Humanity was desperate.
Between monsters and the looming threat of the Saiyans, every governnt on Earth wanted to seize any possible source of strength.
That naturally included Atlantis.
"They're already on the verge of extinction," Drex Valen said flatly. "There's barely any value left in saving them."
"And even if we did, there's no guarantee we wouldn't just be rescuing future enemies."
He had already looked into this world's Atlantis.
Apparently, there was no Namor here. At least not yet.
Still, Atlantis possessed dangerous relics.
The Sacred Punidon Trident, symbol of Atlantean royalty.
A weapon capable of controlling the seas themselves.
Storms.
Tidal waves.
Electrical discharges powerful enough to devastate fleets.
On top of that, Atlantis also possessed the Horn of Proteus, an artifact capable of commanding marine life.
Impressive by normal standards.
To Drex, though?
One properly selected S-Class hero could probably wipe the civilization out alone.
He simply wasn't interested.
Civilizations like Atlantis and Wakanda irritated him for the sa reason.
Isolationist kingdoms that stayed hidden during humanity's worst crises, only to suddenly demand solidarity once disaster reached their own doorstep.
"Nick Fury," Drex said calmly, "S.W.O.R.D. exists to protect humanity."
"Atlantis stopped being part of humanity a long ti ago."
"They hid themselves away while the surface dealt with monsters, invasions, and disasters alone."
"Now they're desperate, so suddenly they want cooperation?"
He shook his head.
"The world doesn't work that way."
That was effectively the final decision.
Still, Drex quietly ordered the United States and other major nations to raise naval alert levels.
Not because he feared Atlantis.
Because he didn't trust desperate civilizations.
At the sa ti, he also gave another order.
Push harder.
The Deep Sea Clan received reinforcents.
Drex created even more of them personally and subtly adjusted their instincts and priorities.
Before attacking the surface...
Unify the oceans first.
The logic imdiately made sense to the Deep Sea Clan.
If they invaded the surface while Atlantis still existed, the Atlanteans could attack them from behind.
None of the Deep Sea monsters were stupid enough to ignore that possibility.
"We wipe out Atlantis first!"
"Agreed!"
"The Deep Sea Clan will rule the oceans!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
And just like that, enormous numbers of Deep Sea creatures began converging on Atlantis.
Across the ocean floor, marine life scattered in terror before the advancing horde.
At the center of the world's oceans lay Poseidonia.
The sacred capital of Atlantis.
A city wrapped in ancient grandeur and mythological beauty.
Massive stone pillars rose from the seabed, supporting vast golden dos overhead.
Blue-skinned Atlanteans rode armored seahorses or sleek spindle-shaped underwater craft, their movents creating glowing ribbons of light around the city.
The deep sea here wasn't dark or lifeless.
Bioluminescent algae illuminated the water in shifting colors.
Enormous jellyfish drifted like living lanterns through the abyss.
The entire city looked dreamlike.
A hidden world humanity had never been ant to see.
Beyond the enormous water barrier protecting Poseidonia stood the royal palace itself, surrounded by ard guards and heavily fortified checkpoints.
Powerful high-pressure water cannons lined defensive towers throughout the city.
Any intruder entering the capital should have been annihilated instantly.
Should have.
Now the city was under siege.
The Deep Sea Clan tore through Atlantean defenses with terrifying ferocity.
Atlantis's proud ocean knights looked utterly helpless against them.
High-pressure cannons slamd into Deep Sea warriors hard enough to stagger them back a few steps...
Then the monsters simply kept advancing.
Only a few dozen Deep Sea creatures had nearly pushed Poseidonia to collapse already.
After days of slaughter, the capital's defenders were terrified.
None of them had ever imagined that such horrifying creatures existed within the sa oceans they had ruled for centuries.
Worse still, the Deep Sea Clan clearly didn't consider Atlanteans fellow beings.
They considered them food.
Every ti an Atlantean soldier died, the monsters feasted openly on the corpse.
The psychological damage alone was devastating.
Even when Atlantis's advanced weaponry managed to wound the invaders, the monsters regenerated rapidly and returned to battle almost imdiately.
The Atlanteans attempted multiple counteroffensives.
Every single one failed.
Their entire civilization working together could barely kill a handful of Deep Sea warriors.
Then the scouts saw what waited behind the front lines.
More shadows.
Thousands of them.
Gigantic shapes moving through the darkness of the ocean floor.
That was the mont Atlantean pride finally broke.
And why they had ultimately begged the surface world for help.
"How did the negotiations with the surface go?"
The elderly King of Atlantis looked exhausted.
Days of relentless attacks had visibly aged him.
If reinforcents didn't arrive soon, Poseidonia would fall.
Frontline reports claid even more Deep Sea monsters were approaching.
The enemy numbers had already climbed into the thousands.
The scale alone felt hopeless.
One of the elders hesitated before answering.
"...Your Majesty."
"The surface nations refused our request."
The atmosphere in the chamber instantly froze.
When Atlantis first decided to contact the surface, many elders had assud humanity would eagerly accept the chance to cooperate.
So had even worried about "letting wolves into the house."
In their eyes, the technologically primitive surface nations would naturally covet Atlantean science and resources.
Several elders had secretly planned to use surface humans as expendable cannon fodder against the Deep Sea Clan, weakening both sides simultaneously.
None of them had expected rejection.
They genuinely couldn't understand it.
Why refuse?
The official explanation from the surface only confused them further.
The surface belonged to surface dwellers.
The oceans belonged to Atlantis.
Humanity and Atlanteans no longer considered themselves the sa people.
Therefore, the surface world saw no obligation to intervene.
The old king frowned deeply.
"Was the envoy arrogant?" he asked imdiately.
It sounded plausible.
Many Atlanteans openly believed surface humans should kneel before Atlantis.
Their envoys being condescending would hardly be surprising.
"No, Your Majesty," another elder said bitterly.
"The surface nations claid that since Atlantis chose isolation and refused contact with the surface world for generations... we shouldn't expect help now that we're facing disaster."
The king fell silent.
Then he asked another question.
"I rember the surface has many kingdoms."
"If one ruler refuses... what about the others?"
At last, he realized sothing unsettling.
The surface world was proving far harder to manipulate than Atlantis had expected.
...
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