Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

"That won't happen... Pirates aren't stupid. If we sink the Goldship, they won't get anything. Besides, we have muskets and rotary cannons in the hold, though not many..."

Captain Evan managed to regain his composure and tried to analyze the situation. "In the end, we'll most likely have to rely on boarding...boarding...yes!"

Evan, as if suddenly finding a lifeline, widened his eyes and pointed at Noze and his group, "You're the army! The Orentia Army! The strongest infantry in the Federation! Do you think you can be afraid of these damned pirates when you board them?"

Bilkin found these words very pleasing to the ear. He patted Evan on the shoulder, took a big step, stood on a wooden crate, and looked directly at the gathered Orentia Army officers. His voice was deep and thunderous as he delivered his speech.

"Now, we're being followed by two pirate ships. They want to rob us and kill us all? Hmph, what a joke! These bastards who grew up eating bird droppings have really messed with us today! Who are we? We are the army of Great Orentia, the elite of the entire Federation! We're not like those good-for-nothing naval bastards!"

"The word 'surrender' doesn't exist in the dictionary of the Orentia Army! From the Human Rights Revolution to the Thirty Years' War, we have been invincible! The men of Orentia are all tough, bloodthirsty men. You think we'd back down to a bunch of toothless pirates? Dream on!"

"You're all officers, proper lads who've all graduated from military academy. Now it's time to test your training! Pick up your weapons and wipe them all out! Let these bastards regret it in hell! Regret meeting the Orentia Army! Regret meeting me, Bilkin! Regret meeting you all!"

"kill!"

Bilkin roared, his voice soaring to the heavens.

The officers, already hot-blooded and fearless, were instantly transformed into howling wolves by Bilkin's rallying cry, shouting in unison, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Alright! Good lads! Go get your weapons ready!"

Bill King laughed loudly.

Anyone who can still laugh in such a critical moment is either a great general or a madman.

Major General Bilkin is clearly not the latter, at least not yet.

Monet, meanwhile, was discussing the feasibility of his tactics with Captain Evan.

"...We can't face attacks from two ships simultaneously. We're short-handed, and there will always be gaps in our defenses. I think we should take the initiative, get close to one of the ships, concentrate all our firepower to clear the deck, and then board it..."

"A deliberate defection?"

Captain Evan was clearly startled.

"The Shining Gold has a tall superstructure, giving it a natural advantage in both artillery and manpower. Once the deck is cleared, we can hold the hatches, and a few of us can control the ship. Then we can focus all our efforts on dealing with the other ship."

"this……"

Captain Evan thought about it carefully, then shook his head. "If the plan doesn't go smoothly, we'll be in a dilemma. We'll be the ones getting outmaneuvered..."

"Believe me."

Monet interrupted him, his calm tone carrying a captivating charm that drew people in.

"good……"

Captain Evan nervously swallowed, and inexplicably agreed to this crazy plan. "I'll get the sailors to cooperate with you."

Meanwhile, Noze followed Andrew and Lucas and rushed back to the cabin.

The sailors had already opened the doors to the weapons and gunpowder compartments. The weapons compartments were in good condition, as they were regularly maintained, and the swords, matchlock guns, and other weapons were still in relatively good condition.

As soon as the gunpowder compartment was opened, a cloud of dust rushed out, and the artillery warrant officers who were closest to it were even choked and coughed violently.

The weapons were distributed one by one, mostly naval scimitars, as well as rapiers and daggers.

Norzer chose a naval scimitar for himself. As the saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger," and this was already the longest of the weapons he had.

The scimitar is about 60 centimeters long and 3-4 centimeters wide. It has a single, slightly curved blade with double edges only in the tip area of ​​about 10 centimeters. It is powerful enough to kill unarmored personnel.

The hilt is equipped with a thick guard, which can not only prevent the hand from being injured when the enemy slashes, but also prevent the weapon from slipping out of the hand in the melee.

This knife was not only a weapon, but sailors also often carried it with them in their daily lives, using it to cut ropes and canvas, which was very convenient.

Noze suddenly missed his Swift Sword.

In the confined space of a ship, stabbing is much easier than slashing, and the longer blade makes it safer to attack.

People are always like this: they don't cherish what they have until they lose it and then they regret it.

"The gunpowder in this [organ] is all clumped and layered, how can we use it?"

An artillery warrant officer opened a barrel of gunpowder and couldn't help but curse, "This captain is fucking stingy! How much does it cost to replace a barrel of gunpowder?"

As he cursed, he opened another bucket. This one was in good condition; at least to the naked eye, it didn't look like there was anything wrong with it.

"You, yes, you."

The artillery warrant officer put the lid back on, kicked the bucket so it fell sideways to the ground, and pointed at Noze beside him, "Let it roll like this on the road, roll it slowly, roll it for a while, and then send it to the artillery."

"But it might leak..."

"So what if it leaks! It's better to leak than to have nothing at all, better than it misfiring and exploding!"

The artillery warrant officer said irritably, "If you dawdle any longer, it'll all leak out completely! Hurry up!"

"You, and you too!"

Lucas and Andrew weren't spared either, being ordered around. "Take this rotary cannon, carry it up to the ship's deck, and get a few more muskets! I've checked these, they're all good. Don't forget the wooden wedges, quick, quick, quick!"

"Those of you in the back, don't just stand around! Go get the muskets and light both ends of the matchlock! That'll prevent the matchlock from being blown out by the wind. After you get the muskets, go transport the cannonballs and light the fire sticks! Don't think it's a hassle. If we don't work for the artillery now, are we supposed to carry the cannons and bombard the other side later?"

Norzem naturally couldn't refuse. He bent down, gripped the iron hoops on both sides of the gunpowder barrel, and gritted his teeth to stabilize the overturned barrel.

The ship was rocking back and forth with the waves, and the deck was tilting violently. If the round gunpowder barrels were to loosen their grip even slightly, they would roll down the slope. If they were to hit a sharp nail and accidentally create a spark, the entire ship might be blown up and sunk instantly.

Noze gritted his teeth, half-squatted down, and took advantage of the moment the ship righted itself to slowly push the gunpowder barrel forward, rolling it all the way to the cannon.

Two saxophones were mounted here, with chain shot and solid shot placed next to them. At that moment, artillerymen were carefully cleaning the gun barrels.

"Thank you!"

"Hey, you who's delivering gunpowder! We're short-handed here! Hurry up! If you keep dawdling, the pirates' cannons will come down and we'll all be fish food!"

The artillery warrant officer's shout suddenly came from the direction of the upper deck. He was leading two artillerymen, frantically fixing the rotating cannons on both sides of the deck.