Chapter 1298
The sailors quickly retracted the oars, and the enemy's warship also retracted the oars in a well-trained manner. The two warships almost brushed past each other, and the Cyprus sailors could clearly see the enemy's sailors through the narrow hatch. Their expressions were cold and confident, and many of them even had a mocking smile on their faces.
'What's there to be proud of when we're about to die!?' The Cypriot sailors thought indignantly.
"Bam!" A 12-meter long drawbridge crashed down and nailed itself onto the deck of the Cyprus battleship. The Cyprus battleship was suddenly burdened with a heavy burden. Soon, the ship came to a halt. Forty infantries of the Dionysian fleet quickly crossed the drawbridge and charged towards the enemy's battleship.
At this moment, the other Cyprus battleship in the two-column formation had already made a small turn, and was charging towards the immobile Corvus Battleship.
Facing such a dangerous situation, the Diónia sailors remained calm. Under the command of their captain, they used the fixed drawbridge as a fulcrum to deflect the entire battleship slightly, so that the hull of the battleship was not perpendicular to the collision angle of the enemy's battleship, but at a certain angle. It seemed that their efforts were in vain, because according to past experience, such a violent collision could still cause considerable damage to the battleship, but —
"Bam!" After a loud bang, the three battleships shook violently at the same time. However, the Cyprus sailors on the deck widened their eyes in surprise. The part of the Diónia Corvus Battleship that was rammed by their battleship was only dented inwards into a small pit, and did not shatter into a large hole.
So the Corvus Battleship was an iron ship!
Over the years, through the full cooperation of the Diónia Academy, the Turií Shipyard, and the ironworks workshop, the Corvus Battleship had been fitted with a special iron sheet, which not only greatly enhanced the battleship's resistance to collisions, but also allowed the battleship to maintain its balance in the sea, albeit at a slower speed.
As the entire battleship was painted black, those who did not know the inside story would not know the uniqueness of this battleship. That was why the Cyprus sailors were very surprised to see that the Diónia Battleship was unscathed after such a violent collision.
The Diónia sailors, on the other hand, heaved a long sigh of relief. Although the iron ship had been tested many times during the usual training, this was the first time it was used in actual combat. Obviously, it did not disappoint them.
At this moment, the Corvus Battleship that was hiding behind the iron ship charged forward like a ghost, and swiftly rammed into the enemy ship that was still squeezed together with the Corvus Battleship.
The Cyprus sailors who could not dodge in time could only hope for a miracle like the Corvus Battleship earlier. But there was nothing.
At the same time, after the infantries rushed onto the other Cyprus warship, they did not kill their way into the cabin. Instead, they killed the crew and helmsman on the deck and destroyed the rudder completely. Then, they quickly returned to the Raven warship and pulled out the drawbridge.
Instead, they killed the crew and helmsman on the deck. After completely destroying the rudder, they quickly returned to the Corvus Battleship and pulled out the drawbridge.
When Alitaka led the main Persia fleet to the vicinity of the battlefield, he was surprised to find that the Corvus Battleships were gathered together, waiting for his arrival.
Soon, he found out the reason. The Dionysian fleet in the bay not only had sturdy warships, but also unique tactics and strong defensive capabilities. Not only did the Cyprus fleet not gain the upper hand in the attack, but after destroying more than a dozen of their warships, they also did not achieve much in the battle. The morale of the crew was affected, and they had to retreat temporarily to wait for reinforcements.
Although the combat strength of the Dionysian fleet was shocking, as the commander of the Persia fleet, Alitaka was secretly happy that the Cyprus fleet, who did not listen to his orders, suffered a small setback. He thought that it was a great opportunity to improve his prestige in the fleet.
After listening to the Cyprus fleet's battle in detail, he still decided to adopt the attack formation of two columns, but he gave up the tactic of concentrating on one side. Instead, he used the huge advantage of having more than twice the number of warships to launch an attack from all directions, intending to overwhelm the Dionysian fleet's defense.
The soldiers of the Dionian army on the beach watched as the countless Persian warships spread out like a huge fishing net on the distant surface of the sea, menacingly assuming the posture of trapping the Dionian fleet that had shrunk into a ball. Every single one of them broke out in cold sweat for the fleet's safety.
Sekerian, who was in the center of the storm, laughed calmly. "The Persia fleet is finally here. Great! These timid servants of Persia will soon know the power of the Dionysian fleet! Woo! "
"… Woo! Woo! Accompanied by the loud sound of the bugle, three red flags were raised on the main mast of the Diónia flagship, fluttering in the air.
