Munitions Empire-Chapter 1176: Fleet 1096 Annihilated
"Report! Message from the Goblin… Victory belongs to the Mirage Country…" The adjutant handed the telegram to Shen Haifeng. Everyone around knew what this telegram meant.
The Goblin was finished. Everyone had witnessed its destruction with their own eyes: due to severe flooding on its side being uncontrollable, its command tower had already toppled into the ocean, and the battleship capsized in merely a dozen minutes.
Even faster than the Goblin’s captain had predicted—there wasn’t even enough time to deploy all the lifeboats before the Goblin met its end.
Meanwhile, farther in the distance, the Mountain Frost battleship had already sunk completely to the bottom of the sea, while the Pure Jade’s main deck was now nearly level with the surface of the ocean.
"Send a telegram to the headquarters… All fleet personnel have fought bravely, and the responsibility for defeat lies solely with Shen Haifeng. I am unworthy of Your Majesty’s favor and have no choice but to take my own life to express an apology." After the scribe put down his pen and looked up, Shen Haifeng continued asking, "Is it recorded?"
"It’s recorded." The officer nodded. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Then send it." Shen Haifeng waved his hand.
"General! This wasn’t your decision! You were merely executing orders from the headquarters." The adjutant argued for his superior with a trace of indignation.
"And so what?" Shen Haifeng, for the first time in over a day, forced a faint smile. "Now, does it still matter whose fault it is?"
"Living has become torment for me. It doesn’t matter anymore. Let me die together with the fleet I commanded—it might make me feel better." Shen Haifeng patted his adjutant’s shoulder as he spoke.
He truly had no intention of clinging to life any longer. To him, it was too cruel—living to witness the complete annihilation of his fleet, living to see his nation reduced to ashes… death seemed preferable.
Shen Haifeng’s determination to die stirred the hearts of many Mirage Country officers. They too realized that perishing there might be a better choice for them; in a war doomed to failure, death felt more like liberation.
Yet as the tragic atmosphere spread, inspiring all the Goblins, urging them to roar bravely for one last stand… A single aerial bomb directly struck the bridge of the Shen Battleship, its explosion instantly swallowing everyone present.
To be honest, it was almost too coincidental, but reality had its peculiar twists: after an entire night of avoiding hits from Styx Anti-ship Missiles, and after daylight brought attacks from scores of carrier-based planes, the Shen Battleship’s luck had completely run out.
A Stuka Dive Bomber aimed at the center of the ship to drop its bomb, but interference from anti-aircraft fire caused its aim to waver, resulting in a careless release before turning away—and yet, the bomb miraculously hit the Shen Battleship’s most critical section.
In that moment, dozens of officers, along with the Mirage Country’s Main Fleet Commander, Admiral Shen Haifeng… were all killed in action!
Despite protective homogeneous steel armor nearly 400 mm thick, a direct hit from a 500-kilogram aerial bomb ensured those inside met a peaceful death.
The powerful shockwave from the explosion likely left their internal organs shattered: the armor on the command tower was designed to defend against armor-piercing rounds with limited explosives from enemy warships—not against aerial bombs...
In a dramatic twist, Shen Haifeng departed abruptly and somewhat unexpectedly, leaving behind a crippled, fragmented fleet.
The Goblin still had its hull exposed above the ocean surface, surrounded by Goblin sailors from the abandoned ship, floating aimlessly in the water.
The Mountain Frost had already sunk; the Pure Jade had also submerged… While the Shen Battleship hadn’t yet sunk, it was ablaze, its command post destroyed, half of its commanding officers dead, and all operations paralyzed.
Minutes later, the Ben Island ship—fleeing in fact—was struck by five torpedoes, breaking apart and sinking.
Approximately half an hour after that, the enduring Shen Battleship was finally sunk, and only then… did Tang Country’s carrier-based aircraft, busy through the morning, suddenly recall something… There was still one battleship from Mirage Country billowing thick smoke in the distance!
Indeed, the Great Southern Bay battleship, which had been the first to be hit by Styx Anti-ship Missiles—and struck twice—had miraculously been forgotten by the Tang Army.
It was the first to suffer heavy damage and, due to impaired speed, had fallen to the rear, ironically becoming the last Mirage Country battleship to be sunk.
At 10:13 in the morning, Tang Country’s torpedo planes fired three torpedoes at the Great Southern Bay, sinking this nearly immobile behemoth floating in the ocean.
Thus, Mirage Country’s Navy, having poured its entire effort and a decade’s time into the construction of 12 battleships, lost them all.
The smaller vessels remaining had no will left to continue fighting, but the Mirage Country naval captains also realized there was little chance of escape.
Whoever it was that came up with the idea to flee must have thought up one possible solution: escape to the nearby Great Southern Bay port! It had anti-aircraft guns and coastal fortifications… maybe they could still provide some shelter.
At the very least, if their ships sank in the port, they could swim ashore to take refuge—couldn’t they?
As the first ship frantically dashed toward Great Southern Bay, the remaining Mirage Country ships began retreating there as well.
But the Tang Army wasn’t about to let these Mirage Country ships leave so easily, and many of them were subsequently sunk.
The naval battle effectively dragged on until after 2 PM because… aside from the remnants of the southern Mirage Country main fleet, wasn’t there still Shen Hai’ang’s northern detachment?
Attempting another counterattack southward toward the landing site, the northern cruiser detachment fared little better. They were hit by Styx Anti-ship Missiles and later encountered Tang Country’s carrier-based planes, suffering similarly catastrophic losses.
Even worse than the southern main fleet, they had no nearby port like Great Southern Bay to seek refuge… As a result, by 2 PM, Shen Hai’ang’s fleet was completely annihilated, leaving not a single warship intact.
Shen Hai’ang perished in battle.
...
"Your Majesty! This is General Shen Haifeng’s final telegram." Inside Mirage Country’s headquarters, everyone wore somber expressions. A military officer cautiously presented the last message from the main fleet to the Shen Emperor.
"Read it." The Shen Emperor did not take the telegram, simply issuing the order.
"All fleet personnel have fought bravely, and the responsibility for defeat lies solely with Shen Haifeng. I am unworthy of Your Majesty’s favor and have no choice but to take my own life to express an apology." After reading, the officer lowered his head, not daring to speak further.
"He’s responsible? Can he truly bear this responsibility?" Shen Haiping’s voice grew shrill as he rebuked angrily.
Yet unfortunately, Shen Haifeng could no longer hear his reprimand.
"Confirmed news—our fleet… 12 battleships, all sunk." Each battleship was precious to Mirage Country, so every sinking came with a telegram—a sort of final will.
Not only had Shen Haifeng received these telegrams, but headquarters had as well. Now, Shen Emperor, Shen Haiping, and Shenwu Ke all knew—the main fleet was finished.
"Shen Haifeng’s death is insufficient!" Seeing Shen Emperor remain silent, Shen Haiping felt compelled to speak further.
"How are preparations for the suicide boats?" Shen Emperor shifted focus from the main fleet, asking about the suicide boat plan.
"We have commandeered some faster small boats, outfitted them with explosives… Training is underway." Shen Haiping quickly answered. These specially designed boats required redesigning, which naturally took time.
"Make haste!" Shen Emperor nodded, then turned to General Shengwu Zhong.
"We’ve recruited 30 pilots willing to serve Your Majesty… Aircraft are being modified to carry large amounts of explosives…" Not waiting for Shen Emperor’s inquiry, Shenwu Ke promptly reported.
Compared to the Navy, the Air Force had readily available planes, enabling faster progress. If orders were given to have pilots crash their planes into Tang Country’s battleships, it could be executed within days.
However, Shengwu Zhong needed to clarify their reasoning: "Your Majesty, I believe using novice pilots for the crash missions… may be more appropriate. Sacrificing experienced pilots seems rather wasteful."
"What you say makes sense… but… I must remind you! This is war! Any hesitance or mercy may lead to defeat!" Shen Emperor narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Shengwu Ke immediately lowered his head. He knew, to get past the Shen Emperor’s approval, sacrificing dozens if not hundreds of skilled pilots was inevitable.
Yet he couldn’t help but wonder—after losing so many veteran pilots, how could they replenish these losses? Would freshly trained rookies, piloting planes that inherently underperformed compared to Tang Country’s aircraft, simply be sent to the skies to die?
...
Chang’an, Forbidden City.
Tang Mo’s secretary knocked on the door of Tang Mo’s office. After receiving permission, he pushed open the door, approached Tang Mo’s desk, and presented a document: "Your Majesty! A message just arrived—Marshal Bernard has annihilated Mirage Country’s main fleet."
"Finally, some good news." Tang Mo exhaled with relief upon hearing this. He could provide advanced weaponry to his subordinates, but the skill to wield those weapons effectively to achieve victory still required operation and precision.
Bernard’s success in eliminating Mirage Country’s fleet signaled that the campaign to conquer its four islands was now halfway complete.
Feeling upbeat, Tang Mo seized the document in front of him and handed it to his secretary: "Send this file out. Congratulate the King of Qin on finally achieving his aspiration to become Emperor Qin!"
This was the previously agreed-upon condition: if Qin Country could break through the Shu Mountain defenses, then the Tang Empire and Poplar Empire would support the King of Qin in claiming the title of Emperor. After months of grueling battles, the King of Qin had finally made significant progress. Now, it was time for Tang Mo to fulfill his promise.
