Bai Qi looked up at Basha above, a sneer playing on his lips. "Still has some brains after all."
Bai Qi had expected Basha to act like other demons, returning to the surface and unleashing her fury without a second thought. It seemed that wasn't the case this time.
The syllables Basha was chanting were an ancient form of sound transmission magic.
Its greatest characteristic was its extreme directional precision. Only the intended recipient could eavesdrop through normal means, and it could transmit across any distance.
As for Basha's recipient, Bai Qi could guess with a high degree of certainty.
Her former kingdom and subjects had betrayed her, joining forces with those on the surface to seal her away mercilessly. However, the sealed Basha hadn't been entirely defenseless.
Seeing her sealing was inevitable, an enraged Basha had unhesitatingly placed a curse upon her subjects.
This curse was terrifying. Those cursed would gradually degenerate, generation after generation. First their bodies, then their minds, until their entire civilization devolved into mindless sea beasts.
Afterward, the high-ranking officials of ancient Atlantis had considered removing the curse, but the curse's caster was their creator, possessing extremely high priority. They had tried numerous methods, all to no avail. As time went on, the curse's effects became increasingly evident.
To prevent the annihilation of their entire empire, Atlantis made a bold decision: sacrifice the few to save the many. Since the curse couldn't be eliminated, it could be transferred. Wouldn't it be easier to transfer it to someone else?
The technology and magic of the Atlantean Empire were quite advanced, yet even so, the empire maintained a strict hierarchical division: royalty, nobility, and commoners.
In terms of strength, royalty had the strongest bodies, followed by the nobility, and lastly, the commoners. This was the moment they were supposed to bear responsibility.
Their powerful bodies could withstand more of the curse, and furthermore, the curse transfer plan had been proposed by the royalty. However, the more power one held, the more they cherished their own life. These royals and nobles certainly wouldn't be willing to sacrifice themselves for others.
Thus, under layers of pressure, the plan's victims, after much deliberation, ended up being the commoners.
The commoners of Atlantis were, naturally, unwilling to accept this outcome.
Normally, you enjoyed your privileged status and endless riches. It was one thing to subsist on meager rations, but given the power disparity, they could endure it.
Moreover, it was these so-called royals and nobles who, along with the surface dwellers, had initially sealed Basha. Now, they, the ordinary folk, were supposed to share the curse with them. That would have been acceptable, as everyone would bear it, and there wouldn't be much imbalance. But now, you wanted to transfer such a terrifying curse to them, the commoners?
These commoners had had enough. They launched a grand revolution against these royals and nobles.
Unfortunately, the outcome was not good. Not only did the commoners suffer heavy losses in this revolution, but they were also forcibly cursed and then driven out of the ancient Atlantean Empire to fend for themselves.
Indeed, the commoners who bore the full brunt of the curse gradually degenerated into the Sea Trench Tribe. As for the remaining royals and nobles, even after transferring the curse, the changes that had already occurred were irreversible. They began to discriminate against each other, and eventually, the ancient Atlantean Empire disintegrated.
And now, Basha's transmission was directed not to anyone else but to those very Sea Trench Tribes.
Sometimes, mindless beasts are more useful than thinking humans.
Although their lack of high intelligence prevented the Sea Trench Tribe from learning and using water magic, through millennia of evolution, they had developed physically stronger bodies than ordinary Atlanteans. Furthermore, due to constant, mindless reproduction, their numbers were vast.
Responding to Basha's summons, the most primal instincts of these mindless beasts were awakened, and they converged on Zevel, one after another, to serve their queen.
After completing the transmission, Basha scanned Zevel below. Seeing that not a single Zevelian remained alive, she decisively broke through the dome and advanced towards her army.
Without Basha, the seawater surged in uncontrollably.
Basha's mission was complete, but Bai Qi's was not.
After Basha departed, Bai Qi promptly used magic to reseal the dome, preventing further influx of seawater.
"Your Majesty, aren't we leaving?"
A Fu didn't quite understand. Zevel, ravaged by Basha, was now a ruin. All its inhabitants had been killed, and all useful knowledge and technological achievements had been packed up. In A Fu's opinion, Zevel had no more value to excavate. Why weren't they leaving?
"No rush. There's still a treasure of immense value here." Su Dan Novel Network
"A treasure of immense value?"
"That's right. Come with me. Oh, and bring that old man along too."
The replication of the Golden Trident was considered the highest secret of Zevel. Apart from the old king and a few high-ranking, trusted ministers, no one else knew about this plan. And only the old king knew the trident's location.
But that was no longer the case. By reviewing the old king's memories, Bai Qi had learned the location of the Golden Trident.
Bai Qi led the way, with A Fu carrying the old king following behind.
The two entered the royal palace, opening one locked door after another, traversing long, secret passages, and arriving at an extremely hidden location. Along the way, there were numerous magical traps. For an ordinary person, it would have been a near-death experience, but for Bai Qi, it was nothing.
As Bai Qi pushed open the final door, all the magical traps ceased their operation.
The door opened, and from the outside, one could see a gleaming golden throne directly ahead. Seated on the throne was a stone statue, bearing a resemblance to the old king. It was likely the old king in his youth. In the statue's hand was the Golden Trident, secretly crafted by Zevel.
Leading to the throne, a row of ten golden stone statues stood on either side, each holding a weapon. These were presumably the final defenses guarding the Golden Trident.
The moment Bai Qi stepped into the room, the eyes of the two rows of guard statues glowed red, and they attacked Bai Qi, the intruder.
Unfortunately, the guard statues were too slow to activate. Before they could even raise their weapons to attack, Bai Qi had already completed his strike.
Under the compression of his psychic power, all ten guard statues turned into a pile of stone dust without exception.
After dealing with the guard statues, Bai Qi walked to the throne and reached out to take the Golden Trident before him.
The moment Bai Qi touched the trident, it crackled and sparked as if electrified.