Empire Conquest
Chapter 139 - 135 Hard to Believe

Chapter 139: Chapter 135 Hard to Believe

It wasn’t easy to wait until 4:40 P.M. In fact, counting from the moment he returned to the Command Bridge, it had only been half an hour when the communication officer delivered the first war report.

It came from the leader’s plane, relaying a report from the escort Fighters.

The outbreak of "Typhoon" encountered the Saiyi Navy’s Zero Fighter Group. After a fierce battle, the "Typhoon" used its numerical advantage to drive off the Zero Fighters.

At that time, it was 4:37 P.M.

This war report, like the first firecracker burst on New Year’s Eve, ignited a fuse and triggered a whole string of firecrackers hanging on that fuse.

Over the next ten minutes, dozens of war reports were received, averaging three per minute.

Indeed, these were the first batch of reports from the Attack Aircraft Group.

In fact, this was a unique capability of the "Imperial Capital" class.

Due to the greater power of the catapults, the "Imperial Capital" class could overload-launch torpedo bombers and Bombers, with all command planes, that is, the squadron and section leaders’ planes, equipped with long-wave radios to serve as frontline command platforms during attack missions.

Of course, they could also use radios to report engagement situations to the mother ship during combat.

For this purpose, the number of radios onboard the "Imperial Capital" class was three times that of the "Longjiang" class, and the area of the communication center had expanded by more than double, with a total of sixteen stations. Besides the one station that must always remain online to contact the Navy Headquarters, during a combat mission, it was possible to simultaneously keep in touch with fifteen fighters, meaning receiving telegrams from fifteen fighters at once.

At that time, this level of communication capacity was seriously excessive.

Located on both sides of the deck, dozens of retractable antennas, resembling fishing rods, became the most striking external feature of the two "Imperial Capital" class ships.

If there was any issue, it was that the communication officers had to continuously deliver the received war reports.

The entire combat lasted just over ten minutes.

At 4:43 P.M., under the cover of accompanying escort Fighters, the 31st Squadron, also from the "Imperial Capital" loaded Third Shipborne Air Force Wing’s First Squadron’s Attack Aircraft Group, flew over the Enemy Fleet. Under the leadership of the squadron leader, eight torpedo bombers and eight bombers launched an attack on the enemy ship "Xianghe," achieving two bombs and three torpedoes hits, with three torpedo bombers being shot down.

At 4:52 P.M., the 32nd Squadron’s Plane Group deployed from "Peijing" arrived. With almost no resistance, it attacked the enemy ship "Ruihe," hitting it with three bombs and three torpedoes and suffered no losses, with all sixteen torpedo bombers and bombers returning unscathed.

However, five "Typhoon" aircraft were shot down by High-altitude Guns while strafing escort battleships.

The key was, throughout the entire fight, the Attack Aircraft Group encountered no interception by enemy planes, seeming like the Fifth Air Corps had given up resisting.

How could that be possible?

Even a fattened pig being led to slaughter will fight back desperately.

Moreover, this was a fleet controlled by nearly ten thousand professional soldiers, constructed with the industry’s most powerful machinery, and fully armed!

Although Bai Zhizhan had received dozens of war reports, he remained skeptical throughout.

Initially, he even thought that the Attack Aircraft Group had mistaken their target.

Sawa was incompetent, but shouldn’t be this negligent.

Don’t forget, that patrol plane with the voice radio had lingered around the Fifth Air Corps for over ten minutes, enduring interception by Zero Fighters during that period.

With even a slight sense of crisis, Sawa should have immediately dispatched Fighters to strengthen air defense.

Yet, according to the reports sent back by the Plane Group, there were fewer than ten Fighters above the Fifth Air Corps, scattered by the forward-deployed escort Fighters.

Where were the other Zero Fighters?

Could it be that among the ship-borne aircraft replenished by the Third Air Corps, there were not many Zero Fighters?

Of course, skepticism aside,

After the attack ended, the squadron leader commanding the battle from the 31st Squadron sent in the final war report, confirming severe damage to two Fleet carriers.

However, neither carrier had sunk, suggesting that the focus of a second round of attacks should still be on the two carriers.

This time, there was definitely no deception.

The battle report confirming the results not only had to be visually identified by the pilot but also photographed, brought back for verification to serve as evidence of the combat results.

The key point was that the report stated "severely damaged," not "sunk."

Because a supplementary strike was necessary, the squadron leader who submitted the report would absolutely not speak carelessly.

If the report had claimed that two carriers had already been sunk, eliminating the need for a second round of attack, then one would need to question its credibility.

To have easily and happily taken out two Fleet carriers!?

Was the Fifth Air Corps so easy to defeat??

Bai Zhizhan always felt as if he were dreaming, always feeling that those battle reports were unreal, as if misheard, more like illusions only found in dreams.

Not until five o’clock, did the Communication Advisor come with a telegram that had just been received.

Forwarded by the Navy Headquarters, it was still a battle report.

Around four-thirty, Zu Island Shore-Based Air Force dispatched thirty twin-engine medium bombers, with twenty fighters providing cover, to launch a raid on the second main battle corps.

The Attack Aircraft Group put in their utmost effort but achieved no commendable results.

The crux was that the group was intercepted by dozens of Zero Fighters.

As a result, eleven bombers were shot down before they could drop their bombs, another eight were shot down after dropping their bombs, and three crashed on the way back.

In the end, only eight bombers escaped the battle, and whether the three that were severely damaged could make it back to the base was questionable.

Additionally, eleven escort fighters were shot down.

Out of the fifty deployed, thirty-three were lost, not counting the few that had to be written off upon returning!

Although there wasn’t a count of how many Zero Fighters were present above the second main battle corps, the fact that so many bombers were shot down in over ten minutes of battle meant that there were certainly a lot.

This precisely answered Bai Zhizhan’s questions.

At least, it partially answered his questions.

Clearly, those Zero Fighters protecting the second main battle corps came from the Fifth Air Corps. It was precisely because the fighters were dispatched out that when the planes from the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet appeared, there were only a few fighters above the Fifth Air Corps.

By this point, Bai Zhizhan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Li Mingbo suggested that they send a message to the second wave of attack aircraft that had just departed, to make appropriate adjustments to their attack tactics. Simply put, not to use all their ammunition on the two already severely damaged carriers but to try to take out more large battleships.

However, Bai Zhizhan did not agree.

The reason was quite simple, Li Yunxiang had personally conducted the pre-battle briefing, there was no need to interfere.

Furthermore, giving the pilots a chance to act on their judgment was also a form of training them. In similar situations in the future, they would be able to make correct decisions instantly.

However, Bai Zhizhan was not complacent.

It was not yet time to celebrate exuberantly!

After receiving the battle report forwarded by the Navy Headquarters, that is, after five o’clock, he gave orders to four heavy cruisers and four light cruisers. A cruiser fleet was formed, to head south at full speed after dark, to the area where the Fifth Air Corps had been attacked, to find and destroy any encountered Saiyi battleships. Before dawn, they were to change course westward, heading to the east of Two-Car Strait to keep a close watch on enemy vessels emerging from the strait.

Why?

To perform reconnaissance, searching for the first main battle corps frantically heading east inside the strait.

This arrangement perfectly showcased Bai Zhizhan’s ability to seize the moment in battle.

It also lived up to the nickname "Mad Bai."