Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 74 Boarding
Pirates on the Inland Seas spread the word that there were three things on the high seas that were most frightening:
A sea fortress equipped with heavy cannons, wind blowing from the bow of the ship, and oar-powered sailing ships when there is no wind.

There's a subtext to this statement: while galleys are frightening when there's no wind, they're only frightening when there's no wind.

Because large sailboats will break down in windless or weak weather.

But if there is enough wind, then a rowboat is not a big deal.

On the stern deck of the Vengeance, Drake brandished his scimitar and roared, "Lower the sails! Downwind!"

At least a quarter of the cannons hit their targets, and the sailors on the Vengeance even caught a glimpse of blood mist spraying from the enemy ship.

However, the approaching galley remained unresponsive, like a painless monster, its drumbeats unchanged, only growing louder.

The drumsticks were not only striking the drumhead, but also striking the pirates' fragile nerves.

The Golden Lion launched its final sprint.

The helmsman on the Vengeance pushed the rudder with all his might, and the sailors climbed the mast, cutting the ropes with their scimitars before they could even untie them.

With all the sails on the three masts lowered and the sails filled with wind, the Vengeance began to accelerate.

Speyer's attempt to intercept the Vengeance missed its target, and the two ships narrowly missed each other. The Golden Lion almost collided with the side of the Vengeance at full speed, and at its closest point, the two ships were only three or four meters apart.

Now, the Vengeance has moved to the right side of the Golden Lion, which is the Golden Lion's weakest position in terms of firepower.

The Golden Lion landed behind the Vengeance, where the Vengeance's heaviest cannons were located.

Drake rushed to the sterncastle and gathered all his gunners there.

Urged on by the master sailor, the pirates on the Revenge hurriedly reloaded the stern cannon.

The situation has reversed; the prey has become the hunter. The wise course of action is to maintain speed and travel towards the other ship to create distance.

But Speyer, who was already blinded by rage, refused to give up. Under his command, the oarsmen on the right side of the Golden Lion rowed forward, while the oarsmen on the left rowed backward. The oarsman made a small-radius turn on the water and continued to chase after them.

The sailors shouted as they hoisted the two triangular sails. Galleers not only have oars, but also sails. With the addition of two sails, the Golden Lion began to increase its speed.

"Captain! We can't keep chasing!" Seeing the situation getting out of control, the first mate of the Golden Lion, who should have been at the stern, abandoned his post in a panic and rushed into the forecastle: "The wind is too strong. Even with sails, we can't catch up with a fully-equipped sailing ship..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the roar of the Vengeance's heavy cannons.

A shell skimmed low over the forecastle and into the rowers' seats. The 32-pound shell pierced through half of the ship, knocking down a row of rowers, before smashing a large hole in the ship's planks.

Instantly, screams echoed throughout the Golden Lion.

"Good! Well done! Reload now!" Drake pulled out a handful of gold coins and rewarded each gunner at the gun emplacement with two coins. The surrounding sailors stared in disbelief.

Drake, now brimming with energy, held up the gold coins in his hand and asked the surrounding sailors, "Want some?"

The sailors around Drake stared greedily at the gold in his hand, nodding vigorously.

Drake, however, raised his hand and threw all the gold coins in his hand into the sea through the cannon.

The sailors gasped in surprise, but Drake snarled, "You bunch of good-for-nothings! What's a little gold? A bottle of good wine and two women and it's all gone, then you'll have to go back to the ship to clean the deck! Ever seen the best brothels in Golden Harbor? Big boobs, big ass, but their faces look like the Virgin Mary! Have you guys ever been with any of them?! Can you even afford to?"

The cabin was completely silent, except for the heavy breathing of the sailors.

"I'm not going to make you this little bit of money, I'm going to make you a fortune! A fortune you can't even imagine!" Drake roared hysterically. "A fortune enough for you to live on for a lifetime! A fortune enough for you to visit as many brothels as you want! Win this battle, seize the Venetians' ships, sell them, and I'll lead you to buy up all the wine in Golden Harbor! Now, get the cannons and blast these Venetians to death!"

The pirates screamed and ran back to their gun positions, their eyes red with rage as they put in all their strength to clean the cannon barrels and reload the ammunition.

"Captain, we can't chase any further! The fire ships are just ahead! We've driven this ship out of the battlefield, and it'll have to take a long detour to get back. Let's find a different target!" The first mate of the Golden Lion racked his brains to find a way out for Speyer, trying to persuade the stubborn captain to give up on the prey in front of him.

Then came a series of heavy artillery shots, shells missing their mark and splashing water several meters high.

Everyone on board the Golden Lion heard a loud "thud" from the hull below the water, as if it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer.

A cannonball struck the hull below the waterline. The sailors listened intently to the sounds coming from below deck, but nothing happened. The cannonball failed to penetrate and bounced off the hull.

If the shells had been a little faster or at a little smaller angle, the Golden Lion would have had a large hole below the waterline, and everyone would have had to abandon ship.

I was very lucky this time, but will I be so lucky next time?
Spyder slammed his fist on the bow cannon: "Lower the sails, turn right, let's go back!"

Upon receiving the order, the first mate immediately rushed to the stern.

Spier stared intently at the flagship of the Tanirian fleet, his eyes filled with resentment.

Just as the first mate returned to the stern and was about to turn the helm, he heard the captain at the bow shout, "Don't turn! Charge straight at the enemy ship!"

The first mate looked ahead and saw a terrifying warship emerging from a sea of ​​fire and thick smoke.

Her sails were adorned with fiery serpents, and her bow was ablaze with flames, making her resemble a warship returning from hell as she charged straight toward the Vengeance.

