Even when surrounded by a pack of dogs, a tiger is still a tiger.
After breaking formation and completing a turn, it took less than ten minutes for two battlecruisers to turn four enemy ships into floating bonfires.
One of the light cruisers sank rapidly after a fierce explosion.
Don't forget, battlecruisers were born as the nemesis of smaller warships.
Though Marshal Fisher, the father of the battlecruiser, envisioned these vessels—with the firepower of a battleship and the speed of a cruiser—as true main battle ships, practical experience had proven that battlecruisers were best suited for scouting ahead of the main fleet. With their superior speed and fiercer firepower, they engaged enemy cruisers and prevented the exposure of their own main ships prematurely.
Indeed, battlecruisers inherently possessed the overwhelming strength to dominate smaller warships.
Even if the two Ji River ships were heavily damaged, with some main guns unable to fire, their secondary guns could still decimate the cruisers of the Joint Fleet.
The 150mm armor-piercing bullets fired by the secondary guns were more than enough to handle light cruisers.
Furthermore, by breaking formation, the two battlecruisers drew enemy fire, creating better escape opportunities for four friendly ships.
However, this situation did not last long.
After four enemy ships were successively hit and caught fire, the Fast Battle Squad's five Queen Yisha-class immediately redirected their guns and hit the two Ji River-class.
Nearly ten minutes passed before the lookout of the Fast Battle Squad spotted another four battlecruisers rapidly approaching.
At this time, the distance between them was less than ten kilometers.
Although under He Yongxing's orders, the four warships maintained "silence" and did not fire at the enemy ships. When the distance was reduced, the enemy's firelight was still visible under the clear night sky, and the towering silhouettes of the four battlecruisers were faintly discernible.
Crucially, the four warships continued to sail at high speed.
In dimly lit conditions, the human eye is highly sensitive to rapidly moving objects, able to detect them even from a great distance.
By then, the "Ji River" and "Gui River" had mostly lost their combat capabilities after being repeatedly hit by fifteen-inch shells.
Though the two warships still stubbornly floated, their main guns were paralyzed, and only a few 150mm secondary guns remained in the gun turrets.
The speed of the two warships had dropped below 20 knots.
With this speed, it was impossible for the two ships to break through.
Unless a miracle occurred, sinking was only a matter of time.
It was precisely because of this that when the two Ji River-class slowed down, the five Fast Battleships immediately turned their guns and opened fire on the other four ships.
Entering the direct range of the main guns, coupled with the secondary guns, the fire from the five Fast Battleships became incredibly fierce and more precise.
This was certainly not good news for the four battlecruisers.
The first to suffer were the North River and Nanjiang, positioned at the forefront.
Due to relative headings, in the initial few minutes, the four Fast Battleships at the back targeted these two battlecruisers. Only the leading Queen Yisha conducted a shelling attack on the following "Lu River" and "Yuejiang." Perhaps because it did not identify the flagship, or for some other reason, the Queen Yisha only held these two ships at bay using a crisscross firing tactic simultaneously targeting both battlecruisers.
Perhaps at the onset of the engagement, Betty had mistaken her target, thinking the North River was the flagship and not focusing on the Lu River, which also flew the commander's flag.
Of course, it might also have been due to the dread of the North River-class's 400mm main guns.
Indeed, only the 400mm armor-piercing shells of the North River and Nanjiang posed a fatal threat to the Queen Yisha-class at this range. While the 350mm main guns of the Lu River and Yuejiang presented some threat, it was not fatal.
It was a matter of just minutes.
At 7:22 PM, three red signal flares ascended into the night sky from the bow of the "North River."
This communication method was used only after the radio had been completely damaged, or the mast or lookout had been destroyed, indicating that the ship had totally lost its combat ability.
But, the officers and soldiers on the "North River" were still fighting, firing at the enemy ship with high-altitude guns.
The "Nanjiang" followed closely behind the "North River," its eight main guns silenced, though a few secondary guns were still firing at the enemy ship.
At 7:25 PM, the "Lu River" overtook the "North River" and "Nanjiang" from the west.
Despite the distance of about two thousand meters, it was clear that many officers and soldiers on the decks of the two battleships were vigorously fighting fires. No one jumped into the sea to escape, not even to evacuate or rescue the wounded, as if all the officers and soldiers were prepared to share the fate of their battleships.
Perhaps, the officers and soldiers of the two battleships simply did not want to burden their allies.
If they had abandoned ship to escape or actively rescued the wounded, it would have undoubtedly required the support and assistance of the allied ships, which would have had to slow down and come closer.
At that moment, the command bridge was eerily quiet.
The young staff officers bowed their heads, while the senior staff struggled to restrain the impulsive thoughts arising from their inner conflict.
To go or to stay?
Leaving could save two battleships and over two thousand officers and soldiers, preserving the seeds for the revival of the Empire's navy.
Staying could fulfill the promises of a soldier, not having to live the rest of their lives in guilt, nor face the myriad difficulties and dangers to come.
Fortunately, the decision was not up to the staff of the sub-fleet headquarters to make.
At 7:27 PM, just after the "Lu River" moved to the forefront, a battleship to the southwest experienced a violent explosion.
It wasn't an enemy ship, but the previously-detached "Gui River."
The explosion happened so suddenly that not only had the officers and soldiers on the "Gui River" not managed to send a telegram, but they also failed to launch red signal flares in time.
Within three minutes, by 7:30 PM, this battleship, with a standard displacement of over 30,000 tons, had vanished from the sea.
By 7:29 PM, an explosion occurred on the "Ji River" not far ahead of the "Gui River."
This time, the telecommunication soldiers on the "Ji River" managed to send out a warning.
The "Gui River" was not sunk by an enemy main battleship but a light cruiser using heavy torpedoes.
After sending the warning, the "Ji River" launched three red signal flares.
Being completely crippled, this battleship, having lost its ability to fight, had no choice but to sink itself or be mercilessly destroyed by enemy ships.
However, the last acting captain of the "Ji River" chose a more heroic and dazzling method of martyrdom.
At 7:35 PM, with the lifeboats carrying the wounded having departed, Captain She Haibing of the engineering department, the third acting captain, personally detonated the forward main gun magazine, taking himself and several hundred unwilling-to-leave officers and soldiers into the roll of martyrs with tens of tons of shells and propellant.
This earth-shattering explosion marked the end of the battleship that had served six years in the Imperial Navy, participated in hundreds of battles, earned multiple honors, and sunk or damaged numerous enemy ships, contributing greatly to the glory of the Empire's Navy.
It wasn't just a dazzling bang—it was actually more fitting to call it a stunning exclamation point.
This earth-shattering explosion also saved two allied ships and over two thousand soldiers of the Empire's Navy!