’How could they be so powerful? Unless...’ Long Zhan suddenly had a thought. ’It must be Ren Yuanyang. He must have modified these shells for them, which is why their power increased so drastically!’
"All gunners, listen up! Target each enemy ship with only one shell for the initial attack! Decide whether to fire a second based on the situation!" Long Zhan grabbed the radio and commanded.
The gunners, still in shock, snapped back to their senses. They instantly understood Long Zhan’s meaning and replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"
"Captain, the enemy has dispatched an entire fleet to our position!" a scout suddenly reported.
Long Zhan raised an eyebrow. ’He’s really giving us a lot of credit. Let them come. We’ll shake them off and head for the position they were supposed to reinforce!’
"Yes, sir!"
By the time the aircraft carrier fleet arrived near Long Zhan’s destroyer, he and his crew had already started the engines and sped away from the area at full throttle.
All they could do was stare blankly at the wake left by the destroyer.
’Their speed is incredible! We can’t catch them at all!’
At the same time, the supply ship that had been harassing Mike’s fleet from the side also withdrew.
It wasn’t that Long Zhan was afraid of them. He was worried that Bao Mu would launch a direct assault on Peach Blossom Base.
With Ren Yuanyang on his ship, Peach Blossom Base was left with little defensive capability.
He couldn’t be out here wrecking the enemy, only to have his home base get sniped.
’That’s a mistake I can’t afford to make!’
In truth, Long Zhan was overthinking it. The Xi’an Base fleet hadn’t moved; they were holding their position. They were genuinely terrified by the supply ship’s monstrous performance and didn’t dare alter their formation easily.
Although the supply ship had vanished from sight, Bao Mu wasn’t sure if it had truly left or was just observing them from the shadows.
’What if we start to move, and that supply ship suddenly ambushes us? Our fleet would probably be completely wiped out!’
"If Peach Blossom Base has such an advanced warship, why would they need protection from the Aircraft Carrier Base?" the staff officer asked with a slight frown.
Bao Mu frowned in thought for a moment before speaking. "Peach Blossom Base has probably only managed to modify this one ship, or they just recently finished it. Otherwise, they would have come out to intercept us much earlier."
The staff officer paused, then nodded. "If it’s only one ship, then with Mike and his forces coming to support us, we can definitely take it down!"
"I hope they get here soon," Bao Mu muttered, his brow furrowed.
This was the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region, where anchors were useless for holding ships in place. To maintain their formation, they had to constantly burn fuel to adjust their positions.
Worse still, some of their ships were already immobile and undergoing emergency repairs. These vessels could only drift with the waves, so the previously neat formation had already fallen into some disarray.
’If Mike and his fleet don’t arrive in time, and that supply ship finds a weak point to attack, we might really meet our end here!’
Just then, a message came in from Mike. "Sir, we just encountered the supply ship, along with a destroyer. They harassed us for a bit and then left!"
"The supply ship is with you?" Bao Mu felt a pang of regret. He should have charged toward Peach Blossom Base immediately. But now that the enemy had turned back, it was too late for him to make a move.
"Yes! And there’s a destroyer, likely with the same performance!" Mike confirmed with a nod.
"What! Another one?!" Bao Mu’s eyes widened. "Are both ships heading this way together?"
"Judging by their heading, it seems so," Mike replied.
Now Bao Mu started to panic. "When can you get here?"
"Half an hour at the earliest," Mike answered after checking the map.
Bao Mu’s heart sank. In half an hour, his entire fleet would likely be crippled by Peach Blossom Base.
A single modified supply ship had been enough to cripple his entire fleet. Now, with a destroyer added to the mix, they wouldn’t last half an hour.
Of course, the reason they were crippled by the supply ship was due to their initial carelessness, underestimation of the enemy, and lack of knowledge about the modified ship’s capabilities.
If they had been more cautious from the start, they wouldn’t have ended up in this state.
But in this world, there are no "if onlys."
"Sir, we should retreat!" The staff officer at his side had overheard the conversation and hurried forward to advise him. "If we don’t leave now, we might not be able to leave at all!"
Bao Mu was extremely hesitant. Retreating now meant abandoning most of his ships.
Most of the vessels were already damaged and couldn’t be repaired anytime soon.
