19,000 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean, in Poseidonis.
This is the capital of the Atlantis Empire and the largest underwater city of the Atlanteans.
The deep underwater was originally pitch black, but they used various bioluminescent marine plants and animals to illuminate it, making the entire city a lighthouse beneath the sea, visible from miles away.
The underwater city of course has its advantages; it cannot be detected, nor disturbed by outsiders. Even if gales rage above the surface, the deep sea remains forever peaceful and serene.
The Atlanteans possess the bloodline of demigods, allowing them to ignore water pressure and live like true deep-sea creatures. In the city, besides the Atlanteans, numerous marine creatures also coexist in harmony with the undersea people.
Schools of colorful fish weave through the city, and the tall corals resemble trees. The stone-made buildings can stand for thousands of years.
At the very center of these buildings stands a magnificent palace, the current Sea King's Palace, where the Sea Queen Arthur resides.
At this moment, in the empty throne room, only she is leaning on the throne all by herself.
She wears a golden scale armor top and green scale armor pants, the most popular color scheme among Atlanteans — gold represents the sky, and green represents the sea.
The Neptune's Trident leaning against the side of the throne symbolizes monarchy; as a weapon, its power is mediocre, with durability as its only advantage. Then there's Poseidon's Trident, the Sea God's Divine Artifact, capable of stirring up monstrous waves and commanding all the world's marine life. Its power is unmatched.
She usually just carries the Neptune's Trident for show, while the Divine Artifact is enshrined in the temple to accumulate divine power.
Sea Queen Arthur is currently lounging on her throne, resting her head on one arm, her mind wandering. Small fish swim past her, flicking her hair with their tails, but she remains oblivious.
Her golden, short hair gently floats in the water, always radiating a beautiful glow in shallow, sunlit areas.
However, this hair color was the main reason for her early opposition from the people, as blonde hair represents human beings. Humanity's overexploitation and excessive use of the oceans, their exterminating fishing of marine life, had long infuriated them, their anger accumulated over centuries.
Though she secured her position with the might of Poseidon's Trident and her iron rule, that alone wasn't enough.
The Atlanteans feast on smaller fish as they lack thinking and consciousness, serving as food for the undersea people. But as the Sea Queen, to show she is the sovereign over all ocean creatures, she refrained from eating small fish, living on seaweed and terrestrial-imported animals instead.
The Atlanteans believe smaller fish can be consumed, but large marine creatures are their friends, with whom they can communicate and play. Many grew up as children accompanied by dolphins and whales.
The companions that stayed with them, with one careless move, ended up on the Earth Surface People's plate...
This is truly a deep-seated vendetta.
Regardless, even small fish shouldn't end up in Earth Surface People's hands; marine life can eat Earth Surface People, but Earth Surface People can't eat marine life. Even though Earth Surface People are an intelligent species like the undersea people, we tend to support kin over logic.
Besides, Earth Surface People constantly release sewage into the sea, dump garbage, or even conduct nuclear tests on islands, greatly affecting their living environment, as if they were defecating on the Atlanteans' heads.
It is not only a matter of interest but also a personal insult.
In this world, the Sea Queen is entirely on the side of the undersea people. After her father's death, she had no goodwill left towards the Earth Surface People.
What she's pondering now is how to eliminate both the Amazonians and Earth Surface People at once and dominate the world herself. Ordinary people are of little consequence; they should mostly perish in a few tsunamis, but the key lies in the Amazonians currently ruling the world.
The Amazonians also possess divine power, and reaching the sky or diving into the sea is not out of their reach. If she launches an oceanic offensive, it will surely trigger a powerful backlash, with Earth's gravity siding with the enemy as well. After all, water flows downhill, and if they flood the ocean with venom, it would be unstoppable.
The Atlanteans took a different technological path; they don't favor computers or other precision items but lean more towards military equipment.
Such as large vehicles resembling metallic octopuses or fish-shaped tanks that can withstand damage on land. These have proven useful in large and small battles over the past centuries.
But now, the Sea Queen seeks a one-time, permanent solution, tired of skirmishes and drawn-out battles.
The strength of the Atlanteans lies in their robust physiques and the ocean itself; how to use her strengths to destroy all the world's enemies is a strategic question.
They have a purely monarchical autocracy, lacking even an Amazonian-style parliament, so she has no one to discuss military state affairs with, except various fish. Sea mammals are better, but the efficiency of fish brains... let's not mention it.
She feels her thoughts caught in a dead end, her mind filled with floods, floods, and more floods.
That simply will not work.
She aims to become the world's ruler, not perish alongside the enemy.
.....
As she contemplates, she suddenly senses a unique frequency directly entering her mind. It is the language of fish, perceivable only by Atlanteans through brainwaves, fully understandable by her alone.
"Queen, Queen, someone is killing us!"
Still without seeing a shadow of the fish, she 'hears' their thoughts.
These are not ordinary fish, but her beloved group of sharks that patrol outside Ci'en Port as a guard to her old home.
She seizes the trident beside the throne, leaping forward powerfully, the strong current propelling her swiftly through the water. In an instant, she leaves the algae and bioluminescent creature-filled throne room, heading toward Ci'en Port.
She doesn't bring her guard with her; she doesn't want others to see the state of Ci'en Port, which represents her past, the human half of her past. She has confidence in handling any enemy alone; her equipment is excellent, her armor not quite a Divine Artifact but nearly; her strength is immense, battle-hardened, a master of long-handled weapons.
She rarely leaves the ocean for land battles unless absolutely necessary; prolonged absence from water makes her weak — reduced to an ordinary human level.
In her view, those hunting sharks at Ci'en Port are merely fishermen; killing a few ordinary people should be easy. Since she's returning to Ci'en Port anyway, she might as well rest for a while in her old home, and perhaps come up with new strategies to defeat the Amazonians.
The current pushes her rapidly through the blue waves, with countless marine creatures seemingly cheering her on, and she can see the brightness above, a sign of sunrise.
She is the Queen of Atlantis, and marine life is her people. Now, she is going to seek justice for her people!