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Chapter 961

"Woo!" The bugle sounded. Two long strips of cloth, one red and one black, quickly fluttered on top of the flagship's main mast.

The other warships also saw the warning flag in front of them. At this time, the flagship sent out another message to attack. The originally dull fleet suddenly became lively. The captain's orders, the lookouts' reminders, and the sailors' chants came from each warship, causing the entire fleet's formation to change.

The Third Fleet was no longer a four-way column of warships. Instead, it rapidly moved forward and spread to the two sides. The distance between the horizontal ships widened, while the distance between the columns shrunk. The entire fleet's formation changed from a long snake to a goose with its wings spread. The warships of the Third Fleet, which had been established for almost ten years, lined up in formation with great familiarity and tacit understanding. At the same time, they were constantly shortening the distance between them and the Carthage fleet opposite them.

At this time, sitting on the flagship of the Carthage fleet was the commander of the Carthage Navy, Annobus. The appearance of the Dionysian fleet in this area surprised him. Did the Diónia see through our plan to lure the enemy?!

"Sir, should we retreat for now?" the captain of the flagship asked carefully.

Annobus looked ahead and pondered for a moment. Then he said decisively, "Although some things don't go according to our plan, the Diónia are still in a disadvantageous position. As long as we stop them, the final victory will be ours!"

"Sir, but can Ademica and the others arrive in time …" The captain's words were vague.

Annobus understood what he meant and said in a low voice, "This naval battle is very important to Carthage! It's also very important to Lord Margo! Ademica will definitely understand its importance. He will do his best! "

At this point, Annobus shouted an order, "Get into a circular formation and prepare for battle!"

After giving the order, Annobus looked up at the scorching sun above his head with some disgust. He got up and went down to the cabin.

In order to save time and build more warships, Carthage and the allied shipyards temporarily gave up on the construction of four-tiered warships and large flagships. Therefore, the flagship that Annobus was on was only a modified three-tiered warship. It did not have a forecastle, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

The circular formation was a type of defensive formation. The warships were arranged in a circle, and the distance between each warship was relatively close. Only the bow of the warship was facing outwards. The two sides and the rear were protected by their own warships. It was like a hedgehog that had shrunk into a ball and erected its spikes, making it impossible for the attacking enemy to attack.

Although the circular formation had the disadvantage of making the warships move slowly within it, its strong defense was exactly what Annobus needed at the moment. After all, he had experienced the great naval battle with the Sicilian fleet of Diónia. He was still fearful of the attack power of the Diónia warships. Therefore, he wanted to use of the circular formation to delay and wait for an opportunity.

However, compared to other ship formations, the circular formation was not only much more difficult to arrange, but it also took a longer time to arrange. Just as the various Carthage warships received the order from the flagship and began to gather towards the Carthage flagship under the command of the captains, the Third Fleet of Diónia had already begun their attack.

All the warships of the Third Fleet had lowered their sails, and the Raven warships had also been fitted with drawbridges. After hearing the order to attack, all the sailors fell into a state of excitement. They quickly stuffed the rations they carried with them into their mouths, chewing while listening to the orders of the boatswain and the piper. They controlled the oars and kept increasing the speed of the oars.

At this moment, the lookout on the mainmast of the flagship shouted in panic, "General, there's a warning from the warships behind us! Double yellow flags! Enemy ships have appeared, and their numbers are about the same as ours! "

The Midolades' heart tightened. Some of the doubts in his heart were immediately solved. Why didn't the Carthage warships escape along the coast, but instead run into the dangerous distant sea? Why were these seemingly fully loaded Carthage warships able to maintain a relatively high speed, and possess superb ship piloting skills? … This is the scheme of the Carthage fleet! They've already set up an ambush at the distant sea, and lured us there with their merchant ships. While they're fighting us, another fleet will arrive from the rear and attack us from both sides. Add that to the fact that the Raven warships aren't able to perform well at sea, the Third Fleet is very likely to suffer a terrible defeat!

Midolades felt a lingering fear. He was thankful that his previous failure had kept him vigilant.

"General, what do we do?! Should we turn the First B Squadron behind us around and intercept them?! "The captain asked nervously.

In the face of danger, or perhaps because he was thankful that he had escaped death, Midolades's mind was exceptionally clear right now. He shook his head and said solemnly, "The enemy's warships are almost twice the number of our warships. Splitting our forces will only weaken our offensive power even more … The enemy behind us has just been discovered, and they're at least one and a half kilometers away from us. The enemy in front of us is already within reach."

