On the edge of the big island, in the bay, the waves are as calm as a lake, and the birdsong is rippling like the wind. In the picturesque scenery, two fleets are approaching quickly. They are full of murderous intent, and they rush to the battlefield of death without hesitation.
The galley warship moved forward quickly, breaking through the calm wind and waves, with a cold cry. Chihuaco stood on the bow of the boat, holding a spear and shouting loudly.
"Drum roll!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fierce war drums sounded immediately, and both sides had come within sixty steps and entered the bow and arrow range of the Kingdom's fleet.
"Archery!"
"Swish swish!"
Prepecha warriors were mostly concentrated on the flagship. They had been preparing for a long time. At this moment, they all drew their long bows and fired a volley. Dozens of copper arrows shot out like lightning.
"Pfft!"
The sharp arrow flew and penetrated deeply into the body. Seven or eight Sri soldiers screamed, fell over from the boat, and then fell into the water with a "plop". They had no armor, so if they were hit by an arrow, they would be seriously injured or killed.
However, the few casualties did not shake the morale of the Sri people, but instead stimulated them to shout wildly. In the desolate and difficult Sonoran Desert, death is the most common thing. Except for the chiefs, chiefs and witch doctors, few people in the tribe can live beyond the age of thirty. On normal days, dozens of men would be killed or injured just to fight for a spring, let alone for the sacred ancestral land of the Sri people!
Soon, sixty or seventy small boats rushed in, approaching within forty steps. The tribal warriors on the boat drew their hunting bows, raised their spears, and were always ready for battle.
"Archery!"
Chihuaco's face was as dark as water and he ordered again.
"Swish swish!"
Dozens of bronze arrows shot away. This time, the distance between the two sides was getting closer and the shooting accuracy was much higher. The two boats at the front came under fire, and more than a dozen Sri soldiers were killed or injured and fell into the water one after another. A large blush spread in the light blue water, and the boat on the water lost power and spun in place, like a magnificent ocean flower.
"Itaco, Kui!"
More than sixty small boats did not stop, and they did not care about the injured who fell into the water. The Sri people shouted wildly, rowed the oars desperately, and rushed towards the big ship thirty steps away. The tribal hunter on the boat fired a bone arrow, which passed through a low arc and nailed to the shield of the galley with a "bang bang"!
"Boohoo!"
Bone arrows were flying, making a sharp sound like a whistle. The dark red arrow shot faintly, like a greeting from the god of death,
"Ugh! Blind God, please protect me!..."
Seeing the hundreds of Sri soldiers rushing towards him, Chihuaco, an old militiaman, shuddered subconsciously. Although he was dressed simply, he stood at the center of the warriors, with an eagle feather on his helmet that symbolized status. The Sri hunters waited for a moment before shooting poisonous arrows at him!
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Chihuaco wore sturdy leather armor, a bronze helmet, and held a shield in one hand. He felt an impact on his shield, head, and body. When he looked down, he was struck by several dark red poisonous arrows. But the ships on both sides were moving, and strict shields were erected on the galley ships. The hunting bows of the Sri people did not have enough range and were weak. These poisonous arrows either fell to the ground or were inserted diagonally into the body, but they did not break the defense.
"God bless you!"
Chihuaco whispered softly, sweating slightly on his forehead under his armor. There was some trembling on his feet, but there was no sign of it on his face. Today is no different than in the past. When you are the leader of a militia or a militia, you just run away. As long as you protect a few of your subordinates, you will be worthy of your conscience. But now, he is the captain of the expedition fleet and the leader of hundreds of people. He cannot show any timidity and cannot retreat at all. Because once he retreats, the entire army will be shaken and may even collapse. By that time, I don’t know how many people will die!
"Bah! Blind Your Majesty! Put me on the fire and roast me!"
The old militiaman said "poof" and cursed hard in his heart. Then he raised his shield and shouted loudly.
