Chapter 265: Grim News Reaches the Alarmed Commander, Kyoto

The destroyer Snow Wind, at this moment like a lone leaf in a raging sea, could capsize at any moment; the hull was riddled with hits, sporadic flames burned, the deck was strewn with shell holes and wounded, and one communications antenna had been snapped. The terrifying heavy cruiser, though it had temporarily ceased its main‑gun fire, kept its cold gaze fixed on it like a cat toying with a mouse, seemingly waiting for its final sinking.

Inside the bridge, utter chaos. Snow Wind's Ship Captain Sinei Zhengdao's face was smeared with smoke and blood, yet he still stared fixedly at the charts and instruments, desperately commanding the sailors to conduct damage control and final evasion. He knew the hope of escape was now extremely slim.

"Send a report! Quickly! Send a report to the Command!" Sinei Zhengdao, the lieutenant colonel, roared at the remaining communications man still frantically repairing the backup antenna, "Tell them! We've found the answer! It's Shen City! It's Lin Yu's navy! They possess warships of a power we've never seen! Firepower… the firepower is terrifying! We… we're finished! Tell the Command… be careful!"

Time was pressing, leaving no chance for complex encryption. The communications officer's fingers trembled, suppressing fear and despair, and at top speed sent this fragmented plain‑text telegram, which contained the final information of the entire detachment, through the repaired short‑wave station, sending it out as a last effort:

"… Sasebo Command… this is the 'Divine Power' search detachment… in the designated sea area we encountered an unknown fleet… hovering… apparently bearing Shen City flags… enemy ship designs unprecedented… firepower extremely fierce… accuracy extremely high… our fleet… suffered heavy losses… 'Divine Power', 'Black Tide', 'Heat Haze', 'Will‑o‑the‑wisp'… all have… sunk… we are under attack… cannot resist… enemy strength… far exceeds expectations… repeat, far exceeds expectations… be careful… Lin Yu… navy… uh ah…"

The radio signal abruptly cut off.

Almost as the telegram was sent, a 150 mm shell from a German‑type heavy cruiser's secondary gun struck the bridge of the Snow Wind with pinpoint accuracy, causing a violent explosion.

Immediately after, a torpedo launched by a nearby submarine hit its mid‑hull again. Accompanied by a huge, desperate roar, the Snow Wind, a destroyer famed for its "luck," ultimately could not escape annihilation, snapping apart and vanishing beneath the cold sea. The Eastern search detachment was completely lost.

At the same time, Sasebo Naval Base, First United Fleet Command.

Since the search detachment was dispatched, this place has been shrouded in a oppressive, anxious atmosphere. General Dahe Nei Denqi has hardly slept, staying near the communications room, anxiously awaiting news.

Suddenly, the duty officer in the communications room rushed out, his face ashen, clutching a freshly copied telegram sheet, forgetting even to salute, his voice trembling as he shouted:

"Sir! Received… received the Ijuin detachment's emergency telegram! It's in plain text! The signal… the signal was cut!"

Dahe Nei Denqi's heart sank sharply, snatching the telegram sheet. When he saw the fragmented text, filled with words of terror and despair, his pupils suddenly contracted and his breathing halted instantly!

"… encountered an unknown fleet… apparently bearing Shen City flags… enemy ship designs unprecedented… firepower extremely fierce… accuracy extremely high… heavy losses… sunk… cannot resist… enemy strength far exceeds expectations… beware Lin Yu's navy…"

Every word struck like a heavy hammer, pounding his heart!

The telegram sheet in his hand trembled violently as if scorched by fire. His complexion shifted from pallor to a steel‑blue hue in an instant! His lips quivered, yet he could utter not a single word.

Shen City! Lin Yu!

It's really him!

The Lin Yu they dismissed as a petty clown, a local warlord, actually possesses a maritime force capable of annihilating two Imperial fleets! Moreover, it is a terrifying power "unprecedented in design," "extremely fierce firepower," "extremely high accuracy," and "strength far beyond imagination"!

All the previous luck, all the self‑comfort, all the raging anger, at this moment were completely shattered by this telegram from the front lines, bought with lives!

The fact, like icy seawater, completely drowned him.

