"Also, please call me Boris."
Recommended by Lieutenant General Gustav, he had only been out at sea for a dozen days.
The middle-aged officer with gloomy eyes had used his outstanding ability to convince all the officers on the ship, including the captain, Elvin.
This was probably what they meant by 'the real person doesn't show his true colors'.
But on this ship, anyone could see that the somewhat maverick Major Boris was clearly a person with a story.
For now.
The crew and officers of the fourth-level battleship "Storm Horn" were originally formed with a sixth-level cruising ship "Conch" as the core.
In the middle, there was a major change of personnel. A large number of excellent recruits were filled with the same batch as the captain, Elvin. Then, before carrying out cross-country missions and setting off to the New World, they were replenished.
Now, a full complement of 350 people had been completed.
But in essence, the lack of quality and experience of the officers still existed.
The "sail" skill was better.
After Elvin became the captain, the crew was basically not idle.
They had been running around and dealt with various dangerous sea conditions, including "storms", "tsunamis", and "black dikes". Even if they practiced, they were almost proficient.
However, the other key skill, "Cannon Manipulation", really couldn't be considered an "Excellent" evaluation.
According to the naval code set by Faletis, each cannon was composed of six members, and there was a cannon captain.
Each cannon deck (a total of three cannon decks including the main deck of a fourth-level battleship) had one chief and one deputy fire control officer.
In a medium-long distance battle, the cannon crew members were responsible for loading ammunition, and the fire control officer was responsible for setting the firing parameters of the cannon and adjusting the angle of fire.
Finally, under the command of the cannon captain, the cannon captain of each cannon crew was responsible for firing the cannon.
Cannon firing was a delicate and complex tactical action that required the cooperation of many people. Especially on the chaotic battlefield, the quality of the artillery had a great impact on the performance of the warship's firepower.
Even if there was the best warship and cannon in the world, if it was given to a group of half-baked people, they might not be able to defeat an opponent one or even two levels lower.
Although Boris had only joined them halfway, he was an official Knight with the rank of Major. He was also a famous "artillery expert" in the New World naval base!
As soon as he was appointed, he became the chief of cannoneers on Storm Horn and was responsible for the daily training of the cannoneers.
In just a dozen or so days at sea, the appearance of the artillery troops could not be said to be completely new, but at least they had slowly laid the foundation to become excellent artillery troops.
Especially under the guidance of this Major Boris, as long as he went through a few real battles, his future would be bright!
As for why the rather famous and capable artillery specialist was willing to lower himself to Elvin's ship and work as the chief of cannoneers on Storm Horn, which did not have a strong presence at all before him, Lucien could not help but wonder.
The reason was simple.
This seemingly glorious Major Boris had actually received a promise from the base's commanding officer, Lieutenant General Gustav.
As long as he finished this battle and successfully helped the kingdom achieve its goals, the general would agree to his request for retirement!
As for why he retired at the peak of his military career, that was another story.
Following Captain Elvin's command, Captain Elvin gave the order.
Boris had already unceremoniously taken over the command that originally belonged to Gunner Captain Reeves. With the powerful lung capacity of an official Knight, he issued his orders.
"Cannoneers in position!"
Thud thud … thud thud … thud thud …
The cannoneers on the ship quickly ran into their respective combat positions according to the cannoneers' drill manuals.
There were a total of eighteen 24-pounder cannons, twenty 12-pounder cannons, ten 9-pounder cannons, and two 6-pounder cannons on the stern.
Due to the design of the cannons on warships of this era, half of the firepower was idle. Therefore, the cannoneers only needed to take care of one side of the ship at a time.
During this period of training at sea, although the cannoneers had obtained the most direct improvement, they had also suffered under the cold and ruthless Boris.
Boris, who had no plans to stay on Storm Horn for a long time, was not afraid of offending anyone. He demanded the highest standards from them in everything.
Even Gunner Captain Reeves, who was older than him, was at his beck and call. He carefully worshipped this cannon expert who had a higher military rank than him, who was stronger than him, and whose abilities were eight streets ahead of him.
All the cannoneers did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.
"Let's go downwind! Maintain formation! "
In accordance with his usual cautious style, Elvin ordered two warships to surround the pirate ship from downwind. This could prevent the pirate ship from escaping and also prevent any Extraordinaries with strange abilities from discovering the traces of the battleship in advance by relying on smell.
The naval warship circled around to the tail of the pirate fleet. The distance between the two gradually closed to 500 meters.
Although the effective range of the cannons was one kilometer, at the current distance, the hit rate, the power of the cannons, and the firing frequency had all reached an optimal balance.
