Van Oost couldn't believe his eyes!

He didn't expect that Mingren would have a backhand!

It is no wonder that, in this era of extreme lack of means of reconnaissance and communication, the vast majority of both sides of a naval battle discovered each other almost simultaneously - it seemed to him that it was simply unimaginable for him to split and strike under the nose of the other side without being noticed!

The precise and tricky selection of the position of the first detachment just now had already made Van Oost wonder, and now he was even more sure that Akito must have some way to know the specific location and number of the Dutch fleet in advance, otherwise it would be impossible to complete such a beautiful cooperation.

Oh my God! How many boats does Akito still have? Where are they hiding? The fear of the unknown sent a chill down Van Oost's spine.

Watching the five battleships of the second detachment rushing towards the Courage, this old pirate, who had learned a lot of experience from countless naval battles and cultivated extremely sharp intuition, couldn't help but cry out again and again - the Spirit was not saved!

He may not know the Chinese war proverb that "it is better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten fingers", but the truth that war has taught him is exactly that, and this is why he temporarily spared the other four ships of the first detachment - he knew that as long as he sank the No. 2 fortune ship in front of him, those four ships would either fall to the bottom of morale and flee in a hurry, or they would fall into hysterical frenzy of retaliation, and that was the best time for his side to attack.

Everything was evolving according to the best-case scenario envisioned by Van Oerst: the No. 2 Fuku, already dying, was rushing through with the last of its blood, and the captain of the Decisive was also a veteran, and seeing this situation, he quietly gave up the pursuit of the other four ships and joined the encirclement of the No. 2 Fortune - a close-range turning salvo from the Decisive with the use of chain and shotgun. The main mast and auxiliary mast of the No. 2 Fu ship were broken together, and the hull was full of holes; Only the right wing sail was still in the wind, but it could only make the hull spin on the sea!

Van Oost estimated that at most two more salvos, the No. 2 Fuchu would disappear completely, but at this time. Akito's second fleet has appeared!

For a moment there was silence on the sea, and Van Oost stared at the second fleet in the clairvoyant mirror and the panicked Courage.

Like the captain of the Resolute, Van Oost was watching and watching, if the second fleet laid siege to the Spirit, he would not hesitate to order a retreat, and there would be no further hesitation - they would not have time to rescue the flagship, they could only watch the Spirit be sunk, and this would make the high morale drop to the bottom in an instant, and he did not want to let them continue to fight at the risk of mutiny among the sailors below!

"Wow! ～～”

There was a cheer of joy from the deck. Van Oosted's eyes widened in shock again - the second fleet of the Akito actually brushed the Courage and pounced on the southwest!

This group of barbaric Orientals really doesn't understand naval warfare! Wasted such a great opportunity! - Akito's attempt to free the trapped Fortune Ship II was in Van Ooster's hands, so that the Spirit would have precious time to partially repair its broken sails, and once the Spirit was restored, even partially, the well-trained Dutch Navy would be able to crush the Akito's fleet between three Galen ships!

God bless the Netherlands!

Van Oerst only had time to say a silent prayer in his heart. He danced and gave the order in a loud voice, "Young men. Cheer up! …… I'm just going to give you two a chance to shoot a salvo, and if you can't send me that damn ship to the bottom of the sea, you'll jump into the sea and feed the sharks yourself! …… Hang up the flag and tell the Decisive to stop the Oriental fleet first! ”

"Whew! ~~Boom! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a ballista shot flew into the lower part of the foremast and exploded. Flying glass shards not only tore most of the quadrangular sails, but also caused wails on the foredeck of the St. Paul—the Silver Swallow was fighting back with the last ballista left in the bow, even with the bow ballista.

The explosion of the ballista infuriated the sailors on board the St. Paul, and almost immediately following the explosion of the ballista, the 18-pounder gun was ignited in the powder pool, and the cannon rumbled. The Silver Swallow was hit by two more piercing bullets, and finally it couldn't hold it anymore, and the hull slowly began to tilt, and it looked like it was about to capsize in the sea!

The St. Paul was suddenly in a state of greater screams and cheers, while Van Oost was staring at the tattered four-cornered sail in deep thought, and soon he gave an order which made him feel extremely happy when he thought of it for the days to come.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Ge Bi is a little dumbfounded now!

When he crossed the Dutch flagship with the second detachment, he found that the Galen, which was three miles away in front of him, had dropped most of its sails, and only the spinnaker and the sails on the hindmast, which were necessary for turning, were waiting for him!

If it just crashes into it without hesitation, what awaits itself, and for the whole of the Second Detachment, will be the terrible broadside fire of the Galen's ship; And at this distance, if the second detachment wants to turn, it will make a big circle.

Time was of the essence, and Ge Bi could not afford to hesitate, and he quickly ordered the Chaoyang to turn ninety degrees and sail northwest of the upwind mouth, with the entire second detachment of course drawing a right angle behind it.

As soon as he turned to the north, the Silver Swallow, which was blocked by the Galen ship, appeared in front of Ge Bi's eyes, and he felt that his heart was as if it had been scalded by boiling water—the Silver Swallow was already half lying on the surface of the sea, and two-thirds of the hull was submerged below the waterline!

The culprit who had sunk the Silver Swallow, the Galen, which seemed to be barely injured, had sailed behind its companion and formed an inverted "T" shape with it, which also lowered the sails on the foremast and mainmast, and was firing a whirlwind of the four remaining ships of the First Detachment that had swooped down from the southeast.

By this time, Ge Bi had calmed down - the battle had now begun, and the task force had turned from a surprise attack to a stalemate, and it was their patience that was tested by the commanders of both sides.

After turning to the northwest, Ge Bi found that he was still unable to attack—the Galen ship that had been blocking them had slowly turned, and if he had gone straight through, he would have crashed into the side fire.

So he could only continue to patiently detour southwest, trying to use his full sail advantage to overtake the speed of the opponent's rotation and find the gap for the fatal blow.

But he never found it—the two ships that were close to each other were spinning each other, and the chances of attacking the bow or stern were even slimmer.

And by this time, the sails were already hanging on the flagship of the Dutch - it had already begun to recover! (To be continued.) )