Who would’ve thought those 9-inch cannons would be so loud? Definitely a lesson learned the hard way.
Currently hanging out on the B turret top of Scharnhorst, watching the cargo ships use their cranes to drop some floating buoys into the ocean. Once they finally set up the floating targets, i quickly ordered them to move out of the area.
With the targets now in place, I hop down the turret and went towards Scharnhorst bridge. While also organizing the ships into three distinct groups: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at the forefront, the 1st Destroyer Squadron—Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Orange—forming a tight perimeter around them, and the 2nd Destroyer Squadron rounding out the rest of the destroyers.
With everything is set as i stand on the bridge of Scharnhorst, I observe the two destroyer squadrons move into position, effectively screening the heavy cruisers as the heart of the formation. The destroyers move around, weaving into their spots and creating a protective shield for the big guns. The heavy cruisers’ cannons swiveled into place, and the firing commenced again.
The advanced directors did a stellar job guiding the cannons.
The floating targets are getting hit one after another, though a few shells went off, splashing harmlessly into the sea. Meanwhile, the destroyers from the 1st Squadron are also in action. Some are taking turns with their smaller cannons, while others launch torpedoes from their tubes, sending out trails of bubbles and splashes as they move towards their targets.
The 2nd Squadron meanwhile is showing off some damn impressive gunnery. I’m not sure what magic I worked with their range finders and fire control, but those 4-inch guns on the Color Class destroyers are outperforming my expectations.
The buoys kilometers away are getting blasted apart one by one. Their gunnery is so accurate i had to pause the entire fleet for a reload. After a quick ten-second break, I took a breath and gave the order for all ships to target the last remaining buoy since that's literally what remained after.
The broadside is loud as hell. Even though I am inside the bridge, surrounded by thick steel, I could still feel the sheer power of those guns.
The next moment is something else—watching through the telescopic sight of Scharnhorst's bridge the area around the buoy erupt into a massive splash of water. Shells from the 4, 5, and 9-inch guns landed all around it, sending even the other damaged but still-floating buoys flying through the air. It is quite the show.
With all the targets wrapped up. I’m starting to get the hang of the ship controls. These ships actually follow my orders pretty well, but there’s something else at play im somewhat wondering now.
They seem to have some form of intelligence—once a target is marked by the Control Mask, they automatically start attacking it after my orders to fire are sent. As soon as a buoy is taken out, the turrets just swing over to the next marked one. Although i’m not entirely quite sure what their definition of “destroyed” is, but it’s clear they know when a target is no longer there.
Thinking about it, I guess I’ll need to set up another batch of buoys to keep things rolling.
I had the cargo ships set up another batch of floating targets. This training is turning out to be more interesting and also more expensive than I initially expected. I’d better wrap this up soon before it gets too costly.
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*
The ships are taking their sweet time, leaving me lounging on top of Scharnhorst’s B triple 9-inch turret. I ended up messing around with the hydraulics, making the turret turn and sway—it's pretty fun, but I hope it doesn’t break anything. After a while, though, I got tired of the game and just settled back on the turret top.
Eventually, the cargo ships came back with a new batch of buoys. Their cranes started dropping them into the designated area I had set up. It is good to see everything getting back on track.
Going back to the bridge, the ships are now back on the move from their previous 5knots to 14 knots. I then marked the targets and decided to make some funky manuevers, i made the entire formation swerve and to my surprise it seems like my orders are really getting through them at the same time watching, my entire fleet all turn to the port at the same time and to the portside aswell, this is definitely something broken as hell, like its so cool making them form a battle line while maintaining to fire, then making them into a cruising formation again, just amazing.
After wrapping up the second wave of floating targets, I had to admit it is still an amazing experience. I sent the cargo ships off for a third batch of buoys and decided to head back to my mansion to grab something to eat.
When I got back to the bridge of Scharnhorst after lunch, it seemed like the cargo ships are still taking their sweet time. To keep myself entertained, I figured I’d set up another AA barrage flak screen. I found a clear patch of sky—no seagulls this time—and decided to step away from the bridge to see just how loud it would be.
I gave the order to fire the 40mm, 20mm, 4-inch, and 5-inch cannons, all aimed high into the sky. The moment the cannons got to life, a screen of black flak erupted above the air. It is like a fireworks show, but with bursts of only dark flak and sound filling the sky. The noise is very loud—my ears definitely aren't thrilled about it, and my heart is racing with adrenaline. Even though it is quite loud out here, there is something thrilling about the spectacle.
I hung out for a while, trying myself to get used to this type of noise—I’m sure I’ll be experiencing this a lot in this world. I do say that it is quite a bit overwhelming, but also kind of cinematic, like I is in the middle of an action movie.
Eventually, I saw the cargo ships coming back with the third batch of buoys. This might be the final round of training, as I’ve pretty much ticked off everything on my list now, including the AA flak fire practice. Time to wrap things up and see how this last set plays out.
Once the buoys are in place, I decided to really put the ships to the test. I marked the targets and moved quite a distance away until they are just tiny dots on the horizon. I am quite eager to see how accurate my ships could be in a long-range gun duel.
Finding myself in a position where the target is legit a speck of dot in the ocean i turned around and set my ship to a crusing speed before ordering them to start their barrage.
The first barrage hit the targets after a few seconds, making it clear just how far I is from the action. Looking through the telescopic sights, I am amazed to see the shells finding their mark. One buoy got completely torn apart by a direct hit. It is impressive watching the shells zero in from so far away.
After about six or ten barrages over the course of an hour, all the buoys are knocked out. With the sun starting to dip, I decided it is time to wrap things up. It had been a great test, and seeing the accuracy and firepower in action is definitely satisfying.
With all of those wrapped up i returned back to the Fleet Control Room and ordered all my vessels operating to go back home and do their maintenance repair, i then went to the orange juice dispenser grabbed a cup and made my way out back to my mansion.
*
As I strolled through the hallway, orange juice in hand, I glanced at the budget screen that had recently come up. The figures are not encouraging. The cost of the training session had significantly impacted the budget, and the maintenance expenses are beginning to raise concerns.
"Quite concerning," I muttered to myself, looking at the growing numbers. "Guess i have to get my ass moving then, quite a shame."
The tutorial had emphasized the importance of exploring the vast expanse of this world to get more resources and here i am not doing anything of that. "Just don't put me in scenarios beyond human comprehension world," I thought. "and i'll gladly do your quirky exploration."
With a sigh, I took another sip of my orange juice and began contemplating my life choice from now on.