Chapter 773.1: Attack: North Island!

Across the turbulent sea, a towering cruiser cleaved through the waves.

Its name was the Laken, after the most ferocious sea beast in these waters.

When Shelter 70 constructed it, the ship had been equipped with the most advanced anti-ship systems and surface-search fire-control radar available. In theory, even all the destroyers of the North Island Federation and the Southern Sea New Alliance combined would not be a match for it.

It would be a battle without suspense, or rather, a one-sided massacre.

The atmosphere on the bridge was tense. The radar operator stared at his screen without blinking. The instant a ripple appeared on the display, he yelled in reflex, “The Reef has appeared! The target is proceeding along its predetermined route! At the current speed, our vessel will be detected by the target’s radar in five minutes!”

The Reef should still have been completely in the dark, continuing to play the seemingly harmless bait.

Hearing the radar operator’s report, Fu Hongyi, the captain of the Laken, nodded.

Their attack window was only five minutes. However, that was already more than enough time. It was almost excessively long.

By the time the Reef discovered that the ship coming to receive them was not the Flying Fish but the Laken, they probably would not even have time to pray before an anti-ship missile sent them to the bottom of the sea to feed fishes.

Still, knowing that his targets were former comrades left Fu Hongyi with complicated feelings.

Seeing everyone looking toward him, he slowly asked, “Can we contact them?”

The communications officer seated before the terminal shook his head. “No contact! They entered radio silence according to plan...”

Just as expected.

Although he had never truly intended to contact them, Fu Hongyi still sighed softly before ordering all combat units to prepare for action.

Everything was ready, but the adjutant standing beside him began to hesitate. After struggling with himself for a moment, he asked quietly, “Are we really... going to do it?”

The captain remained silent for a while, then reached up and gently straightened the captain’s cap on his head. “The situation on a battlefield changes in an instant. Hesitation leads to defeat... Sink her.”

They did not have much time. The Southern Sea New Alliance’s ambush fleet was nearby. The Laken had to finish the battle quickly. Ideally, it would destroy the target in a single strike, immediately change course, and rendezvous with the main fleet.

It was truly ironic when he thought about it. Although the fleets of the Southern Seas had been established to guard against the Army, they had yet to see even the shadow of a vessel from the Army. Their only combat achievements thus far had all been contributed by their fellow comrades.

They might have been better off without a fleet at all.

Fu Hongyi smiled bitterly and sighed to himself.

Perhaps once Mr. Chalas had dealt with the turmoil on their doorstep, he will finally allow these fleets to serve some genuine purpose.

At the very least, they could be used elsewhere on the wasteland...

“Fire-control radar is illuminating the target!”

“Riptide anti-ship missiles ready!”

“Safeties disengaged!”

“Ready to launch!”

A series of voices echoed across the bridge. However, at that moment, an ill-timed voice suddenly rang out.

The operator seated before the sonar control terminal abruptly cried out, “Our sonar has detected an unidentified object approaching!”

Fu Hongyi’s pupils contracted sharply. Countless possibilities surged through his mind, only for all of them to resolve into despair. “Launch torpedo decoys–”

Before he could even finish speaking, something struck the port side of the Laken as though a sea beast had rammed into it. The entire vessel lurched violently. Everyone on the bridge was thrown weightlessly against the glass windows on one side, only to be swallowed moments later by soaring flames and a wave of searing heat.

From a distance, the Laken resembled a chopstick snapped through the middle. Amid raging flames and the flashes of detonating ammunition, it slowly sank beneath the sea.

Everything happened in an instant.

Only 15 minutes passed between the torpedo impact and the cruiser’s complete sinking. In beyond-visual-range warfare, by the time one discovered the enemy’s presence, it already meant everything was too late.

Roughly 20 nautical miles west of the cruiser, an attack nuclear submarine slowly surfaced, exposing its bridge and radio equipment above the waves. It had remained silent there for three entire days, lying on the seabed like a genuine reef.

A silent radio transmission carried news of the successful strike to the naval command headquarters on Peace Island. “This is Shark Tooth. The Laken has been sunk. We will proceed to the designated rendezvous point and join the other vessels according to plan.”

After completing its report, the submarine submerged beneath the waves once more, changed course, and headed toward the main fleet.

The bridge was abnormally silent. Unable to endure the oppressive atmosphere, one officer quietly left the bridge and entered the corridor, only to discover that someone was already standing there.

Seeing the heavy expression on his face, the other man whistled, attempting to ease the awkward silence between them. “Counting the Cold Night, we’ve already claimed the heads of two allied ships.”

“Did they really count as allies?”

“More or less. At least we once trained together.”

The awkwardness did not ease at all. This time, the corridor also fell silent.

After standing wordlessly by the doorway for a long time, the officer sighed. “Let it end quickly.”

He did not know how future generations would judge this twisted chapter of history. Perhaps sinking to the bottom of the sea was the only true release.

...

Having completed its mission, the Shark Tooth continued toward its original destination.

After following its predetermined route for some distance, the destroyer Reef discovered that it had neither been sunk nor met by anyone coming to receive it. For a time, the vessel entered a missionless state.

Peace Island Naval Command had assigned it no subsequent combat mission, while continuing along the original route was clearly no longer necessary.

Before long, the destroyer’s sonar detected the wreckage of the cruiser lying on the seabed.

