Admiral Lutjens' body shivered in frustration as he oversaw the rescue operation of the men who survived the attack out of the freezing ocean.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He cursed, slamming the fist on his table to emphasize his fury and stress.

The rescue operation took a long time to complete. Many bodies were lost and several crewmembers were injured, but it was finally completed successfully and the rescued men were all taken by the destroyers. Admiral Lutjens sat back on his seat and rubbed his face in exasperation; what was he supposed to do now?

Imagine a Hanese submarine sneaking past from their sonar range, sinking three troopships that are under their protection, and escaping as if nothing happened.'

No, there's no way the Hanese were the ones who attacked them. After all, they don't have an interest in naval warfare. There must be a third party supporting the Hanese in order to prevent the landing of the men on the Port of Shanghai.

The question is who? Who is the country responsible for the lives of thousands of men who died under his watch? The Yamato Empire? No, they don't have an interest in territorial expansion after getting defeated by the Ruthenia Empire in the Rutho-Yamato war. The Ruthenia Empire? Well, they conducted near the International Legation Quarter, killing the Boxers to ensure the safe evacuation of their people stuck in there. Choson Empire? No, there are rebuilding their country that was devastated by the Rutho-Yamato war.

If it's not the three of them, then who? The Black Hand? No, the Black Hand would love the idea of people revolting against their government, especially under monarchical rule.

Shit! Thinking all of this is just making him look for excuses for his failure. His confusion and shock are justified as there is just no way for the Hanese to outplay them in the field of naval warfare.

"Now, how I'm going to report this to the high command?" Lutjens asked himself, his adjutant, or his second his command, placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

"Kapitan, all the survivors are rescued. We have to return to port now before the Hanese submarines return and pick us out," Weber advised.

"Them coming back?" Lutjens scoffed. "I would find it favorable as we would be given another chance to destroy them."

"Kapitan, there's nothing under the water for the past two hours. They must have retreated. We have to leave now before we exhaust our fuel," Weber urged carefully.

Admiral Lutjens stood and loomed over his second-in-command, giving an intimidating glare. "You, do you really think that it was the Hanese that attacked us? Do you have any idea how stupid it would sound to the high command? To the Kaiser? Can you imagine the humiliation we would get once we return? Do you have any idea?!" Lutjens roared as his rage reached its peak.

"I am sure the High Command will understand Kapitan. We can tell them everything about the situation as soon as we return to the port," Weber suggested calmly before continuing. "And to answer your question, of course, no. I don't believe that it was the Hanese who attacked us. We are one of the best-trained men in the Kaiserliche Marine, and getting outsmarted by the Hanese who have no prior experience in naval contact, never mind submarine warfare, is something that I wouldn't accept. So I understand your frustrations from failing the mission. You're not the only one who is feeling frustrated with our defeat. Everyone is Kapitan. Their pride in the navy was shattered by this, so we should also keep calm so as to not make matters worse," Weber advised wisely.

After a moment, Lutjens calmed down, "I apologize for raising my tone. It is unbefitting of me as the captain and the commander of this escort operation," he explained, bowing at Weber. "Your words have made me realize my foolishness."Weber smiled. "I'm honored, Kapitan. So, what are your orders?"

"Return to the port, don't open the navigational lights as we can't be certain that the submarine is still lurking around. Lastly, tell the sonar operator to not take his eyes off the sonar."

"Understood, Kapitan. We'll proceed now by your orders," Weber performed a salute before executing his duty.

Meanwhile, 600 meters away from the Type-1928C destroyer, the Morzh-Class submarine of the Ruthenia Empire watched the rescue operation until it ended.

Then, they saw the two destroyers leaving the site, probably heading back to their port.

Vasili smiled seeing that, this means they accomplished another mission entrusted to them by the Ruthenian Central Command.

"The two ships are leaving, connect me to the Central Command immediately to inform them of the news."

"Aye, aye captain," the communication officer of the submarine acknowledged the order and started flipping switches and turning knobs. "Sir, we are now connected to the Central Command frequency."

Vasili left the periscope station and walked over to the communication station of the bridge. He grabbed the radio and started speaking.

"Overlord, this is Admiral Vasili, tasked with sinking three troopships. Targets are eliminated, and two destroyer ships are leaving the site. Numbers of casualties on the enemy side, unknown."

"Good job, Admiral. You have done your mission admirably for the Ruthenia Empire. You are now to return to your homeport in Dalniy. Good night Admiral and have a safe trip back home."

"Thank you, Admiral Vasili, out," Vasili ended the transmission and looked around his crews who were looking at him with anticipation.

"We are returning home," he announced.

"Yes!" his crew members shouted joyfully, happy that their mission was accomplished smoothly and rewarded with a break.

"Drinks on me once we get to the port!" Vasili said, smiling.

"Yes, the captain is treating us!" They responded enthusiastically.

He turned to the helmsman, "Take us to Dalniy," Vasili ordered.

"Yes, captain!"

***

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Kaiser Wilheim roared as he sweep his hands on the desk, causing the books and documents to fall over in a flurry.

Despite the rage coming out from the emperor, Erik was unperturbed by the outburst. He has every right to be angry after the race he called inferior just sunk three troopships where two of them belonged to the Deutschland Empire and was escorted by their state-of-the-art destroyers designed to hunt submarines.

"What's the name of the Admiral who led the operation? Tell me his name!" Kaiser Wilhelm demanded, with an agitated tone.

Erik remained unmoved. "Admiral Lutjens. Mein Kaiser.

Wilheim clenched his teeth harder. "Admiral Lutjens, Stripped him of his rank immediately. He doesn't deserve to have such a rank after this failure...How is the world going to see us now when the news of the Hanese sinking our troopships reached them?!"

Erik didn't want to answer the question as it might lead the emperor to become even more enraged. Instead, he decided to change the topic. "Mein Kaiser, this news is terrible for the Deutschland Empire but it doesn't mean we are defeated."

"Yeah...yeah! We are not defeated!" Kaiser Wilheim his tone softening. "The men can be replaced anyway so start working on sending new troops. Add more destroyers if you have to."

"I would advise against it, Mein Kaiser," Erik said.

"Erik? You mean to disobey a direct order from your emperor?" Wilheim yelled, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

Erik didn't flinch. "Mein Kaiser, sending more would be reckless. You heard the report, the submarines were able to sink three troopships under the watch of our destroyers. Sending more would mean more casualties. We have to be proper about this."

In all honesty, Erik is getting fed up with being the emperor's subordinate. But all things must come to an end at a certain time. It's just not the emperor's time yet. Soon the Black Hand would rule the Deutschland Empire and use it to spread their ideals to the world.