The Lantis Sea. The Nineteenth Artificial Island.

Swoooooooooooshhhhhhhh… Swoooooooooooshhhhhhhh…

Waves as gentle as a calm, summer breeze flowed upon the beach of the island. Snow continued to fall from the heavens, filling the limited ground that the isle had. However, this enclave wasn’t like the others. Spreading ten-kilometres in diameter, the island was armed to the teeth. Cannons, fortifications, sentry towers, divinely tall fortified walls… They were all present on this island. Trees were null and void within the walls of the brick, prison-like fort and the lights were pulsing out, searching for any sign of life in the dark waters.

One might wonder, how could such an island form in the middle of the vast sea? The answer was quite simple actually. It was created.

The Lantis Republic has always been a technological powerhouse. Ever since the last Great War, they realised how vulnerable they were from the forces of the Terre Continent. Other than the ocean, there was no natural protection from their armies. If their enemies built a significant navy, they could sail right into their Capital undetected and wreak havoc however they wished.

So, the maritime nation sought to change that. They used the technologies of their time to artificially gather sand and soil to create entirely new islands to create a divide between the Terre Continent and the Lantis Archipelago. Some were used as harbours for passenger or merchant ships to dock while their contents would be checked. But for the most part, the line of islands served as military bases for the Lantis Navy. If there were any funny business at their borders, the Lantis Navy would use the artificial islands as a buffer to protect the mainland.

Meijing Bingying stood silently on the tallest watchtower of the island. Her eyes were scanning the entire ocean that lay before the structure. The sun was obscured by dark, grey clouds and the scary whistling of winter winds dominated her eardrums. The sea was calm, but the sky was not. Flashes of lightning, followed by the roaring crackle of thunder broke the world in half.

“You should return back to safety,” a calming voice called to Meijing Bingying. Glancing over her shoulder, Bingying could see Qilong Hu walking up from the watchtower’s stairwell holding onto a thin piece of yellow parchment. “Once it rains, it’ll be hard to see through the thick sheets of grey anyway. Leave it to the experienced sentries.” The man continued to persuade Bingying.

“Yeah, just give me five minutes...” The Commander shook her head with a bitter smile. “I can’t just let my subordinates do all the heavy work while I sit back and relax right?”

Qilong Hu raised his brow and shot the woman a confused look. “Haha, even the Rear Admiral isn’t as vigilant as you are! It’s just our first week here! You should take some time and get used to the environment.”

“As if it were that easy...” Bingying replied, her voice as cold as the snow that surrounded her. The Nineteenth Artificial Island was a secondary command post for the Lantis Navy. Manned by a Rank 70 Rear Admiral, three Battleship Captains and ten Commanders, the artificial island was by far the most guarded in the area.

“Don’t you think that the Black Masks are being too silent? We wrecked half of their Payircis already, and have yet to do anything yet. There’s no way that those cold-blooded criminals are that kind!”

“You think that they’re amassing their forces for an invasion?” Qilong Hu asked back.

“Precisely…” The Commander nodded. “We’re long overdue for a full-on battle. The Black Masks are zealots that don’t care about life or death. They only care to serve the perverted wills of the Allfather, whatever they may be. So, we have to be prepared for any situation.”

History had shown how dangerous the Black Masks could be, particularly when they were executing the Allfather’s orders. Suicide attacks had become the norm with the Black Masks and their dispensable army, the Dalits, were becoming more and more drunk on power by the second. It had degraded into a situation where they would willingly jump into the ocean if it were their superior’s wish.

Naturally, every single human on planet earth was disgusted by the Black Masks and their means. The three superpowers had formulated numerous strategies to prevent their people from joining that degenerate organisation, but somehow, the Black Masks were still able to grow. Therefore, the Lantis Republic had to be prepared. Or at the very least have a few thousand troops on hand just in case something goes awry.

“I’ll just keep watch here for a few more minutes… Just to get used to the ocean surrounding us for now.” Bingying, like many trained professionals from the Lantis Republic, could identify even the slightest differences in the ocean. Whether the waves were too high or too low. Whether the temperatures were in line with the norm. So, it was quite easy for Bingying to spot problematic areas, given her high vantage point.

And to find, she did...

Plop… Plop… Plop…

All of a sudden, bubbles began to form on the surface of the distant oceans. Among the endless waves and tremendous volume of water, a few bubbles didn’t mean much. It could have been a shoal of fish swimming by or a Sperm Whale fighting a Colossal Squid, creating all sorts of disruptions. However, Bingying has spent many years on sea. She could clearly tell the difference between those bubbles and regular ones produced naturally.

Zooming in, the Lantis Paladin Commander focused all of her spiritual senses upon that one patch of ocean. “Lieutenant Commander Hu, send a reconnaissance boat over! We might have something on our hands!” Bingying barked.

“Yes, Ma’am!” Although Qilong Hu was a little sceptical as well, he still obliged his superior’s orders. He leapt down from the tower and floated down straight onto the northern port. At the same time, he sent a signal for his team to immediately dispatch. There was no need to send warships to scout. Instead, the man ordered his subordinates to get into a speedy recon boat, powered by the same engines that were used in Aether Cars as he watched from the safety of the shores.

