Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
A violent tempest howled relentlessly across the expanse of the Jinghai Sea, churning up dense, brine-soaked spray that lashed furiously against the reinforced crystal viewports of Forward Command Post No. 3.
Though it was high noon, the sky hung pitch-black, as though a colossal vat of ink had been overturned across the heavens. Churning tiers of tempestuous storm clouds skimmed perilously close to the raging swells, violently torn apart at sporadic intervals by branching webs of blinding white lightning. The muffled roar of distant thunder bounced off the fortress’s outer crags, causing the span-thick alloy armor plating along the fortification walls to tremble and groan.
“Report! The Jinglei supply convoy has crossed into the eye of a Category-12 typhoon at coordinate X-104! All shortwave mana communications arrays are suffering catastrophic interference!”
“The magical barrier of our flagship, Jinglei 01, has fallen below thirty percent! The deep-sea fiend-birds have torn clean through the outer ward!”
“Emergency distress code Red! If reinforcements do not make contact within fifteen minutes, all three ironclad warships will be dragged straight to the seafloor!”
Panicked cries reverberated throughout the combat operations hall. Dozens of communications officers sat paper-white, their fingers flying in a blur across runic control panels flashing in frantic crimson.