After breaking through the obstruction of the enemy warships, Eastern Roman Empire Cruiser rammed into the nearest Medium Galley, aiming at Galley's weakest waist and abdomen.
At the moment of the impact, Boranov saw the Galley shake violently, a big hole opened in the hull, and seawater poured in at an alarming speed.
Galley began to sink, and the crew on the deck and the mercenaries in the cabin fell into the sea one after another. Hundreds of figures struggled in the black waves, waving their arms wildly, trying to grab any floating debris.
The seawater temperature at November is very low, and the physical energy of the person who falls into the water is consumed rapidly.
The waves were raging, and they held the floating barrels and masts, begging friendly forces to put down Longboat for rescue. From time to time, some people exhausted their physical strength and sank to the cold and dark seabed.
In just a few minutes, the Galley disappeared on the sea, leaving behind a pile of floating debris, cables, sail fragments, and dozens of corpses floating in the waves.
A large group of seagulls swooped down from the sky screaming, then dispersed under the disturbance of the artillery fire, lingering unwillingly in mid-air.
At this moment, the Cruiser is still running rampant in the transport fleet.
Nine-Pounder Cannon's destructive power is limited and it is difficult to blast open the hull of a large warship at once.
Therefore, it ignored those Galleass battleships and Venice Cruiser, and focused on bombarding the smaller Galley, severely damaging two Galleys one after another, causing the other side to slowly take in water and sink.
After a long period of fierce fighting, the damage to Rome Cruiser increased.
Its foremast was completely broken with a loud noise, and half of its mainsail was torn into two pieces, and it fell slumped on the deck. There were several cracks near the waterline on the side, and the hull gradually tilted. Taking advantage of the fierce north wind, Cruiser rushed straight to the southeast beach, and the bottom of the ship rubbed against the seabed in the shallow water, making a sharp friction sound.
At a certain moment, the hull of the ship shook violently, as if it was pushed by an invisible giant hand. The entire ship lay on its side on the beach, with the remaining sail ropes swinging wildly in the air. The scarred mizzen mast was also broken, and hit the deck with the cables and broken sail yards, causing the crew to scream.
Two hundred paces away, the six Venice warships stopped their pursuit, fearing that the rocks in the shallow water would scratch the bottom of the ship.
Because the damage caused by the enemy was too great, Commander Venice was in an extremely bad mood and angrily opened fire on the stranded ship, causing as many casualties as possible.
Enduring the fierce bombardment, more than 80 crew members got out of the breach in the bottom of the ship. They put the wounded on simple stretchers and ran barefoot on the cold beach. From time to time, shells roared in and hit the nearby beach hard, splashing large amounts of wet and cold sea sand.
After running for dozens of steps, the crew rushed into the woods and climbed over a gentle slope. They met a group of Dragoons wearing yellow leather jackets head-on.
"Don't panic, I'm one of our own. I am Boranov, the battalion commander of Dragon Cavalry Brigade's Third Battalion."
Hearing this, the crew members moved out of the way one after another, and a short, thin, dark-skinned officer walked out of the crowd, with two horizontal stripes and a silver laurel leaf embroidered on the shoulder of his black uniform. "I am the captain of Scala, Felix."
Scala?
Boranov had heard of this battleship, and it was they who competed with the Venice ship for the smuggling ship, which directly triggered a decisive battle between the two countries.
What a bunch of daring lunatics.
Boranov asked Dragoons to bring out dry food and drinking water to help these hungry friendly troops and prepare to take them back to Agrinion. Felix swallowed the bread and spoke in a hurry.
"Scala is still stranded on the beach, and the good things we captured are stored in the cabin. When the enemy fleet leaves, we will return to the cabin and take out the loot and various supplies."
Boranov agreed to the friendly forces' proposal, and he sent the messenger to a nearby Militia camp to seek help from more friendly forces.
Suddenly, people were cursing at the edge of the woods. Boranov ran over and saw the Venice warship put down ten Longboat, and sailed slowly but firmly towards the beach.
"What the hell! The enemy wants to rob the spices and porcelain in the cabin." The crew members were anxious. Some of them did not bring any equipment with them when they escaped, so they had to ask Dragoons for unused weapons.
Boranov lent Matchlock to the sailmaster on the ship and whispered to Felix:
"The enemy doesn't know the existence of Dragoons. You stay at the edge of the woods and fire, and try to lure them over."
"Understood!" Felix led the crew back to the edge of the woods.
Everyone took scattered positions, found hiding places one after another, carefully clamped the lit match rope to the end of the barrel, and stared at those Longboat.
Finally, Longboat arrived at the beach, and the Venice sailors disembarked one after another and approached the Scala in shallow water.
Bang!
Sixty steps away, sporadic flames bloomed at the edge of the woods. A dozen Venice sailors were hit by lead bullets and fell immediately into the cold sea water. Their blood dyed the nearby beach red. Suddenly they were shot by a round of fire. Venice Marines was caught off guard, and nearly two hundred crew members dispersed one after another, hiding behind Longboat or nearby rocks. In the distance on the sea, the Venice warship resumed firing and launched a covering fire into the woods on the shore.
"Dodge the bombardment!"
More than forty artillery shells screamed in, Felix hugged his head and huddled in a depression, avoiding the artillery shells and the flying wood chips.
With the cover of its own artillery fire, Venice Marines launched a charge towards the woods. The crew of Scala hastily launched a second round of shooting and then withdrew deep into the woods.
Phew~
Felix endured the scraping of branches and leaves and fled eastward with all his strength. The Venice people behind him pulled the trigger from time to time, and the lead bullets screamed in the air, bringing an indescribable oppression.
Not long after, a group of people ran across the gentle slope.
"Charge!" Upon seeing this, Boranov, who was lurking on the north side, roared, waved his Sabre and emerged from the bushes, leading his troops to charge towards the flank of the Venice people.
The forest environment was complex, Dragoons did not ride a horse, and one hundred and five people charged on foot.
Compared with sailors who lack armor, Dragoons is equipped with at least an iron helmet and a thick leather jacket, which gives it a significant advantage in the melee stage.
Hearing the shouts of killing from friendly forces, Felix stopped and led the crew of Scala back to the battlefield to attack the panicked Venice Marines.
Suddenly being ambushed, Marines's morale dropped rapidly and it was difficult to organize an effective defense. Dragoons broke their formation in the first round of charges. The melee lasted for several minutes. The surviving Marines members dispersed in a hurry. They fled out of the woods in the direction they came from and ran for their lives on the cold, wet and soft beach.
Felix was worried about the enemy ship's gunfire, so he ordered the crew to stay at the edge of the woods and shoot at the fleeing figures.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Marines retreated to the ship. Venetian Fleet gave up the idea of searching for loot and continued to pour artillery fire on Scala until it completely lost its repair value.