The Nuclear Submarine's Debut

The bridge crew quickly searched through the ship's registers issued by the command center.

Sure enough, the names of the ships could be found; they were registered under a dwarven merchant guild, with their home port being Black Iron Port.

We are currently traveling from Black Iron Port to Grodno Port in the Cold Mountain Kingdom.

The flight path and location match up.

To avoid any oversights, the correspondent also contacted the dwarfs' maritime management center to further confirm the accuracy of the ship information.

But Feimaina frowned.

She trusted her own judgment more than the air traffic control center's report.

So she simply bypassed the dwarves' "trade alliance" communication mechanism and sent a magical communication to a friend of hers in the Black Iron Port Chamber of Commerce.

"Could you check the departure records of these ships for me?"

The other party responded much faster than I expected.

"No need to check, those ships are still in port and haven't left for sea. I saw them."

There was a moment of silence on the bridge.

A cold smile flickered in Feimaina's eyes.

"Very good," she said slowly, "A deck-fed ship, and an inside man working together!"

She raised her hand.

"Full fleet, deploy attack formation, encircle them!"

The Scourge of Absolution took the lead in turning, and the two flank warships moved forward simultaneously, cutting into the sea like two knives, and in the blink of an eye, they pinned down the fleet.

Blue and white runic cannon fire tore through the night sky, beams of Magic Power energy slamming into the enemy ship's deck and hull, blasting up large amounts of wood chips.

Sparks and broken rope.

The other side clearly hadn't expected to be exposed here, and in their panic, they immediately retaliated.

However, the difference in quantity is simply too great.

This fleet was ultimately not a regular warship; at most, it consisted of a few armed merchant ships and converted speedboats.

Its firepower and armor are far inferior to those of the newly formed Second Fleet.

Not long after the battle began, the outermost clone ship had its gun barrel broken by a single shot, directly blocking the maneuverability of its nearby comrades.

Another ship attempted to take advantage of the chaos to reduce its load and break through the encirclement. Just as it threw the wooden crates in its hold into the sea, it was pierced through the hull by crossfire from two patrol ships.

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes.

Of the five enemy ships, one was sunk on the spot, and another surrendered.

The ship in the center of the fleet suddenly emitted a large patch of blue light at the moment when the encirclement was at its most chaotic.

On the deck, hundreds of High Rank wind-elemental Magic Power crystals lit up simultaneously.

The violent Magic Power flowed through the pre-embedded magic array into the sails and keel, and the entire ship was pushed by an invisible giant hand, forcing it to break through the southern end of the encirclement.

While fleeing, it deliberately cut off its secondary gun and outer cargo pallet, and the abandoned cargo box fell into the sea.

Just to be lighter and faster.

"Chase!"

Feimaina immediately gave the order.

But that ship was clearly well-prepared for escape.

The cyan demonic light enveloped the sails, instantly boosting the ship's speed to levels far exceeding those of ordinary ships, and in the blink of an eye, the distance between them widened.

Until they are completely out of artillery range.

But the battle here is not over yet; the remaining two enemy ships are still struggling.

Naval battles are inherently slow-paced affairs, Feimaina knew very well that she couldn't rush things.

She quickly reported the situation to her superiors, while she focused on eliminating the remaining enemies.

The naval battle finally came to a halt about half an hour later.

The results of the onboard inspection came back quickly.

On the three captured ships, some ritual components of unknown purpose and not yet assembled were found.

From several communications that had not yet been destroyed, Feimaina discovered the true departure points of these ships.

Water Chestnut Island!

****

Su Ming received Feimaina's report immediately.

"How did the ship of the Plundering Clock get its cards tampered with?" he asked, quite surprised.

Although this requirement was issued two months ago.

But the checks have only really tightened up in the last few days.

The Plundering Clock was able to react so quickly by impersonating someone else to evade investigation.

Su Ming absolutely refused to believe there wasn't a traitor involved!

The nautical chart lay open on the table, with the ruler pressing down on the four corners.

The tablet displays the captured nautical logs and correspondence.

Under the analysis of the staff group, the enemy's route gradually became clear: they originally intended to cross the strait between the Northern Continent and the Northern Ice Island.

Ahead of the route lies the territory of the Frost Scale Clan.

The conclusion is beyond question.

"The Plundering Clock is aimed at the murlocs," Su Ming said.

He thought about it.

"Order Feimaina to adjust the battle plan and attempt to capture the leader of the Frost Scale Clan."

"Yes!" Lilishan replied and quickly went to send the message.

