Chapter 58

Opposites attract, and like repels like, perhaps fitting the most basic natural law. To other races, the Goblins' Second Empire, which is seen as barbaric and uncivilized, instead discriminates even more against backward races like the Shuah Fishmen. This phenomenon is probably best explained by excessive inferiority transforming into extreme arrogance.

The widespread arrogance of the goblins hindered their ability to make sound judgments. Mordo Blackwater never considered the need to negotiate peacefully with the local Shuah Fishmen before rashly invading their territory, to gain their understanding before taking further military action, or to encourage these Shuah Fishmen to assist in capturing Luo Zhengdao. The goblin fleet, akin to mad dogs, pursued the pirate fleet relentlessly, completely disregarding that they had already entered the waters ruled by the Shuah Fishmen, acting as if they were in a land without people.

Originally, the Fishman King Yakuro had been an observer, content to watch the conflict from the sidelines. When he learned of the goblins' arrogant attitude, his scaly green skin instantly turned an eerie purplish-red, a sign of extreme anger among the Shuah Fishmen. Yakuro IV clenched his teeth and said:

"Summon the warriors, give those green skins a taste of their own medicine."

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

The deep, powerful war drums sounded from all directions. Luo Zhengdao and Mordo Blackwater, who were chasing each other in the shallow waters, noticed the Shuah Fishmen's involvement in the battle. Regardless of their individual thoughts, they had to consider the potential interference of this third party.

The Shuah Fishmen, who had long dominated an important sea route in the Starry Sea, were notorious pirates who often raided nearby flying islands. Their expertise in longboat boarding tactics and long-range fire attacks was a nightmare for many islanders in the Starry Sea.

The current Fishman King, Yakuro Fernando IV, was a typical muscular and fierce fishman warrior, resembling the water demons from ancient Chinese mythology. However, his mind was not as straightforward as his fellow fishmen. In his youth, Yakuro had worked as a mercenary for a few years and then fought on pirate ships. He had seen much of the world. After returning home and defeating his brothers to seize the throne, he recognized early on that adhering to old traditions had no future. After ascending to the throne, Yakuro IV revised the customary laws of the Shuah Fishmen and reorganized the military to align with the great powers. The types of warships used by the Shuah Fishmen also evolved from a single type of light, fast longboat to a more diverse fleet.

After years of painstaking efforts, even though the Shuah Fishmen's naval power was far from that of the major empires' regular navies, it was still a force that Mordo Blackwater's special task force could not ignore.

Fishman King Yakuro grinned viciously and made a slashing gesture. His military commander immediately understood and shouted:

"Wow! Fire the fire crossbows!"

"Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—"

The crossbow triggers, as large as fists, were struck by wooden hammers, and the arrows, burning like comets across the dusky sky, left distinct streaks of smoke in their wake. The arrowheads, hollow and filled with dense fish oil extracted by the Shuah Fishmen, burst into flames upon impact with the goblin warships, igniting the sails and wooden planks and scalding the goblin sailors with boiling oil, causing them to scream in pain.

Noticing the goblins' troubles, the two pirate ships under Luo Zhengdao's command also realized the situation. Zola Hegel laughed triumphantly and said:

"Captain, they're fighting."

Luo Zhengdao did not show excessive joy but said calmly:

"Very well, change course. We need to help the fishmen."

Hearing this, the half-elf beauty Vena Dubov asked in confusion:

"Is it necessary? The Shuah Fishmen won't think we have any good intentions."

Luo Zhengdao did not intend to explain further and continued:

"I am the captain, follow my orders!"

"Alright! You're the captain."

The conflict between the goblins and the Shuah Fishmen was a perfect opportunity for Luo Zhengdao to benefit. When he ordered the warships to change course and head towards the Shuah Fishmen's territory, he had anticipated this intense battle. Luo Zhengdao did not intend to watch from the sidelines but ordered his warships to turn and join the fight.

While your allies are fighting fiercely, someone watching from the sidelines is a sure way to incite hatred. As a human exiled noble, Luo Zhengdao was already destined to be at odds with the Goblins' Second Empire. Regardless of his personal feelings towards the Shuah Fishmen, the fact that they shared a common enemy could not be changed. The enemy of my enemy should be my friend, and if the enemy is powerful enough, it forms an unbreakable alliance, a fundamental truth in international politics.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At this moment, the stone projectiles falling near Mordo Blackwater's flagship created massive water columns on the sea surface. The naval battles in the near-shore waters were even more dangerous than those in the Ether Sea. Once a warship was damaged and began to take on water, it would become a sitting duck for concentrated enemy fire.

"Are those human warships? Those damned hairless monkeys!"

Mordo Blackwater's curses did not change the reality that the goblin fleet was now under attack from both sides. A goblin officer, holding onto a rope to steady himself as the ship rocked, shouted:

"Commander, we are under attack from both sides. Please make a decision!"

Hearing this, Mordo Blackwater, with bloodshot eyes, clenched his fists and roared:

"The glory of the Empire cannot be tarnished. Raise the black flag, destroy these bastards!"

Mordo Blackwater's patron in the Senate was indeed powerful. Despite losing many ships during the pursuit of Luo Zhengdao, he received comprehensive repairs upon return and was even given new warships from the military. Not only was he not held accountable for his failures, but his forces were significantly strengthened. Indeed, having connections in the capital made things easier. Currently, he commanded over sixty warships, including four battleships of the sixth level or higher, with the largest being his new flagship, the Phoenix, a third-rate battleship.

