High in the sky, a massive aerial warship hovered in place.
Countless flying skiffs poured out from within it, filling the air as they continuously fired laser beams down at the surging tide of monsters.
"Beautiful!"
Fushe threw his head back and laughed loudly.
This wave of air support had come at exactly the right moment!
With the air force joining the fight, the defensive pressure at Lingju Pass was immediately reduced by a huge margin.
After reports flooded in from all major military districts—each confirming they were under monster attack—Guizhong didn't hesitate in the slightest.
All aerial fortresses were ordered to deploy at once.
As thunderous roars echoed through the sky, six colossal aerial fortresses—Zi Rat, Chou Ox, Yin Tiger, Mao Rabbit, Chen Dragon, and Si Snake—rose into the air and sped toward their respective battle zones.
The remaining two, Wu Horse and Wei Goat, were dispatched toward the positions of the Lisha Fleet and the Chenyu Fleet to reinforce the naval battles.
At this moment, Liyue Harbor was in chaos.
The sudden explosions and towering tsunamis had completely stunned the civilians.
"What's going on?! Why did the sea suddenly turn like this?"
"What was that loud explosion just now?!"
"Didn't the Archon War end ages ago? What is happening? Is someone attacking Liyue?!"
"It's fine, it's fine! Liyue is protected by the Adepti and the Geo Archon! We also have the Millelith and the adepti—nothing will happen!"
"Have faith in our nation! Didn't you see? Even that huge tsunami was blasted apart by our fleets!"
"I just saw all the aerial fortresses over Mount Tianheng take off—something big has definitely happened!"
Since the main battlefields were far away, neither the ground forces nor the navy had been drawn back to Liyue Harbor itself.
As a result, the civilians hadn't suffered direct harm—only a great shock.
The sky had turned gray and oppressive, as if a veil of ash had been draped across it.
Like an omen of the apocalypse.
In a stretch of sea near Inazuma.
Here, cannon fire thundered endlessly as countless warships clashed with swarms of sea beasts and monsters charging straight at the fleet.
Compared to the black, endless tide of monsters, this fleet stood like an invisible barrier, holding back wave after wave of attacks.
This was the patrol zone of the Chenyu Fleet.
No one had expected that such an enormous number of monsters would suddenly surge out from the direction of Inazuma.
"What on earth is happening over there in Inazuma?!"
"Why are there so many monsters?!"
The captain of the Chenyu Fleet braced himself against the howling sea winds, surveying the battlefield.
Under the dense artillery coverage of the Chenyu Fleet, the monster tide fell like harvested wheat—cut down in swathes.
Yet they continued to come, wave after wave.
Boom!!!
A pillar of light slammed into the sea, annihilating a vast cluster of sea beasts.
From the sky, a colossal warship descended.
It was the Wu Horse aerial fortress, arriving as reinforcement.
[Liyue Air Force, Aerial Fortress Wu Horse, reporting in to the Chenyu Fleet!]
With air support joining the fight, the suddenly appearing monster tide became little more than lambs waiting for slaughter.
But at the same time, the energy reserves of both the Chenyu Fleet and the Wu Horse fortress were draining at an alarming rate.
"This won't work, Captain!"
"We need a place to dock and replenish our energy!"
"If our power runs out, the entire Chenyu Fleet will be buried at sea!"
The fleet's inspector rushed out of the cabin and shouted at the captain.
"No!" the captain snapped, his face dark.
"We absolutely cannot retreat!"
"We can't lead this monster tide back toward Liyue Harbor!"
He knew the inspector was right.
The Chenyu Fleet was only on patrol duty; its energy reserves were nowhere near enough for prolonged combat.
After a brief moment of grim contemplation, the captain made his decision.
"Notify all ships—stop defensive maneuvers!"
"Switch to full assault mode. We're pushing into Inazuma!"
"Damn it all—I want to see exactly what the hell happened over there in Inazuma!"
"Send a message to the brothers aboard Wu Horse. Have them carve us a path forward!"
"All ships, charge main cannons immediately!"
"Even if our ships are destroyed and we all die here today, not a single monster is getting past us into Liyue!"
The moment the order was issued, the entire Chenyu Fleet's combat style turned fiercely aggressive.
Energy surged through Wu Horse as its forward section opened once more.
The massive cannon at its prow gathered a blinding concentration of light.
Boom!!!!!
A colossal beam fired straight into the sea, triggering a violent explosion.
Waves roared sky-high as countless monsters wailed and perished.
The monster tide on the sea surface was blasted open, leaving a gaping hole.
Flying skiffs unleashed continuous laser fire, shredding the surrounding monsters.
At the same time, the Chenyu Fleet advanced in full force toward Inazuma City.
Under relentless laser barrages, the frontline was pushed step by step toward Inazuma.
Inazuma City.
Unlike Liyue, which only faced the sea on one side, Inazuma—surrounded by water on all sides—was suffering far more severely from the monster tide.
Soldiers of the Tenryou Commission roared in fury, fighting nonstop across Narukami Island.
The roars of monsters, the screams of civilians, and the shouts of soldiers echoed across islands large and small throughout Inazuma.
Kitsune Saiguu and Torachiyo each held their ground—one defending Inazuma City, the other guarding the Grand Narukami Shrine—swinging their blades without pause.
Countless warriors of the yokai and oni clans surged onto the battlefield, fighting side by side with the Tenryou Commission to resist the invasion.
Makoto had secretly answered the summons of the Heavenly Principles without telling Ei.
When Ei learned of it, she rushed north without hesitation to search for her sister.
With Ei—Inazuma's top-tier combatant—absent, the nation was caught completely off guard by the sudden monster tide.
"Is this… the end?"
After cutting down another swath of monsters, Kitsune Saiguu looked around at the endless waves still pouring in, despair filling her eyes.
The monsters, shrouded in black mist, roared as they charged forward without end.
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