Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 176 – 73: Loss of Control and Fury
When The Glorious launched its grappling hooks, the two warships immediately commenced a long-range exchange of fire. Heavy muskets, light muskets, harquebuses, fuse-lock muskets, and even steel crossbows and stones—whatever was available was used.

The sound of gunfire popped like exploding beans, with both sides desperately trying to send more bullets and arrows onto the enemy’s ship.

The army officers who had climbed onto the platform had received orders from the legion commander, ignoring those enemies with muskets and instead focusing on suppressing the opponent’s swivel guns.

Several arms stretched out from behind the hull of The Revenge, attempting to cut the grappling hooks. However, as the distance between the ships narrowed, for every hook that was cut, two more latched onto The Revenge’s gunwales.

Venetian sailors chanted cadence as they pulled on the ropes, dragging The Revenge closer to the side of The Glorious.

A few extraordinarily strong sailors hurled iron bombs onto the deck of The Revenge like discus throwers; after several consecutive explosions, agonized screams erupted from The Revenge’s deck.

Winters crouched behind the gunwale, dodging stray bullets and arrows, waiting for the command to board. Several stray bullets even struck the hull in front of him, but could not penetrate the two-inch-thick oak boards.

Suddenly, all sounds from The Revenge ceased in a mysteriously silent way.

The gunfire, battle cries, curses—all sounds disappeared, even the screams.

Crouched behind the gunwale, Winters noticed that the enemy ship’s long-range fire also ceased along with the silence.

He peered out and saw that all the lights on the opposing ship had been extinguished. With the firelight from The Glorious, he couldn’t see anyone on the deck of The Revenge.

This quiet, dark ship exuded an eeriness as if it were a ghost ship.

More and more people on The Glorious realized something strange about the adversary’s ship; an excited sailor shouted, “We’ve killed them all!”

“Shut up!” The fierce boatswain rushed over and slapped the sailor across the face, then immediately ordered the other sailors, “Extinguish all the lights on the ship! Move quickly!”

Since they couldn’t see the enemy, The Glorious’ gunners also ceased their firing. The two ships slowly approached each other in this sinister, eerie atmosphere.

When the ships were only a few meters apart, Kalaman, the first mate, loudly commanded, “Lower the gangplanks!”

Gangplanks protruded from the bow, waist, and stern of The Glorious, resting on the gunwales of The Revenge, securing the two warships together.

Kalaman stood up, drew his saber, and roared, “Long live Wildcard Nick!”

[Huzzah for Wildcard Nick!]

[Wildcard Nick was Nalesho’s nickname.]

The sailors let out a thunderous cheer.

Kalaman charged first, and the sailors surged behind him onto the deck of The Revenge.

Wilson, the captain, called out the battle cry of the 3rd Corps: “Long live Great Vineta!”

Winters, Bard, Andre, and all the soldiers yelled “Kazar!” in response to the captain, following Wilson onto the deck of The Revenge.

Yet the deck of The Revenge was still deserted, deathly silent.

That same sailor, unconvinced, said, “We really did kill them all!” Read chapters at empire@@novelbin@@

A massive “boom” resounded, with dozens of grapeshot creating a storm of flesh and blood on the deck of The Revenge.

The Tanilians pushed the heavy cannon into a position facing their own deck, and with one shot took the lives of a dozen Venetians.

With the thunderous sound of the heavy cannon as the signal, gunfire erupted, and The Revenge launched a full counterattack.

From the gun and cannon ports in the forecastle and quarterdeck, dark muzzles extended, sloping their ammunition onto the deck where the Venetians were.

At the gun deck of The Revenge, cannons fired at close range into the hull of The Glorious. Since The Glorious didn’t carry gunners and skipped the process of cannonade exchange in favor of boarding, The Revenge’s gunners were right on the ship.

This close-quarter combat was the moment when the warship’s short-barreled cannons could unleash their maximum destructive power, with sixteen and thirty-two pounders roaring and blasting terrifying holes into the hull of The Glorious.

“What are your men doing?!” Antonio furiously yelled at Colonel Kongtai’er from The Glorious’s poop deck: “Not attacking the quarterdeck, just hiding behind cover waiting to die?”

Colonel Kongtai’er wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “Suddenly attacked, it’s human instinct to hide in a safe place.”

The deck of The Revenge was in chaos, sailors and soldiers felt innumerable bullets heading their way; the land and naval forces mixed together, both sides losing organization.

“They’re in the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck!” Captain Wilson, furious at the sight of his men hiding behind cover, began dragging those crouched behind debris on the deck, “Don’t fucking hide here! Go attack the—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a lead ball pierced his neck from the left side, shattered his vertebrae, and created a horrific wound on the right side of his neck.

Wilson’s body slumped, falling onto the deck of The Revenge.

“First, shoot all those dressed in officers’ uniforms!” Drake laughed heartily from within the quarterdeck: “Reload, reload quickly!”

In land combat, officers would be protected within the ranks, but in the close-quarters fighting on the deck, those dressed in fine uniforms were exceedingly conspicuous.

The crew of The Revenge felt an odd sense of déjà vu, as this tactic of cowering inside the ship’s decks was clearly invented by the navy.