Chapter 2279 - 1621: I Will Make the Natives Pay the Price!
The sun rose from the seas to the East, casting elongated shadows of masts and sails. The numerous large ships at North Bay Port were meticulously protected by hundreds of Holy War veterans and remained undamaged amidst last night’s chaos and slaughter. However, standing high atop the watchtower, gazing westward toward Saint Elizabeth Queen’s Castle, the wooden and thatched farmhouses had been burned to smoldering torches, emitting an acrid thick smoke.
"Almighty! The farm is completely destroyed... and I wonder how many of those more than a hundred strong colonists... survived?"
"I heard the Holy War veterans suffered heavy casualties last night! Half a platoon had their heads cut off..."
"What?! Such seasoned soldiers were defeated by the natives?!"
"Shh! Keep it down! The Deputy Commander is in a foul mood; don’t let him hear..."
"Damn it! We should take the ship and leave! Fighting these crazy barbarians... I want to make it back alive to Seville..."
"Ah! May the Holy Mother protect us!~~"
The smoke rose sinuously like a Black Serpent gnawing on tree bark, spiraling towards the humid morning sky. To the eyes of the Castilian sailors, this rising Black Serpent seemed to possess a particular evilness, continually gnawing at their hearts and further dampening their spirits.
On the west side of the outpost farm, the fence was shredded, the gate completely scorched and crumbling at a touch. The shadows of the Cipangu Barbarians had long withdrawn into the mountain forest with the night’s retreat, leaving behind the ground covered with blood and corpses, along with various barbaric weapons and armor.
"..."
Deputy Commander Antonio’s face was ashen as he stared at the Cipangu Barbarian corpse, garbed in armor, that had died by suicide. Moments later, he abruptly drew his sword and stabbed the corpse furiously!
"Clang!"
The clash between armor and sword echoed with a crisp clang. Deputy Commander Antonio stabbed a few more times before crouching down to probe the wound in the Cloth Armor.
"Damn it! Moorish cotton fabric? Inlaid with orderly copper and iron? Ordinary thrusts and chops can’t pierce the armor? And the totems painted on these barbarians? That evil Demon bird? The Cuba Cipangu Tribes worship the Demon bird..."
"Carajo! This type of armor is easily repaired, just need new metal pieces! Along with these blunt and heavy Bronze Axes, these fearless barbarian warriors... Antonio, we are facing real trouble now!"
Veteran Pedrol, eyes red, gripped a Barbarian’s Bronze Axe, venting his fury as he repeatedly hacked at the barbarian corpse! After chopping off a glaring head, he lifted it, staring hard into the barbarian’s icy eyes. Moments later, he tossed the head away and shouted, somewhat frantically.
"Antonio! These crazed barbarian warriors, like last time, are clearly divided into two types! One wearing Heavy Armor in formation battle against our soldiers. The other in Light Armor with archery, raiding and setting fires... These insane barbarians come intending not to return alive! They are possessed by Demons, driven to perishing together with us!"
"Demons! This can’t go on, can’t be so passive! We are always in the open, while barbarians emerge at night, from the south, ambushing us unexpectedly... If we don’t kill the Demon Wizard in the shadows behind them, driving these barbarian warriors, sooner or later we’ll be completely overwhelmed by these barbarians rising from the mountains!"
Hearing Pedrol’s anxious cries, and the hidden fear in his voice, Deputy Commander Antonio silently brooded, sighing heavily. He had never seen this veteran camp commander display such a lack of confidence!
However, forty-four Holy War veterans died in one night of battle, along with eight dead Church Followers! And the enemy left only a little over sixty corpses... This stark disparity in casualties during the stealth attack, not only left the arrogant veteran commander Pedrol unsettled but even him as the Deputy Commander with real power couldn’t remain still! Especially with those killed among the colonizing strong men, and the Taino slaves, either dead or escaped, yes, Taino "wards."
"Almighty protect us! How many of the strong men on the farm are left?"
"Deputy Commander Sir, the barbarian’s raid was held back for a while by the brave Holy War veterans. Among the farm’s strong men, quite a few ran away immediately, about fifty to sixty. As for those who stayed in the house, intending to fight the barbarians, they were all killed, including the Taino women they sought. The one to two hundred Taino slaves on the farm, all gone now! Including those hardened by Devil’s Curse, able to farm..."
"Damn it! I’m not asking about those Taino casualties! How many of the strong men died, and how many are left? Give me an exact number!"
"Uh... sixty-six dead, thirteen wounded, fifty-four escaped!"
"So there are seventy or so strong men left?"
"Yes! It depends if the priest can heal the wounded..."
Deputy Commander Antonio furrowed his brows, carefully calculating in his mind. After this painful stealth attack, only 164 Holy War veterans remained. Forty had boarded Columbus’s fleet and left. The Church’s knights and followers had over thirty remaining. That means stationed at the outpost, the reliable Kingdom’s core force only had over 150 left!
The Shenluo Mercenaries had only 65 left, completely unreliable. And the 170 sailors and shipwrights had to manage 8 large ships, especially 4 Carrack sailing ships, already somewhat scarce, needing the Taino natives as sailor laborers. As for the over sixty colonizing strong men who escaped and survived, those brave enough to fight died, the rest were already scared witless, useless forever...