What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 554 Perseverance to the Last Moment

Aiden certainly wouldn't go to repair the sonar; going out in the middle of the night would not only be in a harsh environment, but also too dangerous without teammates by his side.

As an experienced veteran sergeant, Aiden, after checking and finding that no electronic systems in the base were burned out or malfunctioning, went to check the latest weather forecast.

Due to its unique topography, Iceland experiences frequent collisions between the warm Atlantic currents from the southwest and the cold currents from the north, resulting in unusual weather.

However, with the advancement of computer technology, providing accurate intelligence to military bases 24 hours a day is no longer a problem.

But... Aiden realized something was wrong. He didn't see any sudden storm forming in the north, which should have been close to typhoon level, covering hundreds of square kilometers.

He eventually decided to restart the control system, but the computer of the giant sonar is not an ordinary PC that can be restarted with a click of the mouse. A complete restart would take seven or eight hours and require several professional engineers to re-troubleshoot.

Aiden didn't dare to shut it down for too long, so he spent half an hour restarting some of the components and resetting their parameters to zero. When he turned it back on, he found that the target was now displayed as... a densely packed number that was completely uncountable, reaching hundreds of targets?!

And among them, 20 were particularly conspicuous, extending hundreds of kilometers ahead of the other targets, like the leading edge of a disintegrating meteor clearing a path.

They are speeding at over 30 knots, more than 60 kilometers northeast of Grindavike base, with the fastest one even reaching 42 knots!
The collision between the high-speed submarine and the seawater creates countless cavitation bubbles. Under the pressure of the head-on collision, the ripples generated by the high-speed vibration of the seawater in front of it merge with the ripples of other submarines.

If the sea is usually like a closed-door grand theater, now a symphony orchestra is performing inside!
If the data is accurate, it's equivalent to 20 nuclear submarines and 80 conventional submarines. How could such a thing possibly exist on a planet...? Damn it!
Aiden first sounded the highest alarm without hesitation, and then ran desperately toward the port.

There weren't many warships in Grindavik, so he found a supply ship, shook the chief engineer who was dozing off with a whiskey in his hand, and rushed to the sonar listening room on the lower deck. Even using only passive sonar, he could hear dense noises coming from the north.

The noise of hundreds of submarines was like the iron hooves of the scourge of God, about to bring about a cataclysmic disaster!
About ten minutes later, Major Severus, who was shaking his head in a bar in the nearby neighborhood, felt a little dizzy. Having been crazy all night, he groped his way into the bathroom. While relieving himself, he sensed some movement outside and struggled to push open a corner of the window.

A fierce wind carrying ice crystals and snowflakes rushed in, bringing with it the alarms of the base.

It took Severus a full minute to realize that it wasn't just an alarm, but the highest-level combat alarm he had ever heard before, only during exercises!
After confirming he hadn't misheard, he punched himself hard, then went downstairs with his adjutant who had rushed up to find him, jumped into a car, and sped towards the base.

……

The HMS Ark Royal carrier strike group in southwestern Ireland
Although it was already past midnight, the five warships were still brightly lit.

Maintaining a state of readiness at Philg's request was merely a facade; everyone knew that everyone was celebrating Christmas Eve.

Apart from prohibiting alcohol consumption, Philg turned a blind eye to other entertainment activities, and after dinner he would hide in his cabin, allowing the sailors to cheer even more unrestrainedly.

After all, Philger knew that bringing everyone out so early for Christmas would inevitably cause resentment. Even though Philger had been promoted to general, he couldn't treat his brothers with disregard, could he?
He was fairly satisfied with the results of his training over the past few days, and he figured there wouldn't be any surprises if he let himself indulge a little tonight.

The sailors' revelry had almost ended by late at night, and after reviewing the battle plan for the Indus Sea, Philger went to sleep peacefully.

Around 6 o'clock, as sunlight streamed through the porthole, Philg groggily turned over and then heard frantic banging on the door.

As he struggled to his feet and pushed open the door, the attendant practically barged into the cabin, nearly bumping into him.

"General, an urgent battle alert has come from Iceland! Hans is attacking!" Felger didn't even have time to reprimand him; instead, he immediately rose and snatched the telegram. It was a brief but chilling message from the Imperial Sky Soldiers at the Grindavik base in Iceland:

[Convention members are informed:]
Our base has discovered more than 100 unidentified submarines north of Grindelwald, which have crossed our base and are heading south. We are powerless to stop them.

Satellite detection has revealed a high-density fleet in southeastern Greenland, with some of the warships identified as similar to the previously sighted Second High Seas Fleet. The total number of ships exceeds 300, and they are highly suspected to be the main fleet of the Lost Empire.

This is an unprecedented and ambitious all-out offensive. We have already lost three aircraft. I will stand by Grindavik Air Base until the very last moment.

Base Commander: Colonel Severus

Before he could finish absorbing the massive amount of information, another servant came running up, panting, holding a telegram in hand:
"General Bandt's telegram!"

Philger took the second telegram blankly. It was from General John Band, who was in charge of naval affairs under the First Sea Lord. His telegram read…

[Encrypted Telegram | Top Secret:]

From: First Sea Lord Admiral John Bander
Recipient: Brigadier General Felger
The NATO fleet command confirmed that more than 100 enemy submarines are approaching from the north, and 300 warships are on standby in Greenland. This is a battle for the survival of the nation.

Your unit shall immediately cease training and proceed at full speed eastward to 55°N, 8°W (near Ireland), establishing an interception line with HMS Ark Royal and its escort fleet. You are authorized to use all means to sink the enemy ship, at any cost.

The home fleet has been mobilized to provide support, but your unit must hold out until the last bullet. The Queen and the United Kingdom demand that you fight to the death.

Repeat the order: Intercept the submarine at all costs. God bless Britain.

By this time, Filger's drowsiness had vanished without a trace, and after reading the two telegrams, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar:

HMS Ark Royal brought four ships with it, and it was itself a small aircraft carrier of 20,000 tons, which was even smaller than the Guangdong-based ship.

The Lost Empire has 150 surface ships. Even if they are all standard WWII iron lumps left there to be exploited, even if they run out of ammunition, use up all their Harriers and Kamikazes, and ram their warships—they still can't possibly defeat them all!

Not to mention Hans's swarm attack tactics, which the Empire could barely withstand with its powerful defense network and massive air force, the few additional anti-aircraft guns on the Royal Ark were simply no match for!
Theoretically, the best thing to do now is to retreat, but...

Philger hastily dressed and rushed to the operations room, glancing at the map and confirming the information again:

The Prism Building has already sprung into action, using synthetic aperture radar from reconnaissance satellites to achieve nighttime imaging and successfully detecting a massive fleet that has not yet set sail from Greenland.

However, the satellite that was urgently deployed was an old one that was difficult to see, and all the reconnaissance planes that took off from Grindelwald also lost contact. The next satellite intelligence would not arrive for several more hours.

Philger was in a state of turmoil, with scenes from the past flashing through his mind, but he ultimately gave the order to march north and meet the enemy.

(End of this chapter)