South Island Continent, Southeast Sea Region, part of the sea area governed by the Duorong Federation.

A naval officer stands aboard the patrol ship, facing the sunlight, squinting his eyes and stretching lazily.

He looks towards the sea behind him, observing the golden sunlight casting down, creating a thin white and gold film on the sea surface, a faint smile appearing on his face.

During the patrol last night, luck was on their side as they captured a big one from the ocean.

As part of the South Island Navy, the discipline isn’t exactly lax, but night patrol vessels occasionally let their guard down to fish some special sea creatures, extraordinary beings, which is tacitly allowed.

Many night patrol officers earn some "extra income" during their patrolling duty this way.

Right now, he is doing just that.

Last night, a crew member spotted an extraordinary being underwater through night vision goggles. Without affecting the patrol duties, the group worked together to kill the being and stored it in the cold storage.

Once back on the South Island Continent, they can sell the corpse of this extraordinary being to resource company buyers.

Resource companies usually decompose and refine such beings, extracting not only Essence of Flesh and Blood but even more expensive Extraordinary Essence.

Absolutely invaluable.

However...

Recently, it is said that there have been changes at the upper echelons of the largest resource merchant on the South Island Continent, the Essence Feast, and that the entire business line seems to be under military control now.

One has to be careful when selling.

Although night fishing is tacitly allowed, once it becomes public knowledge, one can still face punishments.

The officer’s name is Qian City, a lieutenant of the South Island Navy’s Fourth Legion and captain of a warship-level vessel.

At this moment, he was secretly contemplating how many Gold Coins the corpse of that big one on his ship might fetch.

"Should... be a bit more..."

"After all, with relations between the two great sea nations getting tenser, resources have become strategic materials, and the prices ordinary people have to pay have tripled."

"This big one... might sell for 4 Gold Coins..."

Gold Coins...

That’s quite a sum!

A warship-level vessel earning 4 Gold Coins, even with some distributed to the brothers who helped, would still allow Qian City to indulge for some time.

"I might even be able to hire Alchemists from Sky Dome Technology to optimize the Alchemy Enchantment on my vessel..."

Qian City thought silently.

But at this moment, Qian City suddenly furrowed his brows slightly.

"Huh?"

He saw the sea fish beneath swarming towards one direction, including some strong extraordinary beings.

It seemed something behind them was driving the fish, causing Qian City’s heart to prick with alertness.

Though off-duty time had come, Qian City’s years of military experience told him that the large-scale migration in front of him was surely amiss.

Has something happened?

Suddenly, Qian City’s pupils shrank dramatically.

He sensed a heavy and death-laden energy level power advancing from afar, towards his location.

This energy level power was overwhelmingly strong and dense, unlike what any one individual could emit.

Not even an ordinary division could gather such immense and concentrated energy level waves.

"Bad!"

Qian City shuddered suddenly and shouted: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! A military force has entered Duorong Federation waters, quickly send a battle report alert!!"

With Qian City’s call, all soldiers on the vessel swiftly sprang into action.

Everyone glanced towards the distance with heavy and uncertain curiosity.

A massive cloud gathered, covering the originally clear sky as the energy level power drew nearer.

"Boom!"

The sky suddenly roared with thunder, indicating that the ocean energy in this region had been stirred to violence by the immensely dense energy pressure, transforming the weather into a severe storm of thunder.

In the lightning flashes afar, Qian City and others suddenly saw a shadow of oppressive and suffocating darkness clearly emerging in their vision.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, illuminating the angular mechanical cannons.

The distant cannon barrels glowed red, causing Qian City’s pupils to constrict drastically, then saw the red light magnify in his eyes until it engulfed the entire world.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion ensued, the sea a flame, and Qian City could only manage a final harrowing scream before being consumed by the endless blaze.

...

Lanyun Sea Country formally declares war on the Duorong Federation!

...

"What? It’s begun?"

On the West Cyan Continent, Ma heard what the crew said and instinctively checked the forum.

Sure enough, he saw a conspicuous pinned post on the forum: "Lanyun VS Duorong, Sea Country War Commences, A New Era is Dawning."

In the post, Ma saw numerous Blue Star Captains constantly discussing.

Some were happy, as it likely meant an influx of endless tasks.

Others were worried, as the commencement of war might imply dislocation, seeking refuge, or even getting caught in the crossfire, leading to death.

As time progresses, the atmosphere on the forum was far from what it was when Blue Star Captains first descended.