In the information society, any major event spreads across the globe in no time.
Not to mention that not long ago, the United States grandly announced a joint exercise with Chan Country in Mengjia Bay, inviting over Amphibious Assault Ships, observed by quite a number of international satellites in the sky.
Moreover, at the docks, there were military families and civilians living nearby.
The thunderous booms and the rising flames and thick smoke on the sea surface were quickly captured on smartphones and shared online.
In a moment, the United States Navy surged to the top of the trending news with unstoppable speed.
’The United States exercise fleet has been bombed, for real?’
’There are pictures and videos, it’s all over the internet.’
’Who attacked them, exactly? I see so many sunk transport ships, the sea is littered with bodies, how many people must have died!’
’Even a Coastal Combat Ship was sunk, that’s too exaggerated, isn’t it? Among those small Southeast Asian countries, who has the naval power to hit the Eagle’s navy so hard? That’s impossible!’
’I heard it was Chan Country’s anti-government militants.’
’Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could a local warlord afford a navy.’
’From the videos spreading on the internet, it seems that water mines and torpedoes caused the damage. Maybe these warlords have a submarine?’
The internet was ablaze with heated discussions, while the White House spokesperson, cursing under their breath, was forced to hold a press conference. Faced with a barrage of questions from reporters, they could only finish the conference with dry remarks like ’investigating the cause of the exchange of fire,’ ’will not let any culprit get away,’ ’will make every effort to rescue the wounded,’ without revealing any substantive information.
Facing a rare setback for the United States, the whole world seemed to be mocking the incident.
Maozi’s news spokesperson immediately released a statement, declaring firmly, "Regarding the battle that erupted in Mengjia Bay, it’s another act of hegemony imposed by the United States on the local population. If necessary, our side is willing to offer any support to help local patriots resist American hegemony."
On the same day, the official Maozi newspaper added a special edition. The front-page headline alarmingly read, "The decline of hegemony, the battle in the Dan Mian waters is sounding the death knell for American dominance." Two countries, locked in mutual enmity for decades, naturally would not miss an opportunity to kick an adversary when they’re down.
"A vile sneak attack, the assailants are an extreme anti-humanity organization, we must unite to contain and eliminate this anti-human organization and defend the peace and justice of Blue Star."
This was the headline from Europe, high-minded in their speech.
When reporters asked whether they would dispatch warships to join the fight, Europe immediately began to equivocate, with all countries shaking their heads.
Even the mighty American Amphibious Assault battle group had been hit hard; Europe’s few remaining old warships were a scarce family asset. Without a clear understanding of the enemy’s method of attack, who would dare send naval ships into the fray?
On the night of the naval battle.
Davila and Moritz aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship received a call from the President, who chewed them out thoroughly.
When the call ended, the two looked at each other, silent for a long time, neither having any interest in speaking.
It wasn’t until a staff officer entered the command room that the suffocating silence was broken.
"General Davila, the report on losses is complete. We’ve lost nine transport ships, one ammunition ship, one oil tanker, one Coastal Combat Ship, and the following casualties: 2891 dead or missing, over 1260 wounded..."
As each cold number was spoken, Davila’s expression grew even more somber. Discover hidden stories at NovelHub.Côm
For how many years, the United States had never suffered such a significant loss, a naval battle with four thousand casualties, was the first since World War II.
Regrettably, he was the one in command of this battle; his name was destined to remain forever in the military academies of the United States. This battle’s materials would be used for teaching over and over again, but this was not the kind of reputation he wished to have.
"What exactly did the enemy use to attack our fleet? Have you figured out the cause?"
Moritz couldn’t help but ask; to this day, he still didn’t understand how the expeditionary fleet was bombed into total disarray.
"Water mines. We sent divers to recover some undetonated water mines. The mines are spherical but must employ a new type of propulsion, moving extremely fast in the water and able to seek out the enemy automatically. However, we have not found any trace of the propulsion mechanism, which is quite puzzling,"
the staff officer sighed as he reported this.
The humiliation was extreme for the United States, which had always prided itself on having the world’s premier navy; not only had it been defeated disgracefully at sea, but it was also unclear how the enemy had managed to do it.
"The prime suspect for the perpetrator at the moment is Jieke Company."
Moritz spoke gravely. Such a significant loss from a naval battle meant that the CIA, which had been pushing against Jieke Security, was naturally the first to be held accountable; his boss, Judith, was probably at her wit’s end as well.
"We must eliminate Jieke Company."
General Davila clenched his teeth. After such a defeat, not only was he not going to get a promotion or a raise, he was lucky not to be stripped of his position, thanks to nobody willing to take over this mess.
His only chance now was to perform meritorious service by eradicating Jieke Security and achieving a victory substantial enough to make up for the losses suffered by the United States.
Otherwise, once the conflict ended, what awaited him might be a military tribunal.
"Good Long, draw up the operation plan, scramble the jets, load them up, and set off. I want you to target key facilities in the Mande Region with Tomahawk cruise missiles to bomb the soldiers of Jieke Security. I want them all dead under our firepower. In addition, find a safe location for our Marines to land. This time, make sure to conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the waters. Send the troops to rest there for a couple of days, and when the subsequent support arrives, deploy them against Jieke Security."
Taking a deep breath, Davila issued the combat orders to his staff officer.
He had initially thought of holding back a little, since Chan Country was close to Hua Country and making too much of a commotion could end poorly.
But now, with such a heavy loss in one battle, Davila certainly couldn’t let it end . He had to strike back at Jieke Company’s arrogance.
The members of Congress back home would surely not have too many objections if they knew.
Jieke Company had slapped the United States in the face. How could the world look at him, the Blue Star Dominator, if he couldn’t even handle a local warlord? Did he still deserve the title of the world’s foremost?
The staff officer looked surprised and said, "We’re going to war directly? With our current morale..."
"Of course, we don’t need to worry about that now. As for morale, I trust my boys; they will not fear any enemy, a bunch of yellow-skinned monkeys hiding in the mountains—we cannot possibly lose to them."
"Understood, I’ll get right on it."
The staff officer nodded and quickly left to arrange the operation plan.
"Moritz, I need the intelligence support of your CIA."
Davila then turned his gaze to Moritz.
"As you wish, we do work closely together after all."
Moritz wasn’t from the military, but the intelligence held by the CIA could provide significant convenience to military operations.