Nelson continued, "In fact, the Toulon Fleet's current position is extremely disadvantageous.
"Once Genoa's supplies run out, they will have no choice but to fight us in a decisive battle.
"Then, we will instead be able to choose the battlefield at our leisure and deploy our formation in advance.
"And once they are defeated—which is almost inevitable—they can only flee south into Port of Bizerte.
"We can then seal off the harbor, and the French will have no warships left along their southeastern coast.
"Our Marines may even be able to seize Toulon."
"I very much agree with your judgment." Lord Hood nodded, then turned to his staff officers. "Order the fleet to spread out toward Sardinia Island. Do not let the French slip past our flank."
Southwest of the Mediterranean Sea.
Waters off Sicily.
Sixty-eight Sailing Warships moved slowly across the sea. Their enormous hulls possessed the grandeur to blot out the sky and cover the sun, yet they carried little of the arrogance that should have come with it.
Instead, they seemed somewhat bleak.
This was the main force of the French Toulon Fleet.
They were powerful enough to defeat the navy of any nation in the world—except the United Kingdom.
And unfortunately, the enemy entangling with them in the Mediterranean Sea was precisely the English Fleet.
The fleet's largest vessel, a colossal ship like a city upon the sea, was the Toulon Fleet's flagship, the Orient.
It was one of the few heavy Battleships produced by the French Navy in recent years. Originally named the Crown Prince, Joseph had not particularly liked this giant warship that had historically been sunk in Egypt, so it had ultimately been renamed the Orient.
In such core specifications as size, armament, and hull thickness, the Orient surpassed the United Kingdom's