Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Shakdiff

This fleet of twelve ships had set out from Scarpendo's lair the night before.Regardless of whether it is attacking from the front or encircling and robbing, for the patrol ship, this is a battle with great disparity in strength.There is no question about that.Moreover, as there was no wind to dodge it, Henry would never have done it, and the Tower of the West could not have fled ignominiously before a pirate's flag. Of these twelve ships, there were four clipper brigs with about sixteen or eighteen cannon on board.The remaining eight were of smaller tonnage, brigs equipped with special rigging, and equipped with light guns.The officers on the patrol ship judged that the enemy ship had more than one hundred firepower points. The patrol ship had twenty-two cannons and six short guns, and the 250 sailors on board were dealing with seven or eight hundred men. pirate.The disparity in power is obvious.Of course, the Occidental Tower's artillery superiority can also create a chance of victory, but only if the enemy ships can't get too close.It must be managed to keep it at a certain distance, and then fire the volley attack accurately.In short, try to avoid close combat. If there is a one-on-one hand-to-hand combat, the outcome is generally determined by the number of people, especially in naval battles. This is more important than land battles, because there is no way to retreat on board. .The final result can only be: shipwreck or surrender.

An hour later, the fog cleared, and the fleet obviously moved closer to the patrol ship, but the patrol ship remained motionless as if anchored in the middle of the sea. Henry has been closely watching the movement of the pirate fleet.The gun positions were ready for battle, and all the officers and sailors were in their positions.Those who are physically strong among the passengers volunteered to join the team and received weapons.The battery and deck were silent, broken only briefly by occasional conversations between the captain and Captain Todros. "Don't let them get close," Henry said to the mate. "As soon as the first ship comes within range, attack with the starboard guns."

"To hit the hull or the mast?" asked the mate. "Hit the hull, sink it," replied Henry. This is the best way to deal with these pirate ships. It would be terrible if they were allowed to come to the ship, especially this Shakdiff, look, he even hoisted the black flag.The only reason he dared to do this was because he was convinced that no one on the patrol ship, as long as he had seen his true face, would survive. After one o'clock at noon, the pirate ship was less than a nautical mile away from the patrol ship, and was still paddling closer.The Occidental Tower struggled to keep her bows facing north.The pirate ships lined up - two square-masted ships in the center, and the other two were lined up on both sides. The intention was very obvious - to outflank and flank the patrol ship, gradually narrowing the encirclement, first destroying it with firepower, and then boarding the ship to plunder some.

Henry saw its sinister intentions, but the ship couldn't move, and he couldn't stop the fleet's plan.But he could break their formation with heavy artillery before the encirclement was formed.The officers were a little impatient, why didn't the captain use their familiar voice to give the order to fire? No!Henry considered that he had to hit them all at once, and he had to wait for them all to come into range. Ten minutes passed.Everyone is waiting, the aimer is on the bolt, the officers are always ready to convey the captain's order, and the sailors on the deck are looking out one by one.Now that the first ships are within range, why not fire first while within effective range?

Henry remained silent.He watched as the opposing convoy rolled to either side of him, and the command ship—the one with the black flag of Shakdiff—was within a nautical mile of him now. If the captain of the Western Tower was not in a hurry to fire, it seemed that the pirate's command was not in a hurry either. Perhaps he still wanted to get close to the patrol ship without firing a single shot. Finally, Henry decided that he couldn't wait any longer.Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and the patrol ship adjusted its position, less than half a nautical mile from the sides of the two brigs.

"Attention decks and emplacements!" he cried. There was a slight commotion on board, and then silence again. "Aim at the hull!" Henry ordered. Immediately the officers communicated their orders, the gunners carefully aimed at the two brigs, and the men on deck readied the rigging. "Fire!" Captain Darbale ordered. The starboard volley fired.The eleven cannons and three short cannons on the deck also roared together, some of which were used to cut off the masts of enemy ships at medium distances. When the smoke from the artillery discharge cleared and the horizon reappeared, the effect of the attack just now was seen.Less deadly, but still powerful.

