"Hah! They fall into our trap!" Soundeffect exclaimed excitedly.
"Hmph. Their navigator might know the water, but not enough," Kaghast said. "They can't compare to us who have sailed these waters regularly. Get into position, the storm is getting weaker. It will end soon. We will hit them before they know what is happening!"
What Kaghast did was send a portion of their caravels, which were smaller and faster than the rest of their ships, away from their armada. These caravels were filled with their best sailors and also a sufficient number of soldiers for close-range battle.
These caravels split from the fleet under cover of the storm. When the enemy lost sight of them, they went at high speed, ignoring the risk. They ended up losing four caravels on the way due to this dangerous maneuver.
The separated caravels went towards the reefs near the Blackmaw Strait. Despite the waters were raging around them, the waters at these reefs were much calmer. The reefs somehow formed a barrier that prevented the raging waves from the outside from affecting the waters inside.
The sailors on these caravels were all selected from those who had braved these reefs before, so they knew these waters. They knew where there were unseen reefs underneath the water that could tear their hulls.
These sailors also knew which path to take. The reefs had branching paths that were almost like a maze. Without prior knowledge of these paths, a ship might run to a dead end and be unable to turn back. It would be an inevitability to crash into a reef then. With this knowledge, the caravels took the safest path.
Even so, going through the reefs at such a high speed was still extremely risky. They lost another six caravels while going through those reefs.
Their sacrifices were worth it, though. Twenty-four caravels successfully passed through the dangerous reefs and arrived at the front of Palgrost armada's right wing before they passed through. Without hesitation, these caravels rammed themselves into Palgrost ships.
Because most Palgrost ships had a layer of defensive metal protecting them, not all of Palgrost ships' hulls were punctured. However, they still ground to a halt from the impact. This in turn caused the entire right wind to stop because the ships at the frontmost line had stopped. Some of the ships at the back which couldn't stop even crashed into their comrades' ships.
Because the right wing had stopped, the entire fleet slowed down. The ships at the mid part and left wing tried to readjust their positions to give aid to the right wing. This allowed Liguritudum main armada to catch up.
Cannon fires were heard. This time, the explosions didn't hit the water. They happened on the ships in the left wing. Ships had HP numbers. For a caravel with the lowest HP and defense, one average cannon fire reduced around one-quarter of its HP bar. A hit that happened at a critical part, for example, the helm, might cause critical damage and take out the ship's navigating system. A direct hit on a ship's cannon would destroy the cannon and take out the ship's ability to fire back.
Some of Liguritudum's bigger ships had their cannons upgraded and thus delivered higher damage. The first bombardment from the Liguritudum armada managed to sink five of Palgrost's caravels. Many other Palgrost's ships were damaged by they could still move.
"Damned c*nts! Return fire! Return fire…!!" Thelgrun shouted. At the same time, the operator inputted the commands in the war table. The center and left-wing were instructed to deal with Palgrost's main armada, while the right wing was to deal with the ambushing caravels.
The battle at the right wing was all close range. No cannons were fired. Liguritudum caravels stuck with the Palgrost ships they had rammed. Ships with hulls that they failed to penetrate were kept close by using grappling hooks. With the target ships secured, the ethereal soldiers boarded Palgrost's ships.
Palgrost soldiers didn't suspect the ambush, thus they were less prepared. The ethereal soldiers came down on the Palgrost sailors hard before they could properly react. Other Palgrost ships came over to send their soldiers onto the boarded ship for reinforcement.
Palgrost's left wing adjusted their positions and returned fire, but not before they received a second bombardment. In sea battles, adjusting the ship positions to align the cannons' trajectory took time. The side that gained the favorable positions usually held the advantage.
This was what the Liguritudum armada had achieved. With the enemy halted at the spot they had planned for, it was the same as the enemy falling into their trap.
When the Palgrost armada started firing, the storm also died down enough to let them see the surroundings. they found that the Liguritudum ships were not only at their left wing. The Liguritudum armada had spread their ships out. They were positioned all around them, surrounding them.
The cannons on these Liguritudum ships opened fire then. The bombardment now came from all sides. Palgrost ships at the outermost layer were riddled with cannon fires. They lost ten caravels and five frigates. One galleass was heavily damaged and lost one of its sails. That galleass' speed was heavily reduced. If not for Palgrost ships having higher defense than normal ships, they would have lost many more.
"Return fire! Return fire! Damnit…!!" Thelgrun shouted.
Many rounds of bombardment were exchanged. Many ships were sunk. With the Liguritudum armada securing the better position, the Palgrost armada was at a disadvantage. Not to mention, their ships were fewer. The Palgrost armada continued to lose ships.
Viking looked at the situation with a heavy frown. This didn't look good at all. He sent messages to his allies informing their latest situation. While he was doing that, several massive explosions occurred on some ships near them. He saw four men-of-war charging over and ramming the ships that were just being bombarded.
With those ships pushed away, a clear path toward their flagship was created. In this cleared path, Viking saw the largest man-of-war from the Liguritudum armada. It was coming at high speed.
As the battle happened all around, the Liguritudum men-of-war had forced their way to where Palgrost's flagship was located. The largest man-of-war was Liguritudum's flagship, and it was charging toward them!
