Funeral

The rescue and salvage operation consumed a significant amount of the Temple of Light fleet's time.

The moment the explosion occurred, a large number of battle priests and waiting Sea Eagle Beast on the "Water Nest" were stunned by the terrifying shockwave from the water. Many people and flying beasts fell directly into the icy, churning seawater along with the broken and sinking wreckage.

If the Naga Clan had not issued an early warning of an enemy attack, prompting a large number of people to gather on the relatively open deck to prepare for battle; and if the superhumans on the surrounding warships had not reacted quickly and joined the rescue efforts after the disaster, the resulting number of casualties would have been unimaginable.

Final statistics show that, thanks to the tireless efforts of all parties, more than 80% of the human crew successfully escaped the sunken ship or were rescued in time.

However, the loss of the precious Sea Eagle Beast was extremely heavy. About thirty died on the spot, and an equal number of Sea Eagle Beast suffered severe internal injuries, fractures, or irreversible stress-induced psychological trauma from the shock of the massive explosion, completely losing their ability to fight.

Combined, this valuable air force suffered a loss of more than half, severely weakening it.

On the deck of the fleet flagship "Jade Sea and Tang Valley", Admiral Tai'ao'duo's face was ashen, his knuckles white from gripping the cold battle loss report.

But the aforementioned tragic figures are not the whole story. The Naga Clan, an important ally in this naval battle, also suffered heavy losses—at least eighty elite Naga warriors were killed or went missing in the explosions.

It was nearly noon, but the dim light on the sea did nothing to dispel the oppressive gloom hanging over the fleet. The first phase of the emergency rescue operation had just come to an end, leaving everyone exhausted.

Further out on the relatively calm sea, the Naga Clan are conducting a solemn and sorrowful sea burial ceremony.

Hundreds of the Naga Clan formed a huge circle, silently floating in the dark sea. At the center, the Naga Queen personally led this deep-sea funeral.

The "Scale-Cleansing Rite" has been completed. The tribe's witches collected the life scales of the fallen warriors, whose iridescent colors had faded, and sealed them into "Weeping Pearl Clam" that shimmered with a faint, eerie light.

Then came the "Guiding Sacrifice." They opened their mouths, filled with fine, sharp teeth, and sang in unison a strange melody and a frequency far beyond the limits of human hearing—a song for sending off souls.

The Naga swam and swirled slowly and rhythmically around the bodies of their fallen comrades. Gradually, a small whirlpool formed by their movements appeared at the center. Surrounded by song, the bodies of their fallen kin sank slowly into the eternal, dark abyss below.

****

After the funeral, the Naga Queen, her face as cold as ice, boarded her flagship, the "Jade Sea and Tang Valley."

"What attacked us was a long, cylindrical alchemical self-destruct device?" General Tai'ao'duo asked gravely.

The Naga Queen replied in an icy, chilling tone, with utter brevity. "Yes."

Beside him, the massive Silver Dragon Yin'er, lying prone on the deck, seemed unfazed by the Naga Queen's grim expression. Its voice, deep and rumbling like thunder, said, "If this weapon, with its immense power, were to hit our ship, the outcome would be the same: sinking. General, do you have a solution?"

General Tai'ao'duo, who was mentioned by name, clearly understood the implication in Yin'er's words—if the deadly threat of this new type of underwater weapon could not be resolved, Yin'er would have to consider leading his Silver Dragon Guard to temporarily withdraw from this dangerous sea area.

Such a violent explosion would be extremely devastating even for a powerful Silver Dragon, if it were caught off guard and swept into the core area.

Death may not be an option, but serious injury is inevitable for individuals near the blast point.

Tai'ao'duo was about to explain when the Naga Queen slammed her heavy trident onto the deck with a loud thud! "Continue the attack!" she growled through gritted teeth. "Such a despicable sneak attack will not succeed a second time!"

The devastating losses filled her with boundless hatred. She clearly remembered that shortly after she personally severed the "Fever Suppository No. 2" thruster, two devastating explosions occurred in succession.

The absolute lethal radius of the explosion's shockwave reached a terrifying forty-meter spherical radius! Within this death zone, every Naga Clan perished; not a single one survived!

Even though she was a hundred meters away, she was still shaken so badly that she coughed up blood and felt excruciating pain in her internal organs.

She suppressed her raging anger. "We were simply caught off guard by never having seen anything like it before! They create a tremendous commotion underwater—the noise and bubble trails are extremely clear! If we encounter them again, we are absolutely confident we can intercept and destroy them! Furthermore, our enhanced shock-resistant underwater magical shield significantly weakens their power!"

"These things aren't slow in a straight line, but they're extremely clumsy when turning," added a priest who was on watch on the ship and participated in the attack from the water. "As long as you maintain a safe distance and use precise magic attacks, these large iron cylinders are actually quite vulnerable."

****

Yin'er, who had been keeping his eyes half-closed, suddenly opened his sharp dragon eyes and looked towards the distant sky. "Two little guests have arrived."

Tai'ao'duo looked up, but all he saw was a gray, empty sky.

But from beneath the sea, two agile silver dragons suddenly burst forth! They soared vertically upwards, their massive bodies raising towering columns of water. Water droplets flew backwards from their shimmering scales, exploding into fine mist in the air.

Two Silver Dragon soared into the sky, leaving two clear trails of water mist. Several bursts of magical light erupted in the air, followed by a fierce chase as the figures rapidly disappeared into the distance.

"They are enemy Feather Race scouts," Yin'er stated calmly.

For a short time, the Feather Race might have a slight advantage thanks to their agile and small size. But if the chase continues, these delicate Feather Race will undoubtedly be defeated.

However, not long after, the two Silver Dragon returned to the deck somewhat disheveled.

"It was a male and a female Feather Race; they escaped," one of the Silver Dragon dragons reported, its voice filled with resentment.

"How could this be?" A clear look of surprise flashed in Yin'er's dragon eyes.

The two Silver Dragon began to recount: Shortly after the chase began, the two Feather Race suddenly plummeted to a lower altitude, flying close to the sea surface. They also lowered their altitude to pursue them.

Unexpectedly, a huge cloud of water erupted from the sea without warning, followed by a massive net that unfurled in mid-air, catching both Silver Dragon completely off guard and trapping them inside! By the time they broke free of the net, the two Feather Race had already taken the opportunity to fly far away and escape.