In the chaotic "Broken Star Sea," a massive fleet laden with various supplies and treasures is moving eastward, aiming to leave this sea region.

At this moment, the sky is filled with a sunset as red as blood, seemingly staining the entire ocean with a dazzling crimson.

No!

There is something else beneath the seemingly calm sea surface!

Roar—!

A large swarm of at least hundreds to thousands of blood-red creatures, part jellyfish, part starfish, and more like some kind of eerie plant, transformed into a vortex under the sea, densely crashing towards the fleet.

Their bodies are flower-shaped, covered with a brilliant chitinous shell, and have a dozen or so orange-red tentacles beneath.

This is a group of poisonous "Sea Lily" species.

No wonder the "Broken Star Sea" is renowned for its talented people; most of them are gigantic creatures exceeding 10 meters in diameter, and even small species sea monsters reaching up to 30 meters long are not uncommon.

In the fleet flying the long pennant of the "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent."

Elante, dressed in a crisp black military uniform and draped in the captain's cloak, stands on the deck of the [All-Heavy Cannon Battleship: Dreadnought: Black Sea Pearl].

With a solemn expression, he quickly issued his orders as he glanced at the returning explorer fleet:

"Order, range-finding team, current position starboard, right ahead, distance 10,000 meters, calculate shooting parameters!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Under normal circumstances, the range-finding team's calculation soldiers can only perform manual operations, utilizing graphic boards, comprehensive tables of shooting parameters, shooting parameter rulers, calculation disks, command rulers, coordinate gradient rulers, etc.

Factors like wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, cannon sight height difference, powder temperature, deflection caused by planetary rotation, ammunition batch, and shell powder charge number determine the shooting parameters for enemy targets.

However.

Click.. click..

Snow-white steam billows in the warship's command room...

Inside the modified "shipborne analyzer" by Charles Babbage, countless brass gears swiftly generate and spit out a printed card, landing in the hands of the range-finding team.

"Report! Measurement completed!"

No need for cumbersome manual calculations; within mere seconds, the shooting parameters are determined.

Immediately, the gunpowder chief's order is transmitted via shipborne radio to every artillery position on the battleship:

"Main cannon ready, azimuth 27-00, shooting angle 06-80... fire!"

The battleship's armament includes: five 305mm 45-caliber twin-mounted [post-loading rifled gun turrets]; 27 76mm 50-caliber single-mounted cannons; maximum broadside firepower, 8 main cannons, theoretically 6 main cannons facing forward.

Maximum range can reach 17 kilometers, making it hardly challenging to strike sea targets 10 kilometers away.

Moreover, the uniform trajectory performance of the main cannons enables a unified fire control system, greatly improving accuracy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

With the simultaneous firing of cannons, the entire ocean seems to recoil from the terrifying recoil.

Splashing explosive shells equipped with military-grade high-explosive detonators roar forth, with a terrifying barrage of flames seemingly tearing the entire dusky evening to shreds.

At this moment, even though the sun hasn't set, the fiery lines akin to long halberds are strikingly conspicuous.

The "shipborne analyzer's" calculations were entirely accurate.

Boom——!!!

In the next instant, the flame storm, mixed with sharp fragments, like razors, wiped those toxic "Sea Lily" groups clean from the ocean.

Even turning this part of the ocean into a blazing inferno.

This is not just due to the high explosive black gold.

It is also because the battleship's [Ship's Figurehead: Eight-Clawed Ghost Lizard], additionally solidifying three extraordinary abilities: [Stealth], [Fire Cannon Enchantment], and [Water Jet]. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The [Black Sea Pearl] as the sister ship of the [Armored Knight].

Originally, the specifications were: ship length: 160.6 meters; ship width: 25 meters; length-width ratio reaching 6.4:1; draft: 9.4 meters; full load displacement: 21,840 tons; speed: 24 knots; crew: 775 people.

It is undoubtedly a "steel giant beast."

Coupled with this applied extraordinary power [Ship's Figurehead], it has already transformed into a terrifying demon combining military technology and witchcraft perfectly!

Clearly, even in the current "Weakening Compensation," "Technology Dawn" world trend, Aiven would not abandon practical benefits due to mere concerns.

In fact, every active battleship maintained by the Duchy now has a customized extraordinary [Ship's Figurehead], which, except for lacking the mysterious [Legendary Battleship Skill], truly doesn't concede in combat capability compared to ordinary legendary battleships.

"Attention all ships, alarm lifted!"

"Received!"

"Received!"