One of the brigs in the middle was partially shot out of the water, and the mast and rigging were all snapped off, and the mast broke from above the deck.It can still be driven, but it will take some time to repair the rigging.Now, the dangerous situation has temporarily eased. The other two brigs, to the left and starboard of the patrol ship, now moved in front of the Western Tower and fired so hard that the Western Tower could not dodge it. Unfortunately, the patrol ship was hit by two shots, the mizzen mast was broken, and all the rigging and canvas fell to the ground in a mess. Fortunately, the main mast was not damaged.All the rafts and boats on board were smashed.Most mournful of all was the loss of an officer and two sailors, and three or four were wounded and carried to the deck below.

Henri d'Albalay ordered the stern section to be cleared without delay.Thoroughly clean up broken rigging, canvas, debris, and more in minutes.The empty space will come in handy.There is not a minute to waste.The artillery fire became more and more fierce, and the patrol ship was now facing enemies from left and right, so they had to spread their firepower and deal with it from both sides. At this time, another volley of artillery fire from the Western Tower, this time, the aim was very accurate, and it hit two ships-one was a brig and the other was a small sailing ship-this time it hit the bandit. The underwater part of the ship, and the ship sank in just a moment.The pirates on the bandit boat jumped into the water one after another and swam to the brig, where they were immediately rescued aboard.

"Ulla! Ulla!" Seeing the power of this burst of artillery, the sailors of the patrol ship boosted their morale and couldn't help shouting loudly. "Sink both!" Captain Todros said. "Okay," Henry replied, "but those guys who fell into the water have climbed onto the brig, and I'm worried that if their numbers increase, it will be very bad for us if they come to the boat!" The artillery battle lasted a quarter of an hour.It was the same on both sides. After firing a burst of shells, nothing could be seen, everything was hidden in the gunpowder smoke.You have to wait until the smoke clears before you know what kind of loss you have caused to the other party and yourself.Unfortunately, the Western Tower suffered heavy losses this time: many sailors died, and many were injured.A French officer was shot in the chest by a bullet just as the captain was giving him orders.

Casualties were immediately carried below decks.Those shot and wounded by flying wood splinters required bandaging and surgery.But the military doctors and assistants simply couldn't handle it.This is only the casualties caused by the bombardment of the cannons. The muskets on the ships have not fired yet. It should be said that the casualties are very serious. Faced with such a situation, the women performed their duties in the closed hatch.Hadzina was the first to set an example for everyone, they cared for, encouraged and comforted the wounded. The old woman who had been hiding in the dark also came out of the shadows, and the sight of blood did not frighten her, obviously having seen countless battle scenes in her life.She used the dim light in the bilge to observe the injuries of the wounded and help with the most painful operations.When the patrol ship vibrated as it fired a volley of artillery, her eyes did not show the slightest panic or fear because of the explosion.

