"Praise be to Vizilopo... The Pinta has three masts, with square sails on the foremast and mainmast, and a triangular lateen sail on the mizzen mast. In such a narrow river channel, the square sails need to be furled as much as possible, relying on the agile triangular lateen sail... to adjust like this..."
"Coño! Damn it! These native sailors, they don't understand a thing! Haven't they ever handled sails before? If they were my subordinates, I'd slap them to death... cough! Esteed Xipangu warriors, let go slowly, watch carefully... just like this..."
The sun was shining brightly, and the water rippled gently. The fish swam with the leader of the school, and the small boats followed the large ship, passing through the narrow river channel into the wide "Great Water Bay". Sailor Chief Qia Chu bowed his head as he busied himself on the "Gray Soil" (Pinta), while Goldsmith Carlo and Carpenter Antonio handled the sails on the "Stone Spear" (Nina). Although relying only on the triangular lateen sails and a few sailors, these two caravel light sailing ships still demonstrated incredible agility and lightness.
"Whoa! Mi Kui, these two Evil Demon large ships don't use oars, they completely rely on sails, borrowing strength from the Wind God! ... Just three or four people, adjusting the sails properly, can make it move on its own..."
Red-haired trusted aide Chabo stood on tiptoe, looking up at the uniquely shaped, elongated large triangular sail. His eyes glimred with thoughtful insight, and he whispered.
"Could it be... that these white sails are the real Evil Demon Artifacts?! Blessed by the Ancestors, enhanced by the Evil Demon Shaman's mana? ... If we sneak... steal them, and sell them to those wealthy Noble Priests in the Kingdom..."
"Ha?! You dare sell Evil Demon Artifacts? Fool! How would you steal such a big sail? ..."
Red-haired Mi Kui curled his lips, raised his hand to slap Chabo, but Chabo dodged deftly. Mi Kui glared at Chabo, glanced at the obediently performing Sailor Chief Qia Chu, and sighed.
"It seems that these two Evil Demon ships are lighter and more powerful than the large ship we were after! ..."
"If not for the preemptive ambush, waiting for these two ships to enter the rivermouth... catching them in the open sea would not be easy! ... Tsk, these Evil Demon swift ships are like flying vultures, not easy to shoot down..."
"Yes! I've heard these are just the vanguard Evil Demon Scouts, not very formidable. Behind them are Evil Demon Warriors, all armored... I wonder what those Evil Demon Tribe Armored Warriors look like? Where are their weaknesses, are they easy to kill..."
The two red-haired trusted aides whispered and imagined the inevitable long struggle ahead. anwhile, at the stern, captive Guard Chief Alana, hands tightly bound, crawled with difficulty alongside Qia Chu on the deck, hoarsely pleading.
"rciful Holy Mother... Qia Chu, we've been old friends... I'm wounded in the chest, haven't eaten since yesterday morning... Please, be kind, give sothing to eat! Even just a bite of the white mush the natives leave..."
"..."
Sailor Chief Qia Chu glanced at Alana, then at the two red-haired trusted aides at the bow. He said nothing, nor did he react otherwise, simply continuing to pretend to adjust the sail by the mizzen mast.
"Qia Chu!... Throughout this voyage, I've been with you, getting rich together! ... I've never wronged you... For the sake of the Almighty..."
Guard Chief Alana, starving, saw stars in front of him, barely having the strength to speak. He stuttered, gasping between words, constantly pleading.
"Oh Almighty! Now that you're with the native leader, overseeing sailing... there must be so food, right?... If I don't eat soon, I'll starve to death... For the sake of my brother-in-law!... He escaped, and upon returning to the Kingdom of Castile with the credit for discovering a new route... surely he'll be granted a title..."
"Ha? For that idiot Columbus's sake? He threw Sailor Chief Bartolo into the sea, treating his brothers like dirt... He's a damned, loud-mouthed brown goose!..."
Sailor Chief Qia Chu's eyes shone with fierceness, cursing fiercely, then raising his hand, "smack, smack," slapped Alana's face twice!
"You're just the sa! Alana, you're a fool who only knows how to handle firearms!... You've always acted brotherly with us, but don't think I don't know what you really think! ... You boast about having so money, a vineyard onshore, looking down on us! ... You always wiped the bottles we drank from before drinking, and never used the sa cable to wipe your rear with us! You showed off, using soft paper, damn it!..."
"Uh... Qia Chu... I... uh!..."
"Smack!..."
Sailor Chief Qia Chu slapped Alana again before leaving, cursing. When he returned, he brought a white mush, the cooked cassava flour.
