Reef Zone Naval Battle 1

However, after Captain Van Dyke finished speaking, Totti still looked blank. Captain Van Dyke knew that the young master had not understood. He lowered his hat, sighed, and then looked up to explain to Totti, "Young master, look at the terrible weather and sea conditions. It is very dangerous to pursue at full speed under these circumstances, especially since you are still on the ship. For your safety, I have to be extra careful."

Furthermore, we are now at sea, facing such a vast ocean, and the only thing we can rely on is this ship beneath our feet. For your safety and the safety of everyone on board, we must protect it.

Fortunately, Totti finally understood. He was just a bit childishly willful, not stupid. Standing on the deck, looking at the busy crew and the violently boiling sea, Totti muttered a few words and then fell silent.

Seeing this, Captain Van Dyke knew that the young master had understood, so he was about to let Totti go back to his cabin, but Totti refused. "Captain Van Dyke, let me stay on the deck for a while. The wind and waves are so big, it's not comfortable to stay in the cabin."

After that, Totti stayed by Captain Van Dyke's side and watched him command the fleet. It was then that Totti realized Captain Van Dyke's abilities. Under his command, the Red Hemp Territory fleet stayed together to weather the storms.

In particular, Captain Van Dyke intentionally placed some old and small ships in the center of the formation so that they could receive support from all sides.

Not far behind the Red Hemp Territory fleet, the Great Oak Territory's Coastal Defense Fleet was battling the wind and waves in the same formation, except that their fleet was far larger than that of the Red Hemp Territory.

Viscount Sonanda stood at the bow of the ship, gazing ahead, his clothes soaked by the oncoming wind and waves.

Whose fleet is that ahead?

He pointed to the Red Hemp Territory fleet and asked his flagship captain.

The captain, who was also quite old, raised his binoculars and squinted to examine the ship closely. "It's the Red Hemp Territory, and the one leading them should be that guy Van Dyke."

Sonanda suddenly realized. "So it was him leading the team. No wonder he was so cautious. But the more cautious he is, the more we must not let him go."

Viscount Sonanda ordered his standard-bearer, "Send word to Elfie that once the battle begins, he should immediately get close to the Red Hemp Territory's fleet and keep a close eye on their flagship."

At this moment, the captain asked in confusion, "Shouldn't we notify Elfie so he can make a move?"

"No need, he knows what to do!"

Deep in the reef area, thanks to the obstruction of the underwater reefs, the sea surface is very calm and can not shake the main force of the southward fleet that has already anchored here.

Captain Jack was sitting quietly on the deck, occasionally asking the lookout on the mast, "Have you seen them?"

The lookout had been observing the situation in the distance for a long time but had not found anything, and the wind and waves had also obstructed his view.

Just as the lookout was about to report that he had not found anything, he suddenly saw a mast appear on the distant waves. Just as he rubbed his eyes and prepared to observe for himself, a second, a third, and more masts appeared on the horizon.

"They're here!"

Upon hearing the lookout's reply, Captain Jack immediately stood up. "Is it our decoy fleet?"

He steadied the lookout's hand. At such a distance, with the waves obscuring the view, it was difficult to get a full view. How could he know whose ship it was?

When Captain Jack saw that the lookout hadn't answered, he became a little anxious, so he climbed the mast himself, ran to the lookout tower, grabbed the binoculars, and started looking closely.

The image in the telescope became clearer and clearer, and as the mast gradually rose, the emblems on the sails finally became visible.

Captain Jack laughed heartily, "It's them, they're back!"

Notify all ships to lower their anchors and prepare for battle.

Captain Jack planned to follow the previous battle plan, waiting for an opportunity to strike first, and then suddenly appear in front of the noble fleet after they entered the trap.

Soon all the ships in the fleet had anchored, and the Catapult and Bed Crossbow that had been covered with tarpaulins were pulled out, and the sailors began loading them.

Meanwhile, Captain Jack had returned to the deck, ready to continue observing as the battle was about to begin.

Sodoma had already ordered the entire decoy fleet to sail at full speed toward the Reef Zone, led by his flagship Wavebreaker.

If any ship runs aground or sinks during the mission, immediately abandon the mission and escape the ship.

When Sodoma saw the main fleet already waiting on the designated sea surface, he finally felt relieved. Now all he had to do was lead the decoy fleet into the trap.

Soon, under Sodoma's command, the Wavebreaker plunged into the Reef Zone. The violent waves stirred up the mud and sand on the seabed. Sodoma stood at the bow and could not see any reefs at all. At this point, he had to grit his teeth and go on, so he had to rely on his experience to guide the ship.

Sodoma could hear the sound of the ship scraping against the rocks from time to time, and he kept giving orders to the flag bearer to have the other ships behind him adjust their course.

Finally, with a loud scraping sound, Sodoma felt the Wavebreaker beneath his feet shake violently, and then, as if it had gotten rid of something, it became light and agile.

Sodoma knew he had sailed out of the Reef Zone, so he quickly ordered the ships to slow down and prepare to turn around. He turned his head to look back and saw that the decoy fleet behind him was still there, but less than two-thirds of the original number remained.

Several other decoy boats, either grounded or damaged by their rudders hitting the reefs, will be anchored directly in the Reef Zone.

Fortunately, the ships are still intact, their main structures are not damaged, and they can hold on for a while longer.

At this time, the noble fleet following closely behind them had entered the Reef Zone. These noble fleets had no idea of Sodoma's trickery and had no concept of the reefs here.

Soon, boats began to hit the reef, running aground or even being damaged. One boat was particularly badly damaged; its hull struck the reef, and because its mainsail was at its maximum, it was blown over by the sea wind and capsized.

Many boats paid no attention to the situation, instead assuming that the capsizing was due to a mistake by the other boat, and rushed directly into the Reef Zone without any warning.

Soon, more and more ships discovered the problem. Their ballast was still there, and their draft was very deep. Except for a few lucky ones who did not encounter the reef, the other ships had basically run aground.

Only then did the crew members on those ships realize something was wrong, and they shouted, "It's a reef! This is a Reef Zone!"

It was only then that many captains and commanders of the noble fleet realized something was wrong, but it was too late. Under Sodoma's command, the decoy fleet drew a graceful curve on the distant sea and turned to charge head-on towards the noble fleet.

Because these ships ran aground in different locations, some first and some later, they were directly separated by the Reef Zone.

Sodoma's fleet launched a direct attack on the leading ships. Fortunately, in order to reduce weight, Sodoma's ships had no long-range weapons and could only launch attacks by boarding.

The besieged ships won't be destroyed anytime soon, and the ships behind still have a chance to escape.

But just as the captains and officers were feeling relieved, the lookout on board suddenly cried out, "Enemy on both sides!"

It was only then that they noticed that, without them noticing, two additional fleets had appeared on either side of their own fleet, approaching them with no fewer ships than their own.

This was the main fleet led by Captain Jack and Blox, and they had begun to flank the noble fleet.

At this point, the noble fleets realized that they had fallen into a trap. Faced with this situation, many people began to think of ways to save themselves. Fortunately, they also knew that there was a fleet of Red Hemp Territory behind them.

They all tried to send distress signals to the Red Hemp Territory Fleet, hoping to get help and escape.

On the flagship Red Hemp Territory, Van Dyke and Totti had already witnessed the situation ahead. Totti saw the distress signals and wanted Captain Van Dyke to go up and provide assistance.

As a result, Van Dyke immediately ordered the fleet to turn around.

"Why don't we go and help? Our allies are right ahead. We are outnumbered by about the same, and we can definitely fight them. We also have the Great Oak Territory's fleet behind us."