Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Sulu Sea

The fleet of the Spanish Empire from the north and the fleet of the Bharatiya Empire from the south, two massive naval fleets from two massive empires, were about to clash head-on in the Sulu Sea. When such a big confrontation is about to happen, it is not without onlookers.

The Babaylan priest turned resistance leader, Tamblot, has secretly travelled to the island of Mindoro and taken a small fishing vessel to the sea. As for whether he is here only to witness the battle or for some other reason, it is still uncertain.

Sultan Abdul Rahman of Gowa, Raja Ali of Bone, and Sultan Mohammed Yusuf of Ternate, the three leaders of the Sulevasi Confederation, who were somewhat involved in the battle, had taken a trip to a small island called Pangutaran, located at the southernmost end of the Sulu Sea.

The rebels who led the resistance in Dutch Indonesia have all gathered in a port called Pangutaran, located in the region of Sabah.

Unknown to any of the rebel leaders and their forces, the Bharatiya spies responsible for maintaining the intelligence network in Southeast Asian countries were also camouflaged among the onlookers. Both the core intelligence agents responsible for maintaining intelligence networks in the Philippines and Indonesia, Niranjan and Jayadeep, were present in the crowd.

The Portuguese, whose biggest rival has historically been the Spanish, were excitedly watching the fun from the safe harbour of their own warships docked at the corner of the Sulu Sea.

The British are nowhere to be seen as their colony in the Maluku Islands has been fully overthrown. Due to the instability of the Bencoolen Port, the British did not have a proper port or harbour to dock their naval vessels.

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The Bharatiya ships had taken an arrow-like formation: two battleships were sailing on one side, two battleships on the other, with one battleship, which Akhil commanded, