"What now?"
Rokkaku asked, as they took cover with their faces flat against the deck, as barrage after barrage of musket fire shot overhead. There were three sh.i.p.s at least, and they appeared to at least be somewhat co-ordinated, as after one ship fired, another would fire whilst they reloaded. It made for an endless stream of bullets that was difficult to deal with.
It was a problem that seemed almost impossible to deal with, but Morohira was still grinning fearlessly, apparently unconcerned by their lack of an advantage.
"Crawl toward the lower deck, quickly now!"
He said, in a level voice that did not hold even a hint of fear. Rin and Akiko were closest to the stairs, and they did as they were told, and crawled towards them, and the others followed quickly.
"Whilst they're preventing us from standing up, they cannot finish us like this. They need to get a lot closer."
Togashi explained, seeming to understand Morohira's reasoning better than most.
"Exactly."
Morohira agreed, as he was the last to descend down the steps into the lower deck, where he could now stand upright. He moved toward one of the oar holes, and peered through a crack.
Had they realized that such oar holes were present, then his action might have been deemed dangerous, for they simply could have fired towards him. Yet their attacks were concentrated firmly on the upper deck, and no bullet strayed so low.
The sh.i.p.s – as they had predicted – were constantly getting nearer, as they sought to deal the killing blow. No doubt they would ram into them as soon as they were granted the opportunity, as it mattered not to them what damage their sh.i.p.s were caused, for their ship had caused quite the amount of damage already.
"Look!"
Akiko said in surprise, as she peered out of one of the other oar holes and spotted something.
"What is it lass?"
Rokkaku murmured, as he ducked low so that he could look through the same hole that she had.
"Ho… So it's here, eh?"
He muttered, spotting what Akiko was referring to straight away.
"The gunpowder ship?"
Togashi guessed, as astute as ever. He stroked his beard, and nodded a few times, coming up with a plan in his head. But he did not give voice to such a plan, and instead looked toward Morohira, who's smile was widening upon the receipt of such news.
"Looks like we're in luck!"
He said with a grin.
"PREPARE THE OARS! WE'RE GOING IN ON THE BASTARD!"
The men replied with action, grateful for the opportunity to escape this wretched situation that they were in. But it was only Togashi who knew just how lucky they were – their sail was aligned perfectly with the direction he knew the gunpowder ship to be in. This meant that they could – without a doubt – put a good amount of distance between them and the trailing guard sh.i.p.s.
The oars were prepared and thrust out within seconds. It was with panic that the guards reacted, as they realized the trading vessel was capable of far more speed than they had previously thought.
They quickly called off the volley's that they were sending their way, for it was a waste of ammunition. Instead, they sent the men below deck, to assist with the oarsmen, and hopefully make up for some of the lost speed.
A few men remained above deck, with rifles loaded, just in case any of the pirates dared to show their heads.
But still, overloading the oars with more power could only guarantee speed up to a certain point. They needed to be in perfect time with each other, and even then, there was a limit to how much power that could get.
Yet their little trading vessel - with their perfectly angled sail, and their men on the oars – was flying across the open water as though it was spurred on by the gods themselves.
"ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO!"
Morohira called out the time, as they put all their efforts into rowing. Even when a random musket ball hit the side of their ship, and sent wood splintering, they did not flinch, and their rhythm did not slow.
"By the gods…"
The captain of the gunpowder trading ship muttered, seeing just what was on his tail. A single shark chased by many whales, yet it was so much faster than them.
"We're just a tasty snack waiting to be caught…"
He lamented, trying to think of a better course of action. Had he been able to think clearly, then he would have sailed forwards, out of the direction in which the pirate ship had their sail angled, for they would be unable to change it – at least, in that moment - and in changing it, they would have slowed, and allowed the guard vessels to catch them.
Yet fear got the better of him, and he ordered the retreat, aiming for the land closest, not caring whether they would have to wreck their ship upon the rocks – he merely wanted to stay out of the pirates' grasps, and retain his life.
Such was the last big mistake of his life, as they continued to draw closer. By now they were 700 metres away from the guard sh.i.p.s that trailed them – far out of reach of any shots that might be fired their way. The range to which the matchlock retained it's accuracy was about 200 metres, though if one were to be sensible, then he would allow at least 300 metres between himself and the enemy.
Thus Morohira was able to go above deck, and lift up the second mast.
"By the gods… What on earth is that?"
A captain on one of the guard sh.i.p.s breathed – there were similar responses to be had all round. Such a mechanism had never been seen before, nor had it even been conceptualized. But more frightening than that, was a single fact: the sail was black.
"That's the bloody black ship!"
