Gurgle... Gurgle...
One of the benefits of elental creatures is that their form is not limited. The originally charming and playful sea dog, barely 20 ters long, had already woven itself into a giant fishing net over a hundred ters across at the mont it approached the "Iron Armor Sea Horse" underwater.
Suddenly tighten!
Boom—
Just like a heavy knight charging on a galloping horse, suddenly encountering a tripwire, the "Iron Armor Sea Horse", which protruded nearly forty ters above the sea, imdiately pitched forward and slamd into the ocean surface.
As a huge splash erupted, it also left the charging "Ghost Shrimp" exposed, completely vulnerable under the simplified battle line’s gun barrel.
The "Siren’s Song" of combined power from two warships, leaving no room for it to dive and evade once close enough.
Exposed on the sea surface, the innate ability of the "Ghost Shrimp" to conceal its tracks was easily negated.
With the Sea Bird ssenger, the synchronization rate between the two battleships was astonishing.
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!....
With identical specifications, fifty shipborne artillery guns from the Level 4 battleships fired simultaneously. The orange-red muzzle flashes ford a continuous line, illuminating the faces of the cannoniers and the entire expanse of the sea.
On one broadside, there were 18 twenty-four-pound cannons, 20 twelve-pound cannons, 10 nine-pound cannons, and 2 six-pound small cannons in total.
Fifty scorching iron cannonballs rained down like a storm of iron and fire on the "Ghost Shrimp", with a total projectile mass of 774 pounds in an instant.
This firepower is not much different from the experintal Level 2 battleship, which carried 90 guns, including 26 thirty-two-pound cannons, 26 eighteen-pound cannons, and 38 twelve-pound cannons, with a total projectile mass of 878 pounds.
Furthermore, in order to achieve concealnt, the "Ghost Shrimp", with its shrimp-like chitinous shell of pure transparency, is clearly less defensively capable than the ironclad train-like "Mantis Shrimp".
After just one volley, even the hardest back armor had cracks, and half of its five pairs of swimming limbs on its abdon were sheared off, imdiately reducing its swimming speed.
Though it fared slightly better than the unarmored "Sea Demon", one more volley would completely take it out!
The Gunpowder Chiefs on the two battleships issued high commands.
"Solid shot! All cannons loaded!"
Using fully combustible fire-lint packets greatly increased the cannon firing speed. Under the skilled operation of the cannoneers, even the heaviest twenty-four-pound cannons on the Level 4 battleships could reach a rate of three shots per minute.
Before the "Ghost Shrimp" charged in, they could definitely manage another volley.
However, even with the significant speed reduction, the "Ghost Shrimp" had already reached within 300 ters of the two warships. As the next round of cannon fire arrived, it also raised its robust right claw.
Boom——!!!
Before the "Ghost Shrimp" was engulfed by the dense barrage, its massive claw snapped shut, and amidst the thunderous roar across the sea surface, a stream of high-speed water mixed with countless bubbles shot towards the two battleships.
The instantaneous peak temperature of this strike even reached 5000°C, instantly heating the seawater into a torrent of steam, forming a powerful shockwave.
Bear in mind, the surface of the sun is only about 6000°C!
In the blink of an eye.
Boom!
The officers on the "Storm Horn", directly facing the torrent, only felt a massive shock underfoot, with many crew mbers turning like rolling gourds, sprawling to the floor.
"Report to the captain! We’ve been hit at the waterline!"
The First Mate quickly reported the damage status of the battleship to Aiven.
At this mont, the "Storm Horn" had a half-person-high hole at its waterline, where turbulent seawater was relentlessly pouring in.
Fortunately, due to the impact of the barrage, the "Ghost Shrimp" had to attack prematurely before reaching its optimal position.
This caused the rapidly decaying shockwave to be reduced to just a ripple when it hit the battleship. If it had been hit within a hundred ters, losing half the hull would be entirely possible.
However, this matter didn’t require Aiven’s concern. A single hole wouldn’t sink the ship in the short term. Ship carpenters were already quickly sliding down the ropes from the ship’s side, using spare materials to seal the breach.
Aiven’s gaze was firmly fixed on the situation at sea, watching the dense mist lifted by the shockwave slowly dissipate under the sea breeze.
He saw the "Ghost Shrimp", its head shell shattered and floating on the sea surface, twitching unconsciously, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This again proved that the tactic of using the "Siren’s Song" to create a flat battleground followed by warship artillery bombardnt was indeed very effective.
And I was indeed a geniu....
"Watch out! The sea horse is breaking free!"
A sudden shout from Bertram pulled Aiven back to reality from his self-praise.
