Kevin's actions were already known to Atlantis.
They couldn't not know.
The fact that Kevin, alone with his trident, had easily dealt with the massive tsunami unleashed by the combined power of so many water mages, was something they couldn't help but know.
As soon as they learned this news, they also learned that Kevin had obtained the trident.
After Mera proactively returned to Xebel and told her father, King Nereus, about these things, the matter was no longer a secret among the various kingdoms of the deep sea.
Because of this, the combined forces of the four kingdoms—Atlantis, Xebel, Fishermen, and Salty—were now gathered in the deepest part of the ocean.
Their respective kings led their armies, leaving a large open area awaiting Kevin's arrival.
That open area was to be the battlefield for the upcoming duel between Aquaman Arthur and the trident wielder.
This was a decision made after deliberation among the four kings.
Kevin had obtained the trident, and according to Atlantean tradition, he would be the new Atlantean King, gaining the submission of all underwater races.
King Nereus of Xebel, who respected tradition more, coupled with his daughter's persuasion, temporarily decided not to help Arthur, choosing to wait for the two to decide the new king before discussing anything else.
The other two kingdoms were forced to submit due to Arthur's might, so upon learning of a new king's emergence, they sided with Xebel, preparing to watch the show.
In the blink of an eye, Arthur found himself isolated; no one supported him except for the people of his own kingdom.
This was unavoidable.
Originally, the major underwater races did not approve of attacking the human world.
They had lived in peace for so long, and their bodies had even 'evolved' into aquatic forms; even if they occupied the land, it would be impossible for them to live on land again.
So, rather than attacking the land dwellers and occupying the entire land world, they preferred to live their current lives peacefully.
If it weren't for Arthur, who used his formidable power to force them to take sides, they wouldn't have formed an alliance to obey his commands.
Now, a way to return to their original lives without fighting was before them, and they naturally had to seize it tightly.
This was the reason Arthur ultimately became isolated.
Because of this, his gaze towards Kevin was extremely unfriendly at this moment.
Holding the silver trident forged in imitation of the legendary trident, which was also the symbol of the current Atlantean King, Arthur faced Kevin, who was swimming down from above.
"Who exactly are you?"
He asked the question in a deep voice.
Only those of Atlantean King bloodline could be acknowledged by the Atlantean King and obtain the trident.
But Arthur never remembered having any siblings.
Nor did he remember any ancestors having lost bloodlines living outside.
So where did this guy in front of him come from?
And how did he know about the trident, and how did he gain the Atlantean King's approval to obtain it?
Arthur didn't know any of this, and these unknowns bothered him.
What bothered Arthur even more was Mera, his fiancée, whom he had already designated as queen, but who had run off on her own.
Her eyes were not on Arthur at all at this moment, but on that man of unknown origin.
It was said that she and this guy went to search for the trident together, and she was the first to run back to King Xebel to deliver the news, telling him that the trident already had an heir.
Thinking like this… Arthur felt that what he was wearing on his head was not a crown, but a certain green hat.
Arthur's thoughts flashed quickly, and Kevin had just answered his question:
"I'm just a passing adventurer. I didn't like you, so I decided to take the trident and come challenge you."
"Is it… such a simple reason?"
Arthur only felt it was absurd.
Kevin, however, nodded seriously:
"Yes, the reason is that simple."
Actually, Kevin just wanted to get the trident. As for what would happen to the people of the DC Universe, Kevin wasn't that concerned.
It's just that now the trident was in his hand, and the people on land had been saved by him.
If Kevin were to say things like 'I didn't mean to do this,' it would probably make people feel like Kevin was playing them for fools.
So, Kevin could only brace himself and fight Arthur.
By the way, if I win, they will definitely tie me to the throne, right…
But if I intentionally lose, it would be a bit embarrassing…
As he confronted Arthur, Kevin muttered to himself.
Fighting Arthur, winning was a matter of course.
Arthur's physical fitness was already slightly inferior to Kevin's, and now Kevin had a divine weapon in his hand; he was inferior to Kevin in both weaponry and physical strength.
The only thing he could rely on was his years of combat experience and fighting skills.
But even in this aspect… Kevin had the gap erased due to the 'power transfer' from the trident.
It could be said very seriously that the two sides were not on the same level at all.
Kevin, with his cheat, winning against Arthur was an established fact; the only difference was whether to spare Arthur's life.
Kevin seriously considered whether to kill Arthur.
If it were the genuine Aquaman from the DC Universe, Kevin probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to kill him.
That Aquaman is a true Superhero, one who dared to fight Steppenwolf and saved the world. Given his merits of saving the world, Kevin couldn't possibly truly kill him.
