"Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting your celebration," said Orff. Orff said. At the same time, he glanced at the pirates. A few of them who were standing to the side wanted to sneak away, but the old helmsman said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to punish you for leaving your post. After all, we just won a very good battle. I just want to say that I'm honored to fight alongside all of you. There's nothing wrong with indulging yourself at times like this, right?"
As soon as he said that, the pirates breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the noisy atmosphere. Some of them even teased Orff about how he was almost shot in the balls by a rookie sailor during the battle.
After a while, Orff said, "I think I heard someone say that they want to go all out just now. Am I right?"
The pirate who spoke earlier stood up and said, "Mr. Orff, everyone wants to know when we can go all out. With this ship, we can take down any prey we want!"
His words were immediately met with cheers and agreement. It was every man's dream to pilot a warship like the Scarborough into battle. Although they had not fully recovered from their injuries, many of them could not help but feel the itch to do it.
"Very well, then let's test the power of these giant cannons," said Orff, satisfied.
"Now?" The pirates were confused. The battle was over, and there was no other prey around them. How were they going to test the power of the cannons now? Were they going to shoot the air?
"Who said we don't have a target?" Orff pointed at the Sea Lion in the distance. "Isn't that a ready-made target?"
The latter was now floating on the surface of the sea, looking a little listless. The deck was crowded with British Navy soldiers who had their weapons taken away. Most of them looked depressed, and some of their eyes were filled with confusion. Until now, they could not understand how they had lost the battle. What was worse was that they did not know what fate would be waiting for them when they returned.
Not only did they suffer heavy casualties this time, but they also lost the Scarborough. The chief officer was killed, and even the captain was kidnapped. The enemy was not a regular army, but just a group of pirates. In the past, they were the ones who were beaten to a pulp. This was the biggest humiliation in the history of the Royal Navy. Now, they were the ones who were nailed to the pillar of shame.
Looking at the Scarborough not far away, many people could not help but burst into tears.
On the other side, on the second deck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, the pirates were silent.
The civilized world viewed them as wild beasts and villains. These fellows did not object to this view. In fact, they were even a little smug because only those who were strong enough could survive in these seas.
Every time they went out to sea, they had to face the threat of the navy, reefs, pirate hunters, and even other pirates. The weak would be eliminated, leaving behind fearless warriors. They regarded the Queen and the law as nothing, but this did not mean that they had no taboos.
As men, they took promises very seriously. Earlier, their captain had promised his crew that as long as the navy put down their weapons, they would not hurt them. But now, Orff wanted to break his promise. He wanted them to shoot at a group of defenseless people who had surrendered.
This was a little hard for them to accept. After a moment of silence, someone could not help but ask, "We've never done this before. Is this the captain's order?"
"What's in it for me to forge an order?" Orff shrugged.
"According to the rules, we only need to obey the captain's orders unconditionally during the battle," another person said. "Now that the battle is over, I think we can vote on this matter."
"Don't be silly. Do you know what the consequences of letting these people go back? Soon, every port will know that the Scarborough is in the hands of the pirates. They will recruit more men and build more cannons. Do you think Bellomont will still go to Charleston to attend his daughter's wedding? And if we miss this opportunity, it will not be easy to catch such a big shot again. "
Orff frowned. "We can't take such a risk. What the captain said earlier was just to stabilize the situation. After all, we are outnumbered. More than a hundred exhausted people want to capture more than four hundred armed soldiers. It's impossible without some tricks. Gentlemen, don't forget the purpose of this battle. If we don't have the treasure, why would we take such a big risk to take this ship?"
The old helmsman's last words finally moved the pirates on the deck. In order to find Kidd's treasure, they had paid an unimaginable price along the way. Less than a third of the original group of people were left. If they failed because of a moment of soft-heartedness, no one could accept the consequences of such a thing.
… …
The last boat carrying the sailors approached the Sea Lion. The people on the deck threw down a rope ladder to let the people below onto the ship. No matter what, compared to their comrades who had died, they were undoubtedly lucky to be alive.
Although the future was uncertain after losing this battle, there was still hope as long as they could survive. At this time, whether it was the officers or the sailors, the estrangement between each other had lessened a lot. The quartermaster was distributing hard biscuits with worms inside, and the captain's cabin was given to the wounded. Suddenly, a commotion broke out.
Because they saw the Scarborough suddenly open its cannons, like a deep-sea monster baring its sharp teeth.
"Oh my God!" The quartermaster dropped the basket in his hand, and the biscuits inside were scattered everywhere. His mouth was wide open, and his eyes were filled with despair.
At the same time, panic spread on the deck at an incredible speed. The sailors were driven by instinct to run away, but they did not know where else to run to. A small group of people who were still clear-headed wanted to untie the ropes and raise the sails, but it was too late.
No one knew the range of the cannons better than the people on the ship.
Edward? Teach stood quietly in the captain's cabin, looking at the Sea Lion that was engulfed by the cannons. It was like a broken toy that was ravaged by a willful child, and finally turned into pieces.
The firing lasted for a full five minutes. When it was all over, there was only silence on the burning sea, and half of the broken mast rose and fell with the waves.
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