“Commander, we are ready to begin the operation, please give us the order to depart.”

“Very well, we shall commence with the operation, we will depart now and be victorious!”

“As you wish!”

Zhang Zhi pulled out his new sword and pointed it toward the artificial island in the distance. Some time had passed since they were given the order to take that place over. They had been preparing for weeks and finally, all was ready to take the fight to the fish people.

It was not a grand operation like the one during the demonic island incident. However to the people gathered here it had even more meaning. Many of them were put into leading positions while in the previous event they were just following the Patriarch.

In their eyes, they didn’t feel like they did much during the last battle. The two grand elders and the Patriarch took out the strongest enemies. They were just along for the ride and even had trouble battling the regular demonic army that was now missing. This was their moment to show their true worth, they needed to prove themselves to the sect and pave a path toward immortality.

The commanding officer for this battle was Zhang Zhi. Currently, he was floating above ground while looking toward the sea. The underwater ships that were tailor-made for this attack started revving up their engines. Out on land large dragons made from water started to from. Each one of them had a core nascent soul member and multiple core formation experts inside of its body. These grand battle formations moved next to the large underwater ships.

No one really knew what to expect but they did believe in one thing, the sect, and their leader. If the Patriarch thought that they would be able to conquer this new enemy by themselves, then they would. There weren’t any second thoughts, only victory and honor were on their mind.

Soon the large underwater armada was making its way towards the floating island near the shoreline. Their enemies were not surprised and met them head-on as under the sea a different spectacle was taking place. Many sea creatures of varying shapes and sizes tossed themselves at the invaders.

Zhi spread out his senses and could feel a swarm of living beings approaching. Their numbers were tremendous and a stark contrast to the demi-humans that came in a smaller number. Luckily they all weren’t that powerful the many sea beasts were mostly at the Qi condensation but they also had a lot of foundation establishment troops mixed in.

This was not the time for him to act, he was the leader. While the Patriarch liked to delve into battle by himself he was not allowed the same leisure. There was a vast difference in their power levels and Zhi was aware of this. If he made a mistake his skills would probably not be high enough to help him out of trouble.

For the time being, he allowed his troops to pave a path forward. First came a tidal wave of small creatures, fish with sharp teeth and the size of sharks were very prevalent. Yet they would not come far as the underwater ships were quick to launch their armaments at the monsters.

It was the first time for him to see the ingenious weapon that the Patriarch created. Spiritual energy bullets weren’t as effective underwater as above it. Instead, the ships launched specialized shells that had a propeller at the end. It would continue to spin and add speed to the projectile.

Zhi was quite captivated by the large quantity that was made by their sect in this short time. The scientists and blacksmiths informed him that the vast majority was procured by the Patriarch himself. The ways of manufacturing them at this scale were unknown to them but they were trying to keep up.

With this much ammunition on their side, the swarm of underwater creatures was defenseless. The large numbers were actually a detriment as they couldn’t maneuver out of the way. The moment a torpedo collided with one of the beasts it produced a huge explosion. Blood and guts soon riddled the sea while continuous explosions produced gassers of bones.

The sect submarines were able to take out the vast majority of the initial beasts but some of them still made it through. This was just a testament to their ferocity and sheer numbers that even a huge amount of explosive rounds couldn’t clear out.

Zhi wasn’t worried though as the more modern ships had guards around them. The moment some of the monsters made it too close to the submarines they were attacked by sea serpents made from water energy. With the vast quantity of water here it was easy for the masters to keep these water serpents working.

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Most of them had come from the Zhang Clan and were still using one of the core formations that were created and later improved by the Patriarch. Thus most of the swarm of fish ranging from Qi condensation to foundation establishment were dealt with by the underwater ships. However, this was not over yet, the real test of their might still remained.

Massive underwater monsters were still waiting for them. They surrounded the fake island that was a beast in itself. The closer the armada of ships belonging to the United Element sect got the harder it became. The defending army was quite relentless and without any fear for their life.

“It can’t end with these mindless drones, the people in charge must come out eventually, otherwise we will surround them.”