Fight to the death! Every crew member who received the captain's message looked at the enemy ships in front of them and began to calmly hum the song of the Hades in a low voice …
… …
When the thick fog on the sea dissipated and the sky was bright, Midolades immediately found that something was wrong. Although he could not know the specific location of the fleet, the sun that should have appeared on the right diagonally ahead of the fleet had appeared on the right diagonally behind the fleet. Obviously, the fleet had greatly deviated from its course.
After much difficulty, he gathered the scattered warships and cargo ships, then sent out the clippers to search in the direction of the sun. At the same time, the entire fleet sailed in the direction of the sun.
During the voyage, he also gathered some of the scattered warships and troop ships. Gradually, the fleet under his command had the Second Fleet's First B Squadron, Second B Squadron, Fifth B Squadron, and part of the Fourth B Squadron's warships. At the same time, there were also the First Fleet's Third B Squadron, Fourth B Squadron, Fifth B Squadron, and part of the Sixth B Squadron's warships. In total, there were more than 700 ships, including nearly 400 troop ships … For such a large mixed fleet, Midolades had even widened the distance between the ships, causing the entire fleet to expand outwards. It was his move that finally allowed the clippers sent out by Sekerian to discover them.
A few hours later, the fleet led by Midolades arrived at the bay where the Dionysian Army had landed. He saw countless Persia warships stacked on top of each other somewhere in the coastal waters, charging and circling, like vultures that covered the sky and sun, sharing their food. There was almost no sign of the Diónia warships.
Although Midolades was burning with anxiety, he did not impulsively launch an attack immediately. He ordered the troop ships to temporarily move away and let all the warships face the Persia fleet in a fan-shaped formation. Then, with the fast warships in front and the crow warships at the back, he launched an attack in a "starry sky" formation.
The flagship that Aritaka was on had been coordinating and commanding the battle from the rear. After a difficult battle, the Persia fleet finally broke through the defense of the Dionysian fleet, dispersing their formation. Just as he was about to completely crush them, he received an urgent report from the clippers: a larger Dionysian fleet was rapidly approaching!
This news immediately extinguished Aritaka's enthusiasm for victory and glory. His only thought at this time was to order the fleet to retreat immediately. However, the warships that were scattered in the vast coastal waters and engaged in battle could not quickly receive his order.
The newly arrived Dionysian fleet was like a giant eagle spreading its wings amid the loud bugle call, swiftly pouncing on its prey.
After a long and arduous battle, the Persia fleet's warships were damaged, the sailors were tired, and their strength was scattered. On the other hand, although the Dionysian fleet led by Midolades had traveled a long distance and the crew was relatively tired, their belief in saving their comrades and defeating the enemy boosted their morale. The ever-victorious starry sky formation doubled their strength.
Therefore, the Persia fleet was almost defeated and scattered in all directions. The Diónia warships took advantage of the victory and chased after them.
What was even more unfortunate was that the Persia fleet encountered the Third Fleet of Diónia in the process of escaping to the south. As a result, under the pincer attack from the front and back, the Persia fleet suffered even more heavy losses …
… …
Midolades jumped off the warship, waded through the seawater, and walked on the beach.
At this time, the beach was full of disembarking Diónia soldiers. Under the command of the team officer, they gathered in small groups and began to march toward the camp that the Diónia soldiers were building.
Midolades's destination was the same as theirs. Due to his conspicuous commander-style helmet, the soldiers who met him, whether they knew him or not, would respectfully salute him when they saw him.
Usually, he would smile and greet them, but now he was anxious and quickly walked into the temporary medical camp tent as if he did not see them.
No one saluted him here, the doctors and nurses were busy rescuing the wounded.
The disembarking Legion of Dionysia soldiers did not fight with the Cypriots. These wounded soldiers were from the Dionysian fleet that had just finished fighting.
Midolades stopped a soldier who was helping to clean up the mess and asked in a deep voice, "Where is Secolian?"
The soldier glanced at him, hurriedly pointed to the front and said, "In … in the innermost part."
Although it was said to be the innermost part, it was actually on the other side of the tent. In order to ensure the circulation of air, the convenience of rescue, and the recovery of the patients, there were multiple tents in this kind of tent dedicated to the medical camp. Sekerian's bed was next to one of the tents. There was a small opening in the tent, and sunlight shone in, shining on Secolian's body. With the light, two nurses were carefully cleaning his wounds.
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