lerbook #453 - Chapter 187: Throat Sea Battle (Part 3)
#453 - Chapter 187: Throat Sea Battle (Part 3)
In this heart-stopping sea of fire, countless fragments of shattered wood scattered like dancing butterflies, while the wrecked remains of ships resembled flightless birds, helplessly plunging into the raging sea. The entire battlefield was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and the pungent odor of burning, a scene of utter devastation.
At that moment, Euron's eyes narrowed slightly, and he unhesitatingly pulled the trigger of the weapon he held tightly in his hand. With a sharp 'whoosh' that pierced the sky, a giant bolt, over two meters in length, shot out like lightning, covering the distance of more than five hundred meters with astonishing speed, accurately striking the bow of the opposing warship. The incredibly sharp, fitted arrowhead collided violently with the hard, thick prow, sending out dazzling sparks. Then, the thick, sturdy shaft, unable to withstand such a massive impact, instantly shattered into fragments and was sent flying high into the air.
After careful observation and identification, Euron was astonished to discover that the massive vessel that had been heavily damaged but still stood tall was none other than the renowned White Tiger, the most relied-upon flagship of Liu Yuan's forces!
"Not good!" Euron's heart sank, and he cursed inwardly. He had never expected that the enemy not only possessed such fierce and powerful firepower but also had such an indestructible defense.
Now that things had come to this, Euron knew that he could not sit idly by and wait for death; he had to take immediate action to reverse the situation. Therefore, he quickly issued instructions, ordering all his ships to immediately adjust their battle strategy and go all out to prepare for the next, even more violent offensive.
In an instant, a dazzling flash of fire appeared, and the White Tiger fired again with a deafening roar. A large projectile hurtled towards Euron like a wild horse, its speed astonishing. Fortunately, Euron was agile and reacted quickly, throwing himself down and clinging to the deck. However, unexpectedly, the cannonball seemed to have eyes, cleverly bypassing the ship's side and striking a warship next to it directly.
With a deafening 'boom!' that sounded like the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing, the unfortunate warship was instantly engulfed in raging flames. The fire was fierce and extraordinary, forming a massive, sun-obscuring inferno in the blink of an eye. At least six or seven unlucky souls were ignited by the merciless flames, screaming in agony, struggling desperately, but ultimately unable to escape their fate, falling into the turbulent sea.
Euron couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that he was alive. He had never imagined that such terrible and combustible projectiles existed in the world. If that attack had hit him, he would have been dead by now.
However, Euron was no ordinary person; as the leader of an army, he quickly regained his composure, demonstrating exceptional leadership and unwavering determination. He roared, "Damn it! What are you idiots still standing there for? Reload the ammunition quickly, I'll let them have a taste of their own medicine, give them another good shot!" Facing a strong enemy, Euron was not afraid but became more courageous, determined to fight to the end.
Thus, a thrilling naval battle began. The two sides fought back and forth, neither willing to yield, the battle situation was extremely tragic, and both suffered varying degrees of losses. The Queen's Navy, with its incredibly sturdy warships and powerful firepower, gradually compressed the Iron Fleet's space for survival; while the Iron Fleet, although the ships were relatively small, had the advantage of numbers, and the longships piloted by the Ironborn were more nimble and agile, always able to turn danger into safety at critical moments. The entire sea was filled with smoke, and the sounds of battle cries and gunfire echoed through the sky, as if the end of the world had arrived.
As the massive fleet from the south arrived on the scene like a surging tide, everyone realized that this fleet had come speeding from distant Pentos. At this point, the Queen's Navy had successfully constructed an airtight encirclement, trapping the enemy tightly within.
At this moment, a tense and oppressive atmosphere filled the vast battlefield, and the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves was clear at a glance.
The Iron Fleet had a total of one thousand one hundred and thirty ships, but most of these ships were the oar-and-sail longships piloted by the Ironborn, characterized by their speed and maneuverability, but they were not equipped with any heavy weapons. The most crucial three hundred or so large warships were personally commanded and dispatched by the two fierce generals, Euron and Victarion, and a considerable number were ordinary merchant ships that they had forcibly plundered along the way.
On the other hand, the Queen's army had a total of six hundred and eighty warships! And all the warships were without exception massive vessels with three or more masts. The direct fleet under the Queen's command accounted for two hundred and forty ships, in addition to the one hundred and twenty powerful warships from House Celtigar and the eighty-seven excellent warships sent by House Velaryon. Moreover, even House Rykker sent thirty warships to help. As for the remaining ships, they all belonged to the escort fleet led by Liu Yuan, and most of them were battle-hardened main force warships – the White Tiger.
Thus, the two sides quickly deployed, naturally dividing into three major battlefields: the west, the center, and the southeast, and immediately plunged into a thrilling, life-and-death battle. Since the number of cannons equipped by the Queen's army was relatively limited, it would be difficult for them to have much room to display their skills in such a tragic battle. As the distance between them continued to shrink, this fierce battle gradually evolved into the naval warfare that everyone was familiar with. However, unlike the aquatic battle that people usually imagine, the fighting between the navies was particularly brutal and bloody. After all, compared to the land battlefield, the naval combat environment was more limited and dangerous.
On the vast ocean, warships were like floating islands, with limited space. This meant that once defeated, there was nowhere to escape, let alone deploy any flexible and changeable tactical strategies to reverse the situation. For this reason, large-scale naval battles rarely left prisoners, because the defeated had almost no chance of survival.
Because they knew this, every time a battle began, whether they were battle-hardened regular sailors or pirates regarded as rabble, they would all throw themselves into battle. They knew that retreating at this time was tantamount to pushing themselves into the abyss of death. Especially for those disciplined and well-trained armies.