Chapter 5 Fist to Flesh

Within five minutes, the "North River," "Nanjiang," "Lu River," and "Yuejiang" each completed three rounds of simultaneous firing with all main guns.

It was observed that there were as many as six confirmed direct hits!

Because the first round of firing accidentally created a crossing shot which directly hit the target, the "North River" achieved the ultimate firing efficiency, securing results in all three rounds of firing, with at least three visually confirmed direct hits, bringing the hit rate to a stunning one-eighth.

The "Nanjiang" promptly adjusted its aiming point and achieved results in the second round of fire and hit again in the third round.

The sixth result belonged to "Yuejiang," which was only due to luck, as all other shells fired by this Battleship deviated more than a thousand meters.

Unfortunately, the six hit points were all on the upper structure and right in front of the main turret of "Reputation."

Although the bridge was completely destroyed, and both turret A and B were paralyzed, the "Reputation" did not sink, nor did it show any signs of sinking.

Probably woken up by the pounding, "Reputation" only deployed a smoke screen right before the "North River" fired its fourth round of salvo.

Gui Boyong adjusted the tactics without waiting for He Yongxing's order.

Still led by the "North River," the concentrated artillery fire targeted the Enemy Fleet's next ship, "Reprisal," which was commissioned on the same day as "Reputation" and completed a month earlier.

The artillery was still fierce, but luck was much worse.

At ten past seven, during the sixth round of salvo, they scored their first direct hit.

The hit point was in the middle of "Reprisal," between the two smokestacks. Although it was far from the main gun ammunition depot, it might have damaged the smoke ducts.

This shell wouldn't cost "Reprisal" its life but could cause it to develop emphysema, slowing it down.

"Reprisal" immediately released a smoke screen and followed "Reputation" in turning to disengage from combat.

In the meantime, several enemy ships fired multiple rounds of full and partial salvos, all quite off target, presenting only a mild threat at most.

To cover the retreat of "Reputation" and "Reprisal" and to complete the tactical turn, the now leading Battleship "Tiger," originally third in line, also fired smoke shells from its secondary guns, creating a smoke screen in front of its course.

By this point, the first Battle Patrol Squad was left with only four Battleships.

The battle thus entered a phase of close quarters combat.

Around 10:10 a.m., as "Tiger" emerged from the smoke and challenged the "North River"'s dominance of the battlefield with its first full salvo of main guns, the combat range had already closed to less than eleven thousand meters.

For battlecruisers with little protection, this was definitely a range of mutual destruction.

Regardless of the caliber of the main guns or the thickness of the armor, any hit on a critical spot, like the main gun ammunition depot, would undoubtedly be lethal.

"Keep the combat range under control, don't get too close!" At this time, He Yongxing only then reminded Gui Boyong, essentially instructing him to tell Colonel Zhang Zhuguo, the Captain of "North River," to precisely control the course and speed so as not to move directly into the opponent's gun range.

Although "North River" was also a battlecruiser, it was quite different from earlier ones, being closer to a Fast Battleship.

Just the amount of armor used was more than eight thousand tons.

In a sense, the standard displacement of forty-six thousand tons was a necessary outcome to ensure speed and firepower without compromising protection. Although it couldn't compare with the latest Battleships in terms of armor thickness, the armor thickness at vital parts according to the original design standards could withstand direct hits from twelve-inch armor-piercing bullets, critical areas like the Command Tower and the ammunition depot could withstand fourteen-inch armor-piercing shells.

The first Battle Patrol's remaining four Battlecruisers all had thirteen-point-five-inch main guns!

This meant that as long as they maintained an ideal combat distance, they could at least ensure they wouldn't be destroyed instantly.

Actually, He Yongxing was being somewhat redundant.

Even if he hadn't said anything, Gui Boyong knew to remind Zhang Zhuguo, as commanding the Fleet in a Gun Battle and maintaining advantageous positions were fundamental duties of a Combat Staff Advisor.

"Don't forget to have someone bring Advisor Bai back," He Yongxing seemed to suddenly remember, probably worried that Gui Boyong might forget, and he reminded him just before Gui Boyong walked away.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Gui Boyong knew well that He Yongxing had already taken note of the young and impetuous military officer.

Although the encounter with the First Battle Patrol Squad wasn't Bai Zhizhan's achievement, and he didn't have the capability to sway the battle, it was his judgement and the bold ideas he raised during discussions that gave everyone related expectations and allowed them to complete the combat preparations ahead of time.

For that point alone, Bai Zhizhan should be awarded an Excellent Service Medal.

At this time, inside the lookout tower.

After several practical operations, the rangefinder in the hands of Bai Zhizhan had finally become easy to use, and Bai Zhizhan had figured out his primary duty.

The lookout and range finding had nothing to do with directing artillery fire; their main task was to observe the points of impact of the shells.

Not just the impacts of the shells fired from their own ship, but also those shot by the enemy ships.

In this way, they could send out a timely warning when the enemy ships formed a crossing shot, allowing their own ship to tactically maneuver and break out of the enemy's artillery coverage area.

Fortunately, three consecutive enemy ships had failed to form a crossing shot against the "North River."

When the deputy lookout chief climbed up, Bai Zhizhan had just finished measuring. The shells fired by the Enemy Fleet's "Tiger" had all landed on the right side of the "North River," and they were all quite far away—the closest one about a thousand meters out, posing virtually no threat.

"Young Brother Bai, it's time for you to head down!"

"What!?"

Turning around, Bai Zhizhan saw the deputy lookout chief standing behind him.

Although the lookout tower could accommodate six or seven people, there were only four workstations; even one extra person made it feel a bit crowded.

"Young Brother Bai, we'll have a drink together when there's a chance!"

"No problem, I'll treat next time."

Saying this, Li Mingbo embraced Bai Zhizhan.

This move made Bai Zhizhan quite uncomfortable. Two grown men didn't need to be so affectionate, but unfortunately, the lookout tower was just too small to avoid it.

"Young Brother Bai, keep up the good work!"

After patting Bai Zhizhan vigorously on the shoulder a few times, Li Mingbo finally let him go.

Bai Zhizhan had already unclipped his safety harness and stepped aside to make room.

Just at that moment, a shrill whistling sound came from the sky.

To Bai Zhizhan and the others, that spine-chilling sound was all too familiar; it occurred every few minutes, but none had been as sharp as now, and they always disappeared far away without coming this direction.

Indeed, it was the sound made by an incoming shell.

After flying more than ten kilometers, the speed of the shell had already dropped below the speed of sound; the whistling indicated that the shell was about to land imminently.

In a split second, Li Mingbo grabbed the buckle of the safety harness that Bai Zhizhan had unclipped and reattached it around Bai Zhizhan's waist.

Almost simultaneously, an explosion occurred.

Before hearing the sound of the explosion, Bai Zhizhan had already been thrown into the air by a tremendous force, flying out of the lookout tower.