Empire Conquest
Chapter 165 - 161: Fear Before the Battle

Chapter 165: Chapter 161: Fear Before the Battle

In the Watcher Strait, aboard the "Yishi" Battleship.

By the time the lookout reported sighting the lighthouse on the unnamed reef in the center of the strait, a structure that had been extinguished for over a decade, it was already past ten at night.

Vice Admiral Takatoku, the commander of the Second Main Battle Corps, had been standing in front of the porthole for three hours.

Before seven o’clock, after having dinner, he had come to the command bridge and stood immobile in front of the porthole, staring intently at the pitch-black sea ahead.

What exactly did he see?

In fact, he saw nothing!

"Standing like a commander" was Takano’s habit, as if by simply imitating Takano’s actions, one could become another Takano.

Throughout that day, Takatoku’s mood was very poor, one might even say heavy.

Months ago, when leaving East Capital Bay, Takatoku thought it was just a routine exercise against a potential threat, as per usual. Even later, when he went to the "Damen" to attend the combat meeting and learned that war was about to break out, Takatoku didn’t feel it had much to do with him. The Second Main Battle Corps, which he commanded, was a true reserve force and could hardly be expected to play a major role.

According to the initial plans, the Second Main Battle Corps and the Fifth Air Corps were to operate in the Nanzhu Sea and meet up with the returning Mobile Fleet after the assault.

A charge into battle?

At the time, Takatoku joked with some senior staff that if even the Second Main Battle Corps had to take up arms, it meant either an imminent total victory or a comprehensive defeat. Although, at that time, Takatoku just made the comparison to boost the staff’s morale, looking back now, he felt he was foolish to have spoken such ominous words before the war. Wasn’t he cursing the Saiyi Navy to defeat?

Early in the morning, upon receiving a telegram from Takano, Takatoku knew that the situation had turned dire.

Not to speak of the battlefield situation, just one point, the time it took for the First Main Battle Corps to return from Two-car Strait to East Ocean was enough to decide the final outcome of the naval battle.

The Liangxia Navy could roughly estimate the time of arrival of the First Main Battle Corps at Watcher Strait; even if their estimation wasn’t precise, they could still prepare adequately.

This time, the Liangxia Navy was fully prepared.

But what about the Saiyi Navy?

Even if Takano were a god, he couldn’t predict the movements of the Domestic Fleet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent a telegram asking Takatoku to clear the way ahead!

Moreover, in the pre-war plans, there was no mention of how to handle this situation!

Even considering the possibility of an assault failure, no one imagined having to go to Watcher Strait and engage in a decisive battle with the emerging Domestic Fleet after suffering a setback.

This was why Takatoku had spent all day pondering the combat with the Domestic Fleet.

Even when the Third Air Corps was attacked, Takatoku didn’t take it to heart, as he was powerless to help even if he wanted to.

Takatoku was contemplating specific tactics.

How great were the chances of victory?

Or rather, were there any chances at all?

Relative to the situation, Liangxia Navy’s Domestic Fleet wasn’t very strong—only consisting of four "Longxing" class Battleships constructed during the last great war and not refitted post-war. Although the condition of these four battleships was still decent, they certainly couldn’t compare with the newly constructed modern battleships.

The problem was, the four battleships of the Second Main Battle Corps weren’t much better.

Although two "Yishi" and two "Fusang" had undergone post-war refurbishment focusing on the propulsion system—by replacing boilers and steam turbines to enhance propulsion power and recoup speed loss due to increased displacement—also placing significant emphasis on enhancing horizontal protection. Other aspects, such as Main Gun firepower and Main Armor Belt, went unchanged due to limited tonnage available.

Indeed, strengthening horizontal protection was almost a mandatory refurbishment project for all pre-treaty type battleships post-war.

This was unavoidable.

Naval guns were reaching further ranges, and with bombers as well, horizontal protection was becoming increasingly critical, necessitating the thickening of horizontal armor.

The several thousand tons added during the modifications of the four battleships were almost entirely used for horizontal protection.

As a result, even after the modifications, the two "Yishi" and two "Fusang" battleships were still inferior to the Liangxia Navy’s "Longxing" class in terms of firepower, protection, and speed. Particularly in terms of firepower, the fourteen-inch main guns of the four battleships were simply too "lackluster."

Don’t forget, the "Longxing" class was equipped with 400 mm main guns, and its protection was designed to be immune to fourteen-inch armor-piercing bullets at usual combat distances. Theoretically, even if the combat distance was reduced to within ten kilometers, the fourteen-inch armor-piercing bullets could not penetrate the "Longxing" class’s main armor belt.

Use new armor-piercing bullets?

Where would the Saiyi Navy get new armor-piercing bullets?

Those so-called new armor-piercing bullets were all expensively imported from the Bulan Kingdom and primarily supplied to the four fast battleships of the Third Main Battle Corps for use in close-range combat. Heavy bullets suitable for long-range combat had to be imported from the Newland Federation, and because prices were not agreed upon, prior to the outbreak of the great war the Saiyi Navy only obtained a small quantity of test samples, all stored in the warehouses at East Capital Bay.

In contrast, the "Longxing" class had already been using new armor-piercing bullets.

According to pre-war intelligence, the Liangxia Navy’s 400-mm heavy armor-piercing bullets could penetrate the armor of any battleship in service at all ranges.

Rumors suggested that the Liangxia Navy had never retired many of the treaty-type battleships built during the previous great war; a crucial reason was that even the newer fast battleships could not withstand the 400-mm heavy armor-piercing bullets.

If it couldn’t withstand armor-piercing bullets, could it still be called a battleship?

Since it was instant annihilation anyway, why bother investing tonnage in largely meaningless protection?

It was evident that even if the "Longxing" class remained in their configuration from over twenty years ago, they were still formidably fierce maritime killers.

By implication, the "Longxing" class could annihilate Takatoku’s four battleships with a single shot.

So, was there any hope left?

Takatoku wouldn’t admit it, but he was truly terrified, cowardly!

If Takano hadn’t directly issued the order, he definitely wouldn’t have gone to Watcher Strait.

At noon, Takatoku sent a telegram to Takano, informing him of the third Air Corps’s catastrophic defeat, hoping Takano would rescind the order given at dawn.

In Takatoku’s view, it still wasn’t too late to retreat.

The last air corps and the last two carriers had been sunk; continuing the fight was futile, and he favored a retreat to preserve strength.

In Takatoku’s words, even if they penetrated the Xu Sea and annihilated the Domestic Fleet, what then?

It would only last a night!

Once dawn broke, with the Liangxia Navy’s attack aircraft group and swarms of ship-borne aircraft dropping bombs and torpedoes, even the most powerful battleships would be doomed.

The elephant, mighty as it was, couldn’t combat the soaring eagle.

If all the battleships were depleted, what then?

Whether continuing to fight or negotiating with the Liangxia Empire, preserving the fleet was imperative. Only a powerful navy could bring hope to the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom. If the navy was gone, even if they heavily damaged the Liangxia Empire, it would only serve others.

Unfortunately, by sunset, there was still no directive from Takano.

Perhaps that strait up ahead was their ultimate destination!

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