Chapter 1 Ráo Zǐdān

Facing the Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng's division fleets that charged over with murderous intent was Ráo Zǐdān. Ráo Zǐdān leisurely placed his fleet across the front of the line. At this moment, Ráo Zǐdān's division fleet had already loaded the third round of Greek Fire bombs, neatly drawing out trails of green smoke. Although this round of shooting was intended to stall, besides causing some damage to the warships at the very front, the effect was only so-so. Still, Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng's two division fleets slightly reduced their speed to avoid the attack. At this time, the next action of Ráo Zǐdān's division fleet made the entire allied fleet gasp. The fleet, forming two staggered columns, while maintaining a steady speed, sprayed the Greek Fire's oil across the entire sea surface. The airship squadron in the air could clearly see that as the fleet advanced, Ráo Zǐdān's fleet was like a huge brush, fully dipped in ink, drawing across a large, blue-glowing piece of paper...

Kǎlěisī immediately understood the opponent's tactics. It was clear that they wanted to create a fire wall to separate the entire battlefield. Indeed, the other side hadn't ignited this control zone yet, but if anyone wanted to cross this area covered with terrible incendiary agents, the other side would definitely ignite it without hesitation. Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng's lines could only hastily detour around the two wings of this isolation zone, while still requesting Alexandros's opinion. However, at this time, the other division fleets under Yè Tāo had already been lying in wait on both wings of the isolation zone, just waiting for the enemy to rush up.

Alexandros was also stunned for a moment but didn't rush to issue new orders. Behind Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng was the entire allied fleet. Alexandros's control over the allied fleet was much worse than Yè Tāo, Mǐn Yuè, and Qí Zhèntāo's. On the one hand, it was because the fleet was huge, but the command system was relatively lagging. Especially without airships relaying commands in the air, it was almost impossible to issue orders to allies or enemies that were slightly further away or separated by obstacles in the middle. On the other hand, it was also because the allied fleet had too many complex ship models. Each country had its own traditions, and their national power was also different. It couldn't be expected that countries with only short coastlines and relatively small territories would have the national power of the Sasan Kingdom and the Parsa Kingdom, and be able to throw out mountains of gold coins to build powerful warships. Alexandros couldn't only consider how to fight best, but also had to calculate whether the division fleets below could execute his orders. Alexandros was the naval marshal of the Sasan Kingdom. He couldn't say he had much confidence that those ships of the Parsa Kingdom would definitely listen to him. In this situation, Alexandros could only be conservative and not rush to change the order, also to see the performance of Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng's two division fleets. The isolation zone in the middle of the battlefield had stopped his side's charge, which was very depressing. But if he could quickly gain an advantage on the battlefield, this isolation zone could also be used by him to become the other side's death warrant. In order to test the other side's combat capabilities and determination, even at the expense of Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng, it might be worth it. After all, the two men's fleets together were only forty or so fast ships, less than 10% of the entire fleet's strength.

Alexandros, with a sullen face, didn't say much. The officials on the fleet's flagship and the liaison officers from various countries were all shrewd people, and they naturally understood what his silence represented. Even the representatives of the countries to which Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng belonged didn't say a word, so no one else dared to say anything.

Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng gathered their ships together and detoured around the southern wing of the isolation zone, simply abandoning the northern wing. The Seven Seas Trading Company's warships probably wouldn't chase after them around the isolation zone from the rear. After all, behind them was the main force of the allied forces, and there was no space to pursue.

However, today, the Seven Seas Trading Company showed not only a pre-planned strategy for controlling the battle, but also a strong desire to fight. Facing Kǎlěisī and Zhā Jiāmíng's fleet head-on was actually Katerina. Although Katerina also had a mixed fleet of Huya-class, Cangshui-class, and Lanshui-class ships, she chose the most flexible and compact Cangshui-class ship as her flagship. She didn't slow down or furl her sails when facing them head-on. Instead, while drawing arcs to continuously fire, she charged straight into the middle of Kǎlěisī's fleet. Although the Huya-class ships weren't designed for boarding battles, their huge and sturdy bodies were equally powerful for ramming. When two Huya-class ships took the lead in rushing into Kǎlěisī's fleet, the captains under Kǎlěisī could only quickly maneuver to avoid them. They had long been prepared for boarding battles, and while avoiding, they were already throwing out grappling hooks to prepare for melee combat. But Katerina couldn't let Kǎlěisī have his way. At this time, her flagship, risking being caught in the rapids, was sandwiched between two Huya-class ships, charging towards Kǎlěisī's fleet together. When her flagship poked its head out, it preemptively threw a pile of Greek Fire bombs towards the center of the enemy's fleet.

