Chapter 267: 267 turns again
Chapter 267267Turn again
This time, General Warren finally saw clearly the battleship that was chasing him - through his telescope, he saw the Wolf 1 cruiser leading the way.
This is the first time he has seen a warship of this style. It has no sails and is low in shape. No wonder he could only see black smoke on the sea from a distance before.
The sides of this battleship are very high. If you look carefully at the bow, you can see a cannon pointing toward the side.
It's just that this cannon is mounted on a turret. This is the first time he has seen this design, and it looks very fresh.
Then, he saw the cannon spitting out a ball of flame, and it looked like it was firing. Due to the obstruction of the battleship behind him, Wallen did not see the scene of the cannonball hitting the target, but only heard the muffled thunderous sound of the cannon in the distance.
Finally, after our own fleet completely turned, the relative positions of the two sides were basically in the shape of a number 11.
It's just that the one after the number 11 is a little short.
But this is not a problem at all, because the length of the Talon Kingdom’s fleet has been shortened a lot compared to before...
At this moment, the battle has been going on for more than two hours, and the formations of both sides have returned to the most common two parallel lines.
Compared with the previous formation, the main fleet of the Kingdom of Talon just made a 180-degree U-turn. There was no change except that the route was opposite to when the battle broke out.
The four warships of the Datang Group were equivalent to making a big circle around the enemy's main fleet and returned to their original route.
In the battle of more than two hours, the warships of the Datang Group were almost unscathed, while the Tarun Kingdom's fleet had been sunk by 30 ships, leaving only a pitiful 36 warships still holding on.
If it were not a big circle, the Datang Group's attack efficiency might be higher, and it is estimated that it could sink a few more Talon Kingdom warships.
General Warren, who already knew that he was at a disadvantage, was already thinking about how to change the current situation.
He did not dare to issue new combat orders before because he was afraid that the fleet formation would collapse and completely lose command.
Now, his formation has returned to a simpler shape, giving him another chance to operate.
So, this time he decided to turn the fleet to the right, seize the T-shaped position from the front, seize the opportunity to fire, and launch a desperate counterattack.
Although he didn't know how many warships he had left, he could still judge that he had at least 40 warships left to support him in giving it a try.
This time, he has already suffered too many losses. If he cannot bring the final victory back to the Kingdom of Talon, then he, the commander-in-chief of the navy, will almost die for his country.
So he had to give it a go, he had to win, and he never thought about escaping or surrendering.
“Order the fleet to turn! Full right rudder! Seize the horizontal position!” General Warren ordered angrily.
He has known it for a long time, so he has lost his mind a little. He wants to take revenge and completely wipe out the Tang fleet in front of him!
Immediately afterwards, the flagman standing on the mast above his head began to issue orders, and the order to continue turning immediately began to be conveyed to the warships on both sides.
Because it was General Wallen's flagship that first started to execute the turning order when it just turned, so his battleship's position in the fleet was improved several positions.
This time, it was his battleship that started to turn first, so his battleship was immediately in the third order of the fleet.
What he didn't know was that now he only had 32 warships left, and four sailing warships were overtaken, and they would never be able to carry out his orders.
Explosions are still coming, and some warships are still hit by shells and have lost the ability to continue fighting. There were wooden planks and corpses floating on the sea, as well as battle flags and sails.
Finally, on a sail warship in the middle of the fleet, a captain from the Talon Kingdom could no longer withstand the pressure.
He leaned on the side railing and looked at the approaching enemy warships behind him. He no longer had the calmness of the past.
Soon, he retracted his head and looked at his adjutant: "That **** Wallen wants to take us to death! He keeps delivering wrong orders!"
"But, what can we do?" the adjutant asked numbly.
The battle has reached this stage, and everyone knows that the Talon Kingdom's navy has suffered heavy losses. Even if the battle is ultimately won, their remaining warships will be completely unable to maintain the trade routes in the southern waters of the Endless Sea.
Unless the rebellion they are plotting within the realm of Dorne succeeds, then they may have some breathing space.
Once the other side has suppressed the rebellion and gained energy, it will definitely take advantage of the weakness of the Tarun Kingdom to cause trouble at sea to compete for interests. What makes people desperate is that the Kingdom of Talon is a maritime country, and maritime interests are its core interests...
