Same day, 6:23 a.m.

From a harbor fifty li east of the Balta Kingdom’s border, on the southern coast at the western continent’s edge, sixty thousand mixed troops boarded warships and set sail for their destination.

Four countries made up this army, with the Balta Kingdom as the de facto leader.

The current king, An Lexi, was a capable ruler in his prime.

With the two great empires at war, this was a pivotal moment; countless small nations had already picked sides.

Among them, the countries that stood against the weaker side—Dibiles—were not few at all.

There were also a few minor vassal states that voiced moral support for Dibiles, yet chose to sit on their hands when it came to action.

Human nature was sometimes easy enough to read.

In times like these, anyone who openly stepped out to support the losing side was the weird one.

An Lexi was exactly that kind of “abnormal” king.

For centuries, diplomacy between nations had been driven by profit alone.

The moment the situation called for it, stabbing an ally in the back could happen in minutes.

For those who ruled a country, nothing was more expensive than things like honor and conscience.

Even the other three countries sending troops had their own calculations: protecting their homeland, or currying favor with their suzerain. That was why they agreed to send aid.

Among the four monarchs personally leading their armies, only An Lexi’s thinking was different.

He was here out of a sense of duty.

Twelve years ago, when the Balta Kingdom was ravaged by famine, Dibiles’s previous empress had sent enough grain to save three hundred thousand lives.

That aid had been crucial. Without their suzerain’s help, even if Balta survived in the end, its national strength would’ve plummeted.

Time had passed; the former empress had died in middle age. But the one sitting on that throne now was still her daughter, no matter what.

Since he owed Dibiles, An Lexi’s resolve was simple:

Even if it cost him his throne, he had to see their suzerain through this disaster.

They had shown him grace, so he would repay it—with interest.

That was An Lexi’s bottom line.

He was foolish; even his own son knew that.

Before the king set out, the crown prince, An Lawa, had told his father:

“Dibiles’s downfall is only a matter of time. Right now, instead of supporting our old boss, we should strike first and show Inran how useful Balta can be.

Dad, you could send the fleet by sea, circle around to Dibiles’s rear, and land a decisive blow from behind.

As long as you do that, Inran will definitely accept our kingdom and become our new shield.”

In all fairness, An Lexi felt his son made a lot of sense. But he would never do it.

His reason was exactly what he’d shouted back at his son:

“This era already has too many scumbags who repay kindness with spite. Their ranks are vast enough; they don’t need one more like me.

No matter what becomes of the kingdom’s future, right now your father just wants to die as a decent man…”

Of the four countries sending troops, three each deployed only ten thousand men.

In other words:

Half of the sixty-thousand-strong mixed army were Balta’s own soldiers.

Before marching, An Lexi had left just over twenty thousand troops at home.

If he weren’t worried that Inran’s forces might seize the chance to invade, he’d have brought another twenty thousand with him.

Even if we’re destined to lose, I want to fight one glorious battle for Dibiles!

With that resolve, An Lexi was leading his massive fleet across the sea. Two hours into the voyage, a sailor brought an important report:

“We’ve spotted a large fleet ahead that isn’t ours. They’re flying naval flags with a mermaid emblem!”

The mermaid flag was the exclusive banner of the Inran navy.

Hearing this, An Lexi understood immediately:

Inran’s commander had predicted that Dibiles’s allies would come by sea, and had deliberately deployed a fleet here to intercept them.

At this point, their plan to rush to the capital clearly couldn’t be realized anytime soon.

Thinking only of easing Dibiles’s burden, An Lexi issued a critical order:

“Send all warships forward. Before their navy can launch a full assault, we strike first and hit them hard!”

As overall commander of the entire force, even the other monarchs had to listen to him.

A few minutes later, under a cloudless sky, the kingdom’s fleet and the empire’s fleet finally met on the open sea.

Though they were still five li apart, each side could clearly make out the other’s massive formation.

“The Sea Knight!”

On the empire’s flagship, the Mermaid Princess, the knight commander stood on deck, staring at the largest warship in the enemy fleet and calling out its name.

It was a giant ship, as tall as a six‑story building and more than twenty zhang wide, practically a moving sea fortress.

Mounted on it were ballistae and stone‑throwers, all ringed by shield formations.

Below the deck lay the oarsmen. The larger the warship, the more rowers it needed.

The Sea Knight’s oar decks had five levels, and years ago they had already abandoned the old external oars, switching to underwater flap propulsion instead.

