Apart from his long range advantage, Mogensha wasn't fighting alone. There was still Reef acting as a human meat shield in front. Hence, Sheyan's objective was simple. That was to test his long range offensive capabilities against the opposing contestant!
"The outcome of this battle, should be preordained before it begins. If not, there's no need to fight."
Unknowingly, such a phrase floated into Sheyan's mind.
In actual fact, to Sheyan, this battle had yet to begin, yet he was already in an undefeatable position. Even if any mishap occurred, even if the opponent held the advantage in long range combat, the Hill Maiden could still accelerate in a flash, and bluntly shake them off!
Very quickly, both sides gradually entered the effective shooting range of 800 meters. At this time, both sides would be violently rocking on the surface of the sea. Therefore, if they only relied on 1 or 2 bow and stern cannons to attack, the hit rate was completely up to fate. It would be considered good if they could achieve a hit rate of 2% -3%.
Under normal circumstances, if one wished to inflict heavy damage to the enemy, one would have to turn the ship horizontally, and utilize multiple cannons to open fire; using quantity to compensate for the low accuracy rate. This was practically impossible in a high-speed chase where both parties were traveling at similar speeds.
As the distance between both parties drew closer, Sheyan suddenly whispered a few words into Mogensha's ears. The latter's face first exposed an astonished expression, before he came to a realization and nodded with a sinister smile.
In the following long range shootout, the other contestants still hadn't realized Sheyan's sinister intentions! Every contestant with long range offensive capabilities was frantically firing their guns, while Mogensha was calmly firing away. Yet strangely, after 10 seconds of firing, muffled echoes could be heard from Reef's shield. Yet the opposing contestants didn't appear to be hit at all.
While the opposing contestants were loudly mocking Mogensha's clumsy marksmanship, they suddenly heard several miserable shrieks from behind. As it turns out, Mogensha's shots were shockingly aimed at their ship's sailors! Sheyan's meticulous thoughts could be seen at a glance. Naturally, under the protection of the 40% rule and near-death state of a contestant, it wasn't realistic to kill a contestant across the vast sea. In such a confrontation, it would be hard to slay the opponent to drop a key, and reap substantial benefits.
However, for those contestants who had caught up, it was impossible for them to grasp the skill of sailing on a ship. Therefore, after leaving the pirate's ship, it could be said that if they wanted to sail freely on the sea, they would be greatly affected.
Therefore, Sheyan wanted Mogensha to kill those storyline pirates first! It must be known that hiring pirates was also a very costly and energy-consuming matter. Continuing to consume their manpower was equivalent to depriving them of their money and energy. The weaker the other party's forces were, the harder it would be for them to contend against Party Ace. Then, the chances of Party Ace being hindered by external forces in completing their missions would be lower.
After Mogensha consecutively disposed of 6-7 pirates on the opposite masts, the masts of the two ships behind were practically empty. The contestants at the back reflected on this painful experience, as they furiously cursed and cursed. Then, they started to lay their hands on the pirates on Sheyan's ships.
Regrettably, how could Sheyan not expect them to do such a thing?
Sheyan had long ordered the majority of the sails to be fixed, while the main sails were personally controlled by him, a man who wasn't afraid of fighting. In this manner, though the efficiency of the sails was too low, it was still fair for both parties. Similarly, the ships behind didn't dare to be manned by experienced pirates, and the number of people manning the sails naturally plummeted substantially.
Furthermore, after the Hill Maiden's modifications, the cannons on the original Hill Maiden had been removed, and were replaced with 20 additional rower positions! Therefore, in terms of mobility, the disparity between both parties was even greater. At present, if Sheyan wanted to shake them off, it was simply a matter of minutes and seconds.
Witnessing that they had fallen into the enemy's trap, the contestants at the back were incomparably infuriated. They started to launch frenzied assaults against Party Ace's ship. One of them didn't hesitate to raise a shoulder-mounted launcher similar to a 'Stinger' missile, and blasted it towards Party Ace's ship!
Amidst a thunderous boom, thick billows of smoke billowed out from the Hill Maiden. A 2-3 metre large hole was blasted out from the stern of the ship. Fortunately, the standard durability of a third rate ship was above 30,000, and it wouldn't be so easily sunk. At this moment, Sheyan ordered the ship to speed up. Once they left the enemy's attack range, it was naturally time for Carpenter Spike to take action.
Spike lived up to his reputation. With the assistance of sufficient manpower, after a series of clanking and clanking, he completed the repair of the ship within 10 minutes. Following that, Sheyan immediately ordered for a detour, and launched a surprise attack from the side.
