On the 21st day of sailing, Zhang Heng could feel that they were getting closer and closer to their target. A few days ago, another group of pirates fought with the Goddess' Spear. This time, the whaling ship was equipped with weapons and equipment, and it was going to be a lot more difficult to deal with.
Both sides suffered some damage, and the battle ended with the pirate ship's auxiliary mast being hit. Once again, the Goddess' Spear was out of danger.
After that, the Jackdaw encountered the pirate ship that was returning to port for repairs. Coincidentally, Billy knew the boatswain, and the boatswain gave them the information he had on hand.
The Goddess' Spear had about fifty sailors and seventeen cannons. Nine of them were taken from the pirate ship that they had slaughtered previously. Other than that, the fifty sailors were all strong and strong. However, the whaling ship was not fast. Because it was filled with whale oil and whale wax, its maximum speed was only about five knots.
Calculating the time, if everything went smoothly, the two sides would probably meet in about half a day.
But at this moment, the weather had changed. Everyone could see the huge dark cloud hovering above their heads. The boatswain, Merck, had already dispatched his men to climb the mast and retract the sails when the wind picked up. Some of them were praying to the Sea Goddess, Tethys.
Zhang Heng, on the other hand, was studying the nautical chart in the captain's cabin. He did not forget what he promised Black Gladiator, marking all the uninhabited islands they encountered along the way. First of all, he ruled out those that were too small and lacked the necessary resources to survive. He also crossed out those that had no hidden environment. Other than that, the islands that were too close to the sea route were not a good choice.
In the end, there were only two or three options left. Zhang Heng planned to take some time to check them out on the way back.
As soon as he closed the chart, the ship started to shake.
When he first came to this world, it was inevitable that he would lose his balance in such a situation. Now, as long as the wind and waves weren't too strong, he would be able to move normally. Speaking of which, this was one of the advantages of practicing swordsmanship at sea. He needed to constantly adjust his center of gravity according to the undulations of the ship. The advantage of doing so was that even if he lost his balance on land, he could still recover quickly.
Zhang Heng opened the door and walked to the gangway. Raindrops flew in from the entrance, splashing on his face and smelling the salty sea breeze. On the deck, Billy was talking to the lookout.
"Is everything okay?" Zhang Heng asked.
"I was just about to go down to look for you. We are fine, but there seems to be a small problem on our right front," Billy said, handing the copper binoculars to Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng placed the binoculars in front of his right eye and saw a small black dot moving in the wind and rain.
"The Goddess' Spear?"
"I don't know. I've been watching for a while. It seems to have stopped there. But we'll know soon. At our current speed, we'll get close to it in half an hour."
"Be careful. Try to avoid its broadside when you chase it. With what happened to Pelican as an example, we can't rule out the possibility that the enemy will play the same trick again and pretend that there is no one around, waiting for us to take the bait." Logically speaking, the two sides shouldn't be meeting each other so soon. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility that something unexpected might happen. Besides, other than the Goddess' Spear, there were other dangers lurking in the sea.
"Wait a moment, I'll lead a team to scout the area first," Annie said.
All they had to do now was to wait. The Jackdaw entered combat mode, and all crew members were in position. Even the gunners were positioned in front of the cannons. As the wind was not in their favor, it took the Jackdaw almost 40 minutes to catch up with the ship in the distance.
But before that, Zhang Heng saw the ship in its entirety through the binoculars.
Different from the ships currently traversing the Caribbean Sea, this ship's appearance was somewhat peculiar. It had a circular stern, four thick masts, but the horizontal sails were already tattered. The tall forecastle and poop gave it a U-shape from the side. The ship's hull was covered with conch shells and green seaweed, appearing uneven.
With just a glance, Zhang Heng was certain that this ship was not the Goddess' Spear that they were looking for.
"Is this … a clark ship?" There was some uncertainty in Billy's words. After all, this kind of Spanish sailing ship had basically disappeared as early as the early 17th century. However, it was once popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. This design allowed it to carry more cargo and was suitable for ocean trade. More masts also gave the ship more power. When Magellan traveled around the world, four of his five ships were clark ships.
However, due to the high cost of construction and the difficulty of operating them, especially when the wind was against them, the overly tall forecastle and poop made it easy to catch the wind. During the Elizabethan era, clark ships gradually retired from history and were replaced by the simpler and more maneuverable Galleon.
Up until now, even an old sailor like Billy had never seen such an old-fashioned ship.
"This thing looks like it's been around for a long time," the helmsman exclaimed. The helmsman sighed. He saw the words engraved on the stern of the ship. It should be the name of the ship, but because too much time had passed, the place had rotted, and the words were blurred.
Zhang Heng called out to Anne, who was about to lower the boat. "There should be no one on board now. I'll go with you."
Billy and four other sailors boarded the ship with five oil lamps. The sea was stormy, and the ship was drifting around. Even though it wasn't too far away, the seven of them still had to put in a lot of effort to get close to it. The ropes on the side of the ship had rotted and could no longer withstand any force. Fortunately, Billy had expected this and brought a claw hook with him.
Once the claw hook was secured, Anne took the lead and climbed on board, followed by another sailor and Zhang Heng. Billy was in charge of covering the rear.
When Anne landed, she raised the oil lamp in her hand and shone it around. "The deck is fine," she said.
Zhang Heng climbed over the side of the ship. If he was just speculating earlier, he was now certain that this ship did not belong to this era. Although the ship was equipped with cannons, the models were very old. Compared to the 30 cannons on the Jackdaw, these cannons were like toys. There was no way they could protect themselves in the sea.
"Split up into groups of two and search the ship. Be careful." After Billy boarded the ship, Zhang Heng assigned everyone to the areas they were responsible for.
The six of them dispersed, and Zhang Heng walked to the captain's cabin.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
