Munitions Empire

"Good heavens! They’re charging towards the port!" Bernard was startled to see the enemy forces suddenly change formation.

At a glance, he knew that their transport fleet was carrying ground troops. Otherwise, they would not rush toward the port with such madness.

His original plan had been to chip away at the "turtle shell" before him, until he had devoured all of the enemy’s warships.

But clearly, the enemy had no intention of sitting ducks—they seized the best opportunity to launch a desperate counterattack.

According to the enemy’s attack strategy, they intended to use the navy fleet to hold off the Great Tang Group’s fewer naval warships, while the landing fleet took the opportunity to rush into Dongwan Port.

Bernard put down his binoculars and contemplated his next move—he was now effectively pinned on the outer layer, with Dongwan Port behind him and the Shen Hai Navy fleet in front.

He had roughly a few options: First, to continue on the current course, bypass the Shen Hai Navy fleet, and catch up with the enemy’s transport ships on the other side, sinking those about to attack the port.

The problem was that this method was not easily executed. The enemy might land before he could get there, so it was very likely the landing troops would not be intercepted in time.

The second option was to maintain the course and continue fighting, leaving the enemy’s landing troops to the army and focus on taking out the naval targets. The advantage of this was that Bernard could at least ensure that the Shen Hai Navy warships in front of him wouldn’t escape.

However, by choosing this, the enemy landing fleet would still cause some damage to the port, which Bernard did not want to see.

The third option was riskier; he could immediately order the fleet to turn around and cut through the enemy formation. Breaking their defense line, he would catch up with the enemy’s landing transport fleet.

The advantage was that this would be the quickest way to catch up with the enemy’s transport fleet, but his fleet would face direct and close-range fire from the enemy cannons—this was a test of his warships’ defenses.

In just two seconds, Bernard made a bold decision—he chose the most direct, most effective, and most intimidating way to solve the problem at hand.

"Order the fleet hard to starboard! Adjust course! Charge the enemy ships!" With his fingers clenched tightly on his binoculars, Bernard issued an order that was close to madness.

He was prepared to willingly give up the T-position advantage and rush towards the enemy’s battle line across the sea with a disadvantageous fleet formation, breaking through their ranks and catching up with the landing transport before the enemy could threaten the port.

"Hard to starboard!" his deputy faithfully repeated his order.

"Hard to starboard! Maintain speed!" On the bridge of Warship Wolf 1, the captain, with his hands behind his back, loudly gave the order to turn with a hoarse voice.

The helmsman in front of the wheel turned the helm with all his might, and the heavy warship sketched an increasingly wide arc across the sea.

Waves spread out to both sides of the warship until they collided with the spray chopped by another warship, then interweaved together, disturbing each other and gradually fading away.

Accompanied by lights and signal flags, all the Great Tang Group warships began to turn within a minute, with the central Wolf 1 cruiser taking the lead, accelerating towards the enemy’s battle line.

Shen Hai was shocked by the scene before him, never imagining that the opposing commander would have the courage to make such a crazy decision to ram his battle line almost instantly.

Normally, an enemy wouldn’t abandon a superior formation to engage in a battle with the most disadvantageous formation under usual circumstances.

In his view, the enemy had the advantage of speed and had already taken the initiative. If they just maintained their formation, they could gradually wear down his fleet with minimal cost.

But it seemed that the enemy cared greatly for Dongwan Port, hence the hasty decision to charge straight into his fleet, abandoning the speed advantage.

This was a foolhardy choice to give up the advantageous T-position and face the enemy at a disadvantage! In Shen Hai’s opinion, the opposing commander was simply a fool.

Since the opponent had given up an easy victory, he would seize this last opportunity for the Shen Hai Navy to turn defeat into victory.

Suddenly invigorated, Shen Hai immediately ordered: "Have the troops envelop the enemy in a crescent formation on both flanks! Turn both flanks!"

As a navy admiral, he decided to use his sturdiest, most advanced 15 Ming Wheel Ships for a head-on collision—it was the most confident arrangement he had.

Once the sides were entangled in an indistinguishable battle, his fleet’s numerical superiority would come into play.

The opponent would soon find themselves ensnared, with sailing warships flanking them. By then, they would likely collapse due to a lack of resolve and be inclined to surrender with their fleet.

Even if the enemy was stubborn enough to lead the fleet in a breakout, they would pay a heavy price due to the fierce battle, and if the landing troops behind him captured Dongwan City, the enemy would likely have no place to retreat to.

