Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fast attack ship 'Storm' opened fire again from the stern of the Eastern Fleet.

The speed is too fast!

The Eastern Fleet was prepared, but eight gunboats and two destroyers still suffered heavy damage.

More than four hundred naval guns fired simultaneously, including powerful armor-piercing and incendiary shells.

Modern destroyers still rely on armor to defend against attacks, but lack weapons for interception.

Although the Japanese destroyers were equipped with armor plating on their sides, their defensive capabilities were much stronger than those of the Western Allied destroyers.

but,

At this moment, facing the 'Storm' fast attack ship, the entire armor was like paper.

One of the destroyers, the 'Fusō', had a large hole punched through its hull, and its main battle gun at the bow was destroyed.

Fortunately, the other cruisers were protected by gunboats and frigates and were not attacked by the 'Storm' fast attack ship.

However, with the number of gunboats and escort ships decreasing sharply, the overall combat effectiveness of the Eastern Fleet declined sharply.

While commanding the fleet to engage in battle, Captain Naoki Sakata of the cruiser 'Toyo' directed the sailors and crew to rescue people using lifeboats.

A raging fire on the sea filled all the soldiers of the Eastern Fleet with despair.

After the fire subsided, Naoki Sakata suddenly realized that eight cruisers had never gone far from the outer perimeter of the Eastern Fleet.

Among them, the main flagship 'Taishan' was the furthest away, but intuitively he knew that it was the flagship of the Ximentang fleet.

What surprised him even more was that not far from the cruiser 'Taishan', there was an enormous ship with a displacement no less than that of 'Taishan'!
hiss--!
Naoki Sakata couldn't help but be taken aback.

He certainly wouldn't be afraid before the artillery barrage begins.

However, with the three attacks by the fast attack ship "Storm" from Ximentang, half of the Eastern Fleet had been sunk, and its combat power had plummeted to rock bottom.

So many large warships have suddenly appeared.

This is impossible to fight!

The twelve enormous transport ships lined up in a row created a powerful visual impact.

Leading the pack is the multi-purpose transport ship 'Shark'.

These transport ships were originally at the very back of the eight cruisers of Simondon, far from the battlefield.

They are auxiliary warships, serving as supply ships.

However, its tonnage is similar to that of a cruiser, making it look extremely impressive.

Upon seeing the twelve multi-purpose transport ships, Naoki Sakata felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but gasp.

How many giant ships did the Ximentang fleet actually have?

idiot--!
Today's battle is likely to be disastrous for the three major fleets of the East!
At this point, the Eastern Fleet was already surrounded by the arc, and even if it wanted to escape, it had no chance.

Just as Naoki Sakata was hesitating, the 'Storm' fast attack ship launched its fourth attack.

Naoki Sakata had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight back, ordering the remaining cruisers and destroyers to head towards Goto at full speed.

in addition,

The flagship's cannons and the accompanying gunboats were firing at full power.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
At this point, the Eastern Fleet no longer cared about accuracy and opened fire fiercely on the Ximentang Fleet.

Because the 'Storm' fast attack ship is too fast and not very large, it is difficult to hit.

Therefore,
Naoki Sakata set his sights on slow-moving gunboats and ironclad frigates.

Just then, the fourth round of concentrated fire began, with terrifying force.

Because the torpedoes of the 'Storm' fast attack ship and the 'Simon' cruiser were used for crossfire suppression.

At this moment, the hit rate reached an unbelievable level.

Following another attack, the Japanese fleet lost several more cruisers and gunboats.

Although the number of torpedoes on the Sindang cruiser was not large, their destructive power was enormous.

Each launch involves two missiles, ensuring extremely high accuracy.

Once locked on, gunboats simply cannot withstand it.

With the addition of the 'Storm' attack ship, a concentrated barrage would be enough to destroy it outright.

Therefore, after this round of attacks, the Ximentang fleet suffered little loss, while the Dongyang fleet suffered another blow.

Originally, the three major fleets of the Eastern Ocean had a total of 24 cruisers, but after being soundly defeated by the Ximentang fleet, 13 of them were sunk.

at this time,

The Eastern Fleet was left with only eleven cruisers and fewer than thirty gunboats.

Thick smoke billowed across the entire sea area, and the seawater on the surface was ablaze with flames.

The 'Storm' fast attack ship fired incendiary bombs while simultaneously firing cannon shells.

As long as armor-piercing shells penetrated the Japanese warships, they could almost always sink the enemy ships, leaving none unscathed.

By this time, the Eastern Fleet had been rendered powerless to retaliate.

The main flagships of the Sixth and Seventh Fleets of the Eastern Ocean, including the "Toyo" and "Yoshida", have basically lost their combat capability.

but,

Because the flagship is large, it can hold out a little longer.

