The general was startled. Although he had not heard the sound yet, he would not doubt Zhou Lie's ears.
"General, shall we attack?"
"Wait a minute!" Zhou Lie calmly said: "Wait a minute!"
The Changfeng had arrived at the location of the previous merchant ship, and soon a horn sound was heard from there. The general immediately said: "General, it's an attack horn sound. The Changfeng has discovered the enemy and has launched an attack."
Zhou Lie looked ahead under the night with a stern expression. After a moment, without hesitation, he said in a deep voice: "Kill over!"
The trumpet sounded from the Eagle.
Without further delay, the two warships immediately moved forward at full speed.
There are more than 260 people on board the Skyhawk, and there are 54 sailors in the bottom cabin. When they go out to do chores, there are 180 brave and skilled sailors on the ship, including dozens of archers.
.
Although they were moving against the wind, when the attack was launched, more than fifty sailors were operating the oars at the same time, and they were traveling as fast as the wind on the sea.
The sailors on the ship have rich combat experience and are already in their positions at this time.
Generally speaking, if there is no need for hand-to-hand combat, the Liaodong Navy would naturally try to avoid it. After all, no matter how brave and skillful it is in fighting, a hand-to-hand fight will inevitably result in casualties.
Although Zhou Lie was strict in running the army, he loved the sailors and soldiers under his command very much.
Not long after, the Changfeng was seen appearing in front.
Of course, the speed of the Changfeng cannot be compared with that of the Sky Eagle. Zhou Lie could see clearly that the Changfeng was also rapidly pursuing southward at this moment. It was obvious that it had just briefly fought with the opponent, but the enemy ship did not know whether it was because it knew that reinforcements from the officers and soldiers were about to arrive.
He arrived, so he wanted to escape from the battlefield, so he turned around and ran away.
Since the Changfeng Hao has bitten its prey, it will naturally not let go.
The Skyhawk moved forward at full speed, with Changyun Hao not far behind.
"Don't let it run away." In the darkness, the general could vaguely see the firelight from the enemy ship, which was only a few miles away, and ordered the messenger: "Let the following continue to accelerate!"
Above the vast sea, in the night, the Skyhawk was like a cheetah pursuing at full speed, and it was only a stone's throw away from the Changfeng in front.
Zhou Lie's eyes were stern. On this vast sea, once it entered the night, if he could not hold on to the enemy ship and lose his trace, then it would not be easy to find him.
Suddenly, Zhou Lie suddenly smelled a strange smell.
This smell came very suddenly. The soldiers on the ship were excitedly waiting for tonight's hunting operation. They all stared ahead like wolves and tigers. Zhou Lie looked around and turned around and asked: "Do you smell anything?"
?”
Several subordinates behind him looked at each other in confusion. Someone had already straightened his nose and sniffed, frowning and said: "General, I also smelled it, it seems... there seems to be a smell...!"
Others also straightened their noses and sniffed. Zhou Lie frowned, rushed down the ship building, quickly ran to the side of the ship, looked down, and shouted: "Torch!"
Immediately someone brought a torch over, and Zhou Lie said hurriedly: "Get a few more!" He took the torch and shined it towards the sea.
It's just that the Sea Falcon boat is huge and looks like a huge monster on the sea. Although people are on the side of the boat, the side of the boat is quite far away from the sea, so it's hard to see clearly for a while.
All the troops will follow behind.
Everyone could see that at that moment, there was clearly a trace of horror on the face of the commander. Although it flashed by, it could not escape everyone's eyes.
To the officers and men of the Liaodong Navy, Zhou Lie was the divine needle that fixed the sea. As long as the commander was there, all problems could be easily solved.
No matter how big the problem is, the leader remains calm and composed.
No one has ever seen the commander in a panic.
But something was obviously wrong tonight. The usually steady commander actually rushed down from the ship building and wanted to observe the sea.
This made everyone a little surprised, and they really didn't understand what happened.
However, several generals still took torches and lay on the side of the ship. They stretched out their hands to hold out the torches and illuminated the sea. When Zhou Lie saw them holding torches and leaning out of the side of the ship, shaking from side to side, he shouted sternly: "Be careful, don't drop the torches."
!”
Someone vaguely understood something and lost his voice: "General, could it be...?"
"That's right, it's... the smell of black oil." Someone finally exclaimed: "That smell isn't a bad smell, it's... it's kerosene...!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present felt as if they were struck by lightning.
Fire oil!
No one thought about this at all. After all, the Liaodong Navy had been at sea for many years, and almost all the enemies it encountered were crushed and wiped out. Such a situation had never happened before.
But now that I think about it, everyone knows that this is almost fatal.
"Stop the ship...!" Zhou Lie shouted sharply with his back feeling cold.
He was adept at naval warfare and had made numerous meritorious deeds, which earned him a far-reaching reputation.
I have gone through many battles over the years, but I have never seen the enemy use fire attacks, and in this vast sea, it is difficult for people to think of fire attacks.
When the danger signal was detected at this moment, the three warships were still pursuing at full speed.