The boats blasted through the rapid waves and were racing towards the anomaly. All the while, Bingying looked down from her high watchtower. Often times, she would send messages back to the command centre via the sentry that was stationed here, but otherwise, the newly promoted Commander would continue to monitor the situation, ready to intervene if it was truly needed.

“What is that?” The Commander thought of the various possibilities. On the inside, she hoped that her eyes were deceiving her and there wasn’t truly an enemy around. Still, her professional mind was digging up as many clues as it possibly could.

The reconnaissance boat edged closer and closer towards the oddity, water spraying all over. A naval officer stood right at the edge of the ship. In his hands, a harpoon was ready to be unleashed the moment something pops out of the ocean. The other soldiers were also on alert. Their weapons out and senses heightened. Though it was just an ad-hoc mission, the professionalism of the team was top-notch. They followed all sorts of protocol when investigating an unknown element. First, they attempted to cordon the area off, preventing anything from coming in or out. Then, they sent their spiritual senses into the depths, hoping to find any sort of irregular life. Only when the coast was clear, did the operatives start to slowly intrude upon the oddity. Alas…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

A deafening blow echoed through the area as a protruding impact, akin to that of a geyser, soared towards the skies. Those that were watching the whole ordeal immediately leapt back, stunned by the sudden one-to-hundred turn of events. Endless water droplets sprayed out onto the island, turning the snowy weather into a rainy one.

“T-that!” Meijing Bingying, being the farthest person away from the explosion, could see exactly what had transpired. The bubbles were calm and gentle in the beginning. However, the moment after it was quarantined, a large shadow suddenly surfaced. Before the officers on the boat could do anything, it was far too late.

“Damn it!” Bingying rushed towards the communications device right by the watchtower and immediately screamed into the mechanism. “RED ALERT! RED ALERT!!! We’re under attack! I repeat! We’re under attack!” The woman continued to eye the surrounding oceans as she unsheathed the Spectral Reaver Blade. She wanted to keep the base posted about any changes to their surroundings while they were preparing to deploy more men to the oceans.

And then… Bingying saw it…

A long metallic objected, taking the form of an elongated tube, arose from the pits of the ocean. It looked like a ship, and yet it was not. It seemed to be man-made, but no one has ever witnessed a structure like that before. And most importantly… There were odd ballistic arrows, with reddened tips surrounding it on all sides. The structure didn’t care about Bingying’s shock and fear. Instead, it did what it was meant to do…

Peeeewwwww… Peeeewwwww… Peeeewwwww…

The ballistas all took off from the submerged ship and whistled through the afternoon sky. They were propelled up to fifty metres in the air, bypassing all the walls that the artificial island had. As the potential energy wears off, all that was left was for gravity to do its work. Since the Lantis Republic wasn’t expecting any aerial raids, they hadn’t secured their air space with anti-air ranged weapons. Thus, the naval officers could only watch helplessly as the huge three-metre long red arrows fell upon the fortified base.

BOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!

The entire fort trembled. Explosions became the common theme in the supposedly reinforced military facility, and the damages started to mount at a rapid rate. Though it was mostly contained in the bay area, where the ships were docked, and the central brain of the fort was fine… For now that is...

“W-What?” Bingying instantly lost her marbles and nearly dropped the communication device. It wasn’t just the sudden appearance of the new vehicle or the colossal damage that it had done to the Lantis Navy’s ships. There was something else that had tipped Bingying off…

Ssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttt!!!

More and more shadows gathered to the surface, and they slowly began to reveal themselves. The same type of submersible tube, carrying the exact same weapons, made their presence known. They were besieged on all sides. There was no way to escape. Before the soldiers on the artificial island had the chance to regroup and brainstorm, a rain of red rain dazzled the glorious sky.

Bingying felt her blood run cold as she witnessed the crimson arrows whistling down right at the central base. Leaping out from the watchtower, the Pearl in the East was forced to take to the skies, while dodging as many arrows as she possibly could. The same was applied to those who were above the Spirit Spectre realm. They quickly identified the cause of the explosions and made enormous strides to evade as many of them as they could. Even if it meant abandoning the base that they were deployed to protect.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Countless of explosions coloured the landscape, turning the snowy islands into a pit fiery red flames. The Spirit Spectres, Lords, Kings and Emperors all looked down at the artificial island, their faces as white as the snow that fell. Some flew straight at the foreign objects, hoping to take down a few of them.

Alas… The damage was already done.

The warships that were docked at the pier were now all ruined, engulfed in flame and riddled with holes. The artificial island that was being supported by the flimsy dirt and sand that was congregated from the mainland was now on the brink of sinking. And tragically… Those below the Spirit Spectre realm… Those valiant soldiers that took the plunge to serve their nation faithfully… Had all become victims of the deadly assault.

For the first time in hundreds of years… The most professional navy in the world… Lost a naval battle...