Shen Feng's brow furrowed. He shouted a command:
"Full speed ahead! Prepare for battle!"
He had already obtained a great deal of information from the databases of the Super Giant War Armor Oglala Mad Horse and the Steel Glory. He had also acquired a vast amount of data from Fortress-3 Laboratory, giving him extensive knowledge of many technologies from the time of the Great War.
Among these was the Acoustic Weapon, developed to lure World Beasts into annihilation battles.
This Acoustic Weapon was, in reality, a large underwater sound emitter. It could imitate the communicative calls of the World Beasts to attract them from the sea, leading them into traps for encirclement and annihilation.
At the same time, this Acoustic Weapon could also disrupt the minds of some smaller World Beasts, driving them into a frenzy and making them easier to kill.
In the early days of the war, this Acoustic Weapon proved highly effective, earning it an interesting name: the Mad Beast Horn.
Logically, after humanity's total defeat, all the Mad Beast Horns should have been damaged or destroyed. To think that one still existed on the Cordillera Islands!
With humanity's current strength, they had no ability to encircle and kill World Beasts. Using the Mad Beast Horn would only lead to one outcome: being mercilessly slaughtered by the lured monsters!
This was nothing short of a reckless sacrifice!
Clearly, the Western Council had been controlled by that mysterious figure from the Purification Church and had gone completely insane.
Even if Shen Feng and his people landed on the main island of the Cordillera Islands, they would most likely be met with war!
"Sir!" Upon hearing Shen Feng's shout, the warriors busy on deck immediately stood at attention, roaring their reply before getting back to their tasks.
During their time at sea, Shen Feng had used many of the tools aboard the Hope-class Wind Sail Battleship to repair some of the damaged weapons on the aircraft carrier. This included the carrier's two Close Defense Cannons and some other Light Weapons.
Some of the ammunition from the Hope was also moved to the carrier.
The two warships now had about half a base load of ammunition, enough to launch an assault on the Cordillera Islands.
Witch Tower and the other former Minstrels had become high-level commanders on the warships and were also preparing for battle.
The warriors on Earl Berni's Black Sail Aircraft Carrier had originally been low in morale. But now, with Shen Feng in command, the warriors on both warships had been completely transformed. Their morale was sky-high; it was as if they were entirely new people.
What everyone was thinking was simple: protect the Savior and carry out the Commander's orders to the letter.
"BWOOOM—BWOOOM—"
The immense, rumbling drone continued to emanate from the direction of the Cordillera Islands, even causing the sea's surface to ripple.
The summoning of the World Beasts was still ongoing.
Once the World Beasts appeared, the Cordillera Islands, one of the last remaining havens for humanity, would surely suffer a devastating blow.
Earl Berni had originally thought that Shen Feng's mere presence would be enough to make any enemy scatter in fear. Now, however, he couldn't be so sure. He just kept wiping down his automatic rifle, stuffing rounds into the magazine, ready for a brutal fight at any moment.
A thin mist had risen over the sea. The silhouette of the Cordillera Islands ahead grew clearer, and with the incessant drone in their ears, all the warriors on the ships wore solemn expressions.
Soon, the two great ships were only a few kilometers from the beach. The mist dissipated, revealing the main island's appearance.
It was essentially a mountain peak jutting out of the sea. A golden War Armor, thousands of meters tall and resembling a mountain itself, stood there, glittering in the sunlight.
The design of this War Armor was quite unique. It was a humanoid War Armor, but its head had dozens of huge turrets, making it look like a giant watering can from a distance.
At the feet of this War Armor lay a cluster of reinforced concrete buildings, complete with roads, still retaining the feel of human technological civilization.
If he didn't know this was the Water World Apocalypse, Shen Feng might have mistaken it for a resort island in a world at peace.
Among these structures were many fortress-like buildings, clearly constructed during the war.
When humanity gradually retreated from the flatlands to the mountains, they had unleashed a final burst of strength to construct these buildings, never expecting them to become small sanctuaries preserving the last embers of human civilization.
A large number of people could be seen gathered on the island, about a hundred thousand of them, a dense black mass. For the Water World Apocalypse, a human gathering of this scale was utterly astonishing.
"My god, so many people!" Old Bill exclaimed in awe. "The legendary Cordillera Islands live up to their name!"
The surrounding sailors also wore shocked expressions, clearly having never seen so many people gathered in one place.
After all, the Glory Market was considered an enormous Floating Island Market, yet it only had a few thousand people.
Humanity, which once covered the entire Earth and stood at the top of the food chain, now probably had a total population smaller than that of a small country from the old world.
The vast majority were separated by the boundless ocean on scattered Floating Island Markets and patches of land; many would go their entire lives without ever seeing more than a thousand people.
The hundred thousand or so people on the island seemed to be corralled in a square next to the Super Giant War Armor, the Golden Mad King. They were surrounded by heavily armed soldiers standing guard, as if they were prisoners.
Meanwhile, along the coastline of the main Cordillera island, thick cannon barrels poked out from sturdy concrete bunkers, aimed at the sea. There were even some brand-new-looking missiles, showing that the island still possessed formidable combat strength.
The people on the island had clearly spotted the two approaching warships. Cannons began to turn, aiming at the two vessels, and numerous fully-armed soldiers started running toward the beach.
Through binoculars, one could see that the combat uniforms these soldiers wore, though somewhat worn, were the military uniforms of the old Eagle Country army—clearly stockpiled inventory that had been in a warehouse for who knows how many years.
"Use the signal flags! Ask them what's going on!" Earl Berni shouted.
At the bow of the aircraft carrier, several signalmen were waving flags while also sending messages with flashing lights.
This ancient method of communication had been preserved due to the current environment of the Water World, and had, in fact, become the most reliable means of transmitting information.
Soon, a flashing light replied from the island, accompanied by several people waving colorful flags.
A moment later, Earl Berni's face turned ashen as he interpreted the message:
"They say the Savior is dead and they must make a sacrifice to the envoy of the Whispering God. They will use human blood and death to appease the wrath of the World Beasts. Only the survivors will be worthy of going to Paradise Island..."