The Royal Palace of Atlantis.
Mera stood anxiously in the square in front of the palace, lost in thought as she gazed at the empty expanse.
There was no other way.
Just moments ago, Mera had used a mirror formed by water magic to observe the battle in the Fisherman Kingdom from afar. Although she couldn't be on the battlefield fighting alongside the king she loved, she could at least keep track of the situation and prepare for the subsequent course of the war.
However, this kind of water magic was too draining. Normally, it required four mages to cast together to maintain its stability. But now, all the mages in the city had been deployed to the front lines. The only mage left was Queen Mera herself. There was no choice. To receive real-time updates on the Fisherman Kingdom's movements, Mera had to accomplish a task meant for four people by herself.
Fortunately, Mera's magical prowess was exceptionally high, and she managed to complete it. But as time passed, her magic gradually waned, and she was forced to interrupt the spell.
After a short rest, Mera prepared to resume her magic. However, she had underestimated the mana depletion caused by long-distance magic.
Midway through the spell, Mera was forced to stop again due to mana exhaustion. The excessive draining of her internal mana placed a tremendous burden on her body, leaving her swaying and feeling as though she could collapse at any moment.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Just then, Mera's students, Tula and Gar, happened to arrive. Seeing their teacher's condition, Tula quickly stepped forward and supported Mera, who was about to fall.
"Tula, I'm fine. A short rest will do."
Tula and Gar helped Mera to a nearby bench.
But before they could rest for even a minute.
BOOM!
A violent explosion, like thunder, struck their ears, followed by the entire palace shaking intensely for three seconds.
"What's going on!?"
Hearing the explosion, Mera's brow furrowed, and she stood up abruptly. The next moment, her vision went black. Had it not been for Tula's quick reflexes in catching her, the Queen might have fainted then and there.
A few seconds later, Mera, regaining consciousness, had no time to attend to her own condition. She urgently instructed Gar to investigate the situation.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I'll go right away."
Upon receiving the order, Gar dared not delay and rushed to ascertain the cause.
However, the situation no longer required his investigation. After swimming less than three hundred meters in the direction of the explosion, he spotted a Black Manta submarine unleashing full firepower upon the palace. The Atlantean guards defending the palace had also been neutralized by individuals clad in black diving suits.
"Quick! There's another one over there, take him down!"
Gar hadn't expected the enemy to be so perceptive. He had only intended to get closer for a better look and gather some useful intelligence. Now, his intelligence gathering was a failure, and he had been discovered. A barrage of gunfire and artillery was directed at him.
Gar scrambled for cover, a complete mess.
It was no use. Although Gar was an outstanding student from the Atlantean Magic Academy with extensive knowledge of water magic, he lacked practical combat experience. Even his sparring sessions with other students were just that – sparring, with both sides holding back.
But now, it was different. Not only were the enemy numerous, but their objective was clear: to eliminate Gar.
Temporarily stunned, Gar forgot to retaliate with magic, only focusing on dodging, looking utterly pathetic.
Fortunately, Mera, worried, had sent Tula to provide backup, preventing Gar from being riddled with bullets.
Upon their return, Gar reported everything he had seen to Mera. Mera made a decisive move, personally leading her personal guards to confront the enemy while instructing Tula and Gar to find the nearby patrolling troops.
While everyone's attention was focused on the palace, elsewhere, Black Manta, leading a small team, infiltrated the vicinity of the Science and Technology Museum. Facing sparse guards, he gave them no time to react. Wielding the Sea Trident, Black Manta charged forward, delivering several swift strikes that efficiently eliminated all the guards.
Furthermore, due to the Sea Trident's nature, the flesh and blood of the fallen guards were completely absorbed, leaving no bodies to dispose of.
With the palace as a diversion, Black Manta's team easily dispatched the museum guards.
After all, in the eyes of the Atlanteans, the Royal Palace was the symbol of Atlantis, and the Queen's safety was of utmost importance. Compared to that, the security of the Science and Technology Museum became secondary.
Upon entering the museum, Black Manta precisely and swiftly located an inconspicuous seashell ornament. He retrieved a small box, opened it, and placed it on the ornament. Instantly, the entire security system of the museum was paralyzed.
Having accomplished this, Black Manta turned to his subordinates and said, "Alright team, let's get to work. We're pressed for time."
He then addressed the two individuals sent by White Qi and Savage, "I don't care what you two intend to do, but you'd better hurry."
The two sent by White Qi and Savage exchanged glances and, without a word, immediately got to work.
Watching the two men scurry away in a panic, Black Manta scoffed.
"A bunch of greenhorns. Do you really think Atlantean technology is that easy to steal?"
As Black Manta had said, Atlantis, as an oceanic civilization, had a development path vastly different from land-based civilizations. Even the Science and Technology Museum, which integrated land technology, possessed its own unique characteristics.
Take, for instance, the inconspicuous seashell ornament Black Manta had found initially. Outsiders would likely dismiss it as mere decoration, never suspecting it to be a device controlling the security system.
The other instruments in the museum were similar.
Black Manta's knowledge stemmed from years of combat experience with Atlantis. How could two people who had no prior interaction with Atlantis and were only relying on database information compare?
As Black Manta had predicted.
After searching for a while, the two did find what seemed like the main server. However, after much examination, they couldn't locate any external interfaces, not even for secondary servers.
Seeing all this, Black Manta merely smiled without comment. He watched as his team began to cut into the massive alien starfish organism, and the submarine arrived overhead, awaiting orders. The mission would be completed and they would depart soon.
With nothing else to do, Black Manta decided to prepare another gift for White Qi.
While the other two were struggling with the Atlantean equipment, he quietly approached the main console, placed a square-shaped box on it, and skillfully began downloading the data from the host.
The entire operation was fluid and practiced, clearly indicating that this was not Black Manta's first time stealing Atlantean technology.