Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 319 The Value of Fine Wine

Su Ming and Catherine continued to communicate about the battle situation using the communication array. Although the response delays ranged from twenty minutes to an hour, Su Ming had gradually adapted to this message-style asynchronous dialogue mode.

"You can retreat deeper into the Arctic Circle?" Catherine was quite surprised. "The shipping lanes in that area are completely frozen!"

“The initial configuration I chose for the Pansy is the ice-breaking configuration,” Su Ming explained. “Therefore, if the battle turns unfavorable, we can forcibly leave the battlefield at any time and move into the depths of the icy sea.”

The forces assembled by the Temple of Light this time are unprecedentedly powerful: eight "Dawn Pioneer" class main cruisers, two high-end magic warships, and the Naga navy fighting in coordination.

Even if the Silver Dragon Guard is successfully eliminated, the remaining naval forces of the enemy are still extremely powerful, and the possibility of other unknown variables cannot be ruled out.

Moreover, although Yin Fei's whereabouts are unknown, it doesn't mean she won't suddenly appear on the battlefield.

“No wonder you dared to fight back.” Catherine finally understood Su Ming’s intention.

Su Ming's core tactical objective is to completely destroy the enemy's aircraft carrier capable of carrying dragons, as well as the two crucial magical warships. Once this objective is achieved, the remaining conventional gunboats of the Temple of Light will essentially lose their ability to defeat the Pansy, and control of the sea will be firmly in their hands.

This move will eliminate the enemy's most threatening strategic foothold, giving our side absolute initiative in subsequent base expansion operations.

The encirclement that General Theodore could envision would be a circular formation facing Su Ming head-on, blocking any escape routes in other directions. Therefore, if the battle failed, the Pansy could simply retreat into the icy seas of the Arctic Circle.

If the Temple of Light were to pursue them along the route broken open by the Pansy, Su Ming would excitedly recommend to them an agricultural product from his hometown: intelligent sea mines.

Su Ming believes he has a great talent for driving sales.

In short, the Bright Fleet might be able to predict the firepower configuration of Su Ming's side, but they could never have imagined that they would be facing a warship with icebreaking capabilities.

This is the source of Su Ming's invincibility.

“I understand that,” Catherine said. “In addition, we have confirmed the models of the large magical devices carried by the other side’s two magic ships: ‘Eternal Winter Veil’ and ‘Heart of Winter’.”

Following this communication, detailed documentation and relevant performance data were also sent.

"Eternal Winter Veil" is a weather manipulation magic weapon that can guide and enhance blizzards, creating short-term extreme weather within a region to provide battlefield cover.

As the fully ship-based version of the "Winter's Ring," the "Heart of Winter" possesses extremely powerful frost-based attack capabilities. The Light Fleet's tactical intentions are clear: to use the "Eternal Winter Veil" to create a favorable battlefield environment for a surprise attack, and with the help of its frost-based bonuses and amplification effects, to launch a fatal blow against the Pansy using the "Heart of Winter."

The Bright Fleet maintained an exceptionally tight grip on the secrecy surrounding these tactical details; these core secrets were not obtained directly through military channels.

However, Su Ming's side integrated the inside information from Catherine, the export records of specific magical materials from the North over the past three months collected by Princess Daphne, and the tracking of recent abnormal transaction flows in the alchemy market by the vast merchant guild resource network controlled by Violet.

The cross-verification and in-depth analysis of intelligence from three sources made the Temple of Light's entire battle plan as transparent as a goldfish in a glass bowl.

****
March 10, the day after the Pansy set sail.

The MK71 203mm heavy gun, after undergoing modernization, conducted its first live-fire test. Accompanied by a deafening roar and a burst of flame from the muzzle, a salvo of high-explosive shells accurately struck a sizable ice floe in the distance.

A massive column of water, carrying shattered ice shards, shot skyward, instantly tearing the hard, thick ice floes apart into countless flying fragments by the violent impact.

The astonishing destructive power left all the onlookers on deck in awe, with low gasps rising and falling.

Only Angie seemed a little sullen. She crossed her arms and muttered, "Now even a three-year-old can launch an attack by tapping a few times on a touchscreen!"

This is true to a certain extent: the newly installed advanced fire control computer system can integrate gun-aiming radar data and current weather parameters in real time, perform complex trajectory prediction calculations, and make corrections based on the actual situation, completely eliminating the arduous manual calculation process for artillery officers.

“…I will set a password for the MK71’s touchscreen,” Su Ming said with a smile.

Beian rolled her eyes at Su Ming. "You're making the last bit of beauty in war between big ships and cannons disappear!" she protested angrily.

However, her attention was soon drawn to a new technology—dynamic propellant.

With the support of a powerful fire control computer, artillery officers are freed from tedious calculations and can devote their energy to higher-level tactical design. One such direction is to flexibly adjust the propellant charge in the propellant chamber according to the ever-changing battlefield situation to achieve more precise and efficient attacks.

