Appearing across the water was a massive combined sea-and-air fleet consisting of more than a hundred airships, nearly thirty warships, and five airship mooring carriers.
The Federation maintained two fleets deployed in the direction of the Western Outer Ocean, one of which was stationed right here at Geiserfitu Island. From the looks of it, at least half of that fleet had put to sea, assuming combat formation the moment they emerged—a thoroughly discourteous posture.
The Shun diplomatic mission promptly transmitted communication signals to the Federation forces, but the opposing armada returned no response whatsoever. They held utter silence while every anti-aircraft gun on the sea and every gun barrel on the airships pointed straight ahead.
Though they knew the Federation was unlikely to openly assault a diplomatic delegation from Great Shun, many civilian personnel traveling with the mission could not help but grow tense.
Haidong Dao's airships and naval warships had lent them pride and reassurance, but the sight of an opposing military array stirred deep unease.
Inside the flagship airship, staff officers immediately offered a recommendation to Delegation Leader Xie. "Leader, the opposing fleet has assumed an attack posture with unknown intentions. To guarantee the mission's safety and avoid conflict, we advise altering our course at once!"
The two deputy delegation leaders looked equally solemn, though neither spoke up at that moment.
Delegation Leader Xie did not bypass them, however, and instead asked, "Director Lu, Supervisor He, what do the two of you think?"
The two exchanged glances. Lu Guangde declared in a robust, forceful voice, "I defer to the collective decision of the delegation!"
He Yishan pondered briefly, then said, "Leader, we must weigh this carefully. We have to keep the safety of our personnel in mind."
Delegation Leader Xie did not make an immediate decision. Instead, he tapped his boundary credential. "Establish an encrypted channel between myself and Section Chief Chen."
Chen Chuan watched the opposing armada. On their side, the escort fleet had likewise assumed an emergency combat posture.
Just then, a notification chime sounded from the boundary credential at his ear.
He glanced at it and connected at once.
"Delegation Leader Xie?"
Delegation Leader Xie's voice was grave. "Section Chief Chen, you should be able to see the situation by now. My staff officers are advising evasive maneuvers to avoid an unnecessary clash, but I want to solicit your view."
Chen Chuan said, "Delegation Leader Xie, may I ask your thoughts first?"
A note of unyielding resolve resonated in Xie's tone. "I believe we cannot evade. I consulted the active conscious entity; according to our current heading, we will not cross into their military no-fly zone. There is nothing wrong with our planned route."
He took a breath and continued, "I have dealt with the Federation many times. Whether it is the East Coast Faction or the West Coast Faction, they are cut from the same cloth at heart. The moment we yield, they will inevitably take us for weak and easily bullied, only to push their luck even further. As an invited delegation, we are entitled to courtesy. This is a right we should enjoy; if they will not grant it, then we will claim it ourselves. I trust that anyone selected for this visiting mission shares that very conviction."
Chen Chuan nodded. While Great Shun's handling of domestic affairs might occasionally be constrained by various competing interests, its external stance had always been exceptionally uncompromising. It was unthinkable for the empire to back down in such matters, even if there was a real possibility that the other side might open fire.
He said, "Delegation Leader Xie, I share your view. We are the invited party, and there is no reason for us to be subjected to such treatment. I say we hold our course and press ahead."
Delegation Leader Xie said, "That means we will cut straight through their flight formation."
Chen Chuan's reply was curt and resolute: "Then cut through them!"
Delegation Leader Xie nodded. Having received Chen Chuan's concurrence, he looked up and issued orders to the airship fleet: "Maintain current heading and speed."
"Understood! Heading unchanged, speed unchanged!"
Meanwhile, aboard the Linax Federation delegation's airship, Orlin saw Great Shun's choice and nearly let out a whistle. Fortunately, mindful of his dignity, he restrained himself and remarked, "Bold. I like it."
Cassian said, "This delegation leader is just like other Shun diplomats—as unyielding as ever. I believe when dealing with him, we will still have to employ tactful methods."
Orlin shrugged. "Indeed. For now, only by keeping Great Shun steady can we get what we want—at least until our cooperation is concluded." As for the West Coast Faction, they could not care less.
"Then let us follow along. Let's just hope they don't blow us out of the sky with them."
"No need to fret, my friend. We might undergo a bit of a trial, but don't forget—we just received our guarantee," Orlin said casually.
"As you will, my esteemed commander and court chamberlain."
At that moment, Chen Chuan stepped up to the case containing the external implant and opened it. He had not anticipated needing it so soon.
Removing his hat and shedding his outer uniform, he stepped into the implant through the fissure along its back. The implant sealed shut in rapid succession. Reaching out, he pulled down the duster coat from above, slipped it on, and turned to face the opposing fleet.
