Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

On its enormous head grew a single horn, around which faint electric sparks flickered.

This is no ordinary sea creature, but an ancient remnant that has been lurking in this sea area where the spiritual energy has not yet been exhausted for countless years!

The ferocious beast seemed to be disturbed by the commotion caused by the massive fleet's voyage; its eyes, the size of millstones, flashed with a bloodthirsty and ferocious red light.

It let out a roar like muffled thunder, and its giant tail slammed against the sea, creating towering waves tens of meters high.

It charged straight toward the outer treasure ships on the right flank of the Ming fleet.

Faced with such a terrifying force, as if a mountain were collapsing, an ordinary fleet would have been terrified and scattered in all directions.

however.

The Ming Dynasty's navy is no longer what it used to be.

The moment the ferocious beast burst from the water, the fleet's command system, like a sophisticated machine, instantly operated at its maximum capacity.

On the main ship, command flags waved.

The three treasure ships on the right flank, which were originally on guard, not only did not retreat, but instead, driven by the formation, turned their bows in unison and surrounded the ferocious beast.

"Hard to port! Prepare the ballistae!"

The officer on the patrol ship stood at the bow, drew his sword, and roared angrily.

"put!"

With a command given.

More than ten heavy ballistae, modified by the Qintian Pavilion and covered with "Great Strength Runes," simultaneously emitted a teeth-grinding sound of their mechanisms launching.

More than ten heavy crossbow bolts, each over ten feet long and made entirely of fine steel, pierced the deep-sea beast with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, like more than ten black lightning bolts.

"Jingle bells!"

A series of rapid metallic clanging sounds echoed across the sea.

The beast's dark red scales were exceptionally hard; most of the crossbow bolts were deflected the moment they struck the scales, leaving only a few shallow white marks.

However, three or four crossbow bolts, empowered by the runes, managed to pierce the gaps in the beast's scales and penetrate deep into its flesh.

"roar!"

The ferocious beast, in pain, let out a deafening roar.

Its massive body churned violently in the seawater, its giant tail sweeping outwards.

"boom!"

A guard ship that couldn't dodge in time was struck squarely by the giant tail.

Even the ship, reinforced with spirit wood, cracked under such primal force.

The wooden planks on one side of the ship were torn apart, seawater rushed in, the ship tilted violently, and the sailors on deck were thrown into the icy water.

On the civilian fleet side, Zhao Laolang and the others felt their scalps tingle and their legs go weak.

"We're doomed... This monster can even shred the ships of the Ming Dynasty navy. Our crappy sand barge wouldn't even be a match for it!"

Old Zhao's face was ashen, and he muttered to himself in despair.

Li Changqing held the bowl of noodles, his expression still as nonchalant as ever.

He looked at the ferocious beast raging on the sea and shook his head slightly.

"A beast is still a beast. If it doesn't know how to retreat, it's courting death."

Just as the ferocious beast was preparing to launch a fatal blow against the tilting treasure ship, sinking the entire vessel completely.

Directly in front of the sea level.

A massive, jet-black Wavebreaker-class warship, having somehow broken away from its main force, silently sailed into the right flank of the battlefield like a giant steel dragon.

On the mainmast of the warship, the banner of Wang Shouren, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, fluttered wildly in the wind.

"Order the right-wing ships to retreat!"

Wang Shouren stood at the bow of the boat, his gaze coldly fixed on the ferocious beast that was rampaging. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at a cold corpse.

"Load the main gun with armor-piercing gems. Give them to me, and blast it to pieces!"

"Yes, sir!"

The gunners on deck shouted in response and skillfully inserted a white spirit stone, radiating a sharp aura, into the energy tank of the three-zhang-long thunder and fire rune giant cannon.

next moment.

A blinding burst of light suddenly erupted from the bow of the Wavebreaker-class behemoth.

"boom!!!"

A terrifying, deafening roar that silenced heaven and earth.

A thick, incandescent white beam of light shot out from the cannon barrel.

The beam of light contained an extremely violent and destructive aura, and even the surrounding air was scorched and distorted by the high temperature.

The ferocious deep-sea beast seemed to sense a deadly threat; the lightning on its horn flickered wildly as it tried to dive into the deep sea to escape.

But it was too late.

The blazing white beam of light swept across the sea in an instant, slamming into the beast's enormous head with overwhelming force.

The hard, dark red scales were as fragile as paper before the Ming Dynasty's heavy cannons, which were imbued with the power of immortal runes.

"laugh."

The beam of light pierced through the beast's head without any obstruction, bringing with it a shower of blood and bits of flesh.

The ferocious beast didn't even have time to let out a final scream before its massive body stiffened abruptly, then crashed back into the sea like a collapsing mountain.

The dark red blood instantly stained the sea for miles around.

One shot.

Just one shot.

This ancient species, which had lived for countless years and possessed the power to overturn rivers and seas, was swiftly and decisively wiped out by the war machine of the Ming Dynasty.

A brief silence fell over the sea.

Followed by.

Both the royal fleet and the civilian fleets behind it erupted in a frenzied cheer, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing.

"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

The sailors brandished their weapons and shouted at the top of their lungs.

This shocking scene they witnessed completely shattered the last vestiges of fear they had for the unknown seas.

With such mighty cannons clearing the way, what deity on this vast ocean could possibly stop the advance of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhao Laolang was so excited that his face turned red. He grabbed Li Changqing's arm and shouted loudly.

"Li, the accountant, did you see that?! One shot! That huge monster was gone in one shot! The cannons of our Ming Dynasty are truly divine!"

Li Changqing subtly pulled his arm away from Zhao Laolang's sweaty hand.

He placed the empty noodle bowl on the square table and took out a silk handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

As he gazed at the enormous beast carcass that was gradually sinking into the sea, a deep contemplation flashed in Li Changqing's eyes.

"Although cannons are powerful, the flesh, scales, and armor of these ferocious beasts are also excellent spiritual materials. It would be a waste to let them sink to the bottom of the sea like this."

He turned his head and looked at the majestic Wavebreaker-class flagship in front of him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Wang Shouren is a master of military strategy, but he still needs to work on his calculations for daily life."

After this battle, the morale of the Ming fleet reached its peak.

The rest of the voyage went surprisingly smoothly.

Occasionally, they would encounter a few weak, ignorant sea monsters, but before the main warships could even fire their cannons, they were riddled with arrows and muskets by the treasure ships on the periphery, who were eager to make a name for themselves.