Chapter 1443: Chapter 660: Demon Slaying Order: Open the Gates, Free Trade! (Part 3)
Under the precise control of the Fire Control System, forty heavy shells almost simultaneously blanketed every corner of the small fortress.
Rumble—!!!
Flames shot into the sky, smoke billowed in rolling clouds.
Even aboard the warships twenty kilometers away one could hear the booming thunder, pure violence venting itself and tearing everything above sea level completely to shreds.
The howling hot wind crossed the Sky Sea, tugging at Catherine and Violet’s skirts.
But if it were only to this extent, it wouldn’t be worth it for Byron and the two Queens to come watch in person.
Just as the first wave of forty explosions finished and the surging Blaze mixed with shrapnel had only just risen, it was driven by some inexplicable Power to recombine, then turned into a bright point of light and blew apart again.
And the area of coverage kept expanding.
It not only razed the original fortress completely to the ground, it gnawed away the reefs jutting up from the seabed, devouring them meter by meter.
In the end all that remained before everyone’s eyes was a sheet of white light; bursts of flame flashed again and again without pause, even rock and soil were burned and melted into rolling magma.
The soldiers who were likewise seeing this sight for the first time couldn’t help but trace the Royal National Church’s equilateral-triangle Holy Emblem on their chests, letting out involuntary groans:
“Lord, is this Your divine punishment?”
“What fortress in this world could withstand an attack like this? We’re the true invincible ones!”
Byron and Violet’s Divine Sight, however, saw clearly the scene within the brilliance:
“This seems to be a kind of chain reaction. The fuel isn’t just the whale oil powder in the shells, it’s also the omnipresent Source Tide in the air.
Only when the concentration of Source Tide within a specific space drops below a certain critical value will it truly stop.”
In fact, all “flaming combustion” in Nature is essentially a type of chain reaction.
When a combustible is heated, it not only vaporizes, its molecules undergo thermal decomposition, producing a multitude of free radicals.
Free radicals are a highly reactive chemical state; they can react with other free radicals and molecules, allowing the combustion to continue.
When the Dreadnought Fleet focuses its fire and opens up, it seems to trigger a similar marvelous reaction.
Byron’s Sailing Logbook immediately displayed the Dreadnought Fleet legion title’s ability—[Demon Slaying Order]:
“Using five Dreadnought Level or higher Steam Battleships as a basic unit, launching a joint concentrated bombardment can induce the most basic chain reaction, amplifying the original Whale Oil Shrapnel Bomb’s power to its extreme.
The more warships in the fleet, the stronger the focused firepower!”
Byron shared this title special effect with the officers in the Fleet, and was instantly met with a roar of cheers:
“Long live! The strongest authority in the world is violence; from today on no one can stop us from climbing to the peak of this world.”
“Long live the Empire!”
“Long live Your Majesty!”
Byron turned back to look at the cheering Navy soldiers.
The Dreadnought Fleet had undoubtedly gathered the very essence of the entire North Sea Empire.
Every Captain held at least the rank of Navy colonel and possessed a Third Order Middle Sequence extraordinary Order; at least half of them were Pirate Officers and Captains who had ridden fortune upward alongside him.
Through the “Captain 721 Fission Mode” of veterans passing on their experience to newcomers, and after growing through one major battle after another, they’d advanced at astonishing speed, though not many, like Bruh and Eight Fingers, had broken through to the Fourth Order as standouts.
But the number of Third Order had already begun to explode, gradually enriching the Foundation of a Great Empire, catching up to Castilia’s century of accumulation.
Especially those elite crew members on the Golden Deer, the very best of the best; even now it was still popular to call him “Captain” or “Principal,” to show off their unusual closeness to him, this Empire’s Emperor.
With them as the backbone, and with the home shipyards plus another five Dreadnoughts that would need only a few nights before entering service, Byron felt a surge of satisfaction at the thought:
“So what if it’s the Orthodox Alliance’s Joint Fleet?
A month ago I taught you what a Breaking Off Engagement Battle is; in a couple of days I’ll teach you properly what a ‘Gulf War’ is!”
Not long after the alliance conference in The Palace of Wanxiang ended, Byron received word that the Orthodox Alliance’s various countries were concentrating their main Fleets.
The very top echelon of the Fifth Order High Sequence was temporarily impossible to infiltrate, but the middle and lower tiers had long since been riddled through by Skin Wearers and laymen who had cultivated [Gospel of Heaven].
He had a constant grip on the enemy’s every move.
This time the North Sea Empire would be facing the strongest opponent since its forceful rise—the Invincible Fleet.
Although they had already defeated the Treasure Fleet and a detachment Fleet of the Invincible Fleet in succession, Byron would never naively take that as the true level of the Invincible Fleet’s main force.
The [Holy Trinity], acclaimed as the strongest Legendary Warship, together with the never-once-defeated Invincible Fleet, combined might well have the chance to rival a Mythical Warship.
Especially that warship said to have once been blessed at full strength by a certain Pope and all the Saints—the [Holy Trinity].
“This strongest Legendary Warship bears the world’s first Trinity sacred statue, symbolizing the creator’s favor.
The Trinity means: the creator is one, yet at the same time possesses three Persons—the Holy Father, the Saint Heir, and the Holy Spirit.
Though the three Persons differ in Rank, in essence there is absolutely no distinction; they are worshipped together, share equal honor, and are co-eternal.
Namely: God creates the world; God, through the Saint Heir, saves Humanity; God, through the Holy Spirit, abides with the faithful and the Church.
Its Legendary Warship Skill, together with the Invincible Fleet’s peak state [Unbeatable Banner], are things that, to this day, no opponent has ever had the qualification to experience.