Chapter 390: The Empire’s Tragedy
“Unforgivable!”
In the throne hall, the Emperor of Gephra kicked over a gold lampstand beside the throne. It tumbled down the steps, forcing everyone to dodge out of the way.
His face was twisted in rage. The First Fleet was nearly annihilated—not in battle, but in an event so shocking he initially thought it was a joke.
Once he confird the truth, he spiraled into madness.
What enraged him was not just the loss of the fleet, but that they lost.
The invincible fleet’s defeat ant the countries long oppressed by Gephra might stir. The empire’s international standing was now under unprecedented threat.
Before, Gephra’s unbeatable fleet secured many diplomatic agreents—though it was more like coercion backed by military might.
Now, the Federation had proven it could restrain the once-invincible fleet. Gephra had lost the initiative.
If those hard by Gephra’s force united around the Federation, forming a new international alliance centered on it, they would have the power to challenge Gephra’s global dominance.
Gephra wasn’t a vast land. It was an island nation, lacking rich inland resources and strategic depth. Losing all overseas interests would instantly crush its war potential.
In this world war, Gephra’s aggressive expansion wasn’t born of deep hatred for other countries, but a desperate search for solutions to dostic problems.
Territorial expansion was perhaps the best fix. They tried to acquire land through controlled concessions rather than outright invasion.
That avoided creating deep hatred and grassroots rebellion, which would be against their current interests.
Now, with the First Fleet’s destruction, all that advantage was lost. The emperor could already foresee the diplomatic protests soon to co.
“Dispatch the Second and Third Fleets to attack the Federation’s fleet! Bombard their holand!” The emperor roared, pacing the throne platform. “Strike their holand so they repent their foolishness in the flas of war!”
No one answered him; silence filled the hall except for his voice.
When his rage cald sowhat, the Minister of Defense stepped forward. “Your Majesty, until we can counter the Baylor people’s new torpedoes, we lack the capacity for a prolonged war.”
“Moreover, if you decide to start this war, Gephra will be burned to ashes. They hold the dragon-slaying sword.”
The Minister bowed. “Forgive
for comparing us to the evil dragon and the Federation to dragon-slayers, but that is the current reality.”
“Our previous tough stance will now be seen as evil inflicted upon us. What we most need is not revenge against the Federation, but to stabilize our remaining interests and international standing.”
“More than revenge, maintaining stability in the Allian Province is our true priority.”
The Minister’s face was grave and serious. Pursuing bla or revenge now was pointless and dangerous.
Retaliatory attacks risked further losses to the navy, deepening the disgrace and eroding their last reserves.
To the Minister, the matter with the Federation was best handled diplomatically, trying to regain lost ground through negotiation.
Their real focus must be suppressing unrest in Allian Province to secure vital resources for future wars.
The emperor threw a gold cup at the Minister. Though made of gold, the Minister didn’t dodge.
Avoiding the emperor’s anger would only enrage him more. The cup struck his calf, causing a sharp intake of breath—and the emperor’s fury cooled.
“Our losses stem from severe intelligence failures,” the emperor said. “Minister of the Army…”
The Army Minister bowed his head and stepped forward. “I will not punish you. Instead, I will increase your funding. I have one demand.”
“From today, I want the empire’s best intelligence agents deployed to the Federation. I want to know everything—military strength, technological advances… all top-secret information.” ??????????????
The Army Minister bowed again. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
The emperor nodded. “Also, notify all shipyards: continue building the three planned battleships, but cancel or offload other construction projects. Aren’t there buyers for our ships?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” ca the reply.
“Then let them pay. We’ll continue building for them or sell unfinished vessels.”
Their current shipbuilding was based on pre-battle technology, which proved flawed. Continuing was pointless.
Battleships were different. Their larger capacity allowed for modifications below the waterline to protect against torpedoes.
Other ships couldn’t be modified, so better to sell them off.
Regaining composure, the emperor displayed strong political skill, arranging affairs thodically. The Defense Minister and Pri Minister helped shoulder the burden.
Suddenly, the emperor paused. “I forgot to ask—why did we suddenly engage the Federation in naval battle?”
The Navy Minister remained silent, but all eyes turned to him.
Gephra’s system differed from the Federation’s; there was no public election.
Official appointnts ca from two thods.
One was nomination and voting, common in mid- and lower-level governnt, heavily influenced by factional loyalties.
The other, for mid- and high-level positions, was imperial appointnt—direct by the emperor’s trust, regardless of prior experience.
Those close to the emperor could hold office for life.
Enemies and allies existed. When the emperor asked, those who disliked the Navy Minister stared sharply at him.
The emperor sensed it but feigned ignorance. “No one will speak? I will find out…”
He changed the subject. “What’s next on the agenda?”
At noon, during a al, he summoned special investigation officials. “Investigate why the Navy Minister pushed for this war against the Federation…”
anwhile, the Navy Minister hurried to his residence’s basent, opening a safe containing a secret phone line no one else knew about.
He dialed a special number and whispered, “Eliminate Preyton quickly, or we will all be in danger…”
“Also, obtain the data on the Federation’s submarines and new torpedoes as soon as possible. Only then can I overco this crisis.”
If he could get the detailed paraters of the submarines and new torpedoes, the Imperial Research Institute could reverse-engineer them, which would be a major achievent.
But the voice on the phone sounded strange. “You must be in a hurry, so you haven’t had ti to watch the news…”
The Navy Minister imdiately hung up and turned on the television. The news was reporting on the recent naval battle and ntioned the very data the minister wanted.
Submarine specs, new torpedo specs…
No one could have imagined the Federation would publicly release all this data. It drove every country in the world into a frenzy, because with this information, they could reverse-engineer the technology.
Even if they couldn’t directly replicate the submarines and torpedoes that decided the battle, the data would greatly advance their related research.
The Federation was so arrogant—they had just defeated Gephra’s Royal Navy and dared to disclose such information openly. Didn’t they fear anything?
They didn’t, because in a sense, the data was accurate.
Put another way, at the current stage, the data was far ahead of its ti.
It was like asking soone who hasn’t learned to walk to start running—without constant falls, it’s impossible.
But military technology research isn’t as simple as running; failure isn’t just a stumble. Every failure ans massive wasted resources and drifting further down the wrong path.
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