"Screech!..."
"Ah! Holy Mother!…Barbarians! These are wicked barbarians! He chopped off Boatswain Garcia's head, and he's holding it in his hand…Ah! He tied Garcia's head to his back!…"
"Almighty! He's not a barbarian, he's the wicked offspring of the evil serpent Herensuge! Quick! Shoot him dead, use the matchlock gun to shoot him dead!…"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…"
The Silver Raven Warrior Fish Spear picked up a new long spear, just ready to charge with the leather armored spearn, when a large volley of lead bullets ca whistling by! Two spearn at the front were hit on the spot and instantly lost their strength. They lay there like fish dropped onto muddy ground, bleeding continuously and struggling in their death throes. A lead bullet whistled past Fish Spear's shoulder, almost hitting his unarmored arm…
"Hmm? Is this?...The lightning rod from the prophecy of Your Majesty? It actually shoots farther than the longbow?!…"
Watching the flickering match cords on the opposite side, Silver Raven Warrior Fish Spear frowned, pondered for a mont, then led the spearn back to the area around the longhouse.
The Kingdom's Divine Archer Kexi, responsible for training the entire Fish Bay, had already set up the front line of shield bearers and reford the Taino Militia's ranks. He then planted the long spear next to the altar, hefted his heavy longbow, and squinted at the enemies not far away. Both sides were once again at a futile standoff across the fence. Neither side launched a charge or showed any inclination to attack.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…"
"Chief Divine bless! Kexi, just like the prophecy of Your Majesty! These evil demons' lightning rods can't penetrate our thick wooden shields that we prepared in advance!… With the thick wooden shields up, the demoralized Taino Militia finally stabilized…"
"Indeed! Fish Spear, while this lightning is incredibly loud and shoots far, it lacks accuracy!… With the thick wooden shields up, the lightning rods cause little casualty. And once we get used to the initial intimidating noise, the militia won't be as frightened… Strange, what exactly are these smoking lightning rods shooting? "
"Kexi, they're likely shooting so kind of small soft stone bullets!… I looked at the militia just hit, and the wound was the size of a quail egg; they're definitely not going to make it… Actually, this bunch of evil demons isn't large in number, and they're not very skilled in close combat, completely inferior to the Kingdom's Armored Warriors!… But they have large sea ships, thunderous cannons, and smoking lightning rods, making it very difficult to get close!"
"Fish Spear, you're right! I have a feeling these few ships are just the vanguard of the evil demons, likely just so tribal huntsn or scouts… Their actual Armored Warriors are probably still behind, and we don't know when they'll appear!… We need to find a way to capture a few alive and interrogate them for intel on these evil demons!…"
The lead bullets whistled, dust flew, and the sea ships remained stationary as the sun silently set in the west. A line of crude but heavy wooden shields, along with a line of wooden planks emblazoned with the Zemi God Card, were set up at the village's outer crossroads. Over a hundred Taino spearn relied on this simple defense line to resist the Castilian sailors' shooting.
In the back, two Kingdom's Copper Armored Warriors took off their sweat-soaked helts, revealing two fierce, sun-browned faces. The tropical sun was unbearably scorching, with November being as warm as spring. They drank salt water from their water bags while looking across more than a hundred paces at the "evil demons."
The "evil demons" opposite consisted of only about fifty n, clearly divided into two groups. Their frontline of around thirty wore light-colored clothing and wielded gray-black iron blades. Aside from a few leaders in leather armor, they were all militia in cloth armor. Their rear group consisted of over twenty n, each holding a slender long tube, rested on the chest-high fence of the village. From those long tubes dangled flickering match cords, looking like spider eyes, gazing gloomily toward the village center. Every dozen breaths or so, the thin tubes emitted smoke, firing unseen soft stone bullets, the target unknown…
"Chief Divine witness! Kexi, the three large ships of the evil demons have yet to send additional support. It seems they're only this many people!… What a sha! The Taino Militia we've trained is still too soft, not very experienced in bloodshed. They're adequate for defensive gathering, but lack the morale and courage to charge under 'lightning'!… Chief Divine! If only we had 20 Kingdom's Warriors, or 30 Silver Raven Warriors… Just then was the perfect chance to assault, to pursue and slay them outright!"
"Chief Divine bless! Fish Spear, the Taino Militia has trained better than I imagined! Once they experience this fight, they won't be as afraid when facing the evil demons again! For now, let's not rush. This standoff favors us!… I've already sent people to gather the scattered militia, our numbers will increase… It's already dusk, not far from dark! Once night falls and the lightning rods lose their accuracy, it'll be our opportunity to lead the militia in assaulting the evil demons!"
"Indeed! Once night falls, we know the terrain, have the advantage in numbers, and the militia is less fearful… By the way! Kexi, have you sent a ssenger to inform the Kingdom Fleet at Iron Bay Town?"
"I've sent soone already! It was Great Chief Smoked Fish Head of Fish Bay who went himself… That old fellow ran faster than smoke when he saw the evil demons' large ships approaching and heard the thunderous cannons!… Had he and the chieftains not run first, the Taino Militia wouldn't have scattered so easily… But Iron Bay Town is a full six hundred li from Fish Bay! Even rowing through the night, it takes at least ten days round trip… By the ti the Kingdom's main fleet arrives, who knows where these three longships of the evil demons will be!"
"Hmm… That indeed is a problem! Never thought there'd be so many tribes on Cuba Snake Island, and that the prophesied evil demons would appear first at our garrison in Fish Bay!… This must be the eyes of the Chief Divine upon us, a test given to us!… Praise the Chief Divine! Once it's dark, I will lead the assault with you, fighting for the divine!"
"Good! Praise the Chief Divine! Kill the evil demons, fight for the divine!"
The two Kingdom's Copper Armored Warriors, one hand touching their foreheads, the other raising weapons, prayed devoutly. Accompanying their prayers, the over forty leather armored spearn also simultaneously touched the Chief Divine's emblem carved on their foreheads, raised their long spears with one hand, and shouted with enthusiasm.
"Praise the Great Chief God of the Sun! Praise Huitzilopochtli! Kill the evil demons, fight for the divine!"
The thunderous prayer echoed from the center of the village, like reborn thunderbolts or an impending volcanic eruption. As this heartfelt shout, representing indomitable morale, reached the ears of the Castilian sailors, it was like the final weight tipping the scales…
"Almighty! What are these natives howling about?"
"Seems like… prayer? Yes! They're praying to the Evil God!"
"Damn! What do we do? The natives have such high morale and aren't afraid of the firearms… How many of us must die to finally defeat them?…"
The sailors from the three ships looked at each other, hesitant, even pausing their firearm shooting. These fleet sailors were naturally fierce under favorable winds like Cid, but fled like serfs under adverse winds. When at a stalemate, they weren't regular Kingdom soldiers, but retreated swiftly! Ultimately, they had clamored for a landing to pillage, without ever preparing for a genuinely costly battle…
Monts of hesitation later, Boatswain Qia Chu of the Holy Maria was the first to raise his sharp scimitar. Boldly surveying the sailors present, he then bravely turned, heading towards the fish pond at the village outskirts!
"Coño! With such tough natives, what the hell's the point in fighting! Garcia was decent, struck dead with just one spear, and the firearms on the ship are useless, a burnt stick co nightfall… Joder! Sailors from the flagship, follow ! Quick! Net a few big fish from the pond, let's get back on the ship and have ourselves a good hearty al!…"
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