The battle ended. Each side treated their wounded. As they counted off—one, two, three, four—both sides' leadership were shocked to discover not a single person had died on their respective sides!
A highly intense war had ended up feeling like child's play...
While personnel were preserved, material losses were astronomical. Even this level of localized warfare could be described as catastrophic losses for both combatants.
Weapons, ammunition, various military equipment—all of it cost money! Especially the giant mech and the two sea beasts, which had beaten each other to near-total defeat.
The giant mech was completely destroyed. Superman had rescued the pilot. Of the two sea beasts, one—the semi-transparent jellyfish-like creature—would be fine despite extensive limb damage due to its unique biology. It could regrow lost parts through feeding.
The other, somewhat nautilus-shaped behemoth, now lay like a small mountain on the shore. Its internal core had been largely replaced by machinery, but the giant mech's blade had run it through from front to back. Massive amounts of purple blood poured from the wound.
All Atlanteans felt their hearts ache. In their culture, sea beasts were something like sacred objects. Of course, most ordinary people didn't know their scientists were mechanizing the beasts.
"Thea, can you heal it?" Having swum back and forth across the Atlantic in short order, Aquaman learned of the sea beast's condition and came to find Thea for a solution. He remembered Thea possessed healing abilities.
Thea eyed the thousand-ton behemoth with some trepidation. Could healing magic even work on this thing? Even Morgan le Fay, an expert healer, probably hadn't seen anything like it.
With an exploratory spirit, she cast two healing spells. The effects were negligible. The creature was simply too massive.
Healing magic that could accelerate human cell growth was like throwing a pebble into the ocean. Even with Thea's divine eyes, she couldn't detect any microscopic changes at the cellular level.
Additionally, having evolved in the deep sea, it was naturally resistant to light attributes. Various powerful healing spells proved ineffective.
Thea could only take out the Dead King's Scepter and use the surrounding seawater for large-scale water-based healing.
This time, the effect was much better. To the naked eye, the three cracks the giant mech had cut into the nautilus's side began to close. The transparent hole through its center slowly healed as well.
How long has this thing been alive? The Flash, equally possessed of scientific curiosity, asked while watching the mountain of flesh.
Thea had no answer. This sea beast had probably survived from the previous era to the present. From that perspective, it truly was more precious than the mech. She put away her initial indifference and became serious.
The Dead King's Scepter could subjugate this sea beast, but its current combat power was completely useless to her. Besides, the thing probably ate a lot. With that gaping maw and three rows of sharp teeth, it wasn't exactly attractive either. Thea ignored the faint plea emanating from the scepter.
As she focused on healing, a distant voice entered her mind. "How did that scepter end up in your hands?"
Initially startled, Thea quickly realized it was Poseidon.
What does this old man want with me? Does he recognize this scepter? Or does he have some connection to the Dead King?
"You mean this scepter? I've had it for years. Why?"
No response came for a long time. Only after five minutes—just as Thea was finishing the healing—did his voice return. "Listen, this doesn't affect my relationship with Olympus. As a private transaction, could you possibly give me the scepter... I won't let you lose out."
Oh! Thea found this intriguing. He was quite eager. The desire to trade was extremely strong—a signal from her divine position.
This scepter was, frankly, dispensable to Thea now. But it presumably held tremendous value for him. If she didn't drive a hard bargain, she'd be unworthy of the title Goddess of Trade and Wealth.
The scepter definitely offered Poseidon massive benefits—that much was certain.
Giving it to him now would produce two possible outcomes: either his power would surge dramatically and he'd honor his promise, adding a powerful ally against Hades; or he'd break his word and turn on the gods instead.
Thea naturally chose the former. She replied to Poseidon that she could consider it, but only after the Underworld campaign.
Both sides needed a platform to build mutual understanding. Thea feared he'd renege; Poseidon equally feared Thea might tamper with the scepter. Deities had too many methods—neither dared claim absolute fearlessness.
Having pleasantly finalized the follow-up arrangements with Poseidon, Thea refocused on reality.
Military forces at all five landing points had ceased fire. Through various parties' efforts, war seemed to have taken a step back. What next? This question stumped not only human leadership but also former Queen Atlanna.
Pretending nothing happened—ignoring it entirely? Impossible.
The battlefield had been riddled with gunfire. Humanity had mobilized over a hundred thousand soldiers. Keeping everyone silent was impossible.
The government needed to answer to the people. Making up lies wouldn't work—they could only selectively tell partial truths.
Then the public would ask: We paid so much in taxes to help upgrade military equipment—did you win?
The military and government would be stumped.
To avoid being pilloried by history, even extracting something as minor as a seashell from the Atlanteans as compensation would be worth fighting for.
The Atlanteans faced the same problem. The former queen's foreign policy had been too passive, as evidenced by this assassination attempt—plenty of high-ranking officials didn't support her. She also needed to show appropriate toughness to win back some supporters.
Queen Atlanna could handle her side's affairs. As for Aquaman, still new to the job, he could only let the queen personally lead negotiations with humanity.
At the negotiation stage, humanity encountered a new problem: who would negotiate?
The President cut his phone line and hid in a bunker, refusing to come out. The Secretary of Defense insisted he was military, and military personnel don't engage in politics—he wouldn't come no matter what.
The remaining smaller South American nations didn't dare compete with the big boss for this spotlight. After various consultations, overt and covert bargaining and compromises, this negotiating task fell to Moira—who'd stepped down as Star City's mayor and was now campaigning full-time.
Everyone was rather helpless, honestly. Moira currently held no public office. To give her a clear identity, they urgently added a supplementary provision to the constitution, essentially completing the formalities.
The subsequent talks were unremarkable—at least in Thea's eyes, just two older women chatting behind closed doors.
Aquaman and Thea introduced each other to their respective mothers. With the younger generation's friendship as a foundation, two politically formidable women continuously tested, compromised, and cooperated, ultimately establishing a series of settlement plans.
The entire negotiation process was quite simple. The only point worth mentioning was the fierce debate over the signing location. Humans believed it should be on land. The Atlantean Council of Elders insisted on the Atlantic.
Humanity naturally refused. On water? Sorry, we can't conduct synchronized swimming while negotiating.
With Hera of Olympus constantly urging her, Thea had no patience for their nonsense. She directly raised an island in the Atlantic.
This seemingly miraculous feat stunned all participants. It appeared Thea was chanting spells, the earth shaking, conjuring an island from nothing. Actually, Poseidon did it. Thea could do it with her own divine power too, but it would be troublesome.
If creating the island required ten times as much of her divine power, Poseidon needed only one. That was the difference between their divine authorities and positions.