Munitions Empire

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Several rounds of airship usage also taught the whole world a lesson: the correct use of expensive war machines is the key to gaining an advantage; wrong command, in turn, can only waste high-tech equipment that comes at a hefty price.

At the same time, countries also witnessed the formidable strength of multi-layered trench defense systems bolstered by powerful artillery firepower.

These defenses effectively helped the outnumbered Songmu Kingdom withstand the powerful attack from Poplar Kingdom while also significantly reducing losses and preserving their fighting force.

Especially, the permanent defenses constructed of concrete were like killing machines fixed on the battlefield, with countless bunkers functioning like the blades of a meat grinder, devouring the flesh and blood of attackers.

After fighting for three days with no progress and realizing that they could not break through the border defenses, the Poplar Kingdom had no choice but to change their tactics.

The Navy of the Poplar Kingdom quickly moved southward to blockade the ports of the Songmu Kingdom, attempting to force the Songmu Navy into battle and seize control of the sea.

Not to be outdone, the Songmu Kingdom immediately assembled its main fleet and engaged the oncoming main forces of the Poplar Kingdom in fierce battle on the high seas.

This naval battle was known as: the Poplar-Songmu Sea Battle, the first true modern naval battle in a real sense! Interestingly, the Great Tang Group is the developer, designer, and manufacturer of new weaponry in this world. Yet, it seemed that their association with the first use of new weaponry in actual combat was quite negligible.

In the Poplar-Songmu Sea Battle, Poplar Kingdom deployed 3 Brunas-class ironclad ships, 7 Great Tang Group-produced simplified destroyers, and an additional 9 new destroyers from the Shireck Consortium. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

The fleet that Songmu Kingdom deployed to meet them also had 3 Brunas-class ironclad ships, along with 13 simplified Great Tang destroyers and 33 sailing warships.

The start of the naval battle was quite dramatic—The Poplar Kingdom fleet had originally missed Songmu Kingdom's main naval forces but later discovered the 33 Songmu sail warships that had straggled due to being too slow.

Seeing easy prey, the Poplar Kingdom fleet naturally did not let go of the opportunity to attack this large collection of sailing vessels.

Similarly having missed the enemy ships, the main Songmu fleet immediately turned and attacked from behind, entering the battlefield.

As a result, the numerically superior and more heavily armed Poplar fleet was poorly arrayed, and the inferior Songmu fleet accidentally found a flaw in the enemy's defenses.

Since both sides were ironclad ships, it was very difficult to quickly sink each other and claim victory. Other than losing a few dozen wooden vessels, the naval battle initially fell into a deadlock.

However, as the battle continued, losses were inevitable. One of Poplar Kingdom's new Shireck destroyers was targeted and sunk, becoming the world's first new warship to be sunk in combat.

Immediately afterward, the Poplar Kingdom began to forcibly adjust their formation to confront the Songmu fleet that was attacking from behind—to this end, they paid the price of losing another warship.

Relying on their greater number of ships and larger caliber guns, Poplar Kingdom regained the initiative after losing two warships.

The distance between the fleets continued to close, and the cannon fire became increasingly frantic. Soon, ships on both sides were hit and caught fire, many were slowed by hits, and some even started to list.

After sinking two more of Shireck's new destroyers, Songmu Kingdom also had one of Great Tang's destroyers sunk.

Having barely evened out the number of ships, the morale of the Songmu Navy soared, but they quickly realized there was a significant disparity in firepower between them and their enemy.

Shireck's destroyers had a clearly higher firepower configuration, and though their defensive capabilities were average, they demonstrated stronger combat power with more cannons.

After all, these destroyers had been developed specifically to counter the simplified destroyers from the Great Tang Group and were certainly more targeted in performance.

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As the battle raged on, the Navy of the Songmu Kingdom began to falter under the strain. Before long, two of their warships had taken in so much water that they had to withdraw from the combat formation.

