Realm of Power

South Aden subcontinent,

The deep blue sea water is separated by a gray line here. This is the intersection of two sea areas, the southern sea area of ​​​​Erault that has been covered in fog for decades, and the South Asian subcontinent sea area that is rumored to be close to the tropical red. The sea water laps in A piece of white water bubbles appeared on the brown reef, and then returned and hit the hull. Carefully, it climbed from the side of the island. Turning out, a group of Imperial Navy warships were revealed. The hull was not big, and all the sails had been lowered. The hull was allowed to move eastward with the natural flow of the sea. The speed was not fast, almost gliding on the sea, silently. The entire fleet was The lights were extinguished and the outer deck was dyed black, making the entire reconnaissance ship look like a ghost under the cover of darkness.

In the dark night, the Imperial Navy's forward fleet in such a disguise entered the mysterious South Aden subcontinent for the first time.

The naval captain Frecard, standing at the bow of the ship, was not worried that he would be exposed. Instead, he looked at the surrounding sea with excited eyes, as if he wanted to look at Aden, the core area of ​​the Kingdom of Aden, through the boundless sea water in front of him. Bay, the color of the sea water here is obviously different from the previous areas. The sea water appears bluer than other sea areas. It should be due to the bloom of algae caused by the high temperature.

The information provided by the Temple of Heaven was still biased. The actual situation was not ten days, but the evening of the seventh day. The Navy reported that the fog covering the entrance to the sea of ​​​​Ero began to disperse. When the sun's rays shone on the ninth day, the It’s the water surface like a smooth mirror under the mist

The Imperial Navy's forward fleet, which had made all preparations, entered the original range of the Sea of ​​Mist in advance. The Imperial long sword pointed at the Gulf of Aden. The entire forward fleet consisted of eleven Dragon Tooth battleships and four reconnaissance ships, among which the Imperial reconnaissance ship As the fastest new clipper among the four reconnaissance ships, the Beyanko adopts the latest three-mast jib design and can reach a maximum speed of 20 knots. It arrived at the primary target set by the Navy Ministry, Luxi Port, as soon as possible.

The Port of Luxi is located at the intersection of the Aden area and the southern area of ​​​​Ero. It is one of the most important support points for the Kingdom of Aden's navy in this sea area. In order to fully realize the control of this sea area, the Kingdom of Aden once established the headquarters of the Southern Fleet here. Luxi Port, but as the Kingdom of Aden began to During the Eastern Expedition, a large number of naval warships were transferred from Luxi Port to the east. Luxi Port was half empty. Although the sea of ​​mist blocked the navy from peering into the east, the Imperial Intelligence Department had always been a key player in the intelligence on Aden. The most important thing, so it’s not that I don’t know about Aden at all.

Although I don’t know why the upper echelons of the Admiralty chose this half-empty port as the first target of the Imperial Navy when it entered the Gulf of Aden, it did not delay Frecard’s excitement in executing the order. The wolf traveled thousands of miles to eat meat. The Imperial Navy had not done so for a long time. A baptism of hard work, like hungry wolves, the sailors on the deck looked longingly at the lights of the distant coastline. The warm sea breeze made everyone not only not intoxicated, but also had a sense of longing. urge to release

"Didn't you say this is an airport?"

"Wouldn't it be better not to be empty!"

"It looks like a transport fleet," the imperial sailors murmured in a low voice, because they were already close to the edge of the Sea of ​​Mist. Under normal circumstances, no fleet would choose to sail here, especially in autumn, when the mist even covers the sky. The sun was blocked, and only a white afterglow could be seen. The echo of the waves hitting the hull became louder and louder, and became more and more rapid, as if a person's breathing was blocked by something.

In the night wind, Frecard stood at the bow of the ship with a stern face. He held a long tube-shaped second-generation telescope in his hand and looked toward the brightly lit port in the distance. He was a handsome young man with sky-blue eyes. , a head of brown curly hair sprouted from the edge of the captain's hat. After a while, he put down the lookout in his hand and took a deep breath. He expected that in the mid-air Luxi Port, there were white sails like a forest, and the hulls of large transport ships were next to each other. He whispered to the deputy beside him. "Thirty-three transport ships, if fully loaded with supplies, should be able to support a large fleet for more than thirty days. It seems that Asia It is true that the Ding people are massively mobilizing materials to transport eastward. Of course, there is another possibility, that is, there is a considerable Aden navy nearby. It is still unclear which one it is. I personally advocate launching an attack to send this navy to the East. Write every bit of it into the report to the fleet. Time is pressing and there is no further delay. Write these words in too."