As his field expanded, delicate strands of dark-golden light curtained down from the conical helmet above. Luminous glyphs flickered across the faceplate, identifying the opposing airships' designations and distances.
With a firm draw, he unsheathed the Xuejun Saber, stepped out of the primary cabin, and took up position on the airship deck.
"Advance to the lead column," he instructed.
The guards flanking him looked on in reverent awe, while the signaler behind him bellowed into the communications channel, "Advance to the lead column!"
The command relayed, the rotors on his airship whirred into high gear, accelerating forward until it quickly reached the very front of the entire airship armada.
By now, he noticed balloon-like objects hovering alongside the opposing airships. In reality, they were clusters of entwined neural tendrils encased in thin membranes. He immediately recognized them as the West Coast's famed biological weapon: Strange Eyes.
These constructs were utilized for long-range perception and reconnaissance, possessing exceptional sensitivity to the fields of martial artists and the aura of creatures from the Melded Lands.
Chen Chuan merely cast a single glance in their direction, and the Strange Eyes began trembling violently. In that instant, streams of data surged along their field connections toward command centers throughout the fleet.
Almost at the exact same moment, inside the military base on Geiserfitu Island, General Commander Richard Z. Harrington stared grimly at the figure projected on the field screen.
The full-body external implant was striking enough, but what truly locked his gray eyes in place was the colossal, ethereal figure manifested within the field behind the man.
Just then, a report arrived on his boundary credential. His gaze hardened, and he barked in a deep, heavy voice, "Notify the forward units! No firing without direct orders!"
High in the sky, as Great Shun's airship formation drew near, nerves on both sides strung taut. Combat felt imminent, a single spark away from erupting. Gun captains whose sights were already aligned on target began itching to squeeze the triggers.
Yet at that critical juncture, an urgent voice broke across the channel: "Hold! No one is to open fire without orders!"
"Repeat, no one is to open fire without orders!"
The moment the order came down, everyone froze. Lacking further directives, they could only remain poised in place.
Great Shun's fleet pressed on. As a precaution, the cannons of their escort fleet also locked onto the enemy vessels opposite them.
Soon, the two sides closed to within one kilometer, drawing ever nearer until they seemed about to collide the very next second. It was akin to holding cannons directly against each other's foreheads, an excruciating test of nerve. Should a single weapon discharge by accident, it would instantly trigger a horrific, point-blank aerial bloodbath.
By now, officers and soldiers not just on Great Shun's side, but on the Federation's as well, wore rigid, frozen expressions. In that instant, even the air seemed to congeal.
Both sides stared intently across the gap, watching the airships draw closer and closer. As the flagship carrying Chen Chuan cut right through a gap in the Federation fleet, the airships behind followed in succession, threading through the formation. In the crossing, the soldiers could even make out the subtle twitches of expression on each other's faces.
Aboard the Shun craft, civilian staff members could practically hear their own ragged breaths echoing those of their companions.
Tao Huiya stood by the viewport beside her husband. She could feel him trembling faintly, yet he still held her tightly in his arms, whispering that it would be all right.
She patted the back of his hand, reassuring him, "Lao Li, everything's going to be fine."
Down below, most of the Federation soldiers and officers on the naval vessels were staring up into the sky. They watched the two airship fleets draw together, interweave in midair, and finally emerge out the other side.
Every pair of Federation eyes—from the fleet officers to high-ranking commanders back at the base—remained fixed on that solitary figure standing at the very spearhead of the airship armada: clad in conical helmet and duster coat, holding a long saber.
Every face was pulled taut into a grim mask.
Deploying such an imposing array had indeed been intended as a show of force, ideally coercing the foreign mission into rerouting. Never had they imagined that within the visiting delegation was a Secret Palace martial artist.
Were it an ordinary martial artist, they would have had nothing to fear; their base could certainly field one.
But a martial artist of the Secret Palace tier, possessed of immense internal reserves, could theoretically annihilate their entire military force single-handedly.
No martial artist of that caliber was stationed at their base. The primary reason was that this area technically constituted a frontier standoff zone. If one side deployed a dominant martial artist, the other would be compelled to match the escalation, driving costs and commitments continuously upward. Consequently, both powers had deliberately exercised mutual restraint.
Normally, dossiers on every member of a Great Shun diplomatic delegation would be reported and their backgrounds specified in advance. This time, however, intelligence had clearly suffered a delay.
A mere five minutes ago, an intelligence update had arrived from the Federation capital, altering Chen Chuan's status from a martial artist without any prefix to that of a Secret Palace martial artist. Evidently, the East Coast Faction had done this by design.
General Harrington's adjutant stepped aside at this point, lifting a telephone receiver that rested on the console. "The storm failed to drive away the seabirds. Please convey the general's regards to the Saint." With that, he gently set the handset back down.
Chapter 1059