Munitions Empire

Chapter 690: 649 burst chamber

Bernard broke out in a cold sweat as he witnessed the enemy’s shells hit his own battleship and set off a ball of flame.

He could even feel his hands trembling, and he had already begun to regret adjusting his course, which allowed Dongwan No. 1 battleship to be hit by enemy fire.

“Did I make a mistake?” he asked himself in self-reproach, “Does the God of War prefer a braver commander?”

He couldn’t even wait for the report from Dongwan No. 1 battleship, and instead grabbed the binoculars hanging in front of his chest to look at the smoke billowing from Dongwan No. 1.

“How is Dongwan No. 1? Is the damage severe?” He asked immediately, his aide didn’t know how to respond.

Because they also didn’t know the extent of the damage to Dongwan No. 1, they were looking towards Dongwan No. 1, trying to discern something from it.

Meanwhile, inside the flagship’s bridge of the Shen Hai, a man curled his lips, nearly laughing aloud.

He had begun to despair, knowing that if he couldn’t annihilate the enemy’s fleet, just the responsibility for the loss of over half the Navy’s battleships would probably cost him his head.

But now, the tide of battle had reversed. As long as he could keep hitting enemy ships and sink three of Tang Army’s battleships, to recapture naval dominance, the situation would be different.

Thus he clenched his fists, invigorated, and shouted, “Beautiful! Well done! Keep firing! Sink the enemy ships! Sink them! Sink them!”

Unfortunately, the battleships produced by Shireck had main guns with reloading speeds that couldn’t keep up with his shouting, otherwise the Shen Hai Navy could have immediately begun the next salvo.

Although he had just witnessed a miracle, as his warships’ cannon fire hit the enemy’s ship, with firepower waning, he was now agonizingly waiting for his warships to complete the next reloading.

He was hoping, before the next reload was completed, the enemy’s ships wouldn’t continue to flee, wouldn’t pull away and increase the distance, making it difficult for his cannons to aim.

What Shen Hai’s man didn’t know was that Bernard, already enraged, had begun to review his plan and was preparing to face the enemy’s challenge.

Inside the command tower of Dongwan No. 3 battleship, Bernard revised his orders. He abandoned any cunning tactics and decided to face his opponent head-on.

So, he issued a new command, “Stop turning! Resume previous heading! Continue firing! Sink them before they come any closer!”

“General!” the aide hesitated slightly, feeling that Bernard was acting rashly. This impulsive behavior was actually a major taboo in the military.

“Carry out the order!” Bernard insisted on his own idea, “I’ve already backed down once! The War God has punished my cowardice! Now I decide to confront everything with courage! May the God of War bless me! Long live the King!”

“Long live the King!” The aide saluted crisply and loudly conveyed the fleet commander’s orders, “Stop turning! Resume previous heading! Continue firing!”

“Stop turning! Restore the heading!” The helmsman turned the wheel and loudly repeated Bernard’s orders.

In the calculation room, the officers were busy running calculations due to continuous course changes. While those above only had to issue orders casually, they had to work non-stop to re-determine the firing parameters of the guns.

It was a whole set of complicated and tedious operations. They couldn’t see the enemy and could only faintly hear the sound of cannon fire. They sat at their stations in front of dials and scales covered with dense numbers and markings.

Elsewhere, on Dongwan No. 1 battleship, which had been hit on the gun turret, damage control personnel frantically grabbed hoses and rushed to the impact site, only to find there was no cause for alarm.

The enemy’s shell had not penetrated the armor on the main gun turret, leaving behind only a very daunting scar.

The two 305mm caliber main guns on that turret were likely unusable, and the lifeboats piled on the turret’s top were done for.

But the damage was not serious, it didn’t even affect the warship’s speed. Three gunners in the turret were seriously injured, and the shooting commander was pulled out of the turret covered in blood.

There were two gun loaders killed, and seven were stunned, but compared to a destroyed ship and lost lives, these losses could be considered very minor.

So the damage control officer immediately found a compartment with a telephone, and reported the extent of the damage. In fact, due to the minor damage, there was pride in his voice.

“Yes, yes! Captain! The turret is not breached, 11 seriously injured, 27 slightly injured. No fire! None! It didn’t even affect the drive shaft, very lucky, yes, extremely lucky!” After reporting, he hung up the phone and continued directing repair work.

