Chapter 227 Encounter on a Narrow Road

Less than a day had passed since the last battle, and the Jackdaw was once again engaged in intense pre-war preparations. However, the crew did not complain at all.

Mainly because the pirates were so frustrated in the previous battle. Most of them were in a state of confusion and had no idea what was going on. They were suddenly caught and beaten by the navy who suddenly appeared in front of them. It was clear that their own strength was He is not weaker than the opponent, but he has no power to fight back at all.

This way of defeat is unacceptable to everyone.

Therefore, when they heard Zhang Heng said that he wanted to take revenge on the opponent and grab enough fresh water and food to return to Nassau, everyone immediately broke away from their low mood and rekindled their fighting spirit. In addition, Zhang Heng had turned the tide several times before. The trust and admiration of the Tang crew for him has reached its peak, and now no one will question his orders.

The sailors all mobilized and dismantled all the guns on the ship as quickly as possible, leaving only one stern gun. In addition, the food in the cabin, a little remaining fresh water, and everything else that could be disassembled were also kept. They were all moved to the island. In the end, Zhang Heng only had twenty sailors left, which was almost the minimum manpower that could maintain the normal navigation of the Jackdaw.

The cabin of the new Jackdaw was completely empty, with nothing left except half a day's worth of food and fresh water, but in exchange, the waterline dropped significantly.

…………

The target came faster than expected. Less than two hours after the Jackdaw left the island, the lookout saw the dark shadow of the ship in the distance.

Zhang Heng's previous speculation was correct. This time the navy obviously wanted to catch them all. Just killing five pirate ships did not satisfy Walden. Even though he had a huge advantage, there was still a ship of pirates that could escape from under his nose. He couldn't accept it anyway.

Therefore, after the storm passed, he immediately sent men to hunt down the Jackdaw.

This time, Zhang Heng met an old acquaintance near the coral island. Miranda, one of the two armed ships chasing him for the first time, was also the armed ship that persisted until the end, but in the end it was not possible due to the strong wind and waves. Do not choose to return.

Although Walden didn't say anything, as Captain Ford, he had always been brooding about it. This was the first time in the years since he had become a pirate hunter that a prey had been delivered to his lips and then slipped away.

Therefore, he and his Miranda resolutely joined the pursuit. Ford was eager to take down the Jackdaw to clear his name and prove that he was still one of the best pirate hunters in this area.

However, because the search was dispersed, with each ship choosing a direction, Ford actually didn't have high hopes. But what he didn't expect was that the goddess of luck would really favor him again.

After discovering the Jackdaw, Ford immediately ordered the crew on the ship to enter a state of combat readiness. This time he vowed not to let his prey escape again.

At the same time, Zhang Heng also saw the menacing Miranda. After a while, he put down the telescope in his hand and said to the sailors on the ship, "Act as planned."

The Miranda chased for a certain distance, and Ford noticed that the Jackdaw began to lower its top sail and speed up, as if it wanted to escape. However, the effect was limited. There were obvious holes in the latter's main sail, which should have been left in the last battle. It was downloaded, but I don't know why it wasn't repaired.

But this does explain why they met the Jackdaw in advance. According to Ford's calculations, the fastest they could catch up with the Jackdaw would be one day later.

Now that the two sides met in advance, it gave Ford a surprise. The latter did not intend to waste his brain cells thinking about what happened on the Jackdaw. Anyway, as long as he took this opportunity to sink the Jackdaw, everything would be solved. .

Since Ford dares to do the job of pirate hunter, his Miranda is naturally also a first-class clipper. It is not far different from the Jackdaw. Now that the Jackdaw cannot increase its speed, that is what the Miranda does. It's time.

The two sides started a new round of competition on the sea. The person at the helm of the opposite boat was also very good. Ford had already noticed this during the previous confrontation in the harbor. The performance of the other side was also very good this time. However, both sides There is a natural gap in speed, so the distance between the two ships is also getting closer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ford stood on the bow of the ship, and now he could clearly see the busy figures on the deck of the Jackdaw even without the help of binoculars. He could feel the blood in his heart beginning to boil.

Like most pirate hunters, Ford was born in the navy, and was later employed as a merchant ship captain for a period of time, and also made a lot of money. However, unlike his peers who were kidnapped and became pirate hunters, Ford became a merchant ship captain. I was never robbed by pirates.

He became a pirate hunter purely because of the adventurous blood flowing in his bones. In addition to bounties and honors, what he is doing now reminds him of the wonderful experience of hunting in the woods with his father during his childhood, the kind of constant battle of wits with the prey. Yong, the feeling of enjoying the harvest afterwards is something you couldn't experience at all when you were a merchant ship captain.

But at this moment, the first mate beside him reminded, "Captain Ford, we found an island ahead."

"Um?"

"From the navigation chart, it should be an uninhabited island called Coral Island." The first mate hesitated, "Do you think they escaped here on purpose?"

"For what?" Ford raised his eyebrows.

The first mate was dumbfounded. After all, the pirates had just ambushed the Spanish treasure ship on Cockatoo Island. When he saw the island, he instinctively became wary. However, after thinking about it, the current Jackdaw did not have the capital to ambush at all. This joint operation Five of the six pirate ships had been destroyed by them, and only one ship, the Jackdaw, managed to escape. Even if they wanted to ambush, they had no companions to cooperate.

However, the first mate thought of another question, "This area is marked as dangerous on the navigation chart. There are many reefs nearby. Could they be trying to lure us to run aground on the rocks?"

Ford frowned, "This possibility... they don't have time to explore here. Unless there is someone on their ship who is very familiar with this area, otherwise they will risk greater than us by rashly sailing into the reef area, but we don't You have to try your luck with them and tell the helmsman to follow them closely and only go where they have walked, so that if they are going to hit the rocks, they will hit the rocks first.”

Ford paused, then snorted coldly, "They used a storm to get rid of us that time, and this time they want to scare us away with a reef. Do you really think our courage is only that small? If we are run away by them again this time If it goes away, then we don’t have to do this business anymore.”