"A large quantity of alchemical supplies were found on the ship," Beianqi said, "But this combination doesn't seem like it's for combat."

Su Ming nodded as well.

He now understands alchemy quite well, so he naturally noticed that something was wrong here.

"Yeah, what exactly are these people here for?"

Why did the Plundering Clock go to such great lengths to arrive, only to bring these things that don't even look like weapons?

Why did they target the fish-men?

Su Ming was filled with doubt.

While waiting for further battle reports, Su Ming connected with Xialike.

"Is that so?" Xialike was also very surprised to hear this.

He didn't expect that so many people would work so hard for several days, only to find that the problem lay within the organization itself.

"The Black Iron Port and the merchant guilds of these ships are inevitably involved," Xialike said.

"That goes without saying."

Su Ming was very angry, so his tone was not very polite.

"What I'm concerned about is whether the dwarven leadership is involved."

"Please find out the truth; I don't have time right now."

"Can you find out the truth?" Xialike didn't mind Su Ming's tone and sighed.

"If the dwarves are truly involved, they can easily shift the blame to the guild and port officials, making it impossible for us to investigate further."

These suspects will definitely be interrogated by the dwarves themselves.

Regardless of whether there's anything fishy going on.

Even if there's something fishy going on, it will be perfectly covered up.

"I am merely the emperor of the Star Empire; I have no authority to enforce the law beyond my borders," Xialike said.

"We can't let this go."

Su Ming said decisively.

If the normal methods don't work, then we'll use the abnormal ones!

He proposed a solution.

"I know you have a spy within the dwarves."

"I will draw a team from Dragon Valley and place it under your command."

"Okay," Xialike agreed.

****

Soon, the First Sunrise naval fleet ended the battle, and Feimaina's second report arrived.

The investigation found nothing further.

After questioning the crew, it was learned that all the main members of the Plundering Clock were on the ship that escaped.

The core secrets of the mission were known only to them.

"It seems that only by capturing this ship can we figure out their intentions," Su Ming sighed and said to Beianqi.

The two looked at the nautical chart together.

Beianqi pressed the ruler down on one side of the nautical chart.

"This ship escaped from the southern end of the encirclement."

Her finger traced a diagonal line along the nautical chart.

"Based on the wind direction, they are most likely shifting southeast now, trying to shake off their pursuers."

Beianqi glanced at the scale reading, did the mental calculation, and reported the result.

"It's about 300 kilometers away from us."

"If the Pansy goes full speed ahead, it'll make it!"

"Even if this ship burns through magic crystals along the way, it won't escape our radar search range!"

"Then let's set off immediately."

"Yes!" Beianqi replied loudly.

****

The Pansy's diving alarm suddenly went off.

The alarm blared through the cabins, and the sailors and officers on duty on deck immediately returned to their posts.

The external hatches were closed in sequence, the ventilation vents were sealed, the gas turbines were shut down, and all personnel began to check the status item by item.

"Power compartment in position!"

"Weapons compartment in position!"

"Navigation module in position!"

"Ballast system is normal!"

"All ships are in position, ready to submerge!"

As the command was given, the valves of the ballast tanks opened one after another, and a large amount of seawater poured in.

The massive Pansy slowly sank, the white foam on the sea surface being swept to both sides before quickly closing again, like a giant beast sinking back into the deep sea.

The power output of the "Zhurong" reactor increased rapidly.

A deep humming sound came through the bulkheads, indicating that the steam turbine had been connected to the load.

The entire submarine was like a deep-sea behemoth awakened, switching from slow cruising to hunting mode.

The power of the pump-jet propulsion system has been steadily increasing.

Seawater was ejected at high speed from the stern, creating a rapid and fine white trail in the deep water.

The ship quickly surpassed its maximum speed of 22 knots on the water.

Once submerged, the cigar-shaped hull no longer needs to bear the wave-making resistance that is most troublesome when navigating on the surface.

What remains is mainly more controllable viscous resistance.

The higher underwater static pressure also significantly reduces cavitation in the thruster, resulting in more stable operating efficiency.

In other words, the underwater Pansy is even faster!

The speed continued to increase.

Twenty-four solar terms.

Section 28.

Section 30.

The massive Pansy, in the deep sea, resembled a rapidly moving steel fish, cutting in at high speed along the interception route calculated by Beianqi.

"Ocean current correction, target course may shift two degrees east."

"Estimated distance: 280 kilometers----"

Beianqi nodded.

"Maintain current power."

"Upon reaching the designated sea area, we will surface to conduct radar searches."

"Yes!" the bridge crew responded in unison.

