Even if it is surrounded by a group of dogs, the tiger is still a tiger.

After leaving the formation and completing the steering, the two battlecruisers took less than ten minutes to turn four enemy ships into floating bonfires.

One of the light cruisers quickly sank after a violent explosion.

Don't forget that battle cruisers are born as nemesis of small and medium-sized warships.

Although according to the idea of ​​Marshal Fisher, the father of the battleship, this kind of battleship with the firepower and cruiser speed is a veritable battleship, actual combat has long proved that battleships are most suitable for outposts and perform reconnaissance patrol missions in front of the battleship, relying on fast enough speed and more fierce firepower to deal with enemy cruisers and avoid premature exposure of their own battleships.

That's why battle cruisers are born with powerful strength to crush small and medium-sized warships.

Even if the two "Jihe Rivers" were severely damaged, several main guns could not be fired, and the secondary guns could also kill the cruisers of the joint fleet.

The 150mm armor-piercing projectile fired by the secondary gun is more than enough to deal with light cruisers.

In addition, the two battlecruisers left the formation and drew off the enemy's artillery fire, creating better escape opportunities for the four friendly ships.

However, this situation did not last long.

After four enemy ships were shot and caught fire, the five "Queen Isa" class of the Quick Battle Team immediately turned their guns and shot two "Jihe" class.

After nearly ten minutes, the lookouts of the Quick Battle Team saw four other battlecruisers approaching quickly.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was less than ten kilometers.

Although according to He Yongxing's order, the four battleships remained "silent" and did not fire at the enemy ships, after the distance was shortened, there was still the fire of the enemy ships in the distance. Under the clear night sky, the tall figures of the four battleship cruisers were still vaguely identifiable.

The key is that the four warships have been sailing at high speed.

In dark environments where there is insufficient light, the human eye is very sensitive to fast moving objects and can be detected even when it is far away.

At this time, after being hit by multiple fifteen-inch shells in succession, the "Jihe" and "Guijiang" had basically lost their combat effectiveness.

Although the two warships were still floating tenaciously, the main guns were paralyzed, and there were not even a few 150mm secondary guns left in the artillery profile.

The speed of the two warships has dropped below 20 knots.

Relying on this speed, the two warships could not break through anyway.

Unless a miracle happens, it will only be a matter of time before it is sunk.

It is precisely because after observing the slowdown of the two "Jihe" class, five fast battleships immediately turned their guns and opened fire on the other four warships.

Entering the direct firing distance of the main gun and the secondary gun, the artillery fire of the five fast battleships became very fierce and the accuracy was greatly improved.

It is definitely not a good thing for the four battlecruisers.

The first thing that was unlucky was the "Beihe" and "Nanjiang" that were in the front.

Because of the relative course, in the first few minutes, the four fast battleships behind were dealing with the two battlecruisers. Only the "Queen Isa" led the team was shelling the "Luhe" and "Yuejiang" behind the shelling. Perhaps no flagship was identified, or for other reasons, the "Queen Isa" was just restraining these two battleships and using interlaced shooting tactics to fire at the two battle patrols at the same time.

Perhaps, at the beginning of the battle, Betty got the wrong target and believed that the Beihe was the flagship, and did not target the Luhe, which also had the commander's flag.

Of course, it may also be because of fear of the 400mm main gun of the "Beihe" class.

To be said, only the 400mm armor-piercing bombs of the Beihe and Nanjiang can pose a fatal threat to the Queen Isa class at this distance. Even if the 350mm main guns of the Luhe and Yuejiang are threatened, they are not fatal.

It only takes a few minutes.

At 7:22, three red signal flares rose from the ship Beihe into the night sky for the first time.

This is a communication method that will be used only after the radio station is completely damaged and the mast or watchtower is destroyed, which means that the ship has completely lost its combat capability.

However, the officers and soldiers on the Beihe were still fighting and fired at the enemy ships with anti-aircraft cannons.

The "Nanjiang" was still following the buttocks of the "Beihe". All the eight main guns were mute, and only a few secondary guns were still firing at the enemy ships.

At 7:25, the "Lu River" surpassed the "Bei River" and the "Nanjiang River" from the west.

Although it was about two thousand meters away, it was clear that there were many officers and soldiers on the decks of the two warships, all of whom were trying to put out the fire. No one jumped into the sea to escape, and no one even went to evacuate and rescue the wounded. It seemed that all officers and soldiers were going to survive and die with the warships.

Perhaps, the officers and soldiers of the two warships just don’t want to drag down friendly ships.

If they jump into the sea to escape, if they actively rescue the wounded, they will definitely need support and assistance from friendly ships, so they will have to slow down and lean over.

At this moment, the commander's bridge was surprisingly quiet.

The young staff member lowered his head, and the senior staff member was restraining the impulsive thoughts arising from ideological struggles.

Go or stay!?

Leaving, it can save two warships and more than 2,000 officers and soldiers, and save the seeds of the revival of the Imperial Navy!

Stay behind and be able to fulfill the promises of the soldiers, without having to spend the rest of your life in guilt, let alone face the difficulties and obstacles that follow.

Fortunately, it was not the turn of the staff of the squadron headquarters to make this decision.

At 7:27, just after the Lu River reached the front, a warship exploded violently in the southwest direction.

It is not an enemy ship, it is the "Guijiang" that had left the formation before.

It happened too suddenly. The officers and soldiers on the "Guijiang" not only did not have time to send out telegrams, but they were not even able to send out red signal flares in time.

Within three minutes, before 7:30, the warship with a standard displacement of more than 30,000 tons disappeared from the sea.

At this time, the exact time was 7:29, and an explosion occurred on the Jihe River not far ahead of the Guijiang River.

This time, the telegraph soldiers on the Jihe River issued an alarm.

The ones that sunk the Guijiang and attacked the Jihe River were not the enemy's main battleship, but the light cruiser, using heavy torpedoes.

After the alarm was issued, the "Jihe" fired three red flares.

Because it has been completely paralyzed, this warship that has lost its combat capability can only be slaughtered by the enemy ships in addition to sinking itself.

However, the last acting captain of the "Jihe" chose a more heroic and more gorgeous method of dying for the country.

At 7:35, after the lifeboat carrying the wounded left, the third acting captain of the "Jihe" and Captain She Haibing of the Turbine Department personally detonated the former main artillery ammunition depot, and used dozens of tons of shells and launching medicine to load himself and hundreds of officers and soldiers who were unwilling to leave into the martyrs' roster.

This earth-shaking explosion brought about an incredible end to the warship that served in the Imperial Navy for six years, participated in hundreds of battles, and made more than ten times of military merit, sinking and injuring many enemy ships, and making great contributions to the Imperial Navy a warship that was not perfect but extremely tragic.

It is actually more appropriate to say that it is a brilliant exclamation mark.
Chapter completed!