Munitions Empire

"Whoosh!" The waves carrying the sea breeze struck again, crashing against the submarine's casing and breaking into countless white droplets that splashed everywhere.

"We could've sunk two transport ships in the south by now." Another officer, who had come out for some fresh air, complained as well.

Their submarine had been operating to the south of Dragon Island since the war had begun, mainly targeting the transport ships sailing from Gobur to Dorne.

In a few months, they had sunk over 50,000 tons of transport and fishing vessels, yielding significant results.

Unfortunately, they were recalled to Dragon Island, and right after resupplying, were ordered to move northward and transfer their supply base to Beiyuan City.

Compared to Dragon Island, the submarine maintenance facilities in Beiyuan City were simply too poor; repairs took longer and the resupply conditions were subpar.

The already autumn-stricken Beiyuan City was cold, and due to poorer economic conditions compared to Dragon Island, there were hardly any places for the officers and soldiers to relax during their downtime.

What frustrated the submarine crew most was that they thought they would continue to attack merchant ships south of Mirage Country. However, their actual mission was to head north to Mirage Country and search for that elusive joint fleet.

The northern waters of Mirage Country were rough, the seawater ice-cold, and the temperatures even lower, occasionally featuring icebergs. Such an unlikable and terrible place was indeed hard to appreciate.

Compared to the warm and pleasant climate of the southern waters, where targets were easily found, this place felt like a banished realm.

Wrapping his coat tighter and adjusting the scarf around his neck, the captain finally understood why they had received such a pile of seemingly useless items before leaving Beiyuan City.

Their boots were special rubber boots, waterproof and warm—totally different from the water shoes previously issued. They had leather gloves, as well as scarves and coats. As the captain, he even had his own exclusive leather jacket, seemingly designed for waterproof warmth.

Now it seemed that these thoughtful items must have been suggested by captains who had previously undertaken missions here; those who hadn't been here couldn't have considered all these details so thoroughly.

Amidst the heaving waves of this sea area, the bobbing submarine appeared exceptionally tiny, and thus it was unsteady while sailing.

To conserve fuel and maintain a high speed, all the submarines had to navigate on the surface; in this era, these "submarines" could better be described as ships capable of submerging.

Even during attacks, if conditions allowed, submarine commanders preferred to stay surfaced and fire, contrary to what most people imagined.

Only when facing the enemy's anti-submarine forces did submarines dive to conceal themselves, somewhat akin to ducking and crawling; if they wanted to move quickly, it was easier to rise (surface).

So, although they could dive to avoid the rough seas, the submarines, intent on making haste, still floated on the surface amidst the surging waves, like a frail skiff.

"Search carefully! Instead of complaining, you might as well check the map again! There are no shipping lanes here; everything depends on us!" The captain glanced down at his compass, coughed, and yelled, "If you're really upset, then go below and swap shifts! Let someone willing come up!"

Indeed, the few men standing on the casing stopped complaining. They were fortunate to step outside the cramped interior of the submarine for some fresh air, a luxury compared to those on duty below.

This captain only knew that their mission was to conduct a search here; he wasn't privy to more detailed information.

Since the war had started, all submarines had been ordered to search for the enemy's main fleet, so this didn't come as a surprise to them.

What they didn't know was that this time, a total of 15 submarines had been dispatched to search for the enemy fleet in the northern waters of Mirage Country!

This number was nearly the whole operational strength Tang Country could muster, excluding those out for repairs and maintenance or assigned to other regions.

Tang Army's intelligence department seemed convinced that the Alliance's main fleet was hidden in the northern seas of Mirage Country, hence they really pulled the submarines there to start the search.

Apart from the 15 submarines, Tang Country's Navy also deployed three destroyers; this was the maximum force they could provide.

To be honest, even with the Navy's all-out effort, the available warships and submarines were still too few for the vast area they had to search.

The good news was that two of the three destroyers were equipped with radar, boasting strong searching capabilities. The bad news was that the remaining submarines and destroyers had to rely on telescopes to locate targets.

It was not a pleasant task—tedious and dull, far from heart-stopping excitement. To some extent, it could easily drive one to despair.

In times devoid of battle, life on a submarine was even harsher than on a real warship. They lacked portholes, had virtually no decks, and had incredibly restricted areas for activity.

Fortunately, it was somewhat less taxing than the submarines of Germany Three; they weren't attacked by surprise by seaplanes dropping depth charges from above.

...

Sofia's car stopped at the entrance of a very regular estate; her bodyguard opened the door, and she got out of the car, walking in alone.