James, still reeling from the frontline defeat, felt his chest heave violently and his face contort into a grimace. He never imagined that this expedition would suffer such a devastating blow. The combined forces had deployed an unprecedented level of naval power, far surpassing the campaign against the continent of Feni many years ago.
But now, this Sheng Lu man in front of him said that the front line was almost completely wiped out. He really couldn't digest this information. But this cruel fact didn't seem to be false. If it was really as the Sheng Lu man said, then just how powerful was the Yan Kingdom's navy to be able to do such a thing?
Unbeknownst to him, a shadow fell over the anger in James's heart.
"How did they do that?! How did they defeat us?!" He tried to calm himself down and continued to question Lucate.
Lucat straightened his ripped collar and replied expressionlessly, "The Goths disregarded our alliance and launched their attack without joining us, heading straight for Yan Kingdom."
"When we arrived at the waters near Coral Island, we found that they had been defeated, and only a small number of them had escaped to Coral Island."
"So we've already lost a fighting force before the war has even officially begun."
Upon hearing this, James gritted his teeth, his face flushed red, and began to curse angrily:
"Damn Golts! I knew these guys weren't trustworthy. They don't respect our Sasiri Kingdom at all! They have no idea what unity is!"
"And then? What happened next?!" he continued to press, as if interrogating a criminal.
Lucat scoffed inwardly, then continued:
"The plan changed. Of course, we needed to figure out the organization of the Yan Kingdom's fleet before we could make the next arrangements. That was what I thought at the time. However, Marshal Clemento insisted on continuing the voyage with the fleet and decided to engage the Yan Kingdom's fleet in direct combat upon encountering them."
"Shortly afterward, we encountered the Yan Kingdom's fleet at sea. They didn't have many warships, less than a thousand. However, those warships were strange in design, new types of warships that we had never encountered before. While we were still far away, I tried to persuade Marshal Clemento again. However, he was still immersed in the previous defeat, and revenge had taken over his mind. He still led the fleet to charge forward regardless."
“What happened after that… I’ve already said it once.” Lucate said with a stern face, reaching out to adjust his tilted hat.
"Damn it! It just happened like this..." James clenched his fists, wanting to vent his anger and grief, but he didn't know where to direct his anger.
Although the two fleets led by Clemento could not be considered the navy's elite forces, the combined strength of the two fleets was quite considerable. Coupled with the Sun Fleet, which was defeated a few months ago, the entire navy had lost nearly a third of its combat power in less than half a year.
The nation had not experienced such a crushing defeat in a very long time, yet now it had fallen so easily to the Yan people. James was furious, but at this moment he could only glare fiercely at the expressionless Lucart.
James did not entirely believe Clemento's words, despite his weakness, incompetence, and cunning. As a renowned naval commander in the Imperial Navy, James did not believe that the defeat was due to Clemento's poor command.
However, the Yan Kingdom's navy might not be strong enough to sweep away the allied forces, which is illogical.
The Rose Fleet was able to return safely, while the rest of the fleet was destroyed by the Yan Kingdom. There must be something fishy going on. He had reason to believe that the Sheng Lu people did something dishonorable in that naval battle, and it was definitely not as simple as just surrendering.
Perhaps it was the Shenglu people who defected at the last minute, becoming spies for the Yan people, and through this inside-outside collaboration, set a trap that led to the annihilation of the allied forces.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his gaze at Lucat became increasingly sharp.
James's "fierce look" was so blatant that Lucat, who was being stared at, naturally noticed it, but he knew that no amount of explanation would help.
Wasn't this the situation the Yan Emperor wanted for us to return? But what could we do? Expose the Yan people's conspiracy? Say that all of this was done to cause internal division?
That's impossible. The arrogant and conceited Saturnians would not believe such a story after such a crushing defeat.
Lucate sighed inwardly, then continued, "That's basically it."
"I have delivered the message. Upon returning home, I will submit a detailed written report to Emperor Figus. You can then..."
Before he could finish speaking, James suddenly interrupted, pointing his finger at Lucatt's nose and saying sharply:
"Damn it! Listen to me!"
"From the time you set sail from the Roman Islands until your return today, you must tell me everything that happened to you, including the Yan Kingdom's fleet, weapons, and all other information!"
"I demand a detailed report! If you dare to conceal even the slightest detail, then prepare to face our wrath!"
James spoke with a ferocious expression, and the officers and soldiers under his command also had particularly cold faces, all looking at the Sheng Lu people on the ship with hostile eyes.
Faced with James's questioning, Lucart lowered his eyes and said:
"You're not my superior, you don't have the right to tell me..."
However, he was interrupted again.
"Now! Immediately! Right now!"
James stepped forward and tried to grab Lucart's collar again, but Lucart took a step back, avoiding James's outstretched hand.
"How dare you..." James was furious, cursing as he swung his fist at Lucat's face.
However, his fist was caught halfway through its swing by a hand, and then another hand suddenly reached out and slapped James in the chest.
James had no idea that any of the Ascended would dare to make a move. After stumbling, he regained his footing and looked at the Ascended who had pushed him with a mixture of shock and anger.
"That's enough! We've already made ourselves perfectly clear!"
The one who stepped forward was Leto, who had been following Lucart. Although Lucart had warned him before boarding the ship not to have any conflict with the Sasser, since they were unlikely to listen to anything he said, Leto's anger gradually built up to the point of being on the verge of exploding after seeing James's aggressive attitude.
At that moment, after he finished speaking those two sentences, James's anger was also ignited.
He roared, "Take them all down!"
Instantly, the soldiers on the ship pointed their guns at the Sheng Lu people.
Leto glanced at Lucate's stern face, then roared at the top of his lungs:
"You guys give it a try!!!"
Similarly, the Sheng Lu people who boarded the ship also hurriedly raised their guns, while shouts came from the surrounding warships.
In an instant, the atmosphere became tense, and the smell of gunpowder filled the entire ship.
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