Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 961 - 793

Chapter 961: 793

On November 12th, the Jin Dynasty’s Eastern Conquest fleet finally arrived at the ’Jiyi Sea Lane’.

Just ahead lies the Seto Inland Sea, and the fleet could move forward from there to land near Naniwakyo.

’Naniwakyo’ was originally the capital of the Fusou people, but hundreds of years ago, the Fusou Court relocated to what is now ’Heiankyo’ to avoid military threats.

Li Xuan knew that in a few hundred years, the famous Ishiyama Honganji would be built in ’Naniwakyo’, becoming the most important military stronghold and base of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha, resisting Oda Nobunaga for several years.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi would also build the magnificent Osaka Castle there, making it the second-largest economic center for the Fusou people.

Therefore, the terrain over there was very suitable for a large army to land, and there were also many existing port facilities.

The key was that a few hundred miles north from there lay the Fusou people’s Heiankyo.

However, when they reached the Jiyi Sea Lane, a dense Fusou fleet appeared before them.

Most of the Fusou warships were less than a thousand ’ryou’, such as the five hundred ’ryou’ ’Kobaya’, a thousand ’ryou’ ’Sekibune’, and so on, but there were also nearly a hundred and twenty ’Atakebune’ of more than five thousand ’ryou’ each.

Among them, there were twenty-seven ’Guijia’ ships of eight thousand ’ryou’ covered with iron armor on the outer layer, and the sides of the ships were equipped with a large number of cannons, which were quite eye-catching.

Li Xuan was surprised, as to his knowledge, ancient Fusou ships should not be so large.

But then he thought that in this world, many things are several times larger, and the ships within the Jin State are also magnificent, so he was not concerned.

What was curious were those ’Guijia’ ships. These warships were developed by Goryeo, and after the Japanese invasions of Korea, only then did they spread to Fusou. Cannons and firearms started to be used on a large scale during the Fusou Warring States period, hundreds of years later.

Li Xuan wondered whether this was the butterfly effect he had caused, or if the history of this world was naturally so.

He did not care to ponder it any further and immediately issued the command, "Order Li Yan to lead the ironclad ships to break through the enemy ahead. All ships to protect at the outskirts of the fleet formation, and be sure to beware of their fire ships. Lower the seven floating Cloud Warships to two hundred zhang above the sea surface, to guard the fleet."

Those ten-thousand ’ryou’ ’Blessed Ships’ he brought this time were not all for transporting troops. Among them, twenty were ten-thousand ’ryou’ cannon ships belonging to the Tianjin naval forces, each ship with nearly thirty cannons, and their combat strength was also very formidable.

However, even among this fleet, the ’Blessed Ships’ used for transporting troops all possessed extremely strong fighting capabilities.

The thousands of ’Rune Flintlock Rifles’ on the ships had firepower intense enough to sink or rout any ship that tried to approach.

At this moment, Li Yan, who was leading all the ironclad ships sailing on the sea surface, was also in the lookout tower using the Thousand-Mile Mirror to observe the sea ahead.

"The enemy fleet is divided into two parts, which seems to be an attempt to attack us from both sides. Are those their fire ships? The number is quite substantial, probably around seven to eight thousand?"

He was looking at the small boats on both sides of the enemy formation, which were mostly small and nimble ships of less than a hundred ’ryou’, being pushed swiftly by the wind towards them.

"It’s a northeast wind now."

This was Li Yan’s deputy, Liu Chengli, the deputy commander of the Tianjin naval forces.

This man, about sixty years old, was a seasoned and wise old general.

He was also on the lookout tower, but he was looking towards the sky, "A northeast wind at this time is quite normal, but the wind force is a bit too strong; there must be a heavenly-level person casting spells up high. I suggest changing to a slanted line formation heading northwest."

"Formation?" Li Yan was slightly puzzled, "With this wind force, it shouldn’t be an issue, should it?"

At that time, their fleet was arranged in a long snake formation, which could maximally utilize their firepower.

He knew the ’Extreme Heaven’ strength under Li Xuan’s command would not allow the Fusou Gods to act recklessly.

The evidence was the sea itself; despite the stormy winds, the sea surface remained calm and waveless.

But soon Li Yan understood his deputy’s concern, "Old Liu, are you worried about the reef cluster over there?"

"Exactly!" Liu Chengli nodded, "Their only chance of victory is to change the wind direction, pushing our ships into those reefs. Ironclad ships are large and clumsy with difficult turns, and our sailors are not yet familiar with the warships, so we must be cautious."

Liu Chengli, who came from an ordinary military household, was highly regarded by his superior, Li Chengji.

Last year, when Prince Fenyang was organizing the ironclad fleet in Tianjin, Li Chengji recommended this old subordinate to be Li Yan’s deputy, and Liu Chengli was thus able to participate in this Eastern Conquest campaign.

Liu Chengli felt a deep gratitude towards these three individuals of the father and son, so he did his utmost in assisting Li Yan.

Prince Fenyang never fought without preparation; last year, he sent people to collect Fusou sea charts and hydrographic information by every possible means.

