Chapter 127 - Compromise (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Even after he had taken care of the young officer whose name he did not know, Zhang Heng did not have to relax, because almost immediately after, two other men came charging at him. He only had time to take a few breaths before having to jump into the fight again.

The pirates’ first wave of attack was very fierce. They followed the group of scattered British sailors onto the Scarborough so that the ninety cannons of the Scarborough were completely useless. Soon, however, they were left in a bitter fight.

No matter how you put it, there were nearly 700 men on the Scarborough, whereas the pirates only had less than 200 men. Because they were so short-handed, even Marvin, a cook, had to partic.i.p.ate in the battle. Marvin, still trembling, armed with a boarding axe, and charged with the group of pirates. But only halfway forward, he was already regretting it. Bullets were flying everywhere, and there was smoke all around him. The cries of pain, and the bodies sprawled all over the floor, the gus.h.i.+ng blood—it was all a torture to his mind.

He wanted to turn around and bolt but there were people all everywhere. He was so overwhelmed with fear that his mind froze. By the time he snapped back to reality, he was already standing on the deck of the Scarborough. Once on the s.h.i.+p, the pirates around him dispersed, searching for a prey. A moment after, something grabbed his leg and when he looked down, the farmer’s son realized that the hand belonged to a British sailor with a bullet in his chest. The man’s hand was covered in his own blood, and he was muttering something. Marvin fell to the ground, his boarding axe landed right next to him. He rolled and crawled to escape the hand; the only thought in his mind was to escape this purgatory.

All around him people were fighting. Less than five feet away from him, a pirate who was shot six times, refused to go down. He waved the cutla.s.s in his hand, an angry determination in his eyes, until someone stabbed him in the abdomen. On the other side, an overwrought attempting to reload his gun had his hand cut off as he was reaching for the gunpower.

Marvin could not look anymore. He lowered his head and continued to move on his hands and knees. He had only crawled a few steps when a hand grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. It was an extremely Herculean sailor. From the bloodstains on his uniform, Marvin could tell that he had fought pretty well today. The sailor looked up and grinned at the Marvin who was desperately trying to kick his way out with his short, chubby legs.

The sailor pointed his saber at Marvin’s back, ready to go for the kill when blood suddenly exploded from his forehead. His towering body swayed and then finally dropped to the ground with a loud thud, motionless.

Zhang Heng withdrew his pistol. He had just gotten rid of two enemies when he turned around and saw that Marvin was in trouble. He rescued the farmer’s son, and then quickly moved on to another side.

The pirates had the absolute upper hand in the first round of melee combat. The musketeers had barely performed their duties when the enemies rushed in and slaughtered them. The new recruits’ performance was especially terrible. They held the fort for only a while and already they began to flee, breaking the formation.

Of course, the pirates took this opportunity to advance and butcher the enemy. In five minutes, the navy had suffered over a hundred casualties. But Zhang Heng knew that this was just a veneer. With Scarborough’s number, once they were able to secure their positions, it was only a matter of time before the pirates were defeated.

Winning this uphill battle was going to be very difficult. The only way to do it was to kill the commander of the s.h.i.+p.

The morale of low-level sailors, especially the new recruits, were very unstable. Without someone directing them, they would easily crumble in the face of death.