Chapter 662-Marquis of Santa Cruz
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
Under the night sky, the Gibraltar Straits seemed unusually quiet.
Only the ripples on the ocean surface created some noise. The whales or the sharks that jumped out of the water occasionally spat out massive water flowers.
On the ocean surface, the Spanish Galleons floated up and down along with the waves, a majestic sight.
The Spanish Galleons were the most legendary galleons in history. As the symbol of Spanish ocean dominance from the 16th to the 17th century, people would often think of them as treasures, conquerors, and an invincible squadron.
The galleons were typical high skip boards, high tail, the front deck was slightly lower, the tail portion was flat, and the front of the ship had a sudden protrusion like a battering horn. In the protrusion was a cannon positioned.
The body of the ship was isosceles slope that continued until the tail.
The Spanish Galleon was beautiful, its trail truly exquisite. Its length and breadth were in the ratio 4:1, making it faster than the Carrack.
The galleon was around 300 tonnes; its weight gave the cannons a stable firing platform and provided the soldiers with a castle like cover, letting them gain advantages in close combat. Below the cannon deck was the storage room, and the soldiers and passengers lived in the boat houses.
At the current stage, only the large turreted ships built by Shanhai City could compare.
After the tsunami, they different parties that made up the Spanish Squadron had some disagreements about whether they needed to continue searching for the Shanhai City squadron. Some people felt that since Gibraltar Port was recovered, they should just stop. The most important thing was to find Atlantis first before the other countries.
Some felt that whether or not they could destroy the voyage squadron affected the face of the entire Spanish country. If they allowed the voyage squadron to go past Gibraltar Straits so easily, it would be a huge challenge to the rule of the Spanish Invincible Squadron in the Mediterranean Seas.
“The glory we lost can only be regained through fresh blood!” The ones who supported fighting voiced such thoughts.
“The ruling rights of the ocean must be something we defend with our lives; we can’t back down!” they clamored.
One had to say that such clamoring gave a truly Spanish feel.
In the entirety Europe, there probably was not another race that loved liveliness, extravagance, and face more than the Spanish people. It was like their entire personality was made up of intense red and black.
One could say that a large half of the extravagant and overexaggerated items in European culture was because of the Spanish. This included the rapier, the hard collar, the short trousers, and laces.
All these items had something to do with the Spanish Matadors.
The greatest author in Spanish culture, Cervantes, once mocked this kind of matador in his novel Don Quixote through the titular main character.
This kind of spirit continued to the modern day. The famous Spanish bullfighting was the best display of this kind of spirit.
In Spain and even the entire western world, bullfighting matadors were seen as fearless men; they were respected and worshipped by the people and society.
The extravagant dresses, the adrenaline rush; they were basically the modern-day version of the middle century knights.
Hence, the Spanish who loved face could not accept players from the other countries humiliating Spain on the forums. Without much debate, the voices that supported fighting gained the upper hand.
The Spanish decided to go all in and crush the voyage squadron in one blow.
The Spanish Squadron that set out this time pretty much covered the main forces of all the Lords near the sea. Just the Spanish Galleons alone numbered more than 600.
Apart from that, there were many Carrack ships that acted as protector vessels. There were even adventure gamemode players sailing their random ships to join the alliance squadron.
The Spanish people had truly gone all out.
The alliance squadron was split into five main fighting groups: front, back, left, and right under the command of the main commander in the middle, slowly approaching the voyage squadron.
If Ouyang Shuo had not rushed back in time, the voyage squadron would have been in deep trouble.
All this changed during a seemingly peaceful night.
Using the night sky and the sound of the waves striking the warships, four thousand ‘frogmen’ wearing the underwater breathing devices split into four groups, going to the bottom of the various warships and starting to chisel.
Since they were afraid of alerting the people on the ship, they chiseled extremely slowly. They needed to accurately follow the beat and tempo of the waves to hammer down one after another.
The current Spanish warships made use of the advanced watertight bulkhead technology. Hence, the frogmen needed to at least chisel through two cabins to ensure that the warships would sink.
This factor greatly increased their workload.
Of course, Ouyang Shuo had thought about sending out 10 thousand of them, but such a matter was difficult. First, the transportation capacity of the Cima boats was limited. Moreover, if they all got close, it would be easy for the enemy to spot them.
