Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Pirates on the inland sea say from word to mouth that there are three things on the sea that are the most terrifying:

A sea fort with heavy artillery, a wind blowing from the bow of a ship, and a galley when there's no wind.

There is actually a subtext in this statement. Although galleys are scary when there is no wind, galleys are only scary when there is no wind.

Because when there is no wind or weak wind, the big sailboat will lie down.

But if the wind is strong enough, then the galley is no big deal.

On the stern of the Revenge, Drake waved his scimitar and shouted an order: "Lower the full sail! Go with the wind!"

At least a quarter of the cannons hit their targets, and the sailors on the Revenge even vaguely saw the mist of blood spraying from the enemy ship.

However, the approaching galley was as unresponsive as a monster that knew no pain. Even the rhythm of the drums did not change, but only beat louder.

The drumsticks were not only beating on the drumhead, but also on the fragile nerves of the pirates.

The Golden Lion launched the final sprint.

The helmsman on the Revenge used all his strength to push the rudder stock. The sailor climbed up the mast and cut off the rope with a machete before he had time to untie it.

All the sails on the three masts were lowered, the sails were filled with wind, and the Revenge began to accelerate.

Speyer, who wanted to intercept the Revenge, missed the target, and the two ships passed by each other in a thrilling manner. The Golden Lion almost hit the side of the Revenge at full speed. At the latest, there was only three or four meters between the two ships.

Now, the Revenge has turned to the right side of the Golden Lion, which is where the Golden Lion's firepower is weakest.

The Golden Lion fell to the back of the Revenge, where the Revenge's heaviest artillery was located.

Drake rushed to the stern of the ship and gathered all his gunners here.

Under the stern urging of the master of rigging, the pirates on the Revenge hurriedly reloaded the stern cannon.

The situation has reversed, and the prey has become the hunter. The wise thing to do is to maintain the speed of the boat and keep a distance from the other party.

But Speyer, who was already red-eyed, refused to give up. Under his command, the oarsman on the right side of the Golden Lion paddled forward, and the oarsman on the left paddled backward. The oarsman moved in a small radius on the water. Turn around and continue in hot pursuit.

The sailors shouted and pulled up the two triangle sails. A galley not only has oars, but also sails. After adding two more sails, the speed of the Golden Lion also began to increase.

"Captain! We can't chase anymore!" Seeing that the situation was out of control, the first mate of the Golden Lion, who was supposed to be at the stern of the ship, left his post in desperation and rushed into the forecastle of the Golden Lion: "The wind is too strong, even if there is Sail, we can’t catch up with a large sailboat with full sail..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the roaring heavy artillery of the Revenge.

A shell passed low over the forecastle and penetrated the oarsman's seat. The thirty-two-pound heavy shell penetrated half of the string and knocked down a row of oarsmen, then smashed a large hole in the planks of the hull.

In an instant, screams echoed through the Golden Lion.

"Okay! Good shot! Reload quickly!" Drake took out a handful of gold coins and rewarded each gunner on the gun position with two coins. The sailors around him were all stunned.

Drake was full of energy now. He raised the gold coins in his hand and asked the sailors around him: "Do you want it?"

The surrounding sailors stared greedily at the gold in Drake's hand and nodded vigorously.

However, Drake raised his hand and threw all the gold coins in his hand from the gun port into the sea.

The sailors exclaimed, but Drake said viciously: "You trash! What does this little gold mean? It's all spent on a bottle of good wine and two women, and then you have to go back to the ship to wipe the deck! See you there!" Have you ever been to the best kiln girl in Jinggang? Big Naoko, big butt, but her face looks like the Virgin! Have you losers ever played with her?! Can you afford it?"

There was silence in the cabin, only the heavy breathing of the sailors could be heard.

