Hearing this order from Ye Feng, of course, the crew raised their hands in approval.

And then there was no need for him to supervise it, and all the crew members immediately returned to their respective posts, sail and oar.

However, just as the Verne was about to turn around and sail in another course, the lookout stationed on the mast suddenly shouted, "A large ship has been found four nautical miles ahead!" ”

Hearing this, the pirates couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, you know, this is not a necessary place for merchant ships, and in fact, even if there are merchant ships to pass through this sea area, they would rather go around a big circle than risk passing through this mermaid sea area!

This time, if it weren't for the day-long storm that caused the Verl to deviate from course, they would not have entered this merfolk sea.

Therefore, when they heard that there was a ship in front of them sailing out of the mermaid sea, the degree of shock in their hearts could be imagined.

But they were only stunned for a moment, and then they immediately decided to do something.

The oarsmen immediately stopped rowing, which allowed the Verne to slow down rapidly, after all, in naval battles, the low rate of artillery hits from high-speed ships can be imagined.

Because only in a relatively stable environment can the gunners greatly increase the hit rate of the gun.

And when the pirates were preparing to fight, the lookout stationed on the mast shouted again, "The opposite battleship is not flying the naval battle flag, but it is flying the British flag, looking at this, this should be a merchant ship, but I don't know why it is here?" ”

Although it is a little strange that merchant ships will appear in this sea area, but seeing prey appear but not attacking, of course, it is not the style of pirates!

Therefore, soon, the first mate, Hascal, immediately took the place of Night Striker and commanded, "Attention everyone! Prepare for battle! Sail upwind! ”

"Gunners prepare! Solid bullet ready! ”

As soon as Huskar's command was given, the sail pilots immediately changed the ship's course by pulling the sails on the mast, putting the Ver in an advantageous upwind position. 35xs

In this position, the Veres fired shells at a third of the distance farther than the enemy in a downwind position.

After the gunners had finished loading, Huskar kept staring at the merchant ships in the distance through the binoculars in his hands.

As the two sides got closer and closer, Huskar's raised arm was slow to be lowered.

Seeing that the distance between the two warships was less than 2 nautical miles, it was already in the maximum range of the three-pounder gun, but Huska did not give the order to fire for a long time.

According to the usual plan, at this time, you should first test fire a few solid bullets to roughly determine the firing elements of the artillery.

Surprised, Yefeng immediately looked at Huska, but then he suddenly noticed that Huskar's face was densely covered with a solemn face.

Then, before Ye Feng could ask, Huska quickly put down the binoculars and said hurriedly, "Captain! There is a big problem with the merchant ships on the other side! ”

Ye Feng raised his telescope in curiosity and looked over, but he didn't find anything wrong with the ship opposite, and it could be clearly seen through the telescope that although the merchant ship on the opposite side was larger, the gun emplacements on its ship were normal.

Moreover, the sailors on the ship were also dressed in sailors' suits made of burlap, and there was no red and white Royal Navy uniform.

For the Royal Navy, which advocates honor, they will never take off their uniforms in order to paralyze the enemy, so the possibility that the enemy is pretending to be the Navy can be ruled out!

Looking at Ye Feng's puzzled look, Huska hurriedly explained, "Although the lower gun emplacements on the opposite ship have been nailed to death, and there is no navy on the ship, I can be sure that the opposite side must be a naval warship!" And it's a Tier III naval battleship! ”

As a pirate for many years, although Huskar advocates combat, but after many years of pirate career, his vision is definitely not bad, so he can easily deduce from the speed of the opposite ship, the height of the mast, and the shape and size of the hull that it should be a military warship rather than a civilian merchant ship!

The simplest point is that in order to carry more goods, civilian merchant ships generally have a particularly wide hull shape, while military warships are relatively narrow in shape in order to pursue speed, like a sharp sword. 35xs

And although I don't know why the naval warship on the opposite side pretends to be a merchant ship, so the muzzle of the lower gun position is deliberately sealed to death, but the vicious Haskar can see the shadow of the former muzzle from the slightest gap between the wooden planks!

Hearing this, Ye Feng's heart was suddenly shocked, you must know that the Navy's Class III battleships are definitely not something they can deal with at the moment.