"Accelerate and charge! The sailor rows with all his strength! Increase the speed of the boat to the maximum and use the ramming angle of the bow to hit it!"
"Speed up and charge!"
Upon hearing the order, more than twenty sailors puffed up their cheeks and rowed as hard as they could. The 20-meter-long and 6-meter-wide flagship was like a huge shark, carrying violent splashes of water as it fiercely crashed into a group of small canoes that were 6 to 7 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. The group of canoes was like a school of frightened fish, rocking in the water waves and ducking to both sides. At this moment, the speed of the galley warship has been increased to the maximum! Within a dozen breaths, the sharp bronze collision angle flashed with cold light and crashed straight into the side of a small boat!
"Crack...Crack!"
The sound of wood breaking is so sharp and harsh! The canoe that was hit only held up for a few seconds before it suddenly broke under the fierce impact! Two Sri soldiers were killed on the spot, and broken wood flew like blades, cutting the other four. Then, the sound of "plop" falling into the water continued one after another, and large areas of bright red quickly surfaced on the water. The blood is scattered in the wind, but it is only the beginning of the prologue.
"Haha, so happy!"
Puap held a long bow and stood on the left side of the ship. His body was undulating and swaying, but his feet were steady. The violent impact also shook the big ship, but the use of high-quality pine wood and keels made the kingdom's warships far stronger than the small boats of the Sris. The gray earth warrior shook twice and drew his long bow again. He aimed slightly, let go of the arrow, and shot a tattooed Sri warrior to death!
Chihuaco held the ship's plank, squatted slightly, and hid his upper body behind the large shield. He took a look at the situation around him. The Sri people were a little panicked when they were hit by the big boat and did not immediately surround them. However, sharp bone arrows continued to fly towards them, and two warriors and a sailor on the flagship were already hit by arrows and fell to the ground. As for the Sri soldiers who were killed or fell into the water, there were as many as thirty or forty!
"Bang! Click! Click!"
Several violent collisions came from both sides, covering up all human voices. Two other galleys followed the flagship and launched a fierce charge, knocking over three or four Sri canoes. There were not many warriors on the two ships and they could not shoot many arrows, but they had enough sailors and they collided like galloping buffaloes.
Chihuaco looked around quickly. The boats of the Sri people had too shallow draft, and although there were many of them, they were hit in a hurry. They had never encountered such a big ship before, and they couldn't think of a way to deal with it. The veteran militiaman thought for a moment and then gave the order decisively.
"Continue! Speed up the charge and break through the Sri Lankan fleet! God bless you!"
"God bless you!"
The oarsmen paddled furiously, and the slowed galley moved again. This time, Chihuaco adjusted his attack strategy. Instead of savagely charging, he grazed the side of the canoe, taking advantage of the ship's size to continuously overturn the small boat. Within half a quarter of an hour, four or five Sri boats capsized, and dozens of Sri warriors jumped into the water, becoming targets for bows and arrows.
The remaining two large ships followed behind the flagship, charging and ramming all the way until they rammed through the enemy's ships. The arrows from both sides were shot randomly on the water, and their accuracy was greatly reduced. The large galleys were at a commanding height, and they had large shields and long bows, giving them an absolute advantage in shooting.
"Hoo hoo, feel good! It's so fun!"
Puap gasped and laughed loudly as the flagship rushed out of Sri's fleet. In this short charge, he shot more than a dozen arrows, killing at least three Sri warriors. The bone arrows fired back by the opponent failed to break through his leather armor. Of course, this is also related to the fact that he secretly took off his feather crown and only wore the attire of an ordinary warrior.
"Lao Qi, let's turn around and hit them again!"
Chihuaco pursed his lips and said nothing. In this round of killing, the Sri people were killed by at least one-fifth, estimated at seventy or eighty people. Many of these tribal warriors simply fell into the water and temporarily lost the ability to fight. The casualties on the flagship were only three or four.
"Three ships combined, there are more than ten casualties!"
