At that moment, on the Tenglong Naval Force's main ship, the Great Fuchuan, the signalman kept waving two flags, one red and one blue, while the sounds of drums and horns rose and fell in succession.
"Pass the order. Have the Vanguard Camp move up and engage them. They must bite onto the enemy!" Yu Tonghai ordered.
The naval force's organization differed from that of the guard posts. The Tenglong Naval Force was divided into five camps—vanguard, rear, left, right, and central. The main Great Fuchuan belonged to the central camp, the secondary Great Fuchuan to the Rear Battalion, while the Vanguard Camp had seven Sentry Ships and more than twenty Eagle Ships. Their distinguishing traits were speed and a large number of close-combat soldiers.
In battle, the Vanguard Camp was generally responsible for the charge, cutting into the enemy fleet at extreme speed. The left and right camps were responsible for encirclement, while the central and rear camps provided long-range crossbow support.
Under Yu Tonghai's command, the thirty warships of the Vanguard Camp launched a full-speed charge.
All the wooden sails were raised, and in the Five Tigers and Sheep Formation, they charged toward the enemy forces.
The warships of both sides drew closer and closer. In a few moments, the distance between them had already closed to nearly a hundred zhang.
"Loose!"
A hoarse roar sounded, followed by the whistling of arrows tearing through the air.
Nearly a hundred crossbow bolts as thick as an infant's arm pierced the firmament, then fell hurtling down.
Before the First Wave of crossbow bolts had yet fallen, the second wave had already been fired.
Most of the crossbow bolts landed in the seawater, with only a small portion striking the enemy warships.
In truth, the killing power of crossbow bolts was