Chapter 2266 - 1613: Another Ambush! The Demon’s Barbarians!
"..."
And this blatant lure and ambush by the savage natives happened right in front of many Castilian officers and soldiers, in broad daylight. In just a quarter of an hour, six elite chest armor followers were dead, and only one barbarian was killed... The morale of the expeditionary army inevitably plummeted.
Deputy Commander Antonio witnessed this scene, and in his shock, immediately issued new orders.
"Almighty bless us! We must immediately build a wooden wall around the entire outpost! Have the newly captured hundreds of Taino natives quickly cut down trees! Everyone must take action, a wall must be erected as soon as possible!"
"Divide into four teams of archers and keep watch on three sides. If these red-haired barbarians attack again, under no circumstances should we be lured away from the edge of the outpost... Engage them in a shooting match! Exhaust their arrows, and they will naturally retreat!..."
"Yes! We obey you, Commander!"
The soldiers and sailors of the expeditionary army sincerely obeyed the orders of the Deputy Commander, even the Shenluo Mercenaries bowed in compliance.
"Damn! Those ferocious Cipangu natives are really targeting us!"
At this moment, Commander Columbus had no time to vie for command with Antonio. He just watched those headless bodies with a grim expression, falling into an unusual, insightful contemplation. This Italian captain from a Genoese wool-making background only regained his clarity of mind when crisis struck, exhibiting an extremely keen sense of danger.
"Oh Almighty! This island is so vast, natives keep coming in waves, continuously landing—yet we are unaware, let alone able to intercept them in advance... Our camp is so large! So many ships. Constructing a wall, who knows how many months it will take. Even if finished, wouldn’t it be easy for the natives to set it on fire?"
"Damn it! These Cipangu natives, born from the butts of bulls and hunting dogs, as fierce as beasts! They are never afraid to die, and don’t even fear cannons and warhorses, unlike the ordinary Eastern Indian tribes! Their weapons are quite refined, capable of inflicting casualties on soldiers in breastplates... If more and more Cipangu natives gather and pay no heed to their losses, how long can we hold out? Surely, we cannot be trapped to death on this Great Island, can we?!"
Thinking this, Columbus frowned, pacing back and forth uneasily and irritably. After a while, he looked at his brother Bartolomeo and said in a low voice.
"Bartolomeo, my wise brother! What do you think!"
"Brother! In my opinion... we cannot stay on this San Juan Island!"
Bartolomeo squinted, glanced at the busy soldiers and sailors, and said softly.
"Still the same as before... We must divide our forces! But this time, we won’t use the main fleet of the expeditionary army, nor will we go west to take revenge on Cipangu... We only need the nimble Caravel ships! Then, we head to the eastern and southern parts, to the southeastern island chain discovered by De La Cosa, to thoroughly explore the big and small islands in that chain!"
"We cannot stay this close to the Cipangu natives! Nor can we use such a large and difficult-to-control island as an outpost for the expeditionary army any longer. A distant, small island that is easily observed at a glance is the most suitable place to establish Queen’s Castle... Take Captain Dracos with us! He will support us at the leaders’ meeting and help us persuade others!"
"We will say it like this... Yes! To find a retreat for the entire expeditionary army! Give these leaders another retreat to report back to the Queen!..."
Upon hearing this, Columbus’s eyes lit up, nodding excitedly.
"Merda! Almighty bless us! Good! Excellent!..."