Chapter 122: The Decisive Battle to the Death 4
TL: Etude
Prepare the muskets!
Prepare the grenades!
Prepare the swivel guns!
The navys six galleons, while not equipped with large cannons, were fitted with flexibly rotating swivel guns.
The sailors were divided into two groups: one armed with swords or axes for close combat, responsible for dealing with enemies who boarded the ship. Each of these sailors was also equipped with several clay pot grenades.
The other group of sailors was armed with muskets, positioned behind the melee soldiers, responsible for taking down enemies engaged in close combat with their comrades.
The equipment department, considering that current naval battles were still primarily boarding actions and preparing for potential future street fighting, had Herman and others specially design a type of large-caliber musket with a short range, capable of firing buckshot (iron scraps).
This musket, dubbed Big Spitter by the soldiers, was practically a handheld cannon. The iron scraps it fired could drench enemies within a twenty to thirty-meter fan-shaped area in blood, and because of the numerous and tiny scraps, they were extremely difficult to remove once embedded in the flesh.
Nearly half of the muskets equipped by the sailors were these Big Spitters.
As enemy ships drew near, the soldiers equipped with long-barreled muskets fired first. The initial volley created great chaos among the pirates, forcing them to duck to avoid the bullets.
When the ships got close enough, six pirate ships each engaged a navy vessel.
Throw the grappling hooks!
Risking being shot by muskets, some pirates threw large iron hooks onto the navy ships, with ropes attached to their tails. Once hooked onto the navy ships rails, they pulled the ropes during the sailors reloading gaps, quickly drawing the vessels together.
As the pirates pulled the ropes, the sailors vigorously threw grenades onto the enemy ships. Even if the pirates lay flat on the deck, they were still vulnerable to the blasts.
Fortunately, due to the weather, they were dressed thickly. With the current power of the grenades, as long as shrapnel or nails did not hit exposed parts, they only felt severe pain. However, many were still injured.
Lower the boarding planks!
Thick planks from the pirate ships flipped over, their iron-studded ends landing on the navy ships rails.
Charge! Kill them!
The pirates stood up with a roar and rushed onto the planks towards the navy ships.
Now is the time, fire!
The swivel guns on the six galleons fired in succession. The buckshot swept the pirates crowded on the planks, sending them all plummeting into the sea to feed the fish.
Dont stop! Charge them! Get close to them!
The pirate leaders shouted loudly, some even leading the charge for the second time towards the planks.
Bang! Bang!
The close-range Big Spitters fired, and though not as powerful as the swivel guns, the inflicted wounds were agonizing enough to incapacitate the pirates.
On land, the situation might have been slightly better, but on the unstable planks between the two ships, the sudden strong impact caused the pirates to lose their balance. The second wave attempting to cross the planks also fell into the sea, howling in pain.
Normally, after such consecutive attacks, any regular pirate group would have surrendered or dispersed. However, to strengthen his forces and recover from the disadvantage caused by the loss of the first four ships, Gaden commanded his core men to take the drug a second time.
Although the dosage was much smaller the second time, many, under the cumulative effect of the drugs, were nearly delirious, consumed by a thirst for the enemys blood.
Those who retained some semblance of sanity no longer feared casualties and turned a blind eye to the dreadful fate of their comrades ahead.
The boarding planks were short, and it only took a few seconds for the pirates to charge across them, not enough time for the sailors to complete a second round of ammunition loading.
Brothers, kill them! The captains of each ship led by example, fighting hand-to-hand with the invading pirates. Due to the chaos, most of the musket-armed soldiers also drew their swords and joined the melee.
Ha! Captain Yarman shouted, barely blocking an incoming longsword with his own. The shock numbed his hands, and he was astonished to encounter such strength. He had always been proud of his own strength, but it seemed inferior to that of the pirates.
Yarman forcefully parried the pirates blade and engaged in close combat. After several exchanges, he realized that the pirate was merely strong but used wide, reckless swings, fighting as if he had no regard for his life.
The pirate, almost in a frenzy, had veins bulging on his exposed arms, seemingly about to burst.
Come on, blue-veined dog! the pirate screamed madly, saliva dripping from his mouth. He raised his longsword and charged at Yarman again.
Yarman tensed up, but instead of blocking or dodging, he saw an opportunity to sweep the pirate off his feet. Clang! The pirate fell to the deck.
Struggling to rise, the pirate was impaled by a sword from behind, chilling him to the core.
Captain Yarman withdrew his sword, took a breath, and surveyed the surroundings.
Due to the gunfire before the boarding battle, the pirates had suffered many casualties and were numerically inferior to the navy. However, each pirate seemed incredibly strong, often requiring two or three sailors to barely hold off one.
Yarman felt something was amiss. Had he ever encountered such powerful pirates?
Fortunately, the sailors participating in this battle were no longer the rookies they once were. Rigorous obedience training and iron discipline had overcome their fear and panic. Generous combat rewards stirred their fighting spirit, and their extensive combat experience against pirates added to their effectiveness. With these factors, the navy was not overwhelmed by the pirates.
And they still had muskets!
Not all musket-armed sailors joined the melee. Some continued to fire.
These marksmen were carefully selected for their quick reflexes and rapid aiming. Each was assisted by specially trained helpers for reloading. After firing, they would hand the empty musket to an assistant for reloading while taking another loaded musket from a different assistant, aiming and firing at a new target in a continuous cycle.
Unlike some gunfight movies, where heroes take multiple shots and continue fighting, in reality, a single bullet often incapacitates a person.
Moreover, in this world without the Hague Conventions, Aldan army bullets were made of lead. Lead, being soft, released all its kinetic energy upon hitting the body, causing severe deformation or fragmentation of the bullet. This created a trumpet-shaped cavity in the body, inflicting wounds hundreds of times larger than the bullets diameter. The instantaneous pressure on the circulatory system compounded the damage. If any bullet fragments were not removed from the wound, they could cause lead poisoning.
Although Gadens pirates, under the influence of drugs, had dramatically increased strength, endurance, and resilience, they were not immune to the physiological effects of bullet wounds. The accelerated blood circulation meant that arterial hits resulted in severe bleeding.
On the other hand, even though smoothbore muskets were not accurate at long ranges, at the close distances on the deck, marksmen almost always hit their targets. The main concern was to avoid hitting their comrades engaged in melee.
As gunfire continued on each battleship, one by one, the fiercely fighting pirates fell on the decks.
Pirates hit in vital areas like the heart or head died instantly, while those hit in the limbs collapsed and never got up again, quickly finished off by the sailors.
The scale of victory rapidly tipped in favor of the navy.
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