"I want you to earn not just this little money, but big money! Big money that you can't imagine!" Drake yelled hysterically: "I want you to make big money that can last a lifetime! I want you to find a few brothels. Sister Find some big money from the kiln sisters! Win this battle, seize the Veneta people's ships and sell them, and I will lead you to buy all the wine in Golden Port! Now, give me a cannon to kill these Veneta people! "

The pirates screamed strangely and ran back to the gun position. With red eyes, they used all their strength to clean the gun barrel and reload the ammunition.

"Captain, we can't chase anymore! There's a fire ship ahead! This ship has been driven out of the battlefield by us, and it has to make a big detour before it can come back. Let's change the target!" The first mate of the Golden Lion racked his brains and gave Si Pyle found the steps and tried to persuade the stubborn captain to give up the prey in front of him.

The sound of heavy artillery fire was heard one after another, and the shells were missed, causing water splashes several meters high.

Everyone on the Golden Lion heard a "dong" sound from the hull below the water, as if it was hit hard by a heavy hammer.

A shell hit the hull below the waterline. The sailors listened to the sound below the deck in fear, but nothing happened. The shell failed to penetrate and was bounced off the hull.

If the speed of the cannonball were a little faster or the angle was a little smaller, there would be a large hole under the waterline in the Golden Lion's hull, and everyone would have to abandon the ship and escape.

I had good luck this time, but will I have such good luck next time?

Speyer punched the bow gun: "Reef the sails, turn right, let's go back!"

The first mate received the order and immediately ran to the stern of the ship.

Speyer stared at the flagship of the Taniriya fleet, his eyes full of unwillingness.

The first mate who returned to the stern of the ship was about to turn the helm when he heard the captain at the bow yelling: "Don't turn! Go straight towards the enemy ship!"

The first mate looked up and saw a terrifying warship sailing out of the sea of ​​fire and smoke.

Her sails were hung with fiery snakes, and her bows were blazing with flames. Like a warship returning from hell, she was rushing straight towards the Revenge.

Naresho stood on the bow of the ship, roaring with a ferocious face: "Raise the flag of death! The whole ship is ready to join the gang!"

A huge red pennant was hung on the mast of this fire warship.

This was the red flag raised by the former Veneta "Sea Beggar" when he attacked the Empire's supply ship.

This was the red flag raised by the nascent Veneta navy as it rushed towards Mad Richard's fleet blockading Guitu City.

This battle-worn red flag, riddled with bullet holes and scorched marks, is a sacred relic of the Veneta Navy, and only the flagship of the Inland Sea Fleet is qualified to keep it.

When this red flag is raised on the flagship, it means that the fleet commander believes that the last moment has arrived, the survival of the fleet is at stake, and the Veneta people will not retreat until the last drop of blood is shed.

Even the most cowardly sailor will be inspired to courage when he sees this flag.

This is not only a flag, but also the spirit, hope and backbone of the Navy.

The first mate hammered the drum head hard, and the Golden Lion struggled forward, and together with the Glory, they attacked the flagship of the Taniriya fleet.

A sharp whistle sounded on the deck of the Glory. While distributing weapons to the sailors, the ferocious boatswain of the Glory shouted: "Get ready to join the gang! Hold on to your weapons! Wait for the captain's order!"

Except for the boarding team that also serves as the military police on the ship, other sailors are not allowed to carry weapons during daily sailing. Swords and guns are only issued before the battle.

Antonio found his subordinates: "Officers from the artillery department, take people to the artillery deck! There are no gunners on the ship now."

Several school officers saluted, turned around and got out of the cabin.

Antonio called another man's name: "Captain Wilson!"

The commander of the First Hundred Brigade immediately stood up and saluted.

"What kind of centurion do you have?"

"Report to the general, spear!"

"Take your men and put them on daggers, and lead your centurions to join the gang!"

"yes!"

"The other officers stayed on the Glorious and used their matchlocks to suppress the enemy ship's deck!"

"yes!"

The war situation was urgent, and Admiral Nareshaw ordered the Glory to take the enemy's flagship directly. However, he forgot that the current Glory was not the usual Glory. The ship had been temporarily transformed into a command ship.

