The "Ocean of Storms," a sea of death perpetually ruled by raging winds and towering waves, was in the past a natural barrier separating the northern and southern continents. No ship of any era could traverse this infernal realm of lightning and raging torrents.
But today, this sea of death has welcomed a group of true gods forged from steel.
Four fully-equipped joint expeditionary fleets, comprising over five hundred warships of various types, formed an impenetrable steel wall. The flagship was the Empire's newest "Divine Punishment"-class Titan mothership—the "Divine Retribution."
This behemoth, over five kilometers long, is like a moving city. Compared to it, old-fashioned aircraft carriers seem as small as toys in a bathtub.
Its hull is densely covered with thousands of electromagnetic gun turrets, laser matrices, and missile launch units.
Inside its belly are more than 10,000 "Dragon Tooth" sixth-generation unmanned combat aircraft and "Skyfire" thermobaric bombs, powerful enough to wipe a country off the map.
Inside the bridge of the "Heaven's Retribution," Marshal Li Yuanchao, the commander-in-chief of this southern expedition, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the terrifying scene of lightning and thunder outside the porthole. But under the protection of the Imperial fleet's force field shield, all the raging winds and waves became as docile as lambs.
"Marshal, we have successfully crossed the 'Stormy Ocean' and are now 300 nautical miles from the 'Spike Islands,' the outermost point of the 'Hundred Islands Alliance,'" a communications officer reported.
“Very good.” Li Yuanchao nodded, his face expressionless. “Order the drone reconnaissance team to set off first. Create a 3D model of all military deployments and population distribution on the ‘Spike Islands.’ In half an hour, I want to see the precise location of every single ant on the island from the command post.”
"Yes, sir!"
Half an hour later, a holographic map so detailed it was chilling appeared in front of Li Yuanchao.
The Spiky Islands, consisting of three main islands and dozens of smaller islands, serve as the gateway to the Hundred Islands Alliance. The alliance's most elite warrior force, the "Sons of the Sea God," numbers approximately 30,000, is stationed on the islands.
They patrolled the archipelago in warships constructed from the bones of enormous sea monsters and sturdy timbers, adorned with feathers and totems. Their weapons consisted of poisoned javelins, heavy stone axes, and some outdated muzzle-loading muskets salvaged from shipwrecks.
"Marshal, intelligence analysis has confirmed that all civilians on the island, regardless of age or gender, have received basic military training. The word 'surrender' does not exist in their culture. To die for one's tribe is the highest honor," the intelligence officer added.
A cold smile appeared on Li Yuanchao's lips: "Glory? Then let them go to see their sea god with this cheap glory."
He pressed a red button on the command console.
"Order: Second and Third Destroyer Squadrons, execute Level A-1 'Purification' procedure on the 'Spike Islands'."
“A-1 level 'purification' procedure… Received!” The communications officer’s voice paused almost imperceptibly.
Because in the Imperial Navy Operations Regulations, A-1 level "purification" means indiscriminate saturation fire coverage until there are no more signs of life in the target area.
Dozens of Storm-class destroyers slowly sailed out of the fleet formation. The armor plates on both sides of their hulls slid open silently, revealing hundreds and thousands of dark vertical launch cells.
"Target, 'Spike Islands', coordinates xxx, xxx."
"Launch procedure initiated."
"emission!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Accompanied by a piercing shriek, tens of thousands of high-explosive incendiary bombs, like a dense meteor shower, with long trails of flame, tore through the dim sky and rushed towards the tranquil archipelago.
At this moment, in the central tribe of Ukatu Island, the largest island in the Spikes Islands.
The tribe's chief, "Blood Axe" Kamon, is presiding over a grand sacrificial ceremony.
Thousands of bronze-skinned warriors, bare-chested and with their faces painted with hideous grime, danced a war dance around a huge bonfire. They prayed to the sea god to protect them from the legendary "northern demons" that were about to arrive.
