CHAPTER 446: CHAPTER 442: THE SECOND PROTAGONIST

Approximately 400 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands, the "Fenjin" carrier.

After reading the telegram sent by the staff officer, Spur stood up and walked to the sea chart table, followed by Tanimoto who also got up.

Spur turned to look at Tanimoto, then looked back at the sea chart hanging in front of him.

"Cunningham wants us to rush up and plug the gun holes, while he picks up the spoils from behind."

When Tanimoto said this, Spur couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

The statement was sharp and right on target.

It was the most obvious change in Tanimoto.

When he first came to the Newland Federation, Tanimoto was quite introverted, often going a whole day with hardly anything to say, let alone making sarcastic remarks.

However, rather than saying there was a change, it would be more accurate to say he had freed his true self.

At the end of last year, when the Bulan Authority proposed that the Newland Navy participate in the operation to reinforce the Fan Flame Ocean, Spur was one of the main supporters.

The reasons were simple: the better they fought in the Fan Flame Ocean, the less pressure there would be in the East Ocean.

Moreover, the battle for Sai Island and Guan Island was far from over, and there was no possibility of another decisive naval battle in the short term.

If the Bulan Royal Navy was the main force, sending the "Fenjin" to fight in the Fan Flame Ocean was not out of the question.

After that, through negotiation, the basic principle that the Royal Navy would lead and the Newland Navy would provide support was confirmed, and the action to jointly reinforce the Fan Flame Ocean was set.

The key was actually secrecy.

For this, the Newland Navy spent a lot of time preparing.

The most important thing was to have the "Fenjin" bypass Gu Continent from the south of Joint Angle and then enter the Sunset Ocean to join up with the Expeditionary Fleet led by Cunningham.

The initial stage went smoothly.

In early January, the "Fenjin" arrived in the Southeast East Ocean, but for the sake of secrecy, it remained active in a remote area far from the main shipping lanes.

There were not many ships in the Southeast East Ocean, so the probability of exposing their movements was minimal.

At that time, Spur’s primary task was to have the ship-borne aircraft pilots strengthen their training to prepare for the upcoming battles.

During this period, Spur received news in succession that the Land Heart Sea Fleet had made a surprise attack on Taranto and Oran, the Domestic Fleet had intercepted the "Prime Minister" and that the Liangxia army had landed in Lion Spring City. As for the East Ocean, they were still engaged in a tough battle around Sai Island, with no significant progress.

It seems that both sides had shifted their focus to the Fan Flame Ocean without any agreement.

Spur warned at that time, predicting that Bai Zhizhan would lead the Liangxia Fleet to enter the Fan Flame Ocean ahead of schedule, not waiting until they had occupied Lion Spring City.

The reason was that the Bulan Army simply could not hold Lion Spring City, and there was no need to waste time there.

Furthermore, Bai Zhizhan was not a commander who stuck to conventional methods; he was likely to give the Bulan Royal Navy a surprise, just like Chen Bingxun had done before.

After the Damman Kingdom declared its stance, even if the Bulan Royal Navy could control the Throat Strait and block other straits, they would still have to give up Lion Spring City eventually because they could not ensure a clear and uninterrupted route to the city, preventing transport ships from safely arriving and providing support for the defenders.

According to Spur’s predictions, after the Liangxia Empire’s Air Force had blockaded the Throat Strait, it would be a miracle if the defenders of Lion Spring City could hold out for three months.

Additionally, the Liangxia Empire might not even need to send the Navy into battle, as strategic bombing would suffice.

Could the defenders of Lion Spring City withstand continuous strategic bombings?

Since taking Lion Spring City wasn’t a problem, why would Bai Zhizhan linger and not move forward?

Unfortunately, what Spur issued was just a warning; he didn’t provide any valuable suggestions because, at that time, he also did not know what Bai Zhizhan was planning.

From this perspective, the fall of Lion Spring City did not shock Spur.

