Chapter 1073

On the coast of Calcutta, the military officers from all the countries had solemn expressions on their faces.

While Corbán was leading the fleet to launch a surprise attack on the imperial fleet, they had been observing the battle from the coast. As the battle progressed, their moods also fluctuated, but in the end, they were still met with a complete defeat.

At this moment, the burning sailing warships on the sea were proof of their failure.

“It’s over, it’s all over. We lost ninety-six warships. The fleet’s casualties are more than half. The ocean is now ruled by the imperial fleet,” Nicholas said with a pained expression.

Butler’s grim face flickered in and out of the light of the swaying flames on the sea. Although Corbán chose to retreat, the imperial fleet pursued relentlessly. In the time they were hiding in the Ganges River, they had another sixteen warships sunk.

This brought their total number of destroyed warships to ninety-six. Witnessing the tragic scene in front of him, his heart felt as if it were bleeding.

Looking at the soldiers who were still struggling and calling for help in the water, his body trembled slightly, and endless hatred surged in his heart.

Behind him were the soldiers responsible for defending the coast. They had also witnessed the entire process. Just like Butler, while they felt fear in their hearts, they were also filled with hatred for the Chinese Empire.

To them, the Chinese Empire was portrayed as a devil that was trying to seize their colonies in the national propaganda.

They had traveled thousands of miles to get here to uphold fairness and justice.

“Soldiers, did you see the cruelty of the Chinese Empire? They took Australia and shamelessly enslaved our British people. Now they are preparing to seize our India. If we let them continue to advance, sooner or later, their tentacles will reach Europe. They are devils, followers of Satan, and infidels! Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, they will land in Calcutta. Brothers, let’s kill them all! God will surely help us send them to hell!”

Butler shouted loudly.

“Kill them all! Kill them all!” The British soldiers shouted, their hatred immediately rising under Butler’s instigation.

The commanders of the other empires looked at Butler, and they also shouted loudly. For a time, the entire coast was filled with a sense of hatred for the Empire.

On the deck of the King-Class, a medic was bandaging Yue Yun’s wound. When the King-Class was being focused on, his left arm was cut by a piece of shrapnel. He did not say anything at the time and continued to command the battle.

It was only when the battle was stabilized that Liu Chen discovered that Yue Yun’s arm was injured.

“General, there seem to be many enemy soldiers on the coast. They seem to be shouting something!” In the dark, Liu Chen could only vaguely see some figures on the coast through the flames, but they were very blurry.

The medic was disinfecting Yue Yun’s wound with alcohol. He endured the pain and said, “Don’t bother with them for now. Lei Ming will take care of them and slaughter them!”

Liu Chen had originally wanted to have the warships fire a round of cannons to intimidate them. Upon hearing his words, he nodded. He then said, “What about the European soldiers in the sea?”

“Shoot and kill them all!” Yue Yun gave the order coldly.

It was not that he was naturally cruel, but his war experience told him that he could not harbor kindness towards the enemy. Now that Europe and the Chinese Empire had officially started a war, these European soldiers would surely be instilled with hatred for the Chinese Empire by their countries. After all, national consciousness had already awakened in Europe.

And now, it had even escalated to a paranoid racism of white supremacy. They believed that only Europeans could be considered true “people,” and that people from other countries were no different from animals and could not be on an equal footing with them.

It was said that there was a zoo in Calcutta, India, that housed natives from different regions, including some citizens of the Chinese Empire who were stranded overseas.

They treated these people like animals and exhibited them to the British who came to Calcutta to earn money.

When he received this intelligence from the secret guards, he was silent for a long time. This incident made him fully understand the fundamental conflict between the current Chinese Empire and Europe, which was a conflict of race and culture. As long as the Europeans held on to their white supremacy, the war would not stop.

“Understood, General!”

Liu Chen responded. He was only asking out of routine. For him, he was too lazy to save the soldiers in the sea. He did not want his soldiers to take risks. These Europeans who were rescued might take out a dagger and stab his soldiers in the blink of an eye.

Upon receiving the order, he immediately ordered the soldiers to shoot and kill the enemy soldiers in the sea. Even now, the sound of gunfire in the sea had not stopped. Although the main force of the fleet had retreated, there were still many small boats in the sea.

These small boats were still trying to attack them, which further solidified Liu Chen’s idea.

“Dah dah dah…”

The sound of machine guns rang out again. The ironclads, moving through the chaotic battlefield, eliminated the small boats that were following them one by one.

At the same time, medics continuously carried the wounded imperial soldiers into the ship’s cabins for treatment. This time, Europe suffered heavy losses, but their losses were also not light. There were more than two hundred casualties on the King-Class ironclad alone.

The remaining cleanup task continued until dawn. When a red sun rose in the east, the soldiers on the ironclads finally saw the full picture of the battlefield from the night before.

The corpses of the enemy were floating everywhere on the battlefield that stretched for over ten li. The sea was mixed with the color of blood, and shattered wooden planks rose and fell with the waves.

The mouth of the Ganges River was blocked by the sunken warships. The imperial fleet could not get in, and the European fleet could not get out.

Yue Yun and Liu Chen had a short nap the night before. After dawn, the two walked onto the deck.

According to the order, the Qingzhou fleet had officially begun its patrol. Some of the warships had also rushed to Indonesia and Singapore overnight to transport the Southeast Army soldiers.

“Now the European combined forces are truly trapped by us. The only thing left is to put the dumplings into the pot and wait for them to be cooked.” Liu Chen licked his lips excitedly.

Yue Yun was not optimistic about the situation on land. He pointed to the very long frontline and said, “A cornered beast is the most dangerous. The Europeans’ weapons are backward, but their will to fight is very strong. We also suffered a lot of casualties last night.”

Liu Chen nodded. The statistics of the battle had already come out. They had more than three thousand casualties, but the European combined forces’ casualties were even greater. It was roughly estimated that thirty thousand people had been buried in the sea.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to take Calcutta before the New Year.”

Liu Chen felt a little regretful. Based on the enemy’s will to resist now, the upcoming battles would surely be very tough.

“In that case, I think there is no need to launch a full-scale assault. As long as we blockade the shipping lanes and trap them here, they will eventually collapse. After all, we don’t have an urgent need for India.” Yue Yun analyzed.

Liu Chen also had the same idea. A full-scale assault could certainly take India, but based on their casualty ratio in Jakarta, they would have to sacrifice at least thirty thousand soldiers’ lives, which was unnecessary.

“I will submit a battle report analysis to the General Staff.” Liu Chen said, looking at the trenches on the coast.