By contrast, the empire’s warships still used external oars, making them somewhat outdated.

There wasn’t much they could do about that.

Inran’s navy had never been particularly outstanding, only a bit stronger than a typical kingdom’s.

Unfortunately for them, Balta was arguably the strongest naval power of this era across both east and west continents.

On the other hand, when An Lexi saw the sheer size of the empire’s fleet, he was also deeply shaken.

“So many large ships… This isn’t a detachment like I imagined, it’s Inran’s main battle fleet…”

At that thought, An Lexi frowned.

He’d planned to use Balta’s main fleet to wipe out part of Inran’s ships, so that Dibiles could secure command of the sea afterward.

Fighting a fleet nearly equal in size to his own was the last thing he wanted.

It wasn’t that An Lexi feared the enemy’s main force. He simply felt:

This decisive naval battle was coming a bit too early.

On the Mermaid Princess, the knight commander suddenly looked up at the flags on the mast.

His face broke into a grin as he shouted to the nearby sailors:

“The wind’s up—and it’s with us!”

He hadn’t expected the heavens to be so generous, placing their entire fleet on the windward side without them having to move at all.

In high spirits, he immediately gave the order:

“Full speed ahead!”

The huge sails caught the wind, and the empire’s fleet suddenly picked up speed.

On the opposite side, An Lexi was on the Sea Knight explaining battle plans when his expression changed sharply.

“It’s a headwind… damn it.”

The entire fleet sailing into the wind put them at a severe disadvantage.

He cursed the damned heavens in his heart while swiftly ordering the whole fleet to prepare for battle.

Just then, a sailor rushed up with a second piece of bad news:

“The enemy fleet’s coming at us!”

At first, An Lexi didn’t really get what he meant. He just answered naturally:

“Of course. The empire’s fleet is coming, that’s why I told everyone to get ready.”

“No, I mean—the enemy fleet’s coming at us!”

Hearing almost the same words again, An Lexi frowned, feeling he might’ve misunderstood.

The next second, something clicked. His face went pale, and he left the command room at once, striding to the deck.

He turned and looked to port, where another sizable fleet was cutting through the waves like a dragon.

“A second fleet? Impossible! Inran can’t have that many warships, unless…”

Unless they weren’t the only ones here.

Before long, the other three monarchs reached the same realization as An Lexi:

The navies of Inran’s vassal states had arrived as well.

So in the end, the enemy’s plan had never been a simple interception. From the start, they’d been setting up for total annihilation.

Their guess was right.

Before today, Le Song had already anticipated the possibility of Balta coming to Dibiles’s aid. So he had drafted an annihilation plan in advance, just waiting for the kingdom’s fleet to sail into the trap.

The empire’s side had been preparing for this for a long time. Fortunately, An Lexi was worthy of his record of having wiped out every pirate in the western seas.

He immediately barked his orders:

“Fleet, turn left! Front and rear lines spread into two wings! Center forces to full speed—ram their formation and tear it open!”

It was an excellent idea. But Balta’s formation was packed too tightly as they came through the strait, so they couldn’t redeploy quickly.

While the kingdom’s fleet was in this most awkward state, the second fleet attacking from their left and the first fleet with the knight commander completed their pincer formation.

Then the largest naval battle in twenty years across both continents erupted.

The empire’s warships now used mechanical flap propulsion. There were fewer flaps than oars, but because they were underwater, they produced more power.

At the same time, because the empire’s ships no longer had to cut openings at the waterline to stick out their oars, Ye Xiyun suddenly had a flash of inspiration and suggested a new approach to the craftsmen:

Move the deck‑mounted ballistae down into the hull.

Following that idea, the empire’s warships were redesigned into true multi‑deck vessels. Their broadsides were lined with ports, but what protruded from them wasn’t oars—it was ballistae.

Since they couldn’t leave the broad decks empty, many stone‑throwers were bolted down on top, taking over the ballistae’s old positions.

This special layout gave the empire’s warships terrifying destructive power.

At that moment, on the Mermaid Princess, the knight commander issued his order with a grave face:

“All squadrons, form up around the flagship and extend into a long single‑line formation.

After three volleys of fire‑stones, turn right in an arc around their left wing and use line‑of‑battle tactics…”

The core of this plan was simple:

The whole fleet would sail in single column and seize the windward position first.

Once the enemy entered ballista range, they’d run parallel to the opposing line, each ship hammering its assigned target as they passed.