Devil's Army

Chapter 1988 Naval Battle with the "Musashi" Fleet 1

Upon seeing the Japanese fleet approaching, the First Fleet immediately launched a counterattack.

At this moment, leaden-gray clouds, like blood-soaked shrouds, pressed heavily on the waves of the East China Sea. The salty sea breeze, carrying fine spray, lashed against the imposing island armor of the battleship "Musashi," producing a dull crackling sound.

Its nine 460mm main guns were pointed directly at the Qingdao Fleet.

The antimagnetic coating on the gun barrels gleamed with a cold, hard sheen under the overcast sky. The Rising Sun Flag at the stern was stretched taut by the sea breeze, its corner sweeping across the Japanese sailors who stood ready on the deck. Their leggings were tightly wrapped around their calves, and their boots made a uniform clicking sound as they stepped on the anti-slip treads.

A dozen cruisers and destroyers formed a sharp triangle formation, surrounding the "Musashi." Their bows cleaved through the giant waves, carving jagged white tracks into the sea, like a group of bloodthirsty sharks guarding a sea monster.

"Fire!" Takeshi Kumajiro roared, his excitement barely concealed, as he spotted the Devil Force's fleet.

Almost simultaneously, a column of pale gray smoke rose from the distant sea. That was the flagship of the Chinese Qingdao Fleet—the light aircraft carrier "Qingdao".

Like a drawn sword, it cleaved through layers of waves, the anchor chain hole on its bow still dripping with icy seawater. More than ten cruisers and destroyers were arranged in a goose-shaped formation on both flanks, their gun turrets slowly rotating, their muzzles aimed at the steel torrent to the northwest.

The captain of the Musashi roared through the loudspeakers throughout the ship: "Main guns loaded! Target: enemy carrier group, prepare for salvo!"

The heavy breechblock slammed shut, and a high-explosive shell was propelled into the breech. The next second, nine orange-red tongues of fire suddenly erupted from the Musashi's main gun emplacements, and a deafening roar tore through the sea and sky.

Amidst the whistling sound of shells slicing through the air, huge splashes of water rose on the sea surface, and the shockwave caused the bow of the Shandong cruiser, the leader of the Qingdao fleet, to sink slightly.

"Carrier-based aircraft take off!"

On the flight deck of the "Qingdao", one after another, Huaxia III fighter jets, trailing pale blue flames, took off and, together with the air force of Nanchang County and Jianli County, rushed towards the Japanese fleet formation of the "Musashi".

At the same time, the light aircraft carrier Qingdao took the lead in attacking, with dozens of naval guns firing simultaneously. A dense rain of bullets wove together a net of fire, enveloping the Japanese fleet.

A burst of fire suddenly erupted from the stern of a Japanese destroyer, with hot shrapnel and seawater splashing everywhere. Sailors on the deck screamed as they fell into the sea, their figures instantly swallowed by the icy water.

The Japanese battleship Musashi immediately returned fire, and shells landed not far from the port side of the Qingdao, creating huge waves that crashed against the flight deck, nearly causing a fighter plane taking off to lose its balance and crash into the sea.

The second salvo from the Musashi followed immediately, this time landing precisely in the center of the Qingdao fleet's cruiser group.

The bridge of a light cruiser was hit directly, its armor plates were torn apart like paper, and flames and thick smoke shot into the sky. The ship quickly listed to one side, and a thick layer of oil floated on the sea surface.

The light aircraft carrier Qingdao was also pushed from side to side by the huge waves generated by the giant guns of the battleship Musashi.

In terms of firepower, none of the Qinghai Fleet's warships could match the ferocious firepower of the Musashi-34 battleship's massive guns.

This put the Qinghai Fleet of the First Army at a disadvantage in the initial naval battles against the Japanese "Musashi" Fleet.

Fortunately, the first force gained air superiority, and a violent tremor suddenly came from the stern of the Musashi—two aerial bombs fell from the sky and slammed into the armor belt.