Chapter 0731: Despair

"Idiot! Increase the speed a little more!" Captain Hasegawa Kiyoshi, the construction officer of the Japanese Navy's Mitsuki destroyer, shouted at the top of his lungs. Despite this destroyer's maximum speed being only 29 knots, they had already pushed it to 30 knots under forced ventilation, yet he still found it lacking.

It was an unavoidable situation. The warship had to navigate through a dense barrage of shells, and even the slightest error could result in a direct hit. This meant they had to push the speed as much as possible, for even a moment's lapse could spell disaster. A destroyer with a displacement of only a few hundred tons could not withstand heavy artillery fire—one large-caliber shell could easily put them out of action.

"Boom!"

An 88mm shell struck the Mitsuki, blasting a large hole in the upper deck and igniting a fierce fire. As the ship raced forward, the flames spread quickly with the wind, growing ever fiercer. Despite the best efforts of the damage control team, the fire seemed impossible to extinguish.

Captain Hasegawa Kiyoshi paid no heed to the raging fire. As long as the core compartments of the ship were unharmed, he was indifferent. What mattered to him was whether they could close the gap with the German battlecruiser and launch torpedoes to sink it.

"Fire! Sink that Japanese destroyer!" The captain of the Moltke battlecruiser had keenly spotted the threat.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Moltke unleashed a barrage from its three triple-barrel 343mm main guns, five 150mm secondary guns on the broadside, six 120mm rapid-fire guns, and two 88mm rapid-fire guns, all aimed at the Mitsuki.

Shells rained down, exploding around the destroyer and sending columns of water into the air. The ship seemed to be caught in a storm, with the risk of capsizing at any moment.

However, luck seemed to favor the Mitsuki. Though it was sailing through a hail of bullets, it miraculously avoided being hit.

Soon, the Mitsuki closed to within 1,500 meters of the Moltke.

"Launch torpedoes! May Amaterasu bless us, we must sink the German battleship!" Captain Hasegawa shouted.

Two 450mm medium torpedoes shot out, racing toward the Moltke.

Under these circumstances, the captain of the Moltke had no choice but to order an evasive maneuver.

The first torpedo passed harmlessly beneath the Moltke, not detonating. This made the German sailors aboard the ship breathe a sigh of relief. However, the second torpedo found its mark, striking the starboard side near the aft and creating a massive hole. The armor at that location was not as thick, and it failed to withstand the force of the explosion.

Water poured into the ship, and despite the damage control team's rapid efforts, considerable damage had been done. The ship tilted to one side, and its speed dropped by five knots.

"General, the Moltke was hit by a torpedo. The ship has tilted, and its speed has dropped by five knots. The damage control teams are working to make repairs," reported Rear Admiral Moff.

This news caused Vice Admiral Spee to furrow his brow.

"Order the Moltke to withdraw from battle!" Vice Admiral Spee commanded.

Rear Admiral Moff nodded, understanding the implications. In this war, they had already lost a light cruiser and a destroyer. Losing a battlecruiser would be a catastrophic blow. Thus, the Moltke, damaged as it was, had to retreat for its own safety.

Reluctantly, the Moltke received the order to withdraw, protected by two destroyers and a light cruiser.

"Commander, we hit! We struck a German battlecruiser and heavily damaged it, forcing it to retreat!" Rear Admiral Yamashita Gentarou excitedly reported to General Ijuin Gorou.

However, he soon noticed that there was no trace of joy on General Ijuin's face.

"Yamashita, don't you see? We've lost so many destroyers! To destroy so many of our ships for the sake of damaging just one German battlecruiser… this victory hardly seems worth it," General Ijuin lamented.

Rear Admiral Yamashita fell silent, unsure of what to say.

Indeed, their destroyer fleet had suffered heavy losses. By now, almost half of the participating destroyers had been sunk. Yet, they had only managed to heavily damage a single German battlecruiser. Such a victory seemed insignificant in comparison to their heavy losses.

Even worse, despite the loss of one battlecruiser, the remaining eight in the German expeditionary fleet still possessed formidable combat power. With the current strength of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet, defeating the German fleet seemed utterly impossible.

"Commander, our destroyers are continuing their attacks. Perhaps we will soon achieve greater results. Sinking a German battlecruiser is still within reach!" Rear Admiral Yamashita insisted.

But General Ijuin shook his head. "It's not going to be that easy. The destroyer fleet is already struggling to expand its success."

The reason was that many of their destroyers had already launched their first set of torpedoes. Reloading them would take time, and during that time, their ships would be vulnerable. After launching their torpedoes and retreating, they would present their weak broadside to the enemy. The Germans would seize this opportunity and unleash a barrage of fire. Few of the Japanese destroyers would survive this perilous moment. Ultimately, the remaining destroyers would no longer pose a significant threat to the German expeditionary fleet.

Thinking of this, General Ijuin's eyes filled with despair. He knew that victory in this battle was now impossible.