Empire Conquest

Chapter 487 - 483 Deception

The sudden arrival of the transport fleet at Alexandria triggered massive waves within the Consortium Group.

There was ample intelligence to prove that this fleet had delivered urgently needed ammunition and supplies to the beleaguered Bulan forces in the North Xuan region, including over a hundred large-caliber anti-tank guns, parts enough to assemble hundreds of fighters, and medicines essential for tropical combat.

As for the tanks, although there were several hundred, they were not formidable enough to cause concern.

According to information provided by the Sixth Bureau, all the tanks delivered to Alexandria were light tanks, many of them second-hand, and not in the same category as those of the Tiaoman Army.

Among these tanks, half were collected by the Locke Colony Government from various places and entrusted to the Bulan Kingdom for transport – these were the "Renault" light tanks.

These tanks were not only outdated in performance and many were inoperable, but they also lacked the corresponding ammunition.

After receiving these supplies, the Bulan forces in the North Xuan region regained their vitality.

For the Tiaoman forces preparing to march on the Xifan Canal, this was definitely not good news.

Although the Raleigh forces were also involved in the combat operations in the North Xuan region and had the numerical advantage, after annihilating the Bulan forces at Tripoli and forcing the Locke Colony Government to submit, the Tiaoman forces had become the absolute main force in the offensive operations in the North Xuan region.

That had been an understanding reached between the Tiaoman Empire and the Raleigh Kingdom.

According to the battle plan, after the landing operations, the Raleigh forces would mainly deal with enemies on the west side, while the mission to advance on the Xifan Canal would rest upon the Tiaoman forces.

Indeed, this is why the Tiaoman forces have committed four Armored Divisions in the North Xuan region.

It was not for competing for credit or to share the worries of the Raleigh forces, but because advancing on the Xifan Canal was critical to the strategy and held immense strategic value, even determining the outcome of the victory, so the Tiaoman Authority would absolutely not entrust this mission to the unreliable Raleigh forces.

That is why the Tiaoman Authority was so concerned about the transport fleet that suddenly arrived at Alexandria and blamed the Raleigh Kingdom first.

The reason was that the Raleigh Kingdom had failed to monitor the sea route through the Land Heart Sea, allowing the Bulan Transport Fleet through and safely reaching Alexandria.

The Raleigh Kingdom did not accept responsibility, insisting that the fleet did not pass through their doorway.

Implicitly suggesting that the fleet had passed through the Narrow Sea.

Of course, the Raleigh Kingdom provided a reason that the Tiaoman Authority could not refute.

The sea patrol mission around Malta had always been the responsibility of the Tiaoman Air Force, which deployed dozens of patrol aircraft, and since Malta had been occupied by Tiaoman forces, if the Bulan fleet had passed through there without being detected, the first to bear responsibility would be the Tiaoman Air Force.

To put it bluntly, the Raleigh Kingdom was unwilling to take the blame for this.

However, there was some merit to this claim.

The Raleigh Navy had long since pulled back, and it was the Tiaoman Air Force that had been executing patrol and search missions, responsible for monitoring vessels passing near Malta.

It was for this reason that the Tiaoman Empire then turned its spearhead towards the Liangxia Navy.

The reason was that the Bulan fleet had bypassed the Xuan Continent, coming from the north through the Fan Flame Ocean, then entering the Narrow Sea through the Jibu Strait, and finally reaching Alexandria via the canal.

Because the fleet had passed through the Mua Sea, and the Empire’s Special Mixed Fleet had been active in the Mua Sea, even carrying out intermittent bombings on Jibu Fortress a few times, the Tiaoman Authority concluded that the Empire Navy was responsible for letting the fleet escape and needed to provide appropriate compensation.

This put the Empire Navy on edge.

The crux was that such a large fleet, even if they could sneak through the Jibu Strait without anyone the wiser, couldn’t possibly slip through the Xifan Canal unnoticed.

