Munitions Empire

Shenwu Xiong sat in his own command tent, silently looking at the message that had just been handed to him.

The message had been sent here with utmost urgency, and its content was from the naval commander to the defensive fleet stationed at Fengshun City.

The message was straightforward: the enemy’s warships were advanced, and our own fleet had already suffered heavy losses and could not break free.

Not long after this telegram reached Shen Wenmao, who was left in charge of Fengshun City, a second telegram arrived from Fengshun City itself.

Fengshun City had also received the telegram of the fleet’s destruction, meaning that both fleets were now in grave danger.

After receiving these two frightening messages, Shen Wenmao did not dare to delay, and he immediately ordered his signaler to send a message to Shenwu Xiong with the greatest speed, hoping he could be prepared.

Shenwu Xiong, who had been waiting for Shenwu Bai to launch an attack and encircle the enemy from both sides, was completely stunned upon receiving the message.

It must be known that the Shen Country Navy was the strongest in the Western Endless Sea, and Shen Country was a maritime nation, with the army relying on the navy to transport supplies and sustain defenses.

If something went wrong with the navy, then he was not fighting on Dongwan Island, but rather, he was trapped! These were entirely two different concepts, and naturally, the tactics would be completely different.

If the navy had wiped out the enemy fleet, then for each enemy combatant he exhausted here on this front, the enemy’s power would diminish, and in the end, Shen Country would emerge victorious no matter what.

But with the naval fleet taking a heavy hit from the enemy, his entanglement with the enemy troops here was a complete waste of his own strength.

The enemy’s firepower was fierce, which Shenwu Xiong had experienced firsthand. In all honesty, if not for his confidence in the navy, Shenwu Xiong even felt it would be more sensible to return to defend Fengshun City.

Those were 35 sail warships and 5 ironclad Ming Wheel Ships! A total of 40 warships had been defeated by the enemy fleet...

Not to mention the enemy fleet’s capability, the loss alone almost meant the loss of sea control around Dongwan Island for Shen Country.

In such a situation, Shenwu Xiong did not believe he still had the assurance of annihilating the enemy’s army. What he should do now was to protect Fengshun City and prepare for Shen Country’s counter-offensive.

Because as long as the port of Fengshun City wasn’t lost, Shen Country still had a chance to turn defeat into victory and the possibility to retake Dongwan Island!

If even Dongwan Port was lost, Dongwan Island would be unrecoverable! Shenwu Xiong was very aware, retaking Dongwan Island from these enemies would be much more difficult than when it had been seized from Zheng Country.

So, in just a few seconds, Shenwu Xiong made his decision: he had to retreat with the troops he had at hand!

To be honest, he could no longer care about the situation in Fengshun City, because in fact... the communication between Fengshun City and Fengshun had already been cut off by the enemy. Thankfully, both sides had Ming Wheel Ships for a slight chance to communicate through telegrams; this was a small fortune amidst great misfortune.

With this in mind, the old and shrewd Shenwu Xiong immediately gave the order to retreat, "Let the troops with wounded cover the rear, immediately assemble and return to Dongwan City!"

He still had the advantage in numbers. In the direction of Dongwan City, he at least had more than 20,000 troops left. According to his judgment, while his forces were insufficient for an attack, they were certainly more than enough for defense.

As long as he could withstand the enemy’s attack, then he would have the chance to hold his position and wait for reinforcements! This was his opportunity, as well as Shen Country’s.

Unfortunately, he was unaware that his opponent had already prepared a present for him or rather, for the Shen Country’s troops on Dongwan Island – a surprise gift!

...

"We should be close by now... I believe," Tang Mo scrutinized the map before him, his tone carrying a mix of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness.

This was his personally favored weapon making its debut on the historical stage, so he was incredibly excited.

Back then, this innovation had excited many players encountering a real-time strategy game for the first time. Now, Tang Mo was reenacting that classic scene in an alternate world—how could he not be thrilled?

"Nobody can stay calm at the sight of them, sir," standing behind Tang Mo, Yulin affirmed confidently.

"Hahaha! I’m already imagining the expressions of those from Shen Country. I hope they like the big gift I’ve prepared for them," Tang Mo rubbed his fingers uncontrollably, staring at the circular magnet that represented a troop unit on the map.

Near the waters of Dongwan Island, the Great Tang Group’s follow-up fleet, including a Brunas-class ironclad warship escorting five Free Wheelers, was sailing across the sea.

They had already seen Dongwan Island, and soon the soldiers from the two battalions aboard these Free Wheelers would reach the battlefield.

Having spent nearly a month adrift at sea, these weary soldiers stood on the deck, indulging in the sea breeze, leaning against the railing and dry heaving.

The soldiers could no longer vomit anything out; each person’s face was pale as sweat and a foul stench emanated from them, a smell that refused to dissipate even on deck.

