72: Mission completed (Blue Star's attack on the other world ends)

As the "detonate" order was decisively given, the nuclear warheads carried by the submersible instantly unleashed an apocalyptic energy.

In an instant, an incomparably dazzling light suddenly bloomed in the Merman Empire's royal capital. This light was like a sharp, colossal sword, seemingly tearing the entire seabed apart, instantly dispelling the endless darkness around it.

The extremely intense light penetrated the seawater, making the previously dim and gloomy seabed instantly as bright and brilliant as day. The light was so blinding that it was almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.

Immediately after, an unimaginable surge of immense energy erupted from the royal capital, with powerful shockwaves relentlessly ravaging everything in their path.

The magnificent palaces and various buildings meticulously constructed by the Mermen turned into fine dust in the blink of an eye. Walls and opulent decorations, carefully built with rare and expensive materials, instantly cracked and shattered, becoming countless tiny fragments that vanished without a trace in the furious torrent of energy.

Impenetrable rocks were mercilessly crushed, colossal coral reefs were violently ripped from their roots, and the once beautiful coral clusters instantly became a lifeless, grey wasteland.

The super-high temperatures caused by the explosion instantly vaporized the seawater, forming countless colossal bubbles. These bubbles rapidly ascended at an astonishing speed, squeezing and merging with each other to create surging, turbulent currents, making the surrounding seawater seem as if it were boiling over a raging fire.

The Mermen didn't even have time to let out a faint shriek before they were instantly vaporized or brutally torn into tiny fragments. Their bodies disintegrated and collapsed under the suffocating high temperature and terrifying high pressure, completely turning into nothingness.

And the Merman King, still in his sleep, had his life cruelly taken by this violent force, not even knowing how he died until his very last breath.

The entire royal capital of the Merman Empire instantly became a land of death. The shockwaves generated by the explosion continued to expand outwards, their affected area growing wider and wider, and other regions of the Merman Empire were not spared, suffering total annihilation.

The once beautiful and charming underwater world had now become a scene of doomsday, filled with the desperate aura of death and destruction.

On the surface, this earth-shattering explosion also caused a colossal water column tens of thousands of meters high to erupt, and an unprecedentedly massive tsunami was born from this explosion, surging towards the shore accompanied by terrifying shockwaves.

The aftersheffects of the explosion lasted for a very long time. The seawater gradually returned to calm, but the Merman Empire could essentially be said to be gone, leaving behind only a deathly silence and boundless desolation.

The once immensely prosperous Merman Empire was completely destroyed in this horrific explosion, forever becoming a speck of dust in the long river of history.

Even the Mermen who miraculously survived would slowly die from various radiations... Just a moment after the nuclear bomb exploded, Li Yang, far away on Blue Star, received another message from the intelligent AI.

"Beep... Mission successfully completed. Rewards are being issued..."

In the blink of an eye, Li Yang, who was originally only a second-rank Lieutenant, had his military rank instantly elevated by three levels.

The epaulets on his shoulder underwent a significant change, transforming from their original design into a shining silver-white five-pointed star, along with one thick V-bar and two thin V-bars, officially promoting him to fifth-rank lieutenant of the Imperial Military Department.

"It seems Andegu and his team have successfully and thoroughly cleared out the unstable elements on that planet."

Li Yang muttered to himself, a hint of satisfaction in his expression.

It was a pity, though, that he couldn't witness the nuclear bomb explosion firsthand. But he had seen a planet explode with his own eyes, so a nuclear bomb explosion should be just about the same.

"Beep... As the mission reward includes a promotion qualification from the Blue Star Management Department, should the promotion qualification be issued immediately?"

Hearing this, Li Yang unhesitatingly agreed to issue the promotion qualification.

After all, Xia Quan and Andegu were his own people. If they could be successfully promoted due to this rare qualification, then his own influence within the Imperial Military Department would undoubtedly grow stronger.

And at the same moment Li Yang agreed, everyone in the Blue Star Management Department also received a message from the intelligent AI.

"Beep... This mission has been successfully completed. Captain Li Yang has issued you a promotion qualification. Please proceed to the administrative center department of the Xili Empire in the Milky Way Galaxy in 30 Imperial days to participate in the relevant assessment."

Upon receiving this exciting news, everyone in the Blue Star Troops was beaming with excitement, looking as if they had won the lottery.

After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance their administrative ranks, and they had to seize it with all their might.

As for how to get to the assessment location, they weren't worried at all. After all, Blue Star had now successfully connected to the Imperial Star Navigation Map, and various starships could naturally be taken at will, though it would cost a few star coins.

Especially Xia Quan, he even owned a miniature shuttle gifted by Anno, so he didn't even need to spend star coins; he could go whenever he wanted.

With the successful completion of the mission, the exoplanet was officially incorporated into the vast territory of the Xili Empire.

However, this time, this planet would not be given to Li Yang like Blue Star was, but would be directly taken over by the Imperial Military Department for unified management and planning.

The titan transport ship also began busily transporting the Blue Star Troops on their journey back.

However, although it was a return journey, Li Yang still gave orders to take away all valuable items that could be carried. Although these things were products from a low-level civilization, they could still fetch a good price in the vast market of the Imperial Military Department.

After careful tabulation, summing up the products to be taken, it was estimated that they could sell for approximately 2 million star coins.

Li Yang was quite satisfied with this. Anyway, all this money was obtained effortlessly for free; no matter the amount, presumably no one would be displeased.

Li Yang also carefully checked his assets. Excluding the various costs incurred from leasing the titan transport ship and maintaining the fleet, plus the profits Blue Star brought him, his account currently held over 3.6 million star coins.

If all the products brought from the exoplanet could be successfully sold, he estimated he would have approximately 7 million star coins.

As for military merit, as of now, he possessed 11,100 military merit.

With this much military merit, he should be able to exchange for some good items at the Imperial Military Department, especially since the imperial type i star destroyer he currently owned only required 10,000 military merit to exchange for.