Empire Conquest

Chapter 486 - 482: Tug-of-War

On April 17, the ground forces of both sides encountered each other on the southern shore of Surt Bay.

The outcome held little suspense, as the infantry-dominated Bulan Royal Army held out for less than half a day before being crushed by the Tiaoman Army’s Armored Forces.

Although the remnants of the Bulan army managed to escape back to Tripoli, by the end of April they had all surrendered their weapons.

The Tiaoman Army did not pursue them because intelligence indicated that the Bulan Royal Navy’s Land Heart Sea Fleet had left port on the night of the 17th and was expected to join the battle.

Worried about the disruption of maritime transport routes and subsequent logistical support lagging behind, the Tiaoman Army’s commanders ordered a halt to the offensive after defeating the Bulan army.

Additionally, this was related to another decision from the Tiaoman high command.

Indeed, it was to turn back and attack Malta.

Given the circumstances at the time, the Bulan Royal Navy’s Land Heart Sea Fleet’s departure from Alexandria port very likely meant they had received reliable intelligence, fearing the Tiaoman Empire’s plans to attack Malta, hence the arrangement for the "Royal Ark" to provide cover for Malta.

Another measure was the transport of a squadron of combat aircraft to Malta by carrier.

In short, at the time, Malta had become a battleground both sides were desperately contesting, even determining the ownership of the Xuan Continent.

On April 22, a decisive naval and air battle erupted between the two forces.

According to the battle report sent by the Tiaoman Empire, on that morning, a Tiaoman reconnaissance aircraft spotted the "Royal Ark" escorted by two cruisers in the southeast sea area of Malta. The Tiaoman Air Force immediately launched a strike with bombers and sank the carrier.

Back then, Bai Zhizhan was startled upon receiving this battle report.

If this were true, the Royal Navy would have almost certainly lost, or was destined to lose, control of the seas around Land Heart Sea.

And was the Tiaoman Air Force really that formidable?

In the past year, in the North Sea, not even a cruiser, let alone a carrier, had been sunk.

If the Tiaoman Air Force were truly that powerful, the Bulan Kingdom would have already admitted defeat and surrendered.

However, three days later, on April 25, Bai Zhizhan’s doubts about the battle report were confirmed.

The "Royal Ark" arrived at Nara Fortress and subsequently left the Land Heart Sea, followed by the emergence of the "Fury" outside of the fortress.

Which meant, the Bulan Royal Navy had replaced the "Royal Ark" with the "Fury."

However, the "Fury" did not go to the central sea area of the Land Heart Sea.

On April 28, the Tiaoman Airborne Force launched an operation to attack Malta Island.

As the Bulan troops defending Malta did not receive reinforcements, they posed no threat to the Tiaoman Airborne Forces, and even failed to defend the main airports.

The next day, the encircled Bulan troops in Tripoli surrendered.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t continue to fight; rather, logistical support had been cut off, and without treatment for thousands of wounded, the Bulan military commanders had to make a decision.

Their morale had collapsed long ago due to the constant bombing by the Empire’s expeditionary air squadrons.

Shortly thereafter, having gained major rights such as self-governance, the Locke Colony Government officially recognized the Vichy Government as the sole legitimate authority in Locke.

Subsequently, Tiaoman Air Force transport planes delivered Vichy Government officials there.

With that, the North Xuan region west of Benghazi fell entirely into the hands of the Consortium Group.

Furthermore, plenty of intelligence had confirmed that the "Royal Ark" had indeed been hit by bombs, albeit without severe damage.

After returning to the Bulan Kingdom, the carrier went straight to the shipyard, with the Bulan Royal Navy’s stated reason being routine maintenance.

Clearly, this was simply not plausible.

Before participating in the combat against the "Prime Minister," the "Royal Ark" had undergone extensive repairs and would have certainly received comprehensive maintenance.

In the following months, the carrier hadn’t undertaken any particularly challenging combat missions.

During war, carriers don’t require maintenance in port.

Before the "Fenjin" was damaged, it had gone without regular maintenance for over half a year. During that time, the crew had dealt with emerging issues.

According to the news released by the Newland Navy, the "Fenjin" set an impressive record.

Before returning to the New City Shipyard, the carrier had completed a year and three months of operational deployment without undergoing any major overhauls.

Even the worst Bulan carrier wouldn’t need to return to the shipyard every few months for maintenance.

It was clear that the "Royal Ark" had likely been damaged by bombings, prompting an emergency return to the homeland, and the Bulan Royal Navy had sent the "Fury" to take its place.

However, the battles that followed didn’t go as smoothly.

The Raleigh Navy was the one that encountered problems.

On the first day of May, the Raleigh Fleet northwest of Malta Island was bombed, and the attacker was the Bulan Royal Navy’s "Fury."

This carrier maneuvered into position during the night and launched over 20 ship-borne aircraft in the early morning, severely damaging the Raleigh Navy’s "Vittorio Veneto" battleship.

To put it precisely, it almost sank the battleship.

Although the Raleigh Air Force claimed to have sunk the "Fury" in the subsequent reprisal, the truth was that the "Fury" returned to Nara Fortress two days later, completely unharmed.

According to the battle report published by the Bulan Royal Navy, the "Fury" hadn’t been damaged, only losing a dozen or so aircraft.

As a result, the Raleigh Navy withdrew its entire fleet.

Crucially, they made it clear that as long as the "Fury" was operating in the Land Heart Sea, they wouldn’t dispatch their fleet.

Of course, this would be a different story if the Tiaoman Navy could send a carrier to operate in the Land Heart Sea.

The immediate consequence was that the Tiaoman Navy had to initiate an early spoiler operation, sending two large cruisers to draw the enemy fire.

In simple terms, the Bulan Royal Navy now had only one fleet carrier available.

As long as they could lure the "Fury" away, they could continue their campaign against Malta Island and launch operations to advance toward the Xifan Canal.

It was evident that the Tiaoman Empire was in a precarious position.

With the main Army armored forces already in the North Xuan region and airborne troops having landed on Malta, any retreat would have to rely on maritime transport.

The Raleigh Kingdom having stepped back, the Tiaoman Empire had no choice but to take matters into its own hands.

On May 5, the "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" left the military port.

With the "Prime Minister" and three armored cruisers departed, and the "Navy Marshal" not yet completed, these two large cruisers represented the Tiaoman Navy’s most valuable assets.

Dark clouds loomed over the North Sunset Ocean.

The next day, the "Fury" left the Land Heart Sea through the Strait of Nara.

Thankfully, after much hard work, particularly by the Tiaoman troop-directed transport fleet’s risky venture, crucial ammunition supplies and heavy equipment were delivered to Malta, allowing the Tiaoman Airborne Force, which had previously relied on airdrops, to finally have a chance to make an impact.

On May 7, after completing deployment adjustments, the Tiaoman Airborne Force initiated a full assault.

On the same day, the Tiaoman Navy’s two large cruisers encountered the Bulan Royal Navy’s Domestic Fleet in the North Sea.

After a brief engagement, or more accurately before even making contact, the Tiaoman Fleet turned away and retreated, abandoning the initiative to advance into the North Sunset Ocean.

There’s nothing surprising about that, as this move was merely a feint.

Also on this day, a vast transport fleet arrived at Alexandria, bringing a large shipment of armored weapons to the Bulan Army in the North Xuan region.