Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 461 Rocky Waters! A Great Victory

Sato Kijigo was astonished to see that the 'Storm' fast attack ship had completed the blockade so quickly.

Suddenly,

He was taken aback.

In terms of the world's fastest ship speed today, it was the most advanced ship of the British Empire, with a speed of approximately 25 knots.

But now,

The 'Storm' fast attack ship of Ximentang has a speed of over 40 knots.

The most terrifying thing is that the fast attack ships, while sailing at high speed, actually formed a formation and concentrated their fire to launch an attack.

Whether it's turning, moving laterally, encircling, firing, etc.

The maneuverability of the 'Storm' fast attack ship overturned Yoshigo Sato's understanding.

It would take at least fifteen minutes for the Eastern Fleet to change course and reform its formation.

at this time,

The encirclement by Ximentang has been re-established, and the Eastern Fleet has no chance to break out again.

Since there is no way to break through, there is only one last way left—to perish together!
Sato Kijiro looked up at the distant cruiser Nishimundo and took a deep breath, saying:
"Damn it—has the navy of the Great Qian Dynasty developed to this extent?"

"Their fleet possesses such terrifying combat power that the other five fleets of the Eastern Ocean simply cannot stop them!"

"No, I must inform the Japanese military headquarters of this!"

Sato Kichigo truly lives up to his reputation as a professional soldier.

Seeing that the Eastern Fleet was completely outmatched and unable to break through, they decisively prepared for a final desperate gamble.

He knew very well that in order to break through, the Eastern Fleet had to get into the 'reef area'.

Although the Eastern Fleet was not far from the Nagasaki Goto Reef area, it would be extremely difficult to shake off the pursuit of the fast attack ship "Storm" by Nishimundo.

then,

Sato Kijigo had no choice but to order the cruisers and gunboats of the Eastern Fleet to sail at full speed to block the approaching 'Storm' fast attack ships.

at this time,

On the lookout tower of the Japanese warship, a sailor on lookout duty shouted loudly:
"General, a pirate fleet has appeared 500 meters ahead!"

French mercenary legion!

Jack Bonaparte's fleet blocked the waters between the Eastern Fleet and the Nagasaki Goto Islands.

Sato Kichigo was suddenly startled and quickly used his binoculars to observe the area ahead.

Sure enough, a pirate fleet appeared in the direction of Nagasaki Goto.

The fleet's battle flag was actually a pirate flag with a skull and crossbones!
Damn it—!
How could pirates have ventured into the waters off Nagasaki in the East?

The French fleet sailed in column formation, with two cruisers leading the way and eight gunboats flanking them.

Regardless of the French fleet's combat capabilities, just looking at the cannons on the ships is enough to send chills down your spine.

hiss--!
Sato Kichigo couldn't help but gasp, a bead of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Unable to break through!

Only then did he realize that he was surrounded in two ways.

Even if they managed to break through the encirclement of Simon's 'Storm' fast attack ship, they would have almost no chance of breaking out of the French fleet.

How to do?
What should I do next?
Sato Kijigo was extremely anxious, never expecting that there was a pirate legion on the outskirts of the Daqian fleet.

From this perspective, the Eastern Fleet was likely to be completely annihilated.

The more dangerous the moment, the more a commander's abilities are tested.

Sato Kichigo, the commander of the Eastern Fleet, demonstrated superb military skills and rich experience in the field.

He decisively gave the order:

"Ignore the Great Qian fleet ahead, all warships concentrate fire on the 'pirate fleet'!"

Sato Kichigo's judgment was spot on; this decision was absolutely correct.

Because the French mercenaries under Jack Bonaparte were a level below the Simond fleet in terms of combat strength.

If they try to break out towards the Westgate's 'Storm' fast attack ship, they will have almost no chance of breaking out of the encirclement.

The combat strength of this 'pirate fleet' is unknown, but judging from the speed of its warships, the Eastern Fleet is capable of matching it.

The enemy had a large number of warships, including four cruisers.

However, it lacks the 'Storm' fast attack ship and is not fast.

If the Eastern Fleet wants to break out, this newly appeared 'pirate fleet' will be its only chance.

Fortunately, Jack Bonaparte was unaware of what Kijiro Sato was thinking, otherwise he would have been so frustrated he would have coughed up blood.

Beep beep—beep beep—!
The whistles of the Eastern Fleet sounded as it charged at full speed, ignoring the shelling from the surrounding Ximentang Fleet, and broke through towards the 'pirate legion'.

Just as the Eastern Fleet was about to approach the 'pirate legion'.

suddenly,
Sato Kijigo discovered that all the ships of the 'pirate legion' had stopped.

Just two hundred meters ahead, they lined up in a row, forming a solid defensive line.

The cruiser and the gunboat's ship-mounted guns locked onto all the ships of the Eastern Fleet.

It turned out that in the command cabin of the 'Taishan', Chen Jie also discovered that Jack Bonaparte's French fleet had arrived at the battlefield.

