Chapter 208 - Contest (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Both the Jackdaw and Swordfish raised their black flags at the same time, racing to the Spanish treasure s.h.i.+p as fast as their sails could carry them. Although the Jackdaw was closer to the Spanish s.h.i.+p, the Swordfish caught up to the Jackdaw in no time. The moment their s.h.i.+ps were aligned, Brook slowed down and moved at the Jackdaw’s speed. He did this knowing that the enemies will focus their fire on the Swordfish if Brook overtook the Jackdaw.

There was a 200-meter gap between the Jackdaw and the Swordfish. Being this close to each other, they could quickly help the other if necessary. At the same time, they hadn’t gotten too close to the point where they would lose their agility as well.

The Spanish convoy finally saw their enemies. Immediately, they slowed down and maneuvered their s.h.i.+p so that their side cannons pointed at the enemies. They were at the ready to get into a battle with Zhang Heng and Brook.

On the other side of things, Billy and Anne were standing on the deck, having their eyes fixed on their prey. They couldn’t help but feel a little worried. The intel that Black Prince Sam acquired earlier was extremely accurate. However, as opposed to what he heard, things were different when he saw the vessel with his own eyes. This was Zhang Heng’s second encounter with such a ma.s.sive s.h.i.+p, its size only slightly smaller in comparison with the pride of the Royal Navy and the king of the Caribbean Sea, the Scarborough.

Originally, the Jackdaw was a corvette. When put beside an ordinary merchant s.h.i.+p, the Jackdaw was large enough to terrify most of them. However, when compared to the Spanish treasure s.h.i.+p, the Jackdaw appeared to be on the losing side.

“Are we going to fight this monster later?” asked a newly recruited cannoneer.

“We are not going to fight them. All we need to do is to draw their attention. We’ll need to lure them to the back of Parrot Island. Once they get there, the other four pirate s.h.i.+ps will fire at them simultaneously,” explained Dufresne.

Unfortunately, the explanation did little to calm the nerves of all the pirates on board. After looking at the tremendous number of cannons on the Spanish s.h.i.+p, they began second-guessing their own capabilities. Thankfully, they were calmer in a situation like this when compared to the older pirates that partic.i.p.ated in taking down the Scarborough. Fifteen minutes later, the Jackdaw had officially entered the shooting range of their enemies. Surprisingly, they weren’t greeted by the enemy’s cannons.

Zhang Heng and Billy had a bad feeling, anxious that things might not go according to plan. This could only mean one thing. This wasn’t going to be an easy enemy. Usually, amateurs would attack the moment their enemies entered their range of fire, believing that they would be able to drop in a couple of rounds before their enemies got close. Sadly, they didn’t consider the fact that the cannons would overheat from the continuous shooting. Once the cannons overheated, the crew would have to cool them down before they could use it again. This meant they would become sitting ducks.

During the initial rounds of shooting, it was usually tough to accurately land cannonb.a.l.l.s on the enemies. Even if they did somehow manage to land a couple of lucky shots, the damage to their s.h.i.+p would be minimal. Truly experienced commanders would wait for the enemies to enter their effecting shooting range before firing their cannons at them. In other words, there was a greater chance of inflicting serious damage if they fired all their cannons on a target close enough.

“Are we going forward?” asked Billy.

Every step that the Jackdaw took would only increase their risk of being annihilated. A calculated approach was essential in this situation.