Chapter 270
EP.270
When the three lead scout fleets, including the flagship with Peter Yeager on board, finished their short rest, the watchmen on each ship shouted loudly.
“Estimated over 100 enemy ships! We’re approaching full speed! The distance appears to be about 1.4km!”
“An enemy large fleet appears 1.4km behind! “We must run away!”
“Fuck! Send a signal to the flagship to raise anchor immediately! “More than 100 enemy ships are chasing you like crazy, you bastards!”
The words of the watchmen, who were not supposed to say anything other than their observations, were filled with personal feelings, but none of the soldiers and officers of the Reich Empire thought of blaming them.
Because, to be honest, if they hadn’t had a general named Peter Yeager at the forefront who could create miracles even in any unfavorable situation.
This is because he would have considered desertion instead of standing in a hopeless battlefield where he seemed certain to be defeated.
Peter Yeager also did not blame the soldiers for being frightened upon seeing the enemy’s large fleet of over 100 ships.
He had been confident to a certain extent until he had planned the strategy and arrived here, but when he saw the enemy’s fleet numbering more than three digits in front of him, he felt fear.
However, because he had fought in the vanguard of life-and-death situations several times, his rationality did not waver even when he saw the enemy fleet boasting enormous numbers.
“The entire army quickly retreats to where the main force is! The flagship stands at the very rear! “The flagship will always be at the forefront in the most dangerous places!”
Among the soldiers on the flagship, there were some who thought Captain Peter Yeager was crazy.
This is because it was completely incomprehensible that a nobleman who was carrying the lives of over 100,000 soldiers of the Reich Imperial Army and over 2 million people of the western coastal region would take the risk of standing in the vanguard.
But of course Peter Yeager has his own reasons for doing so.
‘If there is a 50% chance that I will die if I continue to stand in the vanguard, the chance of being defeated if I stay safely behind without standing in the vanguard is close to 100%. In fact, in terms of strategic value of life, my head alone weighs more than the lives of 10,000 soldiers. The weight of human life is no different from that of me or an ordinary soldier. Therefore, I am willing to risk death for victory.’
Captain Yeager drew his sword and brandished it instead of his baton and gave orders.
“Unfold all sails! Row and retreat as quickly as possible to where the main force is waiting! Every time I send a signal, the flagship deliberately slows down, creating a situation where the enemy is at risk of being caught! Hurry!!”
The officers and men on deck desperately sped up to avoid being caught up by the Warsaw fleet of over 100 ships.
Upon seeing the Reich Empire’s fleet moving, the Warsaw fleet even broke up its formation and began pursuing it as fast as possible.
“Pick up the speed! The ship moving last over there is the flagship! “No matter what happens, don’t miss the flagship!”
“If we can catch the Peter Yeager bastard on the flagship, it will be a great victory for us!”
“Fight without fear of death for the glory of His Majesty the Grand Duke of Warsaw and for the glory of Deus! charge!”
Peter Yeager moved to the stern of the flagship (the back of the ship) and saw with the naked eye that the enemy was approaching.
Seeing that no arrows or ballistae were flying and the distance didn’t seem that far, it seemed like the enemy’s vanguard was about 200 meters away.
Then, the formation of the Warsaw army had a main body of about 100 ships located at a small distance from the vanguard.
Captain Jaeger began to think anew about how to keep them at bay in the future, when arrows and magic from small ballistas rained down from the Warsaw warships.
If it had been on land, a significant number, if not more than a hundred, would have hit ships or people, but since the ship was rocked up and down and left and right by the waves, most of them split into the air or fell into the sea.
However, magic and arrows fired from dozens of ships often hit the soldiers on deck.
“Oh shit! Load the crossbow! “I’m going to shoot those bastards dead!”
“You crazy guy, don’t you know it’s a waste of arrows to shoot here?”
“Dirty Warsaw bastards, how many arrows do they have to sit and shoot from this street!”
As blind arrows and magic killed Imperial soldiers, the Reich Empire soldiers felt their blood boiling from excitement.
Peter Yeager covered his head with a shield and placed himself against the wall, giving orders.
