Empire Conquest
Chapter 116 - 112: Certain Death Belief

Chapter 116: Chapter 112: Certain Death Belief

The Mobile Fleet here was also bustling with activity.

In fact, the officers and sailors on the "Jiahe" had been busy all night long and only managed to fix the damaged flight deck at 1:30 AM. After that, they rushed to repair the damaged fighters, worked out a way to seal the leaks in the hangar, and finally prepared for the morning’s operation.

From the senior officials in the Aviation Service Department down, hundreds of officers and sailors had no time to rest, not even a moment to sit down and drink some water.

Relatively speaking, the situation on the "Feilong" was slightly better.

Before 5 AM, the "Jiahe" and "Feilong" turned into the wind and then launched several repaired ship attack planes, Type 97.

They were not going out to attack the Liangxia Navy’s Special Mixed Fleet, but to carry out a reconnaissance mission.

But that wasn’t all.

After the plane group of ship attacks had taken off, around 5:30 AM, the two carriers began launching fighters.

These Zero Fighters also took off fully loaded, all carrying auxiliary fuel tanks to ensure they could loiter at cruising speed above the Mobile Fleet for six hours.

That meant, if no battle occurred, they could theoretically stay until 11 AM. Consideration of the landing would extend the patrol time till 10:30 AM. However, air defense tasks also consumed a lot of fuel, so the replacement time wouldn’t be later than 10 AM.

When the last Zero Fighter was launched from the "Jiahe," it was almost 6 AM.

It took half an hour just to launch a few Zero Fighters, mainly because the ground crew was too exhausted. If it weren’t for the hope of victory sustaining them, many would have simply collapsed.

The eastern sky was already showing the first light of dawn.

Yet, the ground personnel still hadn’t gotten a chance to rest.

Now, both carriers needed to quickly clear the flight deck, more precisely, to clean up the flight deck, preparing for the arrival of a plane group in half an hour.

Watching the bustling officers and sailors on the deck, Lan Yun felt extremely moved.

In fact, last night, when Tanimoto left aboard the seaplane, Lan Yun had wanted to say something to keep him but ended up only saying a few words of thanks.

Anyway, Tanimoto was a staff officer at the Permanent Fleet Headquarters, subordinate to Takano.

After experiencing yesterday’s battle, Lan Yun understood why Takano valued and appreciated this still somewhat youthful staff officer.

Putting other things aside, if it weren’t for Tanimoto’s resolute decision, the Mobile Fleet would have suffered a much worse defeat!

Without the Reprisal action that sank two carriers of the Second Aviation Mixed Fleet, even if it later turned out to be one sunk and one damaged, what followed would have been the loss of more than just face. If the Second Aviation Mixed Fleet had gotten the chance to launch a third wave of attacks, it’s likely that by sunset yesterday, the Mobile Fleet would have become mere decorations in the South Sea Dragon Palace. Even if that’s an exaggeration, just one more wave of attack with several dozens of torpedo bombers and bombers would have been enough to sink the "Feilong" and "Jiahe." Without the carriers, what use would it have been for the other battleships to escape?

Clearly, the Reprisal action advocated by Tanimoto had saved the two carriers, saved Lan Yun.

Furthermore, it preserved hope.

Now was the time to fight for this sliver of hope!

Based on the intelligence currently available, it was not yet possible to determine whether the Special Mixed Fleet was continuing to head south or had already turned towards the Two-car Strait. However, one thing was certain: the two carriers departing from Cizhou, which formed the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, had already entered the Flame Sea via the Zu Island Strait and were likely operating near Zu Island. They were set to deploy ship-borne aircraft to monitor and blockade the Two-car Strait.

The key was, the only ones who could get there in time to block the Two-car Strait were the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

The speed of the Mobile Fleet was not slow; even last night, when the "Jiahe" was being repaired, the speed reached twenty-eight knots. If the Special Mixed Fleet had sailed south for several hours earlier, even if they reached a speed of thirty knots, they couldn’t catch up with the Mobile Fleet in the Flame Sea.

Clearly, the two Special Mixed Fleets of the Liangxia Navy were just too far apart!

Indeed, this was the opportunity!

According to the dispatch sent by the Military Command Department last night, the Main Battle Corps would deploy seaplanes before dawn to help the Mobile Fleet locate the Enemy Fleet, namely the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet. Since the Fifth Air Corps couldn’t arrive in time, the Mobile Fleet needed to organize a ship-borne aircraft attack as soon as it was replenished. If capable, the Mobile Fleet would also send out reconnaissance aircraft before dawn to search the waters south of Zu Island.

In summary, it boils down to one sentence.

First, take out the Tiger blocking the way, then consider others.

But Flame Sea was very clear that this wasn’t a plan from those ineffective people at the Military Command Department; it was Takano’s plan.

As for why Takano made this arrangement, it was for the same reason he had Tanimoto recalled.

After yesterday’s battle, Takano had lost faith in the Mobile Fleet, precisely, he didn’t believe that the Mobile Fleet could escape ascension.

Perhaps, at that time, Takano had already decided to abandon the Mobile Fleet.

Don’t forget, after fighting all day yesterday, only the Mobile Fleet was exposed, discovered, and attacked; the Main Battle Corps never showed up.

Theoretically, the Liangxia Navy might not know that the Main Battle Corps had also entered Flame Sea.

That way, the Liangxia Navy would focus solely on the Mobile Fleet and set the search range based on the Mobile Fleet’s speed and route.

As long as the Special Mixed Fleet pursued relentlessly, they would definitely find the Mobile Fleet.

Now that was a big problem!

In terms of time, even if the Mobile Fleet continuously traveled east, they would only reach the west mouth of the Two-car Strait on the night of the 26th. Continuing at full speed, they would only escape the Two-car Strait by noon on the 27th, precisely speaking, escaping the strike range of the warplanes deployed on Zu Island.

On the afternoon of the 26th and the morning of the 27th, the Mobile Fleet would be exposed.

Getting hit was almost certain!

So, what about the Main Battle Corps?

Since it had been following behind, maintaining a distance of over two hundred kilometers, and with a not so slow speed, the Main Battle Ship would arrive at the Two-car Strait five hours ahead.

What did this mean?

By the evening of the 26th, the Main Battle Corps would be able to enter the Two-car Strait, and as long as they turned southeast in time, they could escape before dawn on the 27th.

That is to say, for the Main Battle Corps, the most dangerous time was the few hours before entering the Two-car Strait.

That was the afternoon of the 26th!

If the Mobile Fleet engaged in a fierce battle with the Liangxia Navy at this time and successfully drew their fire, would the Main Battle Corps still be attacked?

Clearly, the best way to draw fire was to attack the Liangxia Navy’s Special Mixed Fleet.

Once the battle begun, the Liangxia Navy would only have eyes for the two carriers of the Mobile Fleet, even if they spotted the Main Battle Corps, they would pretend not to see it.

Moreover, it’s unlikely the Liangxia Navy could timely spot the Main Battle Corps lurking two hundred kilometers ahead of the Mobile Fleet.

Indeed, this was the exact clever plan Takano had devised.

Let the Mobile Fleet be cannon fodder so the Main Battle Ship could escape.

But knowing this, what could be done?

The Mobile Fleet was already behind; they couldn’t grow wings and fly away, even if they had them!

With the situation Flame Sea was in now, the best he could do was to launch an attack before they suffered a devastating blow.

Even if destined to die in Flame Sea, they would drag the Liangxia Navy’s Special Mixed Fleet down with them!

Of course, if they could sink a few carriers, then they would die without regrets!