Due to the second warship only being halfway through its turn, its situation was even worse than the first. Faced with the charging ironclad ship, the rats were at a loss, with only a few able to resist, holding crossbows and shooting at the enemy. However, the crossbow bolts were as insignificant as sewing needles in front of such a behemoth, leaving no marks on the iron plates.

Soon, the iron ship, carrying unstoppable force, struck the center of the eagle-headed ship at an almost perpendicular angle, crushing more than a dozen long oars. Then, Iden witnessed an incredible scene—under the combined action of the water flow and the impact, one side of the warship was suddenly pressed into the water, while simultaneously arching up the enemy's bow.

The latter, like running aground on the shore, tilted its bow upwards and then slammed heavily onto the deck.

The eagle-headed ship immediately emitted a piercing screech, and the surviving rats jumped into the water to escape. Those with broken arms and legs could only scream and roll on the sloping deck, leaving behind streaks of blood. Iden watched helplessly as the iron ship slowly fell, and the fragile hull of his ship, unable to bear the weight, emitted a series of crackling explosions—after all, a wooden ship was not as solid as a beach. Under the heavy pressure and pushing, the hull suddenly broke in the middle, both ends rising sharply, scattering water droplets.

The warship, broken in two, did not sink quickly, but lay on the river like a corpse, exposing only half of its side. The ironclad ship, on the other hand, appeared unscathed and continued to rush towards him.

Iden heard a chorus of gasps. Half of the four eagle-headed ships were instantly lost, and the one he was commanding was about to become the next. At that moment, he was ready to jump ship and flee.

But fortunately, his gamble paid off!

Seeing that his ship was completely close to the shore, the enemy corrected its course and chased after the last Derrick Baron's ship that was turning to escape.

"Raise the bows and fire sticks!" Iden roared hoarsely after letting out a long breath. "We will kill these beasts hiding in iron shells! For every enemy killed, I will reward him with a gold dragon! Do you hear me? A gold dragon!"

If he were to escape back to the royal capital like this, even if he survived, he would have no chance of promotion. The only opportunity lay in defeating this traitor's ship and using it to curry favor with His Majesty Tifeike—even if this ship was made by hellish devils, as long as the people on it were the same as him, there was still a chance to turn defeat into victory!

Having not been crushed like ants by the enemy ship, the sailors regained some of their courage. These people originally did the work of licking blood from the edge of a knife, and were used to bloody scenes—as long as it wasn't a one-sided massacre, they were still interested in gambling for a gold dragon.

Having determined that they would not be hit, the eagle-headed ship left the riverbank and advanced in the same direction as the ironclad ship, slowly moving towards its course. The latter quickly caught up to the parallel position.

Just as the opponent was about to overtake them, the distance between the two ships was only a few meters. The sailors picked up their miscellaneous weapons, preparing to fire a round first, and then jump over to fight after the ships were close, which was the usual tactic for dealing with merchant ships. However, the deck of the enemy ship was empty, with only a dark long tube at the stern aimed at the restless sailors. The long tube was surrounded by iron skin, with only a row of small holes exposed in the center.

Before Iden could figure out what this thing was, a long tongue of flame had already sprayed out from the front of the iron tube!

A cloud of blood mist suddenly rose in the ranks of people, and flying wood chips and flesh were scattered everywhere. Sailors fell in batches like wheat being cut, and those who reacted began to look for cover. But whether it was a wine barrel or a mast, it was of no use. The position pointed to by the iron tube was where death was. The barrels were torn to pieces, and the mast could not withstand the continuous attack of this terrifying weapon. Accompanied by a creaking sound, it broke in two, and the upper part, wrapped in canvas, fell into the water. The eagle-headed ship, losing its main power, suddenly slowed down.

The turning point Iden had imagined did not appear. He vaguely understood that it should be a kind of firearm, but the rate of fire was too fast, turning the popping firing sound into a continuous buzzing sound. He just couldn't understand why a weapon that was extremely slow to load and had very poor accuracy could achieve this in the hands of the traitorous king… Perhaps, only the power of the devil could explain it.

Soon, a rain of bullets covered him.

Rodney witnessed such a battle for the first time. The Roland charged and rammed, using its hard bow and strong power to crush its opponents, while the opponents had no ability to resist. He stood by the gun position, waiting to fire at any time, but in the end, he didn't get the chance.

When the fourth enemy ship was paralyzed in the middle of the river, the battle was declared over.

The air was filled with the wails and groans of the enemy. The survivors completely lost their will to fight. They swam to the riverbank and fled into the depths of the forest without looking back. His Highness did not issue an order to pursue these stray dogs, letting them leave on their own. There were also some who were seriously injured, leaning on the wreckage of the ships, on the verge of death. Naturally, no one would rescue them, and the only thing waiting for them in the end was to fend for themselves.

"Too bad," Youpi put the cannonball back into the box. "I thought I could let those guys from the Firearm Battalion see the real power of artillery."

"Yeah," Nelson responded with regret. "Compared to the ammunition consumed by the heavy machine guns just now, a cannonball doesn't cost much more, and it's more convenient."

"Enough. This was made by Anna Xiaojie herself. How can it be compared to machine gun bullets that can be produced by the hundreds every day?" Fanna frowned. "You'll have your chance to fight in the siege battle later. Aim accurately for me, and don't lose the face of the Artillery Battalion! You were chosen by me—"

"Elite squad, Battalion Commander, you've said it many times," Nelson spread his hands. "Don't worry, we guarantee to blow open the gates of the royal capital within three shots." He nudged Rodney. "Hey, say something too."

"I want a warship like this..."

"What?" The other four were stunned.

"I hope I can have a shallow-water heavy gunboat like this," he repeated with shining eyes. "Call it the Rodney!"

"Wait, don't you think you should give this honor to your brother? It would be better to name the second one the Nelson."

"No, no... Brother, I won't let you have this."

"You two can save it. The second one can only be the Fanna. Don't forget who recruited you into the elite gun group."

"Here it comes again," Maozhao sighed.

"Can't it be the Maozhao or Youpi?" Youpi muttered in a low voice.

"No way," the three replied in unison.

After the cement boats that were lagging behind caught up with the flagship, the expeditionary fleet set sail again. Two days later, the gray city walls of the royal capital slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes.