"You said you wanted reconciliation between both sides, to open sea routes? We trusted you so much in vain!"
Hearing this, the old sea god Nereus flushed red, hastily weaving soft ocean foam with his hands to parry.
It must be said that Nereus, being a kind-hearted man, still had some sense of shame. Because of his shame, he basically only defended and didn't attack.
A dignified ancient god was actually being suppressed by a newly promoted subordinate god, and he even refused assistance from other gods.
Thus, all remaining pressure fell upon Knossos city.
As noble golden humans, the Atlanteans were in no rush to engage personally.
Instead, they drove their vassals, or giants and heroes subordinate to the ocean system to launch the first wave.
The leader of the cannibal giant tribe from the Homeric epics, Poseidon's son Laestrygonians, swung a massive club, leading his hulking, deformed humanoid monsters in roaring charges.
Poseidon's sons with mortal Iphimedia—the giants Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes, born in Phthiotis (northern Greece) heaved boulders, hurling them at the walls.
King of Libya, Poseidon's son with Gaia, Antaeus, grinned excitedly.
He loved forcing travelers to wrestle him, using losers' skulls to roof his father Poseidon's temple.
Now, he targeted a valiantly fighting divine-blooded guard.
The barbaric king of Eleusis in southern Attica, Poseidon's son with Amphitryon's daughter, Cercyon, raised a giant axe, stepping to frenzied shield-dance rhythms, joining the fray.
His tribesmen and descendants: some rode bulls, blowing short war tunes on double flutes; some wielded Orichalcum weapons, stomping chaotic steps, shouting excitedly for impending slaughter; some rode Migdonian lions, gripping reins; some clutched lions' shaggy manes, clashing in melee with Cretan foes...
From afar, before the proper Atlantean forces even landed, their vassals and Poseidon's bizarre offspring swarmed densely, like an ant colony spotting prey—covering the sea.
Poseidon's progeny were indeed numerous, with even more outrageous lineages.
From regions to specific city-states, aside from vague divine and mortal fathers, Zeus seemed almost normal by comparison.
Poseidon's recorded nymph lovers across versions were simply...
Rough estimate: 40-60 wives/lovers, 100-120 children.
And that was only named ones in myth.
Wild lovers and offspring were innumerable.
As expected of the Sea King.
Yet even so, King Minos and his soldiers remained unflinching.
The old king tilted his head back, downing a gulp of this year's finest wine.
Riding the buzz, he clashed with ferocious-faced giants.
The horned, iron-helmeted bull-bodied Minotaur no longer suppressed its demonic nature, wielding a giant axe in wild swings, rampaging everywhere.
Elite divine-blooded guards and ordinary soldiers fueled by raw courage stood shoulder-to-shoulder, repeatedly repelling barbarians and sea beasts scaling the walls.
Flocks of owls soared from the temple, diving to claw at surrounding seal packs and enemy dolphin mounts...
Between sea and sky, war clouds rolled, battle cries shook heaven as the clash between two civilizations intensified...
Knossos's thin defenses seemed like paper a finger could poke through, teetering several times yet miraculously stabilizing, forcibly driving the advantaged monsters back into the ocean.
As comrades fell one by one, leaving King Minos increasingly isolated, the old man struck the golden scepter against the ground once more, resounding a tragic, unyielding death knell.
"Buzz!"
At that moment, at the edge of the battlefield
Lorne, locked in fierce combat with Nereus, heard the agreed signal. Glancing toward the now sparsely manned walls, his eyes flashed.
As the old sea god waved, he subtly met the blow.
"Bang~!"
With a muffled boom, the "heavily struck" figure slanted into the sea.
Instantly, Nereus froze, bewildered at his own arm.
He seemed to have... held back.
The moment Lorne hit water, he purposefully swam toward the barren island called Santorini nearby.
Pure azure ocean authority shielded him, letting him glide like a fish, reaching the island's base in blinks.
Parting tangled floating seaweed, dense divine patterns deeply etched the rock layers, linking into a massive magic array.
Then, let me personally play this dirge!
Lorne's gaze chilled as he placed his hand on the array's core.
Deep blue ocean divinity surged from his body, fully activating the vast magic array.
In an instant, an azure beam shot skyward, resonating the entire ritual as Core Santorini shook violently.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, with heaven-shaking roar, the long-dormant Santorini volcano erupted and dark-red magma spewed from cracks, instantly flooding the island.
Thick volcanic ash was hurled far by fierce sea winds, one of history's most violent eruptions, ejecting ash and slag veiled vast skies, blocking sunlight.
Island life was buried in thick ash nearly instantly.
Shockwaves spread to nearby shores, Crete, which was the closest, bore the brunt.
Atlantean vassals just landing staggered unsteadily.
At the same time, muffled seabed rumbles sounded.
A massive tsunami triggered by the eruption rapidly advanced, waves a hundred meters high.
Surging fury infused with pure ocean divinity rolled south.
Upon hitting Crete, it demolished coastal cities and villages, surging irresistibly toward Knossos.
"Whoosh!"
Under this divine-natural catastrophe's overwhelming might, vanguard barbarians were swallowed by giant waves.
Even unbreakable Knossos, in Atlantean eyes, collapsed instantly.
All Crete became ocean.
Vanguard Prince Triton stared in shock and gloom.
—He clearly remembered his Father saying that he wanted to take Crete intact...
Yet before he could question, Atlanteans, seeing the obstructing fortress shattered by sea forces, erupted in excited cheers, chanting their lord's divine name.
"Ποσειδῶν!"
"Ποσειδῶν!"
"Ποσειδῶν!"
Their lord commanded storms, raging waves, earthquakes, supremely powerful, exalted, once again leading Atlanteans to victory's glory!
(End of Chapter)