The Glory, which originally had a crew of more than 530 people, currently has less than 200 sailors. In order to make more space, the Glory did not even bring gunners and boarding teams, and only retained deck sailors to maintain the warship's operations.

Fortunately, there were more than 150 army soldiers on board from the 100th Brigade of the Third Army Corps.

Winters, Bud and Andre assisted Captain Wilson in gathering soldiers from various accounts of the 100th. The Army's super-long guns needed to be formed into a square formation and could not be used on a small ship.

The distance to the Revenge is getting closer and closer, and the figures of the pirates on the deck of the Revenge are clearly visible.

The sailors and soldiers on the Glory were running aimlessly on the deck like headless flies, shouting. They feel they must do something, but they don't know what they should do.

Each of the three warrant officers held a large bundle of sailor's knives and handed one to anyone on the chaotic deck who didn't have a weapon in his hand.

"Whether I am an officer or a soldier, as long as I have a matchlock gun, I will go to the mast platform!" Antonio calmly assigned tasks to his subordinates: "Wilson! Let your soldiers assemble on the deck! Everyone else, get out. Go to the gun deck and load the shells!"

The Revenge was being approached from two directions by the Glory and the Golden Lion. Drake did not expect that Nareshaw would forcefully wade his way out of the arson ship.

"Full right rudder! Turn south!"

Feeling that the helmsman was too slow, Drake grabbed the helm.

He wanted to turn right and turn south, leaving the two Veneta ships behind him, but how could it be that easy?

The Revenge was going too fast at the moment, its turning radius was very large, and its hull was tilted severely with full rudder to starboard. Turning at high speed is extremely risky, especially for such a warship with a high center of gravity, which may capsize if not careful.

The Revenge's hull creaked and began to tilt to the left during a rapid right turn.

"Everyone stand to starboard!"

After hearing the order, all the sailors stood on the starboard side, and the ship slowly began to regain its balance.

Drake used all his strength to control the direction of the Revenge, but the windward side of the ship was too large, and strong winds and waves kept the Revenge moving in the southeast direction.

The distance between the two ships was less than twenty meters, and they were getting closer.

At this moment, the soldiers and sailors on the Glory all clenched their weapons and waited stiffly.

Because he held the handle of the knife too tightly, the joints of Captain Wilson's right hand turned white. Andre looked at Winters and Bud with a half-smile, and pointed to Captain Wilson's right hand with his chin.

For the three warrant officers who had already experienced a gang-hopping battle, although their heartbeats and breathing still accelerated involuntarily, they were not as nervous as the first time they jumped into a gang.

The ferocious-looking bosun held a machete under his left arm and held a wooden barrel. He cursed and scattered something on the deck. Which sailor doesn't have eyes to block him? He just lifts his leg and kicks him.

When it was scattered around him, Winters saw clearly that there were sawdust and sand in the barrel. He thought for a while and figured out the functions of these two things.

Sawdust can absorb blood and sand can increase friction. These two things are sprinkled on the deck to prevent people from slipping due to excessive blood flow.

It seemed that the bad-tempered boatswain was the only one on the deck at this moment who knew what he should do.

The distance between the two ships narrowed and they gradually kept pace. The helmsman pushed the helm, and the Glory crashed into the Revenge.

The hook and rope were thrown out, and the cry of killing rang out.

The boarding battle began between the flagships of the two fleets.

By the way, I made a very simple map and sent it to the book circle, which can help everyone figure out the geographical environment of Senas Bay.

Thank you to book friends who have voted for recommendations before, thank you to book friend writersblock for your recommendation votes, thank you to book friend 161120205936216 for your recommendation votes, thank you to book friend Ami for your recommendation votes, thank you to book friend Social Justice Lao Wang for his recommendation votes, monthly votes and rewards. . Thanks. In fact, I'm very grateful if you give me a few recommendation votes occasionally, and you don't need to reward me, really.