This was due to the frightening speed of a normal sail warship.
Only at 9: 12 in the morning did the Alliance's fleet, which was more agile, gain the upper hand and face Sealaway, which was on the left side of Shilius' New Moon Formation.
Using the advantage of their superior cannons (better airtightness and longer effective range), they took the lead in firing.
"All cannons, get ready. Three rounds of solid shells!"
The cannoneers of each warship repeated their commander's order and greeted each other according to the traditional battlefield etiquette of the Old Continent.
Under the skillful control of the cannoneers, the Tulip Family had two types of heavy cannons that could deal heavy damage to the enemy's ships: the 32-pound and 24-pound cannons. The rate of fire could reach two and three rounds per minute respectively.
This was a speed that the Shilius could only dream of.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! "
In an instant, the blazing cannon fire connected into a sea of fire. Light green smoke filled the air, and even the surface of the ocean groaned as if it couldn't bear the burden.
The Shilius soldiers on the other side didn't back down and fought back. At this distance, they could clearly see the head of the Steel Knight, which seemed to have died uneasily.
The Steel Knight, Kun Gang Teta, was the vice-commander of the fleet. Almost everyone in the Shilius fleet knew him.
Seeing the head hanging on the mast, half of the left wing of the New Moon Formation was in an uproar. The impact the soldiers suffered was even worse than the round of rapid cannon fire. Even the sound of the cannons returning fire was clearly more chaotic.
The final battle was still in its warm-up phase, and their vice-commander had already died in the hands of the enemy. If he was still alive, he would be the third most important person after Army Commander Rickard and Navy Commander Griffith.
On the third-class warship San Juan, which was the flagship of Shilius.
"Sir Commander?"
The adjutant couldn't help but ask the white-haired commander beside him.
Rickard's expression was just as bad, but not because of the news of the Steel Knight's death, but because of the negative impact he had on this battle. Even as a member of the Royal Faction, the words coming out of the general's mouth were merciless.
"Kun Gang, that bastard … why couldn't he have died further away? Order the San Juan to leave the fleet! "
"But …"
"Execute the order!"
In order to facilitate the commander's command, the San Juan had been patrolling back and forth along the entire New Moon Formation made up of forty warships. If it was a large fleet made up of hundreds of warships, it would normally be patrolled by several vice commanders and commanders.
The third-level battleship "San Juan" was the largest of the third-level battleships in the entire fleet, not to mention that it was flying the fleet's commander's flag. It couldn't be more eye-catching.
However, after leaving the fleet, they lost the protection of the fleet and were directly exposed to the Alliance's battle line.
In the history of naval warfare, there had never been a case where a lone ship was surrounded by enemy forces and not boarded and occupied. For the side that had the advantage in terms of local combat power, when the target was of great value, boarding battle was the only way to ensure that they could obtain the spoils of war intact.
Rickard believed that it would be strange if the Alliance Army could resist his bait and not approach.
At that time, as long as they could hook onto an enemy ship and pull it into a boarding battle, they would be able to hold on independently until reinforcements arrived. In the end, they would be able to drag the enemy fleet into a chaotic battle, which was the 'naval siege' that Shilius was best at.
Then … the battle would be over.
However, since they were all Nimansterians, their innate talents should be about the same, so why was it that the Shilius' combat power was naturally superior?
Apart from their advanced training methods and management philosophy, the most important reason was that they had plundered the world's resources to support their own troops. During the Knight Apprentice stage, the growth of one's physical fitness came from the intake of nutrients, supplemented by the Knight's Kokyu-ho and swordsmanship training.
With sufficient resources, even if Shilius didn't have the advantage in terms of population, they could still cultivate Extraordinaires of all levels that far exceeded the number of other factions.
In terms of the combat power of their soldiers, there was indeed an overall gap between the Tulips and Shilius.
Lieutenant General Elvis understood Rickard's plan. He was under a lot of pressure in this war, and being able to destroy the enemy's command system was a great temptation for him.
However, the difference in strength between the two sides didn't allow him to make a single mistake. The Shilius, who had the advantage, could be more aggressive, and the Alliance could be defeated if they were careless.
"The Maywind, the Albatross, and the Oak at the rear, engage. The other ships maintain formation and continue forward."
He held back his desire for that sweet fruit and didn't encircle them. Instead, he separated a flotilla from the line of 33 battleships.
They didn't ask for merit, but for no mistakes!
Under the shocked gazes of the Shilius, the movements of the various battleships in the line of battle were as smooth as flowing water.
Every ship knew what they should do at a given moment. Some turned and left the line, while others automatically took over. The extremely difficult maneuver of the ships at sea seemed to have been practiced countless times in advance.
"This level of naval command technology …"
Lieutenant General Rickard's seemingly old but extremely sharp eyes narrowed slightly. Even he couldn't help but be shocked by the skill of the Tulips.
These ships were far more agile and maneuverable than Shilius's' walls', and they were even controlled by an invisible master commander. That was because he didn't see any signal flags, cannons, or anything else that could be used to command.
The three fourth-tier ships didn't move forward. They maintained a distance of about three hundred meters with the current, maintaining the advantage of the wind and agility. They only used their long-range cannons to fight the flagship.
"Let's change sides with the wind. We'll go downwind and stop it!"
The Maywind, which was at the top of this flotilla, changed course and blocked the path of the San Juan's retreat.
Gör and Ilante, who had already changed into brigadier general uniforms, were among them.
The remaining thirty ships continued to move forward and exchanged fire with the left wing of the New Moon Formation.
Amidst the continuous roar of cannon fire.