"Hold it! Lick it clean! Not a drop should fall!..."
"Oh! Mm... uh-huh... um..."
Guard Chief Alana was overjoyed, hungrily devouring the "white mush," even biting into his hand. After a while, he gasped for breath, belching in satisfaction, and continued to beg.
"Qia Chu... good brother!... Give so water... this stuff is dense, it's choking ..."
"Joder! More water? Who do you think you are? A noble lord?!"
Sailor Chief Qia Chu cursed as he kicked Alana twice, then took a small canteen from his waist and threw it in front of Alana.
"If it weren't for the fact that you've been sowhat decent before... If Columbus were here, I'd cut off his ear and feed it to the dogs!"
"Gulp! Gulp..."
Alana didn't care about much else and drank desperately as if reincarnated from a thirsty ghost. The water had a bit of an earthy taste and so sweetness, clearly water from a creek on the shore. Only after drinking the last drop did he satisfyingly collapse on the deck, basking in the glaring sun, and said to Qia Chu.
"Qia Chu, from today on, you're my true brother, closer than my brother-in-law! My brother-in-law ditched and ran off without even stopping the ship, he's a bastard! You risked angering the natives to give food and drink, you're... you're raised by unicorns!"
"Coño! Stop blabbering like a woman, you're the one raised by unicorns!"
Upon hearing this, Sailor Chief Qia Chu muttered in a low voice and kicked Alana again, though not as hard. Alana didn't mind; instead, he shalessly snuggled up closer.
"Qia Chu, my good brother!... How did you surrender to the natives and work for them? I see you've got a bird pattern, just like the militia of the natives!"
"Well... the Almighty bears witness! I can sail... I can also use firearms... make gunpowder... Ah! I can read, I know more words than Carlo and Antonio!"
"Good brother, I'm begging you! Help talk to the native leader... say that I... uh... Alana, the knight's retainer, is willing to surrender to the lord of Xipangu! I'll sail and fight for him..."
"Ah, spit! Alana, what kind of knight's retainer do you call yourself? Have you ever ridden a horse? Do you have proof of being a knight's retainer?"
"Uh! I have a vineyard and a mill at ho, of course, I've ridden a horse! As for the retainer's proof... cough! If I can survive the journey back, with the credit for discovering new routes, I could buy not just a retainer's proof but even a knight's docunt from a queen's official... After the Holy War, there are tons of broke, debt-ridden Crusader knights willing to sell their docunts! The most co from the poor knights of Shenluo... Alas! Though everyone has discovered new routes, with such great credit... Alas! I was about to escape but still fell into the hands of these brutal natives..."
Alana sighed lowly, genuinely regretting. His words left Qia Chu sowhat dumbfounded, unsure of the truth.
In the end, Qia Chu was rely from a naturalized tribe in the Arana Archipelago, illiterate, always brawling and ssing around among the lower-level sailors. In contrast, Alana ca from a Catalonian vineyard, the "second son of a landowner," was tricked by "brother-in-law" Columbus to leave ho and board the ship. All his belongings were spent on their food, clothing, and travel expenses, even considered half a financial supporter of Columbus...
"Joder! All that retainer nonsense, what damn poor knights... now, they have nothing to do with us anymore!"
Qia Chu touched his forehead, feeling the faint pain and the deeply engraved patterns. In the Kingdom of Castile, any talk of retainer and knight had nothing to do with him. At most, in this life, he would be a mixed-race sailor chief... His gaze slowly turned fierce, turning sharp like a cornered watchdog with no choice but to press forward!
"Coño! Alana! Put away those thoughts... If you don't want to die on this natives' Great Island, you better stick with from now on! I'll find a way to keep you alive..."
"Uh! Qia Chu... I... I'll stick with you!"
"Ha! Good, then recite with !... Praise Vizilopo's Almighty!"
"Uh... Praise Vizilopo's Almighty?"
"Praise Vizilopo!"
"Praise Vizilopo..."
"Phew!..."
In the slanting west sunlight, Qia Chu let out a deep breath as if expelling all past events. Then, he took a deep breath, slling the faint smoke in the air, hearing cheers around him, and looked toward the large village gradually erging to the south of "Great Water Bay." Amidst the beautiful blue skies and green waters, he widened his eyes and murmured with a bit of expectation.
"Cipangu Japan's Capital City... the Fief of the Eastern Grand Lord... silk, porcelain, cotton, and gold and silver... slurp!"
"Oh, Vizilopo's Almighty! The legendary East flowing with milk and honey, what kind of wealthy and prosperous appearance could it possibly have?!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers