Munitions Empire

The Hammerhead Shark Submarine finally reached the harbor pier, and as the officers on the submarine disembarked and descended the gangway, the attending navy officers hurriedly stepped forward to inquire about the condition of the allied fleet.

There were so many things they needed to confirm, so they couldn't afford to miss any details: "We received your telegram, but it was intermittent. What exactly happened to the allied fleet?"

Upon hearing this inquiry, the captain of the Hammerhead Shark Submarine was visibly taken aback; he had long sent the telegram back. Could it be that the telegram wasn't detailed enough?

He gestured to bring over the crew member who was on duty at the time on the conning tower, and then explained to his superior: "We saw allied fleet warships being hit and flames blazing."

"Our Valiant Warship was wounded, we saw it very clearly. Additionally, we saw several sunken warships," the captain of the Hammerhead Shark Submarine truthfully reported.

He recalled the scene he witnessed, and frankly speaking, it was a complete disaster! The entire fleet seemed to be fleeing for their lives, and their routes were different. Except for the ships that were hit and aflame, the other vessels quickly disappeared beyond the Hammerhead Shark's line of sight.

It wasn't until this moment that the captain of the Hammerhead Shark noticed that the atmosphere at the pier was somewhat unusual compared to usual.

Inside the sandbagged fortifications, soldiers were anxiously inspecting their weapons, machine guns already adorned with ammunition belts, and additional anti-aircraft guns set up after the outbreak of war now pointed skyward.

On the nearby open ground, the garrison troops were forming ranks, about a battalion of soldiers lined up in a square formation, listening to their commander's speech.

In the sky, P36 fighter jets occasionally flew over. Although these old planes were no longer the main force, they still played a role in the Qin Nation Air Force.

The Qin Nation Air Force had many different fighter models—a mix. They had imported P-36 fighter jets from the Tang Country, those they produced themselves, and also the P-40 fighter jets acquired from Tang Country, which they also produced domestically.

Of course, besides the P-40 fighter jets, Qin Country also possessed advanced TA-183 jet fighters, and these jets were the true mainstay of the Qin Army.

Most of the well-performing 40-type fighters and 183-type fighters were on the frontline against the Tang Nation Air Force, so along the Shu Country coast, Qin Country's air force mostly used outdated 36-type fighters.

These airplanes made up for the shortage of 183 fighter jets, but indeed lacked combat power.

"Sir! What exactly happened here?" the captain of the Hammerhead Shark asked curiously.

"The Tang Army attacked the harbor headquarters. Now General Sun Guang is wounded, the communication equipment is destroyed, and there are reports that the Tang Army has landed on the western beach." The welcoming officer said with worry to his subordinates.

"Tang Army? Landed on the west?" the captain of the Hammerhead Shark Submarine repeated incredulously upon hearing this news.

He did not know the size of the Tang Army's fleet, but he hardly believed that the Tang Army would assemble a large landing fleet following their main fleet...

"We still don't know what's happened... What's the status of the allied fleet?" A Qin Army general sighed.

They still hadn't truly spotted the main fleet of the Tang Army, and the reports concerning jet carrier-based aircraft were merely rumors, not confirmed.

The enemy fleet seemed ghost-like, as if a fog of war overshadowed the Qin Army, causing complete uncertainty on their part.

Yet, such overwhelming news blackout conversely helped the Qin Army overcome some of their fears. They did not know what they had truly lost and were unaware they had lost the most crucial battle.

Ignorance, therefore, bred fearlessness; these Qin Army generals still were unaware that the allied fleet had been utterly annihilated, so they continued to hold on to fantasy of victory.

"With all due respect, sir... the allied fleet is likely doomed," the Hammerhead Shark's captain pessimistically voiced his opinion: "I've said before, submarines are the key to victory, relying on those warships won't work."

He wasn't being farsighted; he was just exaggerating the role of his own submarine corps. In reality, he was unaware that the submarine force had also suffered grave losses.

Along the way, the Tang Army fleet discovered many Qin Army submarines performing missions or on guard duty. To ensure fleet safety, Bernard ordered all detected enemy submarines to be sunk.

Five Qin Army submarines were sunk by advanced Tang Army destroyers. Ultimately, with the outdated World War II-era submarines facing anti-submarine helicopters and sophisticated sonar equipment, escape was impossible.

In fact, the Qin Army had arranged a submarine warning perimeter on the outskirts of the allied fleet's anchorage, but unfortunately, this perimeter failed to play any role and was breached by the Tang Army.

Electromagnetic interference severed communication, and the warning telegrams sent by the submarine force at great risk were received by no one. Instead, the submarines that exposed their positions were all sunk by Tang Army destroyers.

The new Tang Army destroyers were equipped with advanced wire-guided torpedoes, which could easily hit the slow-moving Qin Army submarines.

"Let's go! Head to the hospital first..." The leading general headed towards the car parked at the end of the dock.

Following behind him, the Hammerhead Shark's captain was somewhat puzzled: "Why are we going to the hospital?"

"To report the latest situation to General Sun Guang. I don't know if he's awake, but we must tell him everything that happened as soon as possible... so that he can make a decision." The general said while getting into the car.

Elsewhere, on the beach, the disembarked Qin Country sailors had already explained the basic situation clearly: The allied fleet was finished, virtually all the warships had been sunk, and the remaining were just some small boats.

For instance, the fortunate Courage Ship was unscathed and had been rescuing those in the water. But those large warships were almost without exception sunk.

Ten aircraft carriers, all sunk; ten battleships, similarly sunk. The Tang Army fleet remained unscathed, creating a terrifying piece of history.

They annihilated navy fleets of two nations with nearly zero cost! Besides Tang Country's own navy, it's believed no one could surpass this brilliant achievement.

"Did you say all our aircraft carriers were sunk?" An incredulous army officer asked upon arriving.

"Not just ours, Dorne's carriers... were also sunk," the drenched weary responder answered: "And all the battleships... in short, our fleet is finished."