At this thought, a Shen Hai man suddenly felt a slight anticipation, hoping that the enemy’s warships would arrive as scheduled and charge into his trap!

As time ticked away, the enemy warships, just as he had predicted, began to charge toward his fleet.

The distance between the two sides grew closer and closer, and shortly afterward, the artillery fire began. The Great Tang Group’s cruisers had three cannons in front, which could not unleash their full firepower.

The Brunas class also had only two cannons that could directly attack the front, so in total, the Great Tang group could only fire 15 cannons at this moment.

However, the difference was that the newly unfolded Shen Hai Navy’s Ming Wheel Ships, now broadside to the enemy, could use both the bow and stern cannons, so they could fire 30 large cannons simultaneously.

In terms of firepower, the Shen Hai Navy was twice as strong as the Great Tang Navy, but when it came to the quality of the firepower and other data, the overall strength of the two sides wasn’t that different.

For starters, the Great Tang side had 150 mm caliber cannons, which the Shen Hai Navy did not possess. The Great Tang Group’s cannons were equipped with optical aiming devices, obviously something the Shen Hai Navy lacked as well.

Secondly, the Great Tang Group also had advantages—they faced the enemy head-on, presenting a very small target area, causing difficulties for the less accurate Shen Hai Navy gunners.

Although many shells flew towards the charging Great Tang Navy like raindrops, very few actually hit their mark.

In contrast, the situation on the Great Tang Group’s warships seemed quite different: after approaching the enemy’s ships, the bow cannons spewed flames, and near the sides of the Shen Hai Navy’s warships, explosive water columns rose skyward.

Then, a shell hit a Shen Hai Ming Wheel Ship, proving that the Shireck-made Ming Wheel Ship’s durability was purely a matter of luck...

Previously, several Ming Wheel Ships that had been turned into waste still floated on the sea, leading the Great Tang Navy gunners to believe that the enemy’s warships were exceptionally sturdy.

But this time, due to bad luck, the shell-stricken Shen Hai Ming Wheel Ship immediately exploded in a sympathetic detonation. The ship’s ammunition ignited and exploded before anyone could react, sending the ship and its crew sky high.

The horrific explosion startled the sailors on the Ming Wheel Ships on both sides. They leaned against the railings with their eyes wide open, watching as some debris fell onto the deck of their own warship.

With armor plating covering them, the Ming Wheel Ships sank almost instantly, and flames from the internal combustion could be seen shooting out of the ship’s funnels. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

While everyone was stunned, another warship was hit and caught fire, losing its combat effectiveness instantly. A few seconds later, a sympathetic detonation blew the ship’s turrets into midair.

Shen Hai, who had just lost two warships in an instant, truly experienced the destructive power of the Great Tang Navy’s warships.

He saw his own warships hitting the enemy vessels, but the Great Tang Navy’s warships did not catch fire; they didn’t even show signs of damage.

The enemy continued their relentless charge, carrying an unstoppable and terrifying presence, cutting through the Shen Hai Navy’s battle line like a sword.

"Maintain formation! Keep firing! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe we can’t sink these monsters!" Shen Hai clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, ordering his men to persist.

Bernard, inside his own cruiser’s bridge, saw the two fleets about to entangle, and ignoring the enemy sail warships closing in from both flanks, ordered, "Break through the enemy’s battle line! Don’t get involved with them! It’s unnecessary!"

Following his command, Wolf 1 cruiser’s bow main cannon fired again, hitting an enemy Ming Wheel Ship that was nearly in touching distance, and directly shattering one side of the ship’s Ming wheels.

In fact, by this time, the warships of both sides were almost face to face, and Shen Hai could clearly see the tall, sharp bow of the Great Tang Navy’s ships as well as their upper structures made purely of steel.

His artillery fire hammering upon these iron walls caused damage, but the effect was negligible.

Meanwhile, the enemy’s cannons, when attacking his warships’ hulls, were devastatingly powerful—his wooden and iron-clad ships were clearly at a significant disadvantage.

"Boom!" This time, the Wolf-class cruisers, with their guns gaining an angle of attack on the broadside, joined the fight, sharply intensifying the Great Tang Group’s attack.

The ratio of artillery available for direct combat changed swiftly, as more 150 mm caliber guns from the Great Tang Group were brought to bear, and the losses for the Shen Hai Navy fleet became unbearable.

Within minutes, more than five Ming Wheel Ships were destroyed. The remaining warships unable to coordinate their front and rear, completely failed to stop the Great Tang Group from breaking through their defense line.

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