However, if a warship is attacked by a torpedo, it is bound to sink.

Therefore, all the sailors, crew members, soldiers, and others in the Eastern Fleet jumped into the sea in an attempt to escape.

The area on the sea where the flames were burning was where the gunboat had been sunk, but the sea around the cruiser was not burning.

Goto is within sight.

Almost all the Japanese soldiers thought that if they could swim to the five islands, they would have a chance to survive.

Captain Naoki Sakata of the cruiser 'Toyo' was a Japanese soldier who revered the spirit of Bushido.

He knew that the Eastern Fleet was likely to perish in today's battle.

but,

Instead of giving up the fight, he decisively ordered the ship to change course while its propulsion was still intact and it could continue sailing.

Bump!

That's right, he wasn't thinking of sending the 'Dongying' towards Goto, but rather looking for an opportunity to ram Simon's cruiser.

Even if it means dying in battle, we must ram and sink one of the Ximentang warships.

At this time, the Ximentang multi-functional transport ship 'Shark' was not far from the 'Dongying'.

Behind the Shark transport ship were three other large transport ships.

After being hit by shells and torpedoes, the 'Dongying' ship did not stop, but instead continued to move at full speed toward the 'Shark' and rammed it violently.

Originally, Naoki Sakata intended to ram the cruisers of the Nishido fleet.

but,

Surrounding the cruiser were ironclad frigates and gunboats, making it extremely difficult to approach.

Therefore,
He simply changed his target and rammed the multi-purpose transport ship 'Shark'!
In any case, there's only one goal: to drag a ship down with them.

Because the cruiser "Huashan" of the second squadron of the Ximentang was closest to the transport ship "Shark", which was less than fifty meters away.

Therefore,
All the crew members and sailors of the Second Squadron witnessed what had just happened.

When they saw the 'Storm' fast attack ship and torpedoes hit the 'Eastern Japan', everyone remained calm.

All of this had been rehearsed many times; there was nothing special about it.

The combat effectiveness of the ships of the three major fleets of the East was much weaker than it was during normal training.

Everyone originally thought that sinking the 'Toyo' would take a lot of effort.

but,

Unexpectedly, after only four rounds of attacks, the three major fleets of the East were utterly defeated.

I believe that if we continue with two more rounds of attacks, the three major fleets of the East will be completely annihilated.

but,

Just then, the "Dongying" and several other flagship ships of the Japanese fleet suddenly changed course and rammed into the "Huashan".

They're moving at full speed, clearly intending to take everyone down with them.

hiss--!
At this moment, all the elite Westgate soldiers on the cruiser 'Huashan' were greatly alarmed.

These Japanese were ruthless; they weren't afraid of death. Therefore,

The captain of the cruiser 'Huashan' immediately ordered a full-speed turn to avoid a collision.

but,

It was too late to turn around at that point.

The 'Huashan' is a large cruiser with a displacement of over 4500 tons, unlike the 'Storm' fast attack ship, which has less maneuverability.

not to mention,
The two sides were too close together; there was simply no time to turn around.

but,

Just as the 'Huashan' was about to be rammed by the 'Dongying', a multi-purpose transport ship called the 'Shark' rushed out and blocked the 'Dongying'.

boom--!
A loud sound echoed throughout the surrounding area.

The 'Dongying' and a 'Shark VI' multi-purpose transport ship finally collided violently.

The main warship of the Eastern Fleet, the "Toyo", had already been riddled with holes by the bomb.

After that impact, it immediately fell apart.

of course,

The multi-purpose transport ship 'Shark VI' was also severely damaged.

The bow section of the entire transport ship collapsed due to the impact.

The fire spread to the transport ship and quickly became a raging inferno.

It turns out that the 'Shark VI' multi-purpose transport ship was carrying diesel fuel, which leaked and ignited after the violent impact.

Thick smoke billowed out, and a heat wave swept around.

next moment,
All that could be heard on the entire sea was the sound of explosions, boom boom boom boom.

As a massive fire raged on the sea, a huge column of water, tens of meters high, rose into the air.

The ammunition magazine of the cruiser 'Toyo' was ignited by the fire after the impact, and during the sinking process, it ignited the gunpowder in the ammunition magazine.

Therefore,
The entire 'Dongying' exploded violently, and the powerful shockwave created waves that were over ten meters high.

The enormous sound could be clearly heard throughout the five islands of Nagasaki in the Orient.

Standing on the deck of the 'Taishan', Chen Jie was also shocked to see the explosion of the 'Dongying' cruiser.

The 'Shark Six' multi-purpose transport ship had already suffered heavy damage.

At this moment, with the explosion of the 'Dongying', the 'Shark VI' transport ship was blown up and began to list.