He paused for a moment. His eyes turned determined, and his tone abruptly turned fierce, "Raise two more red flags! All warships are not allowed to stop. Charge forward! "

Three red and one black cloth strips fluttered at the top of the flagship's mainmast. For the other warships who saw the warning from the warship behind them, it eliminated the hesitation and hesitation in their hearts. For the warships at the front that were approaching the enemy, it was even more of a cardiac stimulant: Attack! Attack again! Fight to the end!

Under the encouragement of the boatswain, every sailor's fighting spirit soared and their oars accelerated. Every warship shot towards the Carthage fleet like an arrow released from a bow.

The Raven Warship was charging towards the enemy ship. When the two ships were very close to each other, the sailors immediately retracted their oars. Under the control of the helmsman, the Raven Warship slid forward using inertia. The operator on the deck tightly gripped the axle that rotated the drawbridge. When the two ships were about to collide, the operator pressed down on the handle, and the drawbridge quickly smashed down on the bow of the enemy ship. With a loud bang, the stern of both ships jumped up at the same time, and the sailors in the cabins fell all over the place.

The infantrymen in the Raven Warship tried their best to control their bodies. They rushed out of the cabins onto the deck and quickly rushed over the drawbridge. There were only a few soldiers and archers on the enemy's warship. Facing the fully-armed infantrymen of the fleet, the resistance of the Carthage sailors was destined to be a tragedy.

When screams came from the front from time to time, Annobus suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake. A circular formation was indeed the best warship defensive formation, but that was only against enemies who also operated conventional three-tiered warships. Right now, he was facing the Diónia Navy, which was good at using drawbridges to link ships and jumping over them. The ships were arranged in a circular formation, and it was difficult for them to move, so they became the target of the enemy's wanton attacks.

Annobus was full of regret. Instead, he vented his resentment on the captain. "Why didn't you warn me just now?!"

The captain was speechless. This was because, like Arnobus, he had been influenced by traditional naval tactics for a long time. When they suddenly encountered an enemy just now, he would instinctively choose the most suitable tactic to deal with it. In other words, he felt that the strategy Arnobus adopted was correct, so he did not object. However, he had completely forgotten that they were facing an enemy who did not fight according to conventional naval tactics at all. This was mainly because Annobus had only fought with the Diónia Navy once, so he did not have a deep impression of their fleet's tactics.

"Hurry! Hurry! Blow the bugle call for retreat! Let the warships hide! "Annobus shouted in exasperation.

The captain was stunned. "Sir, can't we hold on a little longer?! Ademica and the others might be here soon! "

"By the time Ademica arrives, our fleet will probably be finished!" Annobus roared in exasperation, completely forgetting what he had just said. Because of the Dionysian fleet in front of him, he still did not know that Ademica was rushing over with his fleet.

The Carthage Navy was not like the Diónia Navy, which had developed a complicated flag signal system after being instructed by the Devers to be able to convey orders in a timely and clear manner. However, the Carthage Navy, which had been at sea for hundreds of years, also had its own way of conveying orders at sea.

The ten buglers on the deck of the flagship blew the bugle call for retreat at the same time. The urgent sound of the bugle call spread out in all directions.

Although the Carthage Fleet's circular formation was not completely completed, the warships were all moving closer to the flagship, which was just enough for them to hear the bugle call clearly. However, it was impossible to execute this order immediately and have the entire fleet retreat immediately, because this was a circular formation. The warships on the periphery had to retreat first to make space for the warships on the inside to retreat.

However, the warships of the Diónia Third Fleet quickly pressed forward, and in a short period of time, they came into contact with half of the periphery of the Carthage circular formation.

Under the fierce attack of the Diónia warships, it was not easy to retreat smoothly. Now, when the warships at the front saw their friendly warships being hooked by the enemy's drawbridge one after another, and then the soldiers of the Dionysian Fleet charged onto the deck like wolves, followed by screams of agony, the crew of the Carthage Fleet all trembled in fear, fearing that they would follow in their footsteps. The sound of the bugle call for retreat made them feel relieved, and they all turned around and retreated. This caused the already narrow interior of the circular formation to become even narrower, affecting the speed of the warships' retreat.

Just then, the regretful Annobus suddenly stopped complaining and said to the captain of the flagship with uncertainty, "I think I heard the bugle call for us to attack!"

The captain was stunned and immediately listened attentively.

At this time, the lookout on the mast shouted, "A fleet has appeared behind the Dionysian Fleet! It's our fleet! Sir Ademica has arrived! "

Annobus' previous dejection was swept away. Ademica, whom he used to hate and despise, had now become his most welcome target. He shouted excitedly, "Well done, Ademica! Hurry! Order the warships to stop retreating! Attack the enemy immediately! "