"There may be an Aden navy near Luxi Port, so what? Our role is not to tell the Aden people that the empire is coming!"

Holding the report just received in his hand, Commander Chekov of the Imperial Forward Fleet curled his lips slightly. This former pirate-turned-Commander of the Imperial Squadron was promoted to Undersecretary of the Imperial Navy just three months ago. , as a high-ranking official in the Navy Department, he knows more about the entire plan than the captains below, such as The reason why the main force of the navy was split into the forward fleet and the backward fleet was entirely to confuse the Aden people. In fact, the two fleets almost entered the Sea of ​​Mist less than half a day apart. However, on the route, the forward fleet moved up along the coastline. But the real main force of the navy is at an angle of 45 degrees with the coastline.

The surprise attack on the Gulf of Aden was based on a miracle. The entire forward fleet was just a dodge to attract people. Therefore, the Navy sent Chekov, a pirate, as the commander of the forward fleet. Chekov had considerable knowledge of the sea area and was more capable in naval battles. He is extremely brave, and has a record of being beaten by the opponent many times in naval battles because of his excessive advances. He is a fighting maniac. Appointing such a person as the commander of the forward fleet means letting him cause trouble! The naval commander's approach did not disappoint the Navy. There are many detection methods to know if there is an Aden navy around, and the most direct and effective one is to stab the Luxi Port.

As the order to attack Luxi Port was passed on, the captains of the vanguard fleet suddenly became excited and geared up.

When the sun rises from the sea level, the waves in front of Luxi Port discharge a white line and slap on the beach. Near the rock wall where the tide floats, an Aden navy hides in the shadow of the cliff. The waves hit the warships. Pieces of white water bubbles formed on the sides, making a gurgling sound. In the silent wind, it gave people a solemn atmosphere. In the center of the fleet, several huge hulls with metal armor undulated with the waves.

"This is troublesome. Why should our Tenth Fleet wait for those slow transport ships?" In the cabin of one of the giant metal ships, a light yellow middle-aged nobleman stared at the sunshine outside the window, wearing a long black flat hat. , black collar, black deer boots, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, his name is Antonian, Commander of the Tenth Fleet of the Aden Navy

Luxi Port was once the headquarters of the Southern Fleet. When it first expanded Luxi Port, the Aden Navy specially built docks on the islands in the surrounding waters. Because the port was already filled with transport ships, the Aden Tenth Fleet did not It docked at Luxi Port, but near an island twenty miles north of Luxi Port

As one of the main fleets of the Aden Navy, the Tenth Fleet is definitely not a show-off. It was just transferred back from the southern waters of Central Asia a month ago for repairs. An order from the Aden Navy Ministry required the Tenth Fleet to escort a batch of naval supplies along the way. The Kingdom of Aden Although it has achieved great success in Central Asia, after all, It was a labor expedition. Hundreds of thousands of troops were stationed in Central Asia. In order to maintain maritime transportation lines, navies were stationed on various islands along the way. Such huge consumption almost consumed the royal family of Aden for decades. The accumulated national strength has allowed the Kingdom of Aden to begin mobilizing supplies from the far west.

"These guys have wasted too much time. If we can't set off tomorrow evening, I won't be able to catch up with His Majesty's ceremony." Antonian's face was full of helplessness. The ceremony he was talking about was that His Majesty the King of Aden was promoted to the Emperor of Aden. According to the plan , he should have left Luxi Port for Aden three days ago Bay, and then appeared at the ceremony of His Majesty the Emperor as an officer of the Kingdom's Navy Department. But now, I am afraid that I will be late for this huge ceremony, especially when I think that I need to escort the slow transport fleet to Manchuria first. When I visited Dagang, I felt even more pressed for time and my eyebrows were on fire.

"I really miss my days in Central Asia. Although it was not satisfactory due to the harassment of the Imperial Navy, I can indeed feel the power of the Kingdom of Aden every day." Antonian's eyes lit up, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth at the memory. , this time the Kingdom of Aden was promoted to the empire, the army generals who were far away in Central Asia could not come back, but the navy admirals returned one after another. On the one hand, they naturally celebrated the transformation of the King of Aden into the Emperor of Aden, and on the other hand, they were about to A large amount of property obtained from the Central and Asian regions was transported back to the country.

"Sir, there is news from the port. The fleet can set off tonight." The adjutant came up from behind the deck, bringing some timely good news.

