Chapter 768: One-Sided

"This is impossible!"

The blue sea surface was instantly shrouded in flame and smoke.

Fresh blood poured into the water like red ink, spreading across the sea.

Wolf gripped the ship's rail tightly, his pupils dilated, and he couldn't help but mutter a sentence.

In his understanding, a warship explosion would only occur if the ammunition magazine were hit directly by an incendiary shell.

It was possible for an occasional warship to be hit.

But it was absolutely impossible for seven warships to be hit all at once.

Looking at the corpses of British soldiers floating in the sea and the soldiers struggling for help, Wolf's heart sank to the bottom of the ocean.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The artillery battle between the two sides continued.

Having lost six sailing warships and one steamship, the density of the artillery fire from the British and Dongying fleets was clearly losing to the Yanzhou Fleet.

Moreover, the Dongying warships were still using Dongying cannons, which lacked sufficient range and power.

"Boom!", "Boom!", "Boom!"

In the second round of shelling, another five warships exploded, turning into balls of burning flame.

This included one British sailing warship, one steamship, and three Dongying sailing warships.

Of the thirty sailing warships, only twenty remained after two rounds of shelling, and ten steamships remained.

This time, Wolf witnessed the entire process of the shelling from start to finish.

Cannonballs whistled past him, with most falling into the sea.

Among these cannonballs, there was not even a single incendiary shell.

Yet their warships exploded once again.

Three of the warships were blown to smithereens, and two warships were billowing thick smoke and flames.

Although they did not sink, the hull looked as if it had been bitten by a shark; a chunk of the side hull had vanished, over a dozen artillery pieces had fallen into the sea, and the remaining artillery was tilted and completely lost combat effectiveness.

"What on earth is going on!" A layer of cold sweat broke out all over Wolf's body.

Ever since he joined the navy, he had fought against Frank warships at sea and had also fought against the Franks.

But he had never felt this kind of powerlessness.

At this moment, they felt like natives facing the sturdy ships and sharp cannons of the Western Lands.

"Stop the shelling, ram them, and engage them in close-quarters combat," Wolf roared.

If they continued to shell each other, they would be completely wiped out, and they could not escape.

Driven to desperation, he was determined to fight with bayonets drawn, just like the Army on the battlefield.

Under his command, the steamships turned their bows, dragging the sailing warships toward the Yanzhou Fleet.

"Hmph, they're getting desperate." On the Le Ting, Zhou Yi brushed the wood shavings off his body, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

In this naval battle, the rifled cannons and conical explosive shells had demonstrated terrifying combat power.

For him, after this battle, smoothbore naval guns and round solid shot would be phased out of the navy.

However, although they had achieved a huge advantage,

their own warships had also suffered no small amount of losses.

The main mast of one sailing warship was hit by an enemy cannonball and snapped.

Fortunately, this warship was being towed by a steamship; otherwise, it would be paralyzed at sea, and its only fate would be to be sunk.

Another five warships had their side hulls pierced and were taking on water, but the crew immediately carried out repairs, so it was not a major problem.

Besides that, three warships were pierced by incendiary shells; fortunately, they did not hit the gunpowder barrels, but it did cause fires, and after the crew extinguished them, they were still emitting smoke.

"Indeed, this is a desperate, life-risking tactic." Gong Ying wiped the bloodstains from his face.

A flying wood splinter had scratched his left cheek.

A fierce glint flashed through Zhou Yi's eyes, and he said, "I won't give them the chance; continue firing!"

The enemy was no longer trading shots with them but was charging toward them.

This was equivalent to pointing their bows at them, completely abandoning firepower, seeking only to close the distance, aiming to take down as many as they could.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Under Zhou Yi's order, the thirty sailing warships roared once again.

Cannonball after cannonball flew toward the charging British and Dongying warships.

"Boom!" One warship was hit by a conical cannonball and exploded.

"Boom!", "Boom!" Then two more followed.

The British and Dongying sailing warships were constantly decreasing.

When they entered within two hundred meters, Zhou Yi ordered eighteen sailing warships to remain in place and continue shelling.

He then led twelve steamships to tow twelve sailing warships and maneuver to the flank.

At this time, the British fleet had only six sailing warships towed by steamships left, and Dongying had only eight sailing warships remaining.

"It's over, it's all over."

At the Edo Pier, Watanabe had been watching the naval battle the whole time.

Seeing the British and Dongying warships exploding incessantly, his entire body stiffened.

The invincible British fleet in his eyes was being sunk by the enemy just like this, without any power to fight back.

Now, the Dongying and British warships were less than half of the enemy's.

And although a few Yanzhou warships looked damaged, it did not seem to affect their combat power.

"Great General, the naval battle cannot be won; we must prepare to defend against Yan Wang's invasion," Yamada Haruno said.

The British fleet and the Dongying fleet had been defeated; what would Yan Wang do next?

This question did not need to be pondered at all.

Upon hearing this, Watanabe slowly closed his eyes and said, "Concentrate all Dongying troops in important coastal cities, and conscript all Dongying males over the age of fourteen into the army; Dongying will never submit to Yan Wang!"

They had indeed lost this naval battle.

But he believed the main reason for the failure was their negligence; they had not hidden the fleet in inland rivers, nor had they expected Yan Wang to possess Steamships.

Yet, Yan Wang had won this time, but might not win the next.

This British Fleet in Dongtu was merely a second-rate British fleet stationed in Dongtu.

And he knew clearly that Britain possessed a massive fleet of over five hundred Warships.

Britain simply looked down on Dongtu and had not yet committed that fleet to Dongtu.

Furthermore, Britain's Steam Industry was ranked first in the Western Lands.

And this was just Britain; the Steam Industry of Sam Country was also booming.

Beyond Sam Country, there were other powerful Xitu Guo such as Frank and Ross.

Once they all turned their gaze toward Dongtu, Yan Wang's good days would come to an end.

Therefore, he had to continue to resist Yan Wang until the arrival of reinforcements from the Western Lands, so they could see the value of Dongying.

This was Dongying's only chance to dominate Dongtu.

Moreover, the Anti-Yan Alliance and the Eastern Land Alliance were led by him, he had participated in the internal strife of the Great Song, and Gaoli had also fought a war against Yan Wang.

How could Yan Wang let him go? The only path left for him was to resist to the end.

Even if Dongying were to be shattered like jade, he would not regret it.

As he was thinking, violent explosions rang out on the sea again, and three more Dongying Warships were engulfed in raging flames.

Meanwhile, the Yanzhou Fleet and the British Fleet were still maneuvering on the sea.

The British Fleet was like a snake, trying to bite onto the Yanzhou Fleet.

But the Yanzhou Fleet repeatedly shook off the British Warships, attempting to flank the opponent.

In the process of chasing and being chased, the eighteen stationary Yanzhou Sailing Warships continuously sought opportunities to fire their cannons.

Dongying Warships and British Warships were hit from time to time, falling into a sea of fire.