CHAPTER 1715: 1632—SO WHAT?

Vankelus was contemplating his future, while Poplar The First received yet another bad news from the front lines at the same time.

His fleet was heavily hit... The Allied Forces’ fleet deployed outside Hotwind Port was attacked by the Tang Army, and there’s still no accurate information so far.

They only received some intermittent reports amid continuous interference, claiming they’re being attacked and have suffered heavy losses.

The Elves had thought about providing support, but they really don’t have the capacity to send forces formidable enough to deter the Great Tang Empire Navy.

The Air Force of the Poplar Empire received orders with confusion, not even knowing where the enemy is, yet required to send planes out for a "decisive battle," which seems like a suicidal mission.

The intelligence is insufficient to support the Air Force in deploying planes to the battle zone, as they lack pilots trained in maritime navigation, rendering them nearly like blind men over the vast ocean.

Radio navigation is practically useless; with communication jammed, there’s no guarantee that aircraft formations could receive radio signals from ground stations. If planes fly out and can’t return, who’s accountable then?

This is just a tiny preliminary difficulty, and considering further, the challenges appear even more: if the planes fly out and fail to find the enemy fleet, missing the best chance to rescue the Navy, what would we do?

And if the plane formation flies out and finds Tang Army’s fleet, unable to compete against Tang Army’s fighters, and you lose a batch of elite pilots and advanced fighter jets, what then?

Both sides have already clashed at the front lines, and it’s well known that the Elves’ 104 fighters can’t beat Tang Army’s Flying Shark Yinglong. Relying on dozens of 104s to raid Tang Army’s fleet seems like a joke from any angle.

In short, the Air Force has endless excuses, but the fact that the Navy has been beaten is undeniable. Everyone is in a difficult position, yet His Majesty The Emperor’s orders make it hard for the Air Force to decline.

Ultimately, a staff member in the Air Force Command, who had studied in the Great Tang Empire, provided a solution that everyone found satisfactory: deploy reconnaissance planes to locate the enemy fleet!

Use some cheap, bulky, less valuable transport planes to put on a show, thus accounting to His Majesty The Emperor and supporting the Navy comrades fighting fiercely.

Thus, after receiving news of the Navy’s being attacked, the Air Force delayed over 2 hours and finally came up with a somewhat reliable solution deploying over thirty reconnaissance planes along their coastlines to search.

Most of these planes were converted from 47 transport planes, with large range and more advanced communication equipment. Based on these reconnaissance planes’ loss conditions, the Air Force could roughly determine the position of the Tang Country Navy fleet.

"Your Majesty, if the fleet has an issue, our ports would be in danger." The Prime Minister of the Elves began to worry about their own port issues.

A century ago, their Poplar Empire was a great maritime nation, which led to John negotiating with the Great Tang Group, during his merchant voyages. Now, with crises at Hotwind Port and Osa Port, the economic distress of the Elf Empire is apparent.

If shipping halts, the turnover speed of the Elf Empire’s freight will decrease, and the wealthy coastal areas plunged into war would exacerbate the economic hardships of the Elves.

"What can I do? I can’t just send Tang Mo a telegram asking him not to attack our port cities, can I?" Poplar The First responded irritably, having already been overwhelmed.

The 2nd Corps collapsed, the 3rd Corps was annihilated, and the Elves have begun national mobilization, a process that is quite unsuccessful.

Many Elves are displeased about fighting for the Dwarves, unwilling to battle against the once-ally Great Tang Empire, especially for such wars fighting on behalf of the Dwarves.

But the mobilization orders have been issued, so the expansion speed of the Elf Troops is very rapid. Approximately three Corps are nearing completion of formation, with skeletal structures established for another three Corps.

This speed is indeed satisfying, but the front line troops’ rate of loss seems even faster. Poplar The First has already ordered the 4th and 5th Corps to march inside the Ice Cold Empire, while the 6th Corps has been commanded to advance north.

Reinforcing with three Corps in one go is the maximum logistics capacity for the Elves. They must ensure extended support into the Ice Cold Empire, rather than just sending soldiers to the front and considering the task complete.

Let’s not forget, there are two Corps from the Suthers Empire using the Elf Race’s road networks to advance north. They’re occupying part of the logistics capacity and are causing actual road congestion no matter how lightly equipped they are.

"Peace negotiation seems improbable. With the two Corps from Suthers joining our forces, hundreds of thousands of troops... it should stabilize the front line situation, shouldn’t it?" Compared to previous minor skirmishes between Elves and Dwarves, this time Elves and Dwarves are fighting with full strength. So, Poplar The First weakly asked thusly.

He was asking not only the Prime Minister but also perhaps comforting himself: having mobilized so many troops, the situation should improve somehow.

The Dwarves not only dispatched the newly formed 11th and 12th Corps to the front lines but also mobilized the 13th and 14th Corps, which have virtually no combat experience.

Though these troops haven’t undergone proper training and have questionable combat power, they still comprise tens of thousands. At least from a size perspective, they can hold out for a while.

"The fleet losses were considered earlier, so they’re not a big deal, but Your Majesty, we didn’t expect the 2nd Corps to be defeated so quickly..." The Prime Minister is somewhat anxious; the situation is very unfavorable to the Elves.

Originally, the 2nd Corps was less than 200 kilometers from Eternal Winter City, enough to push forward and retake Eternal Winter Port. This was the key to the Allied Forces’ victory, the only card they held previously.

Now the 2nd Corps collapsed, with Tang Army advancing south along the coastline, reclaiming Eternal Winter Port has become impossible.

The Tang Army will certainly repair the port and stabilize logistical transport... Given this premise, even if the Allied Forces truly have a million troops, what can they do?