Their shaman, an old woman with a wrinkled face, had just used a tortoise shell to divine a very bad omen. This cast an atmosphere of unease over the entire tribe.
Suddenly, a young warrior who was on lookout duty by the sea came running in, his face filled with terror.
"Chief! Heaven...the sky! So many...so many burning stars are falling from the sky!"
Camon suddenly raised his head.
The next second, his pupils were engulfed by a dazzling white light.
boom!
The first incendiary bomb landed in the center of the tribe.
The terrifying explosion instantly unleashed a shockwave carrying jets of ultra-high-temperature metal. Within a radius of a hundred meters, all wooden buildings and all tribal warriors were torn to shreds and then set ablaze.
Then came the second one, the third one, the ten-thousandth one...
The end of the world has come.
The entire Spikes Islands were engulfed in flames. Explosions rose and fell, one after another, like the drumbeats of death. The earth trembled, and the sky was dyed blood red.
Those proud "Sons of the Sea God" warriors were less than ants in the face of the Empire's saturation attack.
Their flesh and blood, their stone axes and javelins, seemed so ridiculous and powerless.
The tribal warships patrolling the bay were easily capsized and torn to shreds by the aftershocks of the explosion. Countless warriors screamed in agony in the burning sea before finally sinking to the bottom.
Some surviving tribal civilians, crying out, ran from the burning village, trying to hide in the jungle.
But the Empire's incendiary bombs seemed to have eyes. They precisely covered every inch of land, turning the dense rainforest into burning infernos.
This one-sided massacre lasted for a full hour.
An hour later, when the smoke cleared, the "Spiked Isle" had transformed from a charred wasteland on the map, emitting wisps of black smoke.
All the islands have been repeatedly "plowed" through. All signs of life have vanished.
"Reporting to the Marshal, the 'purification' procedure has been completed. Vital signals in the target area have been reduced to zero."
“Very good.” Li Yuanchao said expressionlessly, as if he had merely crushed a nest of ants. “Order: 1st Marine Division, land and establish forward operating base. Engineering Corps, immediately begin construction of the deep-water port and airfield. We will build a perfect departure platform here for our subsequent 'hunt'.”
"In addition, the entire footage of this 'purification' operation will be edited into a ten-minute promotional video and broadcast to all islands of the 'Hundred Islands Alliance' at maximum power."
A cold, icy light flashed in Li Yuanchao's eyes.
“I want them to know that resistance is pointless. Either they kneel down and become dogs, or they turn to dust like the Spikes.”
The empire's bloody deterrent had an immediate effect.
When the footage documenting how the Spiky Islands went from paradise to hell spread throughout the Hundred Islands Alliance, the entire alliance fell into a deathly silence and immense panic.
Faced with the godlike power of the Imperial fleet, any thought of resistance seemed utterly pale and foolish.
After a painful struggle, some island chiefs chose to submit. They sent men in small boats, flying white flags, to the location of the imperial fleet, expressing their willingness to surrender and offer all the wealth and women of their tribes in exchange for the lives of their people.
Li Yuanchao displayed the "benevolent" side instructed by Lin Feng when dealing with these tribes that surrendered voluntarily.
He accepted their surrender, sent troops to their island, and confiscated all their weapons. Then, the Empire's "population screeners" would screen the island's inhabitants.
All adult, able-bodied men were put in electronic shackles and assigned to the “labor reserve force” to await transport to the mines in the Empire’s homeland.
All women between the ages of sixteen and thirty-five were divided into four grades—A, b, c, and d—based on their appearance, figure, and health. They were concentrated in makeshift "purification camps" and treated like livestock, waiting to be selected by imperial soldiers and officials or transported back to the empire as "standard spoils" to be rewarded to meritorious citizens.
The elderly, the infirm, and the disabled were allowed to remain on the island, under the supervision of the imperial garrison, to grow food and provide logistical support for the empire's war machine.
This "those who obey me live, those who oppose me die" strategy quickly eroded the "Hundred Islands Alliance's" will to resist.
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