"Prioritize stealth above all else and make sure we don't get discovered by them," Tang Wulin instructed.
If their submarine were to be discovered by the federal fleet, it would be very likely that the fleet would be struck by a sense of urgency and accelerate toward the Star Luo Empire.
The tenser the situation was, the more important it was to remain calm.
Neither Tang Wulin nor his friends had ever participated in an actual war, and their hearts were racing with adrenalin. In the face of the almighty federal fleet, individual power was completely insignificant. Tang Wulin knew that at a time like this, the most important thing for him was to remain calm as the decisions that he made next were going to affect the entire war.
He took a deep breath to calm himself down as much as he could, then said in an urgent voice, "There are a few things that we must do right now. Firstly, verify that this is indeed a federal fleet and not something like a large pack of sea soul beasts. Secondly, we have to notify the Star Luo Empire of this as quickly as possible so they can make preparations right away. Thirdly, and most importantly, we have to buy time for the Star Luo Empire somehow."
The captain immediately nodded in response. Just as Tang Wulin had said, time was of the essence, and those were the three most important things that they had to do in order to help the Star Luo Empire avert this crisis. However, would they really be able to achieve all three of those objectives?
Tang Wulin continued, "If this really is a federal fleet, is there any way for our submarine to ascertain the exact number of ships in the fleet without being discovered by them?"
The captain shook his head without any hesitation. "Our sonars are quite advanced, but the federation's sonars aren't bad, either, so we'll only be able to conduct surveillance on them from afar. Once we get close enough to ascertain further details about the fleet, they'll definitely be able to detect us and immediately send out their anti-submarine ships to attack us. All federal fleets have groups of anti-submarine gunships that can attack a large area, and it would be very dangerous for us if those gunships were to be deployed."
Tang Wulin took a deep breath as a determined look appeared in his eyes. "Then there's no other way to do this; I'll have to take a look for myself."
He then immediately turned to the Holy Spirit Douluo, who had followed him to the control room, and said, "Mother, I'll have to trouble you to make a trip to the Star Luo Empire. You are the fastest among all of us when it comes to flight, and we'll keep in contact through close-range soul communicators. Once we confirm that this is indeed a federal fleet, we'll notify you right away so you can alert the Star Luo Empire of the situation as soon as possible."
The Holy Spirit Douluo immediately shook her head in response. "You're going to take a look for yourself? No, that's insane! A federal fleet of such a massive scale must have a Limit Douluo at the helm and countless other powerful beings among their ranks as well, not to mention the advanced radars they'll have at their disposal as well; it's far too dangerous for you to go alone!"
Tang Wulin replied, "I would create the smallest target by myself, and the submarine must remain hidden at all costs. It's decided; there's no other way."
"No, let me go instead, Boss," Xie Xie suddenly said, "With my martial soul, I'll be able to conceal myself within space, and even the radars may not be able to detect me. I'll be able to sneak up there and take a look, then immediately come back."
Xie Xie's martial soul was the Space Time Dragon, which granted him the ability of spatial concealment, and ever since his martial soul had undergone its second awakening, his powers had been drastically enhanced. On top of that, surveillance and reconnaissance duties always fell upon the shoulders of the agility system Soul Masters.
There was no time for Tang Wulin to hesitate, and he instantly arrived at the decision that Xie Xie was indeed more suited for this task than he was. "Alright, you can go instead; we'll be prepared to back you up at a moment's notice. Just remember that if you get discovered, draw their attention toward the opposite direction of the submarine, and we'll come to the surface to back you up."
Xie Xie replied in a confident manner, "Don't worry, I won't get discovered. Even with soul power detection soul tools, they'll only be able to detect my existence but not my exact location."
Tang Wulin nodded in response. "Time is of the essence, so get going right away. Mother, it's time for you to go as well."
