---

Bang! Blub-blub Kwang!

For a while, the Red Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet fought hard against each other, trading blows back and forth. However, even if the quality was different, the overwhelming numerical advantage meant that if both sides suffered damage, the Black Sea Fleet’s losses would naturally be severe.

Nevertheless, the Black Sea Fleet fought desperately against the Red Fleet, as if fighting for their lives.

“Destroy the light cruiser Svetlana!”

“Battleship Perator Nikolai I has been hit!”

“The number of sinking destroyers is steadily increasing!”

The damage was piling up.

Is it time?

Unfortunately, the Black Sea Fleet would have to take time to rebuild afterward, but the strategy so far had gone smoothly.

“I’m sorry to the sailors who sacrificed for victory, but we must persevere. We will retreat to the Bosporus Strait!”

As the time came, Kuznetsov finally decided to withdraw.

The Red Fleet appeared to be fleeing, disrupting their formation to make it look like they were just trying to maintain their fleet.

“The army might be strong, but the navy is pathetic! At this rate, even if we clash with their entire fleet, we’ll win!”

Inigo Campioni watched the retreating enemy fleet from the bridge, laughing heartily.

Well, if it were the army, it would be understandable, but those guys couldn’t have invested much in the fleet.

Regardless of anything else, this Mediterranean dominance could never be handed over to those Slavic bastards.

This time, we’ll crush them all.

“Admiral! They’re beginning to retreat! The flagship battleship Anastasia has turned around!”

“Anastasia? We can’t miss the opportunity to conquer her. If our Red Fleet sinks the battleship Anastasia, it will boost the morale of the Red Front Army!”

The Red Fleet was ecstatic at the thought of pursuing the battleship Anastasia.

Thus, the game of tag between the Black Sea Fleet and the Red Fleet continued, and just when they reached near Constantinople—

“Hahahaha! It seems they can’t retreat with Constantinople on the line. We will annihilate their fleet!”

At first, they were overjoyed at the thought of conquering a ship named after the Tsar.

“Big trouble! Enemy submarines all around!”

The secretly constructed Russian U-boat fleet was lurking behind.

They even equipped oxygen torpedoes received from Japan, which touted itself as a Russian ally.

Although at this time, the United States Navy was lacking in strength, had no targeting capabilities, and had poor accuracy, it wasn’t so bad that they couldn’t hit the target on the prepared stage.

But wait, there was more.

“Enemy air units detected! Oh my God!”

The lookout trembled as he held the telescope, not wanting to let it go.

Because he had to confirm with his own eyes whether it was true.

But honestly, the lookout didn’t even need to check.

Enemy aircraft were already covering the sky and approaching the Red Fleet.

“What in the world is happening—oh no!”

The sailors of the Red Fleet looked up at the sky with faces filled with despair.

After all, the sky was filled with Russian planes.

If exaggerated, it looked like the blue sky was gradually filling with dark clouds.

The sailors finally realized they had walked into a tiger’s mouth.

Inigo Campioni assessed the situation with a cool head.

Yes, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was not the problem.

From the very beginning, they were merely bait to create this situation.

The Red Fleet had fallen for their trap hook, line, and sinker. They were left in a situation where they could go neither here nor there.

If they stood by, the Red Fleet might become nothing but a name.

“The enemy’s Black Sea Fleet was just the tip of the iceberg. The real threats were the torpedo bombers and submarines! It was a trap! Withdraw! This is a trap!”

How did they not realize this?

Had they underestimated the Russian Navy too much?

This wasn’t the time to be thinking like that. If things continued this way, everyone would die.

Before that, they had to somehow save their fleet.

“We’re retreating! Quickly! Turn the ships around! We have to withdraw!”

“Full speed ahead! We’re losing formation!”

The Italian Red Fleet, which had chased after the Russian Black Sea Fleet intending to capture them, now found themselves in a situation where they had to withdraw, causing their formation to become disorganized.

But even still, it was better than all dying.

“We must endure the damage! We need to get out to the Mediterranean! If we can’t escape here, we’re doomed! We must reach Malta!”

The 300 submarines from the Russian Republic’s submarine command and 700 bombers from the Russian White Air Force were rushing to cook the Red Fleet from land and sky.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“If you think you can’t hit them, just dive and try to hit them! Annihilate those damn Reds who dare to insult our Tsar!”

The White Army ace pilots trained and enhanced by the White Air Force charged downwards fearlessly, dropping bombs.

Kwang! Kwang!

“Mother Tsarina, hurrah!”

“Uwaah! How are we supposed to stop all that?!”

The Italian sailors, fearing for their lives, used every anti-aircraft gun available to fire into the sky.

Though the torpedo bomber squadrons were filling the sky so much that even children could hit them with their shots, the next bomber was already filling the space left behind.

