Chapter 322 Dawn

The ocean has never been in order. If you want to establish a new order, you will inevitably resort to violence.

The road to becoming a king is destined to be illusory without the blooming of flowers in blood and fire.

"An unprecedented naval battle just kicked off the principality's unification of the southern continent."

Adrian was not panicked at all. He stood in front of the sea chart and estimated the time.

For the principality, there are no secrets.

And in the sea off the White Sand Islands, ships gathered one after another.

Warships with various flags uniformly hung the red skull flag.

There are regular navies of countries, dozens of warships are neatly arranged, and they are mighty.

There are also scattered pirate ships, shuttling quickly.

There are more gunboats converted from merchant ships, and their bloated bodies look a bit happy.

As the number increases, the entire sea is covered with white sails.

Large ships are connected, and small boats shuttle among them.

Representatives of various forces stand on the ship, full of pride.

"The ocean is free and should not be monopolized by a certain force."

This is a counterattack from justice and the beginning of breaking the myth of the Northern Principality.

At this time, everything is on the table.

It would be a joke to expect that the scale of more than 200 warships can be concealed from the Northern Principality.

But the sea has its own characteristics, and reinforcements are too late at this time.

There is no choice but to fight.

Because of the large scale, communication between warships is a problem.

They can only be roughly divided into several groups, each restraining their subordinates.

Then take turns to attack and share the pressure.

The representatives of several forces met face to face for the last time, agreed on the order of attack, and then... set sail.

The warship in the front raised its sails and cut through the waves.

It was not until two hours later that the last warship started.

Since entering the White Sand Islands, the relatively narrow sea surface has been blocked.

Some nearby islands are even more filled with sailboats.

The patrol ships that were common in the past have also disappeared, and there is no trace of any transport ships.

When the White Sands Port received the news, the sharp alarm pierced the eardrum.

All the combatants were in state, and the black slaves were locked up.

The anchored warships began to start, and Adrian directly ordered: "Leave the port, can't be blocked."

For warships, mobility is very important.

As for the White Sands Port, it can only hold on by itself.

Ben is his old subordinate, he knows Ben's character and is very relieved.

Before boarding the Warrior-class battleship, Adrian looked back.

Ben has changed into a regular uniform with various badges on his chest.

As if he noticed the gaze of his old boss, Ben suddenly looked over and smiled.

He stretched out his right hand and saluted.

"Don't worry, the people are in the city."

The glory of the Knights of Augusta will not be lost from my hands.

Ben seemed to be speaking to Adrian, but only he could hear it.

Even for the Duke.

The port fortifications that have been built unremittingly finally came in handy.

There are also eight of the latest 260mm caliber heavy artillery on the platform.

Below it are 204mm caliber heavy artillery, 180mm caliber heavy artillery, and 140mm caliber coastal defense artillery.

As the first stop on the new route, various artillery has never been lacking.

At this time, all the obstructions of the gun positions have been removed, and the black barrels are all facing the sea.

The black smoke of the steamship has gone away, and the white sails of the sailboat appear in sight.

The two sides soon contacted.

"Grab the T."

Adrian ordered without hesitation.

This is the latest research result of the Navy Department, which can give full play to the firepower advantage, interrupt the opponent's formation, increase mobility and other advantages.

And the advancement of this tactic has been confirmed in simulations again and again.

However, it is meaningless for the combined fleet, as they are too big.

Boom! !

When the first gun sounded, it meant that the battle had begun.

The combined fleet even separated a fleet and tried to attack Baisha Port at the same time.

The ironclad fleet has an absolute firepower advantage, and it is meaningless to have more ships.

There will always be only a few people in direct combat.

When the Warrior-class battleship's 260mm caliber heavy artillery hit the dense wooden sailing ship, it directly blew the sailing ship into two sections.

The gunpowder carried by the shells instantly exploded with great power, and the flames tore the deck with the explosion and tore the ship apart.

It was as if a pair of invisible giant hands were operating, and the divine punishment was brought down with the flames.

The people on the entire ship had no time to react, and they were swallowed by the flames in the next second.

The bow and stern of the ship were respectively inserted into the sea water, rolling up whirlpools.

Most of the crew members died directly, and a few survivors struggled in the whirlpool.

But often this struggle is in vain. No matter how good the water is, it is impossible to escape the death whirlpool.

The tragic scene could not stop the warships behind from continuing to move forward.

It's not that the sailors are not afraid, but there is really no way to retreat.

The ships are crowded with each other, and there is nowhere to run.

The only way out is in front, where the ironclad ship is.

So, a tragic battle broke out.

The warships rushed forward one after another, and the shells flew everywhere like raindrops.

The Warrior class, which was in the middle, became the primary target.

Shells hit the armor from time to time, causing the entire ship to vibrate.

Adrian's face was tense. Although he had seen many big scenes, this was the first time he had seen such a big scene.

Many times, he thought the battleship was going to disintegrate, but in the end it turned out to be a false alarm.

The huge displacement of 4,000 meters, coupled with the reinforced structure and external armor at key parts, made the ironclad ship incredibly thick.

Even though the shells bombarded again and again, the whole ship kept making metal tearing sounds, but it remained strong.

Fortunately, the hit rate of the shells was limited. The battle lasted from dawn to dusk, and the battlefield had moved dozens of nautical miles.

Even some of the artillery burst, and the rest didn't know how many times they rested.

The dense artillery sound never stopped, and a large amount of wreckage floated on the sea.

There were wailing sounds everywhere.

"Minister, the No. 7 ship is also in trouble, apply to withdraw from the battlefield."

"Let them retreat."

"The power system of the No. 11 ship is damaged, request to abandon the ship."

"Allowed."

"The No. 3 ship sank."

"Let the nearby warships rescue."

"The shells are running out, only a base number is left."

"Fire them all out, no need to keep them."

Adrian was extremely calm. Warships were severely damaged and withdrew from the battlefield one after another, and some simply sank, or even sunk.

When it was dark, there were only four warships that could still participate in the battle, and they were facing the end of running out of shells.

And in the distant Baisha Port, the battle was still going on.

The combined fleet rushed ashore several times, but was driven away by Ben and his men.

The combined fleet suffered more than half of the damage, and it was carried on in one breath.

Everyone knew that this was a gamble, and losing would mean a loss of millions of gold coins every year.

So they accepted any losses.

The reason why morale did not collapse was not only because of the strong pressure from above, but also because the dawn of victory was just around the corner.

The ironclads suffered more losses, and the gunfire gradually stopped.

It was dark, but the dawn came.