"Send the order, let's go to Luxi Port." Hearing that the transport fleet could set off at night, Antonian breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and "weigh anchor" was heard loud and clear. The sails of the Tenth Fleet began to rise to the top of the mast, and the sails were suddenly blown by the wind. The heavy bow began to slide on the sea that had been calm for more than ten days, breaking the creaking sound of the sea surface, and Antonian's In my ears, it is definitely the most beautiful sound in the world! Antonian didn't know that because of his decision, the curtain of the Great Battle of Aden was opened.

The Tenth Fleet returning to Luxi Port is waiting outside the port

Standing on the bow of the ship, staring at the port in front of him, Antonian looked complicated.

The terrain of the South Gulf of Aden is relatively low-lying compared to the north. The Gulf of Aden is a concave semi-maritime terrain, with vast wetlands, dense water, and crisscrossing rivers. Abundant water vapor and warm air currents from the ocean collide with each other along the coastline, eventually forming a The Gulf of Aden has a unique four-season climate. There is almost no spring or winter. The temperature is above 30 degrees for eight months a year. Therefore, the skin of Aden people is mostly... It has a red copper color, and the advantage of the Gulf of Aden being connected to Central and South-East Asia by land and sea has allowed Aden merchants to make huge fortunes in transactions between the east and west continents, but all this has changed with the It ended with the fall of the Port of Cornonia into the hands of the Empire. After the Empire opened up the golden trade route connecting the Eastern Great Road and Central Asia, Aden's role as a commercial hub between the eastern and western continents has gradually weakened...

Suddenly, an urgent whistle sounded sharply in Antonian's ears, which seemed particularly harsh in the quiet space where only the sound of water could be heard. It started with one whistle, then two whistles, and then two whistles... Finally, all the whistles were connected together, and the sharp whistle seemed to pierce everyone's eardrums, "What's going on?"

Antonis's face suddenly became extremely ugly, as if he was looking up at the tall mast. There was a lookout post at the top of the mast. The lookout post was conveying the previous gestures towards the bottom, and vigorously continued downwards. Split, the semaphore soldier kept repeating this action. The deputy stumbled over and the surroundings were in chaos. Antonian also looked at the semaphore hand's gestures in disbelief. Damn it, was there a mistake? This is the south of Aden. It was attacked. , where did the enemy come from? Even though the gesture of the semaphore was so obvious and everyone could see the sea clearly, even if it was an attack, who would choose to launch a surprise attack in such an environment?

But the facts are better than everything, bang." Antonis saw a battleship in front of him being hit by a series of fireballs. The explosion was deafening. The sea water nearby suddenly rose up with large water columns. The water splashed into waves, and the ship's hull was like a roller coaster. Being abandoned high up was like the sky collapsing and the sea boiling, causing violent waves to shake the nearby warships.

"Imperial Navy, pass the order, all combat ships disperse" flashed on Antonian's pale face. He had fought with the Imperial Navy several times in the waters of Central Asia and knew that the Imperial Thunder God was so powerful that he seemed to have silver wings. Angel of Death! The moment it hits the target, the target will be shattered to pieces! "Re-adjust the target...376 meters ahead, turn left twenty-one degrees!"

In the bombardment cabin of the Imperial Navy's forward fleet, the Imperial gunners quickly began to adjust based on the data obtained from the first shot. With a roar, the naval fleet's salvo was like forming a smoke ring about a hundred meters long on the sea. , unable to determine too specific targets, all the imperial warships adopted a range of scattering, and saw countless trailing thunder bullets, pouring away like storms, water columns rising into the sky, and rolling seawater reflected by fire. ,

The fierce artillery fire came like raindrops, and the sea boiled and raised countless water columns.

One after another, the Aden warships were hit and set on fire, and the thunder bombs set off huge water columns. Just like dumplings, the surrounding dense spores exploded like suddenly blooming in the sea. The water column reached the sky, and the white waves pushed forward with the bow of the ship. The thunder bullets trailing thick smoke tails were as dense as a heavy rain. The fireballs streaked across the sea with roars and flames. Broken wood flew everywhere, and the sturdy iron bow was also disemboweled. With a sound Violent explosions came from the battleship. The items inside the battleship seemed to have been hit by a hurricane. All obstacles were crushed, and the hull of the hit battleship shook violently. The speed quickly stopped, the entire bow disappeared, and sea water poured into it.

The huge hull of the battleship burned under thick flames,