90: Iron Army crosses the Eastern Seas, cleverly wiping out the cherry blossom nest.

Chapter 93: Iron Division Crosses the Eastern Ocean, Cunning Plan Cleanses the Cherry Blossom Nest

Inside the command tower of the Central Hub Base, a holographic map marked with the islands of the Eastern Ocean hung suspended in mid-air. Lin Zhou's fingertip rested on the coordinates of the Sakura Country's main island, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Ever since the liberation of the Korean Peninsula, the intercepted distress signals from the Sakura Country had never ceased. Before the Skeleton Serpent retreated from East Asia, they had turned this place into their final experimental field, colluding with the local extremist force 'Divine Sakura Society'. Under the banner of 'purifying the apocalypse', they slaughtered civilians, abducted survivors to use as live experimental subjects, and even built a research base deep within Mount Fuji, deludedly attempting to cultivate a Mutant army to dominate the region.

"Our compatriots in the Sakura Country are struggling in hell. The Divine Sakura Society and the remnants of the Skeleton Serpent have a mountain of blood debts," Lin Zhou's voice was grave. "The Far East Expeditionary Force sets out once more—remember, in this battle, winning hearts is paramount, storming cities is secondary. Use tactics flexibly, avoid pointless frontal assaults."

The military order was issued, and the clamor rose again at the port of the East Sea Barrier Base. Chen Hao remained in command. His fleet now boasted a new formation of shipborne Magneto Shock cannon vessels and an Engineering Assault Brigade. The Research Team was equipped with amphibious landing hovercraft capable of silently beaching, ignoring shallows and hidden reefs. More importantly, the General Staff held a set of operational plans blending the Thirty-Six Stratagems, ready to show the Divine Sakura Society what 'all warfare is based on deception' truly meant.

Three days later, as the fleet reached the outer waters of the Sakura Country, Chen Hao suddenly gave the order: "All fleets, turn southeast, feign an attack on the Ryukyu Islands!"

The news quickly reached the Divine Sakura Society headquarters through deliberately leaked communication channels.

Inside the Mount Fuji base, the leader of the Divine Sakura Society, Yamamoto Ichiro, looked at the intelligence and laughed triumphantly: "The Chinese are truly fools! They think a feint on Ryukyu can lure the tiger from the mountain? Pass the order: mobilize seventy percent of our forces to reinforce the Ryukyu defense line. We must crush the Far East Expeditionary Force's fleet at sea!"

Little did he know, this was precisely Chen Hao's plan to feint east and strike west.

Just as the main force of the Divine Sakura Society surged out, racing towards Ryukyu, the true main force of the Far East Expeditionary Force—a raiding squad composed of a phantom tank battalion and the Special Warfare Brigade—had long since boarded silent hovercraft. Under the cover of night and ocean currents, they landed silently in a remote bay on the western coast of the Sakura Country's main island.

This was a blind spot in the Divine Sakura Society's defenses, guarded only by a few patrols. Special Warfare Brigade soldiers, clad in stealth camouflage, ghosted towards the sentry post. They dealt with the patrols as easily as picking up a stray goat, even changing into their uniforms and swaggeringly taking over the post.

Meanwhile, the fleet feinting the attack on Ryukyu was not idle either. The Falcon Fighter Jet Squadron bombarded Ryukyu's air defense positions, creating the illusion of a main force assault and firmly pinning the Divine Sakura Society's reinforcements in the Ryukyu waters.

The landed raiding squad did not rush to advance. Following intelligence, they stealthily moved towards a supply warehouse on the outskirts of the Mount Fuji base. This warehouse was a key ammunition resupply point for the Divine Sakura Society, heavily guarded. Looking at the warehouse's fortifications, the Special Warfare Brigade captain curled his lips into a cold smile and ordered: "Lure the tiger from the mountain. Set the grain depot on fire!"

Several soldiers quietly circled to the grain depot behind the warehouse and threw in a few incendiary grenades. Flames shot into the sky, thick smoke billowing. The Divine Sakura Society members guarding the warehouse panicked as expected, with most of the force rushing to fight the fire.

