211: Chapter 211 Is this still the same gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest Xia Kingdom?!

Eight hundred azure meteors trailed blazing tail flames, piercing through the firmament and vanishing past the horizon in an instant.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Yang Tongan, who was still in a state of intense agitation beside him.

He smiled slightly, his eyes full of composure and his tone easygoing.

"Elder Yang, you won't be able to see much more standing here."

He raised his hand and pointed toward the interior of the base.

"Why don't we move to the Main Control Command Room to watch the battle in real-time?"

Yang Tongan suddenly snapped back to his senses.

He gave a heavy nod and waved his large hand.

"Let's go!"

The group strode quickly through the corridor and pushed open the heavy isolation doors of the Main Control Command Room.

Dozens of high-definition LCD screens forming a massive display wall lit up, partitioned into multiple frames.

On the left was a real-time shipborne head-up display (HUD) view from the frontline coast guard ships; the waves rolled, and the atmosphere was solemn.

On the right was an aerial bird's-eye view after connecting to the Chengying Mecha swarm's Quantum Data Link; the footage was currently advancing at a terrifying speed.

...

Southern Sea Area.

The sky was gloomy, the clouds hung extremely low, and the wind and waves grew stronger by the moment.

Over a dozen Monkey Country patrol boats fanned out, weaving and cruising recklessly within Xia Country's waters.

In the distance, three Xia Country coast guard ships faced these uninvited guests; through high-power loudspeakers, a standard international warning broadcast played on a loop over and over.

"This is Xia Country's sea area. Your vessels have crossed the maritime boundary line. Please turn around and exit immediately!"

"This is Xia Country's sea area..."

In response, there were only the sharp sirens and arrogant laughter and insults coming from the decks of the Monkey Country patrol boats.

Above the cockpit of the Monkey Country flagship, a dark-skinned, short, and stout officer bit down on a thick cigar, half his body leaning against the gunwale.

He raised his binoculars and glanced at the white-painted coast guard ships in the distance—which, despite their large tonnage, dared not act—and a look of utter disdain, even mockery, curled the corner of his mouth.

"Listen to that, the same old tired rhetoric again."

He turned his head and blew a smoke ring toward the adjutant beside him.

"Besides shouting, what else can they do? Protest? Or issue a stern condemnation?"

"The superiors from The Other Side of the Ocean already gave us the inside scoop; Xia Country doesn't dare to open fire at all!"

"They care too much about their so-called international image and peaceful development. As long as we don't fire the first shot, they can only stare helplessly!"

The adjutant wore a fawning smile and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"The commander is wise! The Xia people are just paper tigers!"

The officer pointed toward the sea ahead, his small eyes flashing with naked greed.

"Beneath this sea area, it's all black gold!"

"As long as we withstand the pressure and anchor the first Drilling Platform in this sea, aid from The Other Side of the Ocean will follow immediately."

"By then, we will all be national heroes!"

"What are promotions and titles?"

"The superiors from The Other Side of the Ocean personally promised that once this is successful, we'll have green cards, villas—everything we could want!"

Hearing this, the Monkey Country soldiers on deck broke into boisterous, unrestrained laughter, as if they could already see their future wealth and glory.

A soldier leaned against the shield of a heavy machine gun and shouted mockingly at the top of his lungs:

"Commander, didn't Xia Country release some mecha video yesterday?"

"The internet is making it sound like something divine. They wouldn't really send steel monsters to fight us, would they?"

"I'm so scared! Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the boisterous laughter spread even more recklessly across the patrol boat's deck; even the helmsman in the cockpit laughed until tears came.

However, before the laughter could dissipate in the sea breeze...

"Report!"

The lookout at the highest point of the mast suddenly let out a loud cry.

His finger pointed dead toward the northern horizon, his entire arm trembling violently.

"The... the sky! Commander, look at the sky!"

The officer frowned and impatiently took the cigar out of his mouth, raising his binoculars to look in that direction.

Just one look.

The arrogance on his face froze completely.

Through the lenses, at the edge of the northern horizon, a dense mass of black dots appeared, racing toward this sea area at an incredible speed.

"Radar!"

The officer shuddered and hurriedly roared at the top of his lungs.

"What's the situation on the radar? Why hasn't the anti-aircraft alarm sounded?!"

Inside the cockpit, the soldier in charge of the radar stared intently at the screen, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

"Re... Report, Commander!"

"The radar screen is completely blank; there's nothing there!"

The officer's pupils suddenly constricted.

No signal?

Then what were those black things filling the sky?!

Before he even had time to think...

The black dots arrived.

Eight hundred azure tail flames suddenly decelerated in mid-air. The Chengying Mecha formation, in an array so neat it made one's scalp tingle, came to a steady hover above the dozen or so patrol boats.

Five to six-meter-tall cold-grey steel bodies.

Sharp-edged composite armor.

A rhythmic, pulsing deep-blue glow on the chest.

All of this was clearly reflected in the pupils of every Monkey Country soldier, which had constricted to their limit.

On the deck, all laughter was extinguished in an instant.

Only the low-pitched hum from the engines of the eight hundred steel behemoths overhead remained, frantically tearing at their nerves.

Had Xia Country... really brought those monsters that only existed in sci-fi movies into reality?!

And brought them right over their heads?!

"Clang."

Someone's rifle dropped onto the iron deck; the crisp sound became the straw that broke the camel's back.

Extreme terror seized every nerve of the officer.

He forced himself to swallow and, with a voice that had already gone out of tune, let out a shriek.

"Turn around! All vessels, turn around! Full speed retreat! Retreat to the high seas!!!"

In the deepest part of his heart, he was still frantically comforting himself, clinging to a final sliver of hope—

Xia Country had been restrained for decades and never took the initiative to fire the first shot.

As long as they retreated to the high seas, Xia Country certainly wouldn't dare to cross the line and pursue them.

Just get back, just get back...

However, at that moment, he saw the scene he least wanted to see in his entire life.

The dozens of leading Chengying Mechas had no intention of giving any warning at all.

The heavy composite armor on the mechas' backs made mechanical "clack-clack" clicking sounds as it flipped and unfolded layer by layer.

Menacing back-mounted Pulse Particle Accelerator Cannons slowly rose, their muzzles pointed directly at the fleet below.

A greyish-white plasma glow rapidly took shape deep within the muzzles.

Seeing this, the officer's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

His knees went weak, and he collapsed directly onto the deck, his vocal cords distorted by extreme fear.

"Don't fire! We surren—"

However, before he could finish his sentence...

Pillars of greyish-white destructive light descended from the heavens.

The thick plasma beams carried extreme temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees Celsius; the moment they touched their targets, they vaporized all solid matter instantly.

The dozen or so patrol boats, along with all personnel and equipment on board, completely evaporated within tenths of a second of contact with the particle cannons.

On the sea, the violently boiling water let out an earth-shaking "hissing" sound, kicking up a dozen white steam columns that pierced the clouds like miniature mushroom clouds, rising shockingly under the gloomy sky.

A few seconds later...

The gale blew away the steam filling the sky.

The patch of sea that had just been crowded with over a dozen patrol boats was now completely clean.

Not a single metal fragment the size of a fingernail, nor a single drop of oil, remained.

Only the still-violently bubbling azure seawater proved that a one-sided erasure had just taken place.

...

At the same moment.

Looking at the empty sea area where not even dregs remained, and the dense mass of steel behemoths in the sky...

All the big shots and military experts around the world who were currently sitting in front of screens, waiting to see Xia Country made a fool of...

Their brains collectively crashed at this moment.

Was this still the modest and forbearing Xia Country they were familiar with?!