The pilots of the White Army’s fan club, who were key members, were as fanatical as the Communists and dove down close enough to sew their torpedoes into the enemy.

The bombers, not to be outdone, opened their bomb bays to drop aerial bombs on the Red Navy, showcasing the power of the Russian Republic without holding back.

On top of that, rockets launched from the rocket launchers installed in Constantinople joined the fray.

From the sea, the oxygen torpedoes modified from Japan were fired at the Red Fleet.

Thump! Kwang!

The battleship Littorio was hit by an oxygen torpedo and, letting out a tremendous roar, it split in two like a waffle and began to sink.

“Battleship Littorio sunk! Aircraft carrier Aquila heavily damaged!”

Inigo Campioni, receiving reports from the lookout aboard the light cruiser Trento, sighed.

So, was this the extent of Russia’s power?

This definitely wasn’t due to the inadequacy of the Italian fleet; it was solely because the Russian state was overwhelmingly strong.

Looking at the squadron of bombers covering the sky, could they possibly fight back?

Considering that if even a few bombs dropped in the bridge or ammunition depot, the ship would turn to rubble, did they even have the courage to fight?

There was no chance of winning. This was a disaster.

It was merely a disaster raining down from the sky. A white wave was covering the Red Fleet.

Under that overwhelming number, the Red Fleet lost its fighting spirit.

This wasn’t limited to just the sky. Those bastards had created so many submarines that, despite their poor hit rates, any torpedo that hit would split a ship in two.

Then the second and third waves began their attacks.

Thudududududu

“What the hell, why are there so many enemy planes?!”

“What’s our air force doing?”

Many ships were wrecked, and even sailors manning the machine guns were jumping into the sea, rendering the anti-air fire virtually meaningless.

Aircraft carriers? The aircraft carrier had been sunk long ago, so they couldn’t even deploy their planes.

Sailors who had thrown themselves into the sea to survive ignited in flames as the spilled oil caught fire.

Of course, the Trento, where Inigo Campioni was, was not free from attacks from enemy bombers and submarines either.

“That looks like the flagship! Let’s smash it!”

The Russian bombers’ bomb bay opened, and the massive steel chunks fell straight through the flagship Trento.

The flagship Trento helplessly succumbed to the steel chunk, letting out a huge noise before sinking beneath the waves.

Without time or room to escape, Inigo Campioni’s final testament remained simple and clear.

“This war is a damn mess.”

Kwang!

With that final word, Inigo Campioni, who had been purged in the original history for opposing the Italian Social Republic, met his end in the sea.

This naval battle, to be remembered as the Aegean naval battle, had to have inflicted some damage on Russia, but it was a near perfect victory.

With Italy fighting alone at sea, the French Commune’s fleet had no chance to join forces with the Red Fleet and remained docked in their own ports.

Thus, the Russian Black Sea Fleet, having secured naval dominance, was reinforced with the joining of the Baltic Fleet that had previously set sail for the Mediterranean, preventing the French Commune from daring to come out.

“Ah, we’ve won this.”

Meanwhile, Anastasia, who intended to strengthen her fleet by seizing all the defeated fleets of the vanquished nation, was simply bewildered.

* * *

Moscow, Russian Republic

Meanwhile, the Aegean naval battle was heavily touted within Russia.

Naturally! With a single battle, they secured naval dominance, so now they could freely unleash havoc in the Mediterranean.

“Prevent a single Red from stepping foot on the mainland!”

Due to the Royal Navy creating a shield around the island in a frenzy over mainland invasion threats, even the British Mediterranean fleet was trapped, making the Mediterranean completely Russia’s sea.

This news was shared with their people, letting them know that this war was a holy war and that Russia was in a favorable position, further boosting the morale of the people.

[In a single battle, the Italian Red Navy is annihilated! The Black Sea Fleet claims dominance in the Mediterranean!]

[Baltic Fleet joins the Black Sea Fleet in the Mediterranean!]

[The key to victory was the success of the White Air Force and the U-boats!]

[Admiral Kolchak. The Mediterranean will become a Russian lake]

It wasn’t just the navy.

In order to force Communist Germany to surrender, the army had to step in, and naturally, the army’s victories were also reported.

[The White Army led by Tsarina occupies Hindenburg of Communist Germany!]

[With Tsar’s support, the Sudetenland fiercely resists the Red tide.]

Everywhere you looked, the news was enough to intoxicate the nation.

As the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire, the powerful White Army moved forward to grasp the hegemony of Europe!

Worried that history might repeat itself after the experiences of World War I, they finally entered the era of national pride.

“Extra! Extra!”

“Yeah. This is war, and this is Russia!”

