"Your Majesty, it seems they have raised their flags in surrender."

On the flagship of the Yan Kingdom fleet, the Dinghai, Qin Ze, who was resting with his eyes closed in a chair, grunted in response to the soldiers' report.

He didn't open his eyes, but simply pursed his lips and said, "Knowing when to yield."

"But if they come with such a grand display and then surrender when they can't win, that would be too easy on them."

"Don't worry about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

A moment later.

"Your Majesty, they have not only surrendered, but have also sent a warship."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ze pondered for a few moments before opening his eyes. He stretched out his hand, and a soldier beside him respectfully handed him a telescope.

"Are those cannons on the bow deck?" Qin Ze asked uncertainly as he peered ahead through binoculars.

"Yes, Your Majesty, those are disassembled cannons."

Qin Ze lowered the binoculars and then asked, "How many warships were driven to Coral Island by us before?"

"The exact number is impossible to count, but including the initial Federation fleet, there were at least two hundred warships. However, the enemy warships were severely damaged, and almost all of the large warships ran aground on the way to the Coral Island coast. Ours, which looked intact, were sunk."

"There must be quite a few people who have landed, right?"

"Hmm... There are a thousand people, from various countries. They were all sent to Coral Island as Your Majesty instructed."

Qin Ze nodded: "Speaking of which, this surrendered fleet is the same one that fled during the last South China Sea battle, but this time they seem to have a lot more warships."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the number of fleets from various nations that have come this time has increased significantly. These scoundrels are still up to their old tricks and have even formed an alliance to invade our country... They deserve to die."

"An alliance...heh." Qin Ze touched his face, chuckled softly, and then said:

"Don't attack that enemy ship that's coming. Just bring the person in charge on that ship to the Dinghai."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

——

Despite having already imagined the power of the Yan Kingdom's warships, Lucat was still terrified and his heart pounded wildly when he witnessed these steel behemoths at such close range.

The gleaming outer armor, the massive central gun turret, and the strange machine belching white smoke, along with the fully drawn sails on the masts, all contributed to the fact that these heavy ironclad ships possessed speeds far exceeding those of their own warships. Lucat could not see the oars protruding from the hull, only the murky seawater rising and falling.

He even had a vague feeling that some unknown sea monster was dragging these ironclad ships through the water.

What he saw horrified Lucate even more. He was glad that he hadn't joined the other nations in attacking the Yan Kingdom's fleet before, and now he was also glad that the Yan Kingdom hadn't attacked the Lightning directly, but instead wanted to extradite him.

For now, this is good news.

Moments later, under orders from the Yan Kingdom warship that came to tow him, Lucat, with a heart full of trepidation, entered the fleet alone and boarded the Dinghai.

When his feet landed on the hard deck, Lucat realized that even the deck of this warship was made of iron plates, which shocked him even more. No country in the entire continent of Leon had ever had such a warship, and such an ironclad warship already had the strength to dominate the entire ocean.

He raised his head, glanced only at the angry Yan soldiers glaring on both sides of the deck, and quickly lowered his head again. Soon after, someone around him shouted:

"Hurry up and pay your respects to our Emperor!"

Lucat was startled. The Emperor of Yan was indeed in this fleet. He hesitated for a moment, then instead of looking up at the upper deck, he knelt on the ground, head bowed, and respectfully said:

"Marshal Lucat of the Rose Fleet of the Kingdom of Shenglu has come to pay his respects to His Majesty."

"You want to surrender?" a cold voice asked.

Lucate hurriedly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, we surrender. We do not wish to engage in any battle with your fleet. We hope Your Majesty will..."

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"You know you were wrong?"

“Um…yes.” Lucat’s face gradually flushed, but he still obediently replied.

"Are you scared?"

Upon hearing this, Lucat raised his head and saw a young man sitting in a chair on the upper deck. His arms were crossed, his face expressionless, but his piercing gaze was fixed on him.

Lucate's heart tightened, and he said, "He's scared too, and he knows he was wrong."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ze pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, and said, "You guys ran very fast last time in the South China Sea."

Were you the commander that time?

Luca nodded nervously and replied, "It's me."

"Oh, it's you too... Hmm... You guys ran pretty fast this time too."

"Why are you trying to run away before we've even fought? Didn't you come here to attack our country?" Qin Ze said casually, crossing his legs.

Lucate took a deep breath and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, this was our wrong decision."

"We shouldn't have gotten involved in this war in the first place."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ze said coldly, "You are indeed clever. You judged that you could not win against us, so you fled without a fight. You were able to escape unscathed in the South China Sea, but this time... you will not be able to escape."

Lucat was startled and hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty! We never wanted to participate in this war; we were forced into it!"

"Forced?" Qin Ze's lips curled into a faint smile.

“Yes! We were forced into it!” Lucate immediately explained, “You should know that the strongest nation in our Leon continent is the Sari Kingdom. They have been powerful for hundreds of years. My country is right next to them and is controlled by them in every way.”

"Ever since Isabella ascended the throne, this ambitious woman has repeatedly used us to seize benefits for the Sari Kingdom. This time, the attack on the Yan Kingdom is also her idea!"

"Is that how it is?" Qin Ze said casually, then added, "So you ran away twice?"

“Yes! This is a dishonorable war, so I don’t want to fight it!” Although still kneeling on the ground, Lucat had straightened his back and spoke in a strong voice full of righteous indignation.