The commander of the Songmu Kingdom's Navy, in a desperate gambit, decided to make the first move to change formation, focusing firepower on a Brunas-class Ironclad Warship of the enemy that had pushed forward, hoping to regain the upper hand.

Then, a fierce offensive and defensive battle unfolded around that Ironclad Warship, which was ultimately sunk—the vessel belonged to the Poplar Kingdom.

However, in order to sink that Ironclad Warship, Songmu Kingdom had paid a heavy price, losing two destroyers in the process.

As night began to fall, the Poplar Kingdom's Fleet, which had initially held the advantage, feared an unforeseen event in the darkness and were the first to retreat from combat.

During the afternoon's fierce engagement, they had lost 3 Shireck Destroyers, 2 Great Tang Destroyers, and a Brunas-class Warship had been sunk.

Their opponents, the Songmu Kingdom, were not faring well either; they had 6 Great Tang Destroyers sunk and an additional 20 sailing warships lost, in what could only be described as a devastating defeat.

But after this naval battle, the Poplar Kingdom did not succeed in their strategic intention to annihilate the Songmu Kingdom's Fleet, and because of their own losses, they also lost the capability to blockade the harbors of the Songmu Kingdom.

Both Navies, afraid of further losses, did not regroup in large numbers for a long time afterward. Both sides only occasionally dispatched one or two warships to attack a few enemy transport and fishing vessels, with limited results. It was less a war of attrition and more an act of spiteful revenge.

Just as the war between the Poplar Kingdom and the Songmu Kingdom reached a stalemate, Tang Mo prepared to step in and persuade both countries to cease hostilities and maintain the harmony within the trade alliance—this was when the Gales Kingdom entered the war.

After withstanding the pressure from the Poplar Kingdom, the Gales Kingdom declared war on the Poplar Kingdom half a month after the start of the Poplar-Songmu conflict, announcing an alliance with the Songmu Kingdom.

The Poplar Kingdom, which had held an advantage, suddenly found itself in a passive situation, fighting a war on two fronts. John's father had to rush back to King City and once again mobilize an army of 100,000 to turn back and engage in battle with the Orc troops. What had been an offensive posture against the Songmu Kingdom quickly turned into a defensive stance on two fronts.

An even more astonishing event occurred: the Orc troops, assaulting the borders of the Poplar Kingdom, were also held up by the border defense lines causing their advance to be obstructed, and after attacking fiercely for three days, they achieved no result.

At the same time, feeling that the opportunity had come with the enemy engaged in an unfavorable two-front war, the Songmu Kingdom also launched a counteroffensive against the Poplar Kingdom's border.

They soon discovered that they could not factually bite through the countless bunkers, trenches, and barbed wire on the border of the Poplar Kingdom.

After two days of furious assault and the loss of thousands of troops, the Songmu Kingdom, Poplar Kingdom, and Gales Kingdom all abandoned their fruitless offensives and turned to a long period of trench warfare, waiting passively for the enemy to walk into a trap, reminiscent of the "World War I mode."

For a time, no one could overcome anyone, and as all were not willing to easily make peace, a bizarre scene ensued: the sound of gunfire was incessant along the border, yet there were virtually no scenes of soldiers making any attacks.

Just when everyone thought that the melee had come to an end, the Laines Empire suddenly declared war on the Dorne Kingdom.

The Dorne Kingdom then declared war on the Laines Empire—causing an instant rift that virtually dissolved the integrity of the entire trade alliance.

The Gobur Kingdom, under the encouragement of the Shireck Consortium, also joined the fray. They declared war on the Dorne Kingdom and allied with the Laines Empire, which instantly further complicated the relationships between the powers embroiled in the war.

Everyone knew that the Laines Empire had always been a staunch ally of the Great Tang Group within the trade alliance, but now this ally had joined forces with the Gobur Kingdom, which evidently had the backing of the Shireck Consortium...

This shift forced Tang Mo, who had been preparing to intervene and calm the situation, to retract his hand. He was genuinely curious to see what his group of allies would turn this internal conflict into.