Chapter 1259 I’m Sorry, I Really Want to Be a Good Person!

"Boom!... Boom!..."

The dull sound of artillery sounded from the boundless sea and spread to all parts of the sea off Lisbon. The sound of artillery was intermittent, once every two quarters of an hour, and only one time. Rather than saying it was a battle, it was more like some kind of warning and communication at sea.

"Boom!..."

Following the sound of artillery in the wind, finding the source of the "battle", you can see that this is exactly the case. A tattered, flagless caravel was desperately fleeing into the deep sea with its triangular auxiliary sail on its side. And another light caravel, flying the flag of the Portuguese royal family, was chasing after the sailboat and firing into the air from time to time.

But the distance between the two ships was at least 8 or 9 nautical miles, far exceeding the limit of any artillery. Obviously, the Portuguese sailboat was notifying other nearby ships through the sound of artillery to come to support and surround this "suspicious ship" together.

"Boom!..."

The deafening sound of the cannon sounded from the stern again, making Bruno's ears buzz at the bow. He didn't plug his ears, but squinted his eyes, staring at the fleeing ship in front of him, estimating the time of pursuit.

"Bless you, God! We found this big ship around 12 noon... It was 18-20 nautical miles away at that time. The other party's mast is higher, and they must have discovered us first, and then turned the bow to the southwest direction with the wind, trying to speed up and miss us..."

"This big ship without a flag seems to be damaged? The wind is average today, and their speed with the wind is estimated to be only 7 knots, while we have at least 10 knots, and we can catch up 3-4 nautical miles in an hour! But after chasing for a while, the other party found that the situation was not good. Yes, immediately turn from the windward to the half-windward westward, and flee to the deep sea... The speed of both ships has been reduced by more than half, and they can only catch up 1-2 nautical miles per hour..."

"Look at the sun, it's already 6 o'clock in the evening, and it will soon be dark. No matter what, they can't catch up... These cunning Castilians are determined to delay until dark and escape under the cover of night? ... Ha! Foda-se, you are really ugly, but you have a vain dream! ..."

Staring at the fleeing ship in front, Bruno cursed disdainfully. Such a large caravel is a regular navy of the Castilians. If this kind of ship is fully staffed, it can hold fifty or sixty people, more than ten guns, and the firepower is two or three times that of his caravel. The deck is also much higher, and it is impossible to beat it in a single fight.

So when they first met at noon, it really scared him. He hesitated whether to rush directly or wait for reinforcements around. But when the other party saw his light sailboat, he immediately turned around and ran away. It was obviously very guilty, and he didn't know what went wrong. He no longer hesitated, and immediately approached with full sails, chasing closely!

"It's really strange! How did the Castilian ship sneak here quietly? Did it come from Galicia in the north, bypassing Porto? Or from Seville in the south, bypassing Lisbon? But there was no news about the patrol fleets in these two places before..."

"Without raising a flag, it sneaked into this area quietly, and ran away when it saw us... Could it be a spy ship spying on the southern continent?... But why did the stupid Castilians use slow caravels to spy instead of faster and more flexible caravels?..."

Bruno was meticulous, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the big ship in front was strange. He looked at it from a distance, looking at the tattered tail sail that seemed to have experienced a storm, and many guesses came to his mind. But no matter what, he couldn't imagine that the Castilians could go all the way west, deep into the endless Atlantic for several months, arrive in Sipangu in the east, and then return in the stormy season with news of a new route that changed the world!

"Faster! Faster!... Let me see, let me see... What big fish is on this strange ship?..."

The sea breeze was howling, and Bruno on the bow reached out his hand, feeling the touch of the wind blowing through his hand, just like holding the sail in front of him, holding some unknown mysterious treasure, or some ladder to change his destiny!

However, the chase on the sea is so long and helpless. The speed difference between the two sides is not so obvious, and they are both experienced sailors who will not make mistakes. As long as one party gives up fighting and escapes wholeheartedly, it will never be caught up in a short time. Such a chase often lasts for several days, or even ten days and half a month. Because once night falls, the ships of both sides lose sight, and the fleeing party will get a chance to breathe and quietly escape in a certain direction for a night. And when the next day, a new search and chase will begin again. Until one side runs out of supplies, or is surrounded by the other side...

"Foda-se! It's getting dark!... Damn it! Cunning and weak Castilian goats, let you breathe for another night! The Kingdom Navy has laid a big net, and more and more sailboats will come. Your slow-moving ships will eventually not be able to escape!"

The night is a veil on the sea, silently covering everything. The gunfire on Bruno's ship had long stopped, and the Portuguese ships chasing the sailboats had become three. The three light sailboats gradually stopped, watching the struggling Santa Maria, escaping into the dark night of the deep sea in the west. Then, under the guidance of the night lights, the three Portuguese ships carefully approached, and the captains gathered together to discuss the direction of tomorrow's search.

"Bless the Virgin Mary! We have caught the goat's tail! We will present it to the king!..."

