The cannon fire thundered, the light exploded, and an old Italian protective cruiser sailing with a large amount of smoke was hit by a 343-mm shell, and the whole hull seemed to explode, and the fire rushed into the sky. Betty had no interest in the sinking of the 2,000-ton boat; He looked at the smoke wall on the sea, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of irritability in his heart. If he had changed the past, he would have rushed into the smoke and taken the other party's life regardless of the number of frigates that echoed back and forth; But before he set out, Jericho repeatedly warned him that the main fleet must not risk losses. Once the opponent sets up an ambush behind the smoke, the capital ship of the team that lacks vision warning is likely to be attacked by the torpedo boat!

"The order was given, and the fleet turned left to a compass point, rounding the edge of the smoke. We don't have to dwell too much with the Austrians here, we just have to block their way home. Betty took a deep breath, forced herself to press the somewhat restless emotion in her heart, and calmly gave the order. The large British fleet then slowly turned at sea and began to move at full speed in a direction due north.

The machinery hissed, the sea breeze blows, and on the blue sea in the distance, a large area of yellow-green smoke is still waving and dancing for a long time. Seeing this, Betty began to curse the evil German chemists again. Due to the lack of resources in Germany, the synthesis of substitutes by chemical methods has become an important subject of study. After a century of painstaking research, the rigorous and pragmatic Germans have long been tempered into a set of the world's strongest chemical industry system and scientific research team in the continuous synthesis of alternative substances. The smoke released by these Austrians was seen in kind by Betty in the Anglo-German naval friendly joint military exercises before the war; Not only do they emit a lot of smoke. And the dispersion time under natural conditions is also quite long. It is really the only choice for the navy of a weak country to escape and turn in, and the wind is tight.

"Still. Even if a cunning squid squirts ink, a good sperm whale can bite it and tear it apart! "Betty is completely confident in the sheer power of the eight dreadnoughts in her fleet. As long as his fleet bypasses the wall of smoke in front of him and appears on the side of the opposing fleet in an invincible manner; In the face of absolute strength, the Austrians had only one end up as lambs to the slaughter.

After successfully pulling up the smoke screen, the Allied light warship that was sailing quickly on the periphery quickly turned around and sank into the smoke screen, allowing rows of shocking water jets to gush and rush around it. Over time. Betty on the Orion gradually felt that something was wrong: not only had the other party cast a smoke screen on the front, but also pulled up a wide smoke corridor near the flank where she was maneuvering. Such a wide smoke screen has long exceeded the need to interfere with the observation of one's own artillery fire, and obscured all the figures of the opposing fleet. And even with the excellent performance of German smoke cans, the number of smoke cans that need to be consumed to create such a large smoke screen is an extremely staggering number. Judging from the current situation, it seems that the other party does not hesitate to use up all the smoke cans, and also wants to block the figure of the entire fleet from his field of vision!

"What the hell is House trying to do if I can't see them?" Betty frowned slightly. There was a look of confusion in his eyes. If the other party wants to regroup and seize the T-shaped position against the column of their own fleet, Betty definitely does not believe it; House had the heart to fight. When he first entered the battlefield, he would have already made tactical maneuvers with a more calm attitude. And if it was to turn and run away, Betty really couldn't think of where else the other party could go. Whether it is Taranto, Italy, or the port of Bora in Austria-Hungary, they are currently in the same position due north; If they dare to change course and take a long detour, they will be able to easily plug in directly in front of the Allied fleeing fleet. At present, there is a large wave of destroyers in their hands, and it is impossible for the slow Allied fleet to escape from its own reconnaissance circle during this time!

Betty frowned, and her mind was already rapidly analyzing; There is a faint light of inspiration flickering, but I can't always grasp the key to it. Looking at the tall billowing smoke on the starboard side of the battleship, Betty's pupils contracted slightly, and the aura in her mind suddenly flashed, and she suddenly said loudly: "Dongfang! House is going to flee to the Aegean Sea and hide in the Istanbul military port protected by the Dardanelles! ”

The waves rolled and foamed at the foam, and under Betty's loud command, a dozen British destroyers began to turn and accelerate, and rushed straight into the man-made fog. Although Betty was almost 100% sure of his own judgment, out of an abundance of caution, he sent the destroyer to ask for directions to make sure that the other party did not ambush the lightning ship behind the smoke. Not long after, the destroyer fleet, which had entered the smoke screen, drove back and reported to the flagship about its reconnaissance. After receiving the news from the cannon fodder, Betty, who was in charge of the Orion, was faced with water and immediately ordered the fleet to turn to pursuit. If he hadn't reacted in time, and still stupidly waited for the smoke to clear and searched north, it was really possible for this swordfish that had been served to the table to escape!

