Russell didn't need strong eyesight to see that the other party was the New Flyer's guard fleet.
There was no other reason. On the vast Endless Sea, other than the three guard ships owned by the Kandla Empire, only the New Flyer had these steel monsters.
Russell frowned when he saw the dozen or so guard ships quickly approaching.
The sudden appearance of the New Flyer's guard fleet gave him a bad feeling.
Not long after, the dozen or so guard ships were not far ahead and began to slow down.
"Sir Russell, what do these guys want to do?"
Tom, the captain of the Kandla Empire's Third Fleet, who was in charge of this operation, frowned and asked.
"I don't know … Let's stop and take a look first." Russell shook his head.
"Stop?" Tom was taken aback.
"Sir Russell, we're in the middle of a mission. How can we just stop?
If these guys don't get out of the way, we'll just kill them. "
Russell glanced at him and said, "Are you confident you can kill them?"
Tom's expression froze, and he was speechless.
Before, the Kandla Empire's navy was not familiar with the New Flyer's guard ships, but in the eyes of the Kandla Empire's navy, who always thought they were the best in the world, there was no one in the world that could stop the advance of the Empire's navy on the Endless Sea.
However, after a head-on clash with the New Flyer's guard fleet, they realized that there was a fleet that exceeded their imagination in this world.
The more important thing was that after the Candra Empire's navy ordered the three guard ships from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, in the navy's internal drills, these three guard ships had displayed battle strength that far surpassed the other ships of the navy, so there was a consensus in the navy.
The guard ships manufactured by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce were completely different from traditional ships. Comparing the two was like comparing a fully armed adult to a child. It could be said that there was almost no comparison.
In the internal drill, just by relying on these three frigates, they were able to easily defeat a huge fleet of dozens of traditional ships, and they were even able to win without giving the other party a chance to retaliate.
And now, there were more than a dozen corvettes in front of them, piloted by the New Flyer guards. How could Tom have the confidence to kill them?
"Alright, let's stop for now. I don't think they'll really dare to attack us. Maybe it's just a coincidence."
Although Russell said so, he didn't think so in his heart.
Although the Endless Sea was vast, the New Flyer's fleet had suddenly appeared when the Kandla Empire's navy had just entered the waters of the Kingdom of Ruhr. It was too much of a coincidence.
After a while, the two fleets stopped about two kilometers apart. Then, the magic communication device on Russell's frigate rang.
"Is that the navy of the Kandla Empire?
I am the former commander of the New Flyer's fleet, Leslie. Is there anyone I know on your fleet? "
Russell and Tom looked at each other before Russell gave a soft cough and replied, "Sir Leslie, hello, I am Russell."
"Oh?
Sir Russell is also here?
That's great. "Leslie's voice was filled with a trace of pleasant surprise.
"Sir Russell, it's not convenient to talk like this. Can we meet face to face?"
Russell slightly knit his brows, "We're currently on a mission, so it's not convenient for us to meet you."
Leslie gave a soft laugh, "Sir Russell, what I want to talk to you about is related to your current mission."
Russell deeply knit his brows and Tom quickly said, "Sir Leslie, I'm sorry, but we're currently on an urgent mission. I ask you to lead your subordinates out of the way and not waste our time."
"What if I don't?"
Tom's brows jumped up as he shouted, "Sir Leslie, what do you mean by this?
Do you know that deliberately blocking us is equal to declaring war on us?
Do you know the consequences of doing this? "
"I know, that's why I'm here." Leslie's tone was as relaxed as before.
Tom was filled with rage and wanted to say something, but he was stopped by Russell.
"Sir Leslie, what do you mean by this?" Russell asked in a deep voice.
"I just said it, I just didn't want you to go over."
Hearing Leslie's relaxed tone, Russell's heart was filled with a bit of anger. His face became even darker as he asked, "Leslie, do you really know what you're doing?
You're blocking the actions of our empire's navy, so I can consider it as you declaring war on our empire's navy, declaring war on the empire!
I'll give you one more chance, please move aside immediately.
Based on our friendship, I can treat this matter as if it never happened. "
Leslie's hearty laughter came from the communication device, but there was no other response.
"Sir Russell, let's not care about him and just charge over. I don't believe he dares to make a move against us." Tom on the side urged.
"If we keep delaying, we'll waste too much time and it might affect the entire plan."
Russell knit his brows to think for a bit before slowly nodding.
"Let's go, let's not care about them."
Tom gave an un sound before giving the order.
After a while, the Kandla Empire's fleet began moving again.
However, the three guard ships in front had only moved ten meters when they suddenly saw a red light appear on the ship in front of them.
Seeing this red light, Russell and Tom's hearts tightened.
If they weren't wrong, this was clearly the light from the Magic Cannons of the guard ships!
"Dodge!"
As soon as Tom shouted, he saw a red light shoot out from the opposite side. In an instant, it broke through the distance of nearly two kilometers between the two ships.
However, this red light didn't go straight for the frigate under their feet. Instead, after drawing a small arc in the air, it went straight into the sea ahead.
"Hong!"
