The sailors on the Goddess' Spear were overjoyed to see the pirates fighting amongst themselves. They were unwilling to let their goods be taken away just like that, and they couldn't help but want to join in the fray.
To their surprise, the two captains didn't seem to be panicking at all. Zhang Heng did not expect Hutcheson to do something like this. He had asked Anne to stay on the Jackdaw out of caution. After all, the Jackdaw's strength lay in its cannons, not its crew.
That was why Zhang Heng left most of his men to be cannoneers. Most of them were young men in their twenties and thirties, and they weren't at a disadvantage when it came to close-quarters combat. With Anne around, it didn't take long for them to gain the upper hand. Zhang Heng could tell that Hutcheson's ambush wasn't to take down the Jackdaw in one fell swoop. All he wanted was to stall the Jackdaw and prevent it from joining the battle on the other side.
Obviously, the Quidah was his real target. But to Zhang Heng's surprise, Black Prince Sam didn't seem worried at all.
The Quidah was being attacked by two ships, and the situation didn't look good. However, Black Prince Sam was still calmly commanding his men to maintain the stability of the deck. When he saw Zhang Heng looking at him, he even had the mood to smile. "A lot of people say that I'm the best captain in this area. They even put me on the same level as Honegg and Blackbeard. All I can say is that they think too highly of me.
"I started sailing four years ago, and I came to Nassau a year later. At that time, I was just a nobody. I met Eric, who was the helmsman, at a tavern. Their original captain had secretly embezzled part of the loot that was supposed to belong to them, and he was fired after it was exposed. I didn't have a job at that time, and they just happened to be looking for a new captain. Both of us happened to be drunk, so when I woke up the next morning, I became the new captain of that ship."
Black Prince Sam paused for a moment. "When I first became the captain, I still wanted to work hard. I made a lot of preparations for my first sea raid. Unfortunately, I accidentally drank too much the night before. When I opened my eyes again, we were already back with a full load of loot."
"…"
"To this day, not many people know that my sailing skills are terrible, and my cannons are terrible. I still don't know how to mobilize my crew before a battle. Even so, my pirate group has become one of the most powerful pirate groups in Nassau in less than three years. All of this is because I have a group of outstanding subordinates. They are willing to trust me, and I trust them fully. This is the reason why we are able to dominate the seven seas. If anyone thinks that I'm not on the ship and they look down on the Quidah, they will pay the price."
The black helmsman was battered into a rather sorry state by the two rounds of cannon fire. The Quidah's mainmast was struck by a cannonball and toppled over. Enormous sails covered quite a few people. Most pirate crews would start to panic after suffering such a blow, especially since the captain wasn't on the ship right now. They lacked a backbone. However, the pirates on the Quidah quickly returned to their respective positions after a momentary daze.
The cannoneers continued to reload the cannons, the ship's doctor started to treat the wounded, the carpenters repaired the leaks, and even the cook helped clean the deck. The helmsman cursed as he got up from the ground. He dusted off the sawdust on his body and commanded the Quidah to turn around.
The other two ships, of course, wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity. The cannons became even fiercer.
However, the Quidah's sturdy hull played its role. It didn't sink under the barrage of attacks. The carpenters on the ship ran up and down, repairing the cracks on the ship. Miraculously, the Quidah survived. After that, the Quidah retracted its auxiliary sails.
Hutchinson was a little confused. He didn't know what the Quidah was doing. The bow and stern of the Quidah were facing them, which meant that the Quidah's side cannons were useless. The bow and stern cannons were still usable, but they were useless. Besides, lowering the sails meant that the Quidah had lost its power, and it was now in a passive position.
No captain with any sense would make such a choice.
Suddenly, the bottom of the Quidah opened up, and two rows of oars emerged from it. The oars stirred the water, and the Quidah charged at the other pirate ship.
Hutchinson was shocked. Although he had heard of the Quidah, he wasn't a local pirate. The information he had gathered was limited. He didn't know that the Quidah was a ship that could use both oars and sails. Since the wind was against them, the helmsman decisively retracted the sails and switched to using oars. The Quidah was now the fastest ship in the area.
The other pirate ship didn't expect the Quidah to be so fierce. It seemed as if they were going to fight to the death. In order to kill as much as possible, the two ships were very close to each other. It was too late for the helmsman to turn the ship around. He could only continue to fire, hoping to sink the Quidah. However, his plan failed.
Seeing that the two ships were about to collide, the helmsman's lips curled into a sinister smile. Fight to the death? This way of thinking was too naive.
Before the Quidah collided with the other ship, the other pirate ship shook violently. A huge crack appeared on the hull of the ship, and seawater gushed into the cabin. Such a huge crack was beyond the capabilities of a carpenter. There was no way to fix it, which meant that the sinking of the ship was inevitable. The pirates on the deck fled in terror. The captain was still in a daze, not knowing what was going on.
Hutchinson, who witnessed everything from afar, was also in disbelief. But soon, he realized something. "Ram?!"
A ram was a protrusion fixed on the bow of a ship, used to destroy enemy ships. It was usually hidden underwater (the long pole at the bow was not a ram). It was widely used by the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. However, during the 18th century, when cannons and cannons were popular, the ram was no longer a part of history. It was only in the mid-19th century that it was revived on ironclad ships.
Hutchison didn't expect the Quidah to be so old-fashioned. It even had a ram that had been abandoned by other ships. If they had known about this earlier, it wouldn't have been a problem. All they had to do was keep a safe distance from the Quidah. But now, they had suffered a great loss. They had lost a ship.
Hutchison was filled with regret, but it was too late to say anything now. He could only watch as the other ship sank, the sailors on it falling into the water in desperation. The Quidah had already turned its bow around.
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