I built an armada.

Willis instinctively replied, "That's right. Why were there so many fewer of you in the second wave compared to the first?"

Everyone, including the vice-captain, pricked up their ears, eager to know the reason behind it all.

It was precisely because of this crucial detail that they firmly believed the Longxia Navy lacked ammunition, which fueled their overconfidence!

"It's okay, I'll tell you now."

Captain Chen smiled and didn't hide anything about it. "That's because we diverted some of our forces to intercept your Condor carrier fleet."

"Aren't you surprised? Why hasn't the support from the USS Condor carrier fleet arrived yet?"

Willis paused for a moment, then blurted out, "How did you know?"

He immediately regretted saying that. No matter what, it was their core military secret. If it was exposed, it would be like losing a trump card.

War is inherently a complex interplay of reality and illusion; whoever controls battlefield information controls the entire battlefield.

"That's because they can't come."

Captain Chen responded calmly, "I'll also tell you that the USS Condor carrier strike group dispatched a total of 26 carrier-based aircraft to your aid, but they were ambushed by us en route, and many were shot down. The rest returned. Naturally, they can't come."

"That's all I have to say. If you don't believe me, you can consult your superiors."

After a slight pause, Captain Chen abruptly changed the subject, "Alright, we've had enough time to communicate, and everything that needed to be answered has been answered. There are two minutes left. I hope Mr. Willis will think it over carefully and give me a satisfactory answer."

"This call is now over. See you in two minutes!"

After saying this, Captain Chen immediately cut off bilateral communications, giving Willis no time to react.

Even though the bilateral call had ended, the main control room of the USS Enterprise was silent, with only the roar of the machines echoing in the air.

Everyone present fell silent, their hearts churning with turmoil.

The information revealed by Captain Chen was truly shocking; they needed to process it properly.

Even so, they still felt their hearts were about to burst, as if they were about to leap out of their chests. Only now, after fighting this far, did they realize the true state of the battlefield; no wonder their offensive operations had been turned into a defensive battle.

A moment later, Willis turned to the vice-captain beside him and asked in a deep voice, "Do you think Captain Chen's words are true?"

The first mate asked, "Captain, which sentence are you referring to?"

Willis rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Of course everything he said!"

"This one……"

After a slight hesitation, the vice-captain slowly said, "Captain, this is difficult to judge. Our evidence is limited. Captain Chen's words are not contradictory, and I cannot find any loopholes."

"The biggest problem is that the statements are not contradictory."

Willis's face was filled with worry. "That's when our situation is most dangerous!"

Based on previous very confident speculation, the Enterprise carrier fleet still had a glimmer of hope, but now even that last sliver of hope has been taken away!

Suddenly, Willis snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Quickly contact General Cruise; I need to speak with him personally."

"Yes, Captain!"

The communications soldiers immediately sprang into action.

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Wilderness Tribe's garrison base, in the command center.

General Koro was still furious about the fact that the Longxia Air Force had traded an anti-ship missile for one of their warships. He cursed and swore that the Longxia Air Force was shameless and had no sense of honor whatsoever!

General Cruise was so angry that he had already taken two nitroglycerin pills, and his blood pressure had soared to an alarming level; if measured, it would definitely be off the charts!
This is incredibly insulting; it's like slapping their faces hard!
If the Dragon Xia Air Force were to sink all seven and a half remaining warships of the Enterprise carrier fleet with eight air-launched anti-ship missiles, they would become the biggest laughingstock of the White Bear Tribe and even the entire Blue Star!
General Cruise trembled involuntarily at the thought of that humiliating scene; he felt utterly ashamed!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, but he couldn't find a way to respond.

Just then, the communications officer suddenly reported urgently: "General, Captain Willis requests to speak directly with you."

Willis?
So he's still alive? That's great that the aircraft carrier wasn't sunk.

My God, there couldn't be better news: they're all alive.

"quick."

Cruise urged impatiently, "Take it quickly, I want to speak to him myself."

Communication was quickly established between the two sides, and Cruise eagerly picked up the communicator.

"Willis, how are things going? What are the losses at the front? How many ships are left in the carrier fleet?"

As soon as the call connected, Cruise couldn't wait to ask, "I've received the relevant intelligence. The support fighters from the base should have arrived by now, right?"

When asked these questions, Willis did not answer directly but remained silent for a while before replying, "So far, no warships have been lost!"

"What? No damage whatsoever? Didn't you report that the Longxia Air Force launched an anti-ship missile, targeting a warship in the carrier fleet? Could it be that reinforcements have already intercepted it?"

Cruise asked, full of doubt, "Why haven't I received any related reports?"

"General, please listen to me first."

Willis frowned, feeling compelled to remind Cruise, "The Dragonshire Air Force's air-to-ship missiles didn't target any other warships twice; they were aimed at the aircraft carrier from the very beginning. Thank God, I and the carrier are still alive." Cruise now understood. No wonder there were no reports of any warship losses; it turned out that the Enterprise had withstood the two anti-ship missile attacks with its massive hull.

So from the beginning, the Longxia Air Force never intended to sink the other ships; there's more to this than meets the eye.

Before he could even ask, Willis's urgent voice came through the receiver: "General, I need to confirm something with you. Are the reinforcements that took off from the USS Condor not coming?"

He didn't ask directly when they would arrive, but instead asked in this way to confirm whether what Captain Chen said was correct.

