Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1139

Capítulo 1139: Greek war: Overwhelmed!! (3)

Nisida Souda, Sauda Bay

Mohan, crouching behind the Girivajra howitzer, was sweating profusely. He was not nervous per se, but he was definitely tense. He had shot the howitzer hundreds of times, if not thousands, but never at an actual live target. The only thing even close to it was when he got a chance to fire at a group of pirates, but unfortunately, he missed the chance that day as he was posted on the other side of the island.

This time, though, there was no ambiguity. He would definitely see action, and not only him, but the other three artillery squadrons as well.

On another note, he was positioned behind a boulder, a natural barrier which should technically make him feel safe, but he was going up against the full brunt of the Italian Navy, so who really knows.

As for the visuals, he did have them, but only vaguely, just enough to see the ships passing by at the strait and recognise what type of ships those were, but nothing more than that. By his sight alone, he cannot aim. Thankfully, there are people for that, keeping an eye on the ships with advanced optics.

In the tense mood he was in, every moment felt like an hour, and an hour like a day. The anticipation was killing him, but finally, the tormenting clear water in his vision saw movement. He could see an Italian ship passing by, and right behind it there were two more. But to his surprise, he did not get any angles or the order to attack. He looked at the distant peaks to his left and right in confusion, and no attack was seen from there as well.

He was momentarily confused, but then a thought popped into his mind, ‘ Are we waiting for the bigger fish?’ His eyes brightened, and he continued to look towards the strait like an eagle gazing down its target from the highest mountain peak in the forest.

“Angles!”

Mohan finally heard the much-anticipated words, and he immediately held the two wheels of the howitzer that would alter its x and y axes, and pirked up his ears.

” Y, 70 clicks, X, minus 20 clicks.”

Every time Mohan turned the wheel, a series of clicks was heard, the same sound that one would hear in a ratcheting wrench. It was quite satisfying to hear, but Mohan’s mind was focused on a much more important thing: firing the actual shot after raising the elevation to 70 and the horizontal axis to minus 20. He waited with bated breath.

“Boom!”

He was attracted by the sound that was coming from his right. Turning his head, he saw a projectile shooting into the air from the top of the green cover at high speed and coming crashing down like a meteor. He could not see if it was a direct hit, but he vaguely heard a cracking sound as if a piece of wood was snapped in half.

A smile crossed his face, but it was soon wiped out as the Italians immediately counterattacked.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

Even if he didn’t have the visual, he could tell that the main guns of the ship were raining down fire on the position of his fellow squad.

His eyes took on a sharp glint as he stared intently at the communication officer behind, holding the telegraph line to his ear.

Seconds later, he got the thumbs up. He did not hesitate. He reached for the metal handle right at the top of the gun and used all his weight to pull it down, and fell belly-first on the ground.

The six-kilogram ammunition was ignited, and it left flying after leaving an explosion behind in the muzzle, making the muzzle kick back into the coil and expel the shell with a loud metallic hum.

“Boom!”

His ears rang a little due to the firing of the howitzer, but that was an old problem. He quickly got up, picked up another shell from his stock, and loaded it up at the fastest speed, waiting for the confirmation of the hit and, most importantly, the second round of aim coordinates.

The communicator gave a thumbs up, which made a smile appear on his face, but then again, he braced for impact. He knew that the enemy would be firing any moment now, and he was not wrong.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

The projectiles hit in a very close vicinity, sending dust up into the air and vibrations into the ground, making him not dare look up.

“Boom!”

Another explosion sounded, but hearing this one, he smiled. This was one of their own. He looked to the right, and another projectile had gone up into the air, shooting right towards the enemy.

“Atta boy, ” “Get ’em. ”

He cheered in his heart, but he was not going to let the third artillery squadron outshine him. They got the coordinates once again, and he quickly recalculated the angles and elevation of the gun, and once he got a go, he practically pulled the handle as if he were playing tug of war.

“Boom!”

The muzzle recoiling hit the springs, and the six-kilogram artillery round left the battery, leaving a shockwave behind.

After doing this, Mohan no longer looked to load the howitzer once again. Instead, he, along with his team, who were helping him from behind, pulled the Girivajra howitzer to another location. He knew the Counterattack would be much more accurate this time, and even if he was behind a boulder, it could not save him against the artillery shells of a battleship.