"Even though it's been so long since it was commissioned, every time I witness the power of the Black Sea Pearl, it brings a heartfelt shock."

"This mass-producible 'Steel Giant Beast' is destined to rule the oceans of the Material World in the future! Even if I exhaust my imagination, I can't think of a weapon more powerful than it."

The blue long hair was elegantly coiled atop her head, and the deputy captain, dressed in a smart women's military uniform, murmured to herself as she looked at a group of small species of Sea Monsters torn to shreds with no means of resistance.

As for the seemingly high and mighty airships, she directly ignored them. Right now, none of the airships being used by various countries to explore the Broken Star Sea can withstand the concentrated fire of a warship's anti-aircraft guns.

In the foreseeable future, they also cannot solve the problem of being too weak in battlefield survival.

"Irina, your feelings are still a bit premature. Big brother said that the second-generation model of the All-Heavy Cannon Battleship, the Post-Dreadnought Level, is about to launch, and the third-generation model, the Super Dreadnought Level, is already on file at the Engineering Institute."

"In a few years, maybe these old models will be sold to those big spenders of the Monarch's Shield."

Upon hearing this, the female officer coquettishly rolled her eyes at her captain:

"Hehe... Elante, don't casually reveal such military secrets. Be careful His Majesty gives you a spanking when you return this time."

Hearing the conversation between the two highest-ranking officers.

A group of officers in the command room turned their heads, afraid that the captain would see the mockery on their faces. They knew very well who was really in charge on this ship when it was not wartime.

"Ahem, Irina, give me a bit of face in front of everyone."

Elante wanted to show off in front of his lovely wife but forgot that, like his esteemed father, the Minister of Defense, Earl Newark Gel, he had gloriously evolved into a 'man controlled by his wife.'

As the captain, Elante, and the deputy captain, Irina, after a long-distance love marathon with few opportunities to meet, have been married for several years now (chapter 745).

But like all the Extraordinary, they face the common problem that a Great Knight and an Official Wizard have not yet had children.

Elante, who had superior cultivation conditions, was promoted to Great Knight earlier than Gary.

Milan's sister, Irina, belongs to the Alchemy School's branch of Alchemy Tools and Enchantment Engineering.

After Watt successfully advanced to the Truth Embodiment: Hephaestus Square, all members of the school greatly benefited, and the difficulty of promotion greatly decreased,

she also succeeded in advancing to Official Wizard in her twenties.

Elante, quietly cheering himself up to regain his authority as a husband tonight,

suddenly saw a somewhat phantom figure suddenly appear on the sea surface in that mess of a large slaughterhouse.

"Huh? Irina, look, what is that?"

In the next moment, all the personnel in the fleet saw that massive figure.

It was a giant sea ship that seemed to be pieced together from ships of various eras, sailing in the same direction as the exploratory fleet, practically a giant floating island drifting on the sea surface.

"Is that... the Deceitful Dream?!"

Irina, being an Official Wizard, exclaimed.

The Deceitful Dream is a terrifying Ghost Ship, composed of countless ghosts, Resentful Spirits, Evil Spirits, and even Evil Spirits and some high-tier Spiritual Origin forming a nightmare.

It's said that it sails half on the sea and half in the dreams of living beings.

Its external appearance means nothing to it, derived from the memories of all Spirits that compose it, seemingly pieced together from the concept of ships throughout the ages.

Moreover, in this terrible place filled with countless ghostly dreams, there are real material presences, and the relics of sacrifices genuinely remain in the dream realm.

So, although the Deceitful Dream is dangerous, there have always been people actively pursuing its trail, either to seek the power of the dream realm, covet the relics left by veteran explorers, or attempt to unearth ancient history.

It usually roams the oceans worldwide at will, invisible to those awake, yet those who don't wish to see it may board it in their dreams.

Irina speculates that it's very likely because this terrifying legendary Black Sea Pearl is passing through the dreams of these Sea Lilies just now.

But due to the sudden mass death of the dream's owner, it leapt out from the dream and briefly appeared before them.

In the blink of an eye, the Deceitful Dream disappeared like a mirage from the sea surface which was growing gradually dark.

"Is this Ghost Ship set to return to the human world from the Broken Star Sea? Orders: everyone supervises each other, no sleeping allowed tonight!"

"Understood!"

...

At almost the same time.

On the other side of the Material World, situated within the Peacock Islands, the Wizard Tower belonging to Kishua Beinogu, the former chief of the Gem School, slowly opened.

Nymph and Olivia, two Great Wizards of the Gem School, walked in with conflicted feelings.