Iron Dynasty Chapter 1073

Along the shores of Calcutta, military officials from various nations wore somber expressions.

While Corbán was orchestrating a surprise assault on the imperial fleet with his own armada, these observers had been monitoring the engagement from the coastline. Their emotions had ebbed and flowed with the battle's progression, only to culminate in utter defeat.

The sight of burning sailing warships adrift at sea now served as undeniable evidence of their failed endeavor.

“It’s finished, entirely finished. We’ve lost ninety-six warships. The fleet incurred casualties exceeding half its strength. The imperial fleet now commands the ocean,” Nicholas lamented, his face etched with pain.

Butler’s grim visage flickered intermittently in the glow of the sea’s swaying inferno. Despite Corbán’s strategic retreat, the imperial fleet pursued them relentlessly. During their brief respite within the Ganges River, an additional sixteen warships met their doom.

This brought the total tally of their destroyed vessels to a grim ninety-six. Gazing upon the tragic tableau before him, his heart felt as though it were being torn asunder.

As he observed the soldiers still floundering and desperately calling for aid in the water, his body trembled, and an overwhelming wave of hatred washed over him.

Behind him stood the coastal defense soldiers, who had also borne witness to the entire unfolding disaster. Much like Butler, a profound sense of fear resided within them, but it was overshadowed by a gnawing hatred directed at the Chinese Empire.

In their national propaganda, the Chinese Empire had been consistently depicted as a malevolent entity bent on seizing their colonial territories.

They had journeyed thousands of miles, believing they were upholding principles of fairness and justice.

“Soldiers, have you witnessed the barbarity of the Chinese Empire? They seized Australia and shamelessly enslaved our British kin. Now, they aim to conquer our India. Should we permit their advance to continue, their reach will inevitably extend to Europe. They are demons, minions of Satan, and heathens! Perhaps tomorrow, or the next, they will set foot in Calcutta. My brothers, let us obliterate them! The Almighty will surely aid us in sending them to the abyss!”

Butler bellowed, his voice resounding with fervor.

“Annihilate them all! Annihilate them all!” The British soldiers roared in unison, their animosity instantly inflamed by Butler’s impassioned speech.

The commanders from the other nascent empires turned their gaze toward Butler, joining in the fervent shouts. For a span, the entire coastline vibrated with a shared animosity towards the Empire.

On the deck of the King-Class vessel, a medic was diligently attending to Yue Yun’s injury. During a critical moment when the King-Class was under intense focus, his left arm had been struck by shrapnel. He had stoically ignored the wound at the time, continuing to direct the battle.

It wasn’t until the engagement had stabilized that Liu Chen noticed Yue Yun’s injured arm.

“General, there appear to be numerous enemy soldiers on the coast. They seem to be vocalizing something!” observed Liu Chen, his vision obscured by the darkness, allowing him only to vaguely discern blurry figures along the shore through the ambient flames.

The medic carefully applied disinfectant to Yue Yun’s wound with alcohol. Enduring the sting, Yue Yun calmly instructed, “Disregard them for the moment. Lei Ming will attend to them and see them slaughtered!”

Liu Chen had initially considered ordering the warships to unleash a cannon barrage as a show of force. Upon hearing Yue Yun’s words, he simply nodded. He then inquired, “And what of the European soldiers adrift at sea?”

“Fire upon them and kill them all!” Yue Yun commanded, his tone devoid of warmth.

It was not that he possessed an inherently cruel disposition, but rather his extensive combat experience had taught him the vital necessity of showing no leniency towards the enemy. With Europe and the Chinese Empire now officially engaged in warfare, these European soldiers would undoubtedly be indoctrified with intense hatred for the Chinese Empire by their respective nations. After all, a potent sense of nationalistic fervor had already taken root across Europe.

This sentiment had even escalated into a paranoiac ideology of white supremacy, wherein they staunchly believed that only Europeans qualified as true sentient beings, while individuals from other nations were no different from animals, unfit to stand on equal footing.

