All the way south. The Banshee captured several French ships, none of which were of much value on their own. Even with the addition of the sailors on the merchant ships who volunteered to join the pirates, Wilkinson did not have enough men to carry all the booty ships. With the exception of one sloop under Sterling's command, the Banshee freed most of the booty ships, leaving behind only gold, silver, and the most valuable cargo.

Grover was still sick, and the morale of the sailors was slightly higher than it had been when they split.

Wilkinson could read the charts, but he couldn't calculate the latitude of the ship, so the route to Curacao was always navigated by Chen Shouxu. But Wilkinson was the supreme commander of the fleet, and Chen Shouxu, the pilot ship, had a hard time doing it.

"The first mate has left the team again." Chen Shouxu sighed at the person next to him.

Self-navigation was not a big problem, and Wilkinson often left the team to loot. However, the direction of the banshee's voyage was directed towards Martinique's Royal Castle. According to the information provided by the previously captured merchant ships, Wangjiapu also had at least one 26-gun cruiser, the Dreadnought.

Chen Shouxu looked at the French brig chasing by the Banshee, and had no choice but to order his own ship to follow.

The French ship was fast, always a few nautical miles ahead of the Banshee. Seeing Martinique in sight, the Banshee still persevered.

Chen Shouxu glanced at the chart and changed color, "The front is not far from the diamond reef at the mouth of Wangjiapu Port. There was a French battery on the reef, so did the first mate plan to chase the French under their 24-pounder guns? ”

Stirling's little dhow was still behind Chen, and there was no one to dissuade Wilkinson.

The heavy artillery of the French began to fire, and the towering batteries provided ample range. The cannonballs entered the sea at a distance from the Banshee, and the accuracy was much worse. But if the flotilla continues to move forward, the accuracy of the battery's fire will become higher and higher.

Eventually, Wilkinson made a sharp right turn less than 1 nautical mile from Diamond Reef and gradually fell out of range of the Martinique battery. Chen Shouxu breathed a sigh of relief, and steered the ship to cut to the stern of the Banshee, while Sterling followed Chen Shouxu in a column and sailed away from the French cannons.

Chen Shouxu looked behind him, Martinique Island was more than 1,000 square kilometers. The towering Mount Peret provided ample lookout views, the island's recessed bay formed a good haven, and the anchorage in the inner Australia could accommodate 50 battleships, enough to accommodate the entire French fleet. The islands receive just enough rainfall to grow staple crops and cover an area of 100,000 people. Chen Shouxu sighed slightly, if only he could have a territory like Martinique.

I don't know if the hunt was unsuccessful, and the Banshee didn't mean to slow down. Chen Shouxu's ship was full of sails, and he couldn't overtake the Banshee. The fleet could only temporarily lead the way to the southeast, with the Banshee as the lead.

The crosstail wind allowed the ships to sail at speeds of more than 6 knots per hour, and the fleet soon entered the Strait of St. Lucia.

There is a faint sea fog in the strait, and the sun shines on the steaming mist on the sea surface, like a fairyland.

Although the scenery is good, it is terrifying on the sea. Chen Shouxu hurriedly walked to the bow of the ship, and the flag fluttering on the backmast of the Banshee could be seen in the binoculars.

At the stern, Sterling's boat was closer, still within accurate visual range of each other. But the Banshee gradually fell into the fog and disappeared.

Maiden, the chieftain, and the old sailors all went up to deck, a rare occurrence on the sea.

Chen Shouxu wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, and now he couldn't care about the banshee, and ordered loudly, "Lower half of the sail, quickly." ”

Fraser immediately instructed the sailors to loosen the hundred-fold ring of the maingsprwith and lower the mainsail truss to the middle of the mast.

Sterling didn't seem to react, and his boat was still moving forward with full sails.

The fog was getting thicker, and Chen Shouxu and Stirling were already sailing in parallel positions, and the flag on Stirling's main mast could be seen, but the hull of the ship was already hidden in the thick fog. The distance between the two ships was not enough for the shouts to reach the opposite ship.

Chen Shouxu nervously commanded the ship, knowing that it was not far from the island of St. Lucia. He remained in command and did not involve Robert and Rhaeggar.

By ten o'clock in the evening, the weather got worse. The wind and rain were fierce, and lightning was constantly slashing in the dark sky. To make matters worse, the wind direction has changed and it has become more northerly. Chen Shouxu sketched the chart in his mind, and the direction of the wind forced the ship to keep leaning towards the coast of St. Lucia.