"Order the battleship to full port rudder! Let's get out of this hellish place!" The captain looked at his adjutant, trying to persuade him to escape with him, who was timid.
As expected, the adjutant was still a little hesitant, because running away from battle was definitely a serious crime, and he didn't want to lose his bright future.
But if you follow the battleship in front and turn to starboard with full rudder, you will definitely encounter the fierce enemy ship behind you. By then, let alone getting promoted and making a fortune, it will be impossible to save your own life.
"Captain! We are escaping from battle. If the people above investigate, both of us will be punished by military law!" the adjutant warned tremblingly.
"This is not an escape! This is a retreat! The enemy is too powerful! Do we have to wait here to die?" The more the captain spoke, the more he felt justified, and his tone became more firm.
He looked at his adjutant, and without waiting for the latter to continue speaking, he continued: "What's more, if all the battleships were sunk here, wouldn't the Talon Kingdom be doomed? Did we leave here? What we took with us was the fire!”
At this point, he was even surprised by the excuse or reason he came up with, and his eyes became bright.
The adjutant swallowed, and then looked at the friendly warships at the stern that were in a panic. In the end, his desire for survival defeated his courage.
He nodded and agreed: "Then let's stay on the left rudder... You, you have the final say."
Hearing that the adjutant finally compromised, the captain secretly loosened his grip on the hilt of the long sword at his waist, and the cruelty finally disappeared from his face.
He waved his hand and gave a loud order: "Full left rudder! Full left rudder immediately! Let the warships behind follow us! Let's break away from the fleet and leave here!"
Soon, the warship began to break away from the fleet, leaving the captain of the Talon Kingdom warship that had been lined up in front of the warship confused.
He was sure that the order conveyed by his flagman was to turn the right rudder, but the other party broke away from the fleet at this time and ran wildly into the distance.
“What is the Wild Run doing?” The captain of the Talon Kingdom asked angrily when he happened to see a friendly warship behind him break away from the fleet and rush towards the outside of the battle circle.
Under his gaze, the sail warship called the Wild Run turned its bow to the left in the opposite direction to their right turn.
"They seem to have...taken the wrong turn." The adjutant heard the sound and looked behind him. After confirming for a long time, he finally said.
"How could this be wrong?" The captain had already guessed something. He walked to the stern railing and leaned on it, staring at the running ship in the distance. He didn't know what he was thinking.
With this sailing ship named Wild Run taking the lead, the captain of another sailing warship from the Kingdom of Talon shamelessly followed behind the Wild Run and fled the battlefield.
Two battleships turned in the wrong direction, and the following battleships were completely messed up. In the end, some of these warships were in disarray, some were turning to the left, and some were turning to the right, making the originally neat formation completely lose its appearance.
Wallen, who had just completed the turn and looked at the fleet behind him, also saw this scene. He saw at least three warships break away from the battle line and begin to flee the battlefield.
He also counted his remaining warships. At this time, the number of warships still in the fleet was no longer less than 30.
However, he still felt that he had regained the advantage, because he had seized a better position and was about to get the opportunity to fire.
He felt that as long as he had a chance to fire, he might be able to turn defeat into victory. Therefore, he was full of confidence and believed that there was still hope for a comeback in this naval battle.
But then, the adjutant returned to him with an ugly face and a message: "Sir! There is news from the battleship behind! It says that the enemy's battleship is made of steel!"
"Steel? The wooden hull is wrapped with steel?" Warren, who didn't quite understand what the adjutant meant, asked doubtfully.
"No, the word used... doesn't seem to be covered with steel, but 'a hull built of steel.'" the adjutant explained.
"This is impossible! Steel warships don't use sails...how do they obtain such a fast speed?" Warren asked in disbelief.
Without waiting for the adjutant to answer, he roared angrily: "Those **** who are greedy for life and fear of death! In order to escape, they actually made up rumors that the enemy's warships are made of steel! Bastards! Bastards!"
He connected this report with the escaping warship, so he did not believe a word of the above statement.
By this time, his formation was in chaos, and there were only about twenty warships left that could follow him in battle.
"It doesn't matter so much! When I get back, I will deal with these cowards who run away from the battle!" Warren pulled out the long sword from his waist, pointed in the direction of the Tang fleet, and ordered: "Fight to the death with me! Prepare to fire!"
—
I still owe you 4 more updates.
(End of this chapter)