Suddenly, an explosion sound shakes the floor, forcing Arthur to wake up from his sleep.
He quickly looked over his window. The command tower sector of the command ship has been destroyed. The ship itself remains functional, but it lost a majority of the equipment for commanding.
Nearby ships also suffer a certain amount of damage. They seem to be pierced with large shells from a barrage.
Hood already moved to a commanding position, ordering Kansens and Manjuu to remove fire by water and fire extinguishers. Commander Joseph is nowhere to be found. What is he doing when enemies are attacking them?
Destroyers and light cruisers have engaged against the enemy vanguard. Prince of Wales and Renown have been firing barrages to support their vanguards but enemies keep coming one after another.
Not to mention Tester in the middle, she has been casually dodging HMS heavy cruisers' all-out attacks while randomly firing barrages at nearby HMS units, causing confusion and panic.
It is a matter of time before the formation is broken.
Arthur sprints as fast as he can to Hood.
"Hood, where is your commander?"
"Arthur…" Hood is surprised to see him coming to her at this emergency moment, but her face quickly turns to an anxious expression.
"Commander Joseph is KIA by the explosion earlier."
"What?" Arthur is shocked as the rest of the fleet does.
"I am taking emergency commanding duty until reinforcement arrives," said Hood.
Thanks to Hood's quick judgment to take commands the fleet barely managed to hold Siren's advance. However, this means that while she is commanding, she cannot use her barrage, Royal Navy's Glory. Without the pride of the Royal Navy's firepower, the fleet cannot push enemies back.
Damn it, there must be something he can do. Arthur looks around the battlefield. Explosions, flashes, screams all call for instructions to engage enemies.
"Hood, lend me that comm device."
Hood opens her eyes wide, it does not take a genius to interpret what his action can mean.
"You want to take commands? Do you know what it means?"
"I can't just sit somewhere and do nothing while the rest of you fight to your death."
"But you have no experience…"
"Yeah, I don't. So what I am going to say is just merely a suggestion."
Arthur suggests a plan to Hood.
…
"This plan sounds… too simple," Hood has doubts about Arthur's suggestion.
"Sometimes simple is the best. If you want to win against enemies who have superior overall strength than you, this kind of plan works the best."
This plan sticks to one rule of thumb: Taking down the enemy leader first.
As Hood summons her rigging to descend to the battlefield, Arthur
"All honorable units, this is Arthur Mandelson. Due to emergency circumstances, I am temporarily taking the command role. I know you have many questions and doubts about me, but know this: Temporary as I am, I am responsible for keeping you alive and bringing you a victory. Follow my orders and you shall receive the two rewards I promised."
All Kansens briefly stop their action for a moment. True, as much as they hate Commander Joseph, they cannot instantly fully accept unknown personnel to be their commander. However, as Commander Joseph is dead and they face a major disadvantage, now is not the time to nitpick about who is the commander.
All Kansens, "Understood, glory to the Royal Navy."