Chapter 260

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

On the bridge of the Ninghai, Chen Jiliang's hand holding the binoculars trembled.

In his field of vision, the Haiqi, smoking all over, was already severely wounded but did not retreat toward the relatively safe Jiangwan; instead, it opened full throttle and charged straight into the depths of the Japanese fleet.

"Captain Deng... where is the Haiqi going?" the staff officer beside him cried out.

Chen Jiliang instantly understood what this colleague intended to do.

The Yellow Sea in the year of Jiawu, the Yangtze River forty-six years later—the same choice, the same resolve to die!

"All hands, attention! Captain Deng of the Haiqi intends to ram the enemy ship! My First Fleet, even if we exhaust all our resources today, we must cover this final stretch for the Haiqi!

All guns, open fire with full force to cover the Haiqi!"

The Xia Guo Navy, originally exchanging fire with the Japanese and already showing signs of fatigue, received a tremendous boost in morale.

The main guns of the Ninghai and Pinghai delivered hurried covering fire, shells striking Japanese warships like hail, while several old cruisers fought desperately, pushing the rate of fire of their secondary guns and machine cannons to the limit.

An Bang's torpedo boat squadron went mad as well; the remaining seven or eight S-boats opened full throttle and charged straight at several Japanese destroyers attempting to adjust formation and intercept the Haiqi, like a suicide squad.

Unconcerned with exposing themselves to the enemy's main guns, they launched torpedoes at close range and even swept enemy decks with machine guns from their boats—a completely mutual-destruction tactic.

There was no choice; although the Japanese had not deployed large ships, their naval power of equivalent tonnage still far surpassed the Xia Guo Navy.

The navy had retreated to the inland Yangtze River; there was no longer any reason not to fight to the death!

On the bridge of the Japanese Second Upstream Fleet flagship, the light cruiser Ryutsu, Colonel Sato Kenjiro widened his eyes.

The Chinese old-style cruiser Haiqi, long since severely damaged and awaiting sinking, trailing hundreds of meters of thick smoke and firelight like an out-of-control steel beast, charged at full speed toward the Ryutsu!

Sato Kenjiro laughed madly: "Hahaha! A ramming tactic! These Chinks are crazy; they want to learn from their Deng Shichang! Fine, then go to hell and keep him company!"

"All guns of the ship! Concentrate fire on the Haiqi! It must not be allowed to approach! Send signals, order the surrounding destroyers to advance immediately and intercept!"

"Captain Sato, should evasive action be taken?" a staff officer asked.

"The Yangtze is too narrow; turning to evade would disrupt the formation. Maintain formation, firepower coverage, sustain output, and annihilate Xia Guo's ridiculous fleet!"

All gun positions on the Japanese Ryutsu, from 140mm main guns to 25mm twin machine cannons, completed target switching in the shortest time, cannon muzzles spitting scorching tongues of fire, trajectories almost weaving a net of fire in the air, sweeping toward the Haiqi.

Several surrounding Japanese destroyers also hurriedly turned their gun muzzles to join the interception of the Haiqi.

Shells poured down like a rainstorm onto the hull of the Haiqi cruiser.

The forward deck was hit by several more shells, completely blown open, flames rolling.

Firelight erupted consecutively near the bridge, all portholes shattered.

But the Haiqi did not stop; its massive body passed through countless explosions and water columns. Although its speed slowed due to damage and flooding, its course did not change in the slightest, and the hard ram at its bow remained firmly aimed at the Ryutsu.

The Haiqi's bridge was already a mess, flames and thick smoke everywhere.

Captain Deng's half body was dyed red with blood, his gaze fixed on the Ryutsu drawing ever closer ahead, oblivious to the explosions and tremors around him: "Course unchanged! Aim at the Japanese devils' Ryutsu cruiser!"

As the words fell, no one responded; it turned out the helmsman had long since fallen in a pool of blood, leaving only a young sailor standing at a loss.

Captain Deng took the helm himself and shouted: "Afraid of death? Jump into the river. Not afraid? Go to the ammunition depot. When I ram the Japanese warship, those in the ammunition depot will directly detonate the remaining ammunition!"

The sailor swallowed, gritted his teeth, and said: "Not afraid!"

Just as he was about to turn, Captain Deng called out to him: "What's your name?"

"Report, Wang Zihao!"

"Good, go, Little Wang! What Chief Petty Officer Deng failed to accomplish on the Chiyuan, we will complete today!"

"Yes!"

While the Japanese fleet concentrated fire on the Haiqi, the Xia Guo Navy opened fire with full force to cover it, forcing the Japanese fleet to divert most of its firepower to deal with Xia Guo's main fleet.

On the bridge of the Ryutsu, Sato Kenjiro's wild laughter had long been replaced by a panicked expression.

The Xia Guo old ship Haiqi, due to its larger tonnage, not only did not disintegrate under the rainstorm-like artillery fire, but drew ever closer.

"Quick! Full right rudder!"

Captain Sato Kenjiro dared not take further risks and issued an evasion order.

Meanwhile, the distance between the Xia Guo Haiqi and the Japanese Ryutsu continued to shorten.

Eight hundred meters... The Haiqi's forward main gun wreckage was directly hit and blasted into the sky; fortunately, the main gun's ammunition had long been expended, so no ammunition detonation occurred.

Five hundred meters... The Haiqi's port side was hit consecutively, the explosion's firelight almost swallowing the entire left side of the hull, and the tilt angle increased further.

Three hundred meters... A 140mm shell fired by the Ryutsu struck the top of the bridge; the entire superstructure shook violently, fragments flew everywhere, and Captain Deng was knocked to the ground by the air blast.

Struggling to his feet, Captain Deng wiped the blood and ash from his face; he could only open one eye, and his vision should have been very blurred, but the silhouette of the Japanese flagship ahead remained clear—in his sight, he could even make out the panicked figures running about on the enemy's bridge.

The Ryutsu was completely panicked; Sato Kenjiro's full right rudder had already deviated from the center waterway of the Yangtze, nearly reaching the riverbank, yet the Haiqi's bow continued to hauntedly aim at itself.

"Haiqi, Haiqi, old partner... sink another ship!" Captain Deng muttered to himself while vigorously operating the helm, the bow always aimed at the Japanese Ryutsu.

One hundred meters! Fifty meters!

Thirty meters! Ten meters!

The Haiqi's bow ram, covered in scorch marks yet still extremely hard, fiercely bit into the waterline area of the Japanese Ryutsu light cruiser's starboard side!

Boom——!!!!

A tremendous roar far exceeding any previous explosion, as if the pulse of the Yangtze River paused for a moment!

The Ryutsu's hull emitted a series of metal fracturing sounds; struck, it shifted sharply sideways, and the entire ship was directly pushed onto the riverbank and ran aground.

The two giant ships, in a posture of a death embrace, bit tightly together.

Inside the Haiqi's ammunition depot, the young sailor Wang Zihao set off the explosives, detonating all the shells; with a boom, both warships were swallowed by a great fire.

Japanese Captain Sato Kenjiro was thrown from the bridge at the moment of impact; after one second of free fall, his body slammed heavily onto the deck, his abdomen pierced by a protruding steel bar, blood gushing out.

Only one thought remained in his mind: Deng Shichang's soul... had returned...