With a giant sound, a giant pillar of water soared into the sky.
There were large waves on the calm sea, causing the ships of the Kandla Empire's fleet that were less than a hundred meters away from the explosion to sway.
Tom and Russell were in a daze as they watched the wave of water fall from the sky. It was like a giant stone falling into the sea, creating large waves once again.
"He ….. He's crazy!" Tom couldn't help cursing.
Russell took a deep breath and pressed the call button on the Magic Communication Device without any hesitation.
When the green light for the call lit up, Russell angrily shouted, "Leslie, are you crazy?
You actually dare to move against us?
Are you declaring war on our Kandla Empire? "
Leslie's slightly lazy voice came from the communication device.
"Ah?
Declaration of war?
No, no, no, sir Russell, you're mistaken.
I don't have any intentions of declaring war, I'm just doing my duty and can't let you pass like this. "
"Duty?" Luo Su was startled.
Russell was stunned, "How is this related to your duty?"
"Of course it is.
I signed a sea defense agreement with the Kingdom of Ruhr three months ago. The Kingdom of Ruhr entrusted me and my fleet to provide sea defense services for the Kingdom of Ruhr, ensuring that the Kingdom of Ruhr's seas will not be invaded by foreign forces.
So ….. Sir Russell, you wouldn't be telling me that you brought the Kandla Empire's navy here just to travel, right? "
"Sea defense agreement?"
This was the first time Russell had heard of this term, but that didn't stop him from understanding the meaning behind Leslie's words.
"That means that you're now the Kingdom of Ruhr's navy?"
"No, that doesn't count.
We're only in an employment relationship, the Kingdom of Ruhr doesn't have the power to control me. "Leslie replied.
"That's not important!"
Russell angrily waved his hand and sternly shouted, "I only want to ask you, Leslie, are you doing this because of Chairman Xu's orders?
Is your New Flyer planning on fully supporting the Kingdom of Ruhr and going against the Kandla Empire? "
"Oh, I forgot to tell you.
Actually ….. Sir Russell, half a year ago, I already left the New Flyer.
The ten frigates under my command were all bought from the New Flyer, they are my personal property.
My subordinates and I have no relationship with the New Flyer, don't misunderstand. "
"Ah?"
Both Russell and Tom were dumbfounded.
Leslie had always been the commander of the New Flyer's guard fleet. They had discussed the matter of buying the frigates with the New Flyer, as well as the New Flyer's guard fleet patrolling the southern seas of the Kandla Empire, as well as entering the Kandla Empire's naval port to resupply. The two sides had met many times, so they were familiar with each other.
But this was the first time they had heard that Leslie had already left the New Flyer!
"That's right, there's something else I need to say.
I've already established a company that specializes in sea transportation and security, it's called the Leslie Chamber of Commerce.
This time, the Kingdom of Ruhr directly signed a sea defense agreement with our Leslie Chamber of Commerce. Un ….. The price isn't expensive, they only need to pay eight hundred thousand gold coins a year to our company.
Sir Russell, don't you think this price is very fair?
If your Kandla Empire has any needs, you can contact me at any time.
Since we're so familiar with each other, I can give you a 10% discount.
Other than this, there are also other benefits ….. "
Russell didn't have any interest in listening to Leslie talk about these meaningless things. He looked up at the line of guard ships blocking the way and after thinking for a bit, he said to Tom, "Let's retreat first. We'll make a decision after reporting the situation to the army headquarters."
Tom said in a stunned voice, "Sir Russell, if we retreat like this, we'll be breaking the army headquarters' plan. The army headquarters will definitely punish us."
"If we don't retreat, are we really going to fight them?"
Tom turned to look at the guard ships and swallowed a mouthful of saliva before shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Although the other side only had a dozen ships and they had over a hundred ships, he didn't have any confidence in winning.
But if they didn't even dare fight and directly retreated, what was the difference between that and running away without fighting?
Russell easily guessed Tom's thoughts from his expression. He patted his shoulder and said with a sigh, "Alright, don't be unwilling.
This kind of hopeless battle has no meaning at all. I'll write a detailed report to the army headquarters when we go back, you don't need to worry. "
Tom finally let out a sigh of relief.
With sir Russell, the vice chief of staff of the navy in front of him, he didn't need to worry about being accused of running away without fighting.
However, when he turned to look at the guard ships in the distance, his heart was still filled with unwillingness.
"Sir Russell, could it be that our respected empire's navy can only retreat when we see them in the future?"
Russell was silent, not knowing what to say.
If it was possible, of course he wanted to tell Tom that as long as the empire's navy was equipped with the most advanced guard ships, he could easily defeat these guard ships.
But the reality was that the empire's navy was already hard pressed to obtain the three guard ships they had. If they wanted to equip more powerful guard ships, it was almost impossible.
Tom was well aware of the empire's navy's predicament. Seeing Russell being silent, he immediately understood.
The two of them looked at each other and let out a sigh at the same time.
After being silent for a bit, Tom gave the order to turn around and retreat.
The fleet of over a hundred ships of the Candra Empire went back the way they came and went back in a dejected manner.