Secondly, although more people would make the work faster, it would increase the chances of them making mistakes and exposing themselves. The moment the Spanish Squadron noticed their actions, the effectiveness would be reduced.
Hence, after discussing with Zheng He, Ouyang Shuo decided to send four thousand elite.
When the sun rose up from the horizon once again, the soul-stirring night had finally passed.
The four thousand frogmen had completed their mission and sneakily left through the bottom of the ocean. Twenty miles from the Spanish Squadron, the Shanhai City voyage squadron slowly approached like a messenger of death.
The rising sun looked especially red.
The devilish red made one’s heart feel uneasy.
The first light of the sun dyed the entire ocean a blood red.
A night had passed, and a large volume of water had entered the bottom cabins of the Spanish Warships. The ships had started to slowly sink. When the sailors entered the cabin to perform checks, the large quantity of water left them with their mouths agape.
“Oh my god!” The sailors were at a loss .
At basically the same time, every squadron sounded the alarm.
On the first combat ship of the Spanish Alliance Squadron, on the middle Spanish Galleon, a bald, small-headed, white-bearded general walked out of a cabin.
He was dressed in clothing typical of the Spanish noble style; he wore a hard collar, a saber, and short trousers; none of these factors were lacking. Even the few remaining hair strands on his head or his thick beard, a lot of attention was paid to their grooming.
Obviously, this was a typical Spanish noble.
This old general was known as Alvaro De Bazan, the first Marquis of Santa Cruz. He was termed by the Spanish military as the father of soldiers, the strongest navy general in Spanish history.
When one mentioned the Marquis of Santa Cruz, one had to mention a glorious time in Spanish history and their strongest King, Phillip the Second.
Philip the Second was the fifth son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlie. After Emperor Charlie left the throne, he took over the Holy Roman Empire. Apart from Austria and Germany, all other nearby countries fell under their rule.
Charlie the Fifth’s Brother, Ferdinand the First, took over the title of emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the highest position in Germany. As for the military might of the Holy Roman Empire and the economic sources of Spain and Holland, they belonged to Phillip the Second.
This also created a solid foundation for the rise of Phillip the Second. During his rule, the Spanish welcomed their most prosperous era.
During this era, they forcefully merged with the neighboring Portugal.
At this time, Spain’s position as a naval superpower was set.
Under Phillip the Second’s rule, the power of Spain reached its peak. Historians terms this period as the Holy Roman Empire, where the Spanish ruled over Europe.
Phillip the Second had many navy generals under him, including the Spanish military god, the one known as the Blood Slayer, Duke Fernando Alvarez, the Brother of Phillip’s step mother, Don Juan, Marquis of Santa Cruz, and Alexander Farnese, the Duke of Parma.
The one that appeared on the deck was the old General Alvaro, the Marquis of Santa Cruz under Phillip the Second. In history, he had led his troops to occupy Portugal.
1583, during the St. Michael naval war, Alvaro led his troops to defeat the French Squadron, executing all prisoners.
After the war, Alvaro became the Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Squadron.
1585, the Marquis of Santa Cruz suggested that they send an expedition squadron to invade England. Regretfully, when they were finally well prepared, the Marquis of Santa Cruz passed away on February the 9th, 1588.
His death became the turning point in the prosperity and success of the Spanish Invincible Squadron.
……
The Marquis of Santa Cruz was the only historical general that appeared in the Spanish wilderness.
Either the other navy generals were not born yet, or they followed Phillip the Second to stay in Madrid.
Hence, without any questions, Alvaro was named as the Commander-in-Chief of the alliance squadron.
“What happened?” His eyes were sharp, emitting an aura even without him being angry.
“Our warship is leaking and is slowly sinking,” the chief officer replied in a panic.
“Why? Can we block it up? How many warships are leaking? What’s the situation with the other squadrons?”
Alvaro felt astonished, and he asked a series of question. Looking out at the red sun in the horizon, his eyes locked tight, as his heart grew more and more uneasy.
“After our investigations, the leak was because someone chiseled the bottom. Too much water has entered, and the hole is too big. Hence, it’s difficult to block it up. We haven’t received reports on the situation of the other squadrons.” The chief officer’s face was ashen white.
