Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1918 1390: Native Ambush! Fire, Escape!!

"Boom! Boom!...""Oh Lord! The cannonball just grazed the mast, nearly hitting the rear mast!..."

"Damn it! Hoist the sails to full! Quickly, full sail!..."

The moonlight flickered, and the sea was as gloomy as the abyss. The booming cannon fire, frantic cries, and the ripping wind from the ships breaking through the waves all resounded around the flagship, like wailing before the abyss closes in!

Captain Bruno was jolted awake by the sudden shouting, and the ensuing cannon fire made him shiver, sweat instantly beading on his forehead! They had been ambushed by the natives at night without any defenses! This was absolutely a dangerous situation, the most hazardous noted in the Portuguese maritime code!

"Damn it! Quick! Full sail, speed up! Mobilize all crew, including the laboring sailors in the hold!..."

Bruno, barefoot and holding his saber, dashed out from the captain's cabin at the stern. Two whistling stone shots grazed past the rear mast, crashing into the sea a few meters away. He quickly looked back, only to see the dimly lit sea illuminated with firelight like beastly eyes, opening up like the maw of an abyssal sea beast! Two similarly shaped light sailing ships charged at two of their ships like the fangs of an abyssal sea beast!

"Oh Lord! How do the natives have a Caravel fast ship?! And they silently sneaked into such a close position, how is this possible?!"

At this moment, Bruno's knees went weak, nearly groaning aloud. The two approaching ships were clearly classic Caravel types. The center triangular sails stretched extremely long, moving at an astonishing speed despite light winds. Beneath the triangular sails was an even more terrifying scene! The ships were packed tight with native warriors. Though he couldn't see their devilish faces, those glistening Long Spears, Bronze Axes, and Scimitars flashed coldly in the night!

"Ah! So many native warriors dressed in Leather Armor?! Are those the Scimitars we traded? Even two cannons... Foda-se! Using our weapons to ambush us? A damned bunch of barbarians!"

Bruno was filled with dread, his body breaking out in goosebumps. The natives were numerous, like sparrows at the end of autumn descending upon the wheat stalks in the field! Their intentions were obvious, without a doubt...

"Foda-se! Boss! The native large ship is still closing in at full speed! Their prow is coming straight at us! They're going to board! They must be boarding!!..."

"Who boards right off the bat?! These are Berbers, it's the Berber pirate tactic!..."

"Hurry, accelerate! Increase the ship's speed!... There are too many natives! Too many natives on the opposing ships! If they latch onto us for boarding, we're done for!..."

"Boom! Boom!..."

Two more stone shots fired from the native ship's bow behind them! One flew past the stern, while the other crashed into the ship's side, creating a bowl-sized hole.

"...You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet!..."

At this moment, for some reason, Bruno thought of this passage from Matthew's gospel. As a naval officer who had roamed, plundered, and burned on the Southern Continent for ten years, he finally calmed his nerves after the shock of the native ambush. He then widened his eagle eyes, surveying the entire sea battle situation.

"The wind blows from north to south, the enemy comes from the southeast, half against the wind... Hiss! What's that further southeast? Another large group of indistinguishable small ships?..."

"Damn! There are too many enemies! We must leave the battlefield immediately! There's headwind to the north, native reinforcements to the southeast... We must escape westward at full speed! Have Silvira's Vice Ship flee quickly too!..."

The moon peeked out from the clouds, brightening the sea battlefield. Four light sailing ships had already formed the four vertices of a trapezoid, sailing together westward. At present, the Portuguese to the west and the Kingdom Navy to the east occupied one slanting side of the trapezoid each. Due to the difference in ship speeds, both sides continued to close in, with the upper and lower bases of the trapezoid gradually shortening!

"Quick! Move the 8-pound cannons on the ship's side to the stern! Fire immediately, hinder the pursuing enemy ships! Set up the Matchlock Guns at the stern too! Fire along with the cannons! No matter if we hit or not, scare those natives and slow their pursuit!..."

"Damn it! The native sailboats are already within two hundred meters!... What was the lookout doing tonight? How did they allow the enemy to get so close?!..."

Bruno's heart was boiling with anger; he felt like taking out a whip and ruthlessly lashing the alert crew before hanging him from the mast. Allowing the enemy to get this close was catastrophic based on the Portuguese Navy's experiences!

The wind tonight wasn't strong, and it kept changing. Nearshore navigation required extra caution... The speed of the natives' ship was estimated to be just over two knots! They could travel 4 to 5 kilometers in an hour, which meant slightly over 1 kilometer per quarter.

