Novel Full Chapter 339: Unexpected Answer
Chapter 339: Unexpected Answer
“So,” Martha said plainly. “Will you fulfill my request… or not?”
The entire colosseum leaned into the silence that followed.
King Julius did not answer immediately.
The weight of the sea, the weight of his word, the weight of his crown all pressed down on him at once.
The spectators’ focus sharpened to a razor’s edge. The vast colosseum, moments ago filled with layered murmurs and restless anticipation, now felt unnaturally still, as if the sea itself had paused to listen. Every gaze was locked onto the center of the arena. No one dared look away. The request Martha had made was not merely bold.. it was outrageous, almost sacrilegious. To ask this of the King of Atlantis, of all beings… it bordered on insanity. And yet, the question lingered in every mind like a held breath: would the king uphold his honor, or would he finally cast it aside?
You want a son like me.. is that truly your request?
King Julius’ voice cut through the silence, deep and steady, carrying the weight of centuries. He looked down at Martha directly, his towering figure casting a long shadow over her smaller frame. His eyes were calm, but there was something immeasurably vast behind them, like an ocean seen from its deepest trench. The majesty he exuded was no longer restrained; it pressed down on the arena, on the spectators, on reality itself. This was the presence of the King of All Seas, not a man, not merely a ruler, but a force born of the ocean’s will.
Martha did not avert her gaze.
Despite the pressure, despite the suffocating authority bearing down on her, she stood straight, her expression unshaken. A faint smile curved her lips.. not mocking, not arrogant, but resolute.
“Yes,” she said clearly. “That is my request.”
A ripple passed through the stands.
“Think once more.”
The king’s voice lowered, the words deliberate, heavy with meaning.
“Is that truly your request?”
As he spoke, he extended one arm outward. The water above the colosseum stirred violently. The sky itself seemed to tremble as the sea responded to its master’s call. From high above, wrapped in spiraling currents of water, a golden trident descended, spinning slowly as if carried by the ocean’s reverence. It pierced through the air without resistance and landed perfectly in King Julius’ grasp.
The moment his fingers closed around it, the atmosphere changed.
He slammed the butt of the trident into the arena floor.
The impact reverberated like a thunderclap beneath the sea. Cracks spread across the white stone beneath his feet, not from force alone, but from the sheer authority imbued in that sacred weapon. The Trident sharp head pointed skyward, gleaming with ancient runes and divine luster, while the king stood immovable, his body now radiating a pressure so immense it felt as though the ocean itself had risen and filled the arena.
The spectators struggled to breathe.
Martha felt it immediately too.
The pressure crashed down on her like an invisible tide, heavy enough to crush bone, to bend will. Her instincts screamed at her to kneel, to retreat, to submit. Even her breath felt thicker, harder to draw in. Yet.. she did not move.
Her feet stayed planted.
Her spine remained straight.
She lifted her chin and met the king’s eyes once more.
“Yes,” she repeated, her voice steady despite the weight bearing down on her. “That is my request.”
For a fleeting moment deep within her thoughts.. she wondered if this was the end. If the king would strike her down here and now, dishonouring his pride? And yet, even that thought did not make her step back.
So this is it, she mused faintly. Perhaps he was never the greatest warrior after all.
But before that thought could settle, before fear or regret could bloom
Something happened.
Something no one had imagined.
The entire colosseum went dead silent.
Sofia and Arthur, watching from the sidelines, froze. Their eyes narrowed in disbelief, shock flashing across their faces. Arthur’s breath caught in his throat. as even sofia’s fingers clenched unconsciously at her side.
Even Razeal.. who had remained not much excited through whole scene and declarations alike felt his eye raise a little filled with clear surprise…
High above, in the VIP chamber, Merisa’s expression shifted too like genuine astonishment flickered across her face.
Because
At the center of the arena
King Julius had.. Slowly lowered himself onto one knee.
The sight clear as greatest blasphemous even.
As King of Atlantis also placed his trident.. the most sacred treasure of the sea flat against the arena floor. Its golden surface gleamed as it rested there, the blade oriented toward Martha’s feet. Julius held the trident firmly at its end, his grip steady, reverent.
Then
He bowed his head.
“What.. what are you doing?!”
Martha staggered half a step back, genuine shock finally breaking through her composure. Her eyes widened, confusion and disbelief colliding as she stared at the kneeling king. Her mind raced, unable to grasp the meaning of this gesture. This was not what she had asked for. This was not what she had expected.
Before she could say anything more..
King Julius lifted his head.
His gaze met hers once again, unwavering, solemn, and absolute.