The Holy Spirit Douluo nodded and didn't say anything in response. She was very pleased with Tang Wulin's calm demeanor and decisiveness in such a high-stakes situations. The ability to embrace responsibility during crucial times and calmly address any crises that arose was one that was mandatory to a good leader. Even if it turned out that he had made wrong decisions in the end, this was still going to be a very important learning experience for him. At the very least, she was of the opinion that Tang Wulin had already addressed the situation very well.
The submarine slowly rose up, and two openings slowly appeared on its surface before a pair of pill-shaped bailout capsules containing Xie Xie and Yali were expelled.
The primary function of these bailout capsules was the same as that of lifeboats on a ship. There were only 10 of these capsules in the entire submarine, and they could be propelled through the water for hundreds of meters, then rise to the surface through their own buoyancy. On top of that, the capsules had constant pressure in their interiors, and they were very expensive to produce.
The federation had also conducted some research and development into submarines, but they definitely didn't possess any of these capsules.
Following their departure, Tang Wulin turned to the captain, and said, "What we have to do now is stall this fleet as much as we can. Tell me about the weapons that we have."
The captain nodded, and replied, "The submarine has 16 soul missile launching barrels that can launch soul missiles of all grades and models, as well as four torpedo ports that can launch torpedoes of three different levels of power. However, even the most powerful of those torpedoes are only at the battleship level; none of them will be able to break through the defenses of an aircraft carrier. On top of that, the three types of torpedoes are also split up into disruptive and explosive torpedoes.
"Among the two, explosive torpedoes have the most destructive power, whereas the main function of disruptive torpedoes is to release different types of electromagnetic and sonar waves to throw off the opposition's detection devices. We currently have the most advanced disruptive torpedoes, and our explosive torpedoes will only be effective when detonated within two nautical miles of the target."
Tang Wulin asked, "What about soul missiles?"
The captain seemed to have immediately been reinvigorated at the mention of this topic, and he replied in a spirited manner, "For this journey, we're carrying three ninth-grade soul missiles, 12 eighth-grade soul missiles, 24 seventh-grade soul missiles, and over 100 fifth and sixth-grade soul missiles. Even a battleship definitely doesn't have such an impressive set of soul missiles at its disposal. In submarines, only soul missiles of the fifth-grade or above can be used as the speed and range of lower grade soul missiles can't be ensured after they pass through the seawater."
Tang Wulin nodded in response. He knew that these were his trump cards, and he had to use these trump cards to stall the enormous federal fleet for as long as possible.
"Do you have any suggestions for how we can delay the federal fleet?" Tang Wulin asked.
The captain hesitated momentarily before replying, "Forgive me for being blunt, Sect Master, but we have no chance."
Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this, clearly taken aback by the absolute nature of the captain's response.
"We have no chance at all? Didn't you say that our submarine is currently the most advanced in the world?" Tang Wulin asked.
A wry smile appeared on the captain's face. "That is indeed true, but we're facing the most powerful fleet in the world. According to the information we've gathered, the fleet being deployed by the federation for this war will be a joint fleet consisting of the Sea God Fleet, Eastsea Fleet, and Northsea Fleet; that's close to half of the federation's entire naval power, and from a statistical perspective, it's an invincible force on our Douluo Star. The fleet is powerful enough to destroy the entire Star Luo Empire, and it's fitted with the most advanced soul tools and surveillance devices. There's no way that our submarine alone will be able to delay the fleet, and if we were to be discovered, our submarine would be blasted into smithereens within five minutes."
Tang Wulin drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. "Even long-distance harassment won't work?"
The captain replied, "That could work, but the chances of being discovered are very high. Currently, all of the federation's major fleets have huge radar systems that can encompass huge areas of the surface of the ocean, as well as underwater. Unless we fire one shot from afar, then immediately sink deep into the ocean and go into hiding, we'll definitely be discovered. Furthermore, after our first attack, the fleet will definitely activate all of their detection devices, and we won't even have a chance to launch a second attack."
The situation was more desperate than Tang Wulin had anticipated. According to the captain, they had no chance at all.
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