Chapter 556 - 61: Return Journey
Encouraged by Havier, his fellow sailor hesitated a bit but finally gathered the courage to untie the belt that bound Havier.
After observing for a while and noticing that no one came in to stop or scold them, the sailors gained their freedom one by one.
They fastened the belts back around their waists and sat beside the sofa.
Some tended to the companions with bullet wounds in their legs, others cocked their heads to listen to the sounds outside the room, but none dared to push the door and go out.
Although the situation seemed slightly better now and the enemy appeared relatively gentle, they could not forget their identity—
Prisoners.
...
Besides the sofa, the captivity room also had two long tables, and the light through the strip-shaped windows made the room neither dark nor particularly bright, bringing an unspeakable sense of oppression to the Spanish sailors.
They remained silent, with only the injured occasionally groaning.
Time passed by second by second, and the sailors heard footsteps coming from above, followed closely by the native language entering their ears.
It seemed like a crowd was walking across the deck in a line, the dense footsteps, along with the crying of children and the coughing of women, brought the entire ship "to life."
The sound of footsteps gradually approached, brushed past the captivity room like a river, flowing toward the lower deck of the ship.
After a while, the voices of the natives nearly disappeared, and the Spanish sailors could no longer hear footsteps, only catching the sound of the waves outside, occasionally mixed with a few bird calls.
"They captured many natives."
Havier whispered to his companion.
"Is this a slave ship?"
Someone inquired.
"It doesn’t seem like it; there are many strange things about this ship, just like this group of people. I can’t guess where they come from, nor what they plan to do."
Havier answered.
...
A short while after their conversation ended, they suddenly felt a tremor coming from below.
Immediately following that, a sound they had never heard before, like the roar of a monster, resounded from beneath. The sound was coarse and hoarse, with a certain unique rhythm, reminding them of the apocalypse beast from mythology, like the Leviathan mentioned in the Bible.
"Oh my God!
Where have I ended up? Is this the Devil’s ship?"
A devout believer, full of panic, quickly crossed himself over and over again, trying to bring some psychological comfort.
Yet, even if he crosses himself until weary, he couldn’t stop the dreadful sound from disturbing them further.
At that moment, not only were they affected, but even the natives in the lower ship compartments fell into chaos, trembling and moving toward the quieter side, fearing the monster might break through and devour them.
...
The terrifying anomaly didn’t weaken at all due to their reaction. Instead, it grew even stronger—
The started-up steam engine converted fuel into power, propelling the Steel Bone forward through the waves toward the Big Island.
While the ship was moving, both the Spanish sailors and the natives brought onto the ship could sense they were in motion.
The room the natives occupied had no windows, illuminated only by three oil lamps, with their warm yellow glow reflecting on people’s faces, showing no sign of joy, only fear and bewilderment in this dim environment.
As for the Spanish sailors in the captivity room, being seasoned men of the sea, they could clearly feel the ship had weighed anchor and started moving.
Yet, steamships are considerably different from sailing ships, and even without seeing the engine room of the Steel Bone with their own eyes, they could sense—
This ship doesn’t seem to be driven by wind.
Havier was the first to react, surveying the entire room, noticing that by stepping on the edge of the sofa armrest, one could barely grasp the window and observe the outside, he nimbly leaped over, pressed his face to the glass, and surveyed outside.
Experienced sailors can judge wind direction by the ripples on the sea.
Havier took a quick glance and first estimated the ship’s speed.
At this moment, the steam engine had just started, and the Steel Bone’s speed was still in its initial phase. At first glance, the speed didn’t seem very fast.
In the 17th century, commercial ships, such as the Spanish galleons that Havier and his crew raided in South America’s Inca Empire, had speeds of around 7-10 knots (13-18.5 kilometers per hour).
However, a speed of 10 knots could only be achieved with an empty hold and optimal wind conditions, and if encountering a headwind day, even 7 knots would be a luxury.
Havier judged from experience that this ship, using a large amount of metal and carrying a batch of natives, was advancing at a speed of about 8 knots.
This was already near the limit speed of their merchant ships.
What was more dreadful was that a crosswind was blowing at sea!
A crosswind refers to conditions where, in headwinds, a sailboat cannot sail straight ahead and moves zigzag toward the destination with a wind slightly advantageous, which, although slowing the speed greatly due to headwinds, still allows normal sailing to the destination.
The fastest ships Havier had ever seen were warships.
An improved galleon could temporarily boost its speed up to 18 knots, and some very small-hulled sailboats could reportedly reach 19 knots, but they shared the common characteristic of relying on favorable wind.
Yet, this ship overturned that notion entirely, advancing straight against the wind.
What’s uncanny was that, even while sailing against the wind, it could maintain such a speed—
"Could this ship truly be driven by the Devil?"
Ever skeptical of religion, Havier felt a nagging doubt, continuing to observe the condition of the sea.