“I will fulfill your request,” he declared, his voice ringing across the colosseum like a vow etched into the world itself. “With my honor above all else.”
The silence deepened, becoming almost suffocating.
“From this day forward,” Julius continued, “you shall be my mother, and I shall be your son.”
“Because this sea,” the king said, his voice firm, resolute, “has birthed only one true warrior above all.. To be honoured as Greatest Worrior of Sea.”
His grip on the trident tightened.
“No other has been born,” he continued, “and none ever will be.”
The declaration crashed through the colosseum like a tidal wave.
The entire colosseum seemed to forget how to breathe.
Tens of thousands of spectators sat frozen in place, their minds lagging several heartbeats behind what their eyes were witnessing. No cheers rose. No murmurs followed. It was as if the sea itself had swallowed every sound, leaving behind only stunned silence. Faces were pale, eyes wide, mouths slightly parted but no one spoke. No one even dared to move. The scene unfolding before them felt too heavy, too sacred, as though a single careless breath might shatter it.
Martha stood there, unmoving.
Her eyes remained locked onto King Julius, who still knelt before her, the sacred trident laid bare at her feet. For a moment.. one impossibly long moment her mind failed her entirely. She had come prepared for rejection, for ridicule, perhaps even for death. She had steeled herself for everything.
But this
This was something she had never imagined. Not even in her most desperate hopes.
Her pupils trembled as understanding finally seeped in, slow and overwhelming. The meaning of his words, the intent behind his act, struck her with a force far greater than any blade or spell. This was not the fulfillment she had sought. This was not the selfish, shameful wish she had dared to make.
And yet..
As she looked into King Julius’ eyes, she found no mockery there. No pity. No resentment. Only unwavering resolve. Only dignity so absolute it eclipsed everything else.
The greatest warrior…
The thought rose unbidden in her mind, heavy and reverent.
Not because of his strength. Not because of his title. But because he could kneel without losing himself. Because he could lower his head without diminishing his worth. Because even on one knee, he towered over every soul present.
Her lips trembled.
She had come here carrying a request born of desperation, of ambition twisted by longing. She had asked for something indecent, something selfish, something that reduced a man to a means rather than a being. She had been ready to stain his honor if it meant grasping her dream.
And yet the man before her had responded.. not with anger, not with rejection.. but with an answer so pure it shattered her entirely.
Her body shook.
At first it was subtle, a faint tremor running through her shoulders, but it quickly grew stronger, her breath hitching as her chest tightened. Her vision blurred. Heat gathered behind her eyes before she could stop it, and then
Tears.
They welled up suddenly, spilling over without warning, tracing warm paths down her cheeks. She made no attempt to wipe them away. She couldn’t. Her hands felt too heavy, her limbs too weak, as if all the strength she had used to stand defiantly moments ago had finally abandoned her.
This..
This was what it meant to stand before a truly honorable warrior.
Not one who crushed others beneath his power, but one who upheld his word even when it cost him pride, even when it invited misunderstanding, even when the entire world watched.
King Julius did not move or even rise up. He just simply looked at her, his gaze steady, patient, unyielding in its sincerity.
“Do you accept it, Martha Voltan?” he asked again, his voice calm, resonant, carrying clearly through the silent arena. “Or have I misunderstood your request once again?”
The words were not sharp. They were not challenging. They were gentle in a way that cut far deeper than accusation ever could.
Martha’s breath shuddered.
She shook her head, slow at first, then more firmly, tears falling faster now, blurring her vision until the world dissolved into light and shadow. Her throat tightened, choking her words, but she forced them out anyway, because they mattered.. because this moment mattered.
“No,” she whispered hoarsely, her voice breaking. “Not at all.” She said as she fell to her knees.
She fell forward onto both knees before him, the stone cold beneath her skin, her posture no longer proud but utterly bare, stripped of pretense and ambition alike. Her head bowed instinctively, not in shame, but in reverence.
“This.. this would be an honor,” she said, her voice trembling as tears poured freely now, unchecked. “An honor I never deserved to ask for.”
Her shoulders shook as emotion finally overwhelmed her. The strength she had displayed earlier, the composure she had clung to, dissolved completely, leaving behind only raw sincerity. She did not try to hide it. There was no point anymore.
Around them, the colosseum remained silent.
From the side of the arena, Razeal watched the scene unfold, his crimson eyes reflecting the sight before him. For once, his expression was not guarded, not calculating. Genuine surprise flickered across his face, lingering longer than he expected.
He exhaled softly, a quiet breath only he could hear, and shook his head once, slowly.
“…Seems like,” he thought wryly, the corner of his lips twitching faintly, “I’m going to have a very interesting father-in-law atleast.”
—