A New Opponent

After ending his call with his master, Qin Huaiming, Yang Wenqing immediately sat down at the main terminal in the flagship's Command Center and called up all the intelligence on their next target.

A water-screen map unfolded before him, displaying the island base's outline and detailed data on the surrounding waters.

The island occupied a critical position in the Thunderclap Archipelago's central outer defense line. It sat at the junction of two main shipping lanes, with deep water to the north, shallows and reefs to the south, the eastern shore facing Wanxuan's advance, and the western shore connecting to the archipelago's defenses in depth.

The island stretched about twelve li from east to west and measured roughly seven li at its widest point from north to south. It was not large, but its terrain was steep. A low, rocky mountain stood at its center, its ridgeline running along the island's long axis and naturally dividing it into northern and southern halves.

The defenses had three layers. The outermost was a compound runic minefield laid across the shallows and nearshore waters, covering a landing frontage about five li wide. Its trigger nodes used Water Spirit Aura as a conduit. Once they detected the spiritual fluctuations of a vessel or person, they would activate and detonate energy crystals buried on the seabed.

Behind the minefield stood a fire belt of more than thirty Rune Cannon emplacements, arranged in an arc along the island's southern coast. Their fields of fire overlapped with precision. Whichever direction the attackers approached from, they would enter the range of at least three emplacements at once.

The second defensive layer lay halfway up the mountain. Ring-shaped trenches and bunkers had been carved step by step along its contours. Reinforcing runes embedded in the trench walls could withstand sustained