Zeras quickly crossed the street, moving closer to the poster, and taking a thorough read.
The Atlantis King Battle Competition.
#The former king of Atlantis, Atlas Zean, has died, leaving no successor except his adopted son, Sammodra Zean, who cannot automatically become king due to the second Atlas rule, which states that only the purest of blood among the Atlanteans can become king.
The next king would have to be the one with the purest bloodline, and that is determined only by the most Powerful Atlantean.
Therefore, Sammodra has organized a competition in which the most powerful warriors of the Atlantis Kingdom gather to find the best fighter among them.
And that best fighter will be crowned the new King of Atlantis.#
Zeras looked at the information, his brows furrowed, as he thought it through.
The mission given to him by the Monolith was to defeat the false king and become the true King of Atlantis.
From the poster, it was easy to determine that this false king was Sammodra.
Now he couldn't waltz into the palace and ask to challenge the king unless he wanted to be crucified.
So how would he challenge the king without being perceived as disrespectful?
That was where the competition came in.
With Sammodra himself declaring a competition to determine who would be king, he could fairly pass the trial by defeating Sammodra, making him the automatic King of Atlantis, and therefore passing the trial.
The competition was a golden opportunity and his only way to pass the trial.
But Zeras had some doubts.
If Sammodra himself issued this competition, is he really so powerful that he could call on the best fighters in the whole of Atlantis and defeat them all, managing to keep the throne?
What kind of crazy thinking was that?
One thing was sure about Sammodra.
Either he truly was very confident in his power, or he was just arrogant.
Zeras wished for the latter.
Looking below the poster:
#You can sign up for the competition at the Colosseum.#
A smile appeared on Zera's face as he tore off the signup page and carefully put it in his pockets.
He immediately moved toward the Colosseum at the fastest speed he could manage, but even the young Atlanteans were passing him by, casting him strange looks:
"Why is he so slow?"
Zera's face scrunched up slightly in displeasure.
He had to learn this swimmy thingy, or there was no way he would live long in this place with such slow speed.
-- -- --
In the Atlantean Palace...
A young man of about 20 stood in an empty white space, closing his eyes while a crimson-colored trident was held in his hand.
His golden hair fluttered behind him, his upper body revealed, showing his perfectly built muscles that could rival those of a Greek god.
An incredible beam of destructive light suddenly emanated from a part of the place, piercing towards him with ruinous power.
The young man's eyes remained closed, but the hand holding his trident slowly rose as he spun the trident in his hand, creating circular waves around him.
Horrifying red veins bulged in his arm, glowing with crimson power, and his eyes soon snapped open, sending a crimson glow through the water.
HYAAAAAAAAAH!
Swiftly turning to the sound with a shout, he slammed the trident into the beam of light, causing an apocalyptic explosion to rock this part of space.
BOOOOOOOM!
The water around them was blown away by the explosion, leaving bubbles and ripples that covered the entire place.
It slowly calmed, revealing a man who stood there, trident in hand.
His golden hair wasn't even ruffled from that exchange, while the gigantic machine that had blown out that destructive beam of light had been shattered into pieces.
Not only did he clash with the beam.
He slammed his trident into it with so much force that the beam was repulsed back to the machine and destroyed it.
This...was the power of Sammodra Zean, the false king of Atlantis!
"Your majesty."
A voice called out behind him as the man turned to look at the merman.
"Speak!"
"Four of the five trial testers you placed in the major cities have all been defeated."
"A total of five warriors have gathered to challenge you for the throne."
The merman said, bowing his head respectfully.
"What city is the trial tester still standing in?"
"It's the Ligeris City, my Lord."
"Send a report that the entry for the competition will be closed three days from now."
"As for the battle for the throne, let it begin next week."
Sammodra spoke with such commanding authority that no one dared to oppose him.
"Yes, my lord..."
The merman said as he turned back and left, but sweat droplets rolled down his face, and all his hair stood straight from fear.
"They want to challenge me for the throne.
A challenge? This is nothing but a facade for me to finally fulfill the trident's requirements to be the strongest warrior."
"I'll finally be able to obtain its full power and become the ultimate ruler of Atlantis.
"Like it or not, Atlas!"
"Your Golden Trident will become mine soon."
Sammodra said, a sinister smile quietly lining the corner of his lips.