At this point, Orm also felt somewhat helpless.
Atlantis had suffered a civilization-shattering disaster in the distant past, and an enormous amount of knowledge had been lost as a result.
All Orm knew was that the Mother Box was extremely dangerous and had been sealed within the Ancient Temple before Atlantis suffered that catastrophe.
Afterward, the royal scholars had analyzed the fragments of historical records recovered from the ruins. Their conclusion was that the Mother Box appeared to be connected to a dangerous region and a terrifying group of enemies.
In short, there was only one word to describe it.
Danger.
After voicing his frustration, Orm stopped dwelling on the matter and turned to the guards.
"Inform King Orvax about the Mother Box's activation."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Upon receiving the order, the guard quickly left the temple and headed toward the palace where the Sea King resided.
King Orvax's health was poor. His voice was weak, and his entire demeanor was listless.
The events of the past few years had worn the middle-aged king down until he looked like an old man.
Imagine being a middle-aged king with a happy life and a position of immense prestige, only to suddenly suffer one emotional blow after another.
Being abandoned by his childhood sweetheart was already painful enough.
But she had also had a child with a human lighthouse keeper.
Then she refused to let him kill either the child or the man.
And the worst part was that she had chosen that ordinary human over him.
The human lighthouse keeper had even reached his pure and faithful wife before he had.
That single incident had pushed the Sea King to the brink of collapse.
The ocean had experienced little warfare in recent years, and after living through a long period of stability, Orvax had indeed become somewhat too sentimental.
Then, in recent years, the son he had with his childhood sweetheart had begun causing him trouble as well.
Orm's ambition was impossible to conceal.
The entire ocean knew that Orm was a staunch warmonger, determined to provoke a war between Atlantis and humanity.
To accomplish that goal, his beloved son had already clashed with him countless times.
Orm didn't even want to see him.
His beloved wife had never truly loved him, preferring exile in the Lost Kingdom over apologizing to him.
His beloved son, meanwhile, seemed to be waiting for his death so he could finally pursue his ambitions without restraint.
Family troubles seemed to be an unavoidable shadow hanging over every middle-aged man.
They had tormented the Sea King until he was utterly exhausted.
Under the weight of this constant melancholy, his health had deteriorated to its current state. He could barely keep his trident steady anymore.
Just then, a guard hurried into the palace.
Hearing the clatter of the soldier's armor, the Sea King's vision seemed to darken.
It was his son's guard.
No doubt Orm had found another reason to argue with him.
The Sea King briefly considered pretending to be asleep, but when he realized it was already too late, he could only straighten himself and adopt a more attentive posture.
Vico, the chief steward who was always at the Sea King's side, looked toward the approaching guard.
"Why have you come in such a hurry? State your reason."
He paused.
"Has Prince Orm encountered some trouble?"
"Your Majesty, Chief Steward, the Mother Box sealed within the underwater temple just vibrated!"
"What?"
Vico's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Are you certain the Mother Box vibrated? According to the surviving historical records, that device has never reacted since the ancient disaster fifteen thousand years ago!"
After speaking, Vico nervously turned toward the Sea King, who was slowly rising from his soft couch.
Meeting his chief minister's gaze, Orvax took a deep breath before releasing a quiet sigh.
"The matter of the Mother Box cannot be underestimated, Vico."
"Contact Nereus and ask him to assist me in dealing with it. Prince Orm will support him."
The Sea King waved his hand, dismissing the guard.
Once the guard had left, Vico hurried to the Sea King's side.
"Your Majesty, is your health truly so poor that you cannot personally oversee the matter concerning the Mother Box?"
"Even so, Prince Orm should be capable of handling the situation independently. Do we really need the assistance of King Nereus?"
"We may not need the military strength of Xebel," Orvax replied, "but if the Mother Box truly erupts, then Xebel needs to understand what it means to stand beside its allies. They must contribute."
"Besides, Nereus and I are old friends. He knows how to help me."
The Sea King closed his eyes wearily before lying back against the couch.
Leaning against the backrest, Orvax recalled his younger days and the moments he had spent with Nereus, the King of Xebel.
