Counterattack

The UFO had already turned her guns toward the Zhiyuan and calculated the lead.

But just as she was about to fire, the observer reported that the Zhiyuan had made a drastic change of course. The gunnery officer had to adjust the data and recalculate immediately, but when he issued the order again, he realized it would take seven seconds for the turrets to rotate to the new firing angle and fire. Add the delay in relaying and carrying out the order, and the time he had allowed was nowhere near enough!

The gunnery officer was forced to increase the lead. This was a situation he had never encountered in previous naval battles: the guns simply couldn't turn fast enough. The ship opposite them was far too fast, whether sailing straight or turning!

He blamed the captain somewhat for letting the enemy get too close to improve their accuracy, even though he had agreed when the tactic was devised.

That delay cost them thirty seconds. By the time the UFO's main guns finally finished aiming again, Su Ming had changed course once more, turning ninety degrees to port to head due east again, straight for the UFO's stern.

The gunnery officer was so angry he wanted to throw down his pen.

The generational gap in technology made it look like they were being toyed with.

Now the Zhiyuan was even closer, and the main guns' rotation speed couldn't keep up at all. The UFO's gunnery officer resorted to his last option, setting the four turrets at staggered angles to fire an area-coverage barrage!

The four turrets, twelve guns in all, fired one after another. Thick alchemical shells shot out and landed ten seconds later.

Plumes of water erupted across a vast stretch of sea. Luck wasn't on the UFO's side. Only one shell hit the Zhiyuan's bow, causing damage that was far from fatal.

Like a cheerful fish, the Zhiyuan darted through the spray.

The three twin-mounted secondary turrets on the UFO's port side joined the attack. But against an opponent changing course at high speed, their accuracy was nothing to speak of, and they only made a dozen or so holes in the Zhiyuan's bone sails.

That bit of damage hardly mattered. The Zhiyuan had finally closed the distance and entered magic's attack range.

Zijin quickly cast a detection spell.

"There aren't any major magic fluctuations. There isn't a decent mage aboard that ship!" She told Su Ming the good news.

"Can you still fight?" Su Ming asked.

"Don't worry. Even without the White Bone Mark's support, the combat power of my human form alone is enough!" Zijin said.

She began with two ice balls, blowing up the secondary guns. Then she fired four Solar Flames in succession, picking off the main guns one by one and neatly slicing off their barrels. In the night breeze, the girl moved as easily as if she were strolling through a garden, pulling every tooth from the powerful battleship.

The officers and sailors on the other ship lay flat on the deck, none of them daring to move. If their opponents sent over a few fireballs and set off the ammunition in the guns, it was entirely possible they would be wiped out along with the UFO.

Su Ming adjusted course slightly, and the Zhiyuan swept past the UFO at close range.

Zijin tossed out another string of magic balls, carving the words "The Zhiyuan was here" into the hull. Su Ming took out his phone and snapped a commemorative photo. Damaging the ship would offend the Star Empire, the strongest nation on the Western Continent. After weighing his options, he decided it was better to leave some room for maneuver.

An immense sense of delight came back from the White Bone Fortress, and the White Bone Mark's energy noticeably recovered.

"Does that count as checking in at a tourist spot?" Su Ming was a little puzzled. "The undead really aren't picky about their obsessions."

Faced with such humiliation, the UFO's captain flew into a rage. He organized the sailors to take out firearms and load them with gunpowder and bullets, intending to shoot at the Zhiyuan. Zijin waved her hand and smashed him into the sea.

In the operations room, Su Ming updated the layout of the sand table.

"The Squirrel Battle Group and the Aircraft Carrier Battle Group left such a big gap between them on purpose to lure us through," Su Ming realized belatedly. "Katharine didn't know what the Zhiyuan could do, but that didn't stop her from setting a trap. She's impressive!"

On reflection, Su Ming had been too confident in the capabilities of the Zhiyuan's wing sails and had underestimated their opponent to some extent.

"You'll have to do your best. I can't outplay Katharine. That chief priestess of the Inquisition climbed to her position over a pile of corpses," Zijin said. "Today won't be the last time we face her, either. Once Katharine has recovered from childbirth, she'll definitely come back for another round."

"You think too highly of me," Su Ming said. What did he have to pit against one of this world's top commanders? His World of Warships points?

"No, you're excellent. The fact that we're still alive is proof," Zijin said, looking south at the same time. "Su Ming, a Songstress Class has circled around."

"I've already seen it." Su Ming confirmed its position on the radar and picked up his binoculars to observe it.

Five kilometers south of the Zhiyuan, a Songstress Class from the Aircraft Carrier Battle Group had activated magical acceleration and was heading outward at full speed. Although she was slower than the Zhiyuan, they were now traveling in the same direction, giving her a decent firing window.

The first round of rune cannon fire came quickly. As soon as Su Ming saw the flashes through his binoculars, he turned the Zhiyuan northeast and slowed sharply. Twenty seconds later, all the Songstress Class's shells missed, throwing up useless sprays along the Zhiyuan's original course.

Su Ming returned to his previous course and picked up speed again.

"She isn't as fast as we are. If we dodge one more barrage, we'll be out of their range," Su Ming said.

The Zhiyuan had already passed through the enemy's interception line. All they had to do now was keep sailing out to sea, and their breakout would be complete.

But in this round, the enemy ship might try to guess which way the Zhiyuan would dodge and aim ahead. Su Ming watched through his binoculars, using infrared mode to track the shells' trajectories carefully.

"If we fail to dodge, I can still intercept some of them," Zijin added as an extra safeguard.

Nothing went wrong. Su Ming controlled the Zhiyuan and successfully dodged the second barrage.

Amid the flying spray, Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief. They had more or less shaken their pursuers now.

The other Songstress Class was still more than eight kilometers away. As for the Jade Sea and Tang Valley, she was even slower than the Songstress Class and more than twenty kilometers away, falling farther and farther behind. Given the wind direction, the flying beast unit aboard her couldn't catch up.

Tonight's battle was finally over!

Even so, Su Ming didn't let his guard down and continued watching the enemy ship through his binoculars. He couldn't rule out the possibility that they would overload the propellant and fire beyond their maximum range. There were plenty of precedents for that in naval battles on Earth.

Catching sight of some writing on the bow of the Songstress Class, Su Ming adjusted the focus of his binoculars and managed, with some difficulty, to make it out. "Is that her name, Fusang?"

"The divine tree of the East from ancient mythology. Is there a problem?" Zijin asked.

"Jade Sea, Fusang. I can't help feeling our two worlds have quite a few things with the same origins," Su Ming replied.

The ship shuddered. Su Ming lowered his binoculars, and the White Bone Mark stirred faintly.

"What did you do?" Su Ming asked, puzzled.

"I was just about to ask you." Zijin was equally confused. The White Bone Fortress had never disobeyed before.

Some force was trying to turn the Zhiyuan south, toward the Fusang. Su Ming spread out the White Bone Mark and suppressed the agitation.

On the superstructure, Zijin suddenly gave a wry laugh. She had sensed the cause. "Su Ming, what exactly did you bring from Earth to this ship?"

Su Ming was also interpreting the thoughts within the White Bone Mark, and he understood the reason as well.

"It was only supposed to be a name," he murmured.