It was already past midnight, and the night was still deep.
But the sea was ablaze with fire, with countless warship wrecks drifting on the surface. The wreckage crackled and popped as it burned, masts toppled in the flames, and charred remains were pinned to the ground by debris from the explosions, with flames burning fiercely within the remains.
Thick black smoke shot straight into the sky, with firelight flickering within it. The allied fleet, which had initially formed a longitudinal battle line and later a transverse battle line, was completely destroyed at this moment. The massive fleet was reduced to less than 150 ships, scattered in various parts of the sea in a fragmented manner. They could no longer regroup or launch an effective offensive.
The Dawn Fleet, which should have been engaged in a fierce battle with the Yan Army fleet, now has fewer than 30 warships left. Moreover, these remaining warships are severely damaged. Most of their sails have been burned to ashes, and many masts have fallen down. This means that they have lost power and can only be slaughtered like people with their hands and feet cut off.
On its left flank, the Pearl Fleet, consisting of fewer than 120 warships, was scattered by the bombardment and split into several groups. Some groups consisted of a few warships lined up in a row, while others consisted of a dozen or twenty warships gathered together. The largest group consisted of fewer than fifty warships. This group had not suffered heavy losses and was the furthest from the battlefield. They had already turned around and followed the retreating Whale Fleet.
The evacuation order was issued by Winston, the vice-commander of the Sassa Kingdom fleet. He was the captain of the Pearl Fleet, and his authority was second only to Clemento. However, the evacuation order was issued against Clemento's orders.
Upon seeing the whale fleet retreat, Winston knew that the situation was hopeless, and continuing the battle would only result in total annihilation.
The enemy's explosive shells, armor plates, and unique propulsion system determined that they were destined to win this naval battle, as our numerical advantage was completely incomparable to these new warships.
The tactic of mutual destruction had been tried in repeated powerful charges, but it was still ineffective. The constant destruction of warships and the retreat of friendly forces allowed the enemy to maximize their firepower on the assault ships, which were always damaged and rendered powerless during the collision.
Moreover, the enemy also had gunboats coming to harass them. Winston had reason to believe that these gunboats could fire concealed shells, not in the air, but on the sea surface or the seabed.
This was almost purely speculative, yet it actually happened during this battle.
Winston knew that when mutual destruction was impossible, the only option was to retreat, but Clemento was determined to continue fighting, and Winston knew he had lost his mind.
He had already experienced the same defeat in the South China Sea battle, and he was bound to be unable to accept this defeat, so he no longer cared about his own life.
But he didn't care; the fleet couldn't be allowed to be completely annihilated.
On the eve of leaving the capital Garnat, Queen Isabella had specifically instructed Winston to pay close attention to Clemento's mental state during the upcoming voyage. If Clemento experienced any mental distress, he must be allowed to rest, and Winston would assume command. However, the situation was now beyond saving, and Winston had no choice but to abandon Clemento and withdraw from the battlefield with his remaining fleet.
He had witnessed the strength of the Yan Kingdom's navy in this naval battle, and therefore felt even more compelled to return to the continent of Leon with this intelligence to report back to Isabella.
Even if they chose to evacuate, it has now become a rather difficult task.
On the Pearl ship, which was sailing, Winston looked at the Yan Kingdom warships that were in pursuit with a look of surprise. As the enemy's advantage grew, hundreds of warships had now emerged from the original "T" formation to carry out guerrilla warfare. In addition to besieging the warships that were still fighting, several other warships were also in pursuit.
The Pearl Fleet's retreat direction was now downwind, which caused the fleet's speed to decrease significantly compared to the beginning, while the enemy warships were able to ignore the wind factor.
“Clemento… I hope you can hold them off for a little while…” Winston cried out in his heart, and fled in panic with the last remaining warships.
——
"Marshal! They've evacuated!"
On the Dawn, a young soldier with a blood-stained face shouted at Clemento.
"What did you say? Speak louder!"
The shelling continued all around him, the incessant bombardment making Clemento's ears ring and his eyes bloodshot. He roared hoarsely.
"Our warships have also withdrawn from the battlefield!" the young soldier shouted with a sorrowful expression.
Clemento then heard clearly, and he turned around sharply to look behind him. All that could be seen in his field of vision was a blurry silhouette of light and shadow on the sea. He couldn't make out how many warships had withdrawn from the battlefield.
This left him momentarily dazed, followed by an angry roar: "Who told them to evacuate!"
"No retreat! Keep fighting!"
The soldier looked at the burning cabin, wiped the blood from his face, and said desperately, "There's no way... there's absolutely no way."
"Marshal, we're the only ones left."
"We have already..."
Clemento flew into a rage, roaring hoarsely, "Why isn't the ship moving? Charge forward!"
"Why aren't you firing any shells?! Can't you see those Yan Guo guys right in front of us?!"
"Boom boom boom!" At this moment, the sound of intense artillery fire rang out again.
The soldier looked at Clemento's ferocious face, then he began to stagger and run, his pace quickening.
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