Dungeon cleared, rewards obtained!

Amid the chaotic barrage of comments, one red comment stood out.

[How ridiculous. I'd like to see how you make it out of my dungeon alive!]

Only then did the viewers realize that the person who had posted it was none other than Itō Hidetaka, the designer of the Battle of the Imperial Sea dungeon.

Itō Hidetaka was lying on a poolside lounge chair at his luxurious villa, with several young women massaging his legs.

In this world, all resources had to be obtained in exchange for dungeon points.

Designing a highly difficult dungeon was tantamount to being able to extract an endless supply of points from other challengers, ensuring a life free from worries about food and clothing.

Seeing that a reckless fool in his dungeon had chosen to fight rather than flee, and was preparing to attack the cruiser fleet head-on, Itō Hidetaka found it both infuriating and laughable.

"With a single lv0 newbie? Heh."

"Do these people even know what naval warfare is?"

On Azure Star, the Great He people's experience in naval warfare was unquestionably second to none.

To defeat the Great He people's cruisers in a dungeon he had designed was nothing but a fool's dream!

Inside the dungeon.

Lin Ye had led the challenger fleet to within ten nautical miles of the Red Sun Cruiser Fleet.

As the enemy warships drew closer and closer, Lin Ye issued an order over the radio.

"All ships, form a column and open fire on the enemy's Matsushima at once!"

The few lv1 challengers beside him were speechless when they heard his order.

"Are you serious? How can the shells reach them from this far away?"

"Are you kidding? Wouldn't firing now just waste gunpowder? Man, you're going to get us killed!"

Hearing the crew members question him, Lin Ye roared:

"The battle is about to begin. If you don't want the Firmament to erase you, then listen to me!"

"Fire!"

The other challengers had no choice. However unwilling they were, they could only follow his orders.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With those cannon blasts, Lin Ye's war had begun.

Lin Ye had only one reason for ordering his fleet to try firing from outside its range: to seize the initiative.

From the very start of the dungeon, Lin Ye had observed the enemy ships' attack speed and immediately deduced something important:

Itō Hidetaka's understanding of naval warfare was actually child's play.

Or perhaps this world's understanding of naval warfare was generally rather shallow.

In a naval battle of this level, neither side had particularly powerful weapons, so what mattered was speed.

The faster side could set up its formation first.

In naval warfare, formation meant gaining the advantage in the race to engage!

There were many reasons the Beiyang Fleet had lost to the Shorties back then: poor battle readiness, poor discipline, poor command, and so on.

But one of the most crucial reasons was that its ships were too slow, allowing the Shorties to form up and fire first.

But today was different. The fleet under Lin Ye's command was not weak, and if it could fire first and throw the enemy formation into disarray, its chances of winning would be high.

Sure enough, Lin Ye's opening salvo threw the Red Sun Cruiser Fleet's formation into chaos.

That single step's difference meant a missed opportunity in battle. From then on, Lin Ye kept them pinned down.

Now that he had seized the initiative, Lin Ye naturally wasn't about to let it slip away!

He immediately ordered every ship to unleash all its firepower.

They aimed their guns at the Matsushima.

Amid chaotic cannon fire and streaking torpedoes, fireworks burst over the Imperial Sea.

In an instant, the surface of the Imperial Sea was dyed red by the flames of war.

After approximately a quarter of an hour of exchanging fire, the Matsushima's armor had been blasted to pieces.

A shell from the Dragon God struck the middle of the enemy flagship Matsushima.

The Matsushima's steam engine exploded, and raging flames engulfed the warship.

Less than another quarter of an hour later, the Matsushima sank all the way to the seabed.

At the same time, a screen of light appeared before Lin Ye and the other challengers:

[Dungeon notice: The Matsushima has been sunk. Dungeon mission complete!]

[Mission 2 complete. Each challenger receives 30 points.]

[Congratulations to all challengers on the first clear of this dungeon. Your heroic deeds will be forever remembered by the Firmament!]

[All surviving challengers will receive an additional 30 points. Fallen challengers will be exempt from this dungeon's failure penalty and will also receive the radar scanning technology from this dungeon!]

[Since the Matsushima has been sunk, the fear-of-death effect has been triggered. All Red Sun cruisers will flee the Imperial Sea at maximum speed!]

Watching the enemy fleet flee in panic, the challengers finally realized that the dungeon really had been cleared.

In an instant, the challengers erupted in cheers.

"We actually won!"

"Oh my god, this is my first time clearing a dungeon. It didn't even feel like much, and we actually won!"

"This difficult-level dungeon didn't seem all that difficult."

Because this was the first clear, there were no penalties for the dungeon, and even the challengers who had unfortunately fallen in the naval battle were exempted.

The most pleasant surprise was that the first-clear reward included radar scanning technology.

That was something no amount of points could buy.

It could be said that every challenger was a winner in this dungeon clear.

The Black guy who had pleaded with Lin Ye to take him along at the start rushed up to him again, grinning and baring his white teeth as he thanked him.

"Lin Ye! My god!"

"Lin Ye, you're a god forever!"

Before long, the dungeon's comments came alive again.

[Oh my god! They cleared it just like that. I'm so jealous I'll put my name to it!]

[I didn't expect this lv0 Lin Ye to actually have some skills. His understanding of warfare is so profound that he might just be the next dungeon-designing genius.]

[Tsk, tsk. His clear was really enlightening. Looks like a rush attack is a very good way to deal with this dungeon.]

[An lv0 led a bunch of lv2 big shots to a clear. Talk about a Bronze carrying Kings. Interesting, interesting.]

[I bet this Lin Ye will be on the Firmament news tomorrow.]

At this very moment.

No one was angrier than Itō Hidetaka, the designer of the Battle of the Imperial Sea.

He leaped out of his lounge chair and smashed the coffee cup in his hand to pieces.

"Damn it!"

"That accursed Xia!"

The dungeon's clear meant he would come away completely empty-handed this time. Not only would he fail to earn any points, but a large number of points would also be deducted!

What infuriated him most was that, thanks to the live broadcast, countless people in this world had witnessed how the dungeon had been cleared.

The first time meant there would be a second! Before long, challengers would figure out the pattern for clearing this dungeon and make a guide.

It wouldn't be long before this battlefield dungeon was completely ruined.

"I was planning to live off this dungeon for a few years, but now it looks like I'll have to design a new one!"

"Lin Ye... sooner or later, I'll have you completely erased in one of my dungeons."

Itō Hidetaka clenched his fists as he spoke through gritted teeth.