"Alana! Think carefully! Was it Sailor Chief Qia Chu who first took the lead? Or was there soone else instigating..."
"Uh!..."
Captain of the Guard Alana stood nervously at the door, pulling at his hair as he thought, and replied sowhat uncertainly.
"It seems at the very beginning... Sailor Chief Barto ntioned it in passing, saying it's been a long ti since he's been with a woman? Then two others started making a fuss, they seed to be senior sailors under Captain De La Cosa... could it be..."
"Sailor Chief Barto, Second Captain De La Cosa!..."
Hearing this, Columbus' gaze turned sharp, and the expression on his face grew increasingly fierce, his voice was low like a beast.
"Alana, what is De La Cosa doing now? Did he see you bringing won on board? What did he say?!"
"Uh!... The Second Captain seed to have gone to sleep in the cabin early... the whole night, he never showed up, nor did he manage the chaotic sailors... saying this, it indeed seems a bit strange..."
"rda! That De La Cosa, he must be mocking ! Maybe, this is exactly his secret mischief, trying to instigate it! He's trying to harm !..."
Columbus, filled with rage, forcefully thrust the rapier in his hand into the floor, as if stabbing at those "foolish" crew mbers.
"Vaffanculo! These foolish, rotten seeds! Just discovered a new route, and each one starts having ideas... if I had a handy 'knife', I'd drag out a couple of troublemakers and kill them, to properly establish the ship's rules!..."
As he cursed, Columbus gritted his teeth, his face full of murderous intent. Unfortunately, he didn't have skilled hands capable of killing, still unable to control this group of scum on the ship. At that mont, he suddenly missed those Holy Roman rcenaries he had encountered, those people were all skilled killers without a blink!...
"rda! If I leave the captain's cabin now and see those foolish troublemakers... if I kill them, I might trigger a mutiny. If I don't, my authority as a commander would be trampled underfoot again..."
"As a captain, if I can't hang sailors, how can I establish true authority? And as long as there's enough gold, I can hire that band of lawless individuals... they can not only kill and cover up debts but also suppress the sailors... next ti we set sail, must definitely..."
Columbus' face shifted, gradually turning sullen and dangerous in the dim light. After a while, he looked at Alana and instructed in a deep voice.
"Witness the Almighty! After all this commotion, those fools should have vented enough... Alana, you are the Captain of the Guard, and also the person I trust most! Regarding the ss you all made, right now I have no choice but to pretend I didn't see it... go back now, gather your confidants, and deal with the won you brought on board!"
"Ah! Commander, should I go deal with it? How to handle it?..."
"rda! How to handle it, do I still need to say it?!"
Seeing Columbus' hideous expression, Alana paused for a mont, nodded with understanding.
"Yes! Commander, I understand..."
"Then hurry up and get lost! rda! Rember to keep a close watch on that De La Cosa! As soon as the opportunity arises, I'll eventually have to..."
Columbus' ferocious voice gradually faded, becoming inaudible. Alana's heart trembled slightly, he took a deep breath, and with a fierce look on his face, he walked out of the captain's cabin. Shortly after, a quarrel among sailors could be heard from the ship, followed by the screams of several won, and vaguely the curses of the sailors. Then ca the "splash" sounds of heavy objects falling into the water, and everything quieted down again.
In the captain's cabin, Columbus listened for a while, finally showing a slight smile. He lowered his head, continuing to write today's finale in his navigation journal, praying to the rciful Almighty.
"rciful Almighty! The rciful and wise Queen and King... these gentle and friendly islanders could be converted into Christians of the Almighty, and subjects obedient to Your Majesty... the brave Expedition Commander will surely strive to spread faith for the Almighty, and glory for the Queen... Bless these ignorant Indians, bringing them into the rciful rule of Your Majesty!..."
The tides roared, and in the night wind ca the scent of blood, along with rciful prayers. And when the long night passed, Columbus' fleet set sail once again.
On October 14th, Columbus' fleet left Santa Maria Island, sailing southwest, discovering and naming Santa Maria Island (Crocodile Island). This island had a very wide bay suitable for building a port. On this long and narrow island, they were warmly welcod by the Taino Tribe once again, traded for more valuable cotton yarn balls, and forcibly collected all the scattered gold. After confirming no threat from the Taino People, they indulged themselves in the village, and captured six able-bodied Taino n to take aboard as gifts for the Queen.
"The Almighty shelters! They know nothing of the military... as long as the Queen and King give the order, we can bring all the natives back to the Kingdom of Castile, or keep them all detained on the island! Because with fifty of us, we can conquer thousands of islanders, whatever we want to do, we can do..."
After writing such an entry in the diary, Columbus also learned more about the surrounding details from the captured Taino people. Clearly, in the nearby waters, there were many islands of various sizes, which he nad "Bahamas," aning "The Sea of Shallow Waters." What he was relentlessly seeking were the tribes of islands rich in gold and more wealth...
Without a doubt, the weakness of the Taino People on these Bahamas Islands had greatly stimulated his ambition, had aroused the desires of all the crew mbers! Their surface humanity gradually faded away, while the beast within them grew increasingly provoked...
"The Almighty witnesses! The outstanding Naval Commander has made the decision! Wherever an island is reached, it must be occupied! Only in this way can all the islands be occupied, the entire archipelago controlled!..."
The fleet sailed along the long Santa Maria Island, discovering its northwest cape. Here, they first gave so small gifts, gathered the Taino people, and collected all valuable goods. Next, they discovered the trace of gold, forcibly obtaining all gold ornants, and for the first ti found strange leaves of unknown use and the cassava eaten by the islanders. In fact, this was the first ti Europeans saw tobacco on the Caribbean Islands...
On October 16th, Columbus' fleet discovered and nad Fernandina Island (Long Island). They continuously captured and interrogated the Taino people, trying to find out where the large islands and tribes with gold were. The information they got was mixed with truths and falsities, impossible to distinguish. One reason was the language barrier between both sides. Another was that the captured Taino people, if unable to provide valuable information, would be whipped or even killed by the sailors, leaving them to speak nonsense...
"The natives of the Indian Islands call gold 'Zamot'... It's said that in these surroundings, there's a large island rich in Zamot still in our south, or southwest... Additionally, we saw a very big chicken, a white slender dog, and several trees with strange branches... The natives here have relatively larger wooden houses, which are clean and tidy inside, and unmarried won do not wear clothes..."
On October 19th, Columbus' fleet discovered and nad Isabela Island (southwest of Crooked Island). Here, they "traded" several more tis with the Taino people, but so Taino Tribes started fleeing into the woods. They hunted so iguanas at the edge of the woods and from so Taino people clearly learned the na of the Great Island "Cuba."
"The Almighty shelters! Indeed, to our south, there is a prosperous large island called 'Cuba' by the local natives! There's a great kingdom there, with plenty of Zamot gold, and lots of cotton cloth. The large glass beads we've acquired from the natives indeed co from there. It's said that on that large island, there are also big ships, which the natives say are as large as ours!..."
"The Almighty witnesses! The wise Expedition Commander has confird that the large island called Cuba is 'Cipangu Japan'! We don't plan to waste any more ti on these fragnted Indian Islands, on these poor and destitute naked natives... We're headed directly to Japan in the south, just one or two hundred kiloters away!..."
On October 24th, Columbus' fleet finally set sail again from Isabela Island. This ti, the fleet's course was adjusted to straight south, directly towards the eastern section of Cuba Snake Island, briskly sailing toward the long-desired Cipangu Japan!
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