Melee

Boom!

Boom!

The calm sea was churned into towering columns of water by shrieking shells, and the warships upon it were not spared, suffering bombardment after bombardment.

Though the heavy armor provided sufficient protection, allowing them to withstand shellfire without immediately being blasted full of holes like wooden ships, the structures above deck were far less durable. Many were struck by shells and severely damaged.

Enemy attack!

Enemy attack!

Amid the violent shaking, the commanders of each ship shouted themselves hoarse while officers rallied the panicked soldiers, carried out damage control, and organized return fire.

At this moment, every one of them was filled with an indescribable sense of absurdity.

The dignified Kingdom Navy fleet was actually being attacked by pirate ships?

No one would believe it if they told them!

Because the attack had come so suddenly, only a few scattered shells were fired from their side by the time the Blood Pirates had finished their first round of bombardment.

Open fire!

Alfred had already reached the command bridge. At this moment, he was shouting as well. "As long as we stabilize the situation, we'll quickly gain the upper hand!"

He was right. The pirate ships were all wooden vessels, no match for sturdy ironclads, and the gap in caliber between their cannons was enormous. As long as the sailors launched an offensive and exchanged a few more rounds of artillery fire, the scales of victory would soon tip in their favor!

Creak, creak...

All the cannons aboard the warships were rapidly being adjusted. Sweating sailors desperately turned the gun mounts, aiming at the pirate ships. If they could fire first before the pirates' second barrage, they would gain a greater advantage and stand a better chance of surviving.

But at that moment, Alfred suddenly froze.

The colonel, who