222. Preparation for the Trip to the Imperial City

The Zhenhai Naval Force only pursued symbolically for a while before they realized that even with cannonballs, the battle could no longer be continued.

In this battle, the naval force lost three warships, including the Zhiyuan, and the remaining seven were all severely damaged.

The hulls were riddled with holes from taking on water; some were still emitting thick, billowing smoke, looking like nothing more than scrap metal.

The flagship Dingyuan, in particular, had been scorched by a massive fire and had already lost the ability to navigate. It was now summoning the entire fleet's engineers onboard for repairs.

The situation was urgent at the time. The fire raging below the decks could not be extinguished, and the only option was to close the hatches to prevent the flames from spreading.

When these hatches were opened, many crew members were found burnt alive; they had stayed at their posts as the fire spread and were still in the positions they had been in the moment they died!