Zhi along with some other elders and support flying ships moved in tandem with the underwater submarine squadron. He did not believe that the underwater creatures were the only line of defense. Zhang Dong had informed all of them about the enemies and they had even examined the trident and their physiology beforehand.

Just as he thought as they got closer the nascent soul sea monsters started to move. Their size was truly tremendous and it didn’t seem to slow them down at all. The top part was more humanoid in shape while the underside consisted either of tentacles or fish tails. They weren’t unified in shape or size but all of them started moving.

At first, the monsters just waited there but suddenly a strange wail escaped from this island monster. The sound wave produced a massive tsunami which would cause a lot of damage to the seashore. Under the waves, the massive blast of sound waves collided with the formations and the ships to push them away.

Right on cue, the army activated various defensive measures to disperse this wide area attack and continued to push forward. They continued firing the torpedoes but from within the island structure blasts of sound energy continued to repel all of these projectiles.

Finally, the large monster revealed itself, the head sprung forward and it was quite tremendous. Even the huge sea monsters that were equal to nascent soul masters were like mere ants compared to this behemoth.

“Is that a turtle beast? But how can it have grown to this size…”

Only a tip of the giant monster's shell was sticking out and it already looked like a small island. The creature had to be several kilometers in diameter but was still able to keep itself afloat. It was clear that this was done with the help of some spiritual energy as nothing this big wouldn’t sink.

This was their true target, the massive creature that was the size of a city. But it wasn’t their only opponent as the nascent soul level creatures that were guarding it started to move forward the underwater ships that couldn’t fire their torpedos anymore.

To add to the injury the giant turtle beast started revealing its head further as before it was hidden away in its shell. There was something off about this turtle though. Even though it had a giant head, the orifices where its legs should be remained empty. Instead of large limbs, strange humanoid-looking underwater beings started pouring out.

“Are those the underwater dwellers? They look like the sub-species type that takes orders from those mermen…”

The patriarch came up with the names of mermaids and mermen for these underwater creatures. However, they had not come across any female versions of them yet. There was a possibility of them not existing but the males of this species did have all the organs required to be considered male. One of the theories was that the women were not as violent and stuck tending to the children but perhaps soon that conclusion would prove faulty.

“None of the leaders are showing up though, considering that they are using their beasts like this…”

Zhi mumbled to himself while also unsheathing his long blade. The moment it left the sheath a humming sound was produced. While the monsters were pointing their fangs at the vast armada of ships and the sea serpents he used this chance to approach.

The flying ships in the sky remained stationary but also moved into a firing formation. The large cannons at the helm started charging up spiritual energy and aiming toward the part of the turtle's shell that was revealed. Soon a barrage of energy bolts rained down from the sky and uncovered the fake ground that occupied the turtle's back.

It didn’t seem that this monster turtle had anything to counter this air attack. However, the shell that was covering it didn’t budge at all. Even when it was pelted by a swarm of energy attacks they weren’t producing any damage. Probably with such a defensive monster on their side the mermen didn’t feel threatened.

Zhang Zhi didn’t think that they would remain passive for too long. They were inclined to use their beasts first but after their troops were shaved off enough they had to show their hand. When the time came then he would be ready for it.

Playing the waiting game was a bit new to him. Usually, he just delved into battles as one of the soldiers. On this occasion, he had to hold himself back, if he fell then this whole operation could fail. The commanding officer needed to remain tall and be a beacon of hope to their troops. At least that’s what he thought after seeing their leader in action so many times.

“Commander!”

“I know, get ready now the true battle starts…”

Finally, the turtle released another wave of sound that even caused him to recoil in pain. From the holes on the sides, something was coming out. The spiritual energy signature was similar to their previous prisoner and aligned to the powerful trident weapon and there were multiple, it was the time for him to delve into battle and show what he was made of.

…

“They are doing alright for now… let’s see what he does next…”

Zhang Dong stopped working and looked at the large set of screens on the side. There he could see the entire force Zhang Zhi was leading and the moment the underwater beast leaders finally showed themselves.