Despite the fact that there are only 80 guns on it, and although the Veres of the Night Edge is only a V-class battleship, the number of guns it has is not about the same as that of a Tier III battleship.

However, it is important to know that most of the guns on the Vere are only three-pounder guns, while the Navy's Tier III battleships are equipped with five-pounder guns.

The power and range of the artillery alone are not matched by the Verne!

Therefore, Ye Feng immediately thought of whether to fight or retreat next!

Obviously, it was because of this that Huskar did not give the order for the shelling, after all, once the artillery was fired, then there was really no room for anything.

And he knows better that once the war starts, then the outcome of this battle is really hard to say, after all, the opponent is a Tier III battleship of the Navy, although Huskar has a brave personality, but this definitely does not mean that he is a muscular monster with a developed mind!

At this time, after pondering for a moment, Ye Feng asked with red eyes, "Can you be sure that the ship on the other side is really a Tier III battleship?" ”

Looking at Ye Feng's red eyes, he didn't know why Huskar's heart trembled for a moment, but then he nodded affirmatively, "Yes!" Captain! I'm sure this is definitely a Tier III battleship for the Navy! ”

"Okay!" At this time, Ye Feng's heart also made a decision in an instant, that is, battle!

The reason is also very simple, the military Tier III battleship, it can really be said that it is impossible to meet!

Missing this time, it will not be easy for him to get a Tier III battleship again, even if it is not a military one.

He hadn't forgotten that the Verl had cracked in the keel under the thunderbolt, so he had to recapture a warship for his men before he left this world.

And the Tier III battleship in front of you is definitely a good target.

So Nightfeng nodded firmly at Huskar.

Seeing Nightfront's signal, Huska could only obey the captain's orders, but just as he was about to wave his arm and issue the command to fire.

I only heard the distant sea above, but suddenly there was a roaring cannon.

How can it be?

The pirates stared at the merchant ship opposite in disbelief, because you must know that the opposite side is not a navy but a merchant ship, but when have you ever seen a merchant ship take the lead in provoking the pirates?

According to the past practice, in the face of pirates, if it were not for the absolute superiority of merchant ships over pirates, then merchant ships would never dare to take the lead in provoking.

When the sea around the Verl was hit by cannonballs, drenching the pirates on the deck, the anger in the hearts of the pirates was ignited in an instant.

Then the pirates immediately shouted loudly that they should teach the merchant ships on the other side a good lesson and let them know what the rules are!

However, only a few pirates had a trace of doubt in their hearts, because they must know that at this time, the two warships on both sides were still at least 15 nautical miles apart, and at this distance, even the three-pounder gun was at the limit range rather than the best range, so its hit rate would definitely not be high.

From the sound of the cannon just now, the pirates could clearly hear that the number of cannonballs fired by the merchant ship on the opposite side should be about a dozen rounds.

However, the number of splashes from the sea around the Vere is almost a dozen, which means that the enemy's shells have a high hit rate, and most of them can hit an area!

The luck of the gunners on this merchant ship is a little too outrageous, and if you ask yourself, the pirates think that they will never be able to achieve such a high hit rate, and it is good that a dozen shells can hit a few rounds.

After all, this is just the first test launch organized by the enemy!

Only Huskar really knows that this is not a so-called luck at all, but a genuine strength.

Because although the firing range of 15 nautical miles is the limit range of a three-pounder gun, it is within the optimal range compared to a five-pounder gun, and if he is not mistaken, the escort on the opposite merchant ship should not be an ordinary escort, but a professional soldier pretending.

It is not surprising that a professional naval gunner can achieve such a high hit rate with a five-pounder gun at a range of 15 nautical miles.

In the face of the enemy's provocation, the pirate gunners of the Vere also immediately began to prepare for a return fire, and they quickly replaced the chain shells in the gun body with solid bullets, after all, for a three-pounder gun, the range of the chain shells is only about 200 meters, so if you want to fight back, then the only way to replace them with solid bullets is to replace them.

Immediately after the chain reloading, the gunners lit the gunpowder fuse on the barrel.

After a few seconds, with a thunderous roar, more than 20 shells and nearly 30 shells were shot out, but to the shame of the gunners, the shells of nearly 30 shells finally had less than 10 rounds and caused a splash around the enemy's battleship.