Zhang Ruowen did not hesitate. He immediately ordered the ship to proceed toward the waters where the Laken had sunk. Although the chances of finding survivors were slim, he still intended to attempt a rescue.

He planned to save as many as he could!

As for Arzu, who had been living inside his head, the man had vanished without a trace. Zhang Ruowen did not know whether he had merely fallen silent or had truly disappeared. Regardless, once everything was over, Zhang Ruowen intended to undergo a minor operation and have that shit removed.

The bionic chip admittedly had its uses, but since he no longer felt any confusion about the future, he had no need to listen to the so-called gospel.

Meanwhile, at North Island Naval Command, deathly silence spread through everyone’s hearts like a plague.

Chalas’s eyes were wide, their whites threaded with blood, while both of his fists remained tightly clenched.

At that moment, he resembled an enraged beast. Everyone standing beside him scarcely dared to breathe, much less make a sound, for fear that the beast might turn its fury upon them.

“Useless fools.” Chalas spat the curse viciously. Suppressing the pain of his loss, he forced himself to calm down and immediately turned toward the commander beside him. “What about our main fleet? Have they detected any sign of the enemy fleet?”

“Not yet. Should we detach a destroyer to follow the sonar signature of the submarine that sank the Laken?” The commander watched Chalas nervously and hurriedly added the suggestion, only to receive a furious torrent of abuse.

“Are you a pig?! We only have two destroyers left! You expect a single destroyer to accompany our main ship?”

What a pack of incompetent fools!

The commander lowered his head without speaking. After cursing him several more times, Chalas steadied himself and looked back at the nautical chart.

Excluding the destroyer that was about to be launched, he had only three vessels left, one main battleship and two destroyers. The composition of his fleet was catastrophically unbalanced.

By contrast, the Southern Sea New Alliance’s equipment and personnel had only increased as the fighting continued. It now possessed three destroyers, one cruiser, three additional nuclear submarines, and a submarine carrier that had yet to appear.

However... His side was not entirely without a chance. As long as the Ocean Edge could wipe out all four of the Southern Sea New Alliance’s surface warships in one blow, while his destroyers Flying Fish and Defender eliminated the remaining four submarines, there would still be a slim possibility of victory.

But why?

Chalas stared fixedly at the nautical chart, his brows twisted tightly together. Why had his battleship still failed to locate any trace of the Southern Sea New Alliance fleet? Had they employed some new radar-absorbent coating or a special jamming device?

If the Reef was bait, then the Southern Sea New Alliance fleet had to be lying in ambush nearby...

Wait!

Chalas suddenly realized something, his pupils contracting almost to their limit.

They already knew that he knew the Reef was bait. They would naturally have known that the battleship Ocean Edge would be waiting nearby in full readiness.

Just as they had predicted that the ship approaching the Reef would be the cruiser Laken, it was entirely reasonable that they could deduce the movements of the North Island Federation’s main fleet from that information.

After all, he would never allow a cruiser to operate alone hundreds of nautical miles from support. The main fleet would inevitably be waiting somewhere within a 100 nautical miles.

“If I were Li Minghui... I would never send my only remaining fleet directly into the face of a battleship. I would take advantage of the battleship’s absence and launch a surprise attack on North Island...”

His lips trembled as he muttered softly. The more he spoke, the greater the terror that overwhelmed him. Another drop of cold sweat slid down Chalas’s forehead.

This time, he was not the only one. Everyone in the command room also came to the same realization as they listened to his muttering.

North Island was their true objective! The final decisive battle had already begun!

Realizing this, Chalas’s eyes widened, and he roared with complete disregard for everything else. “Order the Ocean Edge to return and defend the island immediately! Now!”

“Yes!” the communications operator answered tensely and hurriedly began operating the terminal to transmit the order.

At that exact moment, the command center’s radar operator turned deathly pale and shouted in alarm. “Large numbers of airborne targets are approaching us! 1,447 contacts!”

The report was like a fuse igniting a powder keg. The room instantly erupted into a chaotic roar.

“They’re decoys! Activate the active illumination radar and lock onto the target airspace! Bring the optical observation systems online!”

“Put the surface-to-air missiles on standby! Hurry!”

“Radar has burned through the interference! 20 targets remaining... Damn it! Why are there still so many?!”

“Electromagnetic pulse munitions have detonated in our near airspace! Counter-pulse systems are functioning!”

“Reflective chaff! They’ve deployed massive quantities of reflective chaff! I can’t see anything over here!”

“It’s all deception... Send our aircraft up to engage them! Hurry!”

In the span of a single minute, North Island Central Command, which had previously been as still as water, suddenly boiled over like a pot placed upon a roaring flame.

In the park at the center of North Island, four simply designed fuel-powered fighters slowly rolled out of spacious hangars onto a temporary runway converted from the lawn. They accelerated along the runway and soared into the sky.

A dazzling field of light shimmered in the distant air as the chaff scattered from above remained active.

Farther still, New Alliance aircraft were racing toward them in unknown numbers.

Seated inside their respective cockpits, all four pilots wore expressions filled with tension. Although each had completed 200 hours of flight training, this was their first time entering combat.

Before the New Alliance arrived in the Southern Seas, the Federation had never developed an air force and possessed no reserve of relevant technical personnel. The two LB-1 fighter aircraft were purely products of a brute-force design philosophy. Even their fire-control and radar systems had been copied from destroyers and modified for aerial use.

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