Military Strength

Just as Sun Chengshan and his master and fellow disciples were discussing the Garrison Commander, the man suddenly looked their way as well, then actually came over with several soldiers.

Sun Chengshan immediately grew solemn and fell silent, cupping his hands. "Greetings, Garrison Commander."

The Garrison Commander still seemed to be in fairly good spirits. Smiling, he said, "No need for that. The Purple Coal Ore you supplied earlier eased Island Town's coal shortage from some time ago and kept it from developing into an even greater problem. Brother Sun, I should be thanking you."

"You are too courteous, Garrison Commander. I was going to sell that ore anyway. Since you needed it, naturally I sold it to you without conditions," Sun Chengshan said politely.

After exchanging a round of courtesies, the two had become acquainted through that ore transaction.

Naturally, the Garrison Commander had investigated Sun Chengshan.

From his victories in the gym challenges when he had first arrived in Island Town, to the Shadowless Fist Gym he had already built into a flourishing enterprise, and now to his mining and handling of the mineral vein.

Every one of these accomplishments showed that Sun Chengshan was a capable man.

When they had met to discuss matters previously, the Garrison Commander had even considered recruiting Sun Chengshan under his command, only to be tactfully turned down.

Compared to working for the Garrison Commander, Sun Chengshan preferred to continue running his own fist gym.

"Garrison Commander, this tide is far from ordinary. We will certainly hold this place, ease your burdens, and protect the safety of Island Town's people."

At the mention of the coming tidal surge, Sun Chengshan immediately became righteousness incarnate, standing with his hands behind his back and presenting a radiant image.

The change made Wang Yu's lips twitch.

Who knew who had been overjoyed earlier at the thought of deep-sea treasure meat, yet now spoke as though he were serving the nation and its people.

"Good. Then I thank you for your efforts," the Garrison Commander said with a smile, not exposing him.

The atmosphere of the conversation remained fairly pleasant.

Wang Yu's attention settled on the massive halberd in the Garrison Commander's hand. Its shaft was nearly as thick as a forearm, and it looked immensely heavy.

Likewise, the suit of armor worn by the Garrison Commander appeared extremely weighty. It was exquisitely crafted, carved with dense cloud patterns, and gave off an air of grim slaughter.

According to Sun Chengshan, this Garrison Commander was a man who had come off the battlefield, his achievements earned through real bloodshed and hard fighting in his early years.

The several personal guards behind him wore the Nanxi Empire's standard military uniforms, dark teal as their main color, with embroidered auspicious-cloud trim.

A delicate, compact character for "Lu" was printed at their collars.

The guards maintained the same stern expressions throughout, weapons in hand as they vigilantly watched their surroundings.

Not to mention the Garrison Commander himself, whose imposing aura ran as deep as a mountain range, even these few guards brought Wang Yu considerable pressure.

For him to feel this way, these guards had to be at least around the Body Tempering Fifth Level—Martial Artists on the same tier as his Master, Sun Chengshan.

Yet such figures merely followed at the Garrison Commander's side as obscure personal soldiers.

Wang Yu could not help feeling a little moved.

By the look of it, he might not even qualify to become one of those personal soldiers yet.

It had to be said that the military's strength was truly formidable. There were likely quite a few soldiers in the army with strength comparable to these guards.

Thinking about it, if the army were not powerful enough, how could it keep the town's civilian Martial Artists in check and protect the safety of all Island Town?

"Garrison Commander, Captain Lu Feng has business to discuss with you." A soldier hurried over from the distance and reported in haste.

The Garrison Commander nodded, immediately ending the conversation and bidding Sun Chengshan farewell before heading back.

The rain falling from above began to intensify, turning the entire beach and shoreline into a mire.

Sand and mud were continuously rolled ashore by the waves, along with some garbage that had been dumped earlier and was now pushed back in.

All at once, a hollow, desolate screech, as though it had risen from an abyss, resounded across the entire coast and entered everyone's ears.

Everyone stopped and looked toward the source of the sound: the dark, hazy sea.

A massive wave rose, and with it, half of an enormous fish-like tail emerged. It then slammed down again, throwing up huge spray before vanishing into the surging waves.

"That was... a sea whale?" Wang Yu exclaimed.

What shocked him was the astonishing size of the half-tail that had surfaced from that sea whale amid the raging wind and rain.

For comparison, that tail alone was as large as a sizable sailing ship.

It was hard to imagine what colossal outline the whale's full body possessed.

Even Sun Chengshan's expression shifted.

"The Poison Sea period only ended not long ago. Anything appearing in the Silver Belt Sea at a time like this is basically no ordinary creature, so there is a strong chance that it is a sea whale that survived in the Poison Sea!"

"You mean..." Song Hezheng's eyes widened. "That sea whale is treasure material too?"

"Heavens, if we killed it, all of us could eat for years."

Wang Yu froze for a moment, then said, "I never would have thought Senior Disciple Brother had such bold ideas. If that sea whale's tail swept over here, it could probably smash all of us to death. I think we should not set our sights on that giant."

He still adhered to the principle of acting within one's capabilities, of caution and steadiness.

No matter how much treasure meat there was, if he did not have an eighty- or ninety-percent chance of success, he would not make a move.

"Uh, I was only saying," Song Hezheng added quietly.

Sun Chengshan nodded. "Xiao Yu is right. That big fellow had better not come ashore, and do not count on it beaching itself for others to slaughter.

"Creatures that can become treasure materials generally evolve unusual traits. If it comes up here, then it must be capable of moving on land. If that is the case, it coming ashore would absolutely be a great disaster!"

At their Master's words, the disciples' faces paled somewhat, and they silently prayed that it would not come up.

On the other side, the Garrison Commander was also staring fixedly at the enormous sea whale, his grip tightening around the halberd shaft.

Only after the Giant Whale had vanished for a long time without surfacing again did he finally relax slightly.

"Just as predicted, under this heat wave, this year's tidal surge is more severe than any in previous years. Even creatures that live in the ten-thousand-meter deep-sea zone have emerged!"

The Garrison Commander's tone was incomparably grave.

"Fortunately, it did not come ashore. It seems it has no interest in this place."

Beside the Garrison Commander, a tall man in armor who held a great iron spear spoke calmly.

He was a Captain under the Garrison Commander, responsible for commanding the local military garrison.

"Mm. But we cannot gamble Island Town's fate on such uncertainty. The tidal surge will last several days, and there is no guarantee that things will not spiral out of control next," the Garrison Commander said heavily, having made his decision.

The Captain glanced at the Garrison Commander and remained silent, asking no further questions.

By afternoon, more and more Martial Artists had gathered outside the town.

Every one of them was soaked through by the rain, but no one left at such a time.

Boom!

The waves crashed against the rocky seawall, producing an ear-splitting roar.

The water had now submerged the entire beach, and more than half of the bluestone road by the harbor was underwater as well.

"It is about time." Experienced local Martial Artists saw the scene and knew that the sea beasts carried ashore wave after wave were about to appear.

Some of the bolder ones had already moved closer to the waterline, hoping to occupy favorable ground from which to intercept the sea beasts.

Sun Chengshan had experienced this three times before. He immediately led his disciples to a slope piled with jagged rocks.

It was not far from the current waterline, elevated above the surroundings and relatively safe.

Even if the water rose again later, it would not reach this place anytime soon.

Moreover, after some weak, small fish were washed ashore by the tidal surge, they would become trapped in the gaps between these rocks.

Though their nutritional value was not particularly high, they still counted as treasure materials rather than ordinary fare. Finding one meant a profit.