At this moment, the sea is rolling a few leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, and four English privateers are surrounding the two Portuguese slave trading ships from the north and south. Accompanied by the rumbling sound of cannons, thick smoke from the burning of black powder between several ships and on the nearby sea filled the air.

Isabel Walton, captain of the Nemesis privateer, watched the Portuguese slave ship on the starboard side from the aft lookout, and saw that the open deck was full of dead sailors. And a few wounded Portuguese sailors in the midst of the dead struggled on the deck with groans of pain.

"Come on, bastards, you Spaniards go to hell." Some of the still alive crew members brandished cold weapons in their hands, standing on the deck filled with blood and corpses, yelling angrily at her and the Nemesis she commanded.

Immersed in the enchanting symphony of ships, artillery, sea, and war, Isabel experienced a sense of ecstatic joy and intoxication in this ocean war. Calmly turning his head to look at the adjutant of maritime affairs beside him, "Baldwin, now you can fire!" ”

The second round of shelling began, and the guns of the flotilla surrounded the Portuguese merchant ships on the north and south spewed flames, and the sea was covered with smoke and fire. Some of the "cannonballs" of broken cast iron fell into the sea, causing the water to scatter everywhere and sprinkle on the waves, and more pieces of broken cast iron fluttered from mid-air to the hulls, open decks, and bow and stern of the two Portuguese slave trading ships.

Everything heaved and flickered before Isabel's eyes, and the sailor bounced off the deck, and the pieces of splintered iron shot like arrows into the hull, mast and sail. In the whistling of cannonballs, the sparkle of artillery and her own passion, when she kills people and cannot hear the sorrow of those who are killed, and when she keeps speeding forward, she feels as happy as a festival.

The shelling continued until before evening, when the two Portuguese slave ships, scarred and most of their crews killed in the shelling, finally surrendered. The sailors of the Nemesis and three other privateers cheered and jumped on the open deck, once again celebrating their victory.

Captain John Hawkins looked at Isabel with the joy of victory on his face, "Captain, we have won, we have won again!" ”

Isabel turned with her hands behind her back and walked towards the rudder of the lookout, the scabbard of her handguard at her waist gently touching her high riding boots. The navigator was slightly stunned and chased after her, "Captain, don't you feel the joy after winning the battle?" ”

I saw her reach out and hold the tiller, looking at the sea in front of her, "John, if the Portuguese had loaded the ship with heavy artillery, do you still think that our victory would come so quickly?" ”

John's eyes flashed a picture of two warships firing at each other—fire, smoke, and pieces of wood that had been shattered in all directions, and the sailors as they fell to the ground as they were hit by the shattered stone projectiles...... He quickly shook his head and looked at Isabel again, "Captain, I understand what you mean, and I will remember your words." ”

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The privateer sailors then placed their ships close to the Portuguese ships again, and put several long gangplanks on the side of the Portuguese slave ship by means of gang hopping. Excited sailors and gunners, who served as soldiers of the naval infantry regiment, raised their weapons and stepped on the springboard, shouting and rushing towards their enemy.

It was approaching evening, and the sun was slowly setting towards the distant place where the water and the sky met. The sunlight has become less intense and harsh, and the sea is like a beautiful golden veil, fluttering in the breeze. Captain Walton of the "Nemesis" looked over to several of the officers on the lookout, "Gentlemen, let's look at our loot now." ”

Everyone stepped on the gangplank and once again came to the Portuguese merchant ship as victors, "Smack...!" The sound of riding boots falling on the deck was heard, and Isabel Walton jumped off the gangplank first, glanced around almost covered with corpses and blood, and shouted, "Boatswain...!" ”

"Yes, Captain, I'm coming." Boatswain Brady jumped off the gangplank and hurried to her.

"Brady, get the deck cleared."

"Yes, Captain, I'll do it at once."

"Wait." Isabel added, "I don't want to see a living Portuguese on a ship except for the black slaves." ”

When the sky was completely dark, the privateer captains once again sat in the Portuguese captain's cabin and enjoyed the Portuguese dinner. Captain William Hawkins put down his fork, took a long sip of wine from his glass, and looked at Isabel sitting at the top with a smile, "Miss, you won't believe how many black slaves are loaded on these two ships. ”

Isabel slowly ate the fresh beef on the plate with a knife in her left hand and a fork in her right hand, and smiled lightly as she looked up at Captain Hawkins, "Captain, are the Portuguese stuffing the hold with black slaves like pickled fish?" ”

A privateer captain looked at her with a smile, "Yes, miss, the Portuguese have a total of 1,180 black slaves on two ships. My God, 1,180 black slaves! ”

"Well, since God has sent us so much cargo from the Portuguese, I think we can go back to Plymouth this time." Isabel put down her fork and took a sip of wine from her glass.

It took the sailors three days to transfer all 1,180 slaves to four privateers, and in addition to them, the sailors also seized a lot of supplies, goods, weapons and gunpowder. Now, Navigator John Hawkins no longer had to worry about supplies, as the Portuguese had enough supplies to make two round-trips between the Gulf of Guinea and the Americas.

Three days later, Isabel sailed to the island of Spain in the Caribbean with a fleet full of various booty. After nearly six weeks of sailing, the fleet returned to the waters near the Sea of Death, east of the island of Spain. This time, however, she doesn't plan to venture to the port of Santo Domingo via the Sea of Death.

As the fleet rounded the island of Spain from the north to the port of Pirate's Paradise in the western part of the island, Isabel summoned Fast and Baldwin to the captain's cabin. Sitting behind the captain's desk, his hands crossed on his chin and watching the two of them, "Fast, it's been a long time since we first came here, and you're sure those black slaves have been on the plantation?" ”

Fast knew very well that she was talking about the last time she had ransacked a Spanish plantation here.