48 Hours a Day

Parrot Island stretched long and narrow across the ocean. North of the isles sat a natural U-shaped gulf. A broad ridge ran through it, tall enough to conceal what lay beyond, which was why Black Prince Sam and the others chose this place as the ambush site.

 The Swordfish desperately tried to flee, having the three Spanish hot on her tail. No one noticed that the Jackdaw was gradually slowing down and keeping a distance from the three Spanish boats.

 The Swordfish was in terrible shape, and water poured into the flooding ship through every gaping hole of the battered and tattered hull. There was no longer any point for the carpenters to fix anything now. Everything that could be thrown overboard had been gotten rid of. Not even the food and water was spared.

 Brook couldn’t care less about any of that, though, so long they could get out of this predicament alive. In any case, they could always get those things from other pirate ships.

 The Spanish commander knew that the Swordfish was at an impasse and that they shouldn’t be giving up the chase right now. So, when the experienced commander saw the Swordfish disappear behind the ridge, warning horns started blaring in his head. But there wasn’t the time to think it over.

 It was all too late, though. When the three Spanish ships came around the ridge, they came face to face with the four other pirate ships, armed to the teeth and ready for battle!

 The second the target emerged, the cannons on all four pirate ships blew up to life! Sam went above and beyond, making all the necessary preparations. He had borrowed 25 twelve-pound guns and set them up on the shoreline for this exact moment.

 The three Spanish ships were caught off-guard by this sudden attack, not expecting to be ambushed at such a close range. As they were so fixated on chasing the Swordfish, they paid no attention to keeping their own distance. Now, they were too close to each other to turn around.

 As luck would have it, one of the frigates’ luck was so bad, a shell came out of nowhere and hit its gunpowder storage!

 The probability of something like that happening was very low, perhaps not even once in a hundred battles. When it did happen, however, the event would result in the complete annihilation of the ship. The violent explosion ruptured the keel of the frigate. The sailors closest to it were killed on the spot, while the rest were thrown into the water.

 The Jackdaw had turned up from behind and joined the battle!

 With all the pirate ships together and with assistance from the on-shore artillery, they fired their cannons with no mercy. Except for the severely damaged Swordfish, which was forced to throw all of its ammunition overboard, they instantly got the upper hand.

 The tables turned, and of a sudden, things were going downhill for the remaining two Spanish ships.

 When the Spanish commander arrived, he was still unaware that they had fallen into a trap. Either way, it was too late for them. They were at a disadvantage when it came to firepower, and the treasure ship wouldn’t be able to outrun all the pirate ships.

 So, the Spanish commander gave up trying to make a run for it and issued an order to the remaining two ships to turn around retaliate.

 Even though they were enemies, Zhang Heng could not help but laud his opponent’s courage. The position the Spaniards were in left them at a disadvantage. Choosing to face the battle basically meant that they had given up any hope of survival.

 On the deck, Sam frowned at the sight. He had revealed the strength of his firepower, hoping to intimidate their opponent into thinking that there was no way they could win and that they would be forced to surrender anyhow. Right now, however, it looked like the Spaniards were not planning on doing that.

 “These barmy, dogged Spaniards,” the black helmsman muttered. He was standing on the deck without a shirt. A row of human teeth was fastened to a string around his neck, and he had a hideous mask on his face. This persona was his favorite incarnation when fighting in a battle.

 This was especially true during one-on-one battles. The cannibal costume was so intimidating that more than once, the enemy would simply concede without putting up a fight. The truth was, the blood on the mask was, in fact, the sap of a particular fruit, and the human teeth had been purchased from a dentist on the island.

 “If this battle continues, we’ll have more casualties than them,” said the helmsman.

 “Take down the remaining frigate to give them a warning,” said Sam. He had come for the precious cargo of the treasure ship, not to witness a massacre. Under such circumstances, however, it appeared he had no other choice.

 Hence, five minutes later, the last remaining frigate sank, leaving only the Spanish treasure ship. On the pirates’ side, one severely wrecked vessel also decided to withdraw.

 The battle was getting fiery. One Spanish treasure ship was battling four other ships clearly put it at a disadvantage, but its thick, solid hull was able to endure one blow after weathering another. Though the Spanish ship might have taken a beating, the Spaniards simply refused to give in. In the meantime, Sam sent out a group of men, attempting to board the Spanish ship. But halfway to their destination, a shell sank one of the tiny landing crafts.

 As the other boats were drawing near to the ship, the Spanish musketeers shot at them from behind the portholes, killing more than a dozen pirates. When those who survived finally made it to the hull, they were chased back into the water by the stubbornly unyielding Spaniards.

 Owing to that, the pirates decided to resort to tougher measures. Due to their concerns about the cargo in the hold, they focused their attacks on the deck, hoping to destroy the enemy’s masts and rudder. However, the Spanish didn’t seem to mind that. Amid their rising number of causalities, their resolve only grew stronger. The remaining sailors gave up on saving the first deck, retreating down to the second deck to continue the fight.

 Having no other options, Sam ordered for a full-on attack on the Spanish treasure ship.

 Under the savage and unmerciful bombardment of four pirate ships, the Spanish treasure ship was soon riddled with holes. Yet again, their crew had no plans to surrender. The carpenters gave up trying to patch the holes, allowing the raging waters of the sea to gush into the cabins.

 The cannons on the Spanish vessel were still thundering even until the very last of her breath. Sam thought about getting another group to board the ship again, but he knew that none of the boats were able to approach the target. In the end, the pirates could only watch as the Spanish treasure ship sank slowly to the bottom of the ocean.

 When the battle was over, Zhang Heng received a notification that he had earned 20 game points.

 After that, he docked the Jackdaw by the bay and brought his men to Parrot Island. Down by the beach, he looked for Sam, who was bandaging his arm.

 Sam called out, “I received information about the cargo from some Spaniards that were thrown overboard by the blasts. It appears that there are 5,000 pounds of gold on the ship! Thank goodness they sank here, right in front of the gulf. I’ve already sent some men ahead to search for it.”