How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

"There! A large flat-bottomed ship! A transport vessel full of treasure..."

"Idiot! Ignore it for now! Focus on capturing the enemy warships first rather than the transport ships that can't escape anyway!"

Drake moved busily.

The Spanish now realized there were no more enemy reinforcements. But while they were confused about whether to respond to the front or the rear, the tide of battle had already turned.

"Throw the grappling hooks!"

"Open fire!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Ratatatatat!

Drake sensed victory.

Allied ships approached the scattered enemies, engaging in hand-to-hand combat to conquer them, then moved on to capture other ships.

As this process repeated several times, the initial numerical advantage was completely reversed, and St. George's Cross flags of England waved everywhere.

"Ha! This time we'll take down that carrack!"

"Uwaaaaah!"

As Sir Drake charged toward the enemy ship with a maniacal smile, his troops followed, providing covering fire and overwhelming the enemy.

During the time it took to capture four ships, not a single Spaniard had boarded Drake's flagship. It was a clear sign of how the battle was going.

As Drake advanced, killing and capturing, he thought about what had led to victory in this battle.

...Without question, it was those two ridiculous ships from Virginia.

Though he didn't know how that laughable strategy had succeeded, the miracle unfolding before his eyes made all other explanations meaningless.

'Indeed...! The Mystery of the Sea is amazing!'

So the talking seagull and mermaid he saw then weren't hallucinations! Look, isn't that the Sea God accurately determining his and the enemy's positions at sea!

The fact that England's warships could now penetrate among the Spanish was all thanks to the unexpected cannon barrage that 'he' had delivered from behind.

Though it was a brief attack, it was enough to break the masts and hulls of many small ships and throw the larger ships into confusion.

Come to think of it, his two ships are...

"They're over... Oh, Lord damn it."

Drake, while watching the enemy ships in the distance, encounters a desperate scene.

About three warships surround one low, oddly shaped ship. Given the low hull of that so-called 'clipper,' there's no way to prevent enemies from jumping onto the allied ship.

It was only a matter of time before that ship was captured.

This can't happen. The person on board is the native Emperor and de facto ruler of the Virginia colony (and a mysterious being of the sea)!

Drake raises the sword he's holding above his head, waving it in circles to focus the attention of his sailors.

"Right now! Rush over there! Our allies are surrounded!"

At those words, the sailors immediately clear away the ropes and planks connected to the captured enemy ship and unfurl the sails again.

As Drake's flagship rushes forward, the Spanish ships move aside, terrified of a collision.

The path opens up.

As soon as they approach the starboard side of one of the ships surrounding the Enterprise, Drake fearlessly jumps in and stabs his sword into a Spanish soldier's neck.

Then he puts a bullet in the head of a surprised Spanish soldier, and while Drake buys time, English sailors place planks between the two ships and rush across.

While allies belatedly follow, Drake, half-intoxicated by the smell of blood, hurriedly runs to the port side and soon discovers the Enterprise in distress...

WHIRRRR!

The Enterprise in... distress...

"Mo-monster! It's a monster!"

"Sa-sa-save me...! Lord, sa-save me...!"

...What is this?

==

People often cite 'guns' as the reason Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the Aztecs and Incas.

But is that so?

Firearms of this era were remarkably primitive by modern standards. They required several minutes just to reload, suffered from poor accuracy at anything beyond close range, and were highly vulnerable to humid conditions that rendered gunpowder useless. A skilled archer could fire multiple arrows in the time it took to load and fire a single arquebus.

While these early guns did offer superior penetration power compared to indigenous bows, this advantage was largely redundant against Mesoamerican warriors who typically wore only quilted cotton armor (ichcahuipilli) or, at most, lightweight wooden shields. The devastating power of firearms against European plate armor simply wasn't necessary in these conflicts.

Of course, in the initial encounters, firearms produced profound psychological impacts that shouldn't be underestimated. Weapons that could seemingly "instantly" fell an enemy from a distance, accompanied by thunderous noise, blinding flashes, and clouds of acrid smoke, appeared supernatural to peoples who had never witnessed such technology. These displays fundamentally undermined enemy morale and created an atmosphere of terror.

The hail of bullets fired simultaneously by hundreds of men, regardless of their actual power, was enough to instantly break the enemy's spirit and make them kneel.

And that was about it.

After the Aztecs and Incas became accustomed to firearms, guns became nothing more than ordinary ranged weapons.

Moreover, as gunpowder became difficult to supply, the conquistadors relied on crossbows and bows instead of guns.

But conversely?

In those early battles, gunpowder weapons were truly 'evil magic' to the enemies.

WHIRRRR!

"Do-don't come near! Don't come near, I said!"

WHIRRRRRRR!

"Aaaaargh!"

Think of the laser weapons often seen in sci-fi movies, fired by aliens.

In fact, while they look flashy with sparkling lights and impressive visual effects, they're often not much more powerful than modern firearms in their portrayal.

But imagine encountering that in reality.

Imagine a green-headed alien pointing a laser gun and a lightsaber at you.

Who could possibly think rationally, 'This is hardly different from modern weapons!'

"Urgh, urrrgh! He-he-help... me..."

Splash!

The Spanish soldiers who saw my chainsaw reacted exactly like that.

In reality, the number of soldiers actually injured by my chainsaw was only about three or four.

Many times more were hit by friendly fire in their panic at the horrific appearance and roaring sound, or fell into the sea while fleeing.

As about half of the dozens who rushed onto our ship fell into panic and confusion...

"Fire!"

Ratatatatat!

Under Raleigh's command, soldiers with Lexan shields pour gunfire to deal with the remaining half.

Just as the Spanish had overthrown natives many times more numerous with guns.

We were overthrowing the Spanish with 'transparent shields' and a 'screaming saw.'