Start with an Archangel

Looking at the thick smoke rising from the side of the enemy warship from a distance, as well as the series of low gunfire, Sidney did not react at all.

This is the ultimate range of the ship-borne smoothbore cannon. In terms of the accuracy of the smoothbore cannon, the probability of a warship being hit by a shell at this distance is about the same as a person being hit by bird droppings. And even if it is hit by the opponent, the potential energy of the cannonball flying here has long been exhausted, and it will not be able to cause any damage to the thick hull.

This is just a deterrent bombardment by the troop transport fleet. The purpose is to make the invading fleet conduct evasive navigation to slow down their ship speed and buy time for our own fleet.

The flying shells smashed water columns one after another within a hundred meters around the fleet.

Without Sidney's order, the First Fleet did not make any tactical evasive actions and still maintained high speed.

The distance between the two fleets was rapidly approaching, and the troop transport fleet was at a disadvantage in both position and formation. The sense of urgency made Lucius once again urge the Pegasus knights to delay the enemy fleet as soon as possible.

The Pegasus knights, who had always been fighting, began to increase the threat to the sails. They flew roaring in the air in groups of two or three, trying their best to open up gaps to defend the griffins, and attacked the griffins whenever they had the opportunity. Breakthrough within the protective circle.

However, this time the Pegasus knights encountered a Royal Griffin knight who was a professional bodyguard. Shu Xiao not only had to resist the attack of the Pegasus knights himself, but also commanded the griffons to set up defenses at all levels to ensure that the sails of his own warships were safe.

After a period of dazzling tactical coordination, the Pegasus knights still failed to break through the griffins' defense. Their result was that they killed four griffins, but they themselves were killed by six griffins and archers.

The onslaught of the Pegasus knights was contained. The Pegasus distanced themselves from the griffons to recuperate their strength and prepare for the next impact. Sidney's first fleet entered the best range of the naval guns.

"All battleships obey the order, turn the rudder 15 degrees to starboard, and all artillery enter the gun positions. The target is the fourth brigantine battleship. The 'Iron Plate Armor' reports your vision."

"Tiepanjia" is the trailing battleship of the First Fleet. During the turning process of the entire fleet, it will be the last to adjust its angle.

The troop transport fleet's brig No. 4 is also the fourth battleship in the enemy fleet's five-ship sequence. It is now 200 meters to the right rear of the troop transport escort fleet and is entering the formation route. From the perspective of the angle, the poop of the Brig. No. 4 has been exposed laterally under the muzzle of the port gun of the First Fleet.

Under Sidney's order, the muzzles of all the port guns of the First Fleet were extended from the gun doors, and the dark naval guns were aimed at the enemy fleet's Brig No. 4 ship.

The strongest defense point of a warship is the two side walls. The wood here is not only thickened, but also has external armor plates on important parts. The bow and stern of the ship are affected by the load of the entire ship and the proportion of front and rear, so their defense is relatively weak, especially the stern, where the rudder, captain's cabin, and bridge are all located. Therefore, if the stern of a ship suffers penetrating damage from the rear, it is likely to lose its combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

Therefore, when it was discovered that the incoming fleet had begun to enter the bombardment position, the escort fleet's No. 4 brig did not dare to maintain the course of entering the formation, and turned the rudder urgently to prepare to use its starboard side to meet the bombardment.

The angle of the report from the captain of the Iron Plate kept echoing in Sidney's ears.

However, the tail ship did not enter the bombardment angle for a long time, and the enemy's No. 4 brig showed obvious signs of turning its rudder to protect its weak position.

At a farther position, the artillery of the troop transport fleet kept firing, and the artillery shells were getting closer and closer to the first fleet. At this moment, Sidney decided not to wait for the Iron Plate and ordered the entire fleet to fire a salvo at the enemy Brig.

"fire!"

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

The 50 artillery pieces on the port side of the First Fleet started firing from the first artillery group, and it took 10 seconds to tilt the 50 shells towards the enemy Brig. No. 4.

The gunners who finished firing did not care what they hit. Under the command of the gunner, they pulled the cannon with smoke from the muzzle into the cabin, quickly cleared the barrel, loaded gunpowder and shells, and then fired the cannon again. The mouth pushed out the gun port.

Sidney set up his telescope, and 50 shells formed low and flat parabolas in the air and flew towards the enemy Brig. No. 4.

At this time, the hull of the "Skeleton Soldier" shook slightly.

Got shot! But it doesn't matter. A shell hitting the side cannot cause much damage to the "Skeleton Soldier".

Sidney continued to observe the effects of the bombardment.

50 shells fell around the enemy's No. 4 ketch, and the water jets splashed up at close range almost submerged the small brig.

The shells fired at different times were still falling, and one of them directly hit the top of the stern of the ship, causing sawdust to splash into the seawater behind.

"Hit!"

Although only one of the 50 shells hit the opponent, with the new ship, new cannon, and new sailors, it was already very accurate to hit the opponent with one shot at this distance that had just entered the optimal shooting range. Moreover, this shell hit the top floor of the enemy ship's poop, where some long-range troops, such as elf archers, were usually deployed.

Seeing that one of our own warships was exposed to the artillery fire of the enemy's entire fleet, the three warships of the escort fleet that had entered the battle queue accelerated their firing at the first fleet to cover their own warships and complete the turn to protect their sterns. building. The battleships of the First Fleet were hit one after another, but the distance prevented the cannonballs from exerting their full power, and they could only make weak marks on the solid ship armor.

At this time, the "Tiepanjia" reported that it had entered the bombardment position, and each gun crew and each warship also reported that the second round of artillery loading had been completed.

Looking at the enemy ship that was about to turn its hull, Sidney quickly ordered: "Target enemy's No. 4 brig, fire! Free fire for three rounds. Each ship maintains formation and speed!"

Amidst the bursts of fireworks, a volley of artillery fired again.

With the first calibration, the number of artillery pieces fired in this round not only increased to 60, but the scattered range was also more concentrated.

Streams of seawater hit the walls of the two-masted battleship, and cannonballs in the sea water frequently hit the hull of the two-masted battleship.

After the second salvo, the First Fleet started three rounds of free fire. All the artillery that had fired their shells, after reloading their shells, fired immediately without waiting for orders, using high-frequency firing to increase the chance of hitting.

When attacking the enemy's No. 4 battleship, Sidney's First Fleet still maintained its sailing speed. His fleet quickly overran, ignoring the damaged enemy Brig. No. 4. While using naval guns to attack his own troop transport fleet, he cut in diagonally, preparing to use speed to seize the "T" prefix of the troop transport fleet. .