I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 117: Chapter 90: Grand Mobilization (Part 3)

"All searchlights on! Lock onto the edge of the engagement zone and watch for any spillover threats!" Yang Wenqing ordered, his voice sharp as he suppressed the pounding in his chest.

Almost simultaneously, a sharp, short bugle call echoed from the high ground garrisoned by the Government Soldiers behind the coastline. It was their unique warning signal for an impending artillery strike.

Immediately after, three crimson signal flares shrieked into the air from the Government Soldiers’ main artillery positions. They exploded against the pitch-black night, casting a blinding red glare and tracing menacing arcs across the sky.

The signal was the command—a prelude to the bombardment.

Yan Kuan immediately gave the order to reassure the populace. Then, the two of them watched the dark, distant horizon. Suddenly, a flash of colored light rose at the edge of the sky, seemingly marking a target.

And at that exact moment, the energy cannons mounted on the high ground roared to life.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In an instant, it was as if the edge of the entire continental shelf was set ablaze.

From the countless strategic vantage points winding along the coast, extending from both sides of Qianjiao County’s Port District, hundreds, even thousands, of cannons that had long been lying in wait unleashed a torrent of destruction.

The entire arcing coastline within Yang Wenqing’s view transformed into a steel dragon, spewing lethal flames...

Countless energy shells, trailing fiery wakes like a meteor shower in reverse, shot from the land toward the sea. They wove a terrifying web of destruction in the air, hurtling toward the distant, marked point. It was the most ferocious saturation strike that the collective will of humanity and its rune technology could possibly create!

In that moment, the night sky was utterly set ablaze!

The ceaseless thunder of the cannons merged into a low, guttural roar that drowned out the wind and the waves. It even momentarily suppressed the muffled thunder rolling in from the deep sea. At varying distances and angles, the brilliant flashes of the explosions lit up the roiling sea of clouds and the two towering, golden barriers along the coast, causing them to flicker in and out of view.

Standing on the pier, Yang Wenqing could clearly feel the continuous tremors in the earth beneath him. He gazed into the distance, seeing more than just the firepower from the Port District; he was witnessing a testament to the will of the entire ’Cleanse the Sea’ military theater.

This web of destruction, woven by the combined efforts of multiple counties, used thunder forged by mortal hands to erect an impassable iron curtain around the climactic showdown taking place in the depths of the sea.

After a full ten minutes, the deafening saturation barrage ceased. The guiding light on the horizon finally winked out, and the cannons fell silent.

In an instant, the world plunged into a dead silence even more unnerving than the bombardment had been. The low hum of the distant barrier and the restless slap of waves against the shore only amplified the heart-stopping quiet, leaving one disoriented. It was as if the apocalyptic display of firepower had been nothing but a shared hallucination.

But the silence lasted less than twenty seconds.

Ooooh... VMMM...

A sound, deeper and more muffled than before, began to emanate from the pitch-black depths of both the sky above and the ocean below. It sounded like the death wail of an abyssal behemoth.

"Launch flares continuously! All searchlights, maximum power on the waters ahead!" Yan Kuan roared, his voice hoarse, shattering the brief silence.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

More flares shot into the sky, their ghastly white light blooming in succession, desperately trying to maintain visibility over the water. The beams from the large searchlights, like unyielding swords, remained fixed on the churning surface of the distant sea.

Yang Wenqing stood at the water’s edge, the sea breeze chilling his face. He narrowed his eyes, trying to pierce the gloom in the space where light and darkness battled for dominance.

"I suppose it’s time for the City Command to handle the cleanup?" he said quietly to Yan Kuan.