They had to put out any open flames, check every corner to ensure there were no issues, especially in the ammunition store directly below the main artillery turret.

Soon, this good news reached Bernard’s ears. Dongwan No. 1 battleship wasn’t significantly damaged, could still keep up with the fleet, and continue the fight.

Bernard sighed with relief, and upon receiving this good news, he finally refocused his attention on the enemy warships that were rapidly approaching.

After a round of salvos for calibration, the main guns of the Tang Army once again found their mark, producing astounding effects in the following barrage.

There was no help for it, as the distance between the two sides narrowed, the range-finding equipment became increasingly accurate. With the continuous improvement of data precision, the precision of the Tang Army’s gunnery system also saw a furious climb.

To speak fairly, at this distance, if they still couldn’t hit the enemy ships, then the advanced equipment Tang Mo had come up with would truly be nothing but a laughingstock.

For the Navy of Shen Hai, this battle was both fortunate and unfortunate. The good fortune was that this round of salvos from the Tang Army didn’t hit the flagship of Shen Hai, but the misfortune was that Shen Hai’s leading male witnessed the tragedy unfold to its bitter end.

At least three shells hit the advancing Shireck Battleship; two shells struck directly at the conning tower, while another hit the main gun turret at the front.

The battleship exploded with an earth-shattering blast in an instant. The Tang Army’s shells not only detonated the main gun’s propellant but also blew up the warship’s boiler power system.

Like a knife through melted butter, the three shells penetrated the heart of the Shireck Battleship, taking only a moment to completely destroy the costly maritime giant.

The explosive disintegration of this battleship was like a wake-up call, suddenly snapping the hopeful Shen Hai back to sobering reality from his fantasies of turning defeat into victory.

He stood there, mouth agape, staring at his own warship, which had split into two and then suddenly into three sections, speechless for a long while.

“Orders… order… order the Cruisers and… and… Destroyers… Fleet to retreat…” Finally, he managed to squeeze out such a command through his teeth.

He had not ordered the smaller, faster ships to retreat earlier because he harbored some hope of turning the tide.

Now that the illusion had shattered, he knew, from every angle, that he should do everything in his power to preserve more for Shen Hai.

He must do this as a citizen of Shen Hai—it was his mission! Even if only one warship could escape, it would add the slightest shred of hope for Shen Hai’s future!

He stuttered uncontrollably as he spoke, knowing his fate was sealed. He was afraid of such an end, fearful of this outcome.

“General! We have finished loading! Should we continue to fire?” His aide approached and broke the oppressive atmosphere.

Shen Hai knew this was their last chance. If they could hit the Tang Country’s warship at this range, there might still be an opportunity.

Thus, he ordered without hesitation, “Fire! Fire! Everything hinges on this moment! For Shen Hai! For His Majesty the King!”

“Boom!” The warships of Shen Hai fired, but contrary to everyone’s expectations, flames burst out from their own ships and thick smoke billowed.

Shen Hai felt the deck tremble beneath his feet, nearly losing his balance. It took him two unsteady steps to finally regain his footing without falling.

When he looked through the forward porthole at his front deck, his face turned pale with anger.

One of his 302mm caliber main guns had malfunctioned!

Whether it was because Shireck had rushed their production, or for some other reason, this gun had chosen the worst possible moment to fail him spectacularly and infuriatingly.

Shen Hai, who had hoped that this salvo might salvage some dignity for the Navy of Shen Hai, stared dumbly at the main gun turret destroyed by his own gun, even lacking the energy to curse.

If a human advisor from Shireck had been by his side at that moment, he would have surely pushed him off the bridge to crash onto the deck!

Shen Hai even forgot to issue the command to turn, as it seemed… his forward main gun was no longer usable.

Whether he wanted to flee or continue to fight, presenting his stern to the enemy was now his only option.

This sudden mishap also startled the Tang Army—every gun position preparing to fire paused for a moment, creating a brief hush over the battlefield.

However, the Tang Army’s gunners quickly remembered their duty. They fired their shells, blanketing the flagship of the main fleet of the Navy of Shen Hai with the most intense barrage.

Shen Hai heard the shrill sound of the shells slicing through the air towards him. He looked up to the sky, and soon after, his bridge turned into a ball of flame.

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