“Everyone, stick to the deck wall and grab a shield or something nearby to defend yourself! From now on, you will be receiving ballista and magic attacks from enemies for quite some time! “Bow!”
Even if you try to return fire by shooting arrows, you will only end up wasting arrows and causing someone to die needlessly, so it is best to stay low in a situation where you are running away as much as possible.
The veteran marines and officers who understood this scolded the soldiers under their command and made them bow down somehow.
Captain Timo, who commanded Warsaw’s huge fleet, gave orders to the entire fleet.
“Peter Yeager is retreating to where the main force is! Even if he were a bastard, he wouldn’t be able to defeat a large fleet of 115 ships with just 3 ships! Let’s chase him down like this and turn him into Warsaw Whale food together with the main team! Maximum speed! “Unfold all sails and increase rowing speed!”
As soon as the Warsaw commander’s order was given, Warsaw’s large fleet began to pursue Peter Jaeger at full speed.
In the meantime, the Reich Empire’s fleet moved forward while maintaining a distance from being captured and eventually succeeded in joining the main force of 20 ships.
Under normal circumstances, the scouting party, including the flagship with Peter Yeager on board, would have been able to catch their breath and rest a bit.
In front of the Warsaw Fleet, which boasted overwhelming numbers, they turned their bows and began to retreat as if they could not do anything.
“Run as planned! Absolutely jump out! Those on the deck, throw wooden stakes and rocks to put in the ballista!”
“Load all the arrows in the crossbow and hang the quiver on the wall next to the deck! “Every single arrow will kill you!”
“As long as you are good at running away, Captain Jaeger will do something!”
The soldiers of the Reich Imperial Navy actually did not know whether they were luring the enemy or running away due to lack of numbers.
This is because, in the worst case scenario, if you explain the entire strategy to the soldiers, there is a risk that the operation will be exposed to the enemy. Moreover, the education level of soldiers in this era is below the level of the fifth grade of elementary school, so there is no guarantee that everyone will understand even if the operation is explained in advance. does not exist.
Because of those circumstances, the soldiers on the ship were truly trusting only Captain Jaeger and somehow holding on with their sanity.
Captain Jaeger chose to quietly retreat to the back while holding the captain’s flag and boarding the flagship.
Some disagreement arose on the Warsaw flagship.
“Captain Teemo, it could be an enemy trap. It’s not too late now, so you should be more careful. “No matter how desperate Peter Yeager is, there seems to be some kind of trap in luring us in like this by saying, ‘Catch me.’”
“We lost four ships and one of our generals to a guy who attacked with only three battleships. If we retreat like this, it will be a shame that will remain in the history of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw’s military! And isn’t there a high probability that the unit that just appeared is the enemy’s main unit?”
“I think so.”
Captain Timo spoke from the deck of the flagship, pointing to the Reich Empire ships fleeing from them.
“According to what the watchman observed, there are at most 30 ships. Our army has 115 ships. Furthermore, what would happen if Peter Yeager knew that our troops were outnumbered and used individual attack tactics?”
The deputy commander gritted his teeth and answered those words.
“The enemy has secured more than 14 port cities, so they can use those as a starting point to resist for a long time. I think it would be better to use this opportunity to push forward.”
“There is no strategy to win in front of the majority. “Let’s hurry and sail the boat.”
Captain Teemo thought.
‘Now that he knows our numbers, if we miss this son of a bitch Peter Yeager… he’ll find a trick to bite us later.’
“So we have to kill him here! “Brave soldiers of Warsaw, sacrifice your lives to repel the invaders!”
Meanwhile, Captain Jaeger was finally able to hear the news he had been waiting for.
“We have arrived near the location where we decided to change our formation at the western end of El Condor Island!”
As soon as Peter Yeager heard those words, he immediately raised a flag to change formation.
As the flag was raised, each ship surrounded the Warsaw Fleet in a semicircle with its flanks exposed to the enemy.
Someone who saw it said this:
“The bird spread its wings.”
With its wings spread wide, the bird aimed its secret weapon, a siege ballista, to sink countless Warsaw battleships, at the enemy ship and waited for the order to fire.
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