novelAbuy Chapter 1900 1373: Blast Them to Pieces with Buckshot!
Chapter 1900 1373: Blast Them to Pieces with Buckshot!
"Almighty bears witness! They are certainly local native tribes, not the Black Oil Devils! The black oil on them must have been smeared with oil from this Black Lake! Their weapons, also smeared with black oil, appear dark and eerie!""Holy Mother! What the scholar says might be right... But anyway, they must be related to demons! Even if they're humans, they must be followers of the demon, and should be burned and judged by fire!"
"Damn it! Little Paul and Big Ears were attacked and killed! We need to find the tribe worshipping demons, slaughter their village, and give them a lesson!"
"Almighty bless us! A total of four sailors were killed by these Black Oil 'Demons'! Two others are injured... This Black Oil Lake is truly bizarre and evil! Even if they are not demons, merely indigenous demon worshippers... This Black Oil Lake must undeniably be a creation of Evil Demons, a gateway to Hell! I think we should not linger on this island, but leave quickly to avoid the curse of demons!"
The Portuguese crew, still shaken, retreated back to the ship, while the pursuing Black Oil "Demons" were also terrified by the cannons and scattered into the jungle. Between the Black Lake and the ship, only four bloodied sailor corpses lay with pierced chests. These gradually solidifying faces of terror narrated the horror from when the "Demons" arrived, similar to the expressions of natives as they were slaughtered.
On the flagship "Saint Remier," Bruno's face was pale as he listened to Scholar Martin's analysis, speechless for a long time. He knew that Scholar Martin was right. This time it wasn't a "demon." It was the native tribes smeared with black oil, disguised as "Demons" to ambush them!
The crew wasn't defeated by the natives, but by their internal fear of "Demons" near this eerie Black Lake. Consequently, everyone fled without resistance, and four sailors were easily killed, losing four lives in a single instance! If not for Scholar Martin's timely empty cannon shots scaring away the pursuing natives, more sailors would have died!
"Damn, this is a complete humiliation! It's an offense to the Kingdom of Portugal! We can't just leave with our tails between our legs, otherwise the fleet's morale will plummet!"
Bruno gritted his teeth, humiliated and angry. He took a deep breath, looked around at faces either ashamed or still fearful, and finally gazed at Sailor Chief Haloduo. This cook-turned-boatswain secretly worships demons, is most knowledgeable about demon rites, and fears them the least...
"Haloduo, you know... cough! You fear demon threats the least! Take some people, wear Leather Armor, grab Scimitars, and Matchlock Guns... Retrieve the bodies of the four dead sailors! When we sail into the deep sea, we'll give them a burial at sea!"
"At your service, chief!"
"Matim! Load the ammunition, prepare the cannons!... Once the sailors' bodies are recovered, the fleet will embark again. This time, we won't land or enter the forest but sail around the island along the coast... If we spot any native coastal villages, blast them!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The captain steadied his heart and made his decision. The rest of the crew soon calmed down too, preparing for a venting slaughter.
In a corner unnoticed on the ship, the clever Shushu pursed his lips, fearfully looking at the smoking eight-pound cannon. Beside him, Ah Yue, hearing the cannon for the first time, curled into a ball, stared fearfully at the sky, and shivered continuously.
"Ah... Ah... Thunder... Heavenly Divine..."
"Ah Yue, don't be scared. That's not the thunder of Heavenly Divine!... That is a 'Magic Artifact' of these white-skinned people, called 'cannon' (canhão). It shoots out thunder and balls; I've seen many at sea, even numerous ships firing 'thunder' to attack the captain who captured me... Just hide behind, don't face the muzzle, and the Magic Artifact won't harm you, you'll be safe!"
"Ah?... It's a Shaman's 'Magic Artifact', not Heavenly Divine's thunder?... Is that so?"
Shushu comforted for quite a while before Ah Yue managed to swallow his saliva and slowly recover from the fear that shook his spirits.
Most tribes in the New Continent undergo this extreme shock and fear when encountering cannons for the first time. Just like recently, the island's Caribbean Tribe had clearly ambushed successfully, firmly holding the upper hand, even chasing the landing sailors, but only an empty cannon shot intimidated them to scatter in fear. For local natives, the "white-skinned people" wielding cannons are the most terrifying enemies!
"Spirit of Ayonbanan! Shushu, who is the shaman wielding this powerful Magic Artifact? Is it the Leader commanding everyone?"
"Uh..."
The clever Shushu blinked his eyes, cautiously looking at the many crew members onboard. To the crew, this "meek native" seemed timid, nearly non-threatening, examined by priests with the cross of the Almighty... Usually, no one guards against him.
Yet Shushu was far more astute than he appeared. He had already discerned who on the ship understood the most, who held the highest status, who was akin to a shaman!
"Ah Yue, that Leader is their 'Capitao' (capitão), the 'Chieftain'. And another, wearing a shiny hat and clothes... Yes, him! He's the 'Eduduzo' (Estudioso) of the white-skinned people, their 'Shaman'! He carries no weapons, only strange spirit communication objects. Earlier, he directed the Magic Artifact's thunder!"
"Is... is it him?"
Ah Yue pursed his lips, focusing intently on Scholar Martin's back as if determined to etch the "white-skinned Shaman" into his memory. At this moment, nobody knew his thoughts or his underlying courage to resist!
"Damn it! Where's that native Shushu? Get him over here to work! Bring that newly captured laborer too!"
When the sailors' call came, Shushu hurriedly kicked Ah Yue, then bent low and ran out obediently, a smile still on his face.
"Chegando! Coming right away!"
Soon, the bodies of the four sailors were retrieved, and the Portuguese fleet hoisted the sails, leaving the coast near the Black Lake. Then, menacingly, they circled the island but couldn't spot the hidden Caribbean Tribe. The fleet only saw a vacant village and several uncovered canoe fishing boats.
The Caribbean Tribe's villages resemble those of the Taino Tribe. Around the villages are cassava fields, some with small ponds for breeding sea turtles and fish. In the villages, there are pointed thatched-roof houses, though the Taino's dwellings are larger, whereas the Caribbean's are usually smaller.
The greatest difference between the two tribes may lie around the tribe's fire pits. Taino people offer peaceful "Zemi Totems", depicting trees, flowers, or stone shapes. Meanwhile, the Caribbean people offer warlike "Zemi Totems", depicting aggressive eagles, wolves, crocodiles, sometimes with war spoils like enemy skulls or Bones.
If Bruno hadn't dispatched personnel to retrieve the bodies of the four deceased sailors, their heads would likely appear around the "Zemi Totem", much like the Lokono skulls offered beside the totem.
"Damn it! These natives have hidden! They must be in the island's jungle!"
"What do we do? Should we land, go into the jungle to find them?"
"I'm not going! This Devil Island is too eerie! That terrifying Black Oil Lake makes me shiver just thinking about its evil!"
"...No more arguing! The captain orders! Send a team of sailors ashore to set fire to their village!"
Quartermaster Matim sneered at the empty village and the faintly visible jungle nearby. He gazed deeply at the jungle, then patted the ship's cannon, laughing as he spoke.
"Haha! Load grapeshot mixed with pebbles! Once the village is ablaze, if any natives rush out from the jungle to extinguish the fire... we'll turn them into sieves with grapeshot!"