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Chapter 1287 Knights of Malta

"Grand Commander, why did the pirates retreat suddenly?" The knights and sailors of the Venetian galley survived the catastrophe, watching the pirates jump onto their own galley and quickly evacuated.

Originally, the pirates were almost close to succeeding, and it was impossible to retreat on the premise of looting the spoils!
The Grand Master's face was blackened by gunpowder, and he was ready to burn the entire galleon, but the sudden departure of the pirates seemed to make him confused.

"Reinforcement, it's our reinforcement!" The surviving knights and sailors discovered the huge fleet that suddenly appeared in this sea area.

The size of the fleet is mighty, many of which are medium-sized or even large sailing warships, which is daunting!
"They fly the British flag, and what is that strange flag? A dragon?"

Survivors of the Venetian galley saw Union Jacks, and dragon-like flags.

They have never seen such a flag flying by any party in the Mediterranean.

"Anyway, these people saved us. They scared away the pirates." The Grand Leader wiped the black ash from his face, preparing to contact the coming mysterious fleet.

At this time, only the Spanish Empire can organize such a huge fleet in the Western Mediterranean.

In addition to this is the United Fleet arriving from the Atlantic Ocean.

The battleship Majesty of the Seas passed the battered Venetian galleys, and the ships of the Combined Fleet behind them gradually slowed down.

The Sovereign of the Seas and the Venetian galleys are only a short distance away, bobbing in the waves.

"Who are you?! Does anyone know English or Latin?!" The British soldiers on the deck of the Sea King shouted towards the Venetian galley.

"This is the Knights Hospitaller on the island of Malta, a relic from the Crusader era, and the flag with the white octagonal cross on a red background is the best proof." Sir Pennington still knows a lot about the forces in the Mediterranean.

Sure enough, the people on the Venetian galley replied: "We are members of the Knights of Malta. We were attacked by Barbary pirates on our way back to Malta from Spain. You scared the pirates away and saved us! You are Britons. Right? What other ships are flying the dragon flag, which country are they from? What is the purpose of your entry into the Mediterranean Sea?"

The sailor of the King of the Seas replied: "We are the British Royal Navy, and the warships flying the dragon flag come from the Eastern Empire. If your ships can still sail, then we don't need to provide you with extra help!"

The United Fleet did not explain their intentions to the Knights of Malta. At least the British reorganized their fleets to prepare for war. Not many forces would have thought that their target was not an independent kingdom, but a Barbary pirate attached to the Ottoman Empire.

Sun Xu, Zheng Zhibao and other naval officers also noticed that the fleet had slowed down due to the Venetian galley they encountered. They sent a signal to the King of the Seas and received a reply from the King of the Seas.

"A ship attacked by Barbary pirates...the fleet will continue on to Algiers..."

Sun Xu, Zheng Zhibao and the others were not particularly concerned about who was on board the ship attacked by pirates after they learned the brief message.At least those attacked by pirates will not be enemies.

The United Fleet passed by the damaged Venetian galleys mightily, and the knights and sailors of the Knights of Malta watched one after another large warships pass by their side in amazement.

The golden King of the Seas, the black smoky General Fubo, and several fifty-gun-class battleships loaded with artillery.The huge number of artillery made the Knights of Malta amazed.

"Is the Eastern Empire a mysterious and inaccessible country in the Far East?" The Grand Master of the Knights of Malta fell into a short thought after hearing the reply from the British.

"That battleship is really weird, it's emitting black smoke like it's on fire!" The knights rubbed their eyes in disbelief when they discovered the ironclad ship General Fubo in the joint fleet.

This kind of weird ship has never been seen in the entire Mediterranean.

"It's not just the strange fleet of the Eastern Empire. Have you noticed that the British fleet has also added many new warships. According to my guess, the golden devil-like warship has at least one hundred artillery pieces."

"Although the black devil is a strange ship, the number of artillery seems to be very small. There is only one artillery deck. I counted carefully just now, and there are only ten artillery on one side. But how did they make such a long ship? The length is almost as long as ours. Is there really such a long keel in the world? Or maybe they used a technology that no one knows to successfully connect the two keels together, which is strong enough to withstand the wind and waves on the ocean... ..."

The Knights of the Hospitaller made a living by trading in the Mediterranean Sea. They were more proficient in naval battles, and they could comment on warships when they saw them.

However, after all, they were constrained by the limitations of the times, and at a glance, they thought that the Sea King with a hundred cannons was the real main force.

The head of the Knights of Malta looked at the direction of the United Fleet and fell into a short thought: "The direction of their fleet seems to be Algiers, an important stronghold of Barbary pirates!"

Hearing the Grand Master's judgment, the knights and sailors became excited again.

Such a large fleet of warships is targeting the lair of pirates, what else can it be understood as a military operation!
"No way, after the Barbary pirates occupied Algiers, the Spaniards didn't have the courage to regain control of Algiers. When will it be the turn of the British outside the Mediterranean and the more distant Eastern Empire to fight against the Barbary pirates? "

"No one can destroy the pirates. The fleets of various countries have to pay protection fees to pass through their sphere of influence. Even if there are so many giant warships, it is useless. The coast of the Barbary area is long and narrow, with many shallows and hidden reefs, suitable for small and medium-sized galley operation."

The members of the Knights of Malta were shocked by the size of the combined fleet, but they were not optimistic about the operation to destroy the pirates in Algiers.

"Repair the ship quickly, let's return to the island of Malta and bring our warship over!" The group leader said suddenly.

"Grand Commander, what does the Britons and Orientals want to attack Algiers have to do with our Knights of Malta?" the members of the Knights asked puzzled.

"The Barbary pirates of Algiers have attacked many ships of our knight order in recent years, and lost hundreds of people. We must take this opportunity to fight their arrogance and avenge our dead members!" said the captain.

(End of this chapter)