“Finally, our Russian era is upon us!”

“God Tsar, protect us!”

While the Russians were reveling in their victorious nationalism, in a teahouse in Moscow, some scruffy looking Easterners were seated among the celebrating Russians.

Their leader was Mao Zedong, along with his close aides.

“Comrade Mao Zedong. It appears the situation is turning in Russia’s favor.”

“That might be so. The Tsar is the hero among heroes.”

He wanted to be one too.

But he had lost 2 million troops to Japan’s Mutaguchi Renya.

And then, what was left was completely consumed by Chiang Kai-shek.

Mao Zedong was too ignorant of his adversaries.

Who would have thought that Mutaguchi Renya was the greatest military strategist, despised even by the Japanese military leadership? There was a reason Japan was at ease.

Defeating an army that was only one-tenth his own on the battlefield; perhaps Mao Zedong had overestimated the warlord armies.

They were just a rabble, and Mutaguchi Renya was a renowned general even the Tsar acknowledged. There was no way he could win.

Although Chiang Kai-shek had rallied his forces, things were not favorable at the moment.

He had heard that they were somehow trying to hold their defensive lines, but if Chiang Kai-shek wins against Japan like this, China would unify under him.

The Central China, which had already become Hell on Earth, would fall into despair.

He desperately needed the Tsar’s help to prevent that situation.

“I must somehow meet the Tsar. It’s just a dispute with Japan. If that bastard Chiang Kai-shek swallows China, it will be dangerous. China thrives best when it’s divided. If he unifies China, it’ll turn into an imperialistic nation.”

“Is that even possible for Chiang Kai-shek right now?”

“Dreaming of imperialism while being an insignificant subject only means that China will get worse. Surely the Tsar wouldn’t prefer aiding me over someone yelling every day about recapturing Manchuria? Besides, we are in dire need of Russian support.”

Recapturing Manchuria, occupying Mongolia, and invading Tibet; Chiang Kai-shek kept shouting about things that were well beyond his reach.

Isn’t it a stretch to call the land of the Manchus the homeland of China?

Unlike in original history, Mao Zedong, twisted in mindset as a proponent of regional autonomy and anarchism, believed that he should inherit the Han Chinese country instead of being blessed with Manchu Qing rule.

Yes. A Han Chinese nation, the Ming Dynasty.

China should inherit the Ming Dynasty to possess that land. Being greedy enough to encroach on the land of the Manchu people would mean a clash with neighboring countries.

Thus, he resolved to meet the Tsarina at all costs.

Around this time, Beria, who had been searching for Mao Zedong alongside the Okhrana under the Tsar’s secret instructions, finally found him here.

“Are you Mao Zedong?”

“I am indeed Mao Zedong.”

“We are the Okhrana. Please come with us quietly.”

It seemed that the time has come.

Mao Zedong steeled himself for future dominance over China.

* * *

The situation in the war still favored Russia.

How could the Steel Wave be stopped by the Communist Germans who were weaker than Nazi Germany?

Even if they genuinely fought, it seemed impossible to win; the Steel Wave covering the land in front of the Red German army stuck in the Sudetenland would surely sap their fighting spirit.

“Damn it. The Russkies’ tanks are covering the land.”

“If they come rushing in, it’ll be bad for Germany and us French!”

“Why did we even start this war?”

The Communist German army was just powerless before them.

They may have shown outlier tendencies typical of Reds, boasting they could resist the armored wave with their inadequate firepower; in the end, being crushed by the tank wave would see them turned red and turned into meat paste.

Yes. If our soldiers have to suffer.

“Clear away the Red corpses! Should there be Red corpses on the path of our Tsarina!”

“Hurry and clear them away!”

“Damn bastards. They should surrender. Just like those bugs.”

“These guys keep pestering us even when they’re dead.”

Perhaps, I’d feel better about clearing away the Red corpses for myself.

In their desperate attack, the number of dead surpassed the number of captives.

The German Empire moving from the north seemed to be making a comeback with the aiding Junkers and regaining land.

When I sometimes overheard, our army truly treated the Reds like bugs. I realized that anti-communist education was indeed effective.

After all, corpses had to be cleared away anyway.

Well, it was fine that we were winning on land, but just recently, the battle results against the Red Fleet had been released.

I could hear about the results of the Aegean naval battle from the front lines.

“Ah, we’ve won this.”

The result was victory.

Moreover, they had apparently smashed most of the Italian Red Fleet into the seabed of the Aegean and destroyed their fleet commander Inigo Campioni’s flagship.

It was rather satisfying, yet somewhat disappointing.

No, in my mind, I had hoped to seize the defeated ships and change the naval power into a reflection of how the Russian Empire once was. But… this was a bit disheartening.

 

---