Chapter 930: A Show of Force

"Full speed ahead, close in on their warships." Maluofu quickly recovered from his shock and hurriedly issued the order.

The obvious problem was that in a long-range exchange of fire, their warships were at a disadvantage.

So, he decided to change tactics.

In naval warfare, sometimes they would brave the enemy's artillery fire to approach the opposing warships for close-range duels or boarding actions.

This was like the hand-to-hand combat between two sides after a line-infantry exchange, where both sides abandoned their muskets and relied solely on the courage of their soldiers to decide the outcome.

Especially when the enemy's muskets were superior to their own, this tactic was undoubtedly very wise.

Under his command, the Coalition steamships towed the sailing warships and charged forward with all their might.

To minimize casualties, they also adopted a chaotic formation, charging like skirmishers on a battlefield.

"The enemy commander is very seasoned."

On the flagship, Gong Ying looked at the Coalition fleet changing its formation, his brows knitting slightly.

He had to admit that the enemy naval commander had made a very correct decision.

Thinking back to how they hadn't headed for Luzon, but instead turned to attack Yizhou.

He felt even more that this Western Lands naval commander was a crafty character who must have been through a hundred battles.

If it were a navy of the same level as them, Yizhou would likely be in trouble this time.

But the Great Song warships' firepower far exceeded theirs, so this sneak attack would end in their defeat.

"His Highness has always been meticulous in his planning; why did he agree to General Zhou's battle plan this time? Could it be that he didn't consider the enemy's sneak attack?" Gong Ying suddenly revealed a look of doubt.

"Perhaps, His Highness simply believes we can handle any situation!" Gong Ying thought to himself.

Thinking of this, his gaze became firm.

This naval war was a test for the Great Song Navy.

If they could defeat the Western Lands Allied Forces fleet, then they would be qualified to move from the coastal waters into the deep sea in the future.

To engage with the Western Lands navy in global waters and compete for maritime hegemony.

If they were defeated, their aspirations would become mere fantasies.

If they couldn't even win at their own doorstep, could they defeat the enemy in the deep sea?

"Fire at will, keep monitoring the distance between the warships, and retreat when the enemy enters the 500-meter range," Gong Ying ordered.

Within 500 meters, the enemy warships' artillery would pose a threat.

Since they were all maritime cavalry, he naturally had to use the advantage of his own artillery to kite them and drag them along while attacking.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

As his order was issued, the twelve sailing warships each aimed at their targets, pouring out rounds of cannonballs.

These cannonballs landed on the path of the Coalition warships, exploding into balls of flame in the air or kicking up giant waves in the sea.

At this moment, on the Coalition's sailing warships, everyone from the captains down to the soldiers held their breath, their foreheads covered in beads of sweat.

Having run rampant on the seas for two or three hundred years, they had never encountered such a powerful enemy at sea.

Especially in a place so far from the Western Lands.

However, due to the strict training and discipline of the Western Lands, they were just like the Army soldiers; even when facing line-infantry exchanges, they were fearless and absolutely obedient to orders.

Yet even so, when the cannonballs exploded near the warships, they couldn't help but tremble in their hearts.

"Boom!"

Just in such a tense atmosphere, an explosion suddenly occurred at the mast of a Coalition warship.

The entire mast snapped and collapsed instantly, the white canvas ignited, and a raging fire broke out.

Soldiers on other Coalition warships immediately looked over, and someone shouted, "That's the Fitz."

"God, they're finished," an old soldier lamented.

They knew very well that as long as one of the cannons on the side of a sailing warship could hit the enemy, then surely more cannonballs would hit the enemy afterward.

Because so many cannons were concentrated together.

Sure enough, the next moment they witnessed a scene destined to be unforgettable for the rest of their lives.

Three black shadows on the sea surface rapidly pierced the air, hitting the front bow, deck, and side of the Fitz one after another.

The frontal cannonball pierced the wooden plank, half of the cannonball embedded in the hull,

but it did not explode immediately.

The crew on nearby warships were just about to breathe a sigh of relief when, at that moment, with a "Boom!", a large gap was blown into the front of the Fitz, and seawater poured in.

The other two sides also exploded one after another, causing no small amount of damage to the hull.

"1,500 meters, they actually sank a warship at a distance of 1,500 meters." The hearts of the other captains sank immediately.

Originally, he had been full of confidence in this sneak attack.

But now, their mood was unprecedentedly heavy.

Was this really a sneak attack? Or was it a trap from the start?

"This is simply unimaginable."

At this moment, on the flagship Formidable, Maluofu also had his mouth wide open.

Having witnessed a British warship being destroyed with his own eyes, he could finally imagine the despair of the British Fleet during the Dongying naval battle.

But this did not make him feel afraid.

On the contrary, a more urgent desire to annihilate the Great Song fleet emerged.

In this short period, the Great Song had built such a formidable navy.

If they were allowed to continue developing, would there still be any room for the Western Lands fleet to operate on the vast ocean?

For the sake of Britain and even the Western Lands' interests, even if all the warships that came to support were to fall, they had to annihilate, or at least severely damage, Yan Wang's fleet.

If it couldn't be done once, then twice; if twice wasn't enough, then three times.

Although they in the Western Lands realized the threat of Great Song this time, it was clear they did not take it seriously enough.

Therefore, each country only dispatched a small number of warships, thinking that the level of effort used to defeat a small Western Lands country would be enough.

But the reality is that they, Britain, will likely need to summon the resolve of a full-scale war with Ross to deal with Great Song.

What is more, it may even require other Western Lands countries to cooperate with full force as well.

"We absolutely cannot fail." Ma Fu'er's eyes narrowed.

They, Britain, have over five hundred warships, Frank has over four hundred warships, and Ross, Sam Country, Folangji, and Stedan all have fleets of considerable size.

This is their capital for contending with the Great Song Navy.

Even if Great Song's warships possess an advantage in firepower, so what?

Can they withstand the wolf-pack tactics on the sea?

And can they endure a full-scale war, with the Western Lands launching attack after attack against Great Song?

"With three hundred years of accumulation, we will never lose to an indigenous country of Dongtu." Ma Fu'er clenched his fists.

The feeling of grief over the destroyed warships vanished in an instant.

Looking ahead, he continuously issued orders, having the warships adjust their formations.

During this process, as the distance between the two fleets grew closer, more warships were struck.

Among these warships were six Steamships and eight Sailing Warships.

Yet, these losses bought the distance between the Coalition warships and the Great Song warships down to five hundred meters.

Just as the warships on the south side were about to maneuver around to the rear to flank them.

The Great Song warships suddenly stopped their shelling and escaped through the gap in the south before the encirclement could close.

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