Reports had surfaced detailing a zoo in Calcutta, India, where indigenous people from various regions, including some Chinese Empire citizens stranded abroad, were being held captive.

These individuals were treated as beasts and put on display for the enjoyment of the British who frequented Calcutta for lucrative opportunities. Upon receiving this intelligence from covert operatives, Yue Yun had remained silent for a considerable period. This incident had profoundly illuminated the fundamental schism between the current Chinese Empire and Europe—a conflict rooted in race and culture. As long as the Europeans clung to their doctrine of white supremacy, the hostilities were destined to persist.

“Understood, General!”

Liu Chen acknowledged the order. His inquiry had been largely perfunctory. For him, the prospect of rescuing the soldiers in the water held little appeal. He was disinclined to expose his own men to unnecessary risks, considering the possibility that a rescued European might, in turn, draw a dagger and stab one of his soldiers without hesitation.

Following the command, he swiftly instructed the soldiers to unleash a deadly barrage upon the enemy combatants in the sea. Even now, the relentless gunfire echoing across the waters had not ceased. Despite the main fleet having retreated, numerous smaller vessels persisted in their assault, a situation that only reinforced Liu Chen’s conviction.

"Dah dah dah…"

The staccato rhythm of machine guns resumed as the ironclads navigated the tumultuous battlefield, systematically dispatching the pursuing small boats one by one.

Simultaneously, medics diligently ferried wounded imperial soldiers into the ship’s cabins for urgent treatment. While Europe had sustained grievous losses, their own side was not unscathed, with the King-Class ironclad alone reporting over two hundred casualties.

The arduous task of clearing the remnants of the battle continued until the first light of dawn. As a fiery sun ascended in the east, the soldiers aboard the ironclads could finally grasp the full, grim scope of the preceding night's conflict.

The sea was a ghastly tableau, littered with enemy corpses stretching across a vast expanse. The crimson-tinged waters mingled with the debris of shattered wooden planks, bobbing with the rhythm of the waves.

The entrance to the Ganges River was effectively sealed by a blockade of sunken warships, preventing the imperial fleet from advancing and the European fleet from escaping.

Having managed only a brief period of rest the previous night, Yue Yun and Liu Chen emerged onto the deck as dawn broke.

In accordance with their orders, the Qingzhou fleet had officially commenced its patrol duties. Concurrently, some warships had been dispatched overnight to Indonesia and Singapore, tasked with the crucial mission of transporting the Southeast Army.

"The European combined forces are now truly ensnared. All that remains is to gather them like dumplings and await their cooking," Liu Chen declared, his lips curling in anticipation.

Yue Yun, however, remained less optimistic about the progress on land. Gesturing towards the extensive frontline, he cautioned, "A cornered beast exhibits the greatest ferocity. The Europeans, despite their outdated weaponry, possess an indomitable will to fight. We, too, incurred significant losses last night."

Liu Chen acknowledged this with a nod. The final battle statistics had been tallied: their side had suffered over three thousand casualties, yet the European combined forces had sustained even greater losses, with an estimated thirty thousand men lost to the sea.

"I fear we may not succeed in capturing Calcutta before the New Year," Liu Chen confessed, a hint of regret in his voice. He foresaw that the current enemy's tenacious resistance would undoubtedly make the forthcoming engagements exceedingly challenging.

"Under such circumstances, I believe a full-scale assault is unnecessary. By simply blockading their supply lines and confining them here, their eventual collapse is inevitable. After all, we have no pressing need for India at this moment," Yue Yun posited his strategic assessment.

Liu Chen found himself in complete agreement. While a decisive offensive could indeed secure India, preliminary projections based on the casualty rates incurred in Jakarta suggested a needless sacrifice of at least thirty thousand soldiers.

"I shall forward a comprehensive battle report analysis to the General Staff," Liu Chen stated, his gaze fixed upon the defensive trenches lining the coast.