Liu Chengli memorized these complex sea charts in their entirety.

"Then let’s follow your suggestion!"

Li Yan recognized that his deputy’s suggestion was correct; most of the ironclads he commanded had only been launched within the past three to five months.

Only the first batch of five ironclads were started last year, and launched this March. The rest of the nineteen were consecutively started in February and April this year, once the court’s finances were more ample.

Therefore, the majority of the sailors aboard were hurriedly trained and quite unfamiliar with the operation of these ironclads.

Besides, with these ironclads weighing more than fifty-five thousand ’ryou’ each, it was inevitable that their maneuverability was far inferior to those smaller, nimbler ships.

"Signal all ships to immediately lower sails, all gas engines to start fully, and operate at maximum power!"

Moments later, roaring sounds emerged from within the hulls of these ironclad warships, and the tall chimneys bellowed thick black smoke.

Previously, to save on coal and to match the speed of those Fukusen, these ironclad ships were primarily powered by sail, with only two of the eight steam turbines inside operating to provide auxiliary power.

But now, at Li Yan’s command, these ironclad warships roared like awakening beasts upon the sea. Their speed surged against the strong northeastern winds.

Li Yan listened to the deafening noise yet felt utterly disenchanted.

The contraptions his younger brother had created made naval warfare too simple, devoid of any pleasure.

Meanwhile, high above the clouds, a look of astonishment appeared on Izanagi’s face.

"Such speed, at least twenty-five li in a moment! After lowering their sails, they’re still this fast against the north wind? Aren’t their hulls covered in iron armor? How can such heavy ships move? Why don’t they sink?"

Tsukuyomi life frowned, "Could they have used some celestial talisman array or a divine natural treasure within the hull?"

But as soon as he spoke, he realized the absurdity of his words. The power of Taoist talisman arrays could indeed propel ships, even making those ironclads fly—just like the Yunzhong warships of the Jin people.

However, celestial talisman arrays were incredibly expensive; to install one on a ship of fifty-five thousand materials would cost at least three to five million patterned silver just for the array itself. Other expenses such as dragon bone, iron armor, and cannons also required an immense amount of money; an ironclad would cost at least ten million patterned silver.

How could the Great Jin Dynasty possibly have the funds for this?

Tensho furrowed her brows slightly but did not speak.

However, her mana was already interfering with the battlefield.

By changing the temperature differences between heaven and earth, she further intensified the wind speeds over the battlefield.

Next, she intended to enhance the power of all the fire ships, increasing the flames to an extreme heat, strong enough to burn through the outer iron armor and ignite the wood inside.

At this point, the fleets of both sides were rapidly closing in on each other.

Back in the bridge, Li Yan turned to observe the sea through the clear glass in front.

The densely packed fire ships were attacking from both the east and west, encircling them in a semi-circle formation.

The nearest one was already less than one hundred and fifty zhang from their ironclad.

Li Yan could see the excited and agitated faces of the Fusou naval soldiers on the fire ships.

However, Li Yan’s expression was indifferent, "Signal all ships to open their gun ports and fire immediately. Use shrapnel shells to sink those fire ships."

In the next instant, all twenty-four ironclads opened a total of two thousand eight hundred gun ports.

The scaffolded rifled cannons inside glinted with a cold luster.

The gunners beside them, though slightly clumsy in their movements, filled the cannons with ammunition.

Their actions might have been inexperienced, but they remained calm and completed the ammunition load on time, firing in unison.

The distant fire ships hadn’t even reacted when they were overcome by the shrapnel shells exploding densely in the air above them.

The thousands of shrapnel pieces swept across the surface, instantly tearing both men and ships to shreds.

The total of two thousand eight hundred scaffolded rifled cannons, with just two volleys, cleared the sea of any remaining fire ships.

Nothing was left on the water but broken planks, along with a profusion of spilled oil and bodies.

In that instant, the entire battlefield fell silent, the faces of the Fusou warriors aboard the warships turned ashen.

The many Fusou gods in the sky also altered their expressions.

With a cold snort, Tensho commanded, "Hasten to assist me!"

She began, with the help of various deities, to forcefully manipulate the oil floating on the sea, congregating it towards the ironclads.

Yet Tensho’s efforts encountered significant resistance.

She sensed a powerful force from amongst Prince Fenyang’s ranks, employing "Zhenya," "Peacemaker," "Seal," "Ranmie," "Freeze," exhausting all methods to keep the oil from the ironclads.

Despite the gods’ efforts, the oil still got within thirty feet of the ironclads.

At this distance, Tensho could directly ignite the oil.

Her power was sufficient to boil the entire Seto Inland Sea and, with the aid of this oil, Tensho was confident she could burn all the ironclads to ashes, despite being thirty feet away!

At that moment, towering flames erupted on the sea surface.

But shortly thereafter, Tensho stared in disbelief, her expression puzzled.

"These warships, they’re all covered in a foot-thick iron armor—"

At that instant, all of the Fusang Gods were in disbelief.