"Sir Captain, there seems to be a ship over there." The lookout of the destroyer Musketeer pointed at a ship in the distance.

"Okay, let's go up and tell them to wait in the southern waters." Captain Short said. The Musketeer is a Huangquan-class destroyer with a displacement of more than 700 tons, equipped with 2 4-inch guns, 2 12-pound guns, and 2 21-inch torpedo tubes. The output power of up to 16,000 horsepower is enough to allow the destroyer to run at a speed of more than 28 knots.

At this time, the destroyer was clearing the channel for the Australian and New Zealand fleet that passed at dawn for several hours. All civilian ships were forcibly driven from the northern channel and waiting 20 kilometers away. On the other side of the port, there was another Drosophila destroyer who was also doing this mission. It was not necessary, but because time was dawn, the visibility was poor, and the transport ship could not wait, so the only way was to clear the channel and let the fleet pass.

"Send them a signal to leave the main channel as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will go up and teach them how to do it!" After a while, the ship in the distance did not seem to move, which made Captain Shot feel very dissatisfied. The ship that dared to challenge the British Empire at sea did not exist yet!

The opponent did not implement light control. With the help of the searchlight, the Musketeer destroyer quickly leaned forward and two 4-inch cannons aimed at the opponent.

"Listen, no matter who you are! Even if your dad is God, you have to listen to me now and go aside!" When the Musketeer approached this ship that did not understand the rules, Short discovered that the ship was really large. Judging from the tonnage, it was probably close to 10,000 tons, and its size was almost several times his own. The distance between the two was only 300 meters, but Short was not worried about any objection. For civilian ships, two 4-inch cannons were fatal enough! Not to mention the 21-inch torpedo!

"Captain, there is no one on the other side's ship!" At this time, a sharp-eyed man suddenly realized that something was wrong. When the Musketeer approached, the opposite side did not answer! This is so abnormal!

Just as Schott was about to take action, suddenly a series of hot flames spewed out from the other side's ship's side!

"It's a shelling! Send a signal immediately!" However, before Sout finished saying this, a 6-inch shell had already hit the bridge of the Musketeer. With a violent explosion, the violent shock wave mixed with shrapnel swept across the entire ship surface! At a distance of 300 meters, 3 inch cannons and 4 5-inch cannons will never give a destroyer a reaction time! The entire attack process was very fast, and within almost 3 minutes, the Musketeer was gone on the sea.

"Don't worry, go there later. We must ensure that all the British soldiers who fell into the water will be captured." Caron was quite satisfied with the attack. According to the information provided by an American ship here before, when a large fleet passed by, the British would clear the sea near the Mande Strait. This process is generally carried out by destroyers. Now, because the Mediterranean direction is urgent, there are only two destroyers, one on the north side and the other on the south side, with a distance of about 20 kilometers. Therefore, the fire caused by short-term shooting in an instant will not expose the Nautilus. As for other civilian ships, they will be further away from here.

Caron looked at the pocket watch in his hand. It was about 4 hours before the British fleet entered here. It took him 45 minutes to pass through this strait. After that, he could lay mines at the northern exit. Relying on a special mine-bracing slide rail, it would take more than 2 hours to complete mine-bracing. As for another Drosophila destroyer, if it encounters it, it would be repeated. If it does not, then he would be lucky!

"500 mines, arranged in such a narrow sea area, there is always one that can make you bump into!" Karon lit a cigar for himself. "When browsing, pay attention to Pilin Island and nearby reference objects. Leave a passage." Karon once again reminded his subordinates.

"At this time, the fleet should have already set its sights on the British fleet, right?" Amid Caron's moaning, the Nautilus returned to the cover of the night and headed towards the other end of the strait.

"Captain, the Mande Strait is ahead. After passing here, we enter the Red Sea." An officer said to Colonel Harris.

"How is the road ahead?" Harris asked with the telegram in his hand.

"It's very good. We entered from the narrow northern strait. There were no other ships on this route. It should be the Mediterranean Fleet that helped us clear the route." The officer replied.

"Well, it's great, let the fleet pass quickly." After saying that, Colonel Harris picked up the telegram in his hand and looked at it. Just last night, he received several clear-cut telegrams, which were sent by British merchant ships in this area. After the war broke out, the British Navy required all merchant ships of the Allied countries to provide maritime information to the British Navy, and they could be sent by radio as long as abnormal situations were found. Of course, due to the current radio technology, it is really hard to say how far it can be sent and how much it can be received.

But the information received by Colonel Harris this time made him feel uneasy. The telegram said that two very large warships appeared in the Gulf of Aden at dusk yesterday. But what kind of warships were, I can't explain clearly. After all, you can't expect that an ordinary merchant ship captain would recognize the model of a passing warship more than ten kilometers away in dusk, right?

Not to mention them, Harris, as the colonel of the Royal Navy and the captain of the Armored Cruiser Defense, recognized the wrong battleships not once. For example, treating the Minotao as the Invincible and confusing the Invincible with the Australian is simply too common. It is embarrassing to admit his mistakes, but who has not admitted it?

He could even doubt whether the other party was a high-speed cruise ship or other large ship as a warship. After all, the visibility was not good at that time. But soon, another telegram proved the existence of the large ship. Last night, two other British merchant ships discovered the large ship galloping by. The other party did not implement light controls and had a very fast speed. Although it was not certain whether it was a warship, it always made people feel a little uneasy when such a thing appeared here. This was not based on rational judgment, but something similar to the sixth sense.

When the British fleet approached the entrance to the Mande Strait, the lookout hand of the armored cruiser of the Defense Armored Cruiser discovered a new target, which made Colonel Harris feel tight, but soon, when he picked up the telescope and looked at it, he found that four ordinary civilian ships were coming across, which was not as large or large as the number, which made him feel a little relieved.
Chapter completed!