Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 972 – Z1 Type Warship Shows Its Strength
The Indian Ocean Region near Java was where storms happened frequently; a storm could occur at any time.
11th month, 16th day; this day would make this ocean region special due to a carefully planned ocean battle. The Java Badong Squadron had set a trap to surround the Emperor Squadron.
200 turreted warships, 500 Mengchong Warships, and thousands of Cima boats formed up into a huge ocean fleet. They covered the ocean surface, making one look out in awe.
Above the Badong Squadron.
Java Lord Uwais stood on top of the deck; he felt really free and smiled, “The Great Xia Squadron is not as scary as the rumors have it. They still got easily surrounded by us; let’s see how they are going to run.”
When the general beside him heard these words, he agreed, “Lord is wise and brave; the Great Xia Squadron is useless.” Those who did not know would think that the Badong Squadron had already won the war.
‘Haha~’
Uwais wanted to use this battle to suppress Shantha and the others who desired peace.
…
Seeing the Badong Squadron surround them, Gan Ning was really calm and did not panic as he moved the squadron formation. 40 Z1 Type Warships spread out once more into a row, forming the standard Man O’ War formation.
Each one of them opened up the cannon cabins and revealed their fangs.
‘Hong! Hong! Hong!’
Along with the cannons firing, although the scene was really astonishing, the battle was not really exciting.
The two sides engaged one another. You shoot one, I shoot one; it was just like two boxers fighting one another. There were no moves or strokes, and it was just them hitting one another until one side totally fell.
This time, the might of the Z1 Type Warship was displayed. The 90 new cannons were like fire dragons that swallowed up one enemy ship after another.
Be it the might of the cannon or the cannon density, the Emperor Squadron was far superior to the Badong Squadron.
With that, in less than an hour, after the battle started, although the Java Squadron had the numerical advantage, they were slowly pushed onto the back foot.
What a miraculous sight.
At this very moment, the originally calm ocean surface was swept up by huge waves, and the sky blue sky turned gloomy and lightning instantly struck. It seemed like a huge ocean storm was about to arrive.
It was like the ocean surface was boiling. Bobbing up and down, numerous warships floated around from the huge waves; they were unable to control their own fates.
One huge wave swept across and a Cima boat was toppled, and there were even Mengchong Warships that were toppled. Only the turreted warships and Z1 Type Warships were able to avoid such a fate.
“Damn it, why are we so unlucky?”
Uwais grabbed onto the barrier for dear life as he cursed.
Getting hits by such waves, not to mention aiming at the enemy, the Badong Squadron could not even fire. Their accuracy rate greatly decreased, and they could not pose any threat toward the Emperor Squadron.
Even to say that one huge wave caused the warship to shift and the cannon that had aimed at the enemy shifted toward their own warship.
The entire Badong Squadron was in chaos.
At this very moment, the storm that was festering for long arrived, affecting the commanding of the Badong Squadron. Now, it was like the entire squadron was paralyzed.
The Emperor Squadron that was surrounded was a miraculous sight.
Being protected by Mazu, the Great Xia squadron’s ability to weather storms exceeded that of anyone else. Although this storm was intense, it could not be compared to the first storm they faced during the previous voyage.
As the huge waves tossed and turned, the Emperor Squadron was as stable as a mountain.
The Emperor Squadron’s command system was also more advanced than Java’s. Apart from flag language, there were drums. Despite the storm, the entire squadron was still running orderly, and they did not panic.
Gan Ning naturally would not miss such a chance, and he ordered the squadron to launch their assaults on the enemy.
‘Hong! Hong! Hong!’
Even thunder could not cover the sounds of the cannons. The cannons and the thunder along with the shining lightning made it look like the end of the world had arrived.
This time, the Badong Squadron was in a terrible state. They were like living targets, and they could only get hit while being unable to strike back in return. In just half an hour, 10 warships were sunk, making Uwais feel really heart pained.
When he built the Badong Squadron, Uwais had spent all the money and resources he had. To keep it a secret, apart from attacking pirates in the Indian Ocean, the Badong Squadron was really low profile, and even the other Lords of ASEAN did not know about it.
Who knew that they were going to mess up during their first performance?
Uwais’s face was ashen white like the lightning as he gritted his teeth, “Flee!”
If this continued, he would be betting the entire foundation of his territory. Great Xia was huge, and even if the Emperor Squadron was crushed, it was not much of a problem to them. As such, Uwais naturally would not dare to take such a gamble.
This was the result of having a skill gap.
Even the retreat order was one that the Badong Squadron was confused about when they received it. Luckily, the soldiers were already afraid. Seeing that there were other squadrons retreating, they did not bother to verify the orders and just retreated right away.
The originally packed ocean surface instantly became open.
A sudden ocean war had ended just like that because of a sudden storm.
…
Seeing the Badong Squadron escape, only then did Gan Ning stop chasing. This kind of bad weather had an influence on the Emperor Squadron as well. If they were not careful, it might backfire instead.
In the end, they had a numerical disadvantage, and it was a hard fought victory. They lost eight Z1 Type Warships, 20 Mengchong warships, and hundreds of Cima boats.
Although the price was huge, the rewards were huge too.
During this battle, they had destroyed 35 Badong Squadron turreted warships, removing a division of their numbers. They had given the enemy a huge slap to their face.
After this battle, Java would probably need to lie low for a period of time, and this was really beneficial to the Great Xia’s plans in ASEAN.
…
Ouyang Shuo stood on deck; the storm rained down, but it was unable to shake him. He was standing up straight as he focused on the Badong Squadron that was slowly sailing away, “Try our best to rescue our boys who fell into the waters.”
“Yes my king!” The messenger soldier turned around and left.
It was a huge storm, so be it the Badong Squadron of Emperor Squadron, there were many soldiers who fell into the water.
During such a huge storm, if one did not save them in time, their chances of survival would be very low.
With one wave, who knows where they would be swept to?
No matter what, Ouyang Shuo could not abandon his brothers.
Once the storm passed, the Emperor Squadron tried their best, but they were only able to save less than half of them. Who knows where the remaining soldiers were swept to, but their chances of survival were really low.
After sweeping the battlefield, the Emperor Squadron set off once again.