Natalie sat on the boat, watching Andorf steer the small vessel, and couldn't help but ask, "Why did you damage the North American boats just now? They can't escape!"
Andorf, upon hearing this, calmly replied, "You'd best not speak of this casually, or I cannot guarantee that I won't silence you!"
Natalie was still unwilling to give up and asked, "Why did you do this? They are our comrades. They had the ability to escape, but you shattered all the ice. The enemies fell into the water, yet you betrayed them. Are all you Germans like this?"
Natalie was very angry at this moment, and her words became sarcastic. The "German character" she spoke of was none other than the disaster Germany had brought to Europe during World War I and World War II. Despite being fellow European nations, Germany ignored this and focused on attacking European countries.
Therefore, in the minds of many Europeans, Germany was inherently rebellious and destined to betray others in the future.
Andorf, without turning his head, calmly said, "They are not our comrades; they are merely our allies. What is an ally? An ally is someone to be betrayed. Only when the losses on both sides increase will their hatred deepen. When North America and Russia go to war, our opportunity will arise!"
Natalie quickly asked, "What opportunity?"
"Naturally, the opportunity to monopolize the meteorite!" Andorf said calmly. "Our strength was weak before, so we had to rely on North America to have a chance to obtain the meteorite. But once these two sides go to war, and preferably to a point where both are severely weakened, then our strength will allow us to monopolize the meteorite!"
"Then you are truly short-sighted. Don't forget that the Chinese espers have not been harmed yet!" Natalie pointed out the flaw in the plan with a single, sharp remark.
Andorf turned his head and looked at Natalie seriously, asking, "Then what do you think I took you to those two Chinese ships for? Was it just suspicion that they had found the meteorite? Of course, I guessed China's objective. What they are doing is exactly the same as what I am doing. I even suspect that the North American prisoners captured earlier were a scheme by the Chinese!"
Natalie's worldview was instantly shattered. Before becoming an esper, she was just an ordinary university student who enjoyed dating handsome guys at coffee shops and going to the movies. Enjoying life was the most important thing. Now, she was exposed to the deceitful world of combat, and it seemed her entire worldview had collapsed.
Andorf continued to steer the boat, quickly returning to the European mothership. A group of people on the ship were still talking in twos and threes. These people were from different countries, so they naturally lacked strong camaraderie.
Not long after, someone from North America arrived by boat to inform them, saying, "We are about to go to war with the enemy. Europe is our ally and should stand with us and fight with us. Therefore, please prepare yourselves and set off with us shortly!"
Andorf, as the leader of the European espers, stepped forward at this moment and said earnestly, "Please return and tell General Tom that we will follow shortly. We are friends on the same boat and will never betray you!"
Natalie found this amusing. This guy had already betrayed them long ago, yet he claimed he wouldn't betray them. Was he treating them like fools?
Yet, the messenger actually believed him and left.
Andorf then gave instructions to the people around him: "God believes that fighting is incorrect, and violence is also inappropriate. Therefore, we should follow God's instructions. After the battle begins, please do not charge forward recklessly. Your primary objective is to preserve yourselves."
As soon as these words were spoken, the ship erupted in warm applause. If they were truly ordered to fight, they would have been unwilling. Helping the weak and fighting the strong was not an issue, but the problem was that the Russian espers were too powerful, and they themselves were the weaker party. Therefore, they would avoid combat if possible.
Now, Andorf claimed it was God's instruction, and the excuse was readily available. As long as they obeyed God's command, combat could be avoided. Why not? Thus, warm applause was given to Andorf, and everyone wholeheartedly supported this decision.
Meanwhile, in addition to sending people to notify Europe, North America also sent someone to notify the Chinese warship about the matter. The message was simple: help us fight, and after we win, the meteorite will be ours. Furthermore, the North American espers made a very tempting statement.
"We have already located the meteorite. As long as China helps us win this war, we will tell you its location!" the messenger said proudly.
Gong Changfa and Shen Feng exchanged glances. Upon hearing this, they struggled to suppress their laughter. This plan seemed to be going too smoothly. Their scheme of framing others had indeed greatly inflamed the tempers of both sides, and a fake meteorite had even become an object of contention.
Shen Feng and Gong Changfa could still maintain their composure, but others couldn't. They turned their heads and began to chuckle, clearly amused by the messenger's words.
At this moment, Gong Changfa quickly said, "We are peace-loving people and cannot fight with you. But rest assured, if you cannot defeat the enemy, we will appear at a critical moment and ensure you do not suffer a complete defeat."
The messenger was somewhat unwilling and quickly said, "Now, as long as we can defeat the enemy, the meteorite will surely be ours. However, if any accident occurs, the meteorite will be snatched by someone else!"
Gong Changfa shrugged and still refused to send troops.
The messenger esper was also helpless and could only return to the fishing rafts.