His fingers lightly tapped against the couch.
"Vico, I'm old."
"Old enough that I have to admit it."
"Perhaps it won't be long before I can meet our ancestors in the afterlife."
"But Orm is still too young, and his ideas are too radical."
"So there must be someone capable of restraining him for a while. I can't allow him to lead our kingdom into war immediately after I'm gone."
As he finished speaking, the Sea King's breathing became weaker.
He simply relaxed and sank deeper into the couch.
Looking at the disheartened king, Vico blinked helplessly.
Although Vico had originally been an official of Xebel, he had followed Queen Atlanna to Atlantis and remained there in service to the royal family.
Even so, when it came to Atlanna's romantic decisions, Vico couldn't bring himself to defend her unconditionally.
Even he felt that the Queen had been far too willful.
She had been bound by the responsibilities of a political marriage and represented the dignity of both Xebel and Atlantis.
Yet this powerful queen had abandoned her marriage, fled to the human world, and married a lighthouse keeper.
Was the human world somehow short on lighthouse keepers?
Was this some absurd form of propaganda?
Had the Queen truly fallen so deeply in love with humanity that the King of Atlantis was inferior to an ordinary human?
And Atlanna had never realized that her actions were one of the reasons a significant portion of Atlantis's upper class, including Orm, had become staunch advocates of war.
To many powerful Atlanteans, the fact that an ordinary human had taken the Queen of Atlantis was already enough to make them despise humanity.
Recalling the Queen's various actions, Vico helplessly pursed his lips before approaching the Sea King.
"I understand."
"After King Nereus arrives, I'll do my best to cooperate with him."
"However, I must ask Your Majesty to take care of your health."
"The Mother Box is too important. If it truly begins displaying abnormal activity, we may have to face a massive war."
"Although much of our history has been lost, even the surviving fragments indicate that the Mother Box is connected to an unimaginable disaster."
"And if that disaster truly arrives, all the citizens of Atlantis and the Seven Kingdoms will still need Your Majesty to lead them into battle."
Vico looked at the Sea King with concern.
Orvax met his gaze and gave a bitter smile.
"Lead them into battle?"
He slowly raised his right hand.
"Vico, I'm afraid I can't even lift my trident anymore."
"Do you really need a king holding what amounts to a plastic trident to stand before his soldiers and encourage them to die for a king who cannot lead by example?"
"Besides, I know my own body."
"I'm no longer the king who could swim nine nautical miles per second."
"Now, I probably can't even manage two hundred nautical miles."
"I'm a cripple who might not even withstand the pressure of the deep ocean while riding a shark."
The Sea King suddenly reached out and gently grasped Vico's wrist.
He squeezed Vico's hand with what little strength he had left.
"Vico, my friend."
"Help me protect our kingdom."
"And more importantly, help me protect my people."
"Besides that, don't stop searching for Atlanna."
"She is beautiful and intelligent. Even if she was exiled to the Lost Kingdom, I refuse to believe she died there."
"I'll stop here for today. I need to rest."
"You can discuss everything else with my good brother, Nereus."
After saying this, the Sea King no longer had the strength to continue speaking.
He turned over and rested.
Looking at the Sea King's exhausted figure, Vico's eyes reddened.
He nodded firmly.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty."
"No matter what happens, I will protect every inch of your territory and every one of your subjects."
"Even if the disaster connected to the Mother Box comes knocking, it will not harm a single Atlantean while I am still alive."
Vico respectfully bowed to the Sea King.
Although the current Sea King had achieved no particularly spectacular feats and was undeniably a sentimental fool when it came to love, he was still a benevolent ruler.
As a king, he accepted advice with humility, listened to the opinions of others, and entrusted important positions to capable officials outside the royal family, including Vico himself.
Even as human activity in the ocean continued to increase and pollution worsened, the people of Atlantis remained largely unaffected. In fact, their standard of living had improved considerably.
In short, this generation's Sea King was a genuinely benevolent monarch.
How could Vico not admire him?
With concern for his king, Vico immediately issued the order to summon King Nereus for an audience.