Another third-tier ship in the Shilius fleet raised the command flag and temporarily took over the command.
The key to battle line tactics was to obey orders and fight bravely. The key to success or failure was perseverance. Whoever couldn't stand it and broke away from the 'chain' first would lose the chance to turn the tables.
And with the current firepower of the cannons, this process might take a long time.
At the same time.
A group of marines armed with Kentucky-style rifles quietly climbed onto the mainmast of their respective ships and aimed their crosshairs at the opposite side.
The Kentucky-style rifles were mainly characterized by a longer body, smaller caliber, lighter weight, and high accuracy. Although there were also shortcomings such as slow reloading and high cost, it was a rare weapon in the hands of the right people.
Just like this group of sharpshooters who had been trained in the wilderness of the New Moon Continent and were recruited again.
They might not be as far as snipers in terms of distance, but they could be used in a battle line battle. They didn't need every bullet to kill an enemy. As long as they could kill an enemy officer, it was a big win.
Transcendents could dodge bullets by the muzzle of the gun, but on the battlefield where cannonballs were flying everywhere, they would still die if they were accidentally hit by a stray bullet.
Bang!
The battle had begun.
Perhaps the outcome of this battle would not only determine the position of Shilius and the Tulips on the sea, but also the future development of naval warfare equipment and tactics.
Whose path was more correct would be known after a test.
.....
Tens of thousands of cannons roared at the same time as if the sea was about to shatter.
"Spectacular!"
This was the first time Elvin, Olivia, and most of the officers on board the quasi-legendary warship Storm Horn, which was responsible for mobile operations outside the city. They were witnessing a battle of this level in a battle between battleships and fleets.
The refinement of tactics, commanding ability, equipment application, and so on was even more indescribable.
The mental network built by the seagulls would faithfully record every little thing that happened on the battlefield. After the battle, Elvin would review and learn from it, turning it into valuable experience for him.
When he saw that the Maywind had joined the battle against the San Juan, Elvin turned to Olivia and said, "Don't worry.
"Hersey, pay attention to support!"
"Understood!"
The valiant female officer had already set up the "electromagnetic cannon" on the aft tower, ready to support any corner of the battlefield at any time. Gör and Ilante's side was even more important than the commander's side.
At the same time.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh …
The Long-Snouted Shark, which had stood up the Storm Horn once, was already rushing over with a long white line behind it.
The battle that belonged to 'Storm Horn' began.
.....
The battlefield was in the northern part of the Bay of Benin, the largest port in the Faletis colony of Nigeria, Lagos.
Almost at the same time as the battle began.
"Great Lord's grace!"
"All things belong to the Great Lord!"
"Hurrah —"
Batches of black indigenous warriors rushed to the port in small boats. Clearly, this was the reason why the Kingdom of Dahomey, which had completely turned into Shilius, did not even have a single patrol ship on the battlefield.
Almost all the main warships of the Alliance had been deployed to the battlefield, and only a few coastal patrol ships were left behind. It was impossible for them to stop these black indigenous warriors.
This was Shilius's overt scheme. No one said that the frontal battle and the rear battle could not be carried out at the same time. Regardless of whether the Alliance's reconnaissance system discovered anything unusual, it was impossible for them to withdraw from the battlefield and return to their home.
For the Shilius, there was nothing they could not do in order to win.
Even if they were attacked by the alchemy cannons that they were extremely wary of, it would not be the lives of the Shilius that were lost.
According to the intelligence of the Shilius, the Dahomeys had specially replaced the landing ships with a large number of coastal dinghies in order to prevent them from being wiped out by the alchemy cannons.
Shilius had promised them that all the loot would belong to Dahomey. Even if the Tulip captives were to become slaves, they would not interfere.
It was indeed a good plan.
However, when they attacked the port as they wished, thinking that they would be able to easily break through this defenseless city like how they had conquered the other native tribes in the past, they were mercilessly smacked in the head by reality.
The female commander of Dahomey had a vivid performance of what it meant to be a colorful black.
"Why are there so many Alliance soldiers here?
Didn't those boastful Shilius say that the Tulip Army has suffered heavy losses? "
The native soldiers of Dahomey that surged into the port city like a tidal wave collided with a large number of Alliance soldiers in neat formation.
Under the cover of the cannon fire of the port's bastion.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Military rifles that were far superior to trade rifles spat out blazing flames. The blazing lead bullets were like a steel dam that firmly blocked the black tide.
During this special period, even the colonial governor, Sir Winston, personally came to the city wall. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the situation.
"I'm a little glad that the intelligence was timely, and that these lads can still pick up weapons to defend their country after recovering from their injuries."
The army commander at the side looked at the tide that was blacker than the coal produced in Nigeria and said faintly, "That's right.
"Sir Governor, I'm even more glad that the Anumar didn't wait until nighttime to launch a night attack …"
"Uh … you're right."
According to the normal casualty ratio of wounded soldiers in this era, the casualties in the war with Shilius might not be small, but it was definitely not as exaggerated as what the Shilius and the Anumar said.
Coupled with the popularization of the "divine medicine" throughout the Southern Continent's colonies, many soldiers who were destined to die were revived.
Before the start of the final battle, the Alliance's base camp had already begun to move toward the center of the vortex, the Bay of Benin. The recovered soldiers were no exception.
Therefore, the commander of Dahomey naturally felt that the actual situation was seriously inconsistent with the intelligence of the Shilius. The damned Shilius had practically pushed Dahomey into the fire pit.
Looking at her own soldiers who were being attacked head-on, the commander, who was also the king's concubine, felt her heart bleeding.
Elvin: Cough, is it my fault?
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