Chapter 638: Arab Sea Battle 3

"Well done!" cheers erupted on the bridge.

She Er put down the telescope.

"Turn to 140," he said, "speed thirty knots. Keep the Distance."

On the bridge of the Avenger, Aiwen Si‑Tuo Ma Si watched the two damaged battleships, their face ashen.

The Determination reduced speed to nineteen knots. The Royal Oak reduced speed to eighteen knots, still decreasing. The Sovereign, though undamaged, is consuming Fuel heavily and cannot hold out much longer.

Meanwhile the Deguo were still cruising at a distance, like two lions toying with prey.

"Commander," Chief of Staff Ke Luo Li's voice tightened, "this can't continue. They are wearing us down. When night falls, they can run or fight as they wish, and we have no recourse."

Aiwen Si‑Tuo Ma Si said nothing.

He knew Ke Luo Li was right. But what could he do? Order the fleet to retreat? Then the Deguo would catch up and strike from behind. Order the fleet to accelerate? Impossible, already at the limit.

"Let the Sovereign, the Conqueror, and I continue the chase," he finally said, "The Determination and the Royal Oak withdraw from the line of battle, retreating toward Mumbai. Assign destroyers to cover them."

Ke Luo Li hesitated, "Commander, three ships against two…"

"Three ships against two, we still have a chance," Aiwen Si‑Tuo Ma Si cut him off, "If we can get within eighteen thousand meters, our 381 mm Main Gun can pierce their armor."

He paused, "Send the order."

The order was issued.

The Determination and the Royal Oak slowly turned northwest, withdrawing from the battlefield under the cover of six destroyers.

The Sovereign, the Conqueror, and the Avenger—three Yingguo battleships—continued the pursuit southeast at twenty‑one knots.

Twelve fifteen.

She Er, through the telescope, saw the two damaged battleships withdrawing.

"The Yingguo have split their forces," he said.

The navigation officer stepped forward, "General, three continue the chase, two retreat. What shall we do?"

She Er was silent for three seconds.

Three against two, the numerical disadvantage narrowed. But those three—the Avenger, the Sovereign, the Conqueror—are all fully operational battleships. If they get entangled…

"Pursue those two damaged ones," he said.

The navigation officer hesitated, "General?"

She Er pointed at the two dashed lines on the chart moving northwest:

"The Determination at nineteen knots, the Royal Oak at eighteen knots. We are at thirty knots. In an hour we can catch up. Once caught, we eliminate them. As for those three—"

He looked up at the radar screen at the three approaching blips:

"Twenty‑one knots, they can't catch us. After we eliminate those two damaged ships, we'll return to deal with them."

The order was given.

The Bismarck and Tirpitz simultaneously turned, heading 310, speed thirty knots.

The two Deguo battleships, like two lions that suddenly turned, abandoned the three pursuing opponents and pounced on the two retreating prey.

On the bridge of the Avenger, Aiwen Si‑Tuo Ma Si watched the Deguo's movements, his heart pounding hard.

"Bad!" he shouted, "Full speed! Intercept! They're chasing the Determination!"

The three Yingguo battleships turned wildly. But twenty‑one knots versus thirty knots—a huge gap.

Distance was increasing. Twenty‑five nautical miles, twenty‑eight nautical miles, thirty nautical miles.

Twenty minutes later, the Deguo fleet vanished from sight.

Aiwen Si‑Tuo Ma Si knew where they were headed.

To kill the Determination and the Royal Oak.

One oh five in the afternoon.

The Bismarck caught up with the Royal Oak.

That old battleship was limping along at eighteen knots. Its port side still smoked, water ingress clearly substantial. On deck, the damage control team was working frantically, trying to seal the breach torn by a 380 mm Shell.

When the lookout spotted the Deguo battleship, a changed‑tone shout rang out on the Royal Oak's bridge.

"Enemy ship! Due south! Two—Bismarck Class!"

Captain Alfred Brownning, Colonel, rushed to the port window.

The two Deguo battleships were closing at full speed, distance now under twenty thousand meters.

"Main Gun ready!" he shouted, "All Main Guns, aim at the first ship! Fire!"

The Royal Oak's four twin 381 mm Main Guns began firing. But its turrets turned too slowly, aimed too slowly, loaded too slowly.

The first salvo landed a thousand meters ahead of the Bismarck.

The second salvo came closer, but still eight hundred meters away.

Third round—

The Bismarck opened fire.

Eight 380 mm Shells burst from the barrels simultaneously. Forty seconds later, three hit.

One struck below the bridge, blowing the radio room apart. One hit the aft deck, detonating reserve ammunition. One struck near the waterline, tearing a three‑meter‑long breach.

The Royal Oak shuddered violently. Its speed dropped from eighteen knots to fifteen knots, then from fifteen to twelve knots.

Tirpitz also opened fire.

Another eight Shells. Two hit.

The Royal Oak's bow began to sink. Sea water poured in wildly through the breach, flooding three compartments. The hull started to list—three degrees to port, five degrees, eight degrees—

Colonel Brownning stood on the tilted bridge, gripping the rail to keep his balance.

"Abandon ship," he said.

The executive officer froze, "Captain—"

"Abandon ship!" Bu Langning shouted, "Get everyone into the lifeboats! Quick!"

Lifeboats were lowered one after another. The sailors jumped into the sea, swimming hard toward the tiny rafts.

Bu Langning did not leave.

He stood on the bridge, watching the two Deguo warships draw nearer. He watched their gun muzzles spew fire again. He watched shells flying toward him.

1:31 p. m.

Royal Oak suffered a violent explosion—its magazine detonated. Flames surged from inside the hull, wrapping the entire battleship in a massive fireball. The mast snapped, the turret was torn off, and the hull was split in two by the blast.

The two wreckage halves sank to the seabed separately.

Within three minutes, they vanished completely.

She Er did not stop to watch Royal Oak sink.

"Target, Determination," he said, "Full speed."

Twenty minutes later, they caught up with Determination.

Determination's condition was somewhat better than Royal Oak's. Though it was hit once, the damage was non‑fatal, and it could still make nineteen knots. But nineteen knots against thirty knots left no chance either.

Captain Colonel William Boyer, upon seeing the Deguo warships, knew there was no hope.

But he did not surrender.

"Main Gun ready," he said, "Fire. Fire until the last Shell."

Determination's Main Gun began firing. Its gunners went berserk, loading, aiming, and shooting at top speed, caring nothing about the hit probability.

First round, near miss.

Second round, straddling fire.

Third round—

Bismarck and Tirpitz opened fire simultaneously.

Sixteen 380‑mm Shells fell at once. Four hit.

Determination's bridge was blown off, its navigation officer killed on the spot. The rear Main Gun turret was pierced, stuck at a fifteen‑degree elevation. Two large breaches were torn in the side hull, seawater rushed in, and speed dropped below ten knots.

But it kept firing.