Upon hearing this, Tom's expression immediately soured, and he began to curse, "These cunning fellows! They're just planning to watch us fight and say they'll help if we can't win. I think that's not the case at all! They'll help whoever wins!"
Tom thought that his side's combat power had already been weakened. If they were to fight, they might not gain an advantage. Fortunately, the European espers said they would help. It seemed that Europe and America were one family, and they were the most reliable at critical moments.
With this thought, Tom continued, "Everyone, set out to fight together. Take out all your trump cards. There's no need to hide anything now. It's time to show everyone how powerful North America is."
Subsequently, the North American espers quickly pulled out ropes from beneath the fishing rafts. Tied to these ropes were sealed boxes. Upon opening the boxes, they were filled with green injection syringes and specialized launchers. Normally, these were used to tranquilize elephants.
This was a powerful weapon that North America had prepared before departing. They had specifically manufactured firearms for espers. The tranquilizer had been replaced with a potent poison. Just one drop of the agent could kill an esper. Even sea beasts would find it difficult to withstand this agent. If they could manage to inject fourteen or fifteen doses, even sea beasts would die under such circumstances.
It was evident that at this moment, Tom was willing to go all out to defeat the enemy and seize the meteorite.
"Follow me, let's go!" Tom's eyes gleamed with bloodlust. His chance to prove himself had arrived. As long as he defeated the enemy, he could tell the whole world that even in the apocalypse, North America was the most powerful.
...
On the outskirts of the Divine Realm, five fleets occupied different sea areas. Warships could not enter the Divine Realm, and ordinary people could not withstand the electromagnetic waves within the Divine Realm, so they could only wait outside. During this waiting period, the atmosphere between the fleets was filled with tension, as each fleet had received a strict order from their superiors.
"At a critical moment, if we cannot seize the meteorite, we must not let others obtain it. Be prepared to fight at any time!" This was the order received by almost every fleet. The reason was simple: when a good thing could no longer be obtained by oneself, it was better to destroy it than to let it fall into the hands of others.
If their own espers could successfully seize the meteorite, that would be the best. However, if they failed to obtain it, the fleet would be the last resort, attacking the faction that obtained the meteorite and eliminating them swiftly.
Under such circumstances, all the soldiers on the fleets dared not slack off; they were all preparing for the decisive battle that would eventually occur. There was no communication between the fleets, as no one knew who would seize the meteorite, nor did anyone know who the enemy was.
The current situation was like five people locked in a dark room. Whoever could seize the meteorite would be equivalent to finding the only light switch. And the person who obtained the light switch would be ganged up on by everyone else, because the light switch was not in their hands. How could that be acceptable?
The Chinese fleet, in terms of strength, could be considered the most powerful. The reason was simple: two cruisers and seven frigates were enough to easily destroy a small country. The fleets of other factions, caught off guard and not fully prepared, could not compare to the Chinese fleet.
On the Chinese cruiser, the captain was discussing the situation as usual. Beside the captain were several staff officers offering advice.
"According to news from Yanjing, the soldiers transporting the containers are said to be proceeding smoothly. All six ships are sailing towards us smoothly. The ships taking the ocean route will arrive here in ten days!"
"If that's the case, then it's all the better. According to reports from espers within the Divine Realm, the North American espers and Russian espers have already engaged in battle. Regardless of who wins between these two sides, their strength will be greatly depleted."
"Didn't you say that the European espers and Indian espers have already joined the fray? Haven't these two sides suffered any losses?"
"Have you heard of 'tapping the side drum'? These two sides are not foolish. They appear to be latching onto the stronger side, but they are merely going through the motions and not exerting themselves, all for their own interests!"
"Then, it seems that as long as the containers are delivered here, the meteorite will fall into our hands. However, there is a clear problem: we may become the target of everyone's attacks afterward!"
"It seems we can only prepare actively. We can't just hand over the meteorite, can we?"
While they were discussing in the conference room, a guard suddenly rushed in and said to the captain, "Bad news, we've been surrounded!"
"Surrounded? Have the other fleets discovered something is wrong and are preparing to surround us?" the captain quickly asked.
In the captain's view, the only enemies remaining were the other fleets. If they were suddenly surrounded, it must have been these fleets acting.
However, the guard immediately shook his head and said, "It's not them; it's sea beasts. We are surrounded by sea beasts!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned. Why would sea beasts appear at this time? They hadn't seen any for a long time, and now, at this moment, they were surrounded. How many sea beasts were surrounding them?
The staff officers were the most bewildered. The sonar had been active all this time. The fleet knew clearly whether there were any schools of fish within tens of kilometers. But at this moment, the sea beasts seemed to have descended from the sky and suddenly surrounded the fleet. It was unbelievable!
"Quick, go out and see, and be ready to fight at any time!" The captain forced himself to calm down. He was the commander; he could not panic, or he would surely shake the morale of the troops.