Chapter 541: Myanmar Sea Battle (5)

"Fire!"

At Jiang Zhiyuan's command, the Subdue Sea battleship launched the first attack, its three triple‑mounted 406 mm main guns roaring simultaneously.

The "dong dong dong" thunderous roar was deafening.

Heavy shells, whistling like meteors, streaked toward the Japanese Army Bird Sea.

The shells cut through the sky above the sea, leaving white trails, instantly reaching the Japanese Army fleet and slamming into Bird Sea.

Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang saw this and shouted, "Evasive! Quick evasive! Activate anti‑air fire, intercept enemy shells!"

Bird Sea, the heavy cruiser, immediately turned sharply to dodge the shells, while all its anti‑air guns opened fire, the "dadada" machine‑gun clatter and "dong dong dong" anti‑air cannon roar intertwining into a dense defensive barrage.

But the Subdue Sea's main guns were too powerful; the shells flew so fast that even with Bird Sea's full evasive effort, one shell struck its stern.

"Boom—" a massive blast, fire shooting skyward, the stern instantly blown open a huge gap.

The deck crew were lifted by the shockwave, seawater rushed into the hold, and Bird Sea's speed dropped instantly.

"Commander! Stern damaged, water flooding in, speed down to 15 knots, casualties among the crew!"

The staff officer, pale, reported to Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang. Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Immediately organize repair crews, seal the watertight compartments! The destroyers launch a counter‑attack, hold back the enemy battleship, and cover Bird Sea's emergency repairs!"

Six Japanese Army destroyers accelerated at once, rushing toward the Nankai Fleet; their main guns fired simultaneously, shells heading for the Nankai Fleet's destroyers.

Jiang Zhiyuan, seeing this, ordered, "Destroyer formation, advance! Entangle the Japanese Army destroyers, prevent them from approaching Subdue Sea and Steady Far! Steady Far, target Japanese Army destroyers, fire at full power, support our destroyers!"

The Nankai Fleet's nine destroyers responded at once, racing at full speed toward the Japanese Army destroyers; the two sides' destroyers became instantly tangled, cannon fire thundered across the sea, and explosions rose and fell.

Leveraging their numerical advantage, the Nankai Fleet's destroyers formed an encirclement and launched a fierce assault on the Japanese Army destroyers; their 127 mm guns kept firing, each hit carving a gap in the enemy hull.

The Japanese Army destroyers fought back valiantly, but being outnumbered and lacking heavy fire support, they soon fell into a passive stance.

One Japanese Army destroyer was sandwiched by two Nankai Fleet destroyers, hit by three successive shells; its hull was badly damaged, the engine exploded, black smoke billowed, the ship began to list and sink, the Japanese soldiers on deck leapt into the sea to flee, only to be struck by subsequent shells and plunge into the water, none surviving.

Another Japanese Army destroyer tried to break out, but Steady Far's heavy cruiser main gun locked onto it; a 203 mm shell precisely hit its bridge, which collapsed instantly, the command system was crippled, the destroyer lost control, spun on the surface, and was soon sunk by Nankai Fleet destroyers.

At this moment, Bird Sea's emergency repairs continued under pressure, but seawater rushed in faster and faster; the watertight compartments could not be fully sealed, the stern was completely flooded, speed dwindled, and the ship almost lost all maneuverability.

Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang stood in the command cabin, gazing at the battle outside the window, his heart full of despair.

Six destroyers had already lost three to sinking; the remaining three were also tangled by Nankai Fleet destroyers, in a precarious state, while Bird Sea itself was heavily damaged, unable to mount an effective counter‑attack, and breaking out was as impossible as scaling a mountain.

"Commander, we have only three destroyers left, all damaged, unable to continue supporting Bird Sea! The enemy battleship is attacking again, targeting us directly!" The staff officer's voice trembled with sobs, full of despair.

Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang looked up and saw Subdue Sea's main guns again bearing on Bird Sea, the barrels flashing coldly, clearly ready to launch another round.

"All hands, attention, full counter‑attack! Even if we sink, we'll drag the enemy down with us!" A flash of madness crossed Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's eyes as he shouted into the communicator.

Bird Sea's main gun managed a weak discharge, a shell fired toward Subdue Sea, but due to its slow speed and mis‑aim, it veered far off, landing on the sea and splashing huge water.

At the same time, Jiang Zhiyuan ordered, "Subdue Sea, fire at full power, target Bird Sea, destroy it completely! Steady Far, continue supporting the destroyers, sweep away the remaining Japanese Army destroyers!"

Subdue Sea's battleship's three triple‑mounted main guns roared again; this time, three shells simultaneously struck the midsection of Bird Sea.

"Boom— Boom— Boom—"

A series of explosions rang out one after another; Bird Sea's hull was blown open with a huge gap, the superstructure collapsed, the main gun was destroyed, and the magazine detonated.

The massive blast split Bird Sea's hull into two, seawater surged wildly, and the ship sank at a rapid rate.

Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang stood in the command cabin, feeling the ship's violent shudder, knowing he had utterly failed.

He stared at the mysterious fleet's warships in the distance, his heart full of resentment and regret, wondering if retreating the moment he first spotted the enemy fleet would have changed the outcome.

If he had enough troops at hand, perhaps he wouldn't have met this fate.

As Bird Sea kept sinking, seawater flooded the command cabin, Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's figure was submerged, but the staff eventually hauled him out and placed him aboard a rescue boat.

The remaining three Japanese Army destroyers, seeing Bird Sea sunk and their commander dead, lost all will to resist, tried to turn and flee, but were pursued and blocked by Nankai Fleet destroyers and Steady Far heavy cruiser, and were sunk one by one.

The sea surface was littered with warship wreckage, Japanese corpses, and scattered weapons; the water turned red with blood, cannon fire gradually faded, leaving only the howl of the sea wind and the sound of waves.

Jiang Zhiyuan stood in Subdue Sea's command cabin, looking at the battlefield on the sea, a determined smile appearing on his face. He lifted the communicator and addressed the entire fleet, "All units, attention: the Japanese Army Nankai Fleet has been completely crushed, none survived! Immediately clear the battlefield, inspect the warships' damage, then return to Yangon port and report the situation to the commander!"

"Received!" all crew answered in unison, their voices loud and full of victorious joy.

The Nankai Fleet's warships slowly sailed toward the battle's center, beginning to clear the wreckage; the crew stood on deck, gazing at the distant sea, their hearts filled with pride.

Some Japanese Navy vessels still lay in the water; faced with this, Jiang Zhiyuan ordered, under safe conditions, to take these Japanese sailors as prisoners.

This battle not only defeated one Japanese heavy cruiser and six destroyers, but also captured the Japanese Army Nankai Fleet's commander, Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang.

Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang, disheveled, stood before Jiang Zhiyuan.

On the Nankai Fleet side, only one destroyer had its stern hit by a Japanese torpedo, losing power, and could only rely on two destroyers to tow it back to Yangon.

A one‑to‑seven loss ratio is undeniably a great victory.