"What a move, turn the enemy and go straight to the east!" Betty gritted her steel teeth and said hatefully. Under normal circumstances, no commander would have taken the sick man of Europe into his vision, and it is even more inconceivable to flee to the Aegean Sea at the expense of the near and far; However, House made a decision on the spot in a very short time, and almost hit him with the blow he was determined to win! However, this was the case, and House also took advantage of Guò's excellent maneuver before the formation, which dragged on for a considerable time. By the time the British fleet returned to catch up with the Allied fleet, it was at least after 18 p.m., less than two hours before the sun had sunk below sea level. During the First World War, which relied entirely on optical sighting, night battles between capital ships were simply unthinkable; Betty used to have plenty of time, but now it's quite stretched.

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"Sure enough, we still haven't completely deceived the British." Looking at the tall triangular mast that was dyed with a golden glow of the setting sun and gradually appearing on the sea level far to the west, House's heart was bitter, and his face was already a dejected gray color. Next to him, the commander of the Italian fleet, Lefel, also lost focus in his pupils, and his face was as pale as white paper. As soon as he threw off the British fleet, Leffel could not help the joy of surviving death in his heart, and took a transport boat to the United Forces to express his gratitude to his old adversary; However, the current situation proved that Lefell was undoubtedly happy a little too soon.

"Anton, what should we do now?" Leffel spoke astringently, with strong fear and unwillingness in his words, "My Dante entered more than 1,000 tons of seawater more than two hours ago, and now the strong pressure and ventilation can't outrun the super dreadnoughts of the British, is it possible that all of our latest capital ships will be lost here?" ”

House shook his head slowly, "There's no other way. We are now only carrying the fire of the British until night falls on this sea area. The two dreadnoughts, the Ferdinand and the Hayreddin, with their well-preserved power, were able to retreat one step ahead, and their severely damaged superstructure and artillery armor determined that they could only die on the battlefield. He glanced at the Italian next to him, and then added: "The two ships that had suffered the same injuries in the early artillery battle can now sail directly to Istanbul." ”

"Even if we managed to drag it out into the night, the situation was extremely unfavorable for us. The fire ignited by the wounds of the battleship will be an excellent target for the British in the dark; And the slow pace of our fleet makes it almost impossible to reach Istanbul ahead of the British in the current situation of being discovered. Leffel said in a bitter tone.

At this time, House had gradually calmed down from the panic and fear of discovering the British fleet again, and said slowly: "Indeed, with the current speed of the main fleet, even if it holds out until the night and obtains its cover, it is difficult to get rid of the British tracking. By dawn the next day, it would not be very difficult for the British, who were searching all over the sea, to find us. Therefore, we will not go to Istanbul, as long as we can hold out for another two hours, we will immediately turn northwest again under the cover of night and return to Taranto! ”

The sun sets in the west, and the sunset is in full swing. Under the command of House, the Allied fleet turned to the left to a compass point, and aimed its course at two o'clock in the north-east, and the chimneys of the ships were filled with coal smoke, as if they were rushing towards Cape Maleya, 240 nautical miles away, and rushing into the Aegean Sea at the shortest distance. However, Lefell in the command tower knew that this was House's attempt to reduce the distance and time required to maneuver at night for the fleet to return to the northern military port of Taranto. Looking at the imaginary enemy in front of him, who had been fighting with him for nearly ten years, Leifell was deeply impressed by the professionalism he had expressed; He drew a cross on his chest and whispered a prayer begging God for mercy and mercy.

12 kilometers away, eight British battleships were already lined up in a column, and in a flash of fire, an orange-red flame that was barely weaker than the sunset on the horizon swept up. (To be continued......)

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