48 Hours a Day - Chapter 171

Chapter 171

After sailing for 21 days, Zhang Heng could feel that they were getting closer and closer to their target . A few days ago, a pirate ship attempted to plunder the Goddess’ Spear . Unfortunately, the pirates were defeated, and the Goddess’ Spear managed to seize all their weapons . It was going to be hard for the Jackdaw to loot their ship since they were now more robust . After a short exchange of fire, both parties sustained some damage on their boat . In the end, the pirate ship was forced to flee the Goddess’ Spear when their secondary mast was destroyed . Once again, the Goddess’ Spear managed to survive yet another battle against pirates .

 After that, the Jackdaw crossed paths with the pirate ship that fought the Goddess’ Spear . Billy knew their helmsman, so, they were willing to tell the Jackdaw what they knew about the Goddess’ Spear .

 There were about 50 sailors on Goddess’ Spear . Their ship was equipped with 17 cannons . 9 of them were acquired from the pirate ship that they defeated earlier . Otherwise, they had keen sailors who knew how to fight well . The only drawback about the whaling ship was their speed . Having a hold filled with blubber and wax, they could go no faster than a humble 5 knots .

 If everything went well, the Jackdaw was set to catch up with Goddess’ Spear in about half a day . Unfortunately, the weather on that day changed all of a sudden . They could see menacing dark clouds billowing above the Jackdaw . Immediately, Merck, the person that in charge of maneuvering mainsail, instructed his people to climb to the top of the mast to tuck away the mainsail as the wind grew stronger . Some pirates started praying to the goddess Thetis to keep them safe .

 As for Zhang Heng, he stayed within the captain’s quarters and studied the nautical charts, not forgetting his promise to Laeli . Whenever he passed an inhabited island, he would put a mark on the chart . First, he would eliminate the islands that were too small . Islands that lacked essential resources and islands that were too exposed were also crossed off the list . He also made sure to exclude islands that were too close to the busy shipping lanes .

 In the end, there were three islands left for Zhang Heng to pick . He planned to pay them a visit after plundering the Goddess’ Spear . As he put away the charts, the ship suddenly shook violently .

 When he first entered this world, he would stumble around whenever the ship encountered a great storm . As of now, he became a lot more steady, as long as the storm wasn’t too severe . This was the result of his continuous fencing practice on the ship . To prevent himself from falling, all he needed to do was to adjust his center of gravity according to the way the ship moved in the storm .

 Zhang Heng opened the door of the rocky ship and walked to the gunwale . Large raindrops, coupled with salty mists, hit his face with a fury . On the deck, Billy was talking to the watchers .

 “Is everything okay?” asked Zhang Heng .

 “I was about to look for you . Everything is fine so far, except for a small problem to our northeast .

 “The Goddess’ Spear?”

 “I’m not too sure as well . I’ve been watching them for a while now . It seems like they have stopped moving . I think we’ll find out soon enough . We should be able to catch up to her in about thirty minutes .

 “Be careful . We need to avoid pulling up to its side . After knowing what the Pelican had to go through, they might use the same trick to defeat us . They would deliberately make their ship look deserted to bait us . Technically, we shouldn’t cross paths with them this early . Again, something might just happen to them in this period . After all, Goddess’ Spear isn’t the only threat around here . ”

 “Hold on . I will bring a team of scouts,” said Anne .

 At that, Zhang Heng simply nodded his head . All he could do right now was wait . At the same time, the entire Jackdaw prepared itself to go into full combat mode . Unfortunately, due to strong headwinds, they spent 40 minutes before they could catch up with the ship in front of them . Before they pulled up to it, Zhang Heng used his binoculars to check on it .

 Unlike the ordinary ships that passed by the Caribbean Sea, the ship in front of them seemed to be uniquely designed . The stern was round in shape, and it had four thick masts as well . However, her mainsail was broken . Its tall citadel and poop deck had it looking like a large ‘U’ from is side . Zhang Heng even noticed that the ship’s hull was covered in barnacles .

 Having determined its characteristics, Zhang Heng knew that this vessel wasn’t the Goddess’ Spear that they were looking for .

 “That’s… a carrack?”

 Billy was too sure as well . After all, the carrack, a type of vessel hailing from Spain, had gone extinct in the 17th century . Widely used in the 15th and 16th centuries, its unique design enabled it to carry more goods on board . The carrack’s large number of masts allowed it to move faster than its counterparts and was usually plyed the long-haul routes . When Magellan traveled around the world, four out of five of his ships were carracks .

 However, it usually costs so much to build that few actually owned the type . Besides, maneuvering the vessel was no easy task as well . When it went against the wind, its unnaturally tall forecastle and poop deck would be continuously battered by the winds . The carrack was used right until the Elizabeth Era, where it slowly went into retirement . Not too long after that, carracks were gradually replaced by galleons . Even an old experienced pirate, the likes of Billy had never seen a carrack before .

 “She sure has aged well,” said Billy .

 Although he saw what looked to be words engraved on the stern, it had been well eroded by time and the rigors of the ocean, and was no longer legible .

 “I don’t think there’s anyone on board . I’ll go with you . ”

 Zhang Heng shouted out loud to Anne, who was getting ready to launch a small boat . Other than Zhang Heng and Anne, Billy brought another four pirates with him as well . They had five oil lamps with them . The carrack was merely a stone’s throw away, but the rough sea kicked up by the storm caused the seven to have a tough time getting to it . When they finally got to the ship, they saw that the gunwale’s rope had already rotted away . Luckily, Billy brought a grappling hook with him .

 Once the hook was set in place, Anne volunteered to climb onto the ship first . Zhang Heng, Billy, and the other four pirates followed right behind her .

 “The deck is fine!”

 Anne used the oil lamp to look around the ship . Now, Zhang Heng could finally confirm his speculation . This ship did not belong to this era . Though it had cannons, they were too old and outdated to protect it from the weapons of the day . As compared to the Jackdaw, the carrack’s guns were like toys .

 “Let’s move in pairs . Search the ship . Safety is our priority . ”

 As Billy got on the ship, Zhang Heng started to delegate tasks, where each pair would search a different part of the ship . Then, Zhang Heng entered the captain’s quarters .