When did they realize they had fallen into a trap? It was when they noticed the shelling of the naval port, which had been decreasing for a while, gradually intensified again.
Clemento had assumed that the bombardment of the naval port would gradually weaken over time, but this did not happen. When the soldiers in the watchtower saw the sky lanterns rising into the night sky, Clemento knew that he had miscalculated.
From beginning to end, this was a trap.
The fisherman, like a fisherman with extraordinary patience, first scattered the carefully prepared bait into the water, waiting for the greedy fish to come to this area to nibble on it. The most delicious part of this bait is naturally the hook. The fish bite the hook and swallow the hook.
But the fish was big enough that it could struggle to escape even if it swallowed the hook. Trying to pull the line and hook would likely cause the line to break. So he tightened the fishing line while also loosening his grip. The two began to struggle. In the process of tightening and loosening, the hook was finally pulled deeper and deeper, and the fish gradually exhausted all its strength.
Then he can lift it out of the water. If he wants to be even more secure, he must prepare another net so that he can catch the fish accurately.
Clemento unconsciously shook his head; the way the battle had developed to this point was indeed absurd.
Shouldn't this beast be the prey? When did it become the hunter?
He really didn't want to accept this idea, but the stark reality was right in front of him, and the sound of artillery fire outside was so loud that his ears were starting to ache.
In the last half hour, more than twenty warships have been lost, and at least 20,000 people have been forced to jump into the sea. Even at such a cost, whether they can land on land remains an unknown.
Moreover, with the rising of the sky lanterns, Clemento knew that the enemy had begun to close in. At this moment, their fleet should be sailing on the sea. When they were to encircle them from the sea, the casualties would expand in a completely uncontrollable direction under the condition of being attacked from both sides.
At that moment, a soldier hurriedly ran down the stairs.
"Marshal! The Blazing Sun Fleet has suddenly increased its speed; they are launching an assault on the dock."
Clemento looked up, his brow furrowing. "With such fierce shelling from the other side, have they increased their speed?"
The soldier's face was grave as he replied, "Yes, Marshal, but the situation is not good."
"They are no longer able to maintain their formation. Several warships have been sunk midway. Under these circumstances, even if they manage to land on the beach, their fighting strength will probably be less than 30%!"
"Marshal, we already have nearly fifty warships that can no longer sail, and more than thirty warships have already sunk."
Upon hearing this, Wilson, the deputy standing beside him, said to Clemento in a deep voice:
"Marshal, if we launch an amphibious landing like the Blazing Sun Fleet, I'm afraid our fighting strength will be insufficient by the time we reach the shore..."
Before he could finish speaking, Clemento slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage:
Damn it!
"It was all because of that erroneous intelligence that we were forced to face this situation!"
Wilson stiffened, sighed helplessly, and then said:
"Marshal, this plan may have failed."
Clemento turned to look at him, his face full of anger. Wilson hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I think it's time to evacuate."
"A desperate beach landing like the Sunfire Fleet is definitely not a good idea."
"Gan Jun's fleet will be here soon. We must withdraw our troops in time to prevent further casualties."
"We'll get to work right here. Once we return home, we'll explain the situation to Her Majesty the Queen, and then we can coordinate and deploy more troops later."
"This is the only way, Marshal!" Wilson said in a deep voice.
Clemento's expression was grim as he gritted his teeth and said, "We've already suffered such losses! How can we not achieve some results? The Blazing Sun Fleet is advancing at great risk. If we cooperate with them to land on the beach, we might be able to capture the naval port."
Wilson shook his head and sighed, "The price we paid was something we couldn't afford."
“The Goths have always been like this in war; they fight with the same relentless determination that they never give up until they achieve their goal. We should not do the same thing as them.”
Upon hearing this, Clemento immediately deflated, waving his hands and sighing helplessly.
"Well... that's the only way."
"Let's evacuate!" He didn't hesitate. In fact, he had been waiting for Wilson to give this suggestion. After all, not long ago, he had solemnly said that he would cover the Sunfire Fleet to complete the landing operation. But now they were advancing, while he had to lead the fleet to evacuate. This was really a bit shameful.
Even though they weren't from the same country, Clemento felt ashamed of his lack of professionalism as a soldier.
"This defeat was not due to our army's poor performance, but rather to a huge intelligence error," he added after issuing the evacuation order.
Wilson said nothing, but silently issued the evacuation order.
As the evacuation signal sounded, the Lieyang Fleet began to turn, but at this moment, the huge fleet undoubtedly became a hindrance. It would be no easy task for all the warships to successfully turn and return to port amidst the bombardment.
At this point at sea, the damage suffered by the Sunfire Fleet was much better than that of the Sea Lion Fleet. On the right flank, nearly half of the Sea Lion Fleet's warships, which had not yet advanced, had lost power, or had sunk, or were sinking. Meanwhile, the [Vene Pearl] was riddled with cannon fire.
Although the sails were lowered immediately, two masts broke, and the hull had several holes that were constantly being filled with seawater.
Inside the cabin, Augustus was shouting:
"Quick! Get the seawater out of here!"
"Plug those damn holes right now!"
The soldiers shouted anxiously, "Marshal! There are too many holes, we can't plug them! Our ship is going to sink!!"
"We still have to block it! If the ship sinks, we'll all be fish food!" Augustus shouted in a panic.
At this moment, the deputy stepped forward and said in a trembling voice, "Marshal, the people of Sa Ri Kingdom are already evacuating!"
The words fell.
"Huh?! What!" Augustus's vision went black, and he almost fell to the ground.
——
at the same time.
On the sea, far from the naval port.
Lucat's face, pale from the sea breeze, was stiff. Although it wasn't hot on the deck, his whole body was soaked with sweat. He stood in front of the railing, looking at the specks appearing on the sea with a look of fear.
The other people on the ship were no different from him at this moment; everyone's hair stood on end as they stared at the boundless sea.
Under the moonlight, countless flames appeared on the vast sea, their number and range stretching for miles.
That was exactly the large fleet that Lucat had anticipated would appear.
Now, they've really arrived.
Lucat's face twitched slightly, and he closed his eyes in trembling, unable to bear watching the horrific scene any longer.
“Merciful Lord, protect your people and help us get through this difficult time.” Lucate, who was not religious, prayed in his heart at this moment.
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