In space, a geostationary satellite occasionally ejected gas in various directions as it moved. Although its speed appeared slow, it was already quite fast.
In the operations room, besides the commanding officer, satellite operators, and missile launch personnel were gathered.
The operators sat in front of their computers, which had small screens. In the satellite operations hall, there were several large screens. If needed, operators could project their computer screen displays onto these larger screens.
"Satellite is moving."
"Adjusting angle, 12.544332 degrees."
"Thrust acceleration."
"Thrust deceleration."
"..."
"Reached predetermined position, negative direction stop."
"Adjusting attitude."
"Attitude adjustment successful."
In space, the satellite hovered directly above the Evil Dragon Volcano Island.
This geostationary satellite had an orbital period identical to the rotational period of the magic world's planet, thus remaining fixed above the Evil Dragon Volcano Island. The satellite weighed a massive nine tons and was launched into space by the largest rocket. Before the Evil Dragons were discovered, it had been cruising in orbit above the seas west of the magic world's continent. Before the target island was located, the satellite had already passed over the sky above the sea 150 kilometers away from the Evil Dragon Volcano Island.
"Geostationary satellite camera adjusted. Commencing transmission."
The image on the main screen refreshed, its clarity increasing by a whole level. The real-time, high-resolution picture was so detailed that even the waves in the sea could be seen clearly.
In addition to the main screen, several sub-screens displayed other images such as thermal imaging, 3D imaging, and radar echoes.
The commanders seated below could understand only a few of these images, while the rest were incomprehensible to them.
Chu Shi scanned the areas on the screen. With a few clicks on his computer screen, he marked eight points and said, "Launch eight missiles to these eight locations."
"Yes." A missile launch operator quickly operated the keyboard.
About ten kilometers outside the operations room, eight missiles rose from launch silos hidden beneath the grass.
Many people in the base looked up at the eight ascending missiles.
"The second batch of missiles has been launched."
"Hopefully, these missiles will be enough to deal with those Evil Dragons."
"..."
After a few more minutes, an operator called out, "Missiles will reach the Evil Dragon Volcano Island in twenty-five minutes. Switch the route to the sub-screen now."
The real-time missile trajectory appeared on the radar echo map.
The first missile was crucial. It would determine the defensive strength of the Evil Dragon Volcano Island's barrier. If a single missile could breach the barrier of the Evil Dragon Volcano Island, that would be ideal. If the first missile failed to destroy the barrier, it would alert the dragons within the island.
One of the commanders considered this issue and asked, "Staff Officer Chu Shi, if this missile doesn't destroy the magic barrier of the Evil Dragon Volcano Island, won't all the Evil Dragons escape? The launch time for the subsequent eight missiles seems too slow."
Chu Shi did not reply. Instead, a missile expert spoke up.
"Don't worry. The second batch of eight missiles are all super-high-speed missiles, with a flight speed of Mach 21. The first missile was designed to enhance the explosive yield, so its weight was significantly increased. With increased weight comes reduced speed. Our second batch of super-high-speed missiles will arrive at the Evil Dragon Volcano Island at the twenty-sixth minute."
The commander continued, "There's still a one-minute difference. Is this one-minute delay acceptable? Won't the Evil Dragons escape during that minute?"
This time, the expert responsible for satellite operations spoke. "That one-minute window is reserved for satellite observation. The overhead view from the satellite will be affected by the explosion's fire. This is necessary to assess the magnitude of the blast. As for how many Evil Dragons might escape in that minute, you don't need to worry. When creatures are suddenly startled, there's a period of confusion. Even for Evil Dragons, this confusion will last longer than a minute. Our eight super-high-speed missiles will be more than enough to intercept them."
This satellite operations expert had obtained this theoretical basis from a biologist. It was this biologist's theory that had persuaded Chu Shi.
Su Han sat there, observing the exchange between the commanders and experts. Here, Su Han was clearly an outsider, incapable of leading an operation or operating satellites and missiles. Therefore, he could only watch.
"First missile, three minutes until target." The missile operations staff member announced.
Three minutes. Everyone present tensed up. Three minutes was about the time it took to make instant noodles, and if you wanted softer noodles, three minutes might not even be enough.
A countdown appeared on the screen.
"30, 29, 28, 27..."
"...10...9..."
"5"
The missile appeared in the area captured by the main screen.
"4, 3, 2, 1"
At 0.08 seconds remaining, the missile collided with an invisible barrier in mid-air.
The entire screen instantly turned a blinding white, brighter than the sun.
Su Han was astonished. The power of this missile was immense, comparable to a nuclear explosion.
After the blinding light subsided, a mushroom cloud appeared on the satellite's real-time feed. On the accompanying infrared thermal imaging, a mass of red radiation was visible.
Looking at this mushroom cloud, Su Han finally understood. This was a nuclear bomb.
A commander remarked, "This is clearly a nuclear bomb."
Another commander asked, "Why weren't we notified about using a nuclear bomb?"
A third commander added, "We thought it was a conventional missile."
The missile launch expert replied, "Are you misunderstanding something? Against powerful magical creatures like Evil Dragons, of course, we use nuclear bombs. And when did we ever say we were using conventional missiles? Look, the Evil Dragons' lair has appeared."
The commanders quieted down, focusing on the main screen.
On the main screen, in the areas not covered by the mushroom cloud, the volcano island was visible. The magic barrier covering the island had been blasted, leaving only a circular base in the sea, and this base was rapidly disappearing.
As the image zoomed in, the volcano island became clearer on the screen.
Everyone present could see many dragons flying out from the island, looking up at the sky in confusion.
"Evil Dragon Volcano Island. That's right, this is the Evil Dragon Volcano Island," exclaimed a commander.
The missile staff announced, "Second batch of eight missiles will hit the predetermined target in ten seconds."
"10, 9, 8..."