The Azure Yang Military Office's first target this time was Secret Province. The fleet would launch simultaneous attacks from the east and south.
A separate squadron would proceed north, cutting across to the space between the two provinces. This was both to seal off the northern escape route and to block reinforcements coming from Solitary Province.
For this punitive campaign, the Sharp Strike Army had deployed in full, bringing a total of 5,500 combat flying vessels and more than 11,000 transport flying vessels.
Cao Du committed roughly 2,000 combat flying vessels to the frontal assault, while a similarly sized fleet was arrayed along the northern blockade line. Nearly a thousand more flying vessels were held in reserve.
After setting out, the fleet did not immediately advance. Instead, it formed a formation in the sky whose front was rectangular, though from above, it could be seen as a long arc with a slight bulge at its center.
Once everything was ready, a ray of light first shot out from the main vessel at the center. Then, flashes of light lit up one after another from the various messenger vessels within the formation.
Upon receiving the signals, all the combat flying vessels fell silent. In that brief pause, heaven and earth seemed to return at once to their former stillness.
After roughly ten breaths had passed, the undersides of the hundred-odd vessels at the very front flashed in unison. Across the front of the arcing formation, more than five hundred li wide, a bright bolt of lightning seemed to leap back and forth!
In an instant, spinning spindle-shaped streaks of white jade light shot toward the land ahead. Immediately afterward, the wilderness erupted with blinding flashes and earth-shaking booms.
Above the fleet, Zhang Yu stood in the sky with his hands clasped