"Chaos! Total chaos!"
Strange Flying Devices rained down like hailstones from the sky, and warships after warships came under attack.
Amid explosive roars, ship planks made of Spirit Wood shattered. Fragments, all manner of equipment, and crewmen were blasted away. Explosions filled the skies; thunder and detonations could no longer be told apart. The central army had fallen into complete disarray. Some damaged, out-of-control ships listed as they crashed into nearby vessels. Terrified crewmen abandoned ship and fled for their lives. After the deafening blasts, the laborers and slaves aboard slid down the slanted decks.
Warships densely filled the gloomy sky. The tower ship housing the Sacred Dynasty's command tent was safe, heavily guarded by numerous warships all around, above, and below.
Old Man Lu, clad in purple robes, had not taken part in the battle as governor. A high-ranking cultivator from an Aristocratic Clan had temporarily assumed the role of commander.
Sensing that something was wrong, the commander rushed out in panic.
He ran to the railing and looked up. Everywhere he looked, ships were exploding and burning. Countless enemies emerged from the black clouds, using some unknown weapon to ambush the Sacred Dynasty's warships!
Explosions erupted everywhere overhead. Masts snapped, sails burned, and a chaotic mess of debris came clattering down. The central army was in complete disorder.
With a boom, a huge burning chunk of ship hull crashed onto the deck.
A warship dozens of zhang long blazed fiercely as it scraped past the side of the command tower ship, trailing billowing black smoke. The remaining formation runes flared with light, yet could not save it from crashing.
"Ah... save me...!"
A laborer slave screamed as he flew past the commander, less than two zhang from the railing.
The Aristocratic Clan-born commander was utterly stunned.
"It's all