfreude, "That Ovax is such an unlucky guy. He finally managed to marry the princess, but before he could even touch her, she ran off with a lowly Earthling and had a son with him, hehehehe!!!!"

The poor fellow, what could he do? The royal family would never allow the scandal to leak out; he could only swallow his anger, wearing a green hat while serving a monarch who didn't even like him.

"This incident left a deep psychological scar on Olma, and he would never allow himself to follow in his father's footsteps."

Camis was shocked: "You mean, Princess Mela might be with this landowner...?"

Why can't she?

Altaïr chuckled, “Don’t forget, Mela was raised by Her Majesty the Queen. From a young age, she longed for life in the human world and knows human languages. Didn’t you notice how much she cares about this landlord? She actually contradicted me in public for his sake. Is this how a princess should behave?”

"Om has been secretly observing the progress of the date. How will he react when he finds out that someone like this has appeared in Mera's life?"

"If the father is cuckolded, will the son follow the same path?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's mouths gaped open, wanting to laugh but daring not to, forced to hold it in. Rumors know no boundaries of region or race, and this is especially true of royal gossip.

Camille was the calmest; he asked the most difficult question.

"How should we kill this landlord? Should we send an assassin?"

The landlord's fighting prowess should not be underestimated; a one-on-one duel would be almost impossible to kill him. The only way out is through an assassin, but this is Zebel's territory, and the princess's guard is nearby. Even if an assassin is sent, success is not guaranteed.

Altaïr shook his head slightly.

"Om has prepared everything for us. A set of Poseidon prototype armor will arrive at the fortress the day after tomorrow morning. This is the highest technology in Atlantis, which is incomparable to that of land people. Camis, everything is in your hands. Do your best to succeed."

Camilles raised his hand in salute.

"I will not fail, sir."

...

The date of the summons was drawing ever closer, but Xu Fu felt no sense of urgency whatsoever.

Every day, he would either swim in the deep sea with two beautiful women, or savor the various delicacies of Atlantis, and take time to discuss the various cultural customs of the ocean and land with Mera.

Over the course of two days, their relationship quickly blossomed, and they became inseparable friends.

Carol also prepared some land-based sauces for Mera, which gave the sashimi a unique flavor.

Before we knew it, the third day had arrived.

In the central hall of the fortress, King Zebel-Nires sat on the throne, with Princess Mera to his left, followed by the royal guard and the princess guard.

Representatives from the Fish Kingdom stood at the bottom of the steps, while Xu Fu and Carol stood opposite them.

A suffocating atmosphere filled the room. The representatives of the Fishman Kingdom looked at Xu Fu with extreme fear, especially Camillos, whose sharp and possessive eyes were like swords that seemed to pierce through his body.

Summoning is a sacred tradition of the Atlanteans, linked to life and death, and even above life and death. In the struggle for the throne, everything is decided by summoning.

However, this challenge was limited to Atlantis; this was the first time underwater people had fought against land people.

Compared to the Fish Kingdom's caution, Xu Fu appeared quite lazy, occasionally covering his mouth and letting out a long yawn, unconsciously thinking that he had stayed up all night again last night.

Mela asked hesitantly, "Father, do you really not want to stop all of this?"

Nielius remained silent, his eyes occasionally glancing at the liquid metal sphere hovering behind Xu Fu.

Earthlings' armor?

She really could become that!

Maria stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"The time has come, Your Majesty."

Nyreus blinked slightly, realizing the time had come. Despite his overwhelming shame, he yielded, rose from his throne, and swore an oath before the statue of Poseidon.

"...In accordance with the sacred traditions of Atlantis, I, King Nereus of Zebel, will act as the arbitrator and witness of this battle. Guards, open the battlefield."

boom!

boom!

boom

The crowd raised their weapons and roared in anger. Amidst the violent tremors, the floor of the hall slowly cracked open, and a surge of high-temperature heat rushed out, revealing a clear river of lava below.

No wonder the fortress glows all year round; the heat from the magma is used to generate electricity.

Above the lava river is a circular stone pillar about twenty meters in diameter; this must be the site of the battle.

Carol was a little worried and couldn't help but ask.

Is it really necessary to do this?

"Didn't we agree on this last night?"

Carol said with a wry smile, "You're too bold. If you fail, the entire Atlantis will come after you."

Xu Fu burst out laughing, "Hahaha."

"If you can't even handle your neighbor Atlantis, how can you be worthy of your man?"

The girl blushed deeply (Qian Hao), couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, and said with a mix of schadenfreude and helplessness, "Okay, I'll stick to plan. As for Mira..."