What truly surprised Spur was that the Tiaoman Fleet would once again break through the encirclement!

If one could say that the escape of 3 armored cruisers at the onset of the war was due to the Royal Navy not being in combat readiness and having issues with troop deployment, then letting the "Prime Minister" break through the Denmark Strait and shake off the pursuit of the Domestic Fleet was definitely a problem with the Commander.

To speak frankly, there was a problem with the upper echelons of the Bulan Kingdom.

But what could be done about it?

Before leading the "Fenjin" southward, Spur had learned from Nizi that President Rofuss was growing very impatient with Chur.

The reason was straightforward: that cunning fellow always skirted around the issue and had never considered the big picture.

To be precise, he was too concerned with personal gains and losses, always prioritizing the Kingdom of Bulan without considering that if the Newland Federation were to be defeated, the Bulan Kingdom would not fare well either.

Although Nizi didn’t say anything else, the implication was clear.

If things didn’t improve, it was likely that Chur would soon be moving out of the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

However, this would definitely be after President Rofuss’s third inauguration.

This was currently the most pressing issue.

Even though Rofuss had won the election, there was still significant opposition within the country. It would not be secure until after the inauguration ceremony.

Many things would wait until after President Rofuss’s third inauguration ceremony.

As expected, the first order of business would be to make the leader of the Bulan Kingdom realize their position.

If Chur lacked this awareness, then a replacement would be necessary.

This was precisely why, even knowing that the problem with letting the Tiaoman Fleet escape lay with the high echelons of the Bulan Kingdom, Spur could only endure and was unable to do anything about it.

Who could have imagined that those people from the Bulan Kingdom would go so far!

Upon receiving the message from Cunningham that reconnaissance aircraft dispatched by the Expeditionary Fleet were searching for the Tiaoman Fleet, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet needed to be prepared to launch an attack with ship-borne aircraft on the Tiaoman Fleet when necessary, that is, after the Expeditionary Fleet missed its window of opportunity to strike.

At that moment, Spur had almost cursed out loud.

This was not only expecting the 61st Special Mixed Fleet to snatch chestnuts from the fire but also to act as the scapegoat.

Still, Spur was helpless.

Under the terms of the agreement, the military operation to reinforce the Fan Flame Ocean was to be commanded by Cunningham, and Spur had to follow orders unconditionally.

However, that was a secondary concern.

Before departure, Nizi had given Spur a peace of mind. If they could cooperate, that was good; if cooperation proved impossible, there was no need to worry too much about losing face.

In reality, what really frustrated Spur was that prior to this, he had been the main proponent of deploying forces to the Fan Flame Ocean.

If it had not been for Spur standing up to pressure and persuading Nizi, Rofuss would not have agreed to dispatch the only fleet carrier to the Fan Flame Ocean under any circumstances.

Even if Nizi did not emphasize it, Spur was definitely responsible for the deployment to the Fan Flame Ocean.

Fortunately, the streak of bad luck had come to an end.

More than ten reconnaissance aircraft surveyed the deep-water bays around the Falkland Islands in full and found no trace of the Tiaoman Fleet.

As long as their luck was not too bad, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet would still be able to remain concealed before engaging with the Liangxia Fleet.

But the question was, was this necessary?

The Expeditionary Fleet, taking the lead, was hundreds of kilometers ahead and showed no signs of slowing down to wait for the 61st Special Mixed Fleet to catch up.

Even saving a bit of time might not make any difference.

Bai Zhizhan had thought of using the "Prime Minister" to test the waters, so why wouldn’t he make extra preparations, ensuring that even if the Expeditionary Fleet remained unmoved, he could still catch them red-handed in the Southwest Fan Flame Ocean and launch a thunderous attack to permanently banish the Bulan Royal Navy from the Fan Flame Ocean?

At least for now, only the Expeditionary Fleet’s movements had been exposed.

However, after the Expeditionary Fleet’s demise, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet, fighting alone, would not be far from its doom.