The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 904 That...that wasn't artillery! That was the devil's sorcery!!

Under the blowing sea breeze of the North Pacific, the 12,500-ton passenger ship "Gaosheng" (what an auspicious name!) cleaved through the deep blue sea, its massive stern propeller churning up a white wake that stretched for miles. Colonel Luo Xinzhong, commander of the Fourth Brigade (a US West Coast colonel, a Taiping Army lieutenant colonel), lay slumped in the velvet sofa of the first-class cabin, groaning listlessly.

“Three days…three days, Yumi!” His handsome mixed-race features were contorted in pain. “Seasickness medicine is no use…the old man is deliberately trying to kill his own son in the Pacific Ocean!”

Daidouji Yumi knelt on a soft futon laid out on the teak floor, wearing a light green kimono. She was gently massaging Luo Xinzhong's temples, her fingertips glistening with peppermint oil. "Captain of the Brigade is the son of an angel under the throne of the Heavenly Father, the Emperor God. He is blessed by Heaven, what fear has he of storms?" Her voice was so soft it could drip honey. "Besides... with Yumi serving you by your side, I will surely protect you." As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, her soft curves gently pressing against him.

at this time
Woo-woo-woo-!
The piercing, alarming battle siren shattered the tranquility of the sea and sky without warning! Like the cold fingernails of death scraping through steel!

"Damn!" Luo Xinzhong sprang up from the sofa as if he'd been electrocuted! The movement was so sudden and fast that it knocked over a beautiful set of celadon teaware on the coffee table, the porcelain cups shattering on the floor with a clatter. His originally pale face was now filled with only panic.

"My lord!" Yumi reacted quickly, catching his swaying body. "It's a warning from the 'Xi'an'! At most two enemy ships, still far away! We..."

"Two?" Luo Xinzhong abruptly pushed away her warm embrace, lunged to the round porthole, and roughly pulled open the heavy velvet blackout curtain. "Hiss—" He gasped, and at the edge of his vision, two thick black plumes of smoke, one on the left and one on the right, were rushing toward him at a visible speed!

"Damn it! It's a Rafale-class! Damn it, there's an even bigger one!" Luo Xinzhong took the binoculars from Yumi and looked inside, then his voice changed. The silhouette emerging from under the column of smoke on the right front, the sickle-shaped bow, the towering, slender funnel, and the compact superstructure lines—these were the typical features of the British-built US East Coast Navy's ace ship, the Rafale-class high-speed armored cruiser, which had repeatedly attacked the supply lines of the Heavenly Kingdom!
Beneath the column of smoke to the left rear, an even larger, more imposing gray form was cleaving through the waves! Luo Xinzhong's heart sank to the bottom: "Damn it! Could that be a battlecruiser? We're doomed!"

The USS Thor, flagship of the Third Business Breaking Squadron of the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy.

Inside the smoke-filled command tower, Commodore Archibald Howard, commander of the Pacific Maritime Breaker Fleet of the United States Navy (Eastern Federation), was beaming with pride.

His flagship, the "Thor," displaced 12000 tons and boasted four imposing twin-mounted 9.2-inch (234mm) rapid-fire gun turrets, whose firepower was enough to overwhelm all armored cruisers of the same class, including the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "Flying Fish" and "Flying Eagle"! He leaned against the chart table, holding a heavy brass telescope, his field of vision encompassing the huge target group on the horizon, consisting of more than twenty transport ships and frigates. A grin spread across his face, revealing a set of teeth slightly yellowed from the smoke of Havana cigars.

"Haha! God bless America!" Commodore Howard slammed his hand on the brass-rimmed chart table, making the compass needle tremble slightly. "Finally, we've caught the yellow-skinned monkeys' main artery! Issue the order!" His voice boomed. "Full fleet combat configuration! 'Thor' lock onto that 12,000-ton passenger liner at the lead ship! 'Mississippi' (Rafale-class) is responsible for engaging that outdated 'Xi'an-class'! The other light cruisers are responsible for clearing the perimeter! Tell the gunnery department to switch to semi-armor-piercing incendiary shells! Target—the enemy's largest and most valuable transport ship, it must be full of yellow-skinned pigs going to support the West Coast rebels and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

His commerce raiding fleet was instantly filled with high fighting spirit!

boom! boom! boom!
Three 234mm semi-armor-piercing shells from the starboard forward turret of the USS Thor landed precisely on the massive stern of the USS Kowshing! Like a hammer blow to thin wooden planks! The violent explosion sent up a towering column of water and a fiery orange ball! The wooden deck was torn apart and flung like shredded paper; a 150mm rapid-fire gun, fixed in place on the deck, along with its gun emplacements, was instantly ripped apart by the shockwave and shrapnel! Human remains mixed with ship debris rained down everywhere!

The wailing, screams, and the shrill, twisting sound of metal instantly drowned out the waves! A raging fire erupted at the stern!
Yumi tackled the still-dazed Luo Xinzhong, slamming him behind a sandbag bunker in front of her! "Brigade Commander! Get down!" Her voice was sharp and urgent, no longer caring about the elegance of her Kyoto accent. Another female officer from Divine Blessing, who had rushed over carrying a deployment map, was thrown over in the blast wave and slammed heavily against the bulkhead, losing consciousness.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Luo Xinzhong struggled to get up and check on the damage control. His face was ashen, and his lips trembled as he said, "It's...it's over...this ship is finished..."

