"I gave Perez permission to retreat. He probably wants to hide behind us," Ferdinand snorted disdainfully. Given that Perez was a renowned Portuguese patriot, and considering the tragic plight of the Portuguese in Macau, he suspected nothing.
His words had barely faded when the Portuguese fleet danced lightly across the sea, repositioning itself behind the Spanish fleet. Then, beneath the Spaniards' almost stupefied gazes, it opened the gunports on that side. The pitch-black cannon muzzles pointed straight at them.
"Pray for God's protection!" Aboard the Lisbon, Perez tossed a white glove into the sea with a jaunty flourish.
Under the Spaniards' despairing gazes, two galleons and five fast warships unleashed a ferocious bombardment against their rear.
Those Portuguese sons of bitches! The Spanish soldiers cursed furiously, but there was nothing they could do. Their ships were accelerating toward the Yingzhou fleet, making a change of course extremely difficult. They could only watch helplessly as cannonballs rained down on them, smashing planks, ripping sails, and toppling masts...
The Portuguese fleet, which should have been providing cover, had actually turned its weapons against them!
Yu Zigao and Shen Yourong were dumbstruck. "Our patron-our patron truly knows how to win over foreigners. Even-even the Portuguese..."
The moment the two recovered their senses, they ordered the Fujian junks forward. These vessels had already circled around to the Spanish fleet's flank, but with the Portuguese screening it, the Spaniards had thought nothing of them. Now that the Portuguese had switched sides, nothing stood in the junks' way. With cheerful ease, Yu Zigao delivered a mighty, punishing left hook to the Spaniards from the flank.
Ferdinand and Carmel stared at each other. Neither had ever imagined their allies would become their enemies. In an instant, the Spanish fleet went from holding a slight advantage to being