When Arthur heard that the person who killed Orm and the Atlantean army was not the Amazons but the Conqueror, he looked stunned.
At that moment, he remembered something Homelander had said, "You should thank me. I took care of a problem for you."
'So that was it.'
'So that's what he meant.'
However, even after learning the reason, Arthur felt no gratitude toward Homelander.
Instead, he felt an unexplained anger, and his expression darkened.
Vulko didn't know all that and said, "Arthur, Atlantis needs a new king."
"No one is more qualified than you to sit on the throne."
"You have to come back with me."
Arthur said firmly, "I'm not interested. Let whoever wants to be king go do it. Just don't come looking for me."
"And don't come bother me again."
He started walking toward the house in the distance.
Vulko looked at Mera and then said, "Don't you want to save your mother, Atlanna?"
Arthur immediately stopped.
He turned around and stared at Vulko's aged face, "What do you mean by that?"
"Teacher, I respect you."
"But I'm not a child anymore. You always used to say that when I was ready, my mother would come back."
"But she still hasn't returned."
"So what are you trying to say now? Are you trying to fool me again?"
Vulko gave a bitter smile, "Arthur, I didn't lie to you."
"Back then, your mother opposed her arranged marriage and secretly came to the surface. She fell in love with your father and gave birth to you."
"Later, Atlantis found your parents. To protect you and your father, she had no choice but to return to Atlantis and have your brother Orm with the king at the time."
"It's not that she didn't love you. Quite the opposite. It was because she loved you that she had to leave."
Mera continued, "But not long after Orm was born, the king learned of your existence and discovered that Atlanna had secretly been with a surface dweller. She was then sent to the Trench Kingdom as a sacrifice."
"But that was Atlanna. Vulko and I both believe she wouldn't die so easily in the Trench Kingdom."
"If a large army were sent, we should be able to find her there and bring her back."
"But there's one condition."
Arthur said in a low voice, "I have to become the King of Atlantis before I have the authority to command an army into the Trench Kingdom."
Vulko spread his hands, "Exactly."
"Arthur, even if you don't think about yourself, think about your mother and your father."
"They truly love each other. Now you have a chance to bring them back together."
"Are you really going to give up that chance?"
Arthur looked back toward the house in the distance.
After a long time, he said, "I'll think about it."
Mera stepped forward and handed Arthur a conch shell.
"Don't think too long. Orm is dead, and the other underwater kingdoms are watching closely."
"If a new king doesn't appear soon, Atlantis may fall apart."
Arthur accepted the conch shell but said nothing.
Vulko reached out and pulled Mera along.
They walked toward the warship.
After giving Arthur one last look, Vulko entered the bridge.
The warship slowly departed.
Soon it submerged beneath the sea and disappeared.
Arthur returned to the house and sat in the living room, drinking in silence.
———
[Gotham City]
Bruce Wayne was testing a new piece of equipment.
Although the struggle over the Mother Boxes had ended several days ago, he couldn't keep himself idle.
Because whenever he had free time, he couldn't stop himself from thinking.
It wasn't really his fault.
After all, all three Mother Boxes had ended up in the Conqueror's hands. No one knew what would happen next.
Even though Victor could no longer sense the Mother Boxes and believed they had likely gone dormant again, Bruce still prepared for the worst as always.
Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and said, "Do you always have to arrive without making a sound?"
"Sorry. It wasn't intentional. Carrying this around makes it difficult for me to appear in public."
Diana walked over and placed one of the Mother Boxes on the table.
Bruce turned around.
When he saw the Mother Box, he paused.
"This is?"
Diana patted the Mother Box.
"This is the one that humanity kept. It's also the one that transformed Victor."
Bruce removed his goggles, "I know. What I mean is, how did you bring it back? The Conqueror didn't object?"
"The Conqueror left," Diana spread her hands, "No one knows where he went, or whether he'll ever come back."
"Before he left, he said we could decide what to do with the Mother Boxes ourselves."
"After discussing it with my mother, we felt the Mother Boxes should still be stored separately. Themyscira doesn't have the strength to protect all three."
"If enemies return again, that would be troublesome."
"So I've already returned one of them to Atlantis."
"As for this one, I think humanity should keep it themselves."
Bruce looked at the Mother Box, "As far as I know, there's nowhere in the world that can safely protect this Mother Box."
"Maybe I should send it into space so they can never come together again."
Diana laughed, "Considering Superman is nowhere to be found, that might not be a bad idea."
Bruce smiled, "Then, are you free tonight? I'll treat you to dinner."
Diana shook her head, "I wish I could stay, but I can't. I have more important responsibilities now."
"You're going back to Themyscira to protect the Mother Box?", Bruce asked.
Diana nodded.
Bruce smiled, "All right then. If you come back, remember to contact me. I think it would be best if we met regularly from now on so we can exchange information."
Diana agreed readily, "I will. I'll come back once a month and visit you."
"Then I won't see you off?"
"Okay."
After speaking, Diana shot into the sky and flew toward the horizon.
Bruce looked at the Mother Box on the table.
He cleared his throat, picked up a radio communicator nearby, and said, "Alfred, do we have a safe at home?"
———
[One Month Later]
Wearing a black suit, Bruce watched a rocket launch into the sky.
The blazing light reflected in his eyes.
After the rocket disappeared into the heavens, a military officer extended his hand.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Wayne. Your support gave the Explorer the resources it needed to launch."
Bruce shook his head and said, "Our cooperation with the Air Force began many years ago. In fact, we've received quite a few benefits from the military ourselves."
"Besides, on this mission to Mars, you've also agreed to carry one of Wayne Enterprises' unmanned probes so we can collect Martian samples. To be honest, we've already gained quite a lot from this arrangement."
Bruce looked toward the rocket that was no longer visible and smiled slightly.
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]