Chapter 207: Covering Fire

"So big..." Koga murmured, then smiled. "Father, have you ever seen a ship this big? Surely you haven't..."

The Hatsuharu's list exceeded thirty degrees. Seawater had already risen to Koga's waist. He took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked the butt into the sea.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor..."

Those were his last words.

Then, the seawater swallowed him.

Battleship Yangtze, starboard secondary battery director.

Second Lieutenant Chen stared at the fire-control radar screen, his fingers dancing rapidly across the control panel. On the screen, over a dozen small blips were rushing toward the formation at speeds exceeding thirty knots, the distance already closed to fifteen thousand meters.

"Targets confirmed, Japanese destroyer group, thirteen in number... no, only nine remain now. Speed thirty-two to thirty-five knots, heading straight for our formation."

Secondary battery commanding officer Captain Zhou Weiguo nodded: "The Omaha Class did well, already intercepting half of them. But the ones remaining... it looks like they're dead set on charging through."

"They want to use torpedoes," Second Lieutenant Chen said. "Type 93 oxygen torpedoes, range forty thousand meters, speed forty-eight knots. If we let them get within ten thousand meters, it will be very troublesome."

"Then don't let them get through." Zhou Weiguo walked to the observation window and watched the small black dots trailing black smoke but still charging in the distance. "Order all secondary gun turrets: target Japanese destroyers, full automatic mode, free fire. Prioritize the ones charging at the very front."

"Yes!"

The order was transmitted through the internal communication system to every secondary gun station on the Yangtze. This forty-one-thousand-ton giant (standard displacement) carried a total of twelve twin-mounted 105mm dual-purpose gun turrets and six twin-mounted 150mm secondary gun turrets on both sides. These guns were originally designed for air defense and anti-torpedo-boat work, but with the support of advanced fire-control radar and automatic loading systems, the barrage they formed was enough to tear apart any light vessel that came close.

At the starboard C turret, gunner Li Daming switched the firing mode to "full automatic." The fire-control radar continuously provided target data, servo motors drove the turret to rotate rapidly, and the autoloader fed Shells into the breech at a rate of fifteen rounds per minute.

"Target locked, distance fourteen thousand, speed thirty-three knots." Li Daming stared at the instrument panel. "Open fire!"

Two 105mm rapid-fire guns spewed flame simultaneously. The turret maintained a continuous firing rate of one round per second, Shells tracing dense trajectories through the air as they flew toward the distant destroyer group.

Li Daming was among the first batch of gunners to receive training on the new artillery. He still remembered what the instructor had said: "The Bismarck Class's secondary battery system is not a simple defensive weapon; it is a complete anti-ship system. Within its Effective Range, no light vessel can survive."

At the time he thought the instructor was bragging. But now, watching the blips rapidly decreasing on the radar screen, he believed it.

"Hit! Target speed decreasing!"

"Another one on fire!"

"Beautiful! Direct hit on the bridge!"

In the secondary battery director, the observers excitedly reported the results. Zhou Weiguo, however, frowned.

"Something's not right," he said. "These destroyers clearly know they can't charge through, so why do they keep charging? They've already lost over half their number under the Omaha Class's interception, and now they're charging into our secondary battery fire... this defies common sense."

Second Lieutenant Chen also realized the problem: "Unless... they're buying time for something else?"

Zhou Weiguo snapped his gaze to the radar screen. Behind the destroyer group, four larger blips were slowly moving—those were the Japanese Navy's four heavy cruisers: Chikuma, Aoba, Kinugasa, Myoko.

"The heavy cruisers aren't charging, they're... circling around?" Second Lieutenant Chen said in surprise. "They want to flank us?"

"No." Zhou Weiguo shook his head. "The heavy cruisers' Main Gun range is twenty thousand yards at most; at this distance they pose no threat to us. They're waiting... waiting for the destroyers to draw our attention, and then..."

His words stopped abruptly. Because on the radar screen, those four heavy cruisers suddenly began to turn, aiming their bows toward the Bismarck formation.

And at their bows, torpedo launch tubes were adjusting their angles.

"Torpedoes!" Zhou Weiguo roared. "The heavy cruisers are going to launch torpedoes! Distance... eighteen thousand! Speed thirty-five knots, number... at least sixteen!"

Second Lieutenant Chen's face went pale in an instant. Sixteen Type 93 oxygen torpedoes, traveling underwater at over ninety kilometers per hour, forming a fan of death spanning thousands of meters wide. Even if the Bismarck Class had a speed of thirty knots and an advanced fire-control system, evading so many torpedoes at such a great distance would be extremely difficult.

"Notify the bridge! Emergency evasion!" Zhou Weiguo bellowed into the communicator.

Almost at the same moment, a piercing alarm sounded on the Yangtze's bridge.

Heavy cruiser Chikuma, foredeck.

Colonel Shimazu stood at the bow, the sea breeze stirring his bloodstained uniform. Behind him, four 610mm torpedo launch tubes had been adjusted into position, and the torpedo crews were making final checks.

"Distance?" Shimazu asked.

"Seventeen thousand five hundred meters!" the observer reported.

"Enemy ship reaction?"

"They're turning! They're evading!"

Shimazu smiled. It was a smile of relief, the smile of someone who had finally found the right tactic.

From the very beginning, he had never expected the destroyers to reach torpedo range. The Omaha Class's interception fire was too strong, the Bismarck Class's secondary battery barrage too dense. Of the thirteen destroyers that charged, only three were still struggling on the surface now, and all of them were burning.

But their sacrifice was not in vain. They drew the enemy's full attention, allowing the Chikuma and the other three heavy cruisers to quietly adjust to the optimal firing position.

Seventeen thousand five hundred meters—this was the maximum Effective Range of the Type 93 torpedo. Fired at this distance, the torpedoes would need to travel for roughly twelve minutes to reach the target. Twelve minutes was enough time for the enemy to make many evasive maneuvers.

But Shimazu had sixteen torpedoes. He could set a fan spread, covering a stretch of sea five thousand meters wide. Even if the enemy had a speed of thirty knots, completely escaping this kill zone within twelve minutes would be nearly impossible.

"Sir, all torpedoes ready!" the torpedo officer reported.

Shimazu nodded. He took one last look toward the southeast, where the silhouettes of four enormous enemy ships were already clearly visible. Those ships were truly massive, far larger than the Kongo Class, their Main Guns thick enough to make one's heart race.

"I'm so envious," Shimazu said softly. "If only we had ships like these..."

But he knew the Empire did not. The Empire had no resources, no technology, no time. The Empire had only one thing: the courage to fight to the death.

"Attention all hands." Shimazu spoke into the broadcast. "This is the Chikuma's final battle. In one minute, we will launch all torpedoes, then turn and withdraw. I do not ask you to go down with the ship. I only ask you... to get the torpedoes launched."

He paused, his voice choking: "Gentlemen, to fight alongside you has been the honor of my life. Now—launch!"

"Launch!"