Chapter 2240 - 1602: Golden Ship! Naval Chase! (Part 3)
They finally managed to turn the ship around and slowly accelerate westward... Behind them, the three Castile sailing ships had already closed in within one or two li, and were still getting closer. Even the rough silhouettes of the sailors opposite were clearly visible to them!
"One, two... ten... sixteen... Haha! On that broken ship opposite, there are only a mere sixteen sailors! But just on this ship alone, we have forty! As long as any ship hooks onto them, this Portuguese ship is doomed!"
"A captain with a hat, seven sailors in Portuguese attire, eight native sailors manning the sails? Why have the Portuguese used so many native sailors? Have large numbers of native tribes in their colonies already converted? It seems their development is fast! We need to capture a couple alive and thoroughly interrogate them to find out where they’ve built their base..."
"Huh! What is that golden reflection? It flashed into my eyes... Huh! More golden lights on those sailors’ chests... Wait! That color! That luster! Those golden amulets worn around the Portuguese sailors’ necks!..."
"Merciful and generous Almighty! Could it be? How is it possible? Could it be... gold? How could it be possible that each has a gold talisman? Sss! The captain is directly wearing three pieces? ... Indeed, it’s the spoils of the Portuguese Captain. Such treasures worn on the chest, never leaving it for a moment, could they really be gold?! Have the Portuguese discovered a gold mine? How did they gather so much gold!!"
Captain Vicente’s eyes widened, his fingers trembling! If those are really golden amulets, each of such size could weigh 1 pound! Considering all the Portuguese crew’s gold, it would be at least 18 pounds!
What does 18 pounds of gold mean? That’s nearly two thousand Ducat Gold Coins from Venice! Even if divided among one hundred twenty people, each could still get a dozen coins. And for captains like them, it would mean dozens of coins to start with!
"Almighty! Could there be more gold on their ship? Do they know of a native tribe with lots of gold? Or have they truly discovered a gold mine?..."
At this moment, all kinds of chaotic and greedy thoughts surged in Captain Vicente’s heart, eventually turning into the greedy green light in his eyes. He looked back at the ship, where many sailors and soldiers also had the same wolf-like demeanor. And the other two ships next to them directly blew the horns of attack!
"Blow the horn! Catch up! Catch up! For the Almighty, Queen, and King, we must capture this Portuguese ship and seize their sailors!"
"Damn it! You fool, don’t load the cannon at the bow! This ship is in tatters, if you really hit below the waterline and sink it... We’ll end up with nothing! Not even one pound of gold!"
"What? Send a ship back to report? Which captain would go back at this time? Stop talking nonsense! Full sails in pursuit!... Quick! Catch up to it! It’s accelerating! Quick!!..."
Captain Vicente was burning with anxiety, roaring ferociously. He stared intently at the Portuguese light sailing ship just two to three hundred meters away, fixated on those shining golden lights. However, the ship opposite was clearly smaller and lighter, and its sailors were highly skilled, quickly accelerating to match their speed. Then, Vicente furiously discovered that the ship opposite was slowly, slowly pulling away, and the shining gold was about to slip away just like that!
"Maldita sea! Carajo! Demonios! Damn you filthy devil spawn! No, that’s mine, my gold! Quick!! Chase them for me! Quick!! Load the bow cannon, fire at their ship!"
Seeing the ship opposite about to slip away, Captain Vicente couldn’t care less about whether it sank, and urged the sailors to load the cannon. But by the time the loading was complete, the distance had already stretched to over four hundred meters, making it difficult for the 6-pound cannon to hit the ship opposite!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three cannonballs were simultaneously fired from the three ships, but none hit the leading ship. The closest missed by dozens of meters. The accuracy of the second round was even worse, with both sides already extending to over five hundred meters of distance, and the water splashes from the cannon fire were off by more than a hundred meters.
"Damn it! How on earth are you firing the cannons? A bunch of fools who crawled out of a sheep’s rear end, useless!"
Angry roars resounded; at this moment, the three angry Castile captains were like Castile bulls successfully provoked by the "red". They were panting but refused to give up the shining golden target ahead, and they had enough confidence to block off and devour this Portuguese "golden ship"!
"Spread out over ten li! Use the cannon sounds to communicate and report, chase them for me!"
"I don’t believe this lost ship with scarce supplies can escape from under our eyes!"
"Almighty bears witness! We must catch up to them, for the Almighty and the Queen!..."
The long sea chase had thus begun. In the face of enough temptation, no one was willing to give up. One side pursued, the other fled, sea battles were thus always slow, measured in days, with speed deciding life and death. And when the long pursuit reached its conclusion, what would be awaiting? In any case, there would certainly be blood and cannon fire, brutal offerings and death, in the endless Caribbean Sea...