153: Mediterranean tsunami sends shockwaves across Europe

Chapter Sixteen: Mediterranean Tsunami, Europe Trembles

Before the morning mist of the Red Sea had fully dissipated, the Suez Temporary Canal, excavated by the red alert engineering units, was fully connected.

Without a millennium of construction or millions of laborers, relying solely on drone swarms and high-energy demolition modules, a channel deep enough for an aircraft carrier's draft was laid across the Afro-Eurasian landmass in just seven days. The Kunlun aircraft carrier battle group slowly sailed into the canal, its hull cutting through the artificial waterway. The silver-gray steel giant between the yellow sands and the blue sea formed a scene that shocked both ancient and modern times.

Lin Zhou stood in the island's command room, the holographic sand table bringing the entire Mediterranean Sea into view. The Byzantine remnants along the coast, the Venetian city-states, the Genoese alliance, the Frankish kingdoms, and the fragmented Arab forces were all clearly marked, with their military strength, political systems, trade routes, and religious strongholds visible at a glance.

He still adhered to his established strategy: no colonization, no massacres, no indiscriminate killing. Use deterrence to set the rules, trade to acquire resources, and technology to define order. Whoever provokes will be destroyed; whoever submits will trade.

[Ding—Fleet has entered the Mediterranean Sea. Unlocked full-domain monitoring and trans-oceanic tactical support permissions for the Mediterranean.]

[Directive: The fleet shall head north along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, first reaching the old Byzantine capital, Constantinople, to declare the presence of Huaxia and establish a trading port and supply station.]

[Rules of Engagement: Implement precision destruction strikes only against forces that actively attack, block channels, or plunder trade convoys. Strikes against civilians, cities, churches, and residential houses are strictly prohibited.]

The moment the expeditionary fleet led by the aircraft carrier Kunlun entered the Mediterranean, the power structure of the entire sea region was completely overturned.

At this time, the Mediterranean was still the domain of the maritime republics of Venice and Genoa. These two powers controlled the waterways, levied heavy taxes, and plundered foreign merchant ships, calling themselves the 'Masters of the Mediterranean.' When the sail-less, oar-less, and silent figures of the red alert fleet appeared on the horizon, the sentries at the coastal lookouts were dumbstruck. Thinking it was a divine miracle or a deep-sea monster, they rang the alarm bells, putting the entire city on alert.

The Senate of the Republic of Venice received the report immediately. Ten main galley warships set out in full force, lining up to intercept in the Aegean Sea. The captain stood at the bow, holding a cross flag high, shouting in Latin, ordering the 'strange ships' from the East to stop immediately for inspection and to pay a toll.

The shipborne AI simultaneously translated the voice and transmitted it back to the command cabin.

Lin Zhou said indifferently, 'The waterways belong to the world. The Huaxia fleet pays no tribute, accepts no inspection, and submits to no one. Those who block the way shall have their ships destroyed.'

In the next second, before the Venetian fleet could even fire a fire arrow, two light frigates activated their electromagnetic close-in weapon systems. Pale blue energy beams instantly sliced through the masts, rudders, and oar shafts of all the galleys. There was no explosion, no bloodshed; ten Venetian warships were instantly paralyzed on the sea, like dead fish with their bones removed, unable to move.

Carrier-based aircraft skimmed low over the fleet, the sonic boom causing the sea surface to churn. The Venetian sailors were so terrified they knelt on the decks, weeping bitterly, thinking the Last Judgment had arrived.

[Ding—Successfully deterred the Venetian fleet. Zero casualties, 10 warships paralyzed.]

[Deterrence levels of Mediterranean countries have risen significantly. Envoys from Byzantium, Genoa, Sicily, and the Franks have been urgently dispatched, requesting a meeting.]

The fleet continued north and arrived off the coast of Constantinople. This ancient capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, long ravaged by war, was already in ruins with fewer than a thousand defenders. Facing the massive Kunlun aircraft carrier and the sky-obscuring carrier-based aircraft, the last Byzantine monarch personally climbed the city walls and knelt in tears, willing to lead the whole country into vassalage, seeking only Huaxia's protection to avoid annexation by the Ottomans and the Latin states.

Lin Zhou promised trade and protection but did not occupy the city or interfere in internal affairs. He only established a Mediterranean supply station at the entrance of the Golden Horn, deploying radar and close-in defense systems to ensure the safety of the channel. The Byzantine monarch, officials, and citizens wept with joy, burning incense along the streets and viewing the Huaxia fleet from the East as 'saviors sent by God.'

The news swept across the Mediterranean like wildfire.

The Venetian Senate voted overnight to abolish heavy waterway taxes and sent envoys with gold, jewelry, and glassware to request permanent trade with Huaxia.

The Genoese alliance disbanded its privateer fleet, opened all its ports, and promised to protect Huaxia trade convoys.