"Wow! Multiple shells hitting simultaneously (MRSI)? That's amazing!" The more Beianqi studied it, the more her eyes lit up, her excitement overflowing.

Miao Xin contacted Su Ming, and it turned out that the "Eagle Chicken" anti-ship missile DEMO test version from Fengshou had finally completed its development and initial assembly. "Why is it still a DEMO test version?" Su Ming asked in confusion.

“After all, the magical warships you encounter in another world are not the same as the sailboats we use as target ships here,” Harvest patiently explained. “Only when you actually use them on the battlefield to destroy the target enemy ships can this ‘test version’ label be rightfully removed.”

“Alright,” Su Ming nodded understandingly, “Then let’s arrange two for the teleportation.”

Harvest was quite surprised: "You only want two? That's too stingy! You won't even give us one for a whole ship. Won't those aliens think we Earthlings haven't been hospitable enough?"

“There’s no other way.” Su Ming sighed helplessly. “If you could manufacture missiles using only basic metals like copper, iron, and aluminum, I’d take whatever you offer!” His tone also carried a hint of complaint. “Do you know what it feels like to have to prepare dozens of different materials in advance for each teleportation? It’s been so many years since the college entrance exam, and I’m forced to memorize the periodic table all over again!”

Upon hearing this, Miss Ghost couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Not long after, on the bone-fixed frame on the deck of the Pansy, accompanied by a flash of light, two slender "Eagle Chicken" missiles were reassembled and lay there quietly like birds of prey waiting to hunt.

Violet strolled over curiously, examining the two missiles closely. "Are they... the 'Eagle Chicken' missiles used in the Battle of Holy Mountain again?" she asked uncertainly. "Can this weapon really be effective on a stormy sea?"

Su Ming shook his head and explained, "It's different. This is an anti-ship variant designed for surface ships. It has a faster sprint speed, and the warhead structure and explosive charge are very different."

“But didn’t we run out of alcohol on board a long time ago?” Zijin suddenly remembered something important and quickly reminded him, “I remember that when you were preparing those torpedoes, you were using the last of your stock.”

Su Ming's lips curled up slightly. "How could there not be? Rupert managed to get his hands on quite a lot of strong distilled spirits in the Divine Grace Sea. In addition, I bought up all the rum in stock on the Beer Ship."

****
As they spoke, the service staff were already busy pulling piles of wine jars out of the cargo hold. One by one, the lids were opened, and an intensely rich and intoxicating aroma immediately burst forth, spreading freely through the air on the deck.

The alchemy team members then stepped forward and carefully purified these precious liquids before injecting them into the missile's fuel tank.

Seeing the exquisite wine, with its beautiful color and unparalleled aroma, being wasted in such a way, many crew members showed expressions of heartache and regret.

The collection that Shen Enhai found is not the ordinary stuff you find on the market.

Looking at the flowing wine, Zijin felt a pang of sadness, and a faint blush began to appear on her cheeks.

Seeing this, Su Ming reached out and pulled her away from the area shrouded in the strong smell of alcohol. "Too much alcohol will make you drunk. With your body, you can probably only handle about a glass of fruit wine, right?"

Zijin was a little unconvinced. "I'll practice a bit more and get used to it. Soon I'll be able to drink strong liquor too!"

"No touching it is allowed without my supervision!" Su Ming firmly rejected the idea.

【Hmph!】 Violet pouted.

She looked around and suddenly noticed that a figure who should have been there, weeping and wailing over the wine, was missing. "By the way, where is your training camp's head instructor, Rupert?"

She thought about it and realized that she hadn't seen him for two days, and there were far fewer necromancers on the ship.

“Oh, I sent him with the damage control team to carry out the mission,” Su Ming replied.

After a moment's thought, Zijin roughly guessed where the group had gone.

"Is it to raid the port of Grodno, strike the Light Fleet's supply lines, and force them to retreat?" Violet exclaimed in admiration, "Indeed, you and Catherine always think so thoroughly and meticulously."

“That is indeed a standard tactical option,” Su Ming said. “The opposing commander doesn’t know that we have such a large group of necromancers, and therefore doesn’t know that we have the ability to launch a ground attack on the port.” He then refuted Violet’s statement, “But this time we don’t need to wear down the enemy through logistics—that would be too slow.”

"...What are Rupert and the others doing at the port?" Violet asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember the battle we fought against the pirates when we were escorting a large trade convoy?" Su Ming asked. "We won too quickly that time, and most of the enemy escaped."

“Yes,” Zijin said regretfully. “Naval battles are so troublesome. Even with such a huge advantage, we don’t get much spoils.”

“So this time,” Su Ming revealed a knowing smile, “we need to plan ahead!”

(End of this chapter)