The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 76 Cannon Piercing the Sky
In the telescope.

Lin Qian saw the Tanka boats, propelled by the fog, stop about a hundred paces from the boat town.

The crew members leaped into the water like fish, making very little splash or sound.

After a short while, the crew members slowly emerged from beside Li Kuiqi's ship, hooked on the grappling hooks, and quietly climbed onto the ship and crawled into the cabin.

At this moment, the Santa Ana had turned its hull sideways, with all the port gun ports open, their dark muzzles protruding and aimed at the ship's fortress.

Time passed slowly, and no sound came from Li Kuiqi's ship.

The people on the stern deck couldn't help but tense up.

The sun rises over the East China Sea, and the morning mist gradually dissipates.

Lin Qian's hands, which were holding the binoculars, were slightly sweaty.

More and more pirates in the ship city got up to urinate.

After they finished their business, the pirates gathered together and loudly boasted about their experiences from the previous night.

"Yours won't do...this one is the top-tier..."

"What a pity... I came, otherwise..."

Intermittent sounds came.

After a long while, Chen Jiao asked worriedly, "Captain, could something have happened?"

Lin Qian shook her head slightly without answering.

Seeing that more and more pirates were waking up, and that they would lose the initiative if they didn't act soon, Chen Jiao said to Lin Qian, "Captain, fire the cannons!"

"Wait a little longer," Lin Qian said calmly.

Bai Qing and her siblings, along with their crew, were all highly skilled. Even if they were ambushed, it was impossible for them to remain completely silent.

It's very likely that they've encountered some trouble and can't get away for the time being.

Lin Qian decided to remain inactive.

Suddenly, there was movement on Li Kuiqi's ship in the distance, and several figures rushed onto the deck.

Lin Qian looked through the binoculars and saw that it was Bai Qing and his group, all covered in blood. Zhou Xiucai and Jose could also be seen among the crew.

Behind the crew, a dozen or so pirates wielding knives rushed onto the deck, shouting, "Damn it, they've come to rob us! Kill them!"

The pirates surged forward, but were forced back by Bai Langzai's powerful and sweeping katana.

"Sister, you take Second Brother and the others and go first!" Bai Langzai shouted.

Bai Qing kicked Zhou Xiucai and He Sai off the boat and shouted in the direction of the large sailboat, "Swim that way!"

She then quickly turned around and stood with her brother, while the rest of the crew stood around them.

More and more pirates surged onto the deck, and the situation looked critical.

Lin Qian immediately said, "Fire!"

Chen Jiao shouted orders at the top of his lungs toward the gun deck.

Moments later, cannon fire rang out in succession, the ship rocked violently, the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air, and smoke billowed everywhere.

Fourteen solid iron bullets streaked across the sky and crashed into the ship city, instantly filling the air with blood and dust.

The woman's screams and cries, along with the pirates' curses, rang out all at once.

For a time, Ship City was in complete chaos.

Amid the chaos, a tall figure emerged from the ship. The man wielded a nine-ringed ghost-head broadsword and possessed an extremely robust physique; it was none other than Li Kuiqi.

Li Kuiqi sneered at Bai Qing, "I've been so tolerant of Lin Qian, and this is the return gift your master gave me?"

He had two bandages wrapped around his neck, with traces of blood still visible. He had been slashed by Bai Qing in his sleep. If he hadn't reacted quickly and turned his head in time, he would already be a corpse.

Li Kuiqi stepped forward slowly, exuding a powerful aura. With each step he took forward, the crew members retreated a step.

With his size, he would be considered a top-tier warrior even in Liaodong; ordinary people wouldn't dare to fight him.

Seeing this, Bai Langzai suddenly strode forward and swung his knife.

Li Kuiqi casually swung his ghost-head broadsword, and Bai Langzai felt a tremendous force coming from the blade, almost causing him to lose his grip on the Japanese sword.

Upon closer inspection, the Japanese sword had been chipped with a huge gash, the crack extending all the way to the back of the blade, rendering it useless.

Bai Langzai looked horrified. Since he started his career in the underworld, he had never suffered a loss in a fight.

I thought that even if I couldn't beat Li Kuiqi, I could at least hold him off for a while, but who knew I couldn't even last a single move. Truly, there are always people stronger than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding.

"Boom boom boom..."

Another cannon shot came from the Santa Ana.

The huge solid iron projectile fell like boiling water splashing snow, piercing through the ship's wooden planks, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

It was like a rain of sawdust falling on the deck.

Lanterns were overturned by the cannon fire, and flames soon broke out in the ship city.

Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Qing shouted, "Let's go!" and then pulled Bai Langzai into the sea.

The remaining crew members also jumped into the sea.

They were all pearl farmers before, and were excellent swimmers. As soon as they entered the sea, they dived deep.

Li Kuiqi strode to the side of the boat, and looking at the sea surface where not even a bubble appeared, he angrily chopped off a piece of the railing.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out from the St. Anna, and instantly, wood chips flew everywhere on the deck of Li Kuiqi's ship.

Musket?

Li Kuiqi's gaze sharpened, and he quickly checked his body, finding no wounds, before feeling relieved.

He turned around and saw one of his men clutching his chest, slowly collapsing, blood gushing from his mouth, clearly not going to make it.

"Chief, the government troops have powerful firearms, maybe... maybe we should retreat?"

Hearing the screams of the other pirates and seeing the flames of the ship city, all the men were filled with fear.

Seeing a large gunboat bombarding the enemy, it was hard for the men not to associate it with the government troops suppressing the bandits.

Li Kuiqi roared, "What government troops! That's just a greenhorn! A few shots and you're scared out of your wits? Look at your cowardice!"

The subordinates looked at each other, none of them daring to believe it, and none of them dared to refute it.

In the eyes of his men, pirates should travel on Haicang ships, or at most Fujian ships, not gunboats.

Such large gunboats were something even Li Dan himself didn't possess, let alone ordinary pirates.

Li Kuiqi's eyes were fixed on the Saint Anna.

He couldn't understand it, even though his informants had reported that everything was normal on Nan'ao Island.

Mingming Ship City is located in a very secluded place, and no one knows about it.

The area is surrounded by coral reefs, with only a narrow waterway that allows large ships to pass.

How did that bastard Lin Qian suddenly appear here?

However, it doesn't matter anymore.

Li Kuiqi thought to himself, "I, Li Kuiqi, am not one of those useless garrison soldiers! Lin Qian, since you dare to come, then die here!"

Thinking of this, Li Kuiqi revealed a sinister smile: "We also have cannons. Pass down the order to bring out all the cannons and fire at them!"

His men, who were used to fighting at sea and had seen life and death, had calmed down and responded to the message.

Li Kuiqi then said, "Pass on my order: dismantle the ship city and assemble the ships in the southeast!"

"Order!"

……

The bombardment from the Santa Ana continued, and the gunners, after several live-fire exercises, were now highly skilled at operating the guns.

The firing rate was much faster than during the last attack on Naozhou Island.

After two hours of relentless bombardment, most of the ship city was destroyed, and some areas were engulfed in flames.

However, Li Kuiqi's pirate gang had much higher morale than the navy and showed no signs of collapse.

Instead, under the organization of the various leaders, things gradually stabilized, and they began to dismantle the wooden planks connecting the ship cities.

The outermost large ships have been separated from the ship city and, under unified command, are gathering in the southeast corner of the ship city.

Just as Lin Qian was about to put down the binoculars.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the ship city, followed by the roar of cannons.

(End of this chapter)