Came the uproars from the spectators on the port. Such a clever design – it had their utmost admiration. Even if they lived their lives in fear of it - because their profession was that of a trader – they still had to bow low in honour of such ingenious thinking.
Their attacks before had always relied upon such esponiagé and it seemed, in lowering their mast as they had, they were able to keep themselves hidden. Yet there was a clear statement here, in forecasting their hidden card to everyone: they were being pushed into a corner.
But the fact that – even after having been confronted by 6 other sh.i.p.s – they still had some way of winning – it was baffling. Not only that, they were closing in on their prey with speed, and it looked like they would manage to secure their cargo, as well as avoid death at the hands of the city guard.
CRUSH
There was no time for any boarding manoeuvres, and rope throwing, and things of that ilk. They simply needed to get the cargo loaded, and leave. Thus Morohira simply crashed their vessel into the side of the gunpowder ship, before ordering all the men above deck.
They leapt over with practised grace, yet there was no opposition to meet them. Their reputation had preceded them, and the crew chose to take their chances with the water, rather than meet death at their blades.
"A wise choice."
Ii announced, as though he was what they feared.
But as he took time with his dramamatics, they were already below deck, hefting barrels of gunpowder between them, and casting it onto their ship.
Never had there been such pressure placed on individuals, forcing them to perform quickly, as the guard sh.i.p.s drew ever closer.
"FASTER!"
Morohira roared, picking up one of the heavy barrels completely by himself, and hurling it onto their ship. Rokkaku and Sasaki imitated him, and soon the barrels started to dwindle, and the other end of the lower deck was revealed.
"…"
But the solid wooden wall that they expected was not there – at least, not by itself.
"Damn it!"
Morohira cursed upon seeing the unexpected obstacle. He wanted to merely leave it there, and go – it was a waste of time. But upon seeing the looks Rin and Akiko were shooting him, he relented, and put it over his shoulder.
"HURRY UP!"
He jumped back onto the deck, with the unexpected cargo slung over his shoulder, as they quickly readjusted the sails. Akiko and Rin threw the last barrel between them, but by now, the ship was already pulling away.
It just landed, yet they themselves were still stranded on the gunpowder ship.
Without a thread of hesitation, they flung themselves forward, using all the force they could, and their fingers barely managed to catch the wood. They slammed into the side of the ship, hard, and barely managed to hold on.
"Come on ladies, quickly now!"
Sasaki said urgently, pulling them up. The guards had already closed the distance, and begun firing, yet they were not quite in range, so the accuracy was not brilliant.
By now everyone else – including the barrels – were below deck, and it was only they that had to make their way under.
"Guh…"
Sasaki m.o.a.ned as a bullet grazed his arm. But with merely that injury, they were able to make their way below deck, and begin rowing out.
"ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO!"
Now that they had both sails raised high, they quickly put distance between them and the guard sh.i.p.s, and were very soon well on their way to safety.
"Thank the gods for that…"
Rokkaku muttered. It had been far too close for his liking, but now, by all accounts, they seemed to be in the clear.
"Yeah, that was pretty intense… But what's that – it doesn't look like a barrel."
Ii replied.
"Shut up Ii – it's not an 'it', it's a she."
Rin responded aggressively, as she abandoned her post at the oars – for she was no longer needed – and moved to handle the cargo that Morohira had carried so roughly.
A young girl sat in front of her, unspeaking, with her hands tied behind her back, and cord in her mouth preventing her from speaking.
Akiko joined her a moment later, and carefully worked to remove the gag.
"There, is that better?"
She asked kindly, with a warm and friendly smile on her face.
The girl – who couldn't have been more than twelve – nodded.
For someone who seemed to have been held prisoner, she did not seem to be terribly upset, which was rather surprising for the two women. But they were gentle with her, as they knew that people could react in all sorts of ways to terrible events.
With her blade, Rin freed her arms and legs as well.
"There you go. Do you hurt anywhere?"
This time, the girl simply shook her head.
The men watched the two young women interact with the girl curiously, but they did not raise a word themselves – it felt wrong to. And by the looks of things, Akiko And Rin were handling it rather well.
And so, as the two attempted to learn more about the young girl, and help her, their ship gradually neared the cove. They had long since outrun the guards that had been trailing them, and as they rounded the peninsula, the sea around them soon became devoid of sh.i.p.s, and they were able to enter the cove without problem.
Thus ended their most difficult raid yet, and by the looks of it, their most difficult raid ever. For soon they would have their cannon affixed, and the waters would become their own. Once they were able to deal with the city guard sh.i.p.s as they pleased, then, perhaps, talk could begin of capturing Toyokawa itself.