The shots hit the bow, the island, and the chimney. Even the larger Yoshino couldn't withstand a single shot, let alone the smaller Akitsuka. The power system boiler room of the Akitsuka was hit, causing a series of explosions. The Akitsuka sank very quickly, and the sailors on board were basically brought to the bottom of the sea along with the Akitsuka.
This time, the audience was much calmer. Many of the naval officers who were observing felt that the Prideful Sky was the perfect warship in their hearts. They had already seen the first two. However, judging from the appearance of the Prideful Sky, its defense was probably not too bad.
There was no mistaking it. This was the warship that the navy was pursuing. It had a larger weight, stronger firepower, and faster speed.
At this moment, the situation was that two ships of the Japanese Navy had been sunk. The old ships at the rear of the fleet, Fusang, Birui, and Chicheng, had all been heavily damaged by the Northern Navy.
The Beiyang Navy's situation wasn't any better. The three smaller ships, Guang Jia, Chao Yong, and Yang Wei, were severely damaged. The wooden hull Guang Jia was almost completely burned. In addition, reinforcements Ping Yuan, Guang Bing, and a few torpedoes were on their way.
The Proud Heaven was moving at a very fast speed. After taking out Yoshino and Akitsuzu from the first guerrilla fleet and chasing away Nangsu and Takachiho, the Proud Heaven was less than five kilometers away from the enemy's flagship, Matsashima. All the enemy's firepower on the starboard side was aimed at the Proud Heaven. The onlookers craned their necks to see the Proud Heaven's defensive capabilities. It should be known that the Japanese's artillery shells were filled with Shimose gunpowder, which could easily cause a fire.
Before the shells of the Japanese fleet hit the Prideful Sky, the 11 sub-cannons on the left side of the Prideful Sky taught the Songdao a lesson. Many equipment and lifeboats on the deck of the Songdao were swept into the sea by the shells. Many cannons on the right side were also destroyed, and more than 40 people were killed or injured.
After a few seconds, the Proud Sky was also hit. It was only a small caliber sub-cannon, but it still caused the Proud Sky to catch fire. The alarm of the Proud Sky resounded throughout the entire ship. Countless sailors braved the enemy's artillery fire and tried their best to put out the fire.
After the modern modification of the Prideful Battleship, its fire resistance was very strong. Only one transport boat was destroyed by the Japanese naval fleet.
"Baka, what kind of warship is that? What caliber is that cannon?”On the Songdao, Ito Sukehiro had the idea of retreating. These warships were ordered from overseas after decades of frugality by the Japanese. If they were to lose them in this battle, the huge debt that the Japanese Imperial Kingdom had to bear would probably have to be slowly repaid by their descendants.
" Commander, let's squeeze in the middle of the Northern Fleet, just like Noriko and Takachiho. This way, we can avoid the threat of that giant warship's cannons."”Captain Kajimoto Zhilang believed that there was a way to deal with chaos. Such a neat formation would only give the Pride a chance to sink their ships one by one.
The Proud Heaven, which had finished reloading, would not give them a chance. The main cannon fired a volley of bullets at the Japanese flagship, Songdao. At such a close distance, the trajectory was a little more straight. Two of the shots missed. One hit the sea in front of the Songdao, and the other passed by the mast of the Songdao.
The other four shots landed on the Songdao, causing it to slowly sink. The starboard dome armor could not withstand such a large-caliber cannon at all, and it was directly penetrated, allowing seawater to pour in.
The sinking of the flagship made the Japanese Fleet lose all their courage. None of the three new cruisers could withstand the main cannon of the Prideful Sky. Even a fool knew that they couldn't win. The few cruisers behind them that were relatively orderly instantly changed their formation and rushed towards the Northern Navy. The heavily injured Bi Rui turned around. Looking at the route, they should be trying to hit the Prideful Sky.
"Courage is a good thing. Sinking them is a form of respect.”Although the old Bi Rui was called an ironclad warship, it was actually just wrapped in a layer of iron armor. Such a ship could not even defeat the new ships of this era, let alone the later designed Pride. Before the main cannon fired, the secondary cannon switched to armor-piercing bullets and sank Bi Rui, which was less than 1,000 meters away from Pride.
Sun Wanghua saluted the Bi Rui. Warriors were always respected by the enemy. Although the Bi Rui was old, not a single soldier escaped. All of them were brought into the sea with the sinking of the ship, forming a strong contrast with the sailors on the Yoshino.
At 1:50 PM, the Proud Heaven sank four enemy ships, namely Yoshino, Akijinzhou, Songdao, and Hirei. Among them, the Northern Navy's Chao Yong and Yang Wei were destroyed by the Japanese cannons, and the Guangjia was sunk. Zhiyuan, Laiyuan, Dingyuan, Jingyuan, Jiyuan, and Jingyuan were all damaged to a certain extent.
The sinking of Yang Wei, Chao Yong, and Guang Jia did not affect the strength of the Beiyang Squadron because these ships were all very old.
The Pingyuan Ship, Guang Bing, and some other torpedoes also arrived at the Great East Ravine and joined the battle.
The Japanese's formation was completely interrupted by the Proud Heaven. Up until now, the Beiyang Navy had temporarily gained the upper hand. Among the sunken ships, Yoshino, Akijinshu, and Songdao were all new ships. They were all first-class main ships of the Japanese fleet. Yoshino and Songdao were the flagships. The sinking of these two ships had a fatal impact on the Japanese navy.
"Report, the Faraway Suppression Battleship has sent a flag signal, asking for our identity.”The soldiers on the lookout noticed the flag signal sent by Zhenyuan to the Proud Sky.
" Send a signal to all Beiyang warships. The Prideful Heaven will raise the flag. The orders are as follows. Regroup with the Prideful Heaven as the core. Dingyuan Zhenyuan will not join the formation.”Wei Chenghong's order made Sun Wanghua frown.
"Hold on, Commander. Zhenyuan and Dingyuan are old armored battleships. Although the enemy can't destroy them, if the Japanese ships escape, Zhenyuan and Dingyuan won't be able to catch up with them. What we should do now is to sink the injured ships behind the enemy.”
Sun Wanghua knew better than anyone else that if they really followed Wei Chenghong's orders, the Japanese fleet would definitely flee frantically because they were powerless against an opponent like the Prideful Sky.
"Then?"
"Proud Sky can raise the flag to command the Northern Fleet. At the same time, let the Northern Fleet engage the Japanese ships around us. After we sink the enemy ships, we will circle around from the outermost left side and help the other ships sink the Japanese ships one by one.”In comparison, Sun Wanghua's suggestion was more reliable. Otherwise, if they really gathered together and the Japanese ships got the opportunity, they would definitely escape. If they scattered, the mission of the Proud Heaven would definitely fail.
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