"Sir, if you keep hesitating, we might not even be able to save this aircraft carrier!" the staff officer urged anxiously.
Bao Mu cursed "Fuck" under his breath, then gave the order: "All seaworthy ships are to follow the carrier and retreat immediately!"
From the Xi’an Base fleet, one aircraft carrier, three frigates, and five supply ships immediately began to retreat in the direction Mike was coming from.
The soldiers on the damaged ships saw this and erupted in curses.
"Shit, are they just abandoning us like this?"
"Assholes! Bitches! This is so fucked up!"
"What do we do?"
"What else can we do?! Surrender and hope Peach Blossom Base doesn’t slaughter us all!"
By this time, Long Zhan and his crew had arrived. Seeing only the damaged ships left behind, his heart sank slightly.
Long Zhan immediately opened his map and calculated the distance from here to Peach Blossom Base. He figured an enemy fleet would need at least forty minutes to get there. So, instead of giving immediate chase, he approached the ships that had already raised white flags.
"Interrogate them immediately. Find out where their aircraft carrier went," Long Zhan ordered in a low voice.
He hadn’t expected the prisoners to be so cooperative; they told him everything they knew without holding anything back.
Learning that the carrier had fled in the direction Mike was coming from, Long Zhan breathed a small sigh of relief. He then gave an order: "Des, you head to Peach Blossom Base. Confirm everything is secure, then return. I’m going to pursue them in the direction the prisoners indicated."
Des was slightly taken aback but nodded.
He understood what Long Zhan meant. Long Zhan was worried the prisoners’ intel might be flawed, so he wanted Des to go to Peach Blossom Base and confirm it.
Des immediately piloted the supply ship toward Peach Blossom Base, while Long Zhan gave chase in the other direction.
Ten minutes later, Long Zhan had the Xi’an Base carrier fleet in his sights. He let out a breath of relief.
But he didn’t call Des back right away. Having Des double-check would provide more peace of mind.
"Alright, men, it’s time to show off your skills! Let’s see if we can take down this crippled carrier fleet before they rendezvous with their reinforcements!" Long Zhan said with a smile.
"Don’t worry, Captain! We guarantee we’ll complete the mission!" the soldiers on the destroyer responded in unison.
At that moment, Bao Mu’s fleet also spotted the pursuing destroyer.
’Can a destroyer really be this fast?’
Even though he had learned from Mike about a destroyer with similar performance, seeing it with his own eyes still left Bao Mu astonished.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Long Zhan and his crew closed in rapidly and fired the first shots.
The Xi’an Base ships returned fire almost simultaneously, but Long Zhan’s destroyer was approaching from a very tricky angle. They could only hit it with their stern-mounted cannons.
The stern had limited space, so the number of cannons was naturally very small. The few shells they managed to fire had no hope of hitting the fast and agile destroyer.
But Long Zhan’s shells landed squarely on the Xi’an Base ships, setting off massive explosions.
After the explosions, the three frigates’ speed dropped instantly.
Apparently, a single shell was enough to severely damage a frigate.
Seeing the three frigates slow down, Bao Mu frowned and asked, "How much longer until we rendezvous with Mike?"
"If we stop moving now, Mike will need another ten minutes to reach us!" the staff officer replied quickly.
Bao Mu’s brow furrowed. He said in a deep voice, "Immediately adjust the carrier’s position. Prepare for battle!"
"Yes, sir!"
Clearly, Bao Mu planned to hold his ground here for ten minutes. Once Mike arrived, that single enemy destroyer would have no way of getting close to them.
Seeing the Xi’an Base fleet’s maneuver, Long Zhan gave orders with a cold smile. "They’re trying to hold out for the other three carriers to arrive. Let’s push hard, and take them down before that happens!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers shouted in unison.
Long Zhan’s destroyer weaved back and forth along the edge of their mutual attack range, searching for an opening.
The enemy had stopped, making them a relatively easier target. Meanwhile, Long Zhan’s ship was far more agile, and nearly all the shells fired at them missed.
In just three minutes, Long Zhan completely disabled the enemy’s three frigates. Next, they would attack the aircraft carrier.
Long Zhan had never imagined that he would one day be commanding a single destroyer in an attack against an aircraft carrier.

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