Inside the command hall of the Atlantean flagship.
Mera, dressed in blue-gold scale armor, said in disbelief, "Has he gone mad?"
"From his attitude, I don't see even the slightest intention of finding out the truth."
Beside the red-haired woman stood an elderly man with graying hair, but his status was anything but ordinary.
He was Vulko, Arthur's teacher and Queen Atlanna's loyal subordinate.
The old man lowered his gaze and said, "Perhaps our King Orm never intended to find out the truth."
Mera immediately turned toward him, "If he doesn't want the truth, then why come to Themyscira?"
Before Vulko could answer, Mera sucked in a breath.
"An excuse."
"He's looking for an excuse to start a war with Themyscira?"
Vulko sighed softly, "King Orm is young and ambitious."
"The situation you reported is the perfect excuse for him."
"He doesn't care whether Themyscira has truly sided with Steppenwolf. If they really have formed an alliance with him, then this becomes a righteous war."
"If they haven't, he can later claim it was a misunderstanding."
"But conquering Themyscira, obtaining the Amazons' treasures, or bringing a land army under his control..."
"All of those are extremely tempting to him."
"Don't forget, he's trying to persuade the other kingdoms to join Atlantis in marching onto the surface."
Mera immediately said, "I have to stop him."
"Too late."
Vulko shook his head.
"And he's the king."
"You have no authority to stop him. Only he can stop Orm."
"Only his brother, Arthur!"
On the beach, a burst of angry shouting erupted from the Amazons.
"That's nonsense! When did we ever side with the enemy?"
"We never betrayed our allies!"
"We don't even know where Atlantis is!"
The atmosphere immediately became tense.
Queen Hippolyta raised a hand, quieting the warriors.
Then she calmly said, "King Orm, such accusations go too far."
"The Amazons were once allies of Atlantis. Even though we no longer have contact, Amazons would never betray their allies."
"This is slander."
"This is defamation."
"You must apologize."
"Apologize to all the daughters of Themyscira!"
Orm spread his hands, "If the Amazons deny it, then allow us to search your palace and treasury. If we do not find Atlantis's Mother Box—"
"I, Orm of Atlantis, am willing to apologize to the sisters of Themyscira."
The Amazons' anger flared up again, "Search the palace and treasury? How dare you say such a thing!"
"How is that any different from forcing us Amazons to surrender!"
"Arrogant Atlanteans, go back to your ocean!"
"Go back to the ocean!"
Their voices shook the sky.
Hippolyta raised her hand, suppressing the uproar.
Then she said loudly, "King Orm, we Amazons respect our friends, but that does not mean our dignity can be trampled at will."
"I will say it again."
"The Amazons have not sided with the enemy, nor have we betrayed you."
"And there cannot possibly be Atlantis's Mother Box on Themyscira."
"Now, please leave."
"Otherwise, I will regard it as a provocation."
"As an act of war!"
Orm lowered his voice, "This is a war, Your Majesty."
He then turned and walked back.
His loud voice echoed across the sea, "Warriors of Atlantis, you heard it yourselves."
"The proud Amazons refuse to admit what they have done."
"In that case, there is no other choice."
"The Mother Box we have guarded for generations has now been stolen."
"Since the enemy claims the Amazons provided the coordinates, then the Amazons must give us an explanation."
"The guards of the Doomsday Outpost cannot die for nothing."
"Their blood cannot be spilled for nothing."
"The dignity of Atlantean warriors cannot be trampled upon either!"
"I hereby declare!"
Orm turned around and pointed his silver trident toward the beach.
"Attack!"
The sea erupted.
Inside the Atlantean flagship, Mera's beautiful face was filled with anger.
"That bastard. Warriors kept disappearing from the outpost one after another. I sent requests for support, and he ignored every one of them."
"Now he's using the deaths of the outpost warriors as an excuse!"
"He's not fit to be King of Atlantis!"
The gray-haired Vulko did not respond.
The old man only tightened his grip on his trident and furrowed his brow.
Inside the command hall, the flagship commander shouted,
"Activate all weapon platforms! Activate the main cannon! Full fire coverage! Deploy the water shield! Flagship entering full combat status!"
A loud hum filled the air.
On Atlantis's advanced warship, one turret after another rose from the hull.
They pointed toward the beach and began charging energy.
On the beach, Hippolyta drew her sword and shouted, "Daughters of Themyscira, are you afraid?"
"We fear nothing!", the Amazon warriors shouted back.
"Then let us drive out the enemy and protect our home."
"Charge!"
Hippolyta swept her sword forward.
The Amazon battle lines surged across the beach like wave after wave, charging toward the Atlantean forces landing ashore.
At that moment, the Atlantean flagship unleashed fire from countless weapon platforms.
Streams of light streaked across the sky and struck the Amazon formations first.
At once, Amazons and horses were blasted into the air.
Yet these women warriors were fearless.
Even when sisters and their mounts ahead of them were blown to pieces, those behind continued charging forward with all their strength.
Then groups of archers drew their bows and continuously fired powerful arrows into the sky.
After several volleys, a rain of arrows filled the air and descended upon the Atlanteans.
The Atlantean soldiers riding sharks wore white armor.
The seawater contained within the armor allowed these non-noble soldiers to function on land.
Facing the arrow storm, they all raised their left hands and released shields of water.
When the arrows struck the shields, the constantly flowing currents deflected them.
The force of the arrows could not land properly, greatly reducing their power.
As for the arrows that reached the flagship, they were bounced away by a massive water barrier and failed to penetrate its defenses.
Orm tightened his grip on the trident and smiled.
"Amazons, in ancient times, you may indeed have been powerful."
"You may have been a brave army."
"But times have changed."
"And you, who still cling to the past, are the reason for today's defeat."
Rumble!
Even inside the palace, Diana could hear the distant cannon fire and explosions.
She walked to the window and looked at the fierce battle on the beach.
She watched her people being overwhelmed and disappearing under the Atlanteans' intense bombardment.
Diana bit her lip and glanced back at the Mother Box behind her.
She wanted nothing more than to rush to the battlefield immediately.
But she feared that if she left, the Mother Box would be taken.
Just then, a humming sound rang out.
The air shook, sending out a wave.
Diana quickly raised an arm to shield herself from being blown away.
Then she saw a silver-white passage descend from the sky and land near the Mother Box.
A Boom Tube!
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