Seeing the Aquaman couple still looking dazed, she continued with her analysis. "I don't know if the real mastermind is your dear brother, but for someone to devise such a scheme in this short time shows exceptional strategic planning abilities."
"First, they eliminate your greatest support—your mother. Then they frame me. This is an extremely clever plan. It strips you of the throne while using my identity to transform ordinary people's love for the Queen into hatred toward surface dwellers. Do you understand now?"
After finishing, Thea glanced outside again. Mera's ice wall couldn't hold for long, and moreover, their opponents had already assembled their advance forces. This conspiracy clearly wasn't hatched overnight.
"I don't believe Orm would do something like this. He... he must have been manipulated. It's all those elders scheming!" Aquaman refused to believe his relatively honest brother could commit such an atrocious crime.
Thea could only respond with silence. This was someone else's family affair—she didn't want to meddle.
Originally, she'd only wanted to ask for Poseidon's whereabouts and leave, but now events were spiraling toward escalation. These people actually wanted to launch a surface invasion—had they lost their minds?
War profiteering was lucrative, but Earth needed to preserve every ounce of strength to face future enemies. Not just surface dwellers—the Atlanteans were also part of Earth. Every sacrifice would be an immense loss.
Unfortunately, while she stood compassionately looking at the bigger picture, some people mistook her for a soft target.
"There's that woman! Kill her to avenge the Queen!" Someone in the crowd shouted, the voice belonging to the councilor who'd blocked their path earlier.
Many commoners had been manipulated into coming here. The mastermind understood these people's temperament well—he'd specifically selected those who were usually impulsive.
Watching them wield various spears and clubs, Thea put her hood back on, afraid someone might see the cold smirk at the corner of her mouth. Simultaneously, she gathered her internal magic power. Even if she wouldn't kill them, she should give them an unforgettable lesson.
"Stop, everyone stop!" Arthur brandished his trident, blocking in front of her. Usually, when people saw the trident, they showed some reverence, but today, seeing the Queen lying in a pool of blood, their fury burned hot.
"Arthur, remember you're our king, not some surface dweller."
"Hand over the woman behind you, and we'll still respect you."
"The Elder Council will judge her fairly."
A bunch of people talked over each other chaotically. Mera kept trying to calm Thea, worried she'd go nuclear and massacre everyone.
"Listen to my explanation! Thea isn't the killer. She entered the courtyard together with us. The real killer is..." He hesitated at the end.
The crowd buzzed. Clearly, Aquaman still commanded some authority, and they were trying to give him a chance to explain.
"It's Orm! We saw Orm rush out of the room." Aquaman spoke this truth somewhat painfully, originally expecting the crowd to calm down. Unfortunately, he underestimated Orm's popularity in Atlantis while overestimating the credibility of his own words.
"He's lying!"
"Orm isn't that kind of person!"
"Arthur, you traitor to Atlantis—you dare slander your brother who's always respected you!"
The crowd finally erupted completely. Compared to Arthur, who'd only been here a few years, they trusted Orm more—someone who'd grown up in Atlantis since childhood. One raised on the surface, one raised among them—whom would they believe?
Subjectively trusting and identifying with Orm, their psychology naturally triggered resentment toward Arthur. Perhaps Orm was the most suitable King of Atlantis after all?
This thought instantly surfaced in everyone's minds.
Seeing this scene, Thea was somewhat speechless. Their opponent had grasped Arthur's psychology extremely precisely, entrapping him step by step until he alienated himself from his subjects. As long as he protected Thea, he effectively forfeited the throne. If he didn't protect her, then war against the surface could break out at any moment.
The situation deteriorated sharply. The commoners, already full of rage, now had no more reservations. They grabbed weapons at hand and charged at the three.
Aquaman kept shouting things like "stop and listen to me," but these people all believed they'd found the truth. Their chaotic roars drowned out his defense.
What to do? This pressing question surfaced in all three minds.
Thea had no reservations. She was just about to unleash her power and knock down these misinformed commoners before exposing the real culprit.
Her super-vision caught sight of large numbers of soldiers emerging from barracks outside, beginning to assemble. Their target was this very courtyard.
Atlantis lacked many pharmaceuticals—not due to insufficient technological capability, but because of missing necessary materials. Their technology level was quite high; their military had been fully equipped with energy weapons.
Thea didn't know their troop organization size, but within her field of vision, at least ten thousand soldiers armed with advanced weapons were marching toward this location.
What a waste. She glanced at the still-unconscious former Queen. If she weren't comatose from poisoning, her prestige could easily suppress the rebellion. Now, they could only choose temporary retreat.
"Arthur, their forces are already close. Save your mother first." Thea called out to Aquaman, who was still trying to reason with the commoners. If they didn't leave now, when would they?
Fighting ten thousand people alone while unable to kill anyone would be extremely difficult. What if the Atlanteans had some advanced weapons? That would be awkward.
The Aquaman couple knew she had teleportation abilities. After some deliberation, they could only choose retreat.
The mastermind's true intention was to force them away. The military assembly was more like a signal. Aquaman needed time to save his mother; they equally needed time to organize their forces and deploy to the surface. As long as warfare ignited and hatred took root, even if the Queen reappeared, resolving it wouldn't be easy.
Both sides were racing against time. Now it was a question of whether Thea could save the Queen and return to Atlantis first, or whether their army would land on the surface first.
Mera controlled seawater to scatter the commoners. Thea teleported them directly back to Metropolis, where her laboratory had abundant instruments for detecting toxins.
To accelerate the process, she even called Poison Ivy to help examine the patient together.
Modern technology examined everything, but ultimately couldn't analyze what poison this was. Thea suspected it was some palace secret formula or a toxin refined from substances extinct on Earth.
However, her magic did have remarkable effects. Relying on massive amounts of magical power to flush out the toxins, plus Poison Ivy configuring a plant-based antidote that neutralized part of the poison.
Through their efforts, the Queen finally awakened groggily an hour later.
Her eyes wandered unfocused for a while. She didn't recognize her surroundings, but unlike ordinary Atlanteans, she'd once lived on the surface—that's when she'd met Aquaman's father.
The oxygen content in the air told her this was the surface world. But how had she gotten here?