The ship was manned by seasoned naval sailors. From the moment the enemy was detected to the fleet cutting the anchors, hoisting the sails, and setting sail, only a little over a quarter had passed. Then the flagship slowly accelerated, taking most of another quarter to reach just over one knot. During this time, the enemies likely pursued over one kilometer in one go, closing in to an extremely dangerous 200 meters!...

This meant that the alert lookout and crew spotted the enemy at roughly one kilometer away! In reality, given tonight's conditions, this distance of detection and reaction entirely proved the lookout and crew were competent!

This is representative of the seasoned Portuguese Navy, bearing the highest maritime experience and skills in all of Europe, enabling them to respond to night raids. Even if it were the Navy of Castile, they wouldn't be so professional and sharp!

Like when Columbus previously led the fleet recklessly into the lagoon, only to be encircled by the Kingdom's oar-sail ships... Such mistakes would never be made by the Portuguese Navy! Even if ambushed at night, they could immediately cut the anchors and quickly hoist sails to flee!

"The lookout on the flagship is useless! Standing so high, seeing nothing!... Damn Silvira, how is he managing the crew? His lookout post is closer inside and yet failed to give an early warning... They're even bigger fools! Damn it!..."

"The worst are those damned savage natives! They traded with us during the day and then ambushed us at night!... No, they're all in canoes, where did the light sailing ship come from? Could it be from the west? That Cipangu Cuba?… Hiss! Was this anchorage over the past few days the natives' plot?!!..."

Bruno was startled and increasingly fearful. He paced the deck like a furious trapped beast in agony. Naval battles of this era were prolonged engagements, and even ambushes weren't swift! Like now, the ships were only two hundred meters apart, but with the speed difference, they were barely gaining on each other, only moving 30 meters a minute.

If the speeds remained constant, then roughly in seven minutes, the pursuing Kingdom sailboat could crash into the flagship of the Portuguese exploration fleet. But the flagship's speed was still gradually increasing, and the speed difference was narrowing. In this short two hundred meters, they could see each other's faces at sea as if knowing they must board and fight, yet uncertain how long the chase would last!

"Bang! Bang!"

Quartermaster Matim led the command as six or seven crew members, their eyes red, scrambled to load the matchlock guns. The dim light, along with the ship's rocking, made accuracy a real challenge. They fired a chaotic round of "Bang! Bang!" at the pursuing enemy ship before frantically and skillfully reloading.

As for the 8-pound cannon, Boatswain Haroldo, along with Big John and a few enslaved native laborers, desperately pushed it to the stern. The sailors began loading ammunition, while Noble Scholar Martin, trembling all over, took out the intricate angle measurer to gauge the shooting angle!

"O Lord! I already said these greedy sailors should have returned early! If we fall into the hands of these barbaric natives… Damn them! These non-believers in the Lord!..."

At the brink of life and death, Noble Scholar Martin was under intense pressure, consumed with fear and anger. As a true noble, he hadn't yet enjoyed the life of a manor on an island; how could he die here silently like a sea dog? If captured by savages, his noble status in the Catholic World would be utterly useless...

"Adjust the angle! Adjust the angle! Elevate it a bit more, aim at the center of the mast!... As long as we break the mast, damage the sails, or undermine their waterline... their speed will decrease! Yes, elevate a bit more!..."

Scholar Martin meticulously measured the angle, but his trembling hand wouldn't steady. The 8-pound cannon was powerful enough, yet too slow to load, permitting only two shots at best! And the fleet's life and death hung on his command of the firing!

"Lord, bless us!… This angle should be about right!... Yes, just like that!"

To measure more clearly, Scholar Martin took two steps back, pressing against the right ship rail to steady himself. He directed the sailors with effort, adjusting the cannon's position. In front of him were several sweating sailors carefully calibrating the cannon, and behind him was a silent native laborer with lowered head carrying ammunition. Just as Martin inhaled to command "Fogo" to fire... the native laborer who had waited long suddenly dropped the ammunition and pounced silently like a panther!

"Fire... huh? You!... No! Don't!!... Stop! Ugh!... Ahhh! No!!!..."

"Huh? Martin!!..."

"Boom!!..."

Scholar Martin let out a piercing scream that rocked the flagship! In the terrified eyes of the crew, seeing the panicked gunner ignite the match cord "Boom" with the explosion, two entangled figures tumbled down the ship's rail!