Celestial Island. Jerack Port.

“Hurry up with the healers! We have many injured here!!!” A scream bellowed through the crowd of curious onlookers, many of them seasoned marines of their own right. Jerack Port, just like many others on Celestial Island, was a well-equipped military base. They had a dock where over a dozen warships could be anchored, possessed numerous weaponry and a state-of-the-art medical facility. Thousands of the Lantis Navy’s most talented men and women were stationed here. The base was also protected by three Spirit Emperors, and two Senior Healers were stationed permanently here. However, even the Healers were being overwhelmed by the sheer number of casualties that were being sailed over.

“Excuse me, coming through!” Shin meandered through the dense crowd, with Bingbing stationed right on his shoulders. Zishen, his Azure Dragon guard, was running close behind. Right after hearing the news, the Prince of Celestial Island leapt out from his cultivation chambers and flew straight to the harbour. A loss of this size was unprecedented in the modern era. However, Shin didn’t really care about that. He had only one worry to quell right now…

Eyeing down the commanding admiral, Shin flew straight towards the man with an ashen face. “Rear Admiral!” he cried.

“Prince!” The middle-aged man turned around and felt his body jerk backwards. On paper, Shin may only be a lieutenant; however, his actual status was far beyond that. If push comes to shove, the young man could steal the command reigns off the Fleet Admiral of the Navy. An amazing feat, to say the least. Thus, there was no way that the Rear Admiral would dare to cross Shin, even though he was at least fifty years younger. “What brings you to Jerack Port?”

“I’d heard that Sister Bingying… No, Commander Meijing Bingying’s base has been compromised!” Shin went off with the small amount of information that he had. “Is she okay?”

“Ah, that...” Before the Rear-Admiral could give a reply, a blue-haired figure sauntered out from the command post. Her hair was unkempt and face ghastly pale. It hadn’t even been a day, and the woman seemed like she had lost a tremendous amount of weight.

“Sister Bingying!” Shin cried in relief. The woman seemed to be in a broken state, but at least she survived. Shin’s feet moved automatically, leaving the Rear Admiral behind without a salute and zigzagged his way through the crowd. Bingying had her hand firmly plastered on her forehead, trying to suppress the throbbing headache that was sending her consciousness into disarray.

“Oh, Shin… You’re here...” Barely able to make out the visage of the young man, Bingying weakly said his name.

“Yeah, I’m here! Hold on!” Shin, being the healer he was, noticed the oddity in Bingying’s movements. He gently placed his left hand on the woman’s forehead, and a wave of spiritual energy pulsated out from his centre. Shin quickly did a simple scan, trying to find any oddities in Bingying’s physical state. Fortunately, there was nothing to be found. Bingying’s current state was completely fine. It was just her mental state that had taken the hit.

Still, Shin sent in some healing mana just to be certain. The woman felt her entire soul being rejuvenated by the smooth, transient spiritual energy that Shin was providing. Shin didn’t have a method to mend the trauma of the mind, but he sure did have a way of making his patients feel comfortable. Which was what Bingying was feeling at this moment.

“Thanks...” The Pearl in the East weakly said.

“No problem,” Shin didn’t mind the soft voice of Bingying. He understood how deadly of a situation she had just escaped from. Which brought Shin to his next question. “So, what happened in the Nineteenth Artificial Island?”

“...” Bingying bit the lower part of her lip as her face flushed red. All of the crazy memories of the submerged vehicles soon came running back to her mind. Their reddened tips that brought forth endless death and destruction. The rapid movements that the boats possessed. The Spirit Beasts that leapt out of the water like angry salmon afterwards and completely decimated what remained of the naval base… Everything came back to her at that very moment.

Bingying’s face was ghastly and white. She felt fear and a tremendous amount of grief for those that were unfairly forced to depart from this world. However, her face of white quickly turned into one of complete red. Steam flowed out of her ears, and her two knuckles were clenched white. “Those fucking Black Masks… They launched a surprise attack on us!” The woman cursed to the heavens.

“That I know,” Shin tried his best to get some information from the agitated woman. Alas, it was easier said than done. It took the collective effort of Bingbing and him to quickly bring her into a more tranquil state. “How many Black Masks were there? What did those metallic tubes look like? The Spirit Beasts… What is their average rank?” Shin pressed on for answers.

“Dozens, maybe even a hundred.” Bingying slowly answered all of Shin’s questions, making sure that the Prince of the Lantis Republic was thoroughly informed. At the very end, she turned to the Rear-Admiral, who was standing patiently nearby. “Sir! Have the Navy figured out what the Black Masks purpose is?”

The Rear Admiral stepped forward like a servant, entirely unlike what an officer of his calibre should do. Alas, he was facing the future heir of the Meijing Clan and the Prince of the entire Lantis Republic. It was a wise move from him to want to fade into the background.

“After the Nineteenth Artificial Island had fallen, we’ve found thousands of abnormalities within our borders, mostly concentrated near places where the Payircis are.,” the Rear Admiral reported in one breath.

“Elaborate,” Shin nonchalantly urged him on.

