On a navigation line in the Indonesian archipelago, three ships are chasing and fleeing, speeding through this vast ocean where no one else is around.

The first seagoing ship, with its unique structure such as a thin belly dome, is known at a glance to be from Western shipbuilding technology, and the various shouts from the hull also prove their identity.

There were many black-skinned African slave sailors on board, and more of them were fair-skinned sailors, who were nervously steering the sailboat while praying with a cross in one hand.

Behind them, a Western-style ship with the same appearance, with a sea ship with the characteristics of an oriental sea ship, followed closely the prey of this Western sea ship, and as time passed, the distance between the two sides was gradually narrowing.

In the meantime, the Western-style sea ships in front of the battle will also use the guns carried by the sailors and boats from time to time to shoot at the two sea ships chasing behind them, trying to drive them out, but under the opponent's flexible boat handling skills, most of the guns are missed, and even if they occasionally hit, they cannot cause much damage to the opponent's hull.

"Are all the kingdom's sailor fleets-eating? Why are there pirates on this busy route!! ”

Captain Denzel is an experienced captain of the Dutch East India Company, and he is also very familiar with the route of the Indonesian archipelago, but because he is familiar with the environment, he never imagined that a pirate gang would target them and attack and plunder.

"These filthy rats, can't you see that we are hanging the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands over our heads, and they don't know the strength of our Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Indonesian Islands?"

Indeed, when it comes to the overall strength of the Indonesian archipelago, the Netherlands, which has been rooted in the Indonesian archipelago for the longest time, is far more powerful than several other western kingdoms.

The Spaniards initially focused on the Luzon Islands, but eventually became a wedding dress and were defeated by one of the most powerful pirate gangs in the East, and then retreated to the Indonesian archipelago.

As for the Portuguese, their strength in the Far East is not very strong, and they have such an important port as Xiangshanao, which is adjacent to the rich ancient oriental country, so naturally, their focus is more inclined to the stronghold of Xiangshanao.

As for the British, they wanted to compete with the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Indonesian archipelago, but the local nobles were busy fighting with the royal family for power, and the British sailors and their moth-like pirate gangs preferred to plunder the Mediterranean, and far-sighted merchants and nobles were scarce.

"Captain, you can't run away!"

Second mate Marty angrily walked up to Denzel and worriedly reported the latest situation: "There are five minutes left at most, and the pirates behind will catch up with us!" ”

"Damn it!"

Captain Denzel's heart also trembled, since the formation of a tacit understanding between the Western kingdoms on the Indonesian archipelago, and their Dutch Kingdom sailors stationed here, so that a trade ship like Denzel is a little more relieved, and a little less worried about danger in times of peace.

The sailors on his ship, in order to save costs, used a lot of African black slaves as sailors and coolies, and it was naturally not necessary to say that they could operate and maintain the ships, but it was a little difficult to let them take up arms and fight.

There were a lot of white sailors left, but the odds were very slim compared to the number and quality of the pursuers who saw the two ships behind them through the monoculars.

The goods carried on their ship were full of oriental specialties purchased from the ports of Wa, Ryukyu and Keelung, and they were worth a lot of money, and they cost Denzel all his money, and if he made a mistake, then he Denzel would not only have to go from a rich man with a lot of money to a worthless beggar, but also have to bear a large amount of debt, and he could not afford to sell himself!

"All sailors take up arms and get ready for battle!"

Denzel gritted his teeth and breathed a fierce breath, and at the same time ran to the deck with a large number of keys, ready to launch a pre-war mobilization.

"Do you want to be free?"

Denzel waved the strings of keys in his hand, making a crisp metal crash.

Underneath him, there were hordes of African slaves who were used as sailors and coolies, with shackles on their feet.

The African slaves, who could barely understand the common Spanish spoken in Europe, opened their originally cold and gloomy eyes, looked up at the key in Captain Denzel's hand, and gradually showed some desire in their dark eyes, and began to fluctuate.

"If you want to be free, there is no problem, as long as you help me repel the pursuers behind me, and after returning to Batavia, my uncle will give you freedom, and the soldiers will give you enough severance pay!"

In order to seize any help in his hands and keep his wealth, Captain Denzel couldn't care too much at this time, even if he knew that the group of black slaves under his command was likely to be a bag of explosives, he could only bear it alive, hoping that they could help him repel the pirates, or hold out until the arrival of the Dutch kingdom's naval fleet.

After all, this is the only shipping lane for trade between East and West, and passing ships and warships such as the Dutch East India Company may appear on this shipping lane at any time, which is also the only straw in Denzel's heart.

"Come, take up arms and fight for your freedom!"

As if to win the trust of the African slaves, Captain Denzel personally stepped down and unshackled the feet of each of the slaves present to prove that he was right.

For the sake of freedom, one by one the black slaves first looked around each other, and then one by one, led by one of the prominent leaders, stepped forward and took up arms, and began his campaign for freedom.

At the same time, the lookout on the mast of the ship raised the alarm: "Enemy ship approaching, prepare for ramming!" ”

"Enemy ships approaching, prepare for ramming!!"

As soon as the words fell, I saw two Western-style sea ships in front of me and one behind them colliding together, and the shock wave of strong momentum made the sailors on the ship vibrate, and the formation still became crooked.

"Smack! Smack! ”

Countless hooks and cables fell from the sky, and then the ropes tightened, tying the two ships together, and it was difficult to separate them in the slightest.

Then, a large group of pirates in short-sized suits, wielding weapons and shouting haphazardly, rushed onto Captain Denzel's ship and engaged the prepared sailors.

The sound of the battle sounded, followed by the image of flesh and blood, and even Denzel, as the captain, and the second mate, Marty, took up their weapons and went to the battlefield, fighting with the pirate gate, fighting for their own interests.

(End of chapter)