But this Aquaman…
Forget about saving the world; in these past few days, if it weren't for Kevin's appearance, at least nearly 100 million people on land would have died or been injured due to the tsunami.
This was an order issued by Arthur; even if Kevin stopped the tsunami, this fact could not be denied.
But the problem was, once Arthur was really killed, Kevin would truly be forced to ascend the throne.
"Do you want to steal my throne?"
As Kevin pondered, Arthur asked in a low voice.
Kevin shrugged:
"Actually, I'm not interested in your throne. As long as you promise me not to attack the human world in the future and be a good Atlantean King, I'll turn around and leave right now."
"Impossible!"
Arthur said decisively. Kevin asked strangely:
"Do you have such deep hatred for the land? What did the land dwellers do to you?"
"Land dwellers are greedy and ignorant! They already possess the land, yet they still try to conquer the ocean! It's not that I have hatred for land dwellers; it's that land dwellers simply don't deserve to enjoy the world above!"
Arthur said with a booming voice.
His voice was transmitted through the seawater to every soldier present.
In this world, having been raised by the previous Atlantean King since childhood, his disposition was almost identical to his brother, Orm, from the original movie world.
Both harbored hatred for land dwellers and wanted to wage war against them.
This was not about personality, but purely about upbringing.
"The reason they explore the sea is because they don't even know Atlantis exists…"
Kevin tried to defend the people on the surface, but Arthur sneered and said:
"Then what about dumping all sorts of garbage they create into the ocean, conducting strange experiments in the seawater, and even hunting valuable war beasts and mounts in the sea? Even if they knew Atlantis existed, would they stop doing these things?!"
"…"
Unable to refute.
Kevin was completely unable to refute Arthur's words at this moment.
Humans had indeed done many excessive things to the ocean.
Dumping garbage into the ocean, conducting what they believed to be harmless weapon experiments in the deep water.
Poisoning the seawater, dumping various toxic substances into the ocean.
Hunting harmless creatures in the ocean, such as dolphins or whales, just to satisfy their private desires.
Looking at it this way, what humans had done to the ocean was truly too numerous to list.
It was not incomprehensible that Arthur would hate humans so much.
Even members of other kingdoms who were willing to enthrone Arthur and agree to ally with him had similar reasons to some extent.
Kevin had nothing to say about the reasons Arthur gave.
Because he simply couldn't stop humans from doing those things that harmed the ocean; Kevin even had the idea of not stopping Arthur and letting him 'retaliate' against the human world.
Having obtained the trident and no longer being human, Kevin was, in a sense, truly of the same race as Arthur and them.
Not helping his own race, but instead helping those humans, was somewhat unreasonable.
Kevin's hesitation was seen by Arthur.
Seeing Kevin's thoughtful expression, he guessed that there might be a possibility of winning Kevin over to his side.
Arthur no longer hesitated, reaching out to Kevin and saying:
"I don't know who you are, but I know you are a warrior! A warrior of the sea!
"Come, as long as you stand with me, no matter where your trident comes from, you will have the right to wield it forever! And you will become the strongest warrior in the sea, and even… the King of a new kingdom!"
Arthur offered Kevin a recruitment proposal.
Kevin looked at his outstretched hand and sighed softly:
"Sorry, I still want to stand with humanity."
"Why?"
"Because if we follow your idea, many people will die, both humans and Atlanteans. I don't want so many people to die because of my decision."
Kevin gave his reason very seriously.
What humans did to the ocean, and how the ocean would retaliate against humans, had nothing to do with Kevin.
He was a visitor from another world, a tourist not belonging to this world; the relationship between humans and the ocean in this world had nothing to do with him.
So, in that sense, whether he helped the ocean or the land depended entirely on his mood.
But…
Kevin didn't like people dying because of him.
He hated bearing these responsibilities he shouldn't bear. The thought that if he truly didn't intervene, nearly 100 million people would lose their lives, forced Kevin to side with humanity.
Kevin was a coward; he didn't dare to bear that heavy responsibility.
"Is this your decision…?"
Arthur closed his eyes, withdrew the hand he had extended towards Kevin, and gripped the silver trident in his hand tightly.
Kevin also gripped the golden trident tightly, landing in front of Arthur and looking at him across the space.
"Alright, Arthur, everything that needed to be said has been said. If you still want to fight… then let's begin."
"In that case, I accept your challenge, and then I will reclaim the trident from your hand! Warrior acknowledged by the trident, state your name!"
"My name is Kevin, and also, there's one thing you shouldn't misunderstand."
Kevin twirled the trident in his hand, meeting Arthur's gaze.
"In this duel, you are the challenger."
In this confrontation, Kevin said arrogantly.