Egil was stunned when he heard the news, and beside him, Artoria excitedly swung his sword, slashing the table in front of him in half. The mirror-like incision proves that Her Majesty used all her strength this time.

"—they have hundreds of ships! hundreds of ships full of Barbary pirates!!"

This is the reason why the Norman emperor and the empress and his wife were surprised. The other party was able to gather such a large number of Barbary pirates - if the information is true, it means that the Barbary pirates have invested most of their strength. If this defeat is made, then the Barbary pirates who have been crisscrossing the Mediterranean for many years will really be finished.

"Kill them all!" what are you waiting for, Egil, give the order!" Artoria watched as Egil began to ponder. "They are nothing but an undisciplined rabble," he urged. Despite the large number of people. But it's so easy to beat them!"

"Alright, Hani. Egil patted Artoria's hand and motioned for her to calm down: "I have already given the order for the troops on the warships to be vigilant. If something is wrong, kill people without leaving room for it. Presumably, they were already engaged in battle with the enemy at this moment. ”

As Egil's words fell, a loud noise came from the right side of the Royal Navy Victory, which was a footnote to Egil's words.

Indeed, when the pirates braved the night to carry out a surprise attack, and were still nearly fifty meters away from the Norman fleet, they were spotted by the sharp-eyed Norman sailors - the sailor on duty shouted wildly: "Enemy!" while raising the crossbow in his hand, aiming at the opposite galleys and pulling the trigger, and then the completely unprotected galleys heard a scream of "Ahhh But it's a crooked hit. I didn't know which unlucky guy I shot in.

Followed by. The soldiers on this side of the ship gathered one after another, and when they boarded, arrows rained down, and in the distance, the sailors on duty shook desperately the big bell hanging in mid-air. Prepared, the well-trained sailors immediately woke up, grabbed the weapons next to them, jumped up, and rushed out!

"Damn...... Assault! Fastest assault! Sink their warship with ramming angles!" Hayreddin roared wildly, swinging the scimitar in his hand, and with a crackling sound, all the bows and arrows fired at him were blocked—and at the same time, around him, there were also a large number of pirate outlaw captains roaring and scolding, frantically waving their whips and whipping the slaves who were rowing. Let those slaves fight hard.

"It's coming! Ballista! Ballista!!Greek !!" Seeing as the small ships crashed towards their flanks, the outermost side of the Norman fleet. On a modified heavy ballista battleship, the captain of the battleship shouted the order: "Aim at them!" and !!sink them.

Hearing the captain's shout, the sailors on the outboard of the ship quickly moved into action, in groups of several people. Turning the ballista on the side, he struggled to pick up the heavy ballista used in melee combat, cast of pure iron, weighing 20 kilograms, wound it, and shot it violently!

Such heavy ballistas. Because it was too heavy, the range was not very long, but the lethality at close range was amazing! The arrow, which was like the tip of an awl, pierced the thin deck of the galleys in one fell swoop, and then broke through the bottom of his ship without stopping. Suddenly, the sea water kept pouring in.

"Leave him alone, keep attacking!" However, the name of the outlaw was not for nothing. At times like these. The Barbary pirates have become even more insane. Continued to paddle desperately, holding a posture of "dying with you", the speed became faster!

"Attack, attack, attack!!" Seeing the frenzied rush of this gang of outlaws, several of the chiefs in charge of the side ballista roared in anger, and the ballista was replaced with a shovel-shaped arrow to increase the destructive effect. Under the control of professional Norman sailors, these ballistas hit an astonishing height at close range. The two galleys, which had been hit too much and had been heavily flooded in their holds, slowly fell silent amid the unwilling howls of the pirates, while the remaining pirate warships were also damaged to varying degrees. The speed has slowed down a lot. ...,

"Rush over, rush over!"

However, by this moment, the pirates had rushed to a fairly close distance. It's almost like the horns of a ballista, the most powerful weapon of the Norman Empire, and it can't be used at this moment!

"Iron cannons and heavenly firepots have been frought!" Just then, several soldiers with a large pile of clay pots ran out of the cabin, shouting - these pots were originally intended for special catapult crossbows. Unlike the safer bolts, these unstable, problematic canisters are carefully stored in a dedicated cabin. And not placed on the deck. That's why I took it for a while.

