Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 596 The Attack (Part 7)

The aftermath of the fall of Panama City spread like a plague along the isthmus, quickly reaching the Atlantic side of Portobello (now Portobello, Panama).

This port, once thriving because of its annual "Grand Market"—where silver and alpacas from Peru, cocoa from Grenada, sugar from the Caribbean, and countless other goods from Europe converged—is now shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere.

The port's former glory has faded, leaving only empty warehouses and increasingly sparse ships.

At the port entrance, thick iron chains, about the size of a bowl, are half-submerged and half-floating, while underwater stakes are faintly visible in the murky waves.

Fort Santiago on the south shore resembles a crouching behemoth, its dark cannon muzzles pointing menacingly towards the bay.

To the west, Fort St. Philip and to the northeast, the still under-construction Fort St. Grenadier, form a tight crossfire network, with the two sides positioned to support each other.

However, the sturdy fortifications could not dispel the gloom in people's hearts.

Major Diego Hernandez, the garrison commander, paced back and forth behind the fortress's breastwork with a furrowed brow.

"Major, the prolonged state of alert is exhausting our soldiers," his deputy, Captain Torres, reported in a low voice. "It's been almost two months, and there's been no movement on land. Many people believe... the Chinese won't attack from Panama. Perhaps they've taken the whole city and left Panama..."

Hernandez looked at the sparsely populated ships in the harbor. In previous years, this place would have been crowded with merchant ships from Europe, carrying textiles, firearms, olive oil, and Xinhua goods that were strictly prohibited but still flowed in through smuggling channels.

Now, only a few local fishing boats and a grain ship from New Granada are docked.

Because of the outbreak of war, trade was interrupted, and the city was in a state of market depression. Only hotels, casinos and leather workshops were barely surviving, and the former hustle and bustle was long gone.

“I know, Captain,” Hernandez sighed, “but we must remain vigilant. You’ve heard about the fall of Panama, those new Chinese… they have devilish weapons. God knows when they might sneak over.”

He could not forget the scenes described by the survivors who had escaped from Panama—the walls collapsing under constant artillery fire, countless citizens trembling in fear, and finally, the rockets that rained down from the sky like hellfire, bringing explosions and fire.

They said it wasn't war at all, but Satan's destruction.

Just then, a sentry's urgent shout came from the watchtower: "Ships spotted to the west-northwest!...Three ships!"

Hernandez immediately raised his binoculars and intently observed the sea.

Three ships are slowly approaching on the distant horizon.

However, they flew the Spanish royal flag, and the hulls were the typical ochre red of Spanish ships, with a faint image of the Virgin Mary visible on the bow.

"Is that...our ship?" Torres asked with some anticipation.

Hernandez did not answer immediately.

His brow furrowed. Although the three ships looked like Spanish merchant ships, something felt off.

The main vessels used by Spain for voyages to and from the Americas were generally wide-bodied galleons with high decks, which had a deep draft and appeared both sturdy and clumsy.

The three ships in front of us, however, have longer, more streamlined hulls and are typical caravels. Their waterlines are noticeably shallower, making them more suitable for rapid maneuvering and... plundering.

"Warn them to stop advancing. Send a small boat to approach and inspect them, and inquire about their identities and purpose," Hernandez ordered in a deep voice.

"Major, you suspect..."

"In these extraordinary times, it's best to remain vigilant."

At the entrance to the harbor, a small boat carrying several soldiers carefully rowed toward the fleet.

The small boat approached the lead ship, where a group of sailors stood on the deck, dressed in what appeared to be Spanish sailor uniforms, but their posture was loose and lacked the rigid discipline typical of the Spanish navy.

"Where are you from?" a soldier asked loudly as he boarded the ship.

On deck, a man in a captain's uniform with a thick red beard approached and stammered, "From... Seville! We've brought... woolens, wine, and olive oil..."

“Captain, your accent…” The soldier looked at the captain with a suspicious expression, then asked tentatively, “It doesn’t sound like a Castilian, more like… someone from Andalusia? But it’s also a bit… strange.”

The captain looked flustered and quickly covered it up, saying, "Ah...yes, my mother is Andalusian, and I grew up in Seville, but after working on ships for so long, my accent is a bit mixed."

The soldier nodded and then asked to see the cargo manifest and departure certificate.

The captain handed over several documents, his movements somewhat stiff.

Just then, a noise came from the other end of the deck, followed by a sailor's curse: "Bloody hell!"
Although the sound wasn't loud, it was exceptionally clear on the relatively quiet deck.

The Spanish soldier's expression changed instantly.

He suddenly looked up, staring intently at the captain in front of him, his right hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"...The English!" the soldier shouted, quickly retreating to the ship's side and gesturing to the sailors in the small boats below, "Alert!...It's English pirates!"

Almost at the same time the Spanish soldier shouted the warning, the red-bearded captain knew that his disguise had been completely exposed.

"Attack!" he roared, drawing his sword from his waist.

"boom!"

An axe flew over and slammed into the Spanish soldier's shoulder.

He staggered and fell against the side of the ship, then gritted his teeth, rolled over, and jumped into the sea.

After receiving the warning, the sailors on the small boat rowed frantically, fleeing towards the harbor.

"For the King, for the gold! Charge in!" the English captain roared, tearing off his tricorn hat.