Afterward, he hurried toward the deep-sea temple to inspect the Mother Box himself.
When he arrived, Orm merely snorted before leaving.
Orm had never liked Vico.
Not long afterward, King Nereus arrived.
Approximately twenty minutes later, Nereus, traveling from the Atlantic Ocean aboard an express watercraft, could already see the magnificent buildings of Atlantis.
Looking through the window at the densely packed city, the fifteen-year-old red-haired girl beside Nereus leaned toward the porthole with curiosity.
"Father, is that Atlantis?"
"They look much more prosperous than us."
"Is that the strength of the royal family?"
"Of course, my dear."
Nereus smiled.
"The true legitimacy of Atlantis ultimately lies in Atlantis City and those who possess the blood of the royal family."
"But don't worry. Our kingdom and Atlantis will never go to war."
"We are the most reliable allies in the ocean."
"For three thousand years, almost every Queen of Atlantis has been a princess of Xebel."
"I know."
The girl nodded.
"Just like Aunt Atlanna."
She hesitated before asking nervously,
"But, Father, will I have to marry into the Atlantis royal family someday?"
Nereus gently nodded.
"Of course, my daughter."
"You were born to become the Queen of the Seven Seas. No one can take that position from you."
"That's also why I brought you to Atlantis. You should meet His Majesty's son."
"Do you mean Orm?"
The red-haired girl frowned.
"The prince who doesn't even bother hiding his ambition?"
She sounded irritated.
She had always instinctively disliked the idea of marriage.
Her idol was her Aunt Atlanna.
Everyone knew that Atlanna, the former princess of Xebel, had caused an enormous upheaval in Atlantis before officially marrying the current Sea King.
To escape that marriage, she had even orchestrated a coup and attempted to assassinate the lovesick Sea King, briefly taking the throne of Atlantis for herself.
Yes, Atlanna had truly done it.
Besides being Queen, she had actually ruled Atlantis as its female Sea King for two and a half months.
As expected, her reign lasted only two and a half months before she was removed from the throne.
Afterward, she resolutely fled her arranged marriage.
The story that followed was well known.
She married a lighthouse keeper.
In short, Aunt Atlanna's ending had not exactly been happy.
Despite repeatedly resisting marriage and doing everything she could to escape her fate, she ultimately failed.
She became Queen anyway.
And in the end, she didn't even leave behind a complete corpse, having been exiled to the Lost Kingdom, a place infested with the Trench.
Yet the more tragic Atlanna's story became, the more the rebellious young princess admired her aunt.
Atlanna was Mera's inspiration.
While Mera was lost in thought, Nereus noticed the disdain in his daughter's voice.
He could only smile bitterly.
"Mera."
The King of Xebel gently advised her.
"Don't let rumors influence your judgment."
"Prince Orm may be somewhat radical, but he has his reasons."
"And aside from that, he is an exceptionally talented and handsome young man."
"Trust your father."
"At the very least, spend some time with Prince Orm before making your final decision."
"There is still plenty of time, my daughter."
"You will only marry Orm after he becomes the Sea King, not while he is merely a prince."
Nereus gently patted his daughter's head.
"My daughter, you must become the Sea Queen."
"No matter who sits upon the throne of Atlantis, I will ensure that the Sea Queen is you."
"As for Orm..."
Nereus chuckled mischievously.
"His father, King Orvax, is only forty-six. Who knows? Perhaps he will have another son."
"And what if Orm's little brother happens to be particularly favored by my precious daughter?"
Nereus pinched his daughter's cheek with a playful smile.
Mera immediately looked horrified.
"Father!"
She playfully scolded him.
"I'm already fifteen! How could I possibly like a child who is fifteen years younger than me?"
"By the time he's fifteen, I'd already be an aunt!"
"I don't want to marry that late!"
"Didn't you and Mother say that a bride who marries at the right age is the most beautiful bride?"
"I refuse to give up my chance to be the most beautiful bride!"
"Haha, yes, yes. My daughter is right."
Nereus laughed heartily.
"My daughter is destined to become the most beautiful bride in the entire ocean."
"I guarantee it as her father!"