Munitions Empire
Chapter 1399 - 1399: 1316 doesn't matter anymore

"What a joke? The little boats are so dangerous..." The guard captain was eager to kick this damn guy off the ship. What kind of damned bad ideas are these?

On the other side, Lu Qianshan had already seized the initiative on the battlefield. He now had one aircraft carrier and seven or eight destroyers, capable of staying out of the opponent's strike range while attacking their fleet.

In fact, since the start of the war, the Laines Empire's fleet had dispatched a total of three batches of attack planes. Yet these attack groups never managed to find the target, with some planes even unable to return because they flew too far.

Even more tragically, these planes returned only to find their aircraft carrier severely damaged or sunk, turning them into homeless wandering spirits.

After running out of fuel, these planes could only make emergency landings on the sea, causing the escort destroyers of Laines to ceaselessly cruise to rescue people, unable to maintain formation.

Earlier, the only remaining aircraft carrier, in order to accommodate more planes, had to push the previously landed aircraft into the sea, presenting an utterly absurd scene.

Seeing the valuable planes being pushed into the sea one by one by the deck crew and falling off the side of the carrier, the aircraft carrier's commander was near madness.

They trained for more than a year, finally getting the pilots accustomed to naval combat. They also managed to grasp the skills of taking off and landing on the sea.

But when the battle started, the pilots had to make emergency landings on the sea, and their previous training on the carrier turned out to be almost useless.

The fleet's radar couldn't find the target, and the carrier-based aircraft's search was fruitless. When everyone was at a loss, their fleet had already been completely wiped out.

"Damn it! What exactly should we do, Blomayer should at least give us an order." Looking at the big hole on the deck, the aircraft carrier captain furiously complained, having given the order to push all the aircraft into the water hours earlier.

He wasn't afraid of offending his superior either. Given the way this naval battle had played out, it wasn't even certain who would still be his superior if they returned!

Moreover, is it too early to think about going back now? Can they still return? Can they even survive?

"It doesn't matter anymore." The executive officer stood beside the captain, calmly responding: "Whether there are orders now or not, it makes no difference to us. We can't do anything or achieve anything anymore."

The executive officer's words were factual. As an aircraft carrier, they had lost the ability to take off and land planes; the outcome of this naval battle was now utterly unrelated to them.

Even if they knew where the enemy was now, they already couldn't attack. They couldn't even launch a few fighter jets to cover the fleet.

Those expensive Sea Spitfire fighters, purchased after acquiring blueprints and production licenses from the Great Tang Empire, had now turned into a pile of scrap iron.

Despite seeming quite excellent in performance at the time, these naval aviation fighters that had hardly displayed any prowess in this naval battle were now looked upon unfavorably.

Those tasked with offensive missions, the 97 ship attacks, now were no different from lighters. The 97 types, fully fueled and armed with torpedoes and bombs, had become the culprits of Laines aircraft carrier's doomed silence.

"You're right." The captain saw a battleship get hit by a distant incoming anti-ship missile through the porthole and nodded in resignation.

The battleship had already stopped stationary, unable to move, yet anti-ship missiles from the Great Tang Empire continued flying in, relentlessly piercing the battleship's armor as if slicing through soft tofu.

About ten minutes later, the battleship's number 2 gun turret suddenly bulged, as if inflation was stretching a balloon.

Ultimately, the gas inside burst through the steel armor's constraint, tearing apart the surrounding ship structure and unleashing splendid flames.

The entire deck of the battleship was pulled and deformed by the expansion gas produced by the detonation. Its primary ammo magazine was finally ignited, and the battleship began to take on water and sink.

"Why not flood the magazine?" Watching everything happen, the executive officer grumbled annoyed—a damage control officer himself, familiar with his previous work.

"The damage control is inexperienced..." The captain shook his head. He knew this navy too well: half of the naval captains were newly promoted and the replenishment rate of new recruits was too fast, training couldn't keep up with expansion.

"Moreover, they seem to have lost power, probably unable to suppress the fire, close the compartments, or open the flood valves..." Before he could finish, the previously missile-hit Ice Crystal City battleship was hit again.

A huge flame rose from the command tower; the missile pierced through the bridge, with other parts of the warship seemingly intact from afar, yet the Ice Crystal City ship still looked exceptionally battered.

"Done for..." The executive officer shook his head in despair: "Our main fleet is finished, let's see how many ships from the trailing fleet can make it back."

"Even if all escape, it's still hopeless." The captain chuckled wryly: "At most only a few dozen destroyers and several cruisers, no fighting power whatsoever."

Laines' main warships were never numerous; now with the main fleet annihilated, the remaining warships were powerless to prevent the Great Tang Empire's navy from harassing the ports.

Brunas is likely doomed... That was the first thought for many—the most vital industrial zone of Laines seemed destined for destruction by war. Ch^e$c@k for the latest u$p@dat&e&s on My V$i^r@t-ua&l% Lib$r*a!r.y! E$m^p@i&re^ (MVL$E@MPYR)..

While discussing these matters, an anti-ship missile directly hit the forepart of the aircraft carrier they were on.

The original flight deck was blown apart, the wooden-planked deck fractured substantially. Soon, the flames at the fore could not be controlled, and the damage control team reported the situation, saying the fire would soon spread near the fuel tank.

"Prepare to abandon ship." The captain looked towards the executive officer, issuing the order: "You go organize the sailors to get on the lifeboats! Save as many as you can!"

"Captain... You..." Hearing this order, the executive officer looked at his captain, reluctant to depart.

"Go, already! I'm an old man, no need to leave... It's a tradition, and for me, it's a good thing too." The captain waved his hand, signaling the executive officer to lead the crew away: "All the bridge officers should leave! You're all still young, you must live on!"

Near dinnertime, this aircraft carrier sank... As it submerged beneath the sea, the Laines Empire Navy's fleet main force was destroyed, 1800 kilometers away from Dragon Island.

And this naval battle wasn't over yet; hundreds of fleeing transport ships from the Laines Empire were still facing the onset of the Tang Army's pursuit.