NOVEL NEXT Chapter 547 - Season 2 Book 22 Battle of Life or Death – 2-5 The 2nd Round
Chapter 547: Season 2 Book 22 Battle of Life or Death – 2-5 The 2nd Round
January 23rd, 2024, 08:55
155 kilometers off the eastern shore of Katsura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
The battleships Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) and Cha Ri-suk (CG-1104), which sailed in the southeast direction at maximum speed for the combined fleet’s retreat, maintained an anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship defense perimeter from their current positions as the Pacific Fleet withdrew as
planned.
However, after receiving an emergency order from the Naval Operations Command, they started their powerful plasma engines again and set course in the southeast direction.
The order given to them was to sail at maximum speed and sink at least one enemy aircraft carrier belonging to the Pacific Fleet.
The commanders of the two Lee Sun-shin-class battlecruisers considered the mission to be quite dangerous. Nevertheless, they ordered the crew to set the course at full speed without hesitation. The two commanders also knew that the torpedoes from American nuclear submarines would cause great
damage to their hulls and even possibly sink them. They couldn’t be underestimated.
“Currently, we are 290 kilometers away from the Pacific Fleet and expect to enter their attack range within 30 minutes.”
Captain Seo Gil-soo of the CG-1103, who had entrusted the bridge to the deputy commander before the battle started and was observing the engagement from the command room, nodded with a firm expression when presented with the report from the tactical controller.
“Comms! Establish the connection.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shortly, the face of Captain Ahn Won-seok of the Cha Ri-suk appeared on the big screen in the command room.
“Greetings! I was just about to call you.”
“Is that so? That’s great. What would you like to do, Captain Ahn? It is a bit foolhardy to sail in without any intel.”
“We are tasked with the intel. Are you at full speed? The engine may be able to withstand the output.”
“Then let’s do that. Take the lead. We’ll follow.”
“You should lead the way. You are my senior.” Ahn Won-seok wanted to concede to his senior in the Naval Academy the honor of sinking an American aircraft carrier and making history.
“Can I?”
“Of course, sir.”
“all right, then.”
“Give them the feistiest torpedo you have.”
“Lwill do my best not to let you down.”
“Don’t feel pressured, though.”
“all right.”
The two captains thus set out a strategy to deal with the Pacific Fleet. Then they set the course for their assigned mission.
The Cha Ri-suk (CG-1105), which was to fulfill the defensive mission first, raised all outputs to the maximum and entered the omni-directional defense mission as it maintained the anti-aircraft and anti-ship defense perimeter with a radius of 1,000 kilometers and the anti-submarine perimeter with a
Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) wanted to reduce their power consumption for the following reasons:
The distance between Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) and the Pacific Fleet was about 290 kilometers. To use the anti-naval rifle, the target had to be within a range of 250 kilometers. The Pacific Fleet would identify the fast-approaching Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) as the imminent threat and would attack on
a large scale by mobilizing the destroyers and submarines around it.
In other words, to approach the target, even with the help of the omnidirectional defense system of the Cha Ri-suk (CG-1105), the Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) had to somehow maintain the maximum engine output.
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January 23rd, 2024, 09:00
445 kilometers off the eastern shore of Katsura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
As the Pacific Fleet retreated to the southeast end of the sea, Admiral Rubin Scott and his staff cheered in the command room of Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
The footage from the Atlas recon satellite had been transmitted along with reports that several destroyers of the enemy fleet were sunk by Columbia-class nuclear submarines.
It wasn’t as much damage as expected, but they were happy because the biggest enemy submarines were also sunk among the many vessels.
Their Zumwalt-class destroyers couldn’t do much and were subsequently destroyed. Two of the enemy vessels were decimated, and four were escorted back to the shipyard. It was a great setback for them.
Without knowing that two Columbia-class nuclear submarines of their own were also sunk, Admiral Rubin Scott decided that he would be able to destroy the enemy fleet if he launched an all-out offensive against them after reorganizing their forces.
“When we retreat to the designated waters, we will have the entire fleet repaired and replenished.” Watching the Korean destroyer sinking into the sea amid white foam, Admiral Rubin Scott gave instructions to Chief Operating Officer, Jimmy Lopez.
However, at this time, a report from the Atlas recon satellite came up with urgent footage.
The footage played on the screen with a report that the two cruisers of the enemy fleet, which had stopped moving at a certain distance 20 minutes ago, had resumed advancing toward their main fleet at full speed again.