Even the other multi-purpose transport ships around, such as the 'Shark' and the 'Huashan' cruiser, suffered considerable damage.

The powerful shockwave nearly overturned everything around it.

All the ships were rocking violently, and the waves were rolling endlessly.

The fire on the sea was extinguished by the spray from the shockwave, and thick black smoke filled the surrounding area.

Chen Jie saw everything clearly.

The two ships were engulfed in flames, which burned fiercely and turned the sky red.

at the same time,

The Simon's 'Storm' fast attack ship and gunboats have formed an encirclement and have begun the fourth round of concentrated fire.

Zhang Wenbo decisively ordered the cruisers, fast attack ships, and gunboats to open fire simultaneously, creating absolute firepower suppression.

The suicide ramming by the 'Dongying' sank the 'Shark VI' multi-purpose transport ship owned by Ximentang.

This is the fourth ship lost by Simond since the start of the war.

The first three were all 'armored frigates', but this time they lost a multi-purpose transport ship.

As the 'Toyo' began to sink, the Eastern Fleet finally tore a gap in the encirclement.

The shockwave from the explosion had a significant impact not only on the soldiers of Ximentang.

As the two massive warships were engulfed in flames and their ammunition magazines exploded repeatedly, a huge breach was created.

The other 'Shark' transport ships of the Westgate were also affected by the shock wave, and their hulls shook violently.

Although the ship itself was not damaged, in order to avoid further losses, the only option was to quickly retreat and distance themselves from the two exploding and burning ships.

The helmsman piloting the 'Shark' transport ship had never encountered such an unexpected situation during his training.

Therefore,
During the lateral movement, the formation of the Ximentang fleet became somewhat disordered.

have to say,

During regular training, we practiced many emergency scenarios thoroughly.

but,

There is a significant difference between real combat and training.

At this time, the lack of combat experience in the Ximentang Navy was fully exposed.

Just then, the remaining warships of the Eastern Fleet broke through the encirclement of Ximentang.

The First Fleet has the most warships and the strongest strength.

Two cruisers, eight gunboats, six 'Storm' fast attack ships, twelve ironclad frigates, and twelve multi-purpose transport ships.

Whether in terms of tonnage, number, or firepower, their warships were far superior to the crippled Eastern Fleet.

At this moment, with the explosion of the "Eastern Ship", the encirclement of Ximentang was broken.

Under the command of Vice Admiral Kijiro Sato, the remaining ships of the Eastern Fleet made a desperate attempt to break through the encirclement.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Eastern Fleet, in a desperate move, launched a fierce bombardment on the blocking ships.

Artillery fire exploded all around like raindrops.

have to say,

Yoshigo Sato has extremely rich combat experience.

He seemed to know that Simon's 'Storm' fast attack ship was too fast to be effectively hit.

Therefore,
The target of the Eastern Fleet's artillery attack was the 'Shark' multi-purpose transport ship belonging to Ximentang.

Destroying the multi-purpose transport ship is equivalent to cutting off Ximentang's supply lines.

Although the Ximentang's 'Shark' multi-purpose transport ship was on the outermost perimeter at this time, it had almost no firepower.

Fortunately, the armored frigates blocked their way, otherwise the 'Shark' transport ship would have been severely damaged.

If Vice Admiral Sato Kichigo of the Eastern Fleet could maintain a clear fighting spirit, keep up this offensive rhythm, and break out with all his might, there might really be a chance to break out.

Because a gap has been torn in the encirclement of Ximentang, even if the 'Storm' fast attack ship turns around, it will not be able to catch up.

Once the Eastern Fleet entered the reef area of ​​the Five Islands, the Ximentang Fleet had no choice but to retreat.

but,

Unfortunately, the Eastern Fleet lost all fighting spirit and its formation was completely disrupted.

More importantly, all the Japanese sailors and crew members panicked, and the thick smoke around them made it impossible to see their bearings.

For a while,
The Japanese ships were darting around in all directions, and Sato Kijigo was anxiously watching the direction of Goto.

at this time,

An Eastern sailor came to his side and reported:

"General, the Daqian people's fleet has changed course and blocked the route to the Five Islands."

"They're sailing too fast, we can't get past them!"

Sato Kichigo was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly observed for a moment through his binoculars.

really,

The Westgate's 'Storm' fast attack ship has arrived to provide support.

Then,

Gunboats and ironclad frigates have already turned around and are rapidly encircling the Eastern Fleet from both sides.

Just when the Eastern Fleet was about to break out of the encirclement, it was surrounded again.

hiss--!
Sato Kichigo couldn't help but gasp.

"Damn it! How can the Great Qian Fleet be so powerful!?" (End of Chapter)