Chapter 232
“Stay calm! Hold your ground! Where’s the ammunition? When is the next batch going to be here?” shouted Billy as he shuffled around the deck .
“It’s on the way . It will be here soon, Mr . Billy . ”
A short-looking sailor dragged two crates of ammunition while trying his fastest to get to Billy .
“Mr . Billy . Two of our cannons were destroyed, and three of our cannoneers are wounded . ”
“Quickly! Get someone to replace them . ”
Just as Billy turned around, a cannonball suddenly landed half a meter away from him, penetrating the ship’s hull! The short sailor had taken most of the brunt of the attack . His arm was completely shattered, crushed beyond redemption . The pain he was in caused him to fall to the ground, screaming hysterically for help .
“Quickly send him to Vincent . The rest of us continue with the attack!”
Instantly, two men came over and carried the injured pirate to the doctor . The crew had seen an incident like this far too many times, and thus, none were distracted by it . After all, most of Jackdaw’s recruits were experienced pirates . All that was in addition to the recent violent skirmishes they went through . Even if there was someone new onboard, they should be all grown up by now .
“Damn it! These guys outgun us by a large margin . It would be nice if we had our twenty-four-pound cannons here,” gasped one of the cannoneers while wiping the blood off his face .
“Everyone! Hang in there! We will defeat them and take back our gold!”
The busiest person on Jackdaw right now had to be Vincent . He had once dreamt of becoming a botanist . Right now, he played an essential role on the ship . There were injured lying everywhere in the sickbay . Due to the lack of beds, some had to make do with the tables and the floor . Blood could be seen on every surface of the infirmary, only to be made worse by the screams and howls of decapitated men .
Luckily, Vincent was well-prepared for such a situation . Before they departed to Parrot Island, he had collected some fine sand from the beach and scattered them all over the floor . By doing that, he solved the problem of the bloody, slippery floor . Right after he was done extracting a bullet from a pirate’s arm, the short pirate was carried into the infirmary . Vincent quickly examined his wounds and discovered that the bones in his arm had been completely shattered . Not to mention the flesh hanging off it, the mangled mess was a lost cause . It would have to be amputated right away .
He took out a wooden stick and asked the short pirate to bite on it . Then, he instructed his assistants to hold the man’s limbs down . Vincent then brought out a hacksaw and prepared himself to sever the poor pirate’s arm . Suddenly, he remembered what Zhang Heng told him earlier . It was crucial for him to apply heat to the tools that he used on his patients . Before he carried on, he retrieved the stick from the man’s mouth and fed him some rum .
“Are you ready? I will begin if you are ready . ”
On another note, the plan that Zhang Heng, Billy, and the senior officers coined was finally working . The strategy Worden was so proud of was ineffective against Jackdaw . Instead, Jackdaw was the one constantly putting them under the limelight . Until now, Worden still didn’t dare show his face . However, despite the chaos, he remained very calm . Though half of his men were either injured or had died in battle, he had no intention to retreat . That was because Kent’s cannons still had the upper hand in this battle .
This had nothing to do with the courage and skill of his cannoneers . It was simply because Kent had greater firepower than Jackdaw . Jackdaw and Kent were battleships of the same type . Technically, they should be equal in firepower as well . However, Jackdaw now sorely lacked ammunition . Left with no other options, Zhang Heng had to replace all the twenty-four-pound cannons with the twelve-pounders . Thanks to that, they were now significantly weaker than Kent .
In reality, Jackdaw’s cannoneers actually exceeded Worden’s expectations . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were equally as potent as the formally-trained Royal Navy .
“If this goes on, we won’t be able to hold up for much longer,” said Billy who sounded very worried .
Zhang Heng managed to kill another red-uniformed gunner before he replied .
“Time to use our backup plan,” Zhang Heng replied while looking at Anne .
“Is… is that doable?” asked Billy .
“We have killed two-thirds of the enemy’s gunmen . I would say our success rate has gone up, but I will need someone to cover me,” Zhang Heng said .
“Are six men enough?”
“Two is more than enough . It’s pointless to have so many cover me . ”
While he talked, Zhang Heng sent his men to the captain’s quarters to get his weapons bag . There were four rifles in it . Ever since Zhang Heng bought them from Baal, he realized that they were of great help when taking over Scarborough . From that day onwards, Zhang Heng realized that rifles were an invaluable piece of weaponry in any battle . However, he was still under Blackbeard at that time and hence, wasn’t allowed to get three more rifles for himself . Right until he set sail to plunder the Spanish treasure ship, did he purchase three more of it from Baal .
This was their moment to shine . Zhang Heng crouched and crept to the gunwale . He then lifted one of his rifles . At such close proximity, the smoothbore gun would be an excellent choice as well . However, a rifle was definitely more reliable since it allowed the shooter to administer a lethal shot to his enemy . He then took aim at Kent’s helmsman .
“Follow my orders . Get Jackdaw closer to Kent . ”
Jackdaw’s maneuvers couldn’t fool Worden’s eyes . Though he was ready to fight if the pirates boarded his ship, he had no reason to give up the advantage he had right now . So, he quickly ordered his helmsman to stay as far as possible from Jackdaw . Before Worden could even finish explaining, Kent’s helmsman suddenly dropped to the ground, dead as a doornail .
Worden frowned in frustration . Accidents like this happened all the time during a battle . Although unsettling, he was used to it . Immediately, Chris looked for someone to replace the dead helmsman . Right after the new helmsman took over the wheel, Zhang Heng killed him as well .
“Captain, someone is targeting our helmsmen!” shouted Chris .
“What are you afraid of?! They are just aiming for one person . Use whoever we have to block him from the bullets . Our human wall should suffice for now . Just hang in there . Soon, we will sink them indefinitely . ”
Right after Chris received the order, he ordered some men to form up and block all incoming bullets . Of course, all those chosen were extremely unhappy with the decision . However, they had worked for Worden for some time now and knew about the consequences they would suffer if they disobeyed him . They might just be able to live if they followed the order . However, if they left right now, they would be ensured an ending worse than a crumbling wall .
Leaving with no other choice, they were forced to barricade the new helmsman to protect him . With no qualms whatsoever, Zhang Heng killed all who formed the human shield first before again . taking out the helmsman . Faced by Zhang Heng’s masterful marksmanship, everyone was soon too afraid to step up again . Chris had to keep on repeating himself, screaming for sailors to step up, and man up . However, no matter how desperate his orders were, no sailor would budge from where they were .
Unfortunately, Zhang Heng’s position was exposed . Due to the overwhelming firepower of the enemy, the pirates that covered him and reloaded his guns were hit . No thanks to that, they managed to buy Jackdaw enough time to get closer to Kent . They were now only ten meters from each other .
In the chaos of raining bullets and thunderous cannons, Zhang Heng took the opportunity to change position . He then continued to reload his rifles and kept firing at his enemy nonstop . Once both ships were side by side, Anne and the rest of the pirates launched their signature grappling hooks over Kent’s gunwale, bridging the two vessels together . Then, under heavy fire, she led a group of pirates to board Kent, the flagship of the Royal Navy .
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