Two cruisers the size of battleships, which had last been seen in World War II, were sailing through the white waves at great speed.
“How fast are they?” Admiral Rubin Scott shook his head and asked because the sailing speed seemed so fast even though the footage was taken from a long distance.
“According to the recon satellite, it seems to be about 55 knots or more.”
“55 knots? Does that make sense? How could such a giant vessel be capable of such speed?”
Before joining the operation, Admiral Rubin Scott had a general knowledge of the specifications of Korean warships. Of course, the Lee Sun-shin-class cruiser was also vaguely familiar, and he knew its max speed was 60 knots.
As a marine who had served in the Navy for more than 30 years, it seemed absurd to him that a 250-meter-long ship could achieve a speed of 60 knots. However, when he saw it in the video, he felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
“How far away are they from us?”
“They are 288 kilometers away from our leading vessels.”
Currently, their two cruisers were sailing in a column formation at a distance of 5 kilometers from each other.
“Admiral! It seems to be a retaliatory attack for our submarine ambush on their vessels,” shouted the chief controller of the command room.
“Yes, but that means they are trying to fight the entire Pacific Fleet with just two ships. It is understandable that they first tried to make us retreat.”
“They read us like an open book,” added Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Lopez.
“Still, they can’t be ignored. Does their rifle have a range of 250 kilometers?”
“Yes, it does.”
“Don’t let them approach us within 250 kilometers. Page all commanders.”
“Yes, sir.”
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January 23, 2024, 09:10
‘The underground bunker of the Cabinet Office in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan (officially the National Security Conference Room)
Minister Mike Takashi, who had gone out to check on the status of the U.S. naval operation, entered the conference room without tarrying. It had only been an hour since he had left the place.
“What are you doing now?” Minister Ishihara Shintaro told him off. Mike Takashi had come in, panting and out of breath. Then he looked around the room with wide eyes.
Mr. Takashi, who had a puzzled look on his face, immediately glared at Minister Ishihara Shintaro, who responded similarly.
“Mr. Takashi! What happened?”
In response to Prime Minister Uchida’s question, Minister Ishihara Shintaro averted his eyes and sat down in the chair to answer.
“They say they are fiercely battling the Korean navy.”
“So, when do you expect them to send help?” Prime Minister Uchida leaned forward and asked again, seemingly interrogating him.
“We don’t know for sure…”
“Then ask them to send the air force. Aren’t industrial zones all over Japan being devastated right now?”
“They say that they cannot afford to send the air force due to the current engagement with the Korean navy.”
“Ugh!”
As his hopes were shattered, Prime Minister Uchida leaned against his chair and buried himself in the backrest. At this time, Cabinet Minister Sei Muroya looked at the other ministers and called out to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Uchida responded with hand gestures, as if he couldn’t be bothered
to respond properly to them.
“Prime Minister! We could contact the Korean government with the statement that we will give up the ‘declaration of independence’
“What do you mean?”
‘As Cabinet Minister Sei Muroya finished speaking, Minister Ishihara Shintaro jumped up from his seat furiously. “What are you talking about? Minister Muroya! We will never bow to them.”
“Is there any other way out of our predicament?”
“although the U.S. Navy will arrive late, once they are here, Japan will be sovereign again.”
“Yes.”
At that moment, another piece of grim news came up. Several international airports across Japan, which were rebuilt through post-war restoration projects, had just been bombed.
The photos of Narita International Airport and several other regional airports, including Osaka Kansai International Airport, were shown one after another.
“Now they have bombed our airports! This is an illegal military action that will be criticized by the international community. Massive bombings of civilian airports. We must immediately report Korea’s illegal military activities to the United Nations.”
Minister Ishihara Shintaro rose from his seat and shouted at the many ministers, but no one backed his proposal. They were well aware that naming Korea in the UN Security Council would have no effect. There was a heavy ambiance of desperation looming over them.
Prime Minister Uchida decided on something and spoke quietly to the man who had just entered the room.
“Mr. Miura!”
“Yes, Prime Minister?” answered Deputy Foreign Minister Kenta Miura, who entered the conference room. He had taken the place of Minister Kurosawa Kiyoshi, who had just resigned from his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Contact the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs right this moment.”
“Prime Minister!”
Before Miura could answer, Ishihara Shintaro’s shout reverberated throughout the room..