Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1163

1163. Whose Responsibility Is It? Yours! (15)

The joint Franco-Spanish fleet clung to the Imperial Fleet stationed in Gibraltar with all their might.

Unaware that a truly powerful threat was approaching from behind.

“Stick to those Imperial bastards with everything you’ve got!”

“If we stick close, their prized cannons will be useless!”

The allied fleet, having tasted the bitterness of the coastal batteries at the entrance of the Bay of Gibraltar, desperately clung to the Imperial Fleet. However, the Imperial Fleet was not an easy opponent.

“I know what those guys are up to, but do they think we’re that easy to deal with?”

The captains of the Imperial Fleet gradually chipped away at the allied fleet’s strength, repeating evasive maneuvers and hit-and-run tactics with exquisite seamanship.

“We must consider that we are outnumbered! Avoid getting tangled up in their intentions!”

“What are our cannons doing!”

Although the cannons firing from the coastal batteries paled in comparison, the cannons on the Imperial Navy’s front lines were also powerful. Continuous evasive maneuvers made shelling difficult, but whenever they had the chance, the Imperial front lines immediately fired.

Due to the joint operation of the Imperial Fleet and the coastal batteries, the French and Spanish fleets could not cross the line drawn 20 li [approximately 8 kilometers] from the entrance of the Bay of Gibraltar.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Albatrosses that attacked the allied fleet returned safely and landed at Cheonghaejin.

Thanks to the continuous training during the journey, there were no losses during the difficult landing process. The deckhands of Cheonghaejin dragged the landed Albatrosses to one side and loaded them onto the elevators.

The structure of these elevators and their location were also MSG’s work. The original aircraft carrier designed by Hyeon had one elevator at the rear of the deck.

After seeing this design, Hyang said very politely.

“If this elevator breaks down, the aircraft carrier will simply become a cruise ship.”

“I will correct it immediately.”

The subsequent improvement plan increased the number of elevators to two, but the location was the problem.

They were right in the middle of the deck.

Hyang stepped in again to offer advice.

“If the elevators are hit by shells and become unusable, it will be difficult to take off and land. Is it going to be a cruise ship again?”

“Then…”

“How about moving them to the left and right?”

“Then they could be damaged by the waves, and there would be balance problems…”

“They can be folded when not in use, and the balance problem can be solved with some thought, can’t it? Am I asking for something too difficult?”

“…No. I will correct it immediately.”

At Hyang’s words, Hyeon immediately took the blueprints and retreated.

And, tormented by Hyang’s constant nagging and growling, the designers had to redesign.

As they had to redesign everything from the beginning, the designers constantly complained.

“No, what are the chances of a ship moving in the rear of the fleet getting hit by a shell…”

“Fold the elevators…”

“If we move the elevators to the side like this, we have to redesign the entire hull… Ah〜. Damn it. Is it certain that we won’t be going home early today?”

Hyang, who heard the designers’ grumbling, added an explanation to Hyeon.

“Do you think other countries will stand still when they see what we are doing with aircraft on ships? When that happens, will there be a distinction between front and rear?”

“I will explain it properly.”

This is how the aircraft carrier, much smaller but similar in shape to the late Essex-class [a class of US Navy aircraft carriers from World War II], was created.

* * *

“Admiral. Report from Cheonghaejin. ‘Operation successful, four enemy ships sunk. Request permission for re-sortie.'”

Count Lee Gong (李狂) [a fictional character], the commander of the fleet, who received the report from his aide, looked at his watch for a moment and asked the aide.

“How far is it to Gibraltar?”

“About half a shichen and 3 gak [approximately 1.5 hours] from now.”

“How long will it take to re-sortie from Cheonghaejin?”

“They say half a shichen [approximately one hour].”

“Half a shichen… Hmm…”

After pondering for a moment, Count Lee Gong came to a decision.

“Permission granted. However, tell the aircraft to land in Gibraltar after the attack. By then, we will have joined the battle. We must avoid unnecessary risks. What do you think?”

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I will relay the order.”

The aide, who heard Count Lee Gong’s decision, relayed the order to Cheonghaejin.

Half a shichen later, the Albatrosses, having finished resupply and rearming, began to rise into the sky again. Jang Dae-wook, who had no choice but to fly again, muttered weakly with a pale face.

“There’s nothing left to throw up now…”

* * *

As Count Lee Gong had planned, the Punishment Fleet appeared from the rear of the allied fleet around the time the second Albatross attack ended.

Ding ding ding!

“Alarm! Alarm! A large fleet has appeared in the rear!”

At the lookout’s cry, Admiral Tourville and his aides hurriedly moved to the rear and raised their telescopes. Admiral Tourville, confirming at least 10 smoke columns, sighed.

“The inevitable has finally come.”

“How about retreating?”

Admiral Tourville pondered for a moment at his aide’s suggestion, then shook his head.

“No, they must be tired from the long voyage. It’s better to settle things here and now than to give them time to recover.”

“But we don’t know the extent of their strength.”

“It’s a fleet sent to hold us accountable, so it must be powerful. If those guys recover, there’s no answer. I repeat, now is a good opportunity while they are still tired. It’s time for a decisive battle. Prepare for action.”