If asked about the combat capabilities of this third-rate battleship, which had four masts, three gun decks, and was equipped with 106 light and heavy cannons, including 32-pound long-barreled cannons, the answer would be obvious.

If not for the two fast, specially reinforced warships under Luo Zhengdao's command, which had excellent acceleration, Mordo Blackwater would have had the opportunity to leverage his fleet's firepower and numerical superiority. The two pirate ships would have been crushed by the goblin fleet before they could escape from the waters near the mainland.

Seeing the goblin fleet determined to fight to the death, Luo Zhengdao had little confidence in escaping unscathed. He immediately ordered:

"Raise the signal flag, notify the Super Brave to withdraw from the line. Increase the speed of this ship to the maximum."

Throughout the long history of the old world, various bizarre weapons and military theories emerged. Before the practicalization of military aircraft in the 20th century, strong ships and powerful cannons were the mainstays of naval power. Fast ships and rapid fire were not necessarily wrong, but it depended on the tactics used against specific opponents.

Weapons and tactics go hand in hand. For example, sending thinly armored battlecruisers to the Jutland Sea to fight against the heavily armored battleships of the Hans, as the British did, resulted in a惨痛的代价，只能说是晚期疯牛病又犯了，这病没救了。这好比让《山口山》的猎人不玩风筝，非得改行学着人家MT去硬扛BOSS，吃亏上当再正常不过，战巡本身是没错的，出了这个馊主意的家伙才真是坑爹不打草稿啊！

随着罗正道下令丢下超勇号这个累赘，放开手脚的扬威号随即狂飙到二十二节，在地精舰队完成转向之前，它提前一步抢占了T字横头阵的攻击位置。

“短重炮准备……放！”

熟读唐诗三百首，不会作诗也会吟，罗正道穿越以来打了这么多场海战，一般常识他都掌握了，在什么时间点该干什么事情用不着别人提醒。

伴随着雷鸣般的轰然巨响，上百颗霰弹在石松孢子粉爆燃发出的金色火光中喷出了炮口，紧接着其他火炮也开始加入到这场大合唱中，这些圆滚滚的飞行物在对面那艘地精旗舰不死鸟号的上甲板扫荡出一片血海，顺带在舷侧的薄弱部位开了几个窟窿。近距离遭遇霰弹轰击，原本待在上甲板的地精炮手和弓弩手以及准备进行接舷战的大地精步兵死伤枕籍，不死鸟号那节奏有条不紊的炮火齐射也随之沉寂下去。

稍后一点时间，地精们设法恢复了火炮齐射，但那也仅有下面两层甲板发起不够齐整的排炮还击，位于上甲板的地精炮组伤亡情况太过惨重，它们已经完全丧失战斗力了。

“别拉着我！撞过去，撞沉他们。”

不顾大副和水手长的再三劝阻，地精指挥官莫多·黑水活像一个在牌桌上输光了全部身家的红眼赌徒，它一把甩开所有手下强行把住舵轮。随即，不死鸟号从地精舰队的战列线中脱离出来，如同看到红布的公牛般直扑扬威号，颇有今天不是鱼死就是网破的玩命架势。见此情景，在略感错愕之余，罗正道不屑地将满心不忿化为一声冷笑，狗急跳墙这一招使出来就能逆转翻盘的话，大家又何必这么辛苦布局？直接比比谁更疯不就结了？

旋即，罗正道收敛了笑容，开口说道：

“立刻加速甩开这些绿皮。”

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The heavy cost, it could only be said that the late-stage mad cow disease had struck again, and there was no cure. This was like making a hunter in "Mountains and Mouths" stop playing kite and instead try to tank the boss like an MT, which would inevitably lead to failure. The battlecruisers themselves were not wrong; the one who came up with this bad idea was the real culprit.

As Luo Zhengdao ordered the Super Brave to be abandoned, the Yangwei, now free from the burden, accelerated to twenty-two knots and, before the goblin fleet could complete its turn, it seized the T-shaped crosshead position for the attack.

"Short heavy cannons, prepare... fire!"

Having read hundreds of Tang poems, even if one cannot write poetry, one can still recite them. Luo Zhengdao, having fought many naval battles since his穿越, had a good grasp of general knowledge and did not need reminders about what to do at specific moments.

With a thunderous roar, over a hundred canister shots spewed from the cannons, enveloped in the golden flames of the stone pine spore powder. Soon, other cannons joined in the chorus, and these spherical projectiles swept across the upper deck of the goblin flagship Phoenix, creating a sea of blood and opening several holes in the vulnerable sides. The goblin gunners, archers, and great goblin infantry on the upper deck, who were preparing for boarding actions, suffered heavy casualties. The Phoenix's well-ordered cannon fire fell silent.

A little later, the goblins managed to resume their cannon fire, but only the lower two decks could fire in a somewhat disorganized manner. The goblin gun crews on the upper deck had suffered such severe casualties that they had completely lost their combat capability.

"Don't hold me back! Ram them, sink them."

Despite the first mate and boatswain's repeated劝阻, the goblin commander Mordo Blackwater, like a red-eyed gambler who had lost everything at the table, pushed away all his subordinates and forcefully took control of the rudder. The Phoenix then broke away from the goblin fleet's line and charged at the Yangwei like a bull seeing a red cloth, determined to fight to the death. Seeing this, Luo Zhengdao, after a moment of surprise, sneered in disdain. If the desperate move of a cornered dog could turn the tide, why go through all the trouble of setting up a strategy? Just compare who is crazier, and it would be over.

Immediately, Luo Zhengdao regained his composure and said:

"Accelerate immediately and shake off these green skins."

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