"Not yet!" Yumi held him down tightly, her eyes, which always held a gentle smile, were now incredibly sharp as she swept across the chaotic deck. She shouted, "First Company, go to the stern and put out the fire! Second Company, take the engineers to plug the leaks! The rest of you, protect the brigade commander as he enters the core compartment!"

On deck, the surviving 4th Brigade's direct units, organized by officers and the Lady of Divine Protection, hastily launched a counterattack. At the last remaining 150mm gun emplacement on the starboard side, several pale-faced, clearly undertrained young soldiers were frantically loading shells. However, in their panic, their rangefinding and aiming were completely haphazard, and most of the shells they fired landed on the sea hundreds of meters away from the USS Thor, futilely splashing up a few sprays of water.

"Useless! Let me do it!" Luo Xinzhong didn't know where the courage came from, perhaps from seeing the miserable state of his soldiers, or perhaps from the "Angel Family" blood burning in his veins. He shoved aside the gunner who was trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind and rushed to the scope himself! He gripped the elevation and azimuth wheels on both sides of the gun barrel tightly with both hands, and pressed his right eye against the cold rubber eyepiece!
The view shook violently, the massive gray silhouette of the target appearing and disappearing amidst the violent shaking and smoke. The crosshairs struggled to pinpoint the rear of the "Thor" bridge. Sweat gathered on his nose, dripping onto the cold brass pitch wheels. Only one thought occupied Luo Xin's mind: He had to hit it, even if it meant death!
right now
Ughh ...
A powerful, deep whistle, filled with the force of steel, instantly drowned out the clamor of the battlefield! It was as if declaring itself the true master of the battlefield!
In despair, Luo Xinzhong and everyone else on the deck struggling to survive suddenly turned to look at the sound.

To the southeast, on the blindingly bright sea, a massive, brand-new, streamlined hull broke through two enormous white hydrofoils, tracing a huge arc with agility and speed beyond comprehension, cutting into the inner lines of the battlefield! At the bow, where the waves were breaking, was the American West Coast Union's tricolor flag—black, red, and yellow—fluttering in the wind! "Yes, Jing... Jinghai?! Big Brother!" Luo Xinzhong, who recognized Luo Xinhua's flagship "Jinghai" at a glance, seemed to have all his strength drained away; his body suddenly went limp, and he slid down to the ground against the gun emplacement.

"Hard to starboard! Take T position! High pressure ventilation! Increase speed by one gear!" Luo Xinhua's voice echoed in the command tower of the "Jinghai".

"Report to the captain! Target A (Thor) is turning to starboard, attempting to create distance and bombard our ship with full starboard fire!" Navigation officer Jiang Zhaoxing's voice was tense, but also somewhat excited.

"Hard to port! Engage it! Chief gunner, target A! All main guns—prepare for calibration!" Luo Xinhua remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on the gray shadow in the distance that was urgently evading.

On the bridge of the USS Thor, Commodore Howard was completely stunned and incredulous. "24 knots! God! It really turned at 24 knots!"

He watched as the unidentified behemoth relentlessly pursued his turning angle with a maneuver far more agile and swift than his own flagship, the distance closing even further amidst its astonishingly high-speed maneuvering! "Unknown firepower configuration? This size... its main gun caliber is definitely no smaller than ours!" A surge of immense anxiety welled up in Howard's heart.

We can't wait any longer! "Fire! All main guns on port, fire all at once!" Howard roared hysterically, his eyes bloodshot!

boom! boom! boom! boom!
The four massive turrets on the starboard side of the USS Thor exploded simultaneously in flames! Eight heavy 9.2-inch armor-piercing shells hurtled towards their target 6000 yards away with overwhelming force! The sonic boom that tore through the air was like a ghostly wail! A huge column of water shot into the sky less than 200 meters in front of the bow of the USS Jinghai! The waves from the explosions even splashed onto the thick, sloped armor plating of the A turret of the USS Jinghai, making a loud splashing sound!
"Nearly 200 meters lost," the Thor observer reported hoarsely.

"That was a good shot!" Howard thought to himself. "At this distance, I can get a crossover shot in four rounds at most!"

Almost instantly, before the smoke from the gun muzzle of the USS Thor had even cleared—

The Jinghai's long, sharp hull suddenly stabilized! It was as if a beast poised to pounce had found the perfect spot to strike.

"Whoosh—Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Eight more concentrated and sharper orange-red muzzle flashes erupted in succession on the starboard side of the "Jinghai"! The armor-piercing shells fired by the 210mm 50-caliber recoil-fire guns had higher initial velocities and straighter trajectories! In an instant, the eight shells landed around the "Thor" less than 5800 meters away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cross-shot!

First round of cross-shot!

"Report to the captain! First volley! Excellent!" Tsubaki Onodera's calm voice rang out through the ship's telephone in the command tower of the "Jinghai," with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor—this was the perfect performance of the gunnery team, and also the blessing of God the Father!

Luo Xinhua stared dumbfounded at the water columns rising around the brand-new American armored cruiser in the distance, thinking to himself: I actually encountered such a miracle as the first straddle-fire! Ah, could it be that those naval witches really have some kind of power?
"My God!!!" At the same time, Howard's mind went blank, flashing back to those terrifying rumors that the US Navy intelligence scoffed at but were secretly spreading—the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "Naval Witches"! They could invoke divine grace during artillery battles, granting devastating precision! This was no accident!

Howard muttered, "That's not artillery! That's the devil's sorcery!!"

(End of this chapter)