Prologue

Two thousand years ago the earth was overrun by aliens. Not those photosynthesizing Antenates from outer space, those fellows have always remained strong allies of the human race. These aliens came from the deep ocean. They were a powerful race with bodies so much stronger than that of any human. They had the strength to jump from mountain to mountain with a single leap, tear apart the strongest steel and remain unscratched by even the shrapnel from our most terrifying weapons. It was simply their biology, as they had to resist far greater pressure on the ocean floor. The only advantage we held was…

"Sunlight. The merfolk had evolved in an environment that had no radiation, thus they would rapidly develop cancer the moment they left the depth of the ocean. If it hadn't been for Yellow Springs National Park in the United States erupting and covering half the earth in a massive cloud that wouldn't dissipate, the merfolk would never have been able to step foot on land," Niv answered teacher Xu's question in history class.

"Good answer Niv, but that's not one hundred percent correct. In actuality, the eruption of Yellowstone would not have been enough to cover half the earth, it was the fact that an asteroid crashed into the earth nearby which significantly contributed to the ash cloud. Additionally, the reason the merfolk were able to come to the surface in the first place was due to Laboratory Two which developed a decompressor that was able to extract oxygen gas from the dissolved oxygen in the ocean. The merfolk dug a channel through the continental plate into Lab Two's basement and stole this technology, which they were then able to use to create their sulfur condensors, which are precisely these metal plates covering their gills. It extracts sulfur from the air that was released by the ash cloud allowing them to perform chemosynthesis and thus live on the territory covered by the ash cloud." Teacher Xu explained.

"Teacher Xu," another student raised her hand.

"Yes miss Xiao?" Teacher Xu asked.

"Why was Lab Two trying to create a condensor to breathe under water in the first place? I thought humanity was focusing on developing the colonies on Mars and the moons of Jupiter?"

"Yes, the human race was indeed trying to expand outward, however no nation was willing to give up our home planet. That is why the nation of Japan had invested in creating underwater cities. For them, it was crucial to be able to access the resources of the sea so they could further develop as a nation. Despite having made contact with the merfolk after the ash cloud came about, we severely underestimated their ability to learn. No one anticipated that they would be able to skip the industrial age and the age of computers to elevate their race straight into the nuclear age. They learned all about our technology as well as our methods in less than a year, but kept their knowledge a secret from us. We were completely caught off guard when they began their invasion over runing both North and South America as well as the Northern half of Russia and portions of Northern Europe. All of the most advanced nations like the U.S., Russia, Great Britain, France, etc… were completely run over. In less than a decade they took control of all land under the Ash cloud." Teacher Xu explained.

Hearing Teacher Xu go this in depth a new perspective on the history of the world was opened to the students in the class.

This was Silvercross Academy, one of the 100 most prestigious high schools of the Eurasian Cross-Continental League. Located in the city of Silvercross deep in the heart of the Himalayan mountains between India and China. In the present day the entire Himalayan range and the surrounding 500 miles from both sides made up the Kingdom of Leaf and Frost, mostly referred to as KLF by humanity. Yes, a kingdom, not a republic. This nation had a public relations department, formally referred to as the National Council which governed all non military aspects of the nation. The current reigning King, dealt with the nasty military stuff.

Silently observing the birds outside the window, Xu Lei sat bored out of his mind while Teacher Xu continued to teach the class. He was exceptionally familiar with all of this information.

Ding ding!

The bell for lunch rang interrupting everyone's thoughts and Teacher Xu's lecture.

"Why is education controlled by a silly thing like a bell," Teacher Xu sighed.

Hearing his exasperation some of the female students giggled. Teacher Xu was the undisputed favorite teacher at Silvercross Academy. Not only was he exceedingly handsome with a well built body, he taught an interesting subject in a relaxed manner. Even the homework he assigned was hardly challenging for the students as he always taught the material in class before giving out assignments. This no pressure learning system did not have the expected effect of lowering education standards, rather he left the class on a cliffhanger after every lecture so they went home to learn more on their own, in the words of Xu Lei, "This old fool's class is a Korean Drama, don't start it or you won't ever be able to stop."

"Elder brother, it is quite rare for you to actually visit this humble abode of mine," Teacher Xu said after the rest of the class disappeared.

"Cut the crap you old fool. Your fangirls may not know your real age but I do. Don't force me to expose the truth," Xu Lei grinned.

"Ha ha," Teacher Xu let out a dry laugh, "In that case, what can this old timer do for you my dear 2361 year old virgin elder brother".

"Ahem," Xu Lei cleared his throat, "If you really want to do something for me how about retaking the London base next week?"

"Oh, I thought a certain someone had left all their shits to give at home, how is it that this certain someone wants to make a move on the merfolk now?" Teacher Xu's eyes narrowed.

"Because… that ultra-nuisance's grandson has arrived in the academy. My wife gave me a CLC for the upcoming wednesday," Xu Lei said as a golden light flashed in his crimson pupils.