Looking further away, the "Iron Armor Sea Horse", which had been entangled by the Water Elental Sea Dog Cephus, was now waving its nurous thick tentacles, breaking free from its watery restraints.
Clearly, Cephus, with only a quarter of its size, couldn’t match the "Iron Armor Sea Horse", a giant entity, in strength. Moreover, this Water Elental lacked the understanding of "soft overcoming hard", and was easily overco by the brute force of the sea monster!
"Bertram, you really are a screw-up!"
Cursing under his breath, Aiven quickly shouted:
"Gunpowder Chief!"
"At your command, sir! Solid shot, all guns loaded!"
The "Iron Armor Sea Horse" was about to enter firing range, its upper body wrapped in twelve sections of hard black bone rings, with a neck as long as a sea dragon, and covered all over with cold hard bony spikes like brambles.
Moreover, the charging "Iron Armor Sea Horse" was enveloped in a thin blue spiritual light on its surface, clearly possessing so kind of extraordinary ability they had yet to understand.
This also made Aiven wary.
Drawing a parallel with the earlier "Ghost Shrimp," he had to consider from a wizard’s perspective the unique ability hidden behind this "Sea Horse."
The "Sea Horse" holds a special place in mysticism similar to the "Owl"; the "Owl" represents "Wisdom," while it represents the holy power of the Ancient Sea God!
In many mystical texts, it symbolizes the power and authority of the Ancient Sea God.
At the sa ti, sea horses also have keen perception and stubborn character; indeed, many scholars classify them as a type of sea dragon, believing that by themselves they possess a high level of mystery!
In fact, Aiven was not wrong to guess; purely in terms of naval combat power and extraordinary ability, this "Iron Armor Sea Horse" was definitely among the top in this sea monster army.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been sent by Hawkins to hold the line!
"Milan! Get the Mist Silver Lamp ready. Use it at the first sign of trouble, and don’t forget to set up a mind connection for Bertram."
"Got it!"
However, the quick turn of thoughts did not prevent Aiven from issuing a fire order the mont the "Iron Armor Sea Horse" entered firing range!
Clang! Clang! Clang!....
But the sound, like tal clashing, made the crew change color.
The thick bony armor on the sea horse was clearly much thicker and harder than the chitin shell of a shrimp.
What’s more, the increasingly high waves at sea made the already low accuracy at this distance even worse, not even reaching 20%.
The effect of this volley made Aiven realize that this was a far tougher enemy than the "Giant Hamr Mantis Shrimp" that had dismantled half a fortress.
As for why not use "Strong Witchcraft Potion" to repeat the trick?
Never mind whether he had enough potion reserve, the key is that this kind of potion dissolves in water....
However.
A ssage sent by Solomon through the ssenger lifted Aiven’s spirits, although his previous diversion task had failed, he was still reliable at the crucial mont, and Aiven quickly inquired:
"Ocean Treasure: Cassaray Bronze Cannon? Did you pick that item from the Navy New Star’s treasure list?!"
Boooo—!
The response to Aiven was a low, hoarse whirlwind sound from the "Royal Guardian."
The crew felt as if they had been plunged into winter.
A piercing, snow-white icy light shot forth from their sight, not moving quickly but carrying the vast power that stirred the air, striking toward the charging "Iron Armor Sea Horse" within 900 ters.
This was the bomb cyclone launched by the "Cassaray Bronze Cannon"!
Normally, a "bomb cyclone" as an extre natural weather phenonon refers to a location where air pressure drops rapidly in a short period, forming a low-pressure system.
Then, when the wind direction in nearby areas converges in this region, it rotates in the sa direction as the planet, forming a high-speed cyclone, often accompanied by strong winds, heavy precipitation, or even severe blizzards!
Of course, although the "Cassaray Bronze Cannon" is said to similarly influence weather to create a "bomb cyclone," the coverage area is extrely limited compared to nature.
With a range of two kiloters, the frost blade, hurricane, and extre cold effects can only cover fifty ters.
However, the advantage is that it features a high-speed rotating low-pressure core that can even draw small targets or directly attach to large targets!
So, even if the accuracy is a bit off, as long as it hits within fifty ters of it, it’s absolutely fine.
"Small matter..."
So.
Aiven watched with wide eyes as the bone-chilling white light skimd over the charging "Iron Armor Sea Horse’s" head, flew to the two-kiloter range limit, and exploded, instantly freezing a large patch of the sea into a block of ice.
In the biting cold wind.
Caw—Caw—, Fool—Fool—
Aiven only felt like a flock of crows had flown over his head, rcilessly mocking him.
With a stiff neck, he turned towards the "Royal Guardian":
"Bertram, if I ever trust you to be reliable again, then I must be a fool!"
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