The opposing contestants appeared to be unfamiliar with naval warfare, and didn't even deploy a lookout post. They merely stared blankly ahead, and weren't prepared for Party Ace's ship to speed up and sail in from the right. Thus, Brother Black soundlessly disposed of three of their sailors before they were discovered!
By the time the opposing contestants roared furiously in retaliation, the Hill Maiden had already sped away by relying on its superior speed. Thus, this back and forth tug-of-war dragged on till night fell. The pirates under the opposing contestants had already suffered disastrous casualties, and no one was willing to climb up to the mast to operate the sails. This signified that they had completely forsaken their mobility!
After several rounds of tug-of-war, some of them instantly sensed that things weren't looking good. One of the third rate ships had already fled upon witnessing the situation. After the contestants of the remaining ship discussed, they decided to defend with all their might. They erected an artillery shield at the side of the ship, but instead, they resembled a lifeless fish, lying alone on the sea surface; an exceptionally desolate sight. If they hadn't harbored malicious intentions to pursue Sheyan and snatch the Hill Maiden, they wouldn't have fallen to such a state.
At this moment, Sheyan wouldn't be softhearted, and allowed Brother Black to slowly carve up their flesh with a blunt knife. After slaughtering the pirates until they didn't dare to show their heads, Brother Black aimed at the ship's main mast and opened fire. Instead, the remaining ship only had a single sniper. Moreover, his capabilities in all aspects were still relatively low. After firing a single shot, the interval between each shot was close to a minute.
Because Reef and Sheyan took turns to protect him, he didn't pose any threat to Mogensha at all! Towards the end, even the sniper himself had quietened down and was too lazy to continue attacking. A single sniper bullet required utility points to purchase, and the price wasn't cheap at all.
After persisting for half an hour, the three masts of the opposing third rate ship had been broken apart one by one. With a loud rumble, the ship collapsed, splashing up waves into the sea. Brother Black had also fired several thousand utility points worth of bullets, causing the ship to sustain such heavy damage. Even Sheyan's ship's professional carpenter, Spike, would require at least 2-3 days to repair. What more, those contestants' ships probably didn't have such crew members?
Hence, when those contestants who had lost their masts slowly sailed back to Tetujia, they would at least be delayed for 48 precious hours. Moreover, they had lost at least a dozen pirates, which amounted to a loss of at least 10,000 guineas. To them, the actual value of 10,000 guineas was only slightly more than 10,000 utility points.
This was also a bitter lesson that Sheyan had taught them – to not provoke people they shouldn't provoke! To Sheyan, the most arduous phase was yet to come. At present, he had to beat those contestants until they were afraid, so that they wouldn't dare to hinder him in the future! Of course, if those contestants didn't know what was good for them and provoked him in the future, then Sheyan would directly resort to underhanded means to kill them for the key.
For the rest of the voyage, Sheyan requested for the ship to proceed at full speed. After the revamped 'Hill Maiden' was equipped with a first-rate sailor, its speed was indeed 30% faster than when it first entered Tortuga. Hence, even though the distance between Port Royal and Tortuga exceeded several thousand nautical miles, after two days and nights of sailing, they had arrived at a distance of 20-30 nautical miles from Port Royal.
Of course, as a former commissioned warship of the Royal Navy, the Hill Maiden absolutely couldn't swagger into Port Royal. Fortunately, Port Royal was akin to China's Quanzhou and Guangzhou during the Song Dynasty. Naturally, there would be a smuggling port and wharf nearby. Thus, Sheyan left behind a few infamous pirates who were easily recognizable. Instead, he brought along 7-8 subordinates who were familiar with the surrounding terrain like Joshamee, before disembarking at the smuggling port. Then, they boarded a carriage and headed towards Port Royal.
*****
Compared to Tortuga, Port Royal appeared much more beautiful and elegant. White sandy beaches, green coconut trees and palm trees, layered constructions, clean outer walls, and lofty and sturdy fortresses and cannons. All of these were the epitome of discipline and awe. Apart from that, patrolling marines would occasionally appear.
These guys were dressed in ceremonial attire, with the most striking being their red and white military uniforms. Especially their white wigs and red jackets, they were exceptionally striking. Their dazzling bayonets, slender silk stockings, and even thick leather boots that were inclined towards femininity. Their proud strides were akin to that of a rooster, leaving a deep impression in one's mind.
If Sheyan brought Philip and the rest here, their hearts would definitely be filled with intense sorrow upon seeing their former comrades. (To be continued.) If you like this work, I welcome you to donate your recommendation votes or monthly votes to * * (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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