"Sir, the enemy has stopped resisting and is in full retreat!" a soldier suddenly ran in and reported.
"Fuck, Taoyuan Base must have finished its evacuation, otherwise they wouldn’t have abandoned the fight completely!" Bao Mu swore, then commanded, "Get after them, now!"
The four aircraft carriers started up again and gave chase at full speed!
When Long Zhan saw the Xi’an Base fleet closing in again, he rejoiced inwardly. ’Perfect, they took the bait!’
"I’ve lured the Xi’an Base forces to the west side of Taoyuan Base. I hope Master can finish his seclusion soon!" Long Zhan immediately sent a message to the group chat.
"Thank you so much, Captain Long. You have to be careful!" Lu Jiamei immediately said, expressing her thanks.
Long Zhan waved it off. "Just treat me to a couple of barbecues after Master comes out of seclusion, and we’ll be square!"
Ji Yizhi sounded worried. "Old Long, they have four nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. They can catch you easily. Their other ships might not keep up, but you can’t let your guard down. The pressure of four carriers attacking you at once will be immense!"
Long Zhan let out a hearty laugh. "Don’t worry. I kicked Mike’s ass decades ago, and I can do it again!"
"You must be careful." Wang Jun sent only four words.
Long Zhan switched off his phone and set it aside. His once jovial expression turned incredibly serious.
"All ships, attention! Once the four enemy carriers close in, we will face an exceptionally fierce assault. All Gold-Type Evolvers are to work together to intercept as many incoming shells as possible. You will also be responsible for repairing the hulls! All other types of Evolvers are to give them your full support!" Long Zhan ordered in a low, serious voice.
"Yes, Captain!"
The soldiers on every ship had resolute gazes, ready to face death as if it were a homecoming.
While the nuclear-powered carriers were slightly faster, the overall speed of their entire fleet was not.
Seeing that the distance between the two fleets wasn’t closing, Bao Mu said in a low voice, "General Mike, have your three carriers break away from the fleet and chase them down directly!"
At these words, Mike froze for a moment, then frowned deeply. "Sir, if only the carriers charge ahead, they’ll likely become sitting ducks. It’s too dangerous!"
"Don’t worry," Bao Mu explained. "As long as you go and tie them down, the other ships will catch up quickly. We might sustain some damage, but if we can capture their aircraft carrier, it’ll be a net gain!"
Mike was tempted to refuse, but when he thought about all the incredible things Taoyuan Base had demonstrated, he found he also wanted to conquer it and get his hands on that miraculous technology.
If they remained at this impasse, they might lose their chance to stop the Taoyuan Base forces.
Mike nodded slightly. "Alright, we’re heading out now."
Bao Mu nodded with satisfaction, then turned to the staff officer beside him. "Have our speedboats reached the Taoyuan Base area yet?"
"Almost there. I trust we’ll have news back very soon," the staff officer replied grimly.
Although Bao Mu’s forces had decided to pursue the aircraft carrier Liaoyuan, they had still dispatched some speedboats to scout Taoyuan Base’s location.
Before the battle, the Liaoyuan carrier fleet and Taoyuan Base had both deployed numerous speedboats to block their reconnaissance. There shouldn’t be as many now.
By now, the three Sea Eagle Country aircraft carriers were closing in on the Liaoyuan’s fleet, and both sides were well within attack range of each other.
There was no need for a war of words in a situation like this. They went straight to trading cannon fire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Even without their high-tech missiles, the naval cannons could still inflict considerable damage.
Cannonballs flew across the sea. The three Sea Eagle Country carriers relied on the strength of their hulls to simply tank the enemy’s shelling.
But things were different on Long Zhan’s side. Whenever a barrage of shells came their way, all sorts of solid objects would materialize to block them. Some shells even had their trajectories altered, sending them plunging into the water.
"General, our shells don’t seem to be hitting their ships at all!"
Mike’s face was grim. "I see it. This must be the work of Evolvers! Dammit, just how many Evolvers do they have on those ships?!"
"Since the Aircraft Carrier Base has already developed the Evolution Potion and is selling it externally, I’d guess their entire crew has used it," a soldier at his side speculated.
"In that case, I’d like to see just how much Mental Energy their Evolvers have. Continue the saturation bombardment!" Mike ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers of the Dragon Country’s three fleets had all long since used the Evolution Potion, awakening over six hundred Intelligence-Type Evolvers in total.