However, the Western Tower has inevitably met with the pirate bayonet.The bandit ship's encirclement is shrinking step by step, and the patrol ship has become the center of crossfire. Now, the Tower of the West is fighting to defend that flying flag.Its gunfire threatened the bandit ship, and two more enemy ships sank into the sea in the flames. It is inevitable that the bandit ships will come up.The only way out for the Western Tower was to break out of the encirclement, but there was no wind, and the patrol boats had no choice but to do anything, while the bandit ships relied on coolies to paddle, and they were approaching step by step. The black-flagged brig was within pistol range, and it concentrated all its fire on the Western Tower, hitting the patrol ship astern and knocking out the rudder. Henry asked people to hang up the protective net, ready to strike the enemy.There was a hail of bullets everywhere, and shrapnel of all kinds rained down on the Western Tower.More people on the ship fell, and almost all of them died immediately.Henry was almost hit, but he still commanded calmly, standing firmly on the command platform, issuing various orders, as if the sound of these guns was a rumbling salute to welcome him to review. At this time, through the diffuse gunpowder smoke, the two sides could already see each other's face clearly.The terrible curses of the pirates were heard.On the brig with the black flag, Henry never saw the man who could make the islands tremble-Shakdiff. At this moment, the brig and another ship, under the cover of other ships, approached the patrol ship from both sides.The anchor thrown from the bandit ship caught the rigging and the three sails became tangled together.The cannons were no longer roaring—it was too close.The sailors of the patrol ship, following the captain's order, were waiting by the portholes with weapons such as axes, pistols, spears, and sharp knives.The captain gave this order when the two ships began to approach. Suddenly there was a cry, so loud that it overshadowed the intense gunfire for an instant. "Get on board! Get on board!" The hand-to-hand combat turned horrific.No cannonball, no axe, no spear, could stop these mad murderous bandits from rushing up to the patrol ship.They climbed up the top of the mast and lowered the howitzers. Although the sailors of the Western Tower also threw grenades back at them, the sailors could not hold the deck.Although the protective net laid by Henry was higher than that of the brig, it was still breached.Seeing that the patrol ship was surrounded by groups.The gangsters almost completely punched through the protective netting, causing it to fall entirely to the ground.Relying on their numbers, they don't care how many people die as long as they can board this patrol ship.They seem to be fighting more and more. There are less than 200 sailors left on the patrol ship, and they are facing more than 600 bandits. And those two brigs are now a passage for transporting people.A steady stream of new power, such a large group of people, is irresistible. The Western Tower has become a blood vessel.In the convulsions before death, the wounded still struggled to get up to fire the last shot and punch.Everything was a mess in the smoke.However, as long as there is one last person left, the flag of Corfu will not fall. In this bloody battle, Kechalis fought like a fierce lion.He never left the stern, and he strapped a sharp ax to his strong wrist, and slashed at the pirate's head, saving Henry's life many times. Henri d'Albalay remained calm throughout the melee, and it was an outnumbered battle.What was he thinking?Surrender?No.A French officer would never surrender to pirates.But what to do?Follow the example of the heroic Bizon, who heroically blew up her ship and sank it in order not to fall into the hands of the Turks in a similar battle ten months ago?Did he die with the two bandit ships that were on board the patrol ship?But in this way, everyone on the Western Tower, including the wounded and the captives taken back from Nikolay Scotta, those women and children, cannot escape! . . . Haddina will die too! ... If they don't blow up the ship, they will be captured by Shakdiff and sold as slaves! "Watch out, Captain!" cried Kechalis, jumping up to him. One second later, Henry would die.Fortunately, Kechalis caught the pirate who wanted to attack him and threw him into the sea.Several pirates tried to approach him three times, but Kechalis knocked him down. Now, the entire deck is occupied by swarming pirates.There was no more gunfire, only hand-to-hand combat, and there was a lot of shouting. The bandits who occupied the foremast approached the main deck step by step, and gradually drove the sailors to the stern.The number of people is one to ten, how can we resist it?Now, even if Captain Henri Darbale wanted to blow up the ship, he couldn't do it.The gangsters who rushed up blocked the passage, making it impossible to get to the gunpowder depot. Anyway, pirates fight more and fight less.Captain Darbale and the others were forced to the stern, and the bodies of their dead comrades piled up into a hill, separating them from the front.As soon as the people behind pushed, the people standing in the front row opened a hole in the human wall, but they were piled up even higher by new corpses.They stepped over the corpses, wading in the blood, and rushed into the poop. There were about fifty of them, five or six officers, including Captain Todros.They surrounded the captain and prepared to fight to the death. In this narrow space, the battle is even more desperate!The flag, which had been dropped from the mast, was hoisted, the last post to which honor demands the last man. No matter how brave this small team was, they couldn't compete with the five or six hundred pirates who filled the entire ship, and new reinforcements were constantly coming up.The sailors in the poop were dwindling by the minute, while the bandits were growing in strength. But this poop building is like a bunker.The enemy made several attacks, and blood was shed to capture it.It's finally taken down!The sailors of the Western Tower were crushed to the taffrail in an avalanche.They surrounded the flag and blocked it with their bodies. Henry stood in the middle, holding a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other, making a desperate last resistance. No, the captain of the patrol boat will never surrender!But it is really outnumbered!He wanted to die...but he couldn't die!It seemed that the attackers had received a secret order to capture him alive.Just to carry out this secret order, at least more than 20 outlaws became Kechalis' ghosts. Henry and the few surviving officers around him were captured.Kechalis and other sailors could only watch helplessly, there was nothing they could do.The Western Tower's banner no longer flies! At the same moment, cheers, curses, and shouts sounded all around to greet their leader: "Shakdiv!... Shakdiv!..." The pirate chief finally makes an appearance on the patrol ship.The pirates hastened to make way for him.He walked slowly towards the stern, not caring that he was treading on the corpse of his accomplice.He went up the bloody poop escalator towards Henri d'Albalay. The captain of the Western Tower saw clearly now the man whom the pirates had just greeted with the name Shakdiff. He is Nicola Scotta.