Empire Conquest
Chapter 171 - 167 The Value of a Soldier

Chapter 171: Chapter 167 The Value of a Soldier

At the western entrance of Watcher Strait, aboard the Damen Battleship,

Ten minutes prior, around one-thirty, the telegraphic officer had delivered the latest battle report: all four Myogi class cruisers of the Fifth Cruiser Corps had been sunk.

Although utterly shocked, Takano did not show it.

Encountering the Liangxia Navy’s Domestic Fleet here was not a surprise for Takano. It had been expected, and it would have been strange not to encounter them.

On the contrary, the reports from Takatoku and Takeo, which arrived one after another, not only surprised Takano but were also completely unbelievable.

After the battle commenced, the Rixiang first suffered severe damage, followed by the Yishi, which was focused upon by enemy fire and even had its communication center destroyed. However, the subsequent telegrams transmitted by the Fusang claimed that Takatoku had heavily damaged four enemy ships, with at least one losing its combat capabilities.

But that was not all.

What Takano found even more inconceivable was that Takeo first reported launching torpedoes at enemy ships from ten kilometers away to cover the Second Main Battle Corps, and then sent a telegram claiming to have hit four enemy ships, with at least one sinking after a massive explosion.

Interestingly, both Takatoku and Takeo claimed that the ship they sunk was the enemy’s flagship.

Did the Domestic Fleet have two flagships?

Later, or rather at the start, the telegraphic officer brought the latest news: the dispatched Light Cruisers had visually confirmed that Yuhei from the Fifth Cruiser Corps launched flares signaling its scuttling. The other three had disappeared from the surface, presumed to be sunk.

Fortunately, the Second Main Battle Corps had survived.

In the southwest, intense fighting was ongoing; the Tenth Cruiser Corps was engaging the Liangxia Navy’s Light Cruiser Squad.

The four Changliang class cruisers had not gained an advantage, but they also did not retreat.

Before the Second Main Battle Corps withdrew, the Tenth Cruiser Corps had to keep an eye on the enemy ships in that area and prevent them from approaching and launching a torpedo attack.

Even if Liangxia Navy’s heavy torpedoes were not as incredible as the "Spear," they could definitely sink a battleship.

"Commander!"

As Kuroshima cautioned him, Takano had seen the four ships ahead, which looked to be sinking, coming their way.

Indeed, those were the four Battleships from the Second Main Battle Corps.

Though in very bad condition, they were still afloat, none had sunk.

However, Takano could not find any joy in this.

After losing contact, precisely after the Fifth Cruiser Squad was crushed, no further messages relating to the Domestic Fleet had been received.

The Second Main Battle Corps had withdrawn, but no one knew where those four fiercely armed enemy ships were!

Let’s not forget that these were the "strongest pre-Treaty Type" Longxing class Battleships.

Even though, since their completion, apart from the usual enhancement of anti-aircraft firepower, the Longxing class had not undergone other modifications, their combat ability was naturally formidable. With a top speed of 26 knots, eight 400mm Main Guns, and a Main Armor Belt 400mm thick, they were not inferior to Treaty Type battleships like the Damen class. Even now, the Longxing class was a formidable opponent.

Moreover, the Damen class in many aspects had copied the classic design of the Longxing class, calling it a replica of the Longxing class would not be wrong.

If Takatoku and Takeo were lying and the Domestic Fleet had not been heavily damaged, they would certainly not withdraw voluntarily.

Takano felt somewhat uneasy, yet did not show it.

At one-fifty-five, the four battleships of the Second Main Battle Corps passed by the right side of the Damen.

The lead ship, Yishi, was severely damaged. Its hull was almost completely submerged, and the tall pagoda mast’s rear section, the communication center, had entirely vanished. The extensive gaping hole left behind looked as though it had been bitten by a giant beast.

Among the six main gun turrets, two had become completely paralyzed, and two had their tops blown off, leaving the remaining two unable to fire.

The bow of the battleship had been blasted away, with several bodies of officers and soldiers still hanging from the break.

The auxiliary bridge behind was entirely gone, and the fallen rear mast lay across the middle two main gun turrets, crashing through the horizontal armor deck.

It was a miracle that this battleship hadn’t sunk!

Outside on the open-air gallery of the command bridge stood more than a dozen officers and soldiers from the headquarters, led by Takatoku.

This guy hadn’t been killed by a shell during the battle.

He seemed to be only lightly wounded, not missing limbs or in any life-threatening condition; it wouldn’t be surprising if the bandage on his arm was just temporarily wrapped.

The "Fusang" following closely behind was almost completely submerged beneath the sea surface. The middle smokestack had collapsed, pressing down on the rear number four main gun turret. Near the waterline on the right side of the aft bridge, there were three large holes left by armor-piercing bullets.

The luckiest aspect of the "Fusang" was that its main bridge in the front hadn’t been hit.

The situation of the "Shancheng" was slightly better.

Apart from the destruction of the two front main gun turrets, this ship had only taken a few hits above the waterline on the right side, resulting in thousands of tons of water ingress.

The damage to the "Rixiang," from the outside, seemed passable.

Apart from the top half of its tower mast being blown off, the most severe damage suffered by the "Rixiang" was actually the likewise blown-away number one main gun turret.

From there forward, the section above the waterline of the hull had completely disappeared.

To counterbalance, meaning to offset the longitudinal tilt caused by severe water ingress at the bow, the acting captain of the "Rixiang" had already ordered water to be pumped into the compartments at the stern of the ship.

As a result, the water ingress situation on the "Rixiang" was also very severe.

Of course, this might also have been because during the battle, to avoid sympathetic detonation, water was pumped into the main gun magazine.

From the damage at the bow, it was clear that the explosion had originated either from the shells stored in the number one main gun turret or from the firing charge, catapulting the entire turret.

That these four battleships hadn’t sunk and could still move under their own power was almost beyond miraculous.

Could it be that Amaterasu had awakened and opened her eyes, beginning to look after the children she had created?

It was just a thought; Takatoku didn’t take it seriously.

The battleships’ speed was less than ten knots, and it seemed they could stop running at any moment.

At this speed, it would take at least three hours to return to East Ocean from Watcher Strait. If anything went wrong, it would likely be delayed until after dawn.

Would the Domestic Fleet grant several hours for the second Main Battle Corps to leisurely retreat to East Ocean?

Although theoretically, Takatoku could imagine that, for the sake of preserving strength, the Domestic Fleet might not pursue, he didn’t dare take the risk, or rather, he couldn’t do nothing knowing that the second Main Battle Corps had suffered heavy losses upon entering Xu Sea.

Moreover, even if Gui Boyong was not aggressive or domineering, he would not let four battleships on their last legs escape.

If Takatoku now led the first Main Battle Corps back home, even if he returned smoothly to Saiyi and continued to serve as Permanent Fleet Commander or even became Navy Commander, he would lose the support of most of his men and thus lose his primary standing in the Saiyi Navy.

Takatoku never intended to return alive.

Don’t forget, he had already entrusted Tanimoto to take his final letter back.

He came here to fulfill his value as a Saiyi Navy officer!