As we all know, in order to give early warning of possible emergencies encountered by ships, lookouts generally stand on high observation platforms, holding binoculars and not daring to relax for a moment to look at the surrounding sea area, and report the abnormal situation found at any time.

Of course, if it is during the day, when the light is relatively sufficient, some experienced lookouts will choose not to use a telescope and only observe with the naked eye - this is extremely normal. But the lookout, whom Polusalino had noticed, had been nearly five minutes on such a night of very low visibility, and he had no intention of pulling out his binoculars.

And it stands to reason that warships are generally equipped with two lookouts, one of whom is responsible for a 180-degree field of view. If one of them needs to leave the lookout post temporarily, then the remaining lookout needs to temporarily take on the observation task of two people, and constantly rotate their bodies to observe.

However, when there was only one person on the lookout, the lookout did not change the direction and posture of observation from the moment Polusalino began to observe...... And the lookout, who was not at the lookout, did not return to his post for more than five minutes.

You know, work on a warship is completely different from work on a regular ship - on a warship, for whatever reason, it is absolutely not allowed to be away from the post for more than five minutes. Even if you go to the toilet, you have to solve it within five minutes. Otherwise, in the event of a surprise attack by the enemy, the departure of a person from his post is likely to lead to extremely serious consequences.

"When the mission is over, talk to Colonel Malvern. These two lookouts are very problematic......"

After observing for nearly ten minutes to no avail, Polusalino shook his head and muttered to himself.

He looked at Sakasky on the other side of the deck, who was now recuperating with his eyes closed, and Porusalino, who had nothing to do, began to learn as well.

And not long after Polusalino entered the state of closing his eyes and recuperating-

"Bang ——!"

A loud bang came suddenly, and with this loud bang, a huge white column of water rose from the port side of the ship, and the whole ship also tilted to the right because of this column of water.

"Enemy attack——! Enemy Attack ——!! A pirate ship appears on the left!! ”

The lookout who had just thought there was something wrong with Polusalino finally gave a warning, and the mournful alarm bell rang off on the ship.

"Bang ——!"

"Bang ——!"

There were two more loud bangs, and two huge white columns of water surged up on the left and front sides of the ship. As a result, the whole ship shook even more violently, and many of the recruits who had no fixity to grab fell directly onto the deck, and even Polusalino and Sakasky were about to maintain their balance.

Colonel Malvern had already rushed out of the captain's quarters by this time, and he looked at the left side of the ship with the binoculars he was carrying:

"Damn, it's the Sea Lion Pirates! How dare they take the initiative to attack us?! ”

However, this is not the time to dwell on this issue, Colonel Marvin put down his binoculars and gave a loud order: "The combat team leader leads his team members into the combat post!" The artillery team gave me a fierce counterattack! ”

As Colonel Malvern gave the order, the ship's crew moved quickly. The 12 guns on the left side of the ship were ready, and the muzzles had been neatly stuffed into the gunpowder packs and the 32-pound solid iron ball.

At the same time, the veteran gunner behind the cannon had slowly approached the coarse linen rope specially soaked in grease and saltpeter:

"Sneer......"

The flammable flax rope was soaked in grease, rolled several times in saltpeter powder, and dried to become a fire rope for artillery. As soon as the torch touched the firerope, a foul-smelling black smoke instantly appeared with the bright light of the fire, extending into the hole like a little finger.

It was the gunpowder chamber of the cannon, and the gunpowder that had been filled in it had been firmly compacted, and the small space became more and more irritable as the fire rope became shorter and shorter. The heavy solid iron ball had been pressed against the exit of the medicine room, and the thick and heavy barrel had been aimed at the front, and the restlessness of the medicine room became more and more intense, because the burning fire rope had penetrated deep into the medicine room, and the strong black powder was ignited in an instant!

"Boom!" "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! ”

"Boom!" "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! "Boom! ”

Twelve 32-pounder guns began to roar almost simultaneously, and the incomparable light illuminated the sea. Twelve solid iron balls burst out from the muzzle of the cannon and tore through the air at an extremely fast speed, rushing towards the Sea Lion that had just launched a sneak attack with unparalleled might!

……

Ten minutes earlier, on the Sea Lion, which had been taken over by Locks, the lookout spotted the naval warship in which Polusalino and the others were riding.

"We can't go any further, and we will be in the range of the Navy's 32-pounder guns!"

Goodwin said to Locks with an ugly face, "In the face of that caliber of artillery, the Sea Lion can't hold out a few times!" ”

"Rest assured, the lookouts on their ship are our people, we just need to drive forward,"

Locks waved his hand disappreciatively, "Pass my orders, keep the current state, and approach them quietly." ”

Goodwin, though terrified and reluctant, could only give orders to the helmsman as Locks had said. A few minutes later, under the cover of night and the release of Orff, the lookout of the Navy ship, the Sea Lion quietly and covertly reached a distance of about 400 meters from the Navy warship, which was the maximum firing range of the three 7-pounder guns carried on the Sea Lion.

Locks could already vaguely see the figure on the naval battleship, and he couldn't help but smile excitedly and looked at Goodwin on the side: "At this distance, can your gunner hit?" ”

"Lao Tzu's gunner was killed by you just now!"

Goodwin said this almost through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's a shame......"

Locks shrugged, "Anyway, you let them hit as accurately as possible, even if it's just a shot." ”

"Of course I know that."

Goodwin said. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind.

It's a pity that in the face of the extreme range of a 7-pounder gun like 400 meters, although the temporary gunners on the Sea Lion have done their best, they are still empty of three shots.

"The three shots are all empty, what should I do? Do you want to keep shooting? ”

"Keep shooting and you'll just stay here and be a target for them, do you think your 7-pounder is a match for their 32-pounder?"

Locks glanced at Goodwin.

"Then what are you going to do?!" Goodwin was about to get to his knees for Locks—he had already seen the fire from the guns of the navy ships, and he had heard the screams that symbolized the coming of death.

"Who do you think Lao Tzu is?"

Locks smiled maniacally, "Listen to me and lean the boat towards them!" ”