Chapter 26

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As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

"Charge! Kill all those Chinese!" The natives shouted as they charged from the Flying Fish Army. Although there was no formation, they were in a chaotic mess, yet their momentum was overwhelming, just like they were hunting wild beasts in the forest.

The tribal chief of the Mang Abang tribe, Sando, watched the natives' charge with great satisfaction. In his mind, those timid Chinese would surely be trembling in fear when faced with the brave native soldiers, and they wouldn't dare to fight back! It was foreseeable that the native army would soon defeat those timid Chinese, and all the wealth here would belong to them! Just like the chief of the Buena tribe, Enado, Sando had always been coveting the Chinese wealth and the beauty of Chinese women!

In fact, the charge of over ten thousand natives, a vast black mass, was indeed very intimidating! The four main battalions of the Flying Fish Army were still okay; they had experienced the battle against the Buena tribe and had seen major battles. Although there were more natives this time, after systematic training, they believed that with their weapons, they could defeat these natives. However, the two newly formed battalions performed poorly. Many were already trembling, and if not for the presence of their superiors, they might have already thrown away their weapons and fled! An army that had never been on the battlefield would inevitably be like this!

The Chinese in Flying Fish City were even worse off than these soldiers. Some women and children were already crying in fear. Even the villagers from the original Wu Family Village, who originally had great confidence in the Flying Fish Army, were terrified when they saw the charge of over ten thousand natives. However, they had no other choice but to place their hopes on the Flying Fish Army! Otherwise, if the Flying Fish Army were defeated, they would only have one path to death. Many people were praying for the Flying Fish Army to defeat these fierce natives.

"Are the people of the Flying Fish Army all idiots? They actually only formed a sparse line of defense, which can easily be broken by the natives!" Liu Wu looked at the formation of the Flying Fish Army with great disdain. Although he was born in a Chinese village, he had been to Manila and seen the training of the Spanish Army, so he had some understanding of the use of firearms. Therefore, he looked down on the performance of the Flying Fish Army.

"Alas! It seems the Flying Fish Company is finished this time! For the Chinese to rise in Mindanao is very difficult!" Liu Mingde sighed. He couldn't help but feel fortunate that he hadn't agreed to join the Flying Fish Company from Baran Village, otherwise, Baran Village would also be implicated by the Flying Fish Company this time.

When the natives charged to within a thousand meters of the Flying Fish Army, the 'Flying Fish' warship docked at the pier opened fire. The 12 cannons on the port side fired at the native army three thousand meters away at maximum rate. After improving the gunpowder formula, three thousand meters was already the maximum range of these muzzle-loading cannons! Although they were only two-pound and four-pound cannons, the explosive power of the shells was still enough to tear the natives to pieces!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The shells exploded among the native army, producing thick black smoke. Shrapnel flew in all directions, reaping lives. Many natives were hit by shrapnel, screaming and falling to the ground, making sounds like dying beasts.

After the shells exploded, gaps appeared in the charging native army. However, the subsequent swarm of natives quickly filled these gaps. The small-caliber cannons using black powder were still too weak, and with a low rate of fire, they could not effectively stop the attacking natives!

Although the natives killed by the shells died in a terrible manner, it did not make the natives fear; rather, it seemed to have aroused their ferocity.

"Hmph! To think that a few cannons can stop the brave warriors of the great Mang Abang tribe is a complete delusion!" The tribal chief of the Mang Abang tribe, Sando, said with disdain. On Mindanao, they, the natives, were the supreme rulers. Even the powerful Maguindanao Sultanate and Buayan Sultanate did not dare to easily oppose them. Especially in the vast forests, they had a significant advantage!

"The brave warriors of the great Mang Abang tribe will easily defeat these timid Chinese!" The chief of the Buena tribe, Enado, quickly added. Although the Chinese musketeers had left a great impression on him last time, he believed that with over ten thousand people this time, they could easily defeat the Chinese. After all, the firing rate of muskets was too slow, and once the musketeers were close to the natives, they would only have one path to death!

