Fifty miles south of the Vermilion Capital, the Grand Vermilion River narrowed into a deep granite gorge.
Steep limestone bluffs rose three hundred feet above the water, funneling the broad current toward the massive iron gates of the Red-Gate Canal Locks. The river passage, normally capable of handling ten merchant galleys abreast, was completely choked with iron.
Twelve imperial ironclad dreadnoughts lay anchored across the gorge in a crescent formation.
Heavy star-iron chains three feet thick linked the dreadnoughts from hull to hull, creating an impassable barrier that barred the way north. Each link was stamped with imperial tax ciphers, welded together under strict naval regulations designed to prevent cowardice.
High atop the central warship’s forecastle stood a towering figure clad in blue-lacquered plate armor, clutching a seven-foot trident.
This was Imperial River-Admiral Gou-Chun, a newly appointed Spirit Domain Early warlord tasked with holding the southern waterway at all costs.
As the alliance flagship glided into view around the river bend, the admiral raised his trident to the sky.
A massive spiritual amplifier horn carved from sea-dragon horn began to glow with blue light, projecting his voice across five miles of open water.
