Qing Chen stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the five-hundred-zhang Giant Whale Treasure Ship.
His dark teal military service uniform snapped in the fierce winds between the mountains.
He looked down at the thirty-thousand-strong army assembling and surging below like a torrent of steel.
Wei Ting's edict lashed the entire Miao-Conquest Army into efficient operation like a military whip.
"Relay my orders."
Qing Chen's voice was not loud, but it cut clearly through the wind, reaching Xu Jiuling, Gao Yuliang, and the personal guards serving as messengers who stood in attendance behind him.
"The eleven Giant Whale Treasure Ships will deploy in the Arrowhead Sky-Piercing Formation. My flagship will form the tip, with five ships on either side, staggered in successive ranks. Maintain intervals of three li."
"Orders: each of the fifty Whale Army troop transports will carry one Squad of a hundred soldiers and advance tens of thousands of li ahead of the main fleet.
"Divide into ten teams of five ships each, spreading out in a fan to cover tens of thousands of li of airspace ahead and on both flanks.
"Scan in rotation, extending your Divine Sense to its maximum range. Survey the terrain, spiritual energy currents, and any potential restrictions or ambushes.
"Report any anomaly immediately through the Mother-and-Child Linked Mirrors. No errors!"
"All Treasure Ships and troop transports will keep their Concealment Runes fully activated and run the Disordered Spirit Ripple Formation at low intensity.
"Outside combat, there is no need to activate the formations to their fullest extent. Conserve Spirit Sources."
"Yes, sir!" The orders were swiftly converted into luminous talisman commands that shot toward every part of the fleet.
Soon, the enormous fleet began changing formation.
Qing Chen's five-hundred-zhang flagship adjusted its heading slightly, the savage ram at