Naresha stood at the bow, his face contorted in a ferocious roar: "Raise the death flag! Prepare to board!"

A huge red triangular flag was hung on the mast of this fiery warship.

This is the red flag that Venetta, the "Sea Beggar," raised when he raided the Empire's supply ships.

This is the red flag raised by the fledgling Venetia Navy as they charged toward the fleet that had besieged Guido City under the sway of the madman Richard.

This battle-hardened, worn-out red flag, riddled with bullet holes and charred marks, is a sacred relic of the Venetian Navy, reserved for the flagship of the Inland Sea Fleet. When this red flag is raised on the flagship, it signifies that the fleet commander believes the final moment has arrived, the fleet's survival hangs in the balance, and the Venetians will never retreat, until their last drop of blood is shed.

Even the most cowardly sailor would be inspired to be courageous upon seeing this flag.

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

The first mate pounded the drumhead with all his might, and the Golden Lion surged forward, joining the Glorious in attacking the flagship of the Taniriyah fleet.

A sharp whistle blew across the deck of the Glorious. The Glorious's fierce boatswain distributed weapons to the sailors while shouting, "Prepare to board! Hold on tight! Await the captain's orders!"

Apart from the boarding squadron members who also serve as the ship's military police, other sailors are not allowed to carry weapons during normal voyages; they are only issued knives and guns before boarding operations.

António found his subordinate: "An officer from the artillery department, take men to the gun deck! There are no gunners on board right now."

Several officers saluted and turned to leave the cabin.

Antonio then called out another name: "Captain Wilson!"

The commander of the 100th squad of the chief battalion immediately stood up and saluted.

"What kind of hundred-man squad do you command?"

"Reporting to the general, spears!"

"Have your men equip themselves with short swords, and lead your hundred-man squad to board the ship!"

"Yes!"

"The other officers will remain on the Glorious and use matchlock muskets to suppress the enemy ship's deck!"

"Yes!"

With the situation urgent, Admiral Naresha ordered HMS Glorious to head straight for the enemy flagship. However, he forgot that the Glorious was not the usual ship; it had been temporarily converted into a command ship.

The Glorious, which originally had a full complement of over 530 crew members, now has fewer than 200 sailors. In order to make more room, the Glorious did not bring gunners or boarding squadrons, and only retained the deck crew to maintain the movement of the warship.

Fortunately, there were also more than 150 army soldiers from the 100th Company of the Third Army Corps on board.
Winters, Bud, and Andre assisted Captain Wilson in assembling the soldiers of the Hundred Men's Company. The army's extra-long rifles needed to be arranged in a square formation, which was simply unusable on the cramped ship.

As they drew closer to the Vengeance, the pirates on the deck of the Vengeance became clearly visible.

The sailors and soldiers on the Glorious wandered aimlessly across the deck, shouting like headless flies. They felt they had to do something, but they didn't know what to do.

The three warrant officers each carried a large bundle of sailors' knives, and in the chaos of the deck, they would hand a knife to anyone who was unarmed.

"Whether you're an officer or a soldier, anyone with a musket is to get to the mast platform!" Antony calmly assigned tasks to his men: "Wilson! Get your men to assemble on deck! The rest of you, get to the gun deck and load the cannons!"

The Vengeance was being approached from two directions by the Glory and the Golden Lion. Drake never expected that Nareshaw would actually carve a path through the burning ship.

"Hard to right! Turn south!"

Finding the helmsman too slow, Drake took over the helm.

He wanted to turn right and south to leave the two Venetta ships behind, but it wasn't that easy.
The Vengeance was going too fast, had a very large turning radius, and was listing heavily to starboard. High-speed turns are extremely risky, especially for warships with a high center of gravity; a slight miscalculation could lead to capsizing.

The hull of the Vengeance creaked and groaned as it began to list to port during a sharp right turn.

"Everyone, stand on the starboard side!"

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

Drake used all his skills to steer the Revenge, but the ship's frontal area was too large, and the strong winds and waves kept the Revenge moving southeast.

The two boats were less than twenty meters apart and getting closer and closer.

At this moment, the soldiers and sailors on the Glorious gripped their weapons tightly, their bodies stiff as they waited.

Captain Wilson's right knuckles had turned white from gripping the hilt so tightly. Andrei looked at Winters and Bud with a half-smile, gesturing with his chin towards Captain Wilson's right hand.

For the three warrant officers who had already experienced a boarding maneuver, although their heartbeats and breathing were still involuntarily accelerating, they were not as nervous as they had been during their first boarding maneuver.

The fierce-looking boatswain, with a scimitar tucked under his left arm and a wooden bucket in his arms, was cursing and spewing something onto the deck. Any sailor who dared to block his way was kicked by him.

When he sprinkled it around him, Winters realized that the bucket contained sawdust and sand. He thought about it for a moment and figured out what the two substances were for.

Wood chips can absorb blood, and sand can increase friction. Spreading these two things on the deck is to prevent people from slipping due to excessive blood loss.

It seems that at this moment on deck, only the ill-tempered boatswain knows what he should be doing.

The two ships closed the distance and gradually became side by side. The helmsman gave a push, and the Glorious rammed into the Revenge.

The grappling hook was thrown out, and shouts of battle rang out.

The boarding action broke out between the flagships of the two fleets.

By the way, I made a very simple map and posted it on the book club forum to help everyone visualize the geography of Cenas Bay.

Thank you to all the readers who voted for the book before, especially writersblock, 161120205936216, Ami, and Social Justice Old Wang for their votes, monthly tickets, and donations. Thank you. Actually, I'd be very grateful for a few votes occasionally; no need for donations, really.

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(End of this chapter)