The Dreadnought rushed to the front of the Imperial cruiser squadron, and the ship's lookout was the first to notice that a fleet flying the flag of the Far East was rapidly approaching from the northeast, and immediately sounded the alarm of an enemy attack.

The young captain of the "Dreadnought", believing in the ancient naval principle of "fighting when encountering the enemy", immediately ordered to open fire on the first enemy ship that appeared within range of his own fire, and immediately sent a signal to the rear flagship: Our ship has encountered the enemy's main fleet and is engaged!

Just two minutes later, Commander Lucien personally sent a reply letter, expressing his admiration for the fighting spirit of all the officers and men of the "Dreadnought" and asking his main warship to advance at full speed toward the sea area designated by the "Dreadnought." The "Charlemagne" took the lead, and the noble imperial flagship rushed to the center of the battlefield at top speed, the waves raging around it, and hundreds of tons of seawater spilled onto the deck. The speed of the "Charlemagne" was increased to 31 knots in a short period of time, which has already exceeded the limit speed set at the beginning of the construction of this 10,000-ton giant ship. Not far behind, the "Crown Prince" and the "Queen Teresa" followed the flagship's trajectory to the warring seas.

At 5:42, the huge figure of the "Charlemagne" appeared in the area of engagement, and immediately launched an artillery bombardment at 10,000 yards away from the Far Eastern Fleet, which had already launched a battle line and was bombarding the squadron of Imperial cruisers.

Until the time of the battle, the maximum range of naval vessels in Varess was still set at 8,000 yards, and the range of the main guns in the Far East, including the flagship Sea Palace, was also within this range. At this moment, however, they are forced to contend with three steel behemoths that transcend common sense. The Imperial Navy's main warships, named after three of the most distinguished royals of the Holy City of Ashan, the Charlemagne, the Empress Teresa, and the Crown Prince Frank, all have a range of 10,000 yards and are capable of maintaining shocking accuracy in choppy naval battles.

Commander Lucien's chosen prey was the rival's flagship, the "Sea Palace", the most powerful magic warship in the Far East, dwarfed by the "Charlemagne", and there was a clear gap in the tonnage of the hull and the caliber and range of the main guns, and the asymmetrical confrontation seemed to have predicted the end before it began.

Charlemagne's luck was not bad, the first round of shells fired across 10,000 yards of blue water, scattered on the sea near the Far Eastern flagship, splashing huge waves, forcing the "Sea Palace" to pass through the stormy seas with difficulty, and gradually broke away from the battle line. The gunners on the "Charlemagne" continued to work hard, and the second salvo was fired in a straddle fire, and several heavy shells flew over the deck of the "Sea Palace" and blasted out a column of water on the other side of the ship.

During this period, due to the limitation of the firing range, the "Sea Palace" did not try to return fire, but sailed at full speed in the face of the constant bombardment of shells from the opposite side, racing against time to rush to the "Charlemagne". As the two flagships got closer and closer, finally closing to within 8,000 yards, the "Sea Palace", which had been silent for a long time, also let out a rumbling cannon and launched an unflinching counterattack against the mighty Imperial battleship.

The two ironclad giants fiercely bit their opponents and shelled each other, like heavily armed knights engaged in a life-and-death duel in the arena. However, the rough sea is not a circled arena after all, and the protagonist on the battlefield is not only the flagship of the two sides. Just as the Sea Palace began to return fire, two of Charlemagne's sister ships, the Empress Teresa and the Crown Prince Frank, also entered the battlefield and launched artillery bombardment on the ships in the Far East.

The "Empress Teresa", commanded by Vice Admiral Verneuve, chief of staff of the Imperial Navy, launched a fierce attack on the "Yangbo", which was second only to the "Sea Palace" in the Far Eastern Fleet, and the "Crown Prince Frank", commanded by Vice Admiral Moreau, chose the light cruiser "Canglong" on the Far East side as its prey. Vice Admiral Morrow even felt a little ashamed of this, he did not intend to bully an opponent who was at least two ranks inferior to his own warship, but because the "Sea Palace" and the "Yangbo" already had opponents, as a knight he disdained to bully more than he could, but there was really no opponent in the Far Eastern Fleet who could be worthy of a battle.

According to the standards of the Imperial Navy, the "Sea Palace" and the "Yangbo" are both heavy cruisers, and although the armor and firepower are a grade lower than the Imperial battleships, they can barely support a few rounds, and they have fought back and forth. The "Canglong" was a light cruiser of a higher class, and it was not worthy of being the main force in the Imperial fleet, and it could not withstand the fierce shelling of the "Frank Crown Prince" at all, and was pierced by the armor belt near the waterline by the opponent's third round of salvo, and the speed dropped rapidly, and the hull was obviously tilted to one side.

Vice Admiral Morrow could not bear to see the tragic situation of the "Canglong" struggling in the waves, but he immediately recalled the humiliation he had suffered in the air battle not long ago, forced himself to dispel his pity, and ordered the gunners to continue to bombard the enemy ship and deliver a fatal blow as soon as possible.

The fourth round of shelling of the "Crown Prince Frank" caused great damage to the "Canglong", and the deck was set on fire, about 200 sailors were killed within five minutes of the shelling, and many more officers and men struggled to survive in the cabins filled with gunpowder. Despite the heavy blow, the "Canglong" still did not give up resistance and continued to launch artillery bombardment on the "Crown Prince Frank". At the same time, the ship's damage control crew rushed back and forth, extinguishing the fire with the assistance of a navigator, sealing the compartment that had been pierced by the shells and flooding it with seawater, and then opening the watertight compartment in symmetrical orientation and actively introducing seawater to restore balance on both sides of the hull.

Vice Admiral Moreau observed the busy scene on the deck of the "Canglong" through the telescope, and shook his head slightly, admiring the enemy's strength and regretting their futile efforts at the moment. At most, two more rounds of shelling will be supported, and the "Canglong" will be doomed to the bottom of the sea.

However, at this moment, the situation on the battlefield suddenly reversed. General Moreau and the "Crown Prince Frank" were seized by a sudden misfortune - the huge hull seemed to have been kicked hard, bounced on the ground, and then smashed into the sea!

The violent concussion almost turned the battleship upside down, and the bridge was in shambles, and Vice Admiral Moreau rolled on the floor and hit the bulkhead before stopping. Unable to wipe the blood from his forehead, he struggled to his feet, and was surprised to find that the "Crown Prince Frank" was turning to the left in a strange way.

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