The old militiaman frowned and fell into thought. He was not immersed in the superiority of the battle, but was thinking about ways to resolve the battle. No matter how many of these Sri warriors are killed, what will it mean to the expedition fleet? The dead kingdom warriors and sailors were real casualties.
Although the fleet has already replenished enough rowing sailors from friendly tribes along the way, if it brings back one more fellow from Prepecha, it will save one more life!
"Well...with so many boats and so many Sri warriors, there must be a leader!"
In a short and fierce battle, the fleets of both sides staggered and separated. At this moment, the two sides were separated from each other by a hundred steps and were temporarily out of contact.
Chihuaco was in no rush to attack. He squinted his eyes and carefully watched the movements of the Sri Lankan fleet, looking for truly valuable targets. Soon, a naked and tattooed Sri warrior fell into his eyes.
"icátax! icátax! Come here, come here!"
Pikam, the tattooed warrior, shouted urgently and directed the boats of the various ministries to regroup. These canoes and warriors are from different tribes. They were not familiar with each other and even had a feud. The battle just now was a mess, and they didn't even touch the enemy!
"Damn it, listen to me! The coyotes are hunting the lone bison, so be sure to surround them! Surround them! ... The enemy has a small boat! We have many boats! When we fight later, we all stick to the big boat led by the enemy. , eat it! Other ships, leave them alone!... Ikartas! Ikartas!"
Among the entire fleet, the tattooed warrior Pikam has the highest status. He is the chief of a small coastal tribe. He has the largest number of boats under his direct control, accounting for one-third of the fleet. In the Sri Lankan language, ptcamn means a lobster that is strong and good at water. Well, they are big lobsters in the sea. There are many of them on the seaside in this era, and they are everywhere.
"That's him!"
Chihuaco looked at it for a while and finally locked the target. Under the command of the tattooed warrior, the enemy fleet is quickly restoring order. The old militiamen no longer hesitated. He pointed at the red flag and gave a stern order.
"Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate! Accelerate and charge, toward the direction I am pointing, toward the center of the opponent's fleet!"
"Accelerate the charge!!"
"Hey! Hey!"
The oarsmen of the fleet shouted slogans, mustered up their remaining strength, and rowed as hard as they could. The flagship gradually accelerated, and even the long wind blowing across the bow brought with it a bit of sharp whistling.
"Chief, the enemy is here again!"
On Pikam's small boat, a senior tribal warrior squinted his eyes and looked at the enemy fleet. This time, the direction of the enemy's attack seems to be...
"Listen to me, gather around me! Icartas! Charge!"
Pickham stood on the bow, waving his arms vigorously and directing the nearby boats. He looked around at the warriors, raised a throwing spear high, and roared like a mountain lion.
"Itaco! Kill!"
"Bang! Bang! Click! Click!"
The three large galley boats charged fiercely and crashed into the group of boats again. This time, the Sri Lankan fleet dispersed slightly, and again several small boats capsized. However, the remaining ships did not fall into chaos. Instead, led by several war boats, they surrounded them from both sides and gradually approached the flagship of the kingdom's fleet.
Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on Pikam's face. However, his smile did not last long, as a torrential rain of arrows shot out from the enemy's ship!
"Swish swish!"
The Prepecha warriors no longer conserved their physical strength and shot arrows to both sides wildly. A dozen Sri soldiers fell into the water, and the boats approaching on both sides paused slightly, showing some hesitation. The tribal warriors on each ship were watching the reactions of other tribes before deciding their next move. Taking advantage of this gap, the flagship boat exerted force again, its speed suddenly increased, and it crashed straight forward.
"Chief! The enemy, bump... bump... bump into! Ah!!"
Pikam's eyes were wide open, and he looked at the ship that was getting closer and closer. The bow of the big ship flashed with golden cold light, like the fangs of a giant beast. Then, the terrifying giant beast suddenly made a loud noise and completely capsized the poor boat!
