Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

On board Revenge, Drake bellowed orders, "Signal all ships to turn about, follow Revenge! We'll devour these galleons first! Do not board, shoot to sink them with cannons!"

Revenge was one of the five warships Drake had seized from Haidong Port; the Venetian navy thought there were only four, but actually, the fifth had escaped to the sea and was also captured by the Tanyrians.

Even though it was clear that warships with higher freeboards and castles held an advantage in boarding combat, Drake knew all too well that his pirate crew lacked the capability to endure casualties in brutal close combat—they could only fight with the wind at their backs.

Once the enemy boarded their ships and turned naval combat into brutal hand-to-hand combat, the pirates' morale would collapse immediately.

The Tanyria fleet turned about and charged towards the Venetian galleons.

The captains of the Venetian galleons also attacked the Tanyria fleet, and the distance between the two sides rapidly closed.

The characteristic of galleons was like a wolf: iron prow and brass stern with a weak midsection.

Because of the oars on the sides, the galleons could only attack head-on from their bows, where the hardest timbers, largest-caliber cannons, and boarding ramps were placed.

The gunwales were the most vulnerable part of the galleon, with only a few small-caliber swivel guns. This area was not only the weakest in firepower but also in structural integrity. A single fierce ram from a large sail ship aimed at this area could snap a galleon in two.

As the two fleets sailed head-on, the pirates impatiently fired the bow cannons at the galleons as soon as they were within range.
Your journey continues at empire

A cannonball, hitting at a steep angle, bounced off the sturdy fore castle of the Golden Lion.

Another galleon, White Eagle, wasn't so lucky. A cannonball shot straight from the prow into the deck. It passed through four sailors and stopped only when it hit a fifth. The cries of agony from the fore castle of this ship could be heard by nearby ships.

A sailor with a terrifying hole torn through him did not die immediately, but cried out heart-wrenchingly. Those beside him embraced him but were at a loss for what to do. The White Eagle's first mate immediately drew his knife and mercifully ended the sailor's suffering. The cries ceased, and there was no other sound from the fore castle of the White Eagle—apart from the beating of the drum.

Despite sustaining a round of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons did not return fire. The drums roared, and the Venetian galleons steadily approached their enemy.

Spire stayed by the side of the cannons at the bow of the Golden Lion, not in the safer stern castle like other captains, his hand gripping the iron spike that was heating in the brazier.

The Golden Lion had only one chance to fire its cannon, and Spire trusted only himself.

The warships drew ever closer, and the Venetian galleons entered musket range. The Tanyrians' larger ships crackled with gunfire, but the Venetian galleons still did not fire their cannons.

"To the right! See that ship with the black flag?" Spire, practically lying on the cannon's recoil bed, didn't blink as he stared down the barrel and said to his first mate, "I hate ships with black flags the most."

The flag on the right side of the castle was hoisted, and upon seeing it, the helmsman immediately turned the rudder to the right.

By now, the distance between the Golden Lion and the black-flagged large ship was less than twenty meters and the Venetian sailors could make out the beards of the Tanyrians.

At the cannon's recoil bed, muzzle, and black-flagged large ship—three points in a line.

"Now!" Spire plunged the red-hot iron spike into the touch hole.

The two-ton cannon, pushed back to the end of the slide by the recoil, made the ship tremble. Accompanied by an ear-ringing roar, the bow was shrouded in smoke.

A massive stone projectile left the cannon muzzle and flew towards the black-flagged ship.

With scant cannon positions, the galleons made up for their lack of numbers with firepower, often fitting three to five heavy cannons on the bow.

But the Golden Lion mounted only one cannon, with a caliber so large it was astonishing. Spire insisted that it was better to have one significantly larger cannon than three smaller ones.

This huge cannon positioned on the Golden Lion's bow was no ordinary cannon but an old-fashioned stone-thrower used in sieges. Not only was it extremely heavy and tedious to load, but it also had poor accuracy, capable of missing even targets as large as city walls.

Therefore, Spire had to get close enough—so close that "the muzzle could press against the enemy's forehead," close enough to ensure he would not miss—before firing.

With countless drawbacks, this cannon had only one advantage: power.

What were warships compared to a wall it could demolish?

The nearly two-hundred-pound stone projectile, like an angel of death, whistled as it shattered all wood and flesh that stood in its path. The black-flagged ship was smashed at the waterline, a gaping hole upon entry and another as the projectile left.

Seawater rushed into the hold, and amid the pirates' screams, the black-flagged ship began to list.

The sailors on the Golden Lion let out a deafening cheer.

The Golden Lion's initial cannon fire was a signal; the bow cannons on the other galleons roared in unison.

Cannonballs shot into the Tanyrians' bows, reaping lives in the holds. Another large sailing ship was breached below the waterline, sinking at the bow, and sailors scattered, leaping into the sea to flee.

After a volley of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons and the Tanyrian fleet charged into each other's formations, engaging in close-quarters battle.

Although the Venetians dominated the initial exchange with their bow cannons, the low profile of the galleons exposed a critical disadvantage in the boarding combat that followed.