mtl008 Chapter 4376 The Justice League Assembles (24)
Chapter 4376 The Justice League Assembles (24)
Chapter 4376 Justice League: Assemble (Twenty-Four)
Diana slept for a while before finally waking up. She complained a bit: Bruce's drugs were a bit too strong; they even managed to knock out someone like her, a demigod. She really didn't know when she would need such painkillers.
After she came to her senses, she carefully recalled what Bruce had told her, and then couldn't help but slap her forehead—she had really made a fool of herself, and in the end she was just saying whatever came to mind in her dream, completely illogical. No wonder Bruce told her to go to sleep first.
Diana's absurd performance in reasoning made her a little embarrassed to approach Bruce again. So she went to see her mother. The Queen was looking at a nautical chart and looked at Diana's shoulder with some concern when she saw her. Diana said, "I'm alright, Mother. I just spoke to a friend on the phone, and he said that Orm's eagerness to attack the Amazons isn't entirely because we have Cold Iron."
The mother and daughter sat down. Diana, holding a glass of juice, sipped it and said, "His sudden change of strategy is probably because he learned of the competitors' actions. But the strange thing is, how exactly did he find out about the competitors' plans?"
The Queen seemed to have some suspicions, but she wasn't sure. She only said, "There's probably more to this than meets the eye. The most important thing is to defeat this madman and protect the Amazon."
Diana moved her shoulder, checked that the wound had stopped bleeding and wasn't hurting much, and said, "I'll go protect the flight path first."
The Queen nodded, and Diana set off. She quickly flew to the wrecked cargo ship; the entire ocean liner had sunk. Diana closed her eyes in anguish.
But she quickly located the sea monsters. This time, she didn't go into the water; instead, she flew in the air, observing their movements. Soon, a cargo ship approached, and the sea monsters below indeed moved. They tried to attack the cargo ship from the bottom, but Diana flew directly to the side of the ship, took a deep breath, and slowly lifted it up.
Although this would cause the sailors inside to fall, the slow tilting speed would give them time to react, and even if they were injured, it would be better than being eaten by a sea monster.
She carried a cargo ship all the way to the port. But when she returned, two more cargo ships had been attacked.
Unfortunately, there was another cargo ship full of Amazon warriors. They were quite formidable fighters, but these sea monsters would sink the cargo ship first, leaving the warriors with nowhere to land and forcing them to fight them in the sea.
The Amazon warriors, though valiant, were not a marine race and had to surface for air after a short time; otherwise, they would suffocate. Diana, disregarding her own injuries, darted in and out of the water seven times, but still watched helplessly as one of her sisters was pierced through the abdomen by the sea monster's sharp tail spike.
She rushed over and pulled the other woman out of the water. Then another woman was sunk. She first brought the injured one to the surface to breathe, and then went to retrieve the one who had been knocked down.
However, during this time, more people were wounded, and once wounded, it was very difficult to float to the surface. Some struggled to sink and were dragged down. Diana was shocked and furious, swimming back and forth in the water desperately, but she still couldn't stop people from sacrificing themselves.
With a whoosh, she flew out of the water. Looking at the blood-red seawater, Diana clenched her fists tightly: "Atlantis!!!"
She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down: this matter wasn't so simple. However, the casualties of war reminded her of her experiences rescuing people in the trenches back then.
Why? Why start a war? Why cause unnecessary casualties? Why go to such lengths to destroy others?
She once thought humans were too belligerent, or too young. But now, the struggle between the ancient races has shown her the truth of war. Killing others requires no special reason; the essence of intelligent life is bloodthirsty and brutal; the essence of civilization is mutual harm and killing.
Diana took a deep breath and plunged back into the water. A silent roar erupted from beneath the surface, her divine power surging forth and blasting away all the sea monsters. She created a raging whirlpool, bringing the wounded and the dead to the surface, then carrying them ashore.
-
Arthur and Mera quickly found the Forgotten Land where the golden trident was located. However, a huge sea monster guarded it. It took them a great deal of effort to finally subdue the sea monster.
Arthur walked toward the throne before him. He could already see the golden trident, which radiated an immense power that seemed to cause the entire ocean to boil.
As he reached out to take the trident, he thought deeply. He understood that once he reclaimed the weapon, it wouldn't be as simple as just defeating Orm. He would become the new king of Atlantis, responsible for all sea creatures—a lifelong mission.
He had expected Mera to urge him on, but soon he heard footsteps behind him. Mera stood behind him and said, “This isn’t just about the sea creatures, Arthur. For years, human industrial development has led to the creation of marine debris that threatens the sea creatures’ habitat. The conflict has escalated to the point of near irreconcilability; otherwise, Orm wouldn’t have the idea of conquering the continent.”
"If the sea creatures resort to the most violent means to resolve the problems between humans and sea creatures, this war will inevitably be protracted and result in countless deaths and injuries. Humans are vulnerable in the face of the sea creatures, but the sea creatures may not be able to withstand human firepower either, and in the end, both sides will only suffer heavy losses. Your father and your father's friends may be harmed in this war. Even for their sake, you have no choice but to shoulder this responsibility, otherwise you will definitely regret it."
Arthur took a deep breath, the image of the man who had lost half his body flashing through his mind. Fishermen's lives were already difficult enough; they had to contend with the weather, the sea, risk their lives, and might still end up with nothing. If they were to be attacked by sea creatures, they simply wouldn't survive.
He grew up in human society and was deeply attached to Mercy Harbor, the place that had raised him. Even for the sake of the neighbors who had helped him and his father, he had no choice but to stand up.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mera said, "You are not alone, Arthur. I will stand with you."
The moment Arthur grasped the golden trident, the entire ocean of the Earth trembled. The same signal echoed through the seven seas, a powerful force reminiscent of the might of Atlantis at its peak, proclaiming the arrival of the Sea King.
Om also felt this power. His initial gloom turned to fear. Then, brandishing his weapon, he roared, "Attack!! Attack!!!"
However, accompanied by a golden light that struck the sea like lightning, the strong Arthur appeared behind him, punched him away, then retrieved the trident he had thrown, floated above Orm, looked at him and said, "You are not worthy to be the king of Atlantis."
Orm jumped to his feet. He yelled at Arthur, "You bastard, you damned bastard!!!"
“I’m not here to discuss this with you,” Arthur said. “Do you know that your invasion of the continent could destroy both humanity and the sea creatures?”
“We can’t coexist!” Om said, his neck stiff. “Those humans are dumping garbage into the ocean without restraint. Fish are dying, corals are dying, even sea monsters are being poisoned by them. How can we survive if we don’t eliminate them?!”
"Then let me ask you: What are the main types of waste that humans discharge into the ocean? From which countries and which companies do they come? How have the discharge figures changed over the years? Which organization in human society is responsible for monitoring and improving the problem of ocean discharges?"
Om opened his mouth, then said somewhat angrily, "You shouldn't be asking me that, you should be asking humans!"
"If asking them would be helpful, they wouldn't have to queue!"
Orm was somewhat bewildered. He didn't know whether Arthur was agreeing with him or insulting him, so he could only say, "Why should I care about that? They're all human!"
"So that's how it is. So, today, the only ones invading the Amazon are these sea creatures. What about the rest? Why didn't you bring them along?"
"Those damned idiots just don't understand! They have no idea how critical the situation is right now!"
"So you expect every human to realize that?" Arthur swam to the other side of Orm and said, "You're not really stupid enough to think that humans are different from Atlantis, united like a sheet of iron, dumping garbage into the sea, are you?"
"How many people were there in Atlantis? There are 60 billion humans on Earth. The differences between each country, each race, and each region are probably greater than the differences between humans and Atlanteans. You don't even understand the basics of human society, yet you want to solve problems with the simplest violent means. Is your cerebellum connected to your rectum?"
“I don’t understand!” Om roared again. “America is the most powerful country. If I defeat America, none of them will dare to fight me!”
Arthur snorted again and said, "I can tell you clearly that if you don't attack the United States, the two parties in the United States may completely split within the next month, or even break out into a hot war. But if you attack now, all Americans will unite at lightning speed and become a country that is more powerful than you can imagine, and kick you back into the sea."
Orm was stunned again. He felt that Arthur was talking in his sleep. He felt that he couldn't argue with Arthur, so he simply gave up on communication, raised his weapon, and charged forward.
Arthur, unfazed, wielded his trident and engaged him in a fierce battle. The immense power of the golden trident allowed him to unleash terrifying ocean currents and storms. Countless bubbles swirled around Orm, and he felt as if the entire ocean was against him.
"Impossible! Impossible!!!!" Orm roared in despair, "How could you possibly defeat me!!!"
Arthur charged again, swinging his trident at him. Orm tried to run, but the water caught his feet. He closed his eyes in despair. But the next second, the trident grazed his ear and pierced the sand.
Om shuddered in fright. Arthur, half-kneeling on top of him, stared coldly at him and said, "Tell me why you suddenly attacked the Amazon. Otherwise, next time this thing will be stuck in your head."
Om swallowed hard, still wanting to act tough. But seeing Arthur's cold eyes, he could only say, "I went to see the turtle elder, and he told me that the raw materials for the golden trident are in the Amazon. I figured I couldn't find them anyway, so I might as well forge one myself."
Why did you even think of getting the trident?
"Of course it's because you want to take it! If I don't take it, I won't be able to beat you, will I?"
"But how did you know I was going to take it?" Arthur asked him, this was what puzzled him most. He had never met him before, and Mera couldn't possibly have betrayed him. So how did Orm know about his actions?
“I… of course I have my own channels…” The trident beside him stirred, and Om squeezed his eyes shut as he said, “…The U.S. Coast Guard! I have people in there whom I’ve bribed. They overheard your conversation with that Sky Eye group…”
Arthur took a deep breath. He punched Orm in the chest and yelled, "How could you be so fucking stupid!"
Om was puzzled again. Shouldn't it be considered clever of him to have overheard their conversation?
"They let you hear on purpose!" Arthur said helplessly, closing his eyes. "This is a common trick used by the National Security Agency. They create a so-called information leak case to incite war using a mix of true and false intelligence! You damned idiot!"
Even as he said this, he stood up and coldly said to Mera beside him, "He may be a bit stupid, but the person responsible for this war is someone else. Take him away and lock him up first, then we'll settle accounts with the real culprit!"
It takes Americans to understand America.