"There's no time! Throw! Anyway, the other party is not very far away. The captain shouted orders. Immediately afterward, these weapons to kill the [Shin God Slaughter Group] were scattered among the soldiers on this side of the ship. As soon as the chiefs gave the order, the sky was filled with large black clay pots.

"It's a canister of oil! Get out of the way!" The pirates, who had known how powerful they had fought against the Normans, exclaimed—but it was easier said than done. At such a close distance, the inertia of the ship's arrow-like speed made it impossible for them to dodge - some of the iron guns exploded in volleys, and shrapnel and iron sand flew sideways. Inflict severe damage on pirates who have little defense. Some of those fire oil bombs landed on the water. The fire oil splashed out, forming a source of fire, and some smashed into the opponent's ship, directly causing a fire!

In an instant, the flames burst into the sky! Violent explosions and bright fires, accompanied by the screams of the pirates, brought the battle into a white-hot stage! Several more pirate warships were hit, flooded on a large scale, and were about to sink!

It can be said that in this first round of attacks, the Norman Empire won a complete victory by surpassing too many weapons and firepower of the other side. On average, the outermost side killed two pirate ships for each Norman warship. And their own casualties are extremely weak. Only a handful of people were wounded by stray shrapnel bullets from the iron artillery, and one fool knocked the Heavenly Flame Oil Tank low and was slapped twice by his subordinate chief. There were no other casualties - although the pirates were equipped with ranged weapons such as crossbows, bows, and javelins, they were rarely used at this time. Even if it is used, it will not hit the target due to the wind direction and distance, or it will be blocked by the female walls on both sides of the ship, and it will not work.

However, in the next turn, Norman casualties began to appear. Despite the efforts of many parties and some success, the pirate warship still charged towards it without a fatal death. In the end, three pirate ships slammed into the side of the Norman warship, causing a violent shock! The sharp impact angles covered with iron, coupled with the huge impact force, knocked out a large hole in the hull of the side line at once, and then, the pirate warship began to retreat, and the sea water rushed into the cabin.

"Don't be afraid! Our ships are not so easy to be silent!!continue to attack!" However, the captains of the Norman Navy were not worried—even if there was some damage to the Norman warships with watertight compartment design, it would only be to enter some seawater, drop the waterline a little, and reduce the speed a little. It wasn't a big deal - it was just that as the water continued to pour in, and a large number of sailors stood on this side of the ship to attack the enemy, the hull began to tilt towards this side. So the captain ordered again: "Quick, go to a few people, and move the ballast stone to the other side!"

Immediately the sailors, who were not equipped with long-range weapons, ran close to the cabin. After a while, it started to level out...... It's a little lower, but it's still a long way from sinking. And taking advantage of this moment, the Norman sailors sank another pirate ship.

"It's really sǐ...... We rushed up and took their ship!!"

Seeing that his own attack did not play as well as it should. The pirates on the other side were furious—if they wanted to ram again, they would have to turn the bow of the ship and drive some distance to continue the momentum—which was enough time for the Normans to sink their ship a hundred times.

So, the pirates immediately changed their tactics. It was decided to engage in broadside warfare - although the Norman ships were very tall and it was extremely difficult to place a gangplank. But in previous battles with the Norman pirates, maritime merchants. The Barbary pirates have also improved their tactics. Hearing the pirate captain's order, some of the pirates untied the hooks around their waists, rounded them and threw them on, hooking the side of the Norman warship, and then began to climb with their scimitars in their mouths.

"Cut their ropes!" shouted the Norman soldiers, who had noticed the enemy's movements, and shouted - a group of soldiers lowered their crossbows, drew their swords, and stooped down to cut at each other's ropes.

"Shoot, shoot those infidels!" Seeing that the Norman sailors leaned out, the pirates who had not yet begun to climb also shouted, raised their bows and crossbow javelins, and aimed them at the Norman sailors. On the deck, many of the Norman soldiers, who were only equipped with leather soft armor and had low defensive power, were hit and fell into ......the sea with a scream. ）