Execution Queue on the High Seas 4

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

As soon as the fireball left Nathan's hand, he saw the enemy fleet suddenly enveloped in thick smoke.

Before he had time to be surprised, a massive collision sound, shattering noises, and sudden screams erupted on the ship. This was quickly followed by thunderous booming sounds and violent shaking beneath his feet.

"What the hell just happened?"

Nathan quickly grabbed onto the railing at the side of the ship, focusing on the deck. He had just clearly heard people screaming in pain.

A horrific scene appeared before his eyes—on the deck ahead, a pile of dismembered bodies lay scattered. Some were motionless, clearly dead, while others screamed in pain, still not fully comprehending the severity of their injuries. Some weakly groaned, clearly on the verge of death. Among the ruined bodies, fragments of limbs were strewn across the deck.

"Father in heaven!" "It's the devil!"

The deck was in chaos. Although the number of dead and injured wasn't huge, the sheer horror of the situation terrified those who had been lucky enough to remain unharmed. Some tried to help their fallen comrades, others frantically looked toward the enemy ships, attempting to figure out what kind of weapon had caused such devastation. Most were running around the deck, looking for cover—they assumed they had been attacked by some powerful ballista.

Nathan's mind was swiftly overtaken by shock, his eyebrows furrowing tightly. His usual carefree expression vanished completely.

There was no doubt that they had been struck by the enemy, and the attack had been so powerful that it instantly caused significant damage, leaving many of their fighters incapacitated.

"Damn it! What's everyone below doing? Why isn't the ship moving?"

An enraged voice shouted—it was the pirate leader, Zod. As the fleet commander, the responsibility on his shoulders forced him to recover first. Faced with this unknown long-range attack from the enemy, he knew that if the ship lost power, they would only suffer more blows.

It was then that Nathan realized that the ship was no longer moving forward in its attack formation; it was merely drifting with the wind.

He quickly ran to the aft door and peeked inside. Sure enough, the cabin was also in chaos, with many dead and injured.

Nathan glanced around and saw that not just his flagship, but all nine ships in the first row of the pirate fleet had been attacked and were in varying states of disarray.

"Leader Zod! It's these things that attacked us!"

One of the lackeys shouted, pointing to a round, iron ball in the corner.

His words drew many people over to inspect it.

"There's another one over here!" They found more than one iron ball.

Nathan didn't dare to get too close—he had a bad feeling about these iron balls.

"Ah! It burned me!" One of the braver lackeys had tried to pick one up but cried out in pain as soon as he touched the ball.

"Be careful! These things are scorching hot!"

A scorching iron ball? Is this what the enemy used to attack us?

Nathan was taken aback. Did the enemy ship have some kind of powerful catapult? But what about that strange smoke?

Or… could it be some sort of supernatural power?

While Nathan was lost in thought, the pirate leader Zod went down into the cabin, cursing and forcing the rowers back into order with his whip.

The pirate ship slowly started moving again. Zod ordered his men to keep signaling the other ships, and the fleet resumed its previous course.

Just as they were preparing to board the enemy's warship to investigate, the enemy's northwestern fleet was once again shrouded in thick smoke.

No way, is it happening again?

The pirates were horrified, but this time, having learned from their earlier experience, they immediately dropped to the deck, lying flat.

But this couldn't stop the arrival of death. Accompanied by a howling sound in the air, the iron balls bounced along the deck, mercilessly cutting down anyone in their path.

The iron balls didn't just cause damage themselves; the splinters kicked up by their impact dealt significant injuries to the pirates as well. The ship was once again filled with wails and cries of despair.

The pirate fleet, which had just started moving, came to a halt once again.

"Zod!"

Amid the chaos, Nathan shouted for the pirate leader, but received no response.

He remembered that Zod had gone down into the cabin earlier and hadn't come back up, so he immediately went below deck to look for him.

However, all he found was the still-warm corpse of the pirate leader.

"Leader Zod… is dead!" The rowers, having witnessed their leader struck down by the mysterious iron balls, were already panic-stricken and completely lost.

Nathan gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! From now on, I will take command of this ship!" Now wasn't the time to mourn the pirate leader who had been, at best, a reluctant ally.

No one objected to his words—everyone knew this young man had an extraordinary background.

Nathan quickly ran up the stairs to the deck and shouted, "Captain Zod has fallen. I hereby assume command of the fleet. All commanders, listen to me—damn it, take cover!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the enemy's northwestern warship once again explode with smoke and thunderous sounds.

Nathan immediately turned and tried to run behind a stack of barrels for cover. But suddenly, he felt something fly past him at incredible speed. A moment later, a massive force slammed into his side. It was so powerful that it felt as though a giant hand had swatted him, and the violent shockwave sent his body tumbling across the deck. After rolling one final time, Nathan's vision went dark, and he passed out.

…

Tirpitz carefully observed the results of their attack through his telescope, and the enemy's miserable state filled him with satisfaction.

The power of the 12-pound naval cannon was immense. The solid iron ball, fired at an initial velocity of 477 meters per second, carried with it intense heat and tremendous kinetic energy. Even when it didn't hit a person directly, the supersonic shockwave it created could cause severe damage. Anyone standing too close to the cannonball's path would nearly faint, potentially suffering concussions that could last for months.

However, there was one imperfection—the pirate fleet's attack formation meant their ships were facing directly toward the northwestern fleet. This limited the effectiveness of the cannon fire, as many cannonballs hit the enemy ship at an angle and were deflected.

Should I change our formation? Tirpitz hesitated.

But seeing the pirate fleet in chaos, he finally made up his mind. Flags were raised on the masts, and the commander's orders were relayed to all ships.

The six galleys at the rear continued firing at the pirate fleet, while the sailing ships at the front began making a wide turn to the left, maneuvering to flank the enemy, positioning their broadsides directly against the enemy ships' sides.

(End of the Chapter)

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