Chapter 598: Divine Punishment Descends

"The past?" Li Mingyuan sneered, "History never passes; it is only remembered or forgotten. It is a pity that the people of Long Country will not forget. Today, you will personally experience the fear and despair that the civilians of Long Country experienced back then."

"No! I beg you!" the leader wailed, "There are innocent women and children there! They have nothing to do with the wars of the past!"

"When your ancestors invaded Long Country, they did not distinguish between women and children either." Li Mingyuan's voice was as cold as ice, "This is not revenge; this is education. Let the whole world remember that after today, Long Country is no longer a weak nation to be slaughtered at will."

The Electromagnetic Railgun on Chiyou's shoulder began to charge, blue-white energy rapidly accumulating within the barrel, emitting a heart-palpitating energy fluctuation.

"God, save us!" the leader of Yinghua Guo was near collapse, "Friend from Long Country, please stop! We are willing to surrender unconditionally! We can sign a peace treaty immediately! Our leader is willing to commit ritual suicide to atone for our sins! Please do not harm our people!"

Li Mingyuan chuckled on the public channel: "Too late."

Chiyou's Electromagnetic Railgun finished charging, and a blinding blue-white beam of light shot out abruptly, like a Divine Punishment tearing through the sky, piercing precisely through the Yamaguchi of Yinghua!

The moment the beam struck, the entire Sakura Mountain seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand. The mountain shook violently, earth and stone flew, and huge cracks spread along the mountain body. After a few seconds of terrifying Silence, the gates of hell burst open.

The volcanic energy accumulated over ten thousand years erupted, magma gushing out like blood from the earth's wounds, shooting hundreds of meters into the sky. The scorching lava rushed down the slopes, turning trees, buildings, and roads into ash wherever it passed. Dense volcanic ash and toxic gases formed a terrifying Mushroom Cloud, blotting out the sun and shrouding a radius of a hundred miles in a deadly shadow.

The small town at the foot of Sakura Mountain was submerged by volcanic ash in just a few minutes. Residents who failed to evacuate screamed in terror, fleeing in all directions, but in the face of this sudden disaster, flight was almost meaningless. Toxic gases quickly claimed many lives, and those who were lucky enough to escape the gas were soon swallowed by the rolling magma.

The city was in chaos. Power outages, water cuts, and communication interruptions—all modern civilization facilities were fragile in the face of this disaster. People groped in the darkness, trying to find a safe way out, but everywhere there were desperate cries and calls for help. Patients in the Hospital were urgently transferred, but the medical system soon collapsed, unable to cope with casualties of such scale.

The volcanic ash soon spread to more distant areas, shrouding the entire capital. Visibility was almost zero; people groped forward on the streets wearing masks and wet towels, every breath bringing intense pain. Cars broke down on the roadside, planes could not take off or land, the railway system was paralyzed, and the entire country fell into an unprecedented disaster.

Inside the command center, the high-level officials of Yinghua Guo had completely collapsed. The leader slumped to the ground, muttering to himself: "God... they killed us... this is a massacre... a total massacre..."

The Defense Minister reported in despair: "Preliminary estimates suggest the death toll may exceed two hundred thousand, and the number of injured is countless. Volcanic ash is spreading across the country, crops are destroyed, water sources are polluted... this is a national-level disaster!"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs' voice trembled: "The Star-Spangled Country Pacific Fleet says... says that because the volcanic ash is too dense, they cannot provide immediate support..."

High in the sky, Li Mingyuan watched all this calmly. Through Chiyou's sensing system, he could clearly see the city plunged into darkness, could see people fleeing in chaos on the streets like ants, and could hear countless distress signals rising and falling on the communication channels.

"This is far from enough," he muttered to himself, his voice cold, "but as a first lesson, it is enough."

Chiyou's single eye flickered with cold red light in the darkness, like the gaze of the Grim Reaper. Under its steel gaze, the cries and despair on the land of Yinghua Guo were like dust in a breeze, tiny and insignificant.

Li Mingyuan took one last look at this country plunged into hell, then decisively turned to the north and activated the propulsion system. Dragging a long blue tail flame, Chiyou streaked across the night sky like a Meteor, disappearing into the northern horizon.

Behind him, Sakura Mountain continued to roar, spewing volcanic ash and magma, bringing a disaster like Divine Punishment to this once-arrogant island nation, and also showing the world a brand-new Long Country—a superpower that no longer swallows its anger, but dares to pay blood with blood.

In the roar of the volcano, the wails of countless lives were mixed in, but none of this could reach the ears of the steel giant that had already gone far away. After tonight, the world's order would be completely rewritten, and this was only the beginning.

Chiyou hovered above Sakura Mountain, looking down at the scene below that was like purgatory. The volcano continued to erupt, scorching magma gushing out like blood from the earth's wounds, rolling smoke and volcanic ash blotting out the sky. Towns struggled in the sea of fire, and countless lives wailed in despair.

Li Mingyuan calmly recorded everything through Chiyou's sensing system. He was neither angry nor compassionate; he was simply, like a scientist observing experimental results, precisely evaluating the effect of this "demonstration of deterrence."

"Data collection complete," he muttered to himself, "demonstration effect... exceeded expectations."

A cold light flashed in Chiyou's single eye, and then, the steel giant turned slowly, with its back to that human hell, and activated the full-power propulsion system. The blue-white plasma tail flame drew a blinding arc in the night, breaking the sound barrier in an instant and disappearing into the northern horizon.

At the same time, all of this was transmitted in real-time to the power centers of countries around the world through a means that could not be detected by existing technology.

Star-Spangled Country, White House Tuoyuanying Bangongshi.

The leader sat in front of the huge oak desk, staring intently at the classified monitor in front of him. The screen clearly displayed the entire process of Chiyou destroying Sakura Mountain and triggering the volcanic eruption, as well as the almost comical panic and surrender performance of the high-level officials of Yinghua Guo.

"This... this is impossible..." the leader muttered to himself, the Cuban cigar in his hand having long since burned out, scorching his fingers, yet he was completely unaware, "Absolutely impossible! How could Long Country possess this kind of technology? This violates the basic principles of physics!"

The Defense Minister was covered in cold sweat: "Sir, according to preliminary analysis, this 'Chiyou' is indeed some kind of... superweapon manufactured by Long Country. Its size, speed, and attack power far exceed our technological level. What is even more terrifying is that it seems to be equipped with some kind of Stealth System; our Radar cannot detect it at all."

"What the hell is that thing? Some kind of robot? A giant fighter jet? Alien technology?" the leader's voice was hoarse, bordering on hysterical.