Faced with this sudden question, Cruise was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer. He couldn't help but look at Koro next to him, only to see that the other man was shaking his head at him.

Clearly, he meant for him not to easily reveal the truth so as not to affect the morale of the troops at the front, and to make up some excuse to cover it up.

"Willis, I understand your anxiety, but please don't rush."

Cruise understood what Koro meant and quickly chuckled, "The current situation is somewhat... but it still needs more time..."

Hearing the other person's stuttering words, Willis had already figured out something, but he wasn't quite sure.

"General, I have received intelligence that the reinforcements coming from the Condor were ambushed by the Dragon Xia Navy en route. They are already in dire straits and have withdrawn. They will not be coming anytime soon, is that right?"

Upon hearing this, Cruise hurriedly retorted, "Your intelligence is flawed. It's obvious that someone has malicious intentions and wants to disrupt morale. Don't believe them!"

Hearing those final words of advice, Willis found it utterly ridiculous. The Dragon Xia Navy's frontline fleet had already told him the truth, yet his superiors were deliberately concealing it from him.

"General, I just contacted Captain Chen of the Longxia Navy's frontline fleet, and he told me this himself." Willis simply laid his cards on the table and directly revealed his source.

Upon hearing this, Cruise's prepared explanations instantly choked him up, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

They had finally managed to keep this news a secret, but the Longxia Navy actually leaked it. This was clearly going to make things difficult for them; it was like killing them by hurting their spirit!
He subconsciously glanced at Koro, only to see that the other man had walked to the windowsill and was looking outside, completely unconcerned about the matter.

"Willis, they're definitely trying to sow discord and undermine our morale. Don't fall for it..." Cruise gritted his teeth and argued.

"General, the Longxia Navy has issued an ultimatum to our fleet! They order us to surrender, or they will open fire and sink us completely in one minute and twenty seconds."

"In addition, I have something else to report to you: all of the Longxia Navy's warships have already been replenished with ammunition!"

"The time to replenish ammunition is during the two-hour ceasefire when both sides are making deployments and they are also making arrangements."

This news struck General Cruise like a thunderbolt; his body trembled violently, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Clearly, if that's the case, then a single reinforcement would be no match for the Longxia army's attack, and the aircraft carrier fleet is in grave danger.

"Only one minute left, time is too short. I'll hand the initiative over to you from now on," Cruise said helplessly, sounding listless.
Upon hearing this, Willis felt as if the sky had fallen. Just as Captain Chen had said, the second reinforcement would never come, and they were already trapped with no chance of turning things around.

"General, this is aiding the enemy!" Willis cried out hysterically, filled with anguish.

Even after the call had ended, this sentence continued to resonate in Cruise's mind, lingering for a long time.

"General, this is aiding the enemy!"

This sentence had a huge psychological impact on him and shocked him. How desperate must Willis have been on the front lines to say such a thing?
With only one minute left, if the Enterprise carrier fleet doesn't surrender, it will face a fierce and relentless attack from the Dragon Island Navy. At that point, Willis and the others will likely be left to collect their corpses.

And their proud Enterprise carrier fleet will be completely sunk in the waters related to the Eastern Wilderness Tribe.

Such an outcome had never occurred in the entire military history of the Eagle Tribe. It was truly terrifying. Cruz and Koro trembled with fear.

That's a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and a powerful carrier fleet. How could it be manipulated like this one day? Just thinking about it makes me feel incredibly frustrated and angry!
For decades, no country has ever dared to threaten the Eagle Tribe in this way. The Dragon Summer Tribe has set a precedent!

The key point is that the target of their attack is the Enterprise carrier fleet, a formidable force that ranks among the top in combat power among the eleven carrier fleets of the Eagle Tribe.

Once this matter gets out, it will surely cause a sensation throughout the entire planet, astound all nations, and refresh the world's understanding of the Dragon Xia Navy.

"General, what should we do next?"

Koro, who had already returned, looked at Cruise with great anxiety. "There's only one minute left. Willis and the carrier fleet are probably doomed."

"They dare!"

Cruise jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "If the Dragon Summer Navy does this, they'll be wiped out!"

"General, the Enterprise has already lost more than half of its aircraft carrier. What else wouldn't they dare to do?" Koro said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Cruz was stunned, and the words he was about to say were forcibly swallowed back.

If they didn't have the guts, they probably wouldn't have crushed the Enterprise carrier fleet and given it a sound beating. Two rounds of saturation attacks destroyed half of the carrier fleet's ships, and the casualties were terrifying.

For a moment, General Cruz was at a loss and had no idea what to do.

He realized that trying to intimidate the Dragonxia tribe with the prestige of the Eagle Tribe, the strongest military power on Blue Star, was utterly futile. While other nations would have been trembling in fear, the Dragonxia tribe had risen up and fought back!
“General, we can’t back down now. We need to make a decision.” Koro gave Cruz a deep look and urged him.

Cruise didn't respond immediately, but paced back and forth for a moment before suddenly stopping and ordering, "Tell Willis to find a way to buy time. I'll contact headquarters now and see if they have any good solutions."

Koro immediately acknowledged the order, saying, "Yes, General."

On the other side, the main control room of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier.

After ending the call, Willis's brows furrowed tightly. He stood by the porthole for a long time without moving, as if he had suddenly frozen in place. (End of Chapter)