"Yes! The large sailing ship on the opposite side is problematic. Not only does it have no flag, but it also has obvious signs of damage. It only has one ship, and it is very likely that it has been separated from the fleet. It seems that there are not enough people, and the deck is not full. This ship seems to have experienced a deep sea storm or a battle..."

"The Lord is a witness! As long as we catch them, everything will be clear! The wind is not strong tonight. They can escape 60 nautical miles to the west at most, or 40 nautical miles to the north and south overnight. There is no cover on the sea. As long as it is sunny tomorrow, their traces can be found 20 nautical miles away. …We will split into three directions, chase for half a day, and then turn 45 degrees to search, using the sound of cannon as a signal…”

“Yes! That’s it! There will be more speedboats coming tomorrow, they can’t escape! …But we have to catch them as soon as possible! The more ships that come, the less credit we have, and the less property on the ship we get…”

“Ahahaha! May the Virgin Mary bless us! Whether it’s credit or property, everyone will share it equally according to the old rules of the south! …”

“May the Virgin Mary bless you! Good! …”

The tide of the long night roared, and the captains whispered. They were all old sea dogs, and they all saw the strangeness of this Castilian sailing ship. However, even without these, a caravel sailing ship is a huge wealth several times that of a caravel sailing ship!

Even though their ships were only dozens of nautical miles away from Lisbon, they had already come from the orderly Catholic world to the unknown deep sea. In such a place far away from the constraints of rules, even if the other party raised the Castilian flag, it could not stop the captains’ artillery and scimitars!

After all, they were all old captains who had returned from the southern continent. The blood on their hands and the ink in their hearts could never be washed away...

"Boom!...Boom!..."

The sun rose over the eastern sea, and darkness fell into the western seabed. The experienced Portuguese captains were not comparable to the Sipangu natives who had no deep-sea experience. In just half a day, the faint sound of cannons came from the north. Then, the three sailboats turned around upon hearing the news, and the increasingly dense nets began to tighten the fish in the nets.

"Lord! Another day of escape, and it's finally getting dark again... There are more and more damn Portuguese! Wait until tomorrow, tomorrow..."

On the shaking bow of Clark, Captain De La Cosa bent his waist, his feet were very stable, but his heart was shaking violently. His face was as gloomy as water, watching the five Portuguese sailboats gradually disappear into the night on three sides. In the past few days, he and the Portuguese had been sailing in circles off the coast of Lisbon, but they could not get rid of each other. Instead, the Portuguese ships gathered more and more, like a pile of shit that attracted countless flies.

"Puh! What a metaphor! Damn it! What went wrong? Did someone leak the news?..."

He suspected that a sailor had leaked the news when he landed last time. Otherwise, how could a low-key large ship that had never committed any crime on the Portuguese coast attract so many royal naval searches? He didn't know that just because of a knight's eagerness to make merit and because of a knight's blackmail, he was unreasonably charged with the crime of spying on Portugal's new route. But he knew clearly that if another Portuguese ship appeared in the last direction, he would be completely finished and could never escape again...

"Joder! The supplies are running low, and the Portuguese are getting closer and closer... If we are caught by the Portuguese... How can we hide the shocking secret of discovering the new route?... There are more than ten crew members, two surviving natives, and a noisy stubborn donkey... How can we unify the caliber with so many mouths, and how can we seal them tightly?..."

"Not to mention the property on the ship, the gold, silver, tobacco and cotton thread obtained from Sipangu... That's all money!... On such a sea where you can't see the shore, if you are caught by the Portuguese, the ending will be..."

The late spring sea breeze brings the breath of home. The Iberian Peninsula is right in front of us, and Lisbon, which we have tried every means to avoid, is even dozens of miles away. Captain Dela Cosa felt sad, and the sadness gradually turned into tragic, and then quietly turned into the cruelty of a venomous snake!

"Damn it! Before being caught by the cruel Portuguese... the two natives must be thrown into the sea, the goods of Sipangu must also be thrown away... and the stubborn donkey who can't control his mouth and is well-known, can be seen through at a glance, Columbus who shouts to sail west all over the world!..."

De La Cosa was furious and tightly grasped the dagger at his waist. Columbus had been begging outside the Portuguese court for so many years, and he was a hot-tempered and chatterbox who couldn't keep his words. As long as he fell into the hands of the Portuguese, nothing could be hidden. And the Portuguese have always valued, kept secrets and monopolized the new route. Let the other party know the consequences of the new route to the west, hiss! ...

"Merda! In this case, we have to solve the hidden danger in advance! I'm sorry, respected Commander Columbus, I really want to be a good person!..."

De La Cosa narrowed his eyes and licked his dry gums. Then, he straightened his spine silently, held the scimitar with a grim expression, and walked towards the bottom cabin where the commander was imprisoned. His footsteps were silent, and he did not notify anyone, just like a silent snake opening its mouth, sliding towards the prey wrapped in a spider web...