94: Chapter 4 A First Try

On the second day of the fleet's northward journey, a thick fog rose over the sea.

The thick fog was like a white wall, wrapping the entire sea tightly, with visibility reduced to less than five hundred meters.

Li Ling stood on the bridge, his brows tightly knitted.

This kind of weather was unfavorable for navigation, but for the enemy, it was a good opportunity for a sneak attack.

"My Lord, the Radar has detected a large number of targets ahead, approximately thirty nautical miles away. The formation is chaotic and their speeds are inconsistent; it should be the rebel naval forces," the Radar operator reported.

"Rebel naval forces?" Li Ling sneered. "These guys really dare to come."

To put it bluntly, the rebel naval forces were just a mob.

Their main strength consisted of a few decrepit gunboats and Torpedo boats, along with some requisitioned merchant ships and fishing boats, totaling over twenty vessels.

However, fewer than five were actually combat-capable.

Their equipment was poor, their training was lacking, and their morale was low.

Compared to Li Ling's Dreadnought, it was simply an ant against an elephant.

But they had one advantage—familiarity with these waters.

The shipping lanes here were narrow and riddled with reefs; a slight lack of caution could lead to running aground.

If the rebel naval forces utilized the terrain to their advantage and used Torpedo boats to launch a sneak attack on his capital ship, it could indeed cause some trouble.

"Pass the order: slow down the fleet and maintain vigilance," Li Ling commanded.

"Launch the reconnaissance planes to scout the enemy situation."

Two biplanes taxied and took off from the flight deck at the rear of the "dragon soar", their engines roaring as they charged into the sky, quickly disappearing into the thick fog.

Fifteen minutes later, the reconnaissance planes sent back intelligence: the rebel naval forces had a total of twenty-three vessels, sailing eastward in three separate routes, seemingly searching for something.

"They're looking for us," Li Ling smiled.

"Since they want to look, let them look. Pass the order: the fleet is to maintain its course and prepare to engage the enemy."

"My Lord, should we strike first?" the Chief of Staff asked.

"No rush," Li Ling shook his head.

"Let them fire the first shot. That way, we are acting in self-defense and hold the moral high ground."

The fleet continued sailing, its speed reduced to ten knots.

In the thick fog, one could only vaguely see the sea surface a few hundred meters ahead; nothing beyond that was visible.

But Li Ling was not anxious because he had Radar.

Every move the enemy made was under his watchful eye.

Half an hour later, dense clusters of light spots appeared on the Radar screen.

The enemy fleet was only ten nautical miles away and approaching rapidly.

"My Lord, the enemy has entered range," the gunnery officer reported.

"Wait a little longer," Li Ling raised his binoculars.

Although he couldn't see anything, he could hear the sound of engines coming from the distance—low, chaotic, like a buzzing swarm of bees.

"My Lord!" the lookout suddenly shouted.

"Enemy ship spotted on the port side! Distance approximately two thousand meters!"

Li Ling turned to look.

In the thick fog, a blurred ship silhouette was gradually growing larger.

It was an old gunboat with a small-caliber cannon at the bow, and the deck was crowded with people holding rifles.

They had clearly discovered Li Ling's fleet as well; the small cannon on the gunboat began to rotate, aiming in the direction of the "dragon soar".

"Fire!" Li Ling ordered.

Before the words had even faded, the 305mm main battery of the "dragon soar" let out a deafening roar.

The shell tore through the thick fog and accurately struck the gunboat.

Amidst a violent explosion, the gunboat was blown into two pieces and sank rapidly.

Only some floating wreckage and struggling sailors remained on the sea surface.

At the same time, the other Dreadnoughts opened fire.

Dozens of 305mm shells slammed into the enemy fleet, each one capable of tearing a ship apart.

Those old gunboats and Torpedo boats could not withstand such a blow at all.

Some were hit in the ammunition depot and instantly blown to pieces; some were hit in the boilers, causing steam explosions and breaking the hull; others were hit in the bridge, paralyzing their command systems, causing them to spin aimlessly on the sea surface like headless flies.

The battle lasted less than an hour.

Of the twenty-three enemy ships, eighteen were sunk, four were heavily damaged, and only one managed to escape.

Li Ling's fleet suffered no losses, and not a single shell had even hit them.

"My Lord, a complete victory!" the Chief of Staff reported excitedly.

Li Ling nodded, but there was no smile on his face.

He stood on the bridge, watching the floating wreckage and the struggling survivors in the water, and remained silent for a moment.

"Send men to rescue the survivors in the water," he said.

"Although they are enemies, they are still human. Save as many as we can."

"Yes!"

The rescue boats were lowered, and they began to salvage the fallen rebel sailors.

Li Ling turned and walked back to the bridge, sat in his chair, and let out a long breath.

Just then, the system's lazy voice rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Host has achieved victory in a small-scale naval battle, completing a minor achievement. Obtained one lucky draw opportunity.]

Li Ling's eyes lit up: "Draw!"

[Lucky draw in progress... Congratulations to the Host, obtained one set of night combat equipment! Includes flares, signal flares, night-vision binoculars, etc., enough to equip one regiment.]

"Night combat equipment?" Li Ling was somewhat disappointed.

"I thought I'd get something good."

[Host, night combat equipment is very useful,] the system said.

[The remnants of the rebel forces might try to escape under the cover of night; with this equipment, you can pursue them at night.]

"That is true," Li Ling nodded.

"Fine, I'll take it."

[Host, the system is going to play. Call the system if there's anything.]

After the system finished speaking, it went silent again.

Li Ling shook his head; this lousy system was becoming more and more like an absentee manager.

However, after this battle, he felt more confident.

The rebel naval forces were vulnerable, and by the time he arrived at Jinhai, the landing operation should not face too much resistance.

"Pass the order: the fleet is to accelerate," he stood up.

"Strive to arrive at Jinhai before dawn tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The fleet continued to head north in the night.

The fog on the sea surface gradually dissipated, and moonlight shone through the clouds, casting silvery light on the sparkling sea.

Li Ling stood on the bridge, looking at the distant, faintly visible coastline, silently calculating the battle plan after landing.

Although the rebels' naval forces were incompetent, their land forces were not insignificant.

An army of over one hundred thousand, even if most were a mob, could not be taken lightly.

He had to finish the battle quickly; before the rebels could react, he had to crush their main force in one blow and rescue the royal family.

"System," he suddenly thought to himself.

There was no response.

"System, are you there?"

Still no response.

Li Ling sighed.

This lousy system said it was going to play, but he had no idea where it went.

In the past, when he was fighting, the system would at least watch from the side and occasionally offer suggestions.

Now, it had simply gone missing.

"Fine, if it's not here, then it's not here," he muttered.

"Anyway, it's not my first time fighting a battle."

Under the moonlight, the fleet continued to move forward, sailing toward the distant battlefield.