425: Fusang Anomaly

After imprisoning these people, Longyuan continued his work, collecting all the valuables from within the various caves into the Heavenly Dao Space.

In the blink of an eye, the entire cavern was emptied, not even a lamp was left burning!

Leaving the cavern, Longyuan did not return to Dingyuan City, but instead headed towards Shuntian Prefecture.

Following the guidance of the Heavenly Eye, he planned to collect all the cultivation Geniuses discovered throughout Great Ming.

These individuals represented Great Ming's cultivation foundation and had to be brought into the Sinkhole Base, absolutely preventing the Tianji Pavilion from seizing them.

While cultivation Geniuses certainly existed in other nations, that was currently beyond his reach, as the Heavenly Eye could only cover the territory of Great Ming for the time being...

It took three days for Longyuan to travel directly from the remote Northwest to Shuntian Prefecture.

Gazing at the vast and boundless city before him, he felt boundless emotion.

Such a city resembled a divine miracle; had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it could exist in the Mortal realm!

He took a deep breath and quickly walked toward the city gate...

Almost the moment Longyuan entered Shuntian Prefecture, trouble erupted in the Fusang Country, separated from Great Ming by a stretch of sea!

The Fusang Country is fundamentally an island nation, composed of a series of scattered islands.

Some of these islands are so remote they remain completely uninhabited.

Their population is mainly concentrated on a few major islands.

Fishing, agriculture, and hunting are their primary economic pillars.

Consequently, their fleets are often sighted at sea, and the continuous flow of catches not only satisfies domestic demand but is also exported to neighboring countries such as Great Ming, the War Bear Country, and Sun Country.

Today was no different; a large Fusang fleet was returning with a full load of catches.

Just as they were nearing the port, the weather suddenly changed, massive waves surged, and countless sea beasts emerged from the ocean, launching a ferocious attack.

These were not the low-level sea beasts typically found in these waters, but mid-to-high level sea beasts possessing tremendous fighting strength.

They were not only fast and powerful, but their methods of attack were diverse, and they even appeared to utilize organized battle tactics.

Caught completely off guard, the fleet quickly disintegrated and suffered heavy losses.

Ultimately, only a small number of mid-to-high level Xuan Practitioners managed to escape with their lives; everyone else perished in the sea!

What made the Fusang People even more desperate was that this attack was merely the beginning.

As more and more sea creatures gathered along the coast, they began charging onto the beaches and advancing toward human settlements, carrying out bloody massacres along the way.

For a time, blood rained and winds howled, and vast swathes of human habitation fell one after another.

Countless Mortals and Xuan Practitioners were devoured.

The entire Fusang Country was suddenly in peril, alarms sounded everywhere, and they began gathering their fighting forces, preparing for a bloody battle against the sea creatures...

Yingtian Prefecture, the Emperor Ming's Traveling Palace, Council Hall.

Early that morning, the hall was packed, yet the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.

After the strange developments in the Fusang Country, news of the sea creature invasion quickly reached Great Ming.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Prince An immediately summoned all the officials for discussion in Yingtian Prefecture.

Qi Wuxia, Yu Xun, Geng Rutai, Li Gui, and other key ministers arrived, joined by representatives from major aristocratic families and various civilian powers.

Upon receiving the summons, none dared to delay, rushing to the Council Hall.

Most only realized upon seeing Prince An that he was presiding over the entire affair, which brought them immediate relief, allowing them to slightly ease their worries.

Everyone knew that Prince An was the greatest expert in Great Ming, and with him in charge, Great Ming would at least avoid becoming a disorganized mess.

This point was crucial.

The current situation in Great Ming was characterized by numerous factions vying for power, severe internal conflicts, and many groups refusing to submit to one another.

Without a strong leader like Prince An overseeing major affairs, the arrival of a powerful enemy would likely plunge them into a chaotic state of independent fighting, which would inevitably cripple their overall combat effectiveness.

Prince An's expression was calm, though his tone was somewhat cool as he declared: "The naval defense of Great Ming is now under my command!"

"I believe everyone here is aware of the news that the Fusang Country has been invaded by sea creatures."

"In my estimation, the invasion of Fusang is merely a vanguard action by the sea creatures."

"Their true target must be our Great Ming."

"Given Fusang's strength, they can resist for about a month at most, meaning the time left for us to prepare is limited!"

"I trust everyone understands the formidable strength of the sea creatures."

"We must hold firm in this battle and absolutely not allow them to drive straight in and slaughter our people!"

"We ministers swear to fight to the death!" Everyone responded loudly in unison.

"If any of you have strategies, please state them directly.

I will select the best ones to implement and reward you handsomely!

General Qi, please start by introducing the recent military affairs to everyone!" Prince An said.

"Yes!" Qi Wuxia responded loudly.

He and Geng Rutai were both military representatives.

Having assisted Prince An with significant tasks recently, it was natural for him to start the discussion.

He said: "Over the past month or so, we have preemptively reinforced over three hundred cities along the eastern coast, and military training has been intensified."

"However, there are currently a few main issues: First, because Great Ming has an extremely long coastline, the sea creatures may attack us from various directions."

"Therefore, communication and coordinated combat between the cities are extremely important."

"Once signs of a sea creature attack are detected, we must ensure smooth information flow, rapid response, and multi-party coordinated combat."

"Second, the firepower of all cities urgently needs strengthening."

"We must eliminate the sea beasts as much as possible from long range to ensure that close-quarters combat reduces losses among our soldiers."

"Third, our reserve soldiers must be organized immediately, and they must be deployed to the front lines to fill gaps when necessary!"

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

As military representatives, their analysis of the war situation was extremely detailed.

Although they presented three major issues, it also gave everyone a sense of direction.

After Qi Wuxia finished speaking, Geng Rutai continued: "From the information we have gathered, there are many experts among the sea creatures, and the fighting strength of many sea beasts has far exceeded our imagination."

"If such experts are allowed to enter a city, our defenses will likely fall quickly."

"Therefore, every city must be guarded by multiple experts at the Martial General level or above, and large cities must be guarded by a Martial Commander."

"The moment a sea creature expert appears, we must launch a proactive attack and stop them outside the city walls!"

"My suggestion is that everyone abandon the Xuan Practitioner principle of fighting solo."

"Instead, we must cooperate in battle, striving to eliminate them as quickly as possible to minimize losses among our ordinary soldiers!"

"But what if even our top-tier fighting strength can't hold them off?" someone asked weakly.

"Well... This situation is unavoidable, after all, no one knows which city the sea creature experts will attack."

"That's why our information response and coordinated combat capabilities are so important."

"Should this situation occur, we must quickly send out distress signals, allowing the top experts from nearby cities to rush over for support!" Geng Rutai said.

"What if... I mean, what if the enemy's strength is overwhelmingly powerful, and even combining the top fighting strength of multiple cities still isn't enough to resist them?" the person continued...