"All cannons, assemble and load the scorching bullets!"
The cannoneers quickly used the furnace fire to burn the "solid bullets" until they turned red. When loading, a lump of wet mud was stuck between the gunpowder and the cannoneers. The time taken to complete the loading was slightly longer than normal solid bullets.
But now that he had the initiative and had plenty of time to prepare, Boris naturally chose the favorite of all the cannoneers — the "scorching bullets".
Boris personally entered the lower cannon deck and guarded the nine 24-pounder heavy cannons on one side of the ship. Gunner Captain Reeves went to the upper deck to supervise the battle.
Seeing that all the cannoneers had completed the loading within the specified time, Boris nodded slightly and calmly pulled out the slightly curved gunner's commanding knife with a brass handguard from his waist.
When the commanding knife was raised slightly, a layer of extraordinary spiritual light that was difficult to see with the naked eye exploded at the same time on the blade. It overflowed onto every shipboard cannon that was ready to fire.
Every cannon seemed to have been slightly adjusted in an instant.
"Everyone, get ready, fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Orange-red cannon flames shone and illuminated the sea under the thick fog.
The two battleships adjusted their firing range and at the same time, a total of 18 24-pounder cannoneers, 20 12-pounder cannoneers, 10 9-pounder cannoneers, and 2 6-pounder cannoneers were poured out like a torrential rain of blazing fire.
At the beginning.
The pirate fleet that thought they had encountered an ordinary fog had temporarily stopped on the sea with the tactical movement of the sailboat braking, but they did not expect a sudden disaster to fall from the sky.
In fact, with their strength, even if they encountered multiple naval cruisers, they were not afraid. They could fight and escape, plus they had not reached the combat area, so their vigilance was not that strong.
When they heard the sound of the cannoneers, they had already ushered in the justice of the navy!
Kacha …
"Enemy …"
"Ah …!"
Boom —!
The hull of the single-masted schooner was as fragile as a paper shell under the attack of the scorching bullets. The scorching iron cannoneers easily cut off the mast of the sailboat and pierced through the layers of the ship's planks.
They were even shot from the stern, bouncing all the way and destroying everything on the entire cannon deck.
The human body, even the body of an Extraordinaire, would be easily torn to pieces under the powerful kinetic energy.
It was just a round of fire, but it created a huge firework among the four pirate ships.
Because.
Coincidentally, the ammunition depot of a single-masted schooner at the back of the formation was penetrated by the scorching bullets, directly causing a spectacular explosion!
If one observed carefully, they would find that the cannoneers fired by the Storm Horn were far above the Endeavour in terms of penetration and accuracy. The biggest achievements were almost all created by the Storm Horn.
At this time.
Suddenly attacked and surrounded by the fog, the formation of the pirates was scattered. Except for the sporadic firing back blindly, they could not even transmit signals, let alone a systematic resistance.
"All cannoneers, reload with scorching bullets!"
The commanding sword that was raised high once again overflowed with Extraordinaire aura.
"Ready! Fire! "
The torrential rain of iron and fire splashed out again.
After the second round of fire ended.
The sporadic firing of the remaining three pirate ships had been completely silenced. Even the painful wails of the wounded were almost inaudible.
Raging flames rose from the three pirate ships. Even with the fog blocking, the ordinary crew members on the ship who did not open the telepathic connection could see clearly.
This naval battle had begun for less than a minute and it had already ushered in the end.
The opponent was not an Evil God or a large sea monster. The greatest reliance of mankind in conquering the sea was the "battleship." When facing ordinary ships, it displayed an unparalleled combat advantage.
The firepower of the two sides was not on the same level in the first place. Moreover, the navy side had added a powerful buff to themselves.
[Secret Treasure of the Sea: Artillery Finger Wielding Sword!]
A powerful treasure that belonged to Major Boris's family.
Ability: Artillery Mastery: Able to display 200% of the range, accuracy, and power of the ship-borne cannons.
Restriction: The premise is that it must meet the definition of "ship-borne cannons" on a large scale.
Special equipment was not included in this list, such as the Reverse Cross Halberd on the "Guard Commander."
Elvin clearly saw that with the help of this magical commanding sword, after the cannoneers pierced through the enemy's hull, they flew out through the bulwark on the other side.
With the overwhelming firepower advantage and the additional strength buff, the lethality of the ship-borne smoothbore cannons on the ship suddenly jumped by a generation.
At this time, the "Storm Horn" was an existence that could destroy these pirate ships, even if they were Level Five warships!
Even without the help of the "Pioneer," Elvin was confident that he could kill them all without suffering any damage!
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