"Clang!"
Another loud bang, and Mike nearly fell over. He gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Glenn! Damn it! Get out from under the table right now!"
"Go check out our boiler room! The ammunition depot!"
"If you get hit, use your body to plug the gap! Go now!"
"Yes, sir!" Amidst the violent shaking, the officer, covered in sweat, scrambled out of the command room.
Mike braced himself on the edge of the table, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his forehead. He tried to regain his composure, but at that moment a terrible premonition suddenly struck him.
A moment later, an officer rushed in to report, his pale face covered in sweat:
"Sir! The ship's hull is damaged; we've been attacked by torpedoes!"
"The enemy launched the attack from underwater!"
Upon hearing this, Mike no longer had time to consider the absurdity of the statement "torpedoes attack from underwater".
After all, if torpedoes don't attack from underwater, are they supposed to come from the sky?
He slammed his fist on the table in frustration and roared furiously:
"Damn it!"
We've been ambushed!
——
"Clang clang clang—"
On the parade platform, the performance of the traditional Chinese musical piece "Ambush from Ten Sides" is still underway.
The sounds of metal clashing, war drums booming, soldiers roaring—all sounds that can only be heard on the battlefield.
At this moment, the small pipa and the accompanying musicians performed it to their fullest potential.
The woman in the red dress was already sweating profusely at her temples, with a few strands of hair clinging to her cheeks, which were gradually turning red with excitement.
Her body swayed slightly with the performance, her expression focused and solemn.
It was as if he wasn't playing a musical instrument, but rather personally standing on that bloody battlefield, commanding thousands of troops.
Apart from the music, there was no other sound on the entire reviewing stand.
All the guests seemed to be gripped by this invisible aura of killing intent, making it difficult even to breathe.
Lucat's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he clung to the railing, staring intently at the sea.
There, dozens of aerial behemoths hovered in the azure sky, and beneath them, the "exercise fleet," or rather the "target," was still sailing.
The distance was still far enough that the features of the warships could not be clearly seen; only vague, indistinct shapes could be vaguely discerned.
Perhaps His Majesty was a bit careless in forgetting to prepare a telescope for everyone invited to this exhibition.
Now, he is the only one holding binoculars, looking at the sea.
"Your Majesty, you've been watching for so long, may I borrow your telescope?"
"I also want to see it more clearly."
Lucate thought this to himself, but ultimately didn't dare to say it aloud.
This made Lucate so anxious that he scratched his head and complained to Leto in a low voice:
"What exactly are they doing? Are they fishing with explosives?"
Just then, a gasp came from the side; it was from an envoy from a small country.
"It looks like there's a fire and smoke!!" he exclaimed, pointing in a certain direction.
Lucat looked in the direction of the sound and indeed found that the warships seemed to have encountered an accident, with one of them emitting black smoke.
In the blink of an eye, the black smoke was no longer ethereal, but transformed into a thick, almost tangible black fog that rose straight into the sky.
"What happened? Did something go wrong during the exercise?"
"We didn't see any artillery fire, how could this be..." Leto, standing beside him, covered his mouth and said in a low voice.
Lucat was equally puzzled. He subconsciously looked up at the sky above the warships, where the enormous creatures were not making any moves and were simply floating.
"It's really on fire!"
One exclamation after another came from the people, as the warships began to emit black smoke one after another.
Some of them were even visibly engulfed in flames.
The guests were filled with doubt and uncertainty, their gazes shifting back and forth between the warships at sea, the objects hovering in the air, and His Majesty the Emperor, who maintained a faint smile throughout.
"My goodness, this military parade is such a grand affair!" some guests thought in astonishment.
How powerful must a nation be to dare to put out such valuable warships for a performance!
But what remains puzzling is why these warships have been involved in one "accident" after another.
After all, as of now, they do not appear to be under artillery fire.
Finally, someone could no longer contain their immense doubts and chose to ask.
"Your Majesty, what's going on? It seems there's been some unexpected incident." Isabella frowned slightly and asked Qin Ze softly.
"There were some unexpected events, but they are within a controllable range." Qin Ze held binoculars, still watching the sea with great interest.
Isabella narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on Qin Ze's binoculars.
She said in a low, quiet voice:
"Your Majesty, did you only prepare one telescope? We can't see what's going on at all."
Qin Ze slapped his forehead, handed the binoculars to Isabella, and laughed, "Why didn't you say so earlier? I almost forgot."
Isabella gratefully accepted the binoculars, smiled quickly, and immediately looked at the sea.
Qin Ze then turned his head and said loudly, "Bring over the binoculars, one for each guest."
At this moment, Isabella, who was gazing at the sea, showed a deep look of surprise on her exquisite and beautiful face.
Even with her usual composure, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
"Oh God!"
"Why are those warships flying the flag of Tajikistan!?"
These words shocked everyone present, and a chorus of exclamations arose from the crowd.
"Huh?! What?!"
"The Tajik Flag Country?! How is that possible?!"
Lucat was frantic and rushed over to ask, "Your Majesty!"
"You just mentioned 'Taqi Country', right?!"
But Isabella ignored him.
She just stared at Qin Ze in shock, her bright eyes wide open, filled with disbelief and questioning.
Qin Ze, with one hand on his hip, took the binoculars handed to him by his attendant and replied casually:
"The warships of Tajikistan must, of course, fly their national flag."
"Isn't this normal?"
Isabella froze, but inwardly she screamed:
Is this normal?! This is anything but normal!
Yes! The warships of Tajikistan must indeed fly their national flag!
But! But!
This is a military exercise by your Yan Kingdom!
How did they end up here participating in an exercise, or even being a "target"...?
My inner rant came to an abrupt end there.
Isabella's body trembled, and she belatedly realized what had happened.
This was an exercise, but now it's a real battle!
This is an ongoing clash between two powerful empires; it is a war!
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