****

On the sea, the Reverse Swing is desperately trying to escape.

This is a magic speedboat.

It was disguised as a merchant ship: wide hull, gray hull, and sails in the style common to ordinary merchant ships.

The ship's exterior was newly painted with a fake name.

However, an additional wind-based magic array frame was installed at the stern, and reinforcement components to withstand the increased speed were buried under the inner deck.

It was these very designs that helped it escape cleanly and efficiently from the encirclement of that navy.

On the deck, the members of the Plundering Clock huddled together, each with an increasingly grim expression.

A vast expanse of cyan wind-elemental magic radiance covered the sails, with scattered elemental light points drifting backward, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring effect.

But nobody was in the mood to look.

The bell-ringer's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

They went to great lengths and went through countless hardships to evade Su Ming's massive maritime search.

I thought that if I just went a little further, I could enter the territory of the "Frost Scale Clan" murlocs and begin this mission.

Unfortunately, just as they were about to reach their destination, they ran headlong into the cannons of the First Sunrise Republic fleet.

In that instant, the bell-ringing priest even had a feeling that this entire sea was in Su Ming's grasp.

He deliberately left the fleet there!

"How many Magic Power crystals are left?" the bell-ringing priest asked.

A Minute Hand lifted the wooden box and answered in a trembling voice.

"At this rate of consumption, we can only hold out for another two hours at most."

"Burn it all first." The bell-ringing priest stared at the end of the night, his voice strained.

"If we go around towards Thousand Cellars Domain, we should still have a chance to get there."

"If we're lucky, we might even be able to buy some magic crystals as a supply."

The other minute Minute Hand whispered, "But Ainz Bone King won't do it so easily."

"Shut up."

The bell-ringing priest abruptly interrupted.

"The Supreme God's great mission of expanding into new planes brooks no retreat!"

He calmed his breathing and made a prayer gesture.

"Almighty Jörmungandr, you will protect us!"

****

Suddenly, a low, strange sound could be faintly heard in the wind.

It felt both far away and very close.

It was neither the sound of waves nor the sound of wind.

It was more like some enormous beast, crushing down upon us, swift yet heavy.

Everyone on the boat froze for a moment.

What is that sound?

They looked around frantically, but the sea was empty.

In the darkness of night, there was clearly nothing but wind and waves.

But the sound kept getting closer, growing louder and clearer.

It even made people's eardrums vibrate.

The bell-ringer's expression changed.

"No—" he suddenly looked down, "It's underwater—"

The next instant, the sea beneath the Reverse Swing exploded with a deafening roar!

A giant nuclear submarine weighing over 30,000 tons suddenly rose from directly beneath its hull.

The massive, bony hull resembled a white mountain rising from the deep sea, violently pushing the seawater and air to both sides, instantly creating two waterfall-like water curtains more than ten meters high!

Faced with this overwhelming and almost unreasonable force, the Reverse Swing is as insignificant as a child's toy boat.

The ship's hull was violently rammed by the upper deck of the Pansy, causing the entire ship to suddenly lose its balance and making a series of snapping sounds as the wood broke.

The ship was first forcibly lifted off the sea, then suddenly tilted to one side, with people and cargo all at once.

"Is that Charybdis?!"

Someone screamed in terror.

Then came screams, one after another.

The mast snapped under the immense force, and large sections of the newly painted gray paint and the fake ship's name were washed away by the frenzied seawater.

On one side of the bow, several dark red old characters finally came into view.

Reverse Swing.

The Pansy's hull tilted slightly forward due to the extra load on top.

In the bridge, Beianqi's voice was calm. "Flood ballast tanks three and five to correct the trim."

"Yes!"

On the deck, the bell-ringer was violently thrown off by the impact.

He had just tried to struggle to his feet when the nearby hatch was already open.

Zijin was the first to fly out, glancing at him sideways.

The Magic Suppression Spell was cast directly, and his treasured "Mark of the Mortal World" was easily erased by the other party.

Next to emerge were Su Ming and the others. His boots made a crisp clanging sound as they stepped onto the slippery deck.

The sea breeze, carrying the salty smell of crashing waves, blew against Su Ming's face, making his hair fly wildly.

He looked up at the ship, which had been completely overturned to the edge of the Pansy's deck, and saw its true name finally revealed.

"Reverse Swing?"

"The name does sound a lot like the Plundering Clock."

Su Ming stretched his shoulders, his gaze falling on the group of members of the Plundering Clock who were staggering and filled with fear, and finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Finally, we've caught you!"