No matter which country or even which world's navy, almost all have a little bit of superstition and believe in luck. And luck does play an important role in naval battles - when you are lucky, a warship can knock out cannonballs in a few rounds.
It is sent into the enemy ship's ammunition depot, triggering an earth-shattering chain explosion. If you are unlucky, a single attack from a few old biplane torpedo planes can jam the battleship's steering gear, leaving the battleship waiting to be beaten to death.
Kolchak's luck is extremely good now. He has already sunk an Albion cruiser and hit the upper deck of the enemy ship in a four-wheel salvo, causing a moderate disaster.
Through the telescope, a ball of fire burst out from the deck of the Karen, and then quickly turned into a series of large and small fireballs. Then in the light of the fire, Kolchak could see the tragic situation of the Albion people - frightened and out-of-control flying animals, dancing around.
The firemen, the sailors who desperately put out the fire, and the ammunition dumped into the sea by the frightened sailors.
The last thing made Kolchak feel incredible. It was natural for a battleship to be piled with weapons, but to even put so many powder barrels on the deck was just a suicide attempt.
"If only I could have one more shot..."
The naval captain murmured regretfully. The Albionese had denied him the opportunity to enjoy the fireworks. The fire on the deck was under control and all dangerous goods were dumped into the sea.
Sighing, he soon cheered up again and regained his cold and determined face.
"Turn around, let's go to the Pilau waters."
The vice-captain nodded and ran to the microphone to repeat the order loudly.
There are not many humans left who can still flutter on the sea. For the sake of the face of the Royal Navy and to avenge the dead comrades, the Karen will become extremely crazy. It is not a wise idea to continue to stay within the range of the enemy's cannons.
As soon as the Forget started to break away, a shell hit it. Without bothering to pick up the body of its companion, the Karen quickly turned around and started pursuing it.
Since the design fully considered the need for high-speed navigation, and the fire just now did not affect the sails, the Karen gradually closed the gap with the Forgotten. The artillery on the upper deck adjusted its muzzle, creating water columns one after another around the destroyer.
.
No matter where it hits, this old ship, which has been in the water for more than 20 years, will sink quickly. If unfortunately it hits the mine at the rear, all the soldiers on the ship will be sent to the mother goddess in an instant.
The people of Albion seemed to be sure of victory, but they had no idea that they were sprinting towards the death zone.
The watch sergeant of the Forget rang the ship's bell. Except for the soldiers firing oars and cannons, everyone gathered on the deck.
"Take off your hat."
The deputy captain, Major Stepankov, took the lead in taking off his military cap. The officers and soldiers behind him took off their military caps and half-knelt down with their captain. In front of them, a sailor was standing respectfully holding three portraits.
.
The Mother Goddess, the Patriarch Bear Saint Georgi, and the Tsar's little father looked down at these pious soldiers in the silver-plated picture frame.
Opening up the booklet "Orthodox Holy Scriptures", Kolchak solemnly recited:
"Lord Almighty, His Savior."
Everyone lowered their heads piously. After they had done everything they could, the only thing left was to entrust their lives to the Almighty God who controls destiny. Although there were still regrets, unwillingness and irritability in their hearts, at this moment they were all
The impact point of the cannonball began to approach, and the Albionites seemed to have found the target. Destruction and death approached the boat little by little.
"The enemy is around us and wants to destroy us. Please ask the savior to give you glory and glory in your name. We cannot let the enemy say, 'Look, God has abandoned them.' You are our true God and the world's. We are the people protected by you.
.Mother Goddess, I will always praise you.”
During the short period of time when he touched the holy icon with his wet forehead and recited a short prayer, he took at least three cold water baths on the upper deck of the Forgotten, and now no one on the deck was dry.
As Kolchak's prayer of "sincerely wishes" ended, a low chant of "sincerely wishes" sounded on the deck, and with a quick sign of the cross, the crew stood up and looked back at their god of death.
The traces of the smoke on the hull of the Karen still remain on it. It looks a little embarrassed, but it looks even more ferocious against the background of the night. The cold wind brings incomprehensible language. Although the content is unclear, it is clear to listen to
The people of Albion were very happy when they came out. They laughed like the great white pigs of Kiev.
They might die in the next shelling. With this determination, the crew of the Forgotten stared at the approaching giant ship.
Then, they saw it.
Without warning, a thick water column rose from the side of the Karen. The water column was so thick that it could not be compared with the water columns stirred up by the artillery shells from both sides. The Karen seemed to be held up by an invisible hand.
Up, the cruiser's amidships bulged as high as an arch bridge.
Then in a series of harsh noises, the bow of the ship fell down. In the faint light, they could see the structure of the cabin and even heard the cry of someone before falling into the water. Before they had time to react, the ship was broken into two pieces and smashed hard.
In the backwater, the waves stirred up even exceeded the mast.
"It's our mine!!"
The officers and soldiers who finally woke up cheered. At this moment, the joy brought by the fruits of their hard work was more intense than ever before. For a moment, they forgot their class. The officers and soldiers hugged each other, cheered "Ula" and opened the vodka.
There was a loud sound, and some overly excited guy hugged the anchor mine on the back deck and started kissing it, as if the iron tower was his wife.
A reassuring smile broke out on Kolchak's face. This was exactly what he wanted. The Karen was lured into the minefield. Due to the difference in draft, the Forget could safely pass through this death zone, while the huge
However, the Karen hit an anchor mine. Facing the water pressure shock wave generated by the explosion of a full 300 kilograms of explosives, the wooden hull was no different from tissue paper.
It only took a while, but before the Forget could remember to pick up the drowned crew members, the Karen slid to the dark bottom with her entire crew, leaving only a pile of debris and broken wood, proving that this place
What happened.
"Don't just sit there and report the situation here to the base."
Looking at the sea full of wreckage, Kolchak took a long breath, and then added to the excited communications sergeant:
"Tell them to get ready for the uniforms and vodka."
"Yes, sir."
Now.
"So, this is the whole process of the battle?"
"Yes, General."
Kolchak continued to raise his head and replied in a proud tone:
"I've written it all in the report."
"Yes, it's all in the report. I've read it all."
Makarov's fingers clicked lightly on the report, and another headache swept over him.
There is no doubt that this small battle has extremely high value whether as a model of tactics, technology, or propaganda. But from a political perspective, this is a huge mistake.
The people of Albion attach great importance to face, and the Virgin Queen is even more neurotic in this regard. She claims to be the strongest nation on the sea, but she was beaten in the face by the weak principality navy. No matter how much luck there is, the group of pirates will not
Will remain silent about this.
They will definitely retaliate, and I am afraid that they will once again entangle the human coalition forces and start a fight with the principality. However, the principality does not want to start a war at this time.
Although they have received a large number of new weapons, the quantity is insufficient, the orcs cannot quickly make complex new toys, and the ammunition reserve is relatively limited. Coupled with the chronic diseases in the army, the entire fair is in the state of a snake shedding its skin.
The same fragile state. Once a war breaks out, even if it may not be lost, it will be an outright disaster for the principality.
What's more, His Majesty's body is already... The Crown Prince looks unreliable again, and that monster monk...
Makarov shook his head inwardly. Even he was trapped by lack of confidence and anxiety.
As for severely punishing Kolchak to ease relations with humanity - this kind of thinking is not feasible, let alone whether the already red-eyed Albion people are willing to accept it, and whether they will make harsh demands. Domestically,
However, it is unimaginable for orcs to bow to humans, and it is unacceptable from both a religious and racial perspective.
What's more, in this incident, Albion broke into the territorial waters of the Principality, refused to withdraw, and opened fire first. In order to offend the heretics of the Principality, punish a soldier who defended the country's dignity and territorial waters? In addition to "
The titles of "traitor" and "traitor of the country" may also cause civil strife. This is also what the principality does not want to see.
With a long sigh, Makarov gave up thinking about this problem. This was not a problem that he could control or had the power to control. Now he could only bite the bullet and take it one step at a time. At least within the scope of his power, he could still do something.
thing.
"This is your order."
Makarov took out a piece of paper from the drawer, on which the name of the Vice Admiral had already been written and stamped with the seal of the Admiralty Ministry.
"Colonel Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, you will depart for Smolensk as a military representative responsible for receiving naval technical equipment provided by 'that company'. Our suppliers are operating at full capacity.
Produce new weapons - more, newer mines and other unknown toys, and you lead a team to learn how to use and repair them."
"Yes, General."
"Listen, don't think this is distribution. Your work is related to the fate of the country and thousands of people. You must personally inspect every batch of weapons produced. You and your people sign on it. Once
If quality problems are found, the military court will subpoena you."
The Vice Admiral spoke word by word, his eyes bright and clear, and Kolchak finally lowered his chin.
"I understand, General."
Makarov nodded and waved.
"The conversation ends here, Lieutenant Colonel, dismissal."
Leaning on his legs and saluting, Kolchak walked out of the office.
Before closing the door, he vaguely heard a long and helpless sigh.)