Chapter 451 - 417: Three-Dimensional Warfare

Chapter 451: Chapter 417: Three-Dimensional Warfare

Minas Tirith Port, coastal observation deck.

The sea breeze whipped fiercely. Velin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, while Sarah stood silently by his side. Her porcelain-pale skin was covered in black, chitinous armor, making her resemble an exquisite Gothic sculpture.

Tristan, Kael, and Ola stared nervously at the distant sea.

The surface of the sea appeared calm, but beneath it, a biological submarine shaped like a giant squid—Leviathan One—was on the move.

Beneath the placid azure surface, the biological submarine codenamed "Leviathan One" cruised through the deep. Meanwhile, ten thousand meters up, deep within the clouds, Sarah’s latest evolution—the Type-2 "Kirov" King Insect—floated silently like a colossal jellyfish, looking down upon all creation.

"Begin," Velin ordered coolly.

"Yes, Father."

A shimmer of light flashed across Sarah’s purple-black compound eyes, and an immense psychic wave instantly blanketed the entire sea.

[Type-2 Kirov, airborne.]

[Altitude: ten thousand meters. Hive matrix... deployed. Linking aerial nodes... stable.]

As she spoke, the image in everyone’s mind suddenly changed.

Their perspective widened dramatically. Mountains, rivers, forests—every detail was projected directly into the depths of their consciousness in three-dimensional form. This was the hive matrix they were familiar with, but the precision it now displayed was astonishing.

"Holy hell, this is too clear..." Ola subconsciously reached out to grasp an image in the void, his rough fingers passing through a miniature mountain peak. He stared wide-eyed, his face a mask of disbelief. "Before, I could only sense a few kilometers around me. Now it feels like the whole damn sea is packed inside my head."

Velin didn’t answer, merely twitching his consciousness. On the vast map, countless tiny, moving points of light instantly appeared.

"Observe these nodes."

Guided by Velin’s will, the group’s perspective was yanked forward by an invisible hand, zooming in rapidly. The points of light, once as insignificant as dust, magnified at an incredible speed, their blurry outlines becoming sharp and clear.

They saw white wings, sharp talons, and fully-armored Knights riding on the birds’ backs, vigilantly patrolling the area below.

It turned out to be the Great Thief Seagull aerial Knights on high-altitude patrol.

"The Kirov King Insect is the ’brain’ suspended in the sky; it’s responsible for processing the signals from the psychic channel. And Ola, your Great Thief Seagull Knight Order are the countless ’eyes’ scattered across the clouds."

Velin pointed his pointer at Ola. "Through the Kirov’s relay, every sight your Knights witness will be converted into a real-time three-dimensional map, shared with all commanders."

As he spoke, the image in their minds quickly came into focus.

The vast sea chart zoomed in, and a bright red crosshair appeared in the center of their vision, locking onto a black reef five kilometers away.

"Leviathan One, fire."

As the command was given, the menacing biological submarine deep in the sea suddenly opened the launch port on its abdomen.

"WHOOSH—"

A biological torpedo covered in Runes cut through the water. Under the precise guidance of the Kirov King Insect, it maneuvered around two hidden reefs as if it had eyes of its own, hurtling straight for the target five kilometers away.

At the same time, several Great Thief Seagull Knights in the sky dove down, simulating a covering bombing run.

A few minutes later.

"BOOM!!"

A massive column of water erupted from the distant sea. The huge reef that served as the target instantly shattered, sending fragments of rock and sea spray flying. Even the silt from the seabed was churned up.

"Beautiful!" Ola slammed a fist on the railing in excitement, his beard practically bristling. "With that kind of power, we could flip a warship belly-up! With this monster in the sea and the Kirov watching from the sky, our White Tower Territory is an iron fortress!"

Tristan’s eyes also held unconcealed shock. "Complete coverage over sea, land, and air... This level of strike precision is truly unprecedented."

Everyone was basking in the joy of a successful exercise, except for Velin. His expression remained calm, even tinged with a hint of sternness.

"The power is impressive, but did none of you notice the problem?"

Velin turned, his gaze sweeping over the excited Ola. "In that last coordinated maneuver, I heard at least three people shouting over each other on the channel, disrupting command."

Ola’s smile froze on his face. He scratched his head. "Er... everyone was just excited, that’s all. And we hit the target, didn’t we..."

"Today you hit a stationary target. What if it were a real battlefield?" Velin cut him off, his tone chilling. "You’ve had this technology for a while now, but your methods for using it are all wrong."

He took a deep breath, his expression sharpening.

"Therefore, I want to reshape our command system."

"Command system?" Ola scratched his head, a look of confusion on his face.

"Traditional warfare is planar warfare. In essence, it’s still a two-dimensional game of ’you punch me, I kick you.’"

"But that’s about to change."

"Ola, on the channel, I don’t want to hear any more nonsense like ’the enemy is about a thousand steps ahead’ or ’we’ll be there in the time it takes to eat half a meal.’"

Velin mimicked a gruff tone, and then his voice turned cold.

"A thousand steps? Whose steps? A goblin’s or a troll’s? Half a meal? A nobleman’s banquet or your hardtack? You used to rely on gut feelings. Now that you have an omniscient view, you’ve forgotten how to speak properly?"

Ola shrank back, a cold sweat trickling down his temple. He was, in fact, used to shouting and yelling on the channel.

"Starting today, you, Kael, and Tristan will work together to devise a strict ’Code of Communication.’"