Soon these listless soldiers realized something was not right; they lifted their heads listlessly toward the sky, their eyes devoid of life now filled with awe and devotion.

More people rushed to the deck, even sailors eager to catch a glimpse crowded in, and just above the fleet, huge shadows loomed, like dark clouds overshadowing the crowded masses on the deck.

A massive airship with pointed ends silently glided over the fleet. On either side of the hardshell airship, massive propeller blades spun ceaselessly.

What was terrifying was the airship’s front end, where the pointed gasbag’s head was exaggeratedly painted with the sharp teeth and voracious mouth of a shark, and those murderous eyes seemed to look down on the prey below.

There wasn’t just one of these airships nor two, but many—a fleet of about 20 airships had assembled, flying toward Dongwan Island in layers, high and low.

If it weren’t for the large dragon emblems in the middle of these airships that revealed their identity, the soldiers of the Great Tang Group’s security forces gazing up at the sky might have been thrown into a panic.

Because this was the first time so many airships had appeared in the sky at once! And it was also the first time in the world that an air force had participated in war!

One quiet airship after another flew over the heads of the fleet, surpassing it, and headed toward Dongwan Island at an even faster speed.

The commanders inside the lower cabins of these "Great Shark" airships all waited quietly, waiting for their target to appear beneath their feet.

Right behind the pilot’s cabin, beyond the complicated altitude-maintaining gas regulation devices, in the huge ammunition hatch, the bombs hanging on the dropping devices had already had their safety features removed and the fuses set.

...

In Fengshun City, Shenwu Chun, the defender who was oblivious to the annihilation of Shenwu Yuan’s army of centenarians, had already started directing troops and arranging for stronger coastal defenses at the port.

He still had over 3,000 soldiers at his disposal, and together with the warships in the port, they still possessed some fighting strength.

Worried about an enemy fleet surprise attacking the port side, he dispatched a battalion of troops to the coastal gun batteries to strengthen their readiness.

In reality, there was no need to steadfastly defend that gun battery—it was a defensive installation left over by the Zheng Country military, equipped with thirty-year-old Shireck muzzle-loading cannons.

Even by the military standards from five years ago, this artillery fortification and the weapons atop it were already hopelessly outdated and useless, let alone now.

In fact, when Sheng Country attacked Fengshun City, the Zheng Country defenders simply abandoned the batteries without firing a single shot.

The cowardice of those Zheng Country people was one reason they abandoned the batteries, another reason being the sheer obsolescence of the place; there was no need to defend it.

Nevertheless, Shenwu Chun decided to station troops to defend that outdated battery, thinking that delaying the enemy’s attack on the port was beneficial, at least giving him time to prepare.

As a result, inside Fengshun Port, about 1,000 troops, actually two battalions, were deployed on the seaside, while the remaining 2,000 were defending the other three directions.

Because his forces were somewhat insufficient, Shenwu Chun had been hoping for Shenwu Yuan and Shenwu Chun to return with their troops for defense.

However, what he received was news that his own troops had been surrounded by the enemy and were likely to be annihilated! The reason he got this news was simple: not a single messenger he had sent out returned!

In the end, he dispatched some cavalry who eventually confirmed the news of their own troops being isolated and surrounded. Then he knew that the enemy was probably headed for Fengshun City!

With no one to rely on anymore, Shenwu Chun decided to rely on himself. He personally went up to the city walls, arranged the defenses, and prepared to fight to the death for Sheng Country.

Soon, unidentified enemy forces began to move around, and Fengshun City was in grave danger, with everything primed for battle, ready to erupt at any moment.

All the people of Sheng Country were tense, relying on the city walls to monitor every move of the distant enemy. It seemed the enemy was not in a rush, merely going through ordinary preparatory work.

As Shenwu Chun held his breath, bracing for a tempest to strike, a sudden scream from a goblin soldier broke out in the distance.

Along with this sudden scream, the defensive line of the Sheng Country troops seemed to waver.

Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Looking in the direction from which the shout had come, Shenwu Chun felt his legs go weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

He saw a shark with a gaping maw flying in the sky, an evil eye staring down at him.

This gigantic shark in the sky had crossed the mountains and appeared abruptly over Fengshun City.

Although it was still some distance away from Fengshun City, the current spectacle felt like torture before death, providing not the slightest cause for cheer.

As time passed, the soldiers of Sheng Country saw one giant shark after another fly over the ridge and slowly approach Fengshun City.

To the Sheng Country people who had never seen such a terrifying sight before, it was almost like a divine sign, a pressure that left them with no desire to resist.

Some people of Sheng Country began to kneel and worship, while others screamed in hysteria. They began to wonder if they had angered the gods, and some were already prepared to open the city gates and surrender in an attempt to atone for their sins.

All within Fengshun City would never forget this day, with its sky full of sharp teeth and those eyes gazing down upon them.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!