At Admiral Tourville’s decision, the aide no longer suggested retreat.

The aide thought that Admiral Tourville’s words were reasonable.

-Is France prepared to take responsibility?

That was the question posed by the Imperial envoy when the attack on Gibraltar began.

Of course, a powerful fleet would have come, and the judgment that now was the right time, while they were tired from the long voyage, was rational.

However, there was something that neither Admiral Tourville nor his staff said until the end.

‘We have to fight now to reduce the loss of even one more ship.’

The admiral and his staff all considered defeat a foregone conclusion.

* * *

Following the decision of Admiral Tourville and his staff, the main force of the French fleet, the 1st-rate battleships [the largest and most powerful warships of the time], simultaneously turned to face the Punishment Fleet.

As the Punishment Fleet, which had only been visible as smoke columns, began to appear on the surface, Admiral Tourville and his staff simultaneously put their telescopes to their eyes.

And, after a while….

“Those damn cannon-crazy Imperial bastards…”

“Even if they are crazy about cannons…”

“Holy Mary…”

“Saint Eulalia…”

The entity that made Admiral Tourville and his staff swear or seek saints was the Battleship Killer.

As it arrived in the area where the naval battle was taking place, the Punishment Fleet changed its formation from a two-column line to a single column line.

As it formed a single column line, the Killer took the lead.

The process of forming this formation clearly showed the size difference between the Killer and other Imperial ships, which made Admiral Tourville and his staff swear or seek saints.

“Even if they are crazy about cannons, this is too much! Don’t these crazy bastards have any common sense!”

Admiral Tourville cursed without taking his telescope from his eye.

The first thing Admiral Tourville looked for when he first saw the Killer was cannons.

And, the two turrets installed along the centerline of the Killer’s hull and the cannons attached to the turrets boasted a size sufficient to break his common sense.

“These crazy bastards! They didn’t fit the cannons to the ship, they fitted the ship to the cannons!”

The weight and recoil of a cannon increased in proportion to its firepower. On the other hand, it was not easy to make a ship unconditionally large. Therefore, it was standard practice to load cannons with enough power for the ship to withstand.

And, the Empire’s famous Assault Turtle Ship also followed this standard. The Assault Turtle Ship was only equipped with one of those damn main guns.

However, the battleship now visible had four main guns that looked even larger and more powerful than the Assault Turtle Ship’s main gun.

No, there were only four visible.

Looking at the size of the battleship, which was similar to that of a decent castle, it seemed that he knew what the Imperial bastards were thinking.

-First, make a large and powerful cannon, then design a ship to fit it.

-Economic feasibility? Rationality? Common sense? What is that?

“These damn…”

Admiral Tourville, who continued to observe the Killer through his telescope, cursed again.

The main guns on that absurd battleship were not four, but six. In addition to the two turrets installed in a stepped arrangement at the front, there was also one turret at the rear. Admiral Tourville, who was grinding his teeth and cursing, suddenly froze.

“Wait… the fact that this damn bitch -the ship was considered female- showed her side so openly means…”

The moment Admiral Tourville realized the meaning, the Killer’s six main guns fired simultaneously.

And, the shells arrived at the French fleet before the sound of the cannon fire.

Boom boom boom!

The six shells that landed on the surface of the water about 200 yards away from the French 1st-rate battleship at the front exploded underwater, creating huge pillars of water.

Watching the 1st-rate battleship staggering from the pillars of water rising to the same height as the 1st-rate battleship’s towering mast and the waves created by the explosion, Admiral Tourville shouted in anger.

“You barbarians! Even in a ruthless war, there is romance on the battlefield! You ignorant bastards!”

At the same time, on the Killer’s bridge, Count Lee Gong took his eyes off the telescope and asked his aide.

“Is this a very polite greeting?”

“I think it’s enough. If he is a commander who knows common sense, he will either surrender or run away. Well, if they still want to fight, it will reduce our workload.”

Count Lee Gong chuckled at the aide’s words, which contained a chilling sincerity.

“It’s just the beginning, and you’re already thinking about reducing the workload? Hmm, that would be nice.”

After finishing his words, Count Lee Gong immediately became serious and ordered.

“From now on, fire with all our might! Tell them I will be watching closely to see how many salvos it takes to trap the enemy ships in a barrage!”

“Yes!”

As Count Lee Gong’s order was delivered, the Killer’s artillery officers and soldiers tensed up simultaneously.

Shortly after, the Killer’s six main guns fired again simultaneously.

Kukwakwang!

At that moment, the surface of the water under the muzzle of the main guns rippled with the shock wave, and the Killer’s huge hull also rippled.

“Reload! Reload!”

The soldiers stationed from the powder magazine in the bottom of the ship to the turret were busy moving their hands to reload, but they also listened to the voices coming through the communication tubes.

“Near miss!”

“Aww!”

“Too bad, too bad!”

“Don’t grumble about it, just reload quickly!”

“Yes!”

As the reloading was completed quickly, the Killer’s main guns fired once again.

Shortly after.

-Enemy ship sunk!

“Whoaaaa!”

With this, the Punishment Fleet’s full-scale punishment began.

Later, French historians defined it this way.

-30 years of the French Navy disappeared in one day.