"Prepare, fire!" When the natives charged to within three hundred meters of the Flying Fish Army, the military officer Niu Meng shouted loudly! The maximum effective range of the original Flying Fish rifles was only about two hundred meters, but after improving the gunpowder formula, they could still cause fatal damage at three hundred meters. The natives were almost naked, with only a few leaves covering their bodies. They had no way to resist the shooting of the Flying Fish rifles!

"God! Are these Flying Fish Army soldiers wasting bullets? They are firing at a distance of three hundred meters, do they think they can kill those natives at this distance?" Liu Wu looked disdainful. After all, even the Spanish Army usually engaged the enemy at a distance of about one hundred meters. The Flying Fish Army was already firing at a distance of three hundred meters, which, in Liu Wu's view, was a sign of their cowardice, trying to boost their own morale in this way! However, what happened next made him wide-eyed and full of disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The crisp sound of gunfire echoed on the open ground outside Flying Fish City, and black smoke rose from the muzzles of the Flying Fish Army. The attacking natives fell to the ground one after another. In the first round of shooting, over two hundred natives were killed. The natives were crowded together, and almost no aiming was needed; as long as they fired in that direction, they would hit the natives as long as they didn't shoot the bullets into the sky!

After firing, the soldiers of the Flying Fish Army quickly ejected the spent cartridges, took new bullets from their cartridge bags, and reloaded, continuing to fire. The entire process took only three to four seconds.

At this point, Liu Wu was completely shocked. He never imagined that the rifles of the Flying Fish Army were so powerful, capable of killing natives at a distance of three hundred meters. A thought flashed through his mind: "Could the rifles of the Flying Fish Army be even more advanced than those of the Spanish Army?" Although he found this idea absurd and ridiculous, what he saw before his eyes told him that it was all true!

Moreover, after a few seconds, the soldiers of the Flying Fish Army began their second round of shooting, which also shocked Liu Wu. The fastest speed of Spanish Army soldiers was only five shots per minute. The Flying Fish Army could complete a shot in just three to four seconds, which meant that their firing rate was more than three times that of the Spanish Army!

"Free fire! Kill all those natives!" The military officer Niu Meng ordered! Since the soldiers' firing rates were different, synchronized firing would waste time. Therefore, he let the soldiers fire freely, which would better utilize the high firing rate of the Flying Fish rifles!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The crisp sound of gunfire echoed on the open ground outside Flying Fish City, and almost every shot brought down a native. The soldiers of the Flying Fish Army fully utilized the high firing rate of the Flying Fish rifles.

At this moment, the soldiers seemed to have no other thoughts, completely becoming war machines. Their task was to fire bullets and kill the natives. Simple repetition, but it produced tremendous power!

For a human, a distance of three hundred meters, if charged quickly, would take only a minute or so. The natives were slightly shorter, but it would still take them only about two minutes to cover three hundred meters! However, this three hundred meters seemed to become an insurmountable obstacle! Under the superior firepower of the Flying Fish Army, the natives kept falling, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of bodies.

"Damn it, how is this possible? How can the Chinese muskets fire so fast?" The tribal chief of the Mang Abang tribe, Sando, roared, like a wild beast. Seeing his tribe's warriors fall one after another, his heart felt as if it were bleeding! The Mang Abang tribe and its affiliated tribes, although with a population of forty to fifty thousand, could only muster a maximum of ten thousand soldiers. This time, except for the two thousand from the Buena tribe, the rest were sent by the Mang Abang tribe. If they suffered a crushing defeat, it would be a devastating blow to the Mang Abang tribe!

The chief of the Buena tribe, Enado, shrank his head and remained silent, fearing that Sando would vent his anger on him. He also did not expect that in just over a month, the Chinese had become even more formidable.

"Charge! Charge! Faster, get to the Chinese, and their muskets will be useless!" Sando shouted loudly. Now, he could only place his hopes on this. After the battle began, the Mang Abang tribe had already suffered heavy losses. If he gave up now, these brave warriors would have died in vain. This would also greatly affect his authority within the tribe. So, he could only grit his teeth and continue the fight!