Huge waves rose at the stern of the boat, and the hull of the ship gradually rose and fell violently. The raindrops hit Chen Shouxu's face, and the sailors began to panic a little.

Chen Shouxu looked at the stern of the boat, like a mountain-high wave surging towards him, and the hull of the boat swayed violently.

The wind blew away the sea fog, and on starboard, Stirling's ship was already ahead of Chen Shouxu.

Chen Shouxu took off his hat and threw it into the sea. Grabbed a sail rope next to the mainmast and fastened it around the body a few times. The Germans and Indians laughed miserably, "Guys, this storm cannot be avoided." Next, I hope you will give me your lives, believe in this ship, believe in me. ”

The Germans and Indians were pale, and Maiden could see the waves at the stern of the boat, and he forced his spirit, "Chen, we obey your commands." ”

Chen Shouxu nodded, biting his lip, he pulled out the flintlock pistol at his waist and pulled the trigger at the sky.

The sound of gunfire made all the sailors look at Chen Shouxu.

"No one is allowed to look backwards!" Chen Shouxu shouted loudly, "Maiden, you are here to supervise, those who violate the order will be whipped 12 times!" ”

He continued to order, "Rhaeggar, take four men down the bilge and keep an eye on the hull for leaks. ”

"Rest everyone on deck, remember to find a rope to tie yourself up. Fraser, lower the mainsail boom. ”

Chen Shouxu's firm tone eased the sailors' emotions, and everyone found ropes to tie their bodies tightly.

The hull of the ship rose and fell in the huge waves, and the crest of the wave crashed against the stern, making Chen Shouxu very worried about whether the rudder would be destroyed by the crest of the wave, and then everything would be over.

"Steady the rudder, hold it!" Chen Shouxu shouted loudly.

The stout mast of the Danes' shipbuilding was now a big problem, and although the mainsail truss was lowered, the center of gravity of the whole pine-made mainmast was too high, and the hull swayed too violently.

Already sailors have given up their work and knelt on the deck to pray to God.

Chen Shouxu gritted his teeth, "Cut off the mast!" Fast! ”

The dazed sailors did not react, and Chen Shouxu turned to Maiden and the chief and shouted, "If we don't cut down the mast, we will all die here!" ”

Maiden was awakened by Chen's shouting, and picked up a boarding axe fixed to the bulwark, and the chief and his Indian brothers also picked up the knives they could reach, and rushed up to slash the mast desperately.

When he was halfway through, the wind broke the mast and fell into the sea, but it did not break. Under the pull of the mast, the hull of the ship rolled sharply, and the port side deck fell almost below the water, and if the buoyancy of the ship was tilted a little more, the whole ship would be completely capsized upside down on the sea.

At the critical moment, Chen Shouxu saw Walter holding the mast tightly with one hand, and with a roar, he swung the axe against the broken hole of the mast. The harsh sound of the wood breaking seemed to become a natural sound in Chen Shouxu's ears.

The hull of the ship was righted by the sea, and after a few shakes, the sailors were pleasantly surprised to find that the ship did not sink.

Rhaeggar's voice came from the cabin, "The water in the hull can be controlled!" ”

Chen Shouxu breathed a sigh of relief, and the sailors also regained some spirits, and the rocking of the hull returned to a tolerable level.

But that's not enough.

The waves were pushing the ship toward the shores of St. Lucia, a deadly crisis, but also the only chance for Chen Shouxu to escape.

I can't see my fingers in the night. Only the lightning bolts could illuminate the shadows of St. Lucia.

Another bolt of lightning fell, and the shadow of Stirling's ship overlapped with the shadow of a reef and vanished.

"His ship is finished."

Chen Shouxu stared straight ahead, the reef passing over his side.

"Anchor!" He shouted.

The sailors cut off the iron bolts that held the anchor chains in place, and the heavy hooks sank to the bottom of the sea. Chen Shouxu closed his eyes, and now he could only pray, he had done everything he could.

The whole ship watched the anchor cable fly out and froze. The hull of the ship turned around in its entirety on the surface of the sea, and everyone clung to the cable to prevent it from being thrown out.

Now everyone had to "look back", the waves crashing against the reef and rolling over the deck, the helmsman standing with his feet wide open, holding the rudder and letting the bow meet the waves.

The anchor hooked the bottom of the sea, it worked, and the hull no longer drifted towards the island.

Chen Shouxu looked at the island of St. Lucia behind him, the waves washing the bottom of the steep cliffs, and the rocks outlined by lightning, showing a hideous face.