Chapter 145: A Glorious Victory

Waves stretched for ten thousand miles, and banners blotted out the sky.

Chen Mu led his grand fleet, advancing majestically toward the strait fortress. Because the technology for the new warships had matured significantly—surpassing the oil transport vessels by a whole tier—their speed was much faster than before.

Meanwhile, on the continent of Chizhou, another fleet was in motion.

Not far from the strait fortress, the Western nation's fleet had dropped anchor on the shores of Chizhou.

Zhang Chong noticed this development. Frowning, he ordered all soldiers stationed outside to withdraw entirely into the fortress.

Since the Western fleet numbered several hundred vessels this time, it appeared they had brought a force of tens of thousands. Fearing that the Western nation intended to assault the fortress, Zhang Chong concentrated all his strength on defense.

Yet, it soon became clear that Zhang Chong had overestimated the courage of the Westerners. Though they knew the Great Xia Empire’s troops were stationed here, they launched no proactive attacks.

On the contrary, the Western nation even sent an envoy to see Zhang Chong.

"You must be the general of the Great Xia Empire. Here is what my Governor has to say: Our purpose this time is solely to strike Egypt; we have no wish to offend your Great Xia Empire. Maintaining peace between our two nations is above all else the best course," the envoy said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Chong furrowed his brows slightly before giving a wave of his hand.

"Very well. Maintaining peace is the shared desire of both Xia and the West."

Receiving a positive reply, the envoy was overjoyed. "General Zhang, you are truly merciful."

Zhang Chong forced a few dry laughs, then sent the envoy away. With a cold sneer, he said to the other officers:

"Since the Western nation wishes for peace with us, that is for the best. For now, we shall lull them into complacency. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrives with the army, we will catch them completely off guard."

The officers all laughed heartily.

"Haha, those foolish Westerners! They actually think they can conquer Egypt first, as if we would simply stand by and watch!"

Indeed, the Westerners were thoroughly deceived by Zhang Chong. Their Governor had received word that the Great Xia Empire had no intention of making an enemy of them.

Governor William chuckled, raised his glass of champagne, and toasted the others.

"Since the Great Xia Empire is too cowardly to fight us, like mere mice, all our attention must now be focused on Egypt."

"This time, we shall annihilate Egypt and let them know that we of the Western nation are the true masters of these beasts."

Earlier, when Great Xia had captured Western spies, those individuals had escaped back home and informed the King of Egypt that the latter lacked sincerity in cooperation. Consequently, the Western nation had resolved to strike Egypt first, seize the local resources, and enslave the populace. Furthermore, doing so would make future warfare against Great Xia much more convenient.

Governor William was not yet forty years old, yet he was already a prominent and influential figure in the Western nation. He desperately craved to earn monumental military achievements through this expedition. Once he returned to the West, he could take another step upward and become a hereditary grand aristocrat.

The other generals harbored their own ambitions and plans as well. What tempted them most was the prospect that, once Egypt was conquered, its common people could be sold into slavery and hauled back to their motherland for a colossal profit.

"For the General! For the West!"

The room erupted in roars, brimming with excitement.

The very next day, the warriors of the Western fleet disembarked. Formed in neat ranks, they charged toward a nearby Egyptian town.

Egypt was utterly unprepared, and their weaponry was woefully outdated. While they still relied on bows and spears, the Westerners were universally equipped with firearms. Moreover, their metallurgy had advanced, and by drawing upon Great Xia's breech-loading technology, their current firepower and range far surpassed anything they had used before.

In addition, the Western army had brought artillery carriages. Unlike Great Xia's motorized tracked vehicles, their cannons were mounted on wooden carts and naturally lacked mobility. Even so, they were more than enough to deal with Egypt. Pushing dozens of cannons down from their ships, they began bombarding the Egyptian town.

Before long, not a single Egyptian soldier dared to show their face.

William grew even more exhilarated. Rushing to the front lines himself, he commanded the grand army:

"Charge, men! Eliminate the enemy entirely and turn these pathetic Egyptians into our slaves!"

Morale soaring, the Western soldiers surged forward behind William, as if they could already snatch up endless treasures in the next moment.

William led his troops to the outskirts of the town, first ordering his artillery to open fire, followed by volleys from the infantry's firearms at long range.

Lacking advanced equipment and remaining stuck in the age of cold weapons, Egypt's defense was reduced to a purely passive beating.

The fall of the city was merely a matter of time.

The Egyptian commander let out a long, heavy sigh. He never imagined his luck would be so wretched; despite preparing for so long, it had proven utterly useless.

"It seems the heavenly gods have summoned me back. I can only repay my country with my death."

Picking up his treasured saber, the Egyptian commander prepared to commit suicide.

Yet at that exact moment, the Western army outside suddenly plunged into chaos.

Furthermore, he saw that the Western forces were rapidly retreating in disarray, pulling back toward the coastline.

Frowning deeply, the commander hurriedly dispatched a messenger to scout out the situation.

The messenger returned swiftly.

"Good news, Commander! It’s the Great Xia Empire! The Crown Prince’s army of the Great Xia Empire has launched a surprise attack on the West from the sea!" the messenger shouted, nearly moved to tears of excitement.

The commander froze in place.

Egypt... was actually saved.

While the two sides had been engaged in battle and Egypt was on the verge of total collapse, Chen Mu’s fleet had appeared in these waters. Knowing full well that all is fair in war, and seeing that the Westerners were completely unprepared, Chen Mu ordered his navy to open fire swiftly upon the Western warships anchored near the shore.

The Western naval forces were already a tier below Chen Mu's in strength, let alone being caught in an ambush.

Thrown into utter turmoil, the Western fleet suffered catastrophic blows. Many sailors and captains were swallowed by artillery fire before they even had time to react.

Only then did William snap to his senses. The Great Xia Empire had launched a surprise ambush from behind!

"Damned Xia monkeys! They are utterly despicable to the extreme!"

William was so furious he felt like vomiting blood. Yet, being a reputed commander after all, he hastily ordered his land forces to pull back toward the coast while directing the remaining navy to form a combat array for a protracted war against Chen Mu.

However, a sinking ship could no longer be saved by mere effort.

The Western navy was already engulfed in a sea of flames, and Chen Mu had long since seized the opportunity to demolish the bulk of their main fleet.

While the Western shipborne cannons still fired solid shot, the cannons of Great Xia blasted explosive shells.

Across the ocean surface, one Western warship after another steadily sank into the depths.