Rise of the Empire Total War

"A sea battle can ruin your whole day. - Thucydides, the ancient Greek historian who is comparable to Herodotus"

...

On March 28, 1120 in the continental calendar, the South Osa Sea.

It has been nearly a year since the Winster army invaded the Osa Peninsula. During this time, the Winster fleet equipped with artillery swept across the Osa Sea, stopping merchant ships sailing in various names such as collecting protection fees. , Ask them for the so-called protection fee, if someone refuses to hand it in, they will be detained in the name of colluding with pirates, and all the goods will be confiscated.

Such banditry quickly aroused dissatisfaction among various countries, especially the Acarnanian Alliance, a major trade country. They had always wanted to attack the Kingdom of Winster, but suffered from different opinions among the city-states within the alliance. Some agreed to start a war, while others opposed it. , so there has been no unanimous opinion. However, after the Kingdom of Winster went to war against the Republic of Gadir, an ally of the Acarnanian Alliance that possessed sulfur resources, they no longer had any worries. The kingdom declares war.

After the war started, the alliance navy, which had already been prepared, left the port and rushed straight to the Winster Navy on the Osa Sea. In order to completely eliminate the disgusting Winster Navy, the Acarnanian Alliance almost dispatched the entire The one hundred and twenty-nine warships that the Alliance can use are twice the size of the First Fleet commanded by General Sigurd.

Looking at the Acarnanian Alliance Fleet faintly encircling the opposite side, Sigurd on the flagship put down the early long-term telescope in his hand. When De learned about it, he guided the creation of these early telescopes.

"Pass down the order and prepare to meet the enemy." He said to the adjutant behind him, and the adjutant heard his words and went to convey his order to the sailors hanging on the sail, who waved the command flag to pass the order to other warships.

All of a sudden, while the colorful flags were waving, the fifty-two Hawker gunboats of the First Fleet were ready for battle. The cannons in the cabins were loaded urgently and pushed into the gun positions. Open the gun window and shoot outside. Not only the guns in the cabin are being reloaded intensely, but the musketeer sailors on the deck of the warship are also loading ammunition, as are the heavy artillery deployed on the front and rear deck towers.

At this moment, Sigurd looked at the sail above his head, which was constantly beating with the sea wind. He looked at the bright sunshine again, compared it, and he was overjoyed. The southeast wind is conducive to the operations of the First Fleet.

"Pass down the order, take the initiative to attack, and let the enemy groan under our artillery!"

Full of confidence, he ordered to the adjutant, and his order was immediately conveyed to the captains of other warships by the standard bearer. The captains who can become Hawker gunships are all experienced, and they immediately understood what Sigurd meant. ,

So, under the horrified eyes of the sailors on the Acarnanian Alliance warship opposite, the Winster fleet, which was obviously inferior in number, accelerated towards them and rushed over on their own initiative.

"Damn the Winstonians! What an arrogance!"

"Are they crazy? We have one hundred and twenty-nine warships!"

"God of the Sea, they must be looking for their own death!"

"..."

The sailors' discussions spread everywhere, reaching the ears of the captains of the warships. They were also very surprised, and they all looked at the flagship in the center of the fleet, hoping to get orders from the fleet commander.

Their ideas did not come to fruition. In the eyes of the captains, the flagship quickly waved the colorful flag. The colorful flag was very conspicuous in this white or blue world. After reading the flag language, the captains , one after another came to their senses and shouted loudly in Osa language: "Attack! Raise the wooden paddles, we want to show the arrogant Winsters how powerful the people protected by the Sea God are!"

"call!"

The order to attack sounded, and these galley warships with various patterns painted on their sails moved forward slowly. The huge wooden paddles exposed from both sides of the cabin were constantly slapping the sea surface under the vigorous push of the slaves of the warship, driving the heavy The warship moved forward, how slow their speed was compared to the Winster warship, and in the case of downwind, the Hawker gunship, which was heavier than them, actually moved at a high speed, and soon entered the effective range of the artillery within range.

In the next second, the artillery fired in unison, and the heavy artillery deployed on the front deck tower fired the first shot. Fifty-two black solid bullets escaped from the moment the sparks burst, rolled at high speed in mid-air, and flew towards the mobile The alliance fleet in the center, amidst the piercing whistling sound, the solid shells hit the hull of the wooden warship heavily. It poured into the cabin along the hole that was pierced, and drowned the slaves who were fixed in place.

Although the power of the shells fired by the heavy artillery is so great (of course, the artillery equipped in the cabin can also cause the same effect), but its accuracy is also inversely proportional to its power. The shells fired by the fifty-two gunboats actually Only a few poor shots hit the target, and the rest either hit the water, or just passed the boat pole, smashed the wooden boat pole, and fell heavily on the deck, crushing a few unlucky bugs who couldn't dodge in time.

After the first round of test firing, the artillery operators continued to load ammunition without checking the results. The rough sea made their loading more difficult, but they still successfully completed the loading. The range of the artillery is farther than the ballista equipped on the alliance warships, so before the Hawker gunship enters the range of the ballista, the heavy artillery deployed on the front deck tower has completed several launches, almost every salvo , can sink several enemy warships.

Such a terrible weapon made the sailors of the alliance feel demoralized before they took part in the battle. They looked at the pieces of wood floating on the sea, the sinking warships, and the drowned and floating corpses, and their hearts were full of fear. Instead of fear, they are not afraid of death, in fact they have fought many pirates, but what they fear is being killed by the enemy's mysterious weapons at a long distance.

Finally, the Hawker gunship came within the range of the ballista on board, and the sailors of the alliance quickly manipulated the ballista, aimed at the enemy ship that was getting closer and closer to them, and pulled down the firing mechanism. The giant crossbow bolts with the thickness of a human calf were ejected and flew towards the Winster fleet. However, due to the headwind, the trajectory of the giant crossbow bolts was affected, and most of them fell into the air. Some unlucky sailor was crucified on the deck.

"Freedom to fight!" Sigurd shouted loudly, and his flag-bearer hurriedly waved the colored flag to pass on his order, and then he shouted again: "Full left rudder! Prepare for shelling!"

"call!"

Following Sigurd's order, the straight-ahead flagship suddenly turned left, exposing the side of the cabin to the sight of the alliance fleet. The next second, the four windows on the cabin were suddenly opened, and the black cannon was pushed out. With the waves of the sea, shake and aim at the enemy ships that are getting closer!

"Cannon salvo!"

Rumble——

The four cannons in the cabin instantly roared like thunder, and the whole battleship tilted in the opposite direction as if it had been hit hard, causing violent waves. The tragic sea battle officially kicked off!