Right when he was a few meters away from his previous location, as he expected, the counterattack was here, and the shells got much closer to the boulder, with one even hitting the boulder, crushing its front part to pieces.

After relocating the position, he waited for the coordinates once again after loading up the artillery shell. He could still hear the cannons of his fellow squadmates from the other three howitzers, which kept his spirits up and his adrenaline pumping.

This continued for a few more rounds until, in a return fire, Mohan heard the sound of an explosion and an excruciating scream from within the island. He looked to his right, his eyes bloodshot. He knew one of the squadrons was done for; they were hit.

“Damn it”

“Bloody bastards, I’ll kill you all.” He cursed and intently looked at the communications for the coordinates with gritted teeth.

He was so focused that he did not even turn his head when the return fire came very close to his own position. The dust blew all over his face, covering his entire body, making him look like a sandman, but he did not blink. He had one goal: revenge.

“Y, 90 clicks and X, 40 clicks.”

He operated both the axes at the same time and pulled the handle, “Take this…Motherfuckers.”

“Boom!”

Hearing the sound of shrill screams like pigs being slaughtered, he felt extremely comfortable, but when he got up to reposition the howitzer, to his shock, the counterattack did not give him any time at all. The second he fired, the howitzer received the return fire on the next second.

Looking up, his eyeballs reflected the cannonball coming closer and closer to him at a great speed, and in the last moment, he felt like the world had slowed down, all his fond memories culminating to this very moment.

“When I grow up, I’ll be just like you, Big Brother.” His little brother’s pride.

“Be safe, Mohanu, eat well, and don’t forget to write back.” The concern of his mother.

“Do your best for the motherland, teach those enemies a lesson, show them a Bharatiya cannot be underestimated.” The rigid veteran of a father.

All these scenes appeared in front of his eyes like a movie scene.

‘Ah, wish I could be buried in the motherland.’

“Boom!”

A few kilometers away, Armata Federazione Italiana.

Supreme Commander Marco Antonio Giustiniani looked at his fellow officers with a frown, “Status!” “What’s the hold up?”

Vice ammiraglio Francisco Cianci, the second in command, stepped forward with a glint in his eyes. “Two of the four enemy artillery positions have been neutralised, sir. The remaining two should fall any moment now, but unfortunately, their fire was directed at the masts. Two of our battleships are now stranded, with one already taking on water.” He paused before adding, “They are still partially operational, but it will take time to clear the strait.”

“Damn vermin,” Marco cursed.

“Do we take the direct route then, sir?” Alessandro Farnese, Capitano di Vascello (senior naval captain), asked.

Marco considered the question and shook his head. He leaned over the map table, assessing the situation, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

“No, although due to those scheming bastards, the plan exactly did not go as I envisioned, but the current situation is not too bad either.”

He leaned back onto his chair, “Let us see if they tried to take advantage of this situation.” There was a slight smile on his face, “If they do, let’s crush them with their own ships. HAHAH.” The smile eventually morphed into a disdainful laugh.

Bharatiya Crete Naval Command

Amarinder Prasad rested his eyes with a bit of sadness as he just received the news about the four howitzer squadrons being neutralised. ‘As I thought, it was not enough,’ he had a grave expression on his face.

“Now that we know one ship is stranded and one is almost sinking, do we take advantage of this and strike them while they are not expecting us?” His executive officer suddenly asked.

Amarinder Prasad recovered from his sadness and shook his head, “The reason why those scum try to take cover on the island was that they are wary of our killing field. If we disintegrate this formation ourselves and take the fight to the enemy, we will have no deterrence left.”

“Two battle groups versus a whole naval fleet is not a fair fight. Once we leave our position, we will get flanked instantly, and we will be suppressed in no time.”

The executive officer was disappointed, “So we’re just sitting ducks?”

Amarinder hesitated, then nodded firmly. “Yes, it’s best we hold our ground and hope reinforcements arrive in time.” Yet despite his words, there was little conviction in his eyes. The blockage would be cleared quickly, and he could already foresee the Italians chipping away at his formation from one side. Any attempt to intervene directly would create openings, allowing the enemy to exploit them with wolf-pack tactics, swarming his ships to destruction. Helplessness gnawed at him as he realised how little he could do without risking everything.

“Damnit!”