Shock! Disbelief! Humiliation! Rage! And… a sliver of uncontainable fear! The tangled emotions surged in his heart like a raging tide. He was forced to painfully admit that the Imperial Navy, his prideful First United Fleet, had suffered the most catastrophic, most humiliating defeat since its founding! And the mastermind behind it all was the Lin Yu they had never taken seriously!

"Lin… Yu…" Dahe Nei Denqi forced the name out between his teeth, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented, mixed blaze of hatred and terror.

After confirming that the second fleet was also completely lost, and that the culprit pointed directly at Lin Yu, General Dahe Nei Denqi, after a brief daze, erupted into an unprecedented, near‑mad fury!

"Ah—!!!"

He ripped the telegram sheet to shreds, and Dahe Nei Denqi roared skyward like a wounded beast! The sound was filled with endless humiliation, rage, and resentment!

"Lin Yu! Lin Yu! I will grind you to pieces!!" His eyes glowed blood‑red, veins bulged, he looked like a mad demon, "In the same place! The same enemy! The Imperial Navy has consecutively lost two fleets! What a monstrous humiliation!!"

He spun around abruptly, roaring at the pale, silent senior officers behind him, "Relay my orders! First United Fleet! All vessels in port! Immediately end leave! Resupply ammunition and fuel! All battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers… all! Get every ship moving!"

General Dahe Nei Denqi's voice, sharpened by extreme rage, rang: "I will lead the main force myself! Sweep out in force! Blockade Shen City! Bombard its stronghold! I will use the Empire's artillery to erase that damned city, together with that arrogant warlord, from the map! To avenge the Empire's shame! To avenge the fallen soldiers!!"

At this moment his mind was clouded by anger and humiliation, disregarding consequences, only yearning to retaliate by the most direct, most violent means to restore the Imperial Navy's lost face. Several relatively calm staff officers tried to intervene, but seeing the Commander's predatory demeanor, they shrank back, unwilling to speak.

The entire Command was shrouded under his raging fury.

Yet, just as Dahe Nei Denqi prepared to issue this potentially war‑triggering, all‑or‑nothing order, a communications officer responsible for receiving encrypted telegrams hurried over with a more solemn expression, holding a freshly decoded telegram marked with the highest classification.

"Sir… it is… an emergency directive from Kyoto, the Navy Headquarters!" the communications officer said, his voice tinged with obvious tension.

Dahe Nei Denqi's roar was cut short; impatiently he snatched the telegram and scanned it quickly.

The telegram's content was brief and cold, its wording extremely severe:

"Commander Dahe Nei: Two fleets have suffered consecutive defeats; the Empire is shocked! Responsibility cannot be escaped! Strict order: Until the enemy's strength is identified and the causes of defeat clarified, the First United Fleet's main force is strictly prohibited from acting independently! Immediately form an investigation team to thoroughly examine the reasons for the loss! Preserve current strength and hold the home front defenses! Any rash action will be severely punished! The Cabinet and Headquarters will issue further instructions. Navy Minister Jia Teng You Sanlang."

This telegram from Kyoto's highest echelons was like a bucket of icy water, dousing the raging Dahe Nei Denqi from head to toe.

The madness and fury on his face froze instantly, then receded like the tide, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness and resentment. He clutched the telegram sheet tightly, his knuckles whitening from the strain, his body trembling slightly.

Accountability! Questioning! Prohibition of action!

The politicians and bureaucrats in Kyoto, shocked as they were, first thought of preserving strength and assigning blame, rather than launching immediate retaliation! They were evidently also deterred by the utterly unexpected maritime power displayed by Lin Yu, unwilling to readily commit the Empire's main fleet to an unpredictable clash.

Dahe Nei Denqi understood that until the Imperial high command fully clarified how much power Lin Yu truly concealed and where those ghost‑like warships originated, they would never permit him to launch a large‑scale retaliation. His personal fury and the navy's humiliation were, for now, suppressed by the broader considerations of national strategy.

His fist loosened then tightened, tightened then loosened, finally sagging limp. The frantic impulse to blood‑soak Shen City was mercilessly extinguished by cold reality.