The Empire’s intelligence agencies were always closely monitoring the canal.

Additionally, the intelligence agencies of both the Tiaoman Empire and the Raleigh Kingdom did the same.

Furthermore, even the Ter Republic had sent intelligence personnel there.

Even by a miracle, a fleet with dozens of cargo ships could not enter the Land Heart Sea from the Narrow Sea through the canal without being discovered.

This matter had caused considerable discontent among the three main countries of the Consortium Group.

Affected by this, the Tiaoman Empire had postponed its march towards the Xifan Canal by half a month.

The reason was simple, only one Armored Division had reached the North Xuan region at the time, and this amount of force was definitely not enough to defeat the Bulan military that had already received reinforcements.

As a result, by mid-May, the "Fury" had returned to the Land Heart Sea.

Moreover, the Bulan Royal Navy had dispatched both of the newly acquired Fast Battleships, as well as the two that had already been in service, to the Land Heart Sea.

Suddenly, the Land Heart Sea Fleet possessed four Fast Battleships.

At the time, the Raleigh Navy only had two Fast Battleships, with two more still under construction.

After this reinforcement, the Bulan Royal Navy had regained the upper hand and saw the potential to reopen the Land Heart Sea routes in the near future.

The key lay in recapturing Malta.

To speak frankly, the Bulan Kingdom was cornered.

Although the Tiaoman troops had only occupied Malta and were constrained by their transport capacity, especially because the Raleigh Navy was reluctant to commit, they were temporarily unable to deploy troops to Malta, let alone block the routes through the Land Heart Sea by control of the island. But before long, once the Tiaoman Empire started to deploy their Air Force there, they would be able to use the island to block the Land Heart Sea routes, severing the connection between the Bulan Kingdom and the Fan Flame Ocean.

Of course, the Bulan Kingdom had already been unable to obtain resources from the Fanluo region.

The problem was, the Xifan Canal was still in the hands of the Bulan military.

Simply put, if Malta was not recaptured, the Bulan military would definitely not be able to hold onto the Xifan Canal!

Losing this canal would mean the Bulan Kingdom was not far from defeat.

It was clear that no matter the challenges, the Bulan Kingdom would mobilize every possible force to counter-attack Malta.

On May 21st, with the "Fury" as the core, which also included four "George V" class Fast Battleships, the Land Heart Sea Fleet majestically arrived at Arisa Port.

Nearly a hundred cargo ships accompanied them.

It wasn’t until this moment that the Tiaoman Empire realized it had been deceived by the Bulan Kingdom.

In early May, the fleet that arrived at Alexandria wasn’t from the Bulan Kingdom; it consisted of dozens of cargo ships that had been delayed in the East Continent Heart Sea.

Previously, these ships had all been hiding in a bay near Cyprus.

To achieve deception, the Bulan Royal went so far as to send personnel to refurbish these ships, even painting over other ship numbers and names.

As for the cargo, almost all of it was fake.

Furthermore, most of the crew members were impersonated by officials and soldiers of the Bulan Royal Navy, while the real crew were all detained.

This ploy by the Bulan Kingdom was all about buying time for themselves.

Naturally, the effect was rather ideal.

If the Tiaoman troops had launched their attack half a month earlier, even with just one Armored Division, there was a chance of advancing near the Xifan Canal before the Bulan Royal Navy could strengthen the Land Heart Sea Fleet.

However, the delayed half-month was not wasted.

During this time, the Tiaoman Empire had not only dispatched three additional Armored Divisions to the frontline but had also transported hundreds of thousands of tons of combat supplies to the North Xuan area.

Now, the situation laid out before both sides was extremely delicate.

The Tiaoman Army planned to march onto the Xifan Canal, while the Bulan military intended to recapture Malta.

Obviously, whoever acted first would gain the advantage. The one falling behind would surely be reactive everywhere and was more likely to meet defeat in the end!