Right now, a full three hundred Intelligence-Type Evolvers were gathered on the Liaoyuan’s carrier fleet—one hundred on the aircraft carrier and between thirty to forty on each of the other six ships.
It was impossible for them to stop every single shell. Generally, it took four or five Intelligence-Type Evolvers combining their efforts, using their Superpowers to intercept the cannonballs.
Even so, these Superpower Users played a crucial role, blocking the majority of shells aimed at vital areas.
But a person’s Mental Energy is finite. Half an hour of saturation bombardment had nearly depleted the Mental Energy of most of the Evolvers.
"Captain, the Intelligence-Type Evolvers are almost out of Mental Energy!"
Upon receiving this news, Long Zhan glanced at the other ships from the Xi’an Base fleet that were about to catch up. He responded in a low, serious voice, "Turn the ships around immediately! Charge them!"
Although they had the upper hand in the cannon duel, they had indeed been pinned down by the three carriers, and Bao Mu’s main fleet was closing in fast.
Since they couldn’t escape, they would charge right into the enemy fleet. Once they were in the thick of it, the enemy wouldn’t dare to fire recklessly, not with their own men and ships in the line of fire.
At the same time, once the ships were close enough, Long Zhan could lead his men to board the enemy vessels and engage in close-quarters combat. Since Long Zhan’s entire crew were Evolvers, their strength was on a completely different level—they would crush them!
Of course, there would be casualties during the charge, but there was no better option.
"General, they’ve turned around and are charging right for us!" a soldier reported in shock.
Mike sneered. "As long as they’re not running, charging at us is just a death wish. Lord Bao Mu has almost caught up. Continue firing!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
To preserve the combat strength of the Intelligence-Type Evolvers, Long Zhan had already ordered them to rest and prepare for close-quarters combat.
Without the Evolvers to intercept them, most of the shells now landed squarely on the ships of the Liaoyuan fleet, triggering violent explosions.
Every ship in the fleet was now trailing black smoke to some degree, yet they charged forward relentlessly toward the enemy, just like in that famous naval battle from over a hundred years ago.
「Meanwhile」 The scout speedboats Bao Mu had sent out encountered a patrol from Taoyuan Base.
"Sir, we’ve encountered a speedboat patrol. It seems Taoyuan Base’s main ships haven’t moved?" the scouting team immediately sent back a message.
Seeing this message, Bao Mu’s heart lurched. ’Fuck, they tricked me after all!’
He immediately commanded, "You three, take down the Liaoyuan’s carrier fleet! I’m going after Taoyuan Base!"
Seeing the sudden message from Bao Mu, Mike was taken aback. "Wait, Sir, what do you mean?"
"Taoyuan Base hasn’t evacuated! We’ve been tricked!" Bao Mu explained succinctly.
Mike nodded slightly. "Alright, I understand. Leave this to me."
’This battle might result in some losses, but the other ships in my fleet are almost here. Taking down the enemy shouldn’t be a problem.’
"I’m heading to Taoyuan Base first. Rendezvous with me after you’ve finished up here!" Bao Mu replied. The entire Xi’an Base fleet changed course and headed for Taoyuan Base.
To minimize his own losses, Mike immediately ordered all his ships to fall back and maintain their distance from Long Zhan’s forces. Once his reinforcements arrived, he could finish them off with ease.
Just then, Long Zhan saw the Xi’an Base’s aircraft carrier change direction. He knew they must have discovered that Taoyuan Base hadn’t evacuated after all.
He gritted his teeth and ordered, "All ships, follow me! We’re intercepting that Xi’an Base carrier!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the same time, Long Zhan posted in the group chat: "The Xi’an Base has discovered that Taoyuan Base hasn’t evacuated. One carrier is heading for Taoyuan Base. I’m afraid I can’t stop it!"
"Don’t try to stop it. You’ve done enough, Captain Long! Retreat immediately and prioritize your own safety!" Ren Yuanyang suddenly posted in the group.
Long Zhan froze, then said with absolute delight, "Master, you’re out of seclusion!"
"Yes. Ensure your own safety at all costs. I’ll handle things over here," Ren Yuanyang said in a grim tone.
"I understand, but Master, you should still get on a speedboat and head for Dawn Base—no, go to the Aircraft Carrier Base!" Long Zhan immediately advised.

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