After the sound of gunfire, the sea quickly returned to calm, leaving only a piece of wreckage. The destroyer Pioneer slowly passed by the wreckage.

Facing this steel fleet that was completely ahead of their time, the two small warships at Liu Zitao's border were completely crushed without even the strength to resist.

The giant eagle knights took off one after another, quickly exploring the surrounding terrain and inspecting the location of the next island.

Obviously, they had known for a long time that there was nothing of value on this abandoned island.

However, after this round of exploration, the giant eagle knights who occupied the high-altitude vision made new discoveries...

Controlling the giant eagle under his seat, a giant eagle knight quickly landed on the deck of the flagship Yangtze River.

"Report to the Colonel, a large enemy fleet has been discovered thousands of miles southwest of our fleet!"

The Giant Eagle Knights possess both high-altitude vision and the flying ability of a Giant Eagle, so the detection range is naturally astonishingly large.

When they say that it is thousands of miles away, they basically mean that the distance is very far, to the point where it is impossible to judge the distance just by visual inspection. That is why such a statement was born, and it does not refer to any precise number.

Standing on the deck of the Yangtze River, as the highest officer of this fleet and the commander of this battle, the expression on Yuan Xi's face at this moment did not reveal any carelessness.

Although just now their Yangtze River fleet showed overwhelming strength, crushing two small warships on the opposite side.

But since the Giant Eagle Knights said they discovered a 'huge enemy fleet', they definitely need to be seriously vigilant. They are on an expedition and being careless is the most taboo thing!

Raising the telescope in his hand, Yuan Xi checked in that direction. He found no trace of the enemy and said to the adjutant beside him without looking back...

"Lieutenant Colonel, give the order to change the course and head southwest. Maintain the speed at twenty knots. Once the enemy fleet is spotted, fire directly!"

Yuan Xi's order was quickly conveyed, and an entire Yangtze River fleet sailed directly to the southwest after a simple disguise.

The speed of twenty knots allowed their fleet to sail extremely smoothly, leaving ample room for themselves.

However, maintaining this state of close proximity to each other, after a period of time passed, Yuan Xi, who had been unable to come face-to-face with the enemy fleet, could not help but frown.

However, he has never lacked patience, and he did not lose his position because of this.

He calmly signaled the fleet to maintain a speed of twenty knots and continue moving forward.

On one side of the sea, as time passed by, black shadows gradually appeared at the end of the distant horizon, indicating that the fleets of both sides had finally launched their first face-to-face confrontation.

Yuan Xi, who was clearly aware that the target was approaching, gave another order, signaling the Yangtze River Fleet to start a detour to the left and forward.

Anyone who has a certain understanding of battleships must know that when firing from the front, a battleship basically has few cannons that can be used, and the firepower is completely limited by the shooting angle.

To maximize firepower, you have to turn sideways on the ship.

In this way, while closing the distance, the best way is to go directly to the left front or right front side.

At the same time, it is precisely for this reason that in some tense naval battles, there will often be a strange scene of the enemy's and ours' warships circling each other.

Liu Zitao, who was on the opposite side, undoubtedly knew how to fight a naval battle. As he kept approaching in a roundabout way, he gradually realized that something was not right.

After a visual inspection from a distance, the fleet on the opposite side seemed different from what he expected?

As this doubt arose, he subconsciously touched his waist and made a motion to get a telescope.

But it turned out to be empty...

After all, he was sunbathing with a beautiful woman just a second ago, but he was only wearing a pair of large pants, and there was no room for him to stuff his binoculars in that pair of pants.

"Telescope, get my telescope quickly!"

At this moment, Liu Zitao was vaguely aware that something was wrong, and there was already a bit of uncontrollable anxiety in his voice.

After hearing the order, the guards naturally did not dare to neglect and quickly presented their Emperor's telescope.

As a result, Liu Zitao had just taken it, and before he had time to make the next move, the roar of artillery fire from a distance had already frightened him out of his mind.

The roar of artillery fire was far away from where they were, and by the time it reached here, there was basically no sound that was too loud.

But for Liu Zitao at this moment, that sound was more terrifying than anything else!

"Avoid it! Avoid it quickly!!!"

The almost hoarse roar failed to have any effect.

The next second, with a loud noise, the main battleship was hit head-on by the enemy's artillery fire. A hole was directly punched through the huge hull!

Damn it, he really has seen a ghost!

Look what he encountered in this black iron rank?

It’s actually a steel fleet?! What kind of international joke are you making on him? Where is the chance of winning?!

This is really an almost despairing maritime firepower!

Under a volley of artillery fire, Liu Zitao, who was instantly deprived of the power to resist, yelled at his fleet to turn around and retreat.

His main battleship is a typical sail battleship. The huge main part is divided into three layers. Each layer is equipped with a large number of smoothbore cannons, with a total of eighty. The manning on the ship has reached

Nine hundred people.

This kind of sailing battleship should have been the maritime fortress of this rank.

However, now he has encountered a steel battleship that is directly ahead of his era. Now, even the sea fortress will collapse!

And the most terrible thing is that because it is equipped with 80 smoothbore guns and a large population, the weight of this sail warship is extremely exaggerated, resulting in the speed can only be maintained at less than ten knots...

In other words, it was impossible for him to escape.

Against this steel fleet, what's the difference between fighting them and fighting the natives?

Taking advantage of their speed, the four destroyers quickly spread out their formation in coordination with the Yangtze battleship, chasing and firing all the way.

Among Liu Zitao's fleet, the smaller warships were basically unable to withstand such firepower. They were hit by one or two cannons and sunk directly and forcibly.

And the huge size of the sailing battleship that he had always been proud of and felt was very impressive had completely become a target for the opposing battleships.

After several rounds of shelling, the entire hull had become shattered.

Gradually despairing in the face of absolute power, and then completely collapse, at this moment, this feeling can be said to be unprecedentedly clear in Liu Zitao's heart!
Chapter completed!