"Hmm? I didn't expect such a small first-tier empire to have such defensive capabilities. Could this place be a naval base of the Zenit Empire?"
At the heart of the vanguard of the mysterious fleet, atop the heavily guarded flagship's bridge, stood a tall, slender man clad in command armor, his face showing astonishment.
Beside him, a dozen or so generals clad in magical armor also frowned slightly, taken aback by the formidable defensive power of their distant opponent.
Everyone thought that with their powerful attack, the first wave of bombardment would blast the small port in front of them to smithereens. Who knew that the magical aura emanating from the protective shields on the other side would cause these arrogant invaders to feel an uncontrollable unease, as if something terrible was about to happen.
"Reporting to Lord Montoya, this port is called Byzantium Port, a territory of a first-class vassal state of the Zenit Empire, and also the capital of Byzantium. It is not a Zenit naval base."
Among the large group of combat staff officers bustling around maps and piles of documents, a blond, burly man in his thirties quickly answered.
"A vassal state?"
Vanguard Commander Montoya's face showed even greater disbelief. "How is this possible? A mere vassal state can actually Resist a single first-level magic Strafe attack from the vanguard legion of the [ Sea God's Spear ] navy of my great Barcelona Empire? Are you kidding me? Do you think our fourth-level magic cannons are just children's toys?"
"This..." The staff officer closed the door, trembling, unsure how to answer.
They have reviewed a large amount of data, archives, and maps to confirm that the information is accurate, but no one knows why this situation occurred.
"Hmph, issue the order: activate the level-five magic Strafe and bombard the area! Within ten breaths, blast this damned port and those damned warships to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish! I want this little place that dared to resist the might of the Empire to be utterly destroyed, barren, and its blood shed there forever!"
Montoya's slightly narrowed, triangular eyes gleamed with a venomous, vicious light.
"Damn it, Lord Alaba's main fleet will arrive soon. There's no time for us to waste here. If I can't even handle a small vassal state, how can I compete with that old Alves?"
He was very dissatisfied with the current situation.
"Yes!"
Orders were quickly relayed.
Boom boom boom boom--!
The magic cannons on the warships fired a second salvo.
This time, the magical light projectiles were even more terrifying, trailing long tails and moving at speeds that seemed to exceed the speed of sound. Before the shriek could even be heard, the light projectiles had already struck the Byzantium's magical shield.
This momentum was as if it were about to destroy the heavens and the earth.
A dense barrage of magical energy projectiles rained down on the distant Byzantium fleet and port city.
However--
After a moment, everyone fell silent.
"What's going on? Can anyone tell me what's happening?"
Seeing that the enemy fleet and harbor in the distance remained unscathed, and that damned magical shield had easily withstood the bombardment of the level 5 magic cannon, Montoya was irresistibly plunged into confusion and anger.
This kind of setback is simply unforgivable!
It's a disgrace that Moon Class warship of a dignified ninth-level empire, bombarded by fifth-level magic cannons, could not withstand the bombardment of a few hundred small warships that make up a tiny port and a mere few hundred fishing boats.
"This... does it mean the Zenit already knew about the Empire's military operation and were prepared in advance?"
Among the thirty or forty combat staff officers, a staff officer with a large head, who was not of high rank and looked extremely young, suddenly brightened up and whispered something. After he finished speaking, he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, and he was immediately startled. His heart was pounding, and he quickly lowered his head.
"If that's the case..."
Montoya's heart pounded.
If that were the case, the Zenit could easily set a trap here, waiting for them to walk right into it unprepared.
Although the Zenit Empire's naval power was negligible, rumors circulated that they possessed a Demigod- level emperor, making it not difficult for them to destroy a vanguard fleet like theirs.
Montoya hailed from the prestigious Royal La Masia Military Academy of the Barcelona Empire, one of the two behemoth ninth-level empires in the Western Region. He possessed the purest Catalan royal bloodline of Barcelona, making him incomparably noble. He was a highly acclaimed rising star in the military in recent years, regarded as a pillar of the future empire. Although arrogant and conceited, he was not a fool. Once he understood this, the ominous feeling in his heart intensified.
"Quickly, order the army to halt immediately! All warships to activate their protective shields and slowly retreat..."
Before he could finish speaking, a catastrophic change suddenly occurred—
Suddenly, a not-so-powerful beam of Dou Qi aura shot out from the Byzantium warship opposite.
Then, as if a thunderbolt had ignited a fire in the earth, the once calm sponge and azure sky suddenly changed their appearance. Deadly ripples spread out uncontrollably like water ripples, and the entire void, like a calm painting, was suddenly kneaded and wrinkled by an indescribably terrifying force. Everything in the void was completely crushed.
The first few Moon Class warships to charge were the first to bear the brunt of the impact. Under the impact of this invisible and terrifying force, they were like eggs struck by a hammer, quickly cracking apart. Whether it was the wooden hull or the iron ram, whether it was ordinary soldiers or powerful Dou Qi, at this moment, they were as fragile as pieces of dried bread, crumbling bit by bit, turning into white crumbs floating on the sea surface in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
One after another, enormous golden sword energies, each a hundred meters long, carrying unparalleled killing intent, suddenly flashed out from the void.
The sword Zongheng, and wherever it passed, death followed.
In an instant, the area two to five kilometers from the coastline became Hell teeming with deadly Zongheng.
Screams, screams, blood, broken ships, magic, Dou Qi, severed limbs, broken arms, wood chips...
It was a living Hell, a horrific massacre.
All the officers on the flagship watched in disbelief as the four massive Moon Class warships on the right, despite having activated their magical protective shields, shattered like tofu after being grazed by the edge of a wisp of golden sword energy. The shields, powerful enough to withstand a full-force attack from New Moon Class expert, crumbled bit by bit, melting into the vast ocean like sand sculptures battered by the wind.
The sudden and terrifying change stunned everyone on the flagship.
Second update