Although Katerina's style of fighting was somewhat different from the strategy originally set by Yè Tāo and the others, the effect was good. In naval warfare, in addition to relying on the power of warships and armaments, one must also rely on the courage of the sailors. Combining the two can yield the best results. The reason why the Seven Seas Trading Company could develop the tactic of firing crossbow cannons almost at point-blank range, combined with Greek Fire, was because the sailors under their command didn't completely rely on the crossbow cannons that outranged the enemy or the terrifying Greek Fire bombs. They weren't afraid of fighting the enemy with blades out in the open. When Katerina usually led escort fleets, although the casualty rate of her fleet wasn't low, unexpectedly, those trained sailors especially liked to join Katerina's fleet.

Katerina rushed into Kǎlěisī's fleet and became entangled in close combat. Xià Jiāngpíng's division fleet hurriedly spread out on the flanks, continuously bombarding. A series of attacks prevented Zhā Jiāmíng's fleet from supporting them for a while. In naval warfare, disrupting the opponent's rhythm and destroying their formation is more insidious than any tactic. Warships are not individual soldiers. They can't stop when you tell them to, and they can't run when you want them to. Raising and lowering sails and coordinating formations are very troublesome tasks. Communication, coordination, and the tacit understanding between the front and rear teams all require a lot of time. Even a regular merchant fleet, when encountering any situation that requires an unplanned maneuver, would take a long time to complete without interference. How much more so under the threat of a pile of things that can kill people?

With Xià Jiāngpíng holding them back, Yè Tāo and the others, who could see clearly on the flagship, put down their telescopes and looked at each other.

"This battle, even if it's fought down, is ours," Yè Tāo sighed and said. At least at the beginning, during this not-too-long period of time, the entire battle was proceeding almost exactly as they had expected.

Mǐn Yuè raised his eyebrows and said, "Then it depends on when that Greek Fire is ignited. Yè Tāo, does that stuff really work in water?"

Yè Tāo smiled and said, "You guys started using that stuff when it was still called Fierce Fire Oil, why are you asking me now? Although the ratio will gradually become unbalanced as it evaporates, and the power will decrease, these things are indeed not easily diluted by water, and their aggregation performance is also very good. They won't drift around randomly. At least it won't be a problem for an hour or two."

Seeing that Yè Tāo was so confident, Mǐn Yuè nodded and said, "Then that's settled. The airship squadron is in the sky and can ignite it at any time. This is much safer than constantly sending ships to the front. Let's calculate based on two hours and see how far we can fight in two hours."

Everyone was still relatively confident in the battle. The problem was how much loss would it take to obtain the results they needed. And how much time would it take.

As the battle continued, uncontrollable situations gradually occurred without anyone noticing. First of all, the isolation zone in the middle was inexplicably ignited by a crossbow arrow wrapped in white gauze from an unknown ship. The entire sea area suddenly burned and boiled. Even at a considerable distance, one could feel the heat wave coming towards them. During that period of time, regardless of whether they were close to the isolation zone or not, regardless of which side they were on, all the fleets moved towards the direction away from the isolation zone, for fear of being forced into the isolation zone and engulfed in that dazzling fire.

However, after a while, it became another situation. While burning fiercely, the Greek Fire was also drastically reducing the burning area. The power of Greek Fire was indeed great, but the burning speed was too fast. Yè Tāo looked at the situation and muttered, turning back to urge the research institute people to develop a slower-burning, longer-lasting incendiary agent specifically for delaying operations and blockades. Mǐn Yuè and Qí Zhèntāo smiled at each other and didn't say anything. There might not be many opportunities to use this kind of combat. Although using Greek Fire for blockades was a bit extravagant, it was good enough. However, the guards following Yè Tāo didn't think so. They took out their personal notebooks and pencils and recorded it casually. Yè Tāo had even specially made a flat wine pot for the guards to drink on horseback, and a pouring spout made of polished steel to prevent overturning and dripping. These combat matters, mainly the need, naturally had to be as perfect as possible.

Once the Greek Fire burned out, the opponent's main force charged over in full force. Despite the best efforts of Ráo Zǐdān and Qí Zhú to intercept them, they couldn't stop the enemy. Gradually, they still formed a situation of mutual entanglement. Even the Níng Xuán, which had been closely protected, was threatened. However, being threatened was one thing. The people on the Níng Xuán were a bunch of active elements who feared nothing more than a lack of excitement. Mǐn Yuè took over the communication of the entire fleet, Qí Zhèntāo was responsible for commanding the movement of the flagship and escort fleet, and Yè Tāo continued to be the shooting commander, eagerly joining the battle. The gunners equipped on the Níng Xuán were indeed extraordinary. The first volley had three Greek Fire bombs hit a medium-sized enemy ship, instantly causing the ship to withdraw from the battle... But the entire naval battle was still in a stalemate.