Waiting was always a long and tedious process.
Other than the lookout, the rest of the crew had nothing to do. Some were taking a nap in their hammocks, some were chatting with each other, and some were checking their weapons and praying.
Although Harry had been a street bully before, leading a group of kids to kill the kids on the next street, this was the first time he had faced a serious battle. Annie thought that Harry would be scared to death, but when she found him, he looked a little nervous, but more excited.
Harry was now pestering the quartermaster, begging him to give him a weapon to defend himself.
"Mr. Dufresne, I can fight too. Didn't Captain Zhang Heng always say that when the battle starts, there's no way out?"
"What weapon do you want?"
"A gun. I'm at a disadvantage in close-quarters combat, but I can shoot from a distance." Harry was full of confidence.
"Have you practiced shooting before?"
"No. But as the saying goes, everyone has their first time. Captain Zhang Heng's first shot wasn't that good."
"In fact, when I first met Captain Zhang Heng, his marksmanship was incredible." The quartermaster paused for a moment before continuing, "A gun is out of the question. I don't want to be shot in the back when I'm charging."
"Don't be so stingy. I won't shoot you."
"I doubt it."
Harry wanted to say something else, but when he saw the red-haired girl walking towards him, his expression changed as if he had met his natural enemy. He immediately wanted to run away.
"Mr. Dufresne, did Harry cause trouble for you again?" Anne asked sternly. "Mr. Dufresne, did Harry cause you trouble again?"
"No, on the contrary. Mr. Harry helped me a lot this morning. We worked together to tally up the weapons on our ship," the quartermaster said, and Harry's expression brightened up.
"I see," Anne said, pouting.
Harry was speechless. What's with that regretful tone? Is it because you can't find a reason to beat me up?!
Of course, he only dared to complain in his heart. Then, he heard Annie say, "Follow me."
Harry followed the red-haired girl all the way to the kitchen. He was no stranger to this place because he had been peeling potatoes here recently. "When the battle starts, you will stay here with Mr. Ramsey. You can come out when the battle is over," Annie said.
"Ha."
"Huh?" The red-haired girl raised her eyebrows.
Harry quickly explained, "I don't mean to be dissatisfied. It's just that I've been cleaning the toilet for so long as you asked me to since I boarded the ship. I almost cut my fingers off peeling potatoes. I think maybe I can take on more responsibility now."
"What you said seems to make sense." "When the battle begins, stay here and protect yourself and Mr. Ramsey."
"But what's the difference between this and before?" Harry's eyes widened.
"What difference do you want?" the red-haired girl countered.
"For example … you want me to stay on the deck?" Harry begged. "This is my first time participating in a battle at sea. Please, Boss Annie. How am I going to tell the others that I stayed in the cabin like a coward when the battle started?"
After saying that, Harry felt a little inappropriate. He turned around and apologized to the chef, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ramsey. I'm not targeting you."
"It's okay. You're not the first, and you won't be the last."
"A real battle isn't as simple as fighting on the streets with a bunch of kids. If you want to join in the battle, that's fine. But you'll have to wait for two years." Annie was unmoved.
…
On the other hand, Zhang Heng was playing with the shell in the captain's cabin.
He had carried this thing with him for three weeks, and nothing unusual had happened. At first, he thought it was because he was on land. But now that he was out at sea, the ancient Celtic god who called herself Betty never came looking for him.
Other than that, Zhang Heng also asked Annie to arrange someone to keep an eye on Seth. As the first person on the ship to come into contact with this thing, Zhang Heng wasn't sure if the ancient Celtic god named Betty would still affect him.
After so many days, however, Seth seemed to be very quiet and didn't do anything suspicious. It was as if he had been freed from this matter and had returned to his previous lifestyle.
Zhang Heng wasn't in a hurry. Other than giving his worshippers the power to control storms, he didn't know what other tricks they had up their sleeves. So, it wouldn't be too late to study the tule tree's wooden box first.
And so, the first day passed peacefully.
The next morning, everything was still the same. The weather was clear, and the sea was calm. The Spanish treasure ship was still nowhere to be seen. In the afternoon, just when everyone was about to lose their cool, the lookout finally spotted something.
Zhang Heng raised the copper binoculars in his hand. At first, there were only three black dots in the distance, and he couldn't tell what they were. As time passed, Zhang Heng could vaguely see the Spanish flag fluttering on the mast.
At the same time, the lookout point on Parrot Island sent a message to the two pirate ships through the mirror.
"The target is here. Get ready," said Zhang Heng as he put away the binoculars.
Billy ordered the sailors to return to their posts. At the same time, the Jackdaw raised its black flag. The next moment, Zhang Heng and a few veteran sailors looked up at the same time.
The breeze from the southeast was now blowing southwest. Billy furrowed his brows. This meant that they would have to spend more time to get close to the treasure ship. In other words, they might be bombarded by cannons for a longer period of time.
However, the distance between the two parties was very close, and there was no time to make any adjustments. Zhang Heng stood at the bow, holding the rope in one hand and the saber in the other. "Adjust the sails! Charge at them as fast as you can!"
As they had rehearsed the possible scenarios beforehand, everyone on the Jackdaw knew that they were just bait. Their goal was to attract the enemy's attention. So, the key to success or failure wasn't how much damage they could inflict on the enemy. Instead, it was whether they could withstand the enemy's attacks. Other than the helmsman, the carpenters on the ship were the most stressed out.
They had prepared wood and tools in advance, ready to fix the holes in the ship.
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