He knew that if nothing unexpected happened, he had already tricked the opponent, and the enemy ship fled south with all its strength. Of course, it was not really to escape, but to lure the three Liaodong Navy warships into a trap.
The merchant ship was nowhere to be seen and it was unknown where it was going. This strange situation clearly indicated that the enemy had made a careful plan in advance.
He knew that it was probably too late to stop the ship at this time, but he knew even more clearly that if he really fell into a trap tonight and the entire army was annihilated, then the Liaodong Navy would almost exist in name only.
Someone had quickly gone to the bottom to give the order to stop moving forward, and also quickly sent a signal to the two warships outside to stop the pursuit.
Zhou Lie stared at the sea, the corners of his eyes twitching.
There is a thick layer of black oil floating on the sea, and the warship is already surrounded by black oil.
"General, what should we do?" All the generals were horrified.
Of course they already know that what is floating on the sea is extremely flammable black oil. As long as a spark falls on the sea at this moment, a fire will immediately break out, and the three warships will be surrounded by flames in an instant.
Although iron plates were installed on the sides of the warship, the hull itself was made of wood and could not stop the fire at all.
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Lie's forehead.
He looked up to the south and found that the enemy ship seemed to be parked far away, and the fire on the ship could show their position.
Suddenly, there seemed to be a meteor flying from the enemy ship, rising into the sky, and then falling from the sky.
Of course Zhou Lie knew that it was not a meteor, but a rocket.
Almost instantly, a fire broke out on the southern sea surface, and the fire spread as fast as lightning.
Tonight the wind is southeasterly, and the warship is sailing against the wind.
The navy officers and soldiers naturally didn't care before, but now everyone knows that such a wind direction is almost fatal.
The wind helped the fire spread quickly towards the warship. The soldiers on the other two warships had already screamed loudly. Although they had not received the order from here, they had already begun to turn around and prepare to escape the fire scene.
However, the hulls of these three warships are too large, and it is not easy to turn them around.
The Changfeng diagonally ahead had just turned less than halfway, and the fire on the sea had already spread. In just a moment, amid the screams of the soldiers, the Changfeng was already enveloped in a sea of flames.
The Skyhawk was no longer able to take care of its companions. It was more difficult for the Skyhawk to change direction than the first two warships.
Even though the officers and soldiers on the ship were well-trained, at times like this, they were all in disarray and became a mess.
"General, the warship can't leave." His subordinates were horrified and said hurriedly: "General, please take the lifeboat and leave as soon as possible." He ordered: "When someone comes, put down the lifeboat quickly."
The so-called lifeboat is a very small wooden boat, which can only accommodate seven or eight people at most. It is placed in the bottom cabin. There are usually two or three of them. If something unexpected happens to the warship, you can use the lifeboat to escape.
Although these warships are equipped with lifeboats, they have never been used.
No one thought that a lifeboat would be used one day.
At this time, the fire was raging on the sea. Almost all three warships were surrounded by flames. The hull of the Changfeng was also on fire. Although there were sailors on the ship who brought drinking water to put out the fire, it was a drop in the bucket and it was impossible to put out the fire.
Lose.
In fact, at this time, even if you use a lifeboat, you may not be able to escape.
However, the lifeboat is light and agile. In the current situation, staying on the warship will definitely lead to death in the sea of fire. Only the lifeboat can bring a glimmer of hope.
Zhou Lie's face was ashen.
In half his life, he has almost never lost a battle.
But tonight, I fell into the enemy's trap and fell into the sea of fire without even seeing the enemy's face.
By now, he knew the situation was over.
Although the three warships are a sharp knife, this knife is completely useless tonight.
The screams were endless, and the most serious situation at this moment was the Changfeng in front and side. The fire enveloped the hull and burned to the deck.
Many officers and soldiers of the Changfeng had no choice but to jump from the ship into the sea one after another. Some people were burned by the fire and ran around the ship like crazy, wailing in pain. The sound reached Zhou Lie's ears, and Zhou Lie was shocked.
Lie's expression was distorted.
"General, leave quickly!" Seeing Zhou Lie standing motionless on the side of the ship, the two generals immediately stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Lie and left.
The raging fire seemed to have boiled the sea surface, but the hearts of the soldiers of the Liaodong Navy were as cold as ice that had lasted ten thousand years.
As of now, no one can think of setting the warship into a sea of fire. Everyone is running around like headless flies, looking for opportunities to escape.
The fire became more and more fierce, and thick smoke billowed up into the ink-stained night sky.
In fact, many soldiers know in their hearts that even if they jump into the sea, they will eventually die in the sea and become food in the belly of the fish. But if they stay on the ship, they will only be buried in the fire together with the warship, and they will also sink in the end.
sea.
The enemy ship in the distance is quite far away from the burning sea. Standing on the bow is a man wearing a bronze mask. He is tall and powerful, wearing a big cloak. He is looking at the fire in the distance. The man under the mask
There was a trace of helplessness and sympathy in his eyes, and he murmured: "If I had no choice, I would not take this step. On the battlefield, it is life and death, there is no third way!"