The phantom tank battalion, lying in wait nearby, seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The main cannons of the tanks, still in stealth mode, roared, accurately blasting open the warehouse doors. The soldiers swarmed in, cutting the ground from under the enemy's feet by destroying all the ammunition and energy canisters inside. The explosions shook the valley, and the Mount Fuji base's alarm instantly pierced the night sky.

In the base's main control room, Yamamoto Ichiro watched the screen showing the ammunition depot explosion and flew into a rage: "Incompetent fools! We fell for the lure! Recall the reinforcement troops from Ryukyu immediately! Hold the base!"

But he didn't know this was just part of Chen Hao's chain of stratagems.

As soon as the reinforcements turned back, the fleet feinting the attack on Ryukyu suddenly changed course, heading at full speed towards the Sakura Country's main island. The main cannons of the shipborne Magneto Shock vessels charged, posing as if they were about to launch a frontal assault on the base.

Standing at the command window, Yamamoto Ichiro watched the fleet drawing closer on the sea and listened to the constant alarms from the base's periphery. He was utterly thrown into disarray. Afraid the fleet would break through the defenses with a strong assault, yet also fearing the raiding squad on the outskirts would exploit the weakness, he could only split the freshly recalled reinforcements into two groups: half to guard the port, half to return and defend the base.

The goal of divide and conquer was achieved.

Just as the Divine Sakura Society's forces were dispersed, the true killing blow arrived.

The soldiers of the Engineering Assault Brigade had already taken advantage of the chaos to plant high explosives at the base's weak point—the drainage tunnel in the rear mountains. At the command, the tunnel was blown open into a large hole. The elite Magneto Shock Troopers company, waiting for this moment, filed out from the tunnel and thrust straight into the heart of the base!

This move of advancing secretly by an unknown path caught the Divine Sakura Society completely off guard.

The base instantly descended into chaos. Patrols were routed by the electric currents of the Magneto Shock Troopers. Meanwhile, the Special Warfare Brigade soldiers aimed to capture the ringleader, heading straight for the main control room. Any Divine Sakura Society members encountered along the way were either neutralized or turned—the soldiers used loudspeakers to Loop playback evidence of the Divine Sakura Society slaughtering civilians and colluding with the Skeleton Serpent for human experiments. Many soldiers who had been coerced into joining threw down their weapons on the spot.

Seeing the Special Warfare Brigade soldiers storming in, Yamamoto Ichiro turned deathly pale with fright and tried to flee into the underground bunker. But as soon as he pressed the switch for the bunker door, he found it locked—a base Technician who had been turned earlier had secretly tampered with it.

Shut the door to catch the thief; catch the turtle in the jar.

The news of Yamamoto Ichiro's capture spread, and the remaining forces of the Divine Sakura Society instantly crumbled. Seeing their leader captured, the morale of the reinforcement troops in the Ryukyu waters collapsed, and they were easily routed by the Far East Expeditionary Force's fleet. The experimental pods within the Mount Fuji base were also destroyed one by one by the soldiers. The imprisoned survivors regained their freedom, weeping uncontrollably at the sight of the Dawn Army's flag.

As the battle ended, the morning sun exactly rose from the sea.

Chen Hao stood atop the Mount Fuji base, looking down at the surrendering members of the Divine Sakura Society and the cheering survivors. A flicker of relief passed through his eyes. This battle was not won by mindless overpowering force, but through a chain of interlocking stratagems, achieving the greatest victory at the smallest cost.

But what he didn't know was that in a hidden corner of the base, a miniature signal transmitter was blinking. The signal crossed the ocean, reaching a deep-sea base in the South Pacific.

Zhu Long watched the screen showing Yamamoto Ichiro's capture. Far from being angered, a strange smile appeared on his face: "Chen Hao, Lin Zhou... You think you've won? This is just another 'gift' I've prepared for you."

He slowly pressed a button. From deep within Mount Fuji's volcano, a dull tremor rumbled forth.