At seven o'clock, east of the Watcher Strait.

The artillery battle has lasted for more than two hours and is very fierce, but it is not a tragic one.

From beginning to end, the five "Queen Isa" class were blocked outside the exit of the maze channel, keeping the combat distance above ten kilometers. As long as the 21st squadron approached and tried to grab the T-head, or tried to rush into the maze channel by speed, the fast war team would turn tactically and force the 21st squadron to retreat. No matter how the 21st squadron tossed, the fast war team always responded to changes in the same way.

It must be admitted that Betty is a strong-willed and very clear-minded fleet commander.

The Quick War Team refused to come out, and the 21st Squadron did not take risks.

It's not time to risk your life to break through.

After dark, unless it is blocked, the express war team will definitely not be able to block the maze channel ten thousand meters away, and use artillery fire to prevent the 21st squadron from breaking through the dark.

Because the main squadron of the local fleet is in the Watchmen Strait, as long as the fast battle team is blocked, they will inevitably be attacked from both sides.

If we can annihilate the Quick Battle Team and kill five fast battleships, we will not lose even if we lose to the 21st Fleet.

The local fleet came out in full swing, just to fight the joint fleet to the death!

However, this situation changed half an hour ago.

First, the armored cruiser "Guangyang" and the flagship of the 33rd Squadron sent a telegram. Immediately afterwards, the lookout saw four enemy ships appearing in the north.

That's right, that's the four battle cruisers of the Second Battle Patrol!

Then, the express team in the south turned and rushed towards the 21st squadron at high speed.

Now, it's trouble.

Half an hour before darkness, even if He Yongxing immediately sent a telegram and the local fleet commander in charge of the 11th Squadron immediately launched an action after receiving the telegram, he would not be able to enter the East Ocean within half an hour. Arriving after dark, even if the 21st Squadron has not been annihilated, it would be useless. At that time, more than a dozen main battleships would be withdrawn, which would definitely block the channel and cause more trouble.

Besides, the 21st Squadron was attacked by two enemy fleets and may not be able to hold on until dark.

At this point, Betty's tactical intentions are already very clear.

If the 21st Squadron continues to bite, they will join forces with the Second Battle Patrol team that was coming to fight and avenge the First Battle Patrol team before dark. If He Yongxing retreats with the difficulties, he will let the mountain bite and stay to block the maze channel. When the main reinforcements arrive, the Quick Battle Team will join the pursuit ranks and cooperate with the Second Battle Patrol team to send the 21st Squadron to the bottom of the sea.

Fortunately, He Yongxing had expected it.

When the express team turned and rushed, the 21st squadron did not evade north like before, but chose to turn east.

Now, the problem is handed over to Betty.

The Quick Battle Team continues to go north and avenges the First Battle Patrol Team. Before fully exerting the huge power of the fifteen-inch naval gun, it will inevitably be a wake-up call from the 21st Squadron, especially the two sixteen 400mm main guns at the "Beihe" class.

Having lost three battle cruisers, Betty dared to take risks with the family fortunes of the Royal Navy of Bran?

If you follow the 21st Squadron, the Quick War team must leave the exit of the channel.

If the express team stays near the exit of the channel, the Second Battle Patrol team may not continue to chase the 21st Fleet.

Betty is not a fool, and Shanxia is not a fool.

Since Betty is unwilling to be in trouble, why did the mountain let the ace of the Navy die?

The four "Golden Steel" ships are all battle patrols, and their protection is no better than the "Lion"-level "sink"-level that was sunk in the morning. They are also just as few as 400mm giant cannons.

With the nature of the Navy, even if there are young and powerful officers like Takano who are extremely brave, senior generals like Yamashita may not dare to fight the 21st Fleet to the death.

The key is still time.

If you leave contact before dark, you may not be able to find the 21st Fleet after dark.

Of course, Betty must first consider not allowing the 21st Squadron to occupy a favorable position in the T-head.

As a result, shortly after the 21st Squadron turned, the express war team also turned. However, in order to block the exit of the maze channel, the express war team did not accelerate with the 21st Squadron, and after completing the tactical steering, it still maintained a long enough combat distance.

This just reflects Betty's mentality of worrying about gains and losses.

He wanted to achieve a major victory and avenge the First Battle Patrol team, but he did not want to take risks and did his best to avoid possible losses.

If you are like this, how can you be qualified to ask others?

To the north, the Second Battle Patrol team also turned to sail east, but did not approach the 21st Squadron and remained honestly outside the range of the main gun.

After running wildly for half an hour, the 21st Squadron had "advanced" by about fifteen thousand meters.

Unless the express war team is ready to leave outside the exit of the maze channel, they have to turn before seven o'clock, instead of continuing to sail eastward with the 21st squadron. That's why the 21st squadron will be able to bypass the express war team after seven o'clock, or to be precise, to the south of the express war team. Then sail northwest at full speed, not only can they go straight to the maze channel, but they don't have to worry about being attacked.

Simply put, relying on speed and taking advantage of the situation where the enemy is in their own formation, we will circle the fast battle team for most of the time.

The key is still time.

As long as you grasp the time of turning, the 21st Squadron can always stay behind the day and night change line, that is, hide in the night.

If everything goes well, the 21st Squadron can slip away from the eyelids of the Quick Battle Team and the Second Battle Patrol Team under the cover of the night.

Unfortunately, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and there are too many unpredictable factors.

For the fleet officers and soldiers who have been fighting for a whole day, it is too tired. The afterglow of the setting sun can easily make the lookouts feel illusioned.

Besides, the Quick Battle Team and the Second Battle Patrol Team are both twenty kilometers away, so what are you going to worry about?

Disaster is here.

Just after seven o'clock, the "Guijiang" that was located at the end of the formation and turned the last time was shot. Three large-caliber armor-piercing bombs hit the front and rear bridges almost at the same time. From the captain down, hundreds of officers and soldiers were killed, and the officers and soldiers of the two observation teams in the front and back were either killed or injured.

Half a minute later, the Jihe River in front of the "Guijiang" was shot. At least two armor-piercing bombs hit the hull and detonated inside the hull. Although the shot was above the waterline and did not endanger the engine compartment, the speed could also be slowed down as the water inlet increased.

In the next minute, all six warships were bombarded intensively.

It's actually only one hundred seconds before and after.

What happened in this hundred seconds almost rewritten the fate of the 21st Squadron.

In fact, in just one hundred seconds, no one understood the situation. It seemed that thousands of officers and soldiers in the entire fleet were stunned by the sudden artillery fire.

It was only after seven o'clock that the three-pointer, that is, after being caught up by the day and night change line and being shrouded in darkness that the lookouts on several warships understood the situation.

The artillery fire comes from the east, to be precise, the southeast.

At least eight main battleships, just ten kilometers away, were divided into two dense formations. Based on this, the lookouts inferred that they were the main teams of the joint fleet.
Chapter completed!