Several English privateers raised their sails again and rushed toward the port.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The heavy cannons of Fort Santiago roared first, sending solid iron bullets hurtling into the sea and sending up towering columns of water.

The port's warning bells rang mournfully through the sky. "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The fortresses of St. Philip opened fire, and a dense hail of bullets fell like hail.

In an instant, the entrance to Bello Harbor was filled with the deafening roar of cannons and billowing smoke.

The Spanish cannons roared like thunder, and solid iron bullets whistled across the sea, some landing near the pirate ship and kicking up towering columns of water, which poured onto the deck like a torrential rain.

Some were incredibly lucky, hitting the hull directly, sending splinters flying and making a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

The English pirate fleet was not to be outdone. They fought back fiercely with their broadside cannons, and the shells sporadically hit the thick stone walls of the fortress, leaving shallow craters and smoke marks, but they were unlikely to cause any substantial damage.

Using the maneuverability of their ships, they maneuvered serpentinely between artillery fire, attempting to evade the most intense firepower and find a way to rush into the harbor.

A chain shot tore through the air, spinning as it hurtled toward the lead English pirate ship, the "Revenge".

"Click..."

"Wow..."

A chilling snapping sound rang out as the chain shot, like a scythe, "cut" the tall mainmast in two.

The sails snapped, and the heavy barricades, bulging sails, and intricate rigging collapsed like a giant beast stripped of its bones, covering most of the foredeck.

The ship's speed dropped sharply, the deck was a mess, and the sailors' screams and curses were drowned out by the explosions of subsequent cannonballs.

However, the nightmare for the "Revenge" was not over yet.

Almost at the same time the mainmast collapsed, another solid shot fired from the gun emplacement, with a bit of luck, flew along a low trajectory and slammed hard near the sterncastle of the "Revenge"!
"boom!"

Wood chips flew everywhere like an explosion, and the ship's rudder's transmission mechanism was shattered by the impact.

The helmsman felt a sudden lightness in the steering wheel, followed by a despairing feeling of it spinning aimlessly.

The "Revenge" completely lost its direction and, like a drunken giant, began to helplessly spin and drift on the sea, becoming an increasingly easy target for the Spanish fortresses to name.

"Well done!" Captain Torres, who saw this from the fortress, pumped his fist excitedly. "Keep firing! Don't let the other two get away!"

The other two pirate ships, the Sea Fox and the Storm, were filled with fear upon seeing the horrific state of the Vengeance, and their resolve to storm the harbor instantly wavered.

The captains shouted anxiously, ordering their ships to evade the gunfire, while nervously observing the powerless "Revenge" and the increasingly fierce coastal artillery fire.

"What do we do?... The 'Revenge' is finished!"

"They can't be saved, the Spanish artillery fire is too intense!"

"Turn around...turn around now! While we can still move!"

The Sea Fox and the Storm Waves began to hesitate, wondering whether to adjust their sails, disengage from the battle, and flee out to sea.

However, the Spanish defenders were greatly encouraged, and their shelling became more intense and precise, with the shells being specifically targeted at the two ships that were still trying to escape, with the intention of stopping them as well.

At the entrance to the harbor, the sounds of cannons, shouts of battle, the cracking of timber, and cries for help from those who had fallen into the water were all intertwined, and the battle had reached its climax.

The attention of all the Spanish defenders was completely drawn to the fierce naval battle, and no one noticed the seemingly calm but actually deadly tropical rainforest behind them.

Just as the battle was raging...

"kill!"

A sudden and earth-shattering battle cry, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, suddenly erupted from the south side of St. Grenouille—the direction facing inland.

This battle cry was different from the roar of a naval battle; it was filled with the sharpness of clashing metal and the ferocity of a human charge, clearly audible and very close!

The unusual movement coming from the direction of Fort San Gonnemo caused some Spanish officers to pause and instinctively turn around to look.

Major Hernandez swiftly rushed to the breastwork facing the land and raised his binoculars.

Immediately, his heart sank, and a chill instantly shot up his spine to the top of his head.

At the edge of the rainforest, a large number of soldiers dressed in dark blue uniforms had emerged.

Like a raging flood, they launched a swift and resolute attack on the relatively weak flank and rear of St. Glonimo's Fortress.

Gunfire erupted like popping beans, and the Creole militia deployed behind low walls and trenches collapsed at the first contact.

"On land!"

"It's the enemy!"

"They are new Chinese; they came from the mainland!"

"What?! This is impossible!" Captain Torres, who was directing the bombardment of the English pirate ship, exclaimed in shock, his excitement instantly replaced by horror.

Major Hernandez's face turned ashen, and his eyes widened in shock.

The thing he feared most, and the thing he found most unbelievable, happened.

The Xinhua Army actually managed to traverse the jungle-filled isthmus via the "Royal Road," and chose to launch a fatal attack from behind at a critical moment when they were fully engaged in dealing with maritime threats!
A terrifying thought crossed his mind: "Could it be...could it be that these English pirates and the new Chinese...are in cahoots?"

"Was this a meticulously planned feint followed by the main attack?!"

This idea plunged him into an icy abyss.

Besieged on both sides, and attacked from both sides by two seemingly unrelated enemies who may join forces!
Can Bello Port hold out?
(End of this chapter)