City-states like Sicily, Naples, and Florence sent envoys with petitions, declaring themselves vassals and requesting the introduction of Huaxia seeds, ironware, silk, and medicine.

Royal families as far away as France and England also sent envoys across the Alps by ship to Constantinople, just to catch a glimpse of the 'Divine Soldiers of the Celestial Emperor of the East' and seek trade permits.

All of Europe was shaken with fear.

But not all forces were willing to bow their heads.

A small group of rising Ottoman Turks, occupying the coast of Asia Minor, relied on their brave cavalry and fierce warships. Unwilling to accept the Huaxia order and coveting the wealth carried by the fleet, they assembled over three hundred small and medium-sized warships and fifteen thousand soldiers for a night raid on the Golden Horn supply station, hoping to destroy Huaxia's foothold in one fell swoop.

In the darkness of night, the Ottoman warships launched a surprise attack with torches, their battle cries shaking the heavens.

Lin Zhou had already predicted their movements through the wide-area radar. He simply ordered: precisely destroy the warships and armed personnel, without affecting the coastal villages, churches, or residential houses.

On the deck of the Kunlun, twelve attack drones took off into the night, locking onto targets with infrared. Light missiles and cannons fired simultaneously. The sea surface instantly turned into a sea of fire as Ottoman warships exploded and sank one after another, soldiers falling into the cold seawater with wails everywhere. The command ships, munitions ships, and supply ships were destroyed first. In less than half an hour, the entire night raid fleet was annihilated, with no survivors.

The firelight turned the night sky of Constantinople red. The city residents watched the inferno on the sea, trembling, yet not a single shrapnel fell into the city area, and not a single civilian was injured.

Deterrence without massacre; power without indiscriminate killing.

This was the ultimate rule Lin Zhou set for Europe.

[Ding—Annihilated the Ottoman raiding force. Sank 317 warships, eliminated 15,000 troops. Zero civilian casualties, zero damage to the city area.]

[Hegemony over the entire Mediterranean established. All forces have submitted; none dare to infringe upon the Huaxia waterways again.]

[Unlocked Achievement: 'Overlord of the Mediterranean.' Gained +1000 Technology Points. Global maritime power coverage reached 47%.]

Far away in Dadu of the Central Plains, Lu Xiufu received the trans-oceanic letter. Learning that the Huaxia fleet had overawed the Mediterranean and that European nations were offering tribute, he was so moved that tears filled his eyes. He immediately gathered the students of the Imperial Academy to announce the overseas victory. Life in the Central Plains was completely stable: granaries were piled high like mountains, official roads stretched in all directions, the Confucian temples were bustling with incense, the borders were peaceful without war, and the people lived and worked in peace. It was a scene of a flourishing age everywhere.

The controlled subjects and soldiers remained full of emotion and unwavering loyalty. They would cheer for Huaxia's prestige overseas, feel relieved for the peace of their homeland, and worry for their compatriots far away, yet they would always take the Emperor's will as the highest principle, guarding the foundation of the Central Plains and ensuring a steady stream of resources was transported to the Western Seas.

Lin Zhou stood on the deck of the Kunlun, the evening breeze of the Mediterranean fluttering his robes. Beneath his feet were the submissive city-states, before his eyes was the Strait of Gibraltar extending toward the Atlantic Ocean, behind him was the stable and prosperous Huaxia homeland, and above his head were the red alert satellites covering the globe.

He had not declared himself Emperor, yet he was already the recognized maritime overlord of three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—the Celestial Emperor of the East.

Beside him, the shipborne AI transmitted the latest report: the Moors and Spanish knights of the Strait of Gibraltar had sent envoys to submit and request the opening of trade; Portugal and Castile on the Atlantic coast were assembling fleets to welcome the Huaxia fleet.

Lin Zhou lightly tapped the sand table with his fingertip, turning his gaze toward the Atlantic, inland Europe, the West African coast, and even more distant unknown continents.

"Pass my order: The Mediterranean supply station shall retain a fleet to stabilize the trade routes. The main force of the Kunlun shall cross Gibraltar, enter the Atlantic, and continue the voyage."

"The rehabilitation of the Central Plains remains unchanged, the foundation in the South Seas remains unchanged, and the global voyage shall not stop."

"Those who comply shall trade and coexist; those who resist shall be destroyed and reset to zero."

"This world shall eventually be unified, unified under Huaxia."

The sea was calm, yet it harbored a power sufficient to overturn the entire old world.

The aircraft carrier's engines hummed, the carrier-based aircraft returned to their hangars, and the expeditionary fleet slowly turned west, heading toward the Strait of Gibraltar.

A global era belonging to red alert, to Huaxia, and to Lin Zhou officially charged out of the Mediterranean and sailed into the boundless Atlantic Ocean.

The order of the Old World was henceforth completely rewritten.