Forcing back the spine-tingling sensation he was having, the Rear-Admiral took one more breath in. “Hundreds of Black Masks escaped from bases we’d never knew were there. Spirit Beasts, mostly in the upper tiers are among those that are fleeing the scene as well. We suspect that the attack on the Nineteenth Artificial Island was just to open a hole in our defences so that the forces within the Lantis Republic can retreat.”

“They created an escape route?”

“That’s right,” the Rear Admiral’s face turned incredibly grim. “Ever since the Prince has found out the method to locate the Paradise Heart, the Payircis have been falling like flies. The Black Masks probably realised that they couldn’t hold onto the structures anymore and are moving to cut their losses.”

“I see...” The Rear Admiral words resonated with the pair. From a tactical standpoint, knowing when to retreat and when to advance was a crucial point. The Black Masks knew that fighting in the Lantis Republic would only result in a losing battle. Thus, they opted to preserve their forces before it was too late.

“Is the Navy sending warships to capture or destroy the retreating forces?” Shin asked innocently.

“T-That… We haven’t received any word from headquarters. All we were told was to mend the injured wounds and hold our ground for the coming days.”

“WHAT?!” Bingying screamed at the top of her lungs. “This is our opportunity to strike back at those bastards that claimed our soldiers’ lives. Are you telling us that we have to stand by as the Black Mask happily sail out of our waters without any resistance?!” The Black Masks were all retreating from the Lantis Archipelago, and if the Rear Admiral were right, their elite forces would be out of the Lantis Republic’s waters within a day or two. By then, it would be far too late to give chase. They had to react immediately.

“Bingying, calm down...” Shin once again tried to calm the blue-haired woman down. However, that had ended up against his favour.

“You agree with them?!” Bingying lashed out at the supposed Prince of the Republic, forgetting her own status. “Do you honestly think that we should let the Black Masks leave our waters Scott-free?!”

“Relax, Sister Bingying… I’m not saying that...” The man sighed and shook his head. “Think about it from the navy shoes. The Black Masks have employed an unknown military device capable of sinking an entire island. They were also protected by over a hundred thousand Spirit Beasts. Furthermore, who knows how many more new devices the Black Masks have hidden under the ocean? It’s normal for the Lantis Navy to be sceptical. Do you want to send more of our soldiers to die, facing an unknown threat?”

Shin’s words of reason broke through Bingying’s hysterical frame of mind. She was shaken from the deaths of her subordinates, and understandably so. Thus, Bingying wasn’t capable of seeing the bigger picture. Fortunately, Shin was there to bring her back to reality.

“Yeah, you’re right… Sorry, I got a little bit too emotional...” Bingying replied, her entire fervour killed, and her expression downtrodden.

“No, Sister Bingying… You do have a point about the Black Masks...” The young Prince knew the logic behind staying out of the waters, particularly with those unknown submersible boats hidden in the depths of the ocean. However, if the Black Masks escaped utterly unharmed, the entire Lantis Republic would erupt in an uproar. The Lantis Navy had suffered their first loss in hundreds of years. Letting the Black Masks escape would only be rubbing salt on the wound.

“Zishen!”

“Yes, my Prince?” The Azure Dragon, now dressed as a butler, stepped forward with a radiant smile.

“Summon the Fleet Admiral. I have something to discuss with him.” Shin laid down the order wanting to see one of the most important commanders in the Lantis Republic without batting an eyelid. “Ah, call in some of the High Elders as well. They need to be witnesses. Due to the urgency, please tell them to reach within three hours. We need all the time we can get to prepare. If you have time, call Kanari, Master and the rest from the house as well. Bring over some of your children if you wish.”

“As you command,” Zishen bowed once before he leapt up into the heavens above. Transforming into his original draconic state, Zishen flew at breakneck speeds towards the Capital of Celestial Island to faithfully execute Shin’s orders.

“In the meantime, Rear Admiral!”

“Y-Yes?” The middle-aged man unconsciously gave a salute, bringing chuckles from Bingying and the other officers that watched their interaction. However, the Rear Admiral didn’t care. He was against a man that could call the Fleet Admiral, the most powerful man in the Navy, right to his position wherever he was. There was no way that the Rear Admiral was going to cross Shin.

“How many warships are in the dock?” Shin questioned.

“Exactly fifteen!”

“Hmmm… That should be enough…” Shin immediately got to thinking. “Prepare all of them to depart. Five should remain in the pier lest an enemy attack comes, but the other ten must be fully manned and equipped within six hours. Try to leave out those that are below Rank 20. We can’t have them throwing their lives away for no reason.”

“M-My Prince, you...” The Rear Admiral fearfully reached his hand out, not willing to finish his sentence. “Are you planning on attacking the Black Masks yourself?!”

Shin smiled as he turned towards the Rear Admiral. That impish look on his face was something that Bingying had seen multiple times before. She couldn’t count the number of times she lost when Shin was in that mode. Sighing, the woman supported her head while rubbing her temples. At the very least, that smile of Shin’s was now directed at the enemy and not herself.

“No, I’m planning on leading the Lantis Navy to victory!”