The Eastern Fleet's all-out breakout was clearly aimed at reaching the rocky waters of the Nagasaki Five Islands as quickly as possible, and then using the terrain to escape the battlefield.

therefore,

He immediately ordered Jack Bonaparte to have all the French mercenary warships line up horizontally on the sea to block the escape route of the Eastern fleet.

Simultaneously,

He notified the four squadrons of the Westminster to begin encirclement, cease torpedo firing, and launch the fifth round of concentrated fire using the 'Storm' fast attack ship.

A swift and decisive victory is needed to sink the Eastern Fleet in the shortest possible time.

This area belongs to the Japanese, and we don't know anything about the underwater reefs.

If it were towed into the rocky waters, which would restrict the speed of the 'Storm' fast attack ship, the losses would be enormous.

Each 'Storm' fast attack ship is very expensive, and all of them use diesel engines that Chen Jie brought over.

Even losing just one ship would be enough to break Chen Jie's heart.

Om-!
When Sato Kichigo saw the row of 'pirate fleets' lined up in front of him, his head started buzzing.

The enemy had already formed their battle formation, and their naval guns were ready to fire.

If we continue to charge forward at this point, wouldn't that be like using our ships to block the enemy's cannons?
There's no time to adjust tactics!

Because on both sides of the Eastern Fleet, the twenty-four 'Storm' fast attack ships of the Ximentang had caught up.

Sato Kichigo had no choice but to order the charge to continue.

Full speed ahead!
The other Japanese warships also knew the situation was urgent and they couldn't stop!
If it slows down, it will be sunk.

Therefore, all the warships of the Eastern Fleet abandoned the cargo ships, blocked the pursuing warships, and rushed towards the rocky waters in the direction of Nagasaki Goto.

The two fleets were getting closer and closer on the high seas.

"Sink it!"

With Jack Bonaparte's command.

All the ships of the French fleet lined up and fired their cannons simultaneously.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosion was deafening.

The French fleet and the Simon's fleet had completely different firepower configurations.

There were no armor-piercing shells or incendiary shells; all the shells used were conventional.

In an instant, more than three hundred naval cannons launched a fierce bombardment at the Eastern Fleet.

Woohoo——!
Shells roared as they bombarded the Japanese warships, creating a deafening roar.

The French fleet was on high alert, and more than twenty warships opened fire at that moment, creating a powerful and awe-inspiring spectacle.

Kichigo Sato was transferred from the Toyo to the cruiser Fuji.

His expression changed upon seeing the scene before him.

He gripped his Japanese samurai sword tightly, watching helplessly as his warship sank, powerless to retaliate. His heart sank to the bottom.

The French fleet's shells were conventional shells supplied by Simon. Although their power was not as great as incendiary or armor-piercing shells, they were far more powerful than ordinary Western cannon shells.

For a while,
The sky was filled with what looked like a meteor shower as a barrage of shells rained down on the Japanese warships.

Dozens of water columns, tens of meters high, immediately rose from the sea surface, and the shockwave generated by the bomb hitting the water overturned the surrounding area.

Some shells hit East Asian warships, shattering their hulls.

The crew and sailors let out pitiful howls.

Due to the close proximity, the poorly defended Japanese gunboats were like paper, riddled with holes by the bombs.

Meanwhile, the fast attack ship 'Storm' chasing behind, with its 'Vulcan cannons' firing at close range, was even more terrifying.

If concentrated fire is aimed at the gunboat, it can be sunk in almost the shortest amount of time.

The gunboats of the Eastern Fleet were the slowest and became targets.

Sparks flew everywhere, and shrapnel flew in all directions.

The sea was ablaze with fire, and the engines of several cruisers had been destroyed, leaving them engulfed in flames.

Those abandoned merchant ships were actually quite safe and would not be attacked by Simon's cannons.

However, the merchant ships were all anchored at sea, and the crew and sailors all jumped overboard.

The Eastern Fleet was almost completely destroyed by this attack, leaving only four cruisers.

The other cruisers, whose engines were destroyed or whose hulls were damaged too badly by attacks, all came to a stop and were unable to continue sailing.

The Japanese were completely panicked.

The remaining four cruisers continued to charge toward the French fleet.

Because they knew very well that the chance of breaking out from the French fleet's side was much easier than that of the Simondal fleet.

Only by breaking through the encirclement and entering the rocky waters of the Nagasaki Goto Islands will there be a chance to evacuate.

Zhang Wenbo decisively ordered the third and fourth squadrons to join up with the French mercenary group.

Simultaneously,

The first and second squadrons caught up from behind.

Attack from both front and back!

At this point, the formation of the Eastern Fleet was completely disrupted, with each unit fighting its own battle and becoming a disorganized mess.

In stark contrast, the formation of the Ximentang fleet remained perfectly orderly.

The ship's guns opened fire fiercely, bombarding the Eastern Fleet.

As for the 'M61A Vulcan cannon', it fired without restraint, consuming box after box of shells.

The Eastern Fleet had collapsed and had no will to fight.

Sato Kichigo was only thinking about leaving the battlefield as soon as possible and breaking through into the reef area.

therefore,

Even as he watched gunboats and escort ships being sunk one after another, Sato Kijigo dared not order his fleet to stop its counterattack.

He decided to break through at all costs, going all out to try and break through Ximentang's blockade.

As the two sides drew closer and closer, with some warships less than fifty meters apart, they nearly collided.

Therefore,
The cannons of the Ximentang were relentless in their bombardment, blasting the bow of the leading Japanese cruiser to the point of collapse and creating a huge gash.

Seawater surged in, and the entire cruiser sank rapidly.

but,

The obstruction of the lead cruiser allowed the other warships to rush to the front of the French fleet's battle formation.

Almost every Japanese warship was badly damaged, with its deck and side armor pierced, and black smoke billowing from many places.

At that moment, Jack Bonaparte ordered the French mercenary ships to fight independently.

then,

Both the French fleet and the Simon's fleet began to disperse and search for their own targets.

When close combat begins, a chaotic melee is inevitable.

At this point, only a dozen or so ships in the Eastern Fleet were still capable of fighting, which meant that 80% of the three major Eastern Fleets had been sunk.

Although the Simondal fleet and the French mercenary fleet suffered relatively minor losses, six ships were also sunk.

The fleet includes four ironclad frigates, one 'Shark' multi-purpose transport ship, and one gunboat!
The four major fleets of the Ximengtang joined forces, and the total number of warships deployed in the battle exceeded sixty, which was more than four times that of the remaining Eastern Fleet.

That is,

At this point, each of the remaining Japanese warships would face more than four Ximentang warships.

Even when the number of warships was less than that of the Eastern Fleet, Ximen Tang's fleet was able to overwhelm the enemy.

Moreover, the number of warships is now four times that of the remaining fleet in the East.

Zhang Wenbo ordered the warships to form a pincer movement at angle A, attacking from both the front and rear.

It can not only effectively prevent the opponent from perishing together, but also effectively strike the opponent, making it impossible for them to escape and leaving them only able to take a beating.

The sheer efficiency of the Ximentang fleet at this moment demonstrates the hard work they put into their training.

in addition,

Ximentang has gained an absolute advantage, and the battle is almost a one-sided crushing victory.

The warships of the Eastern Fleet were either sunk or surrendered with white flags raised.

Only one cruiser and two destroyers broke through the encirclement and fled towards the rocky waters in the direction of Nagasaki Goto.

Chen Jie stood in the command cabin of the cruiser "Taishan" and stared at the flagship of the Eastern Fleet, "Fuji," through binoculars.

Next,
He ordered Zhang Wenbo to stop the 'Fuji'.

The 'Fuji' and 'Toyo' were the flagships of the Eastern Fleet, with a top speed of 25 knots.

Thanks to the obstruction of Japanese gunboats and escort ships, the Fuji escaped the clutches of the Saimon-do Storm fast attack ship and sailed to the edge of the reef area.

But at this moment,
The cruiser "Lushan" from the Ximengtang cruiser moved closer and sailed alongside the "Fuji," continuously firing its guns in an attempt to stop the "Fuji" from advancing further.

The naval battle has been going on for over an hour now.

After such a long and intense naval battle, the deck and hull of the 'Fuji' were severely damaged.

Many of its naval guns were destroyed, leaving less than a third of them intact.

In terms of firepower, the 'Lushan' almost completely overwhelmed the 'Fuji' cruiser of the Eastern Fleet.

of course,

The cruiser 'Fuji' was not without its own strength.

For the Eastern Fleet, entering the waters around the Nagasaki Goto Reefs would be a victory.

Sato Kichigo felt bitter inside as he saw the "Lushan" relentlessly pursuing him.

He certainly knew the power of the 'Lushan' ship's guns, which the 'Fuji' cruiser could not possibly match.

At this moment, he had no choice but to advance at full speed without making any counterattacks.

Fortunately, the 'reef area' was ahead, preventing the other warships of the Ximen Hall from getting close.

The 'Storm' fast attack ship was slowed in the rocky waters, as were other gunboats and cruisers, and without detailed reef charts, it had to stop.

Therefore,
Only the cruiser "Lushan" was chasing after the "Fuji".

Once Sato Kichigo entered the rocky waters, he immediately ordered a reduction in speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
He began to order a counterattack, while simultaneously following the Japanese military's nautical charts, he continued to sail around the reefs, trying to shake off the 'Lushan' and leave the battlefield.

Because the overall combat capability of the 'Fuji' is inferior to that of the 'Lushan' in every aspect.

Only by taking advantage of the terrain of the 'rocky sea' can they have a chance to escape from here.

This was also the last cruiser remaining in the Eastern Fleet, its only hope of escape.

Unfortunately, the previous bombardment destroyed the main guns of the Fuji, severely impacting its combat effectiveness.

After entering the rocky waters, the speed of the "Lushan" decreased, and it could only follow the course of the "Fuji".

The other warships of the Ximen Hall were currently stationed on the outer perimeter of the 'Reef Area'.

The two warships that entered the 'reef area' became locked in a stalemate.

(End of this chapter)