Chen Mo turned his head and looked at the people around him, including Taikun. His lips curled in disdain. They were all already dead men. Once this was over, he would send them on their way.
"Continue forward. I have a way to conceal the ships. Tell the two vessels behind us to move closer. Keep the distance within two hundred meters," Chen Mo said.
"Your Excellency, that request will be difficult. At such a distance, under these conditions, an accident could easily occur," Colonel Handuya said. In truth, that distance would not be a problem. However, Colonel Handuya held a faint aversion toward Maihati, a royal relative, so he did not want to do anything he could avoid doing.
A naval formation had distance requirements while underway. With good visibility and vessels in good condition, maintaining a distance of one hundred and ten meters during normal movement would not be a problem. Of course, that was for a lateral formation. During wartime, formation spacing had to be increased considerably.
As for a column formation, the spacing depended on whether it was wartime or routine patrol, though every nation's navy had operating manuals to use as references.
But now, visibility was poor, and the ships' performance varied. Getting too close might violate operating regulations. The distance Chen Mo had just mentioned was longitudinal spacing, so Colonel Handuya was somewhat concerned about the rules. Still, it was a distance that could be maintained.
If it had been a superior order from Colonel Handuya's superiors, he would have carried it out without argument. But Chen Mo's orders were another matter. He would naturally hold something back.
"It's fine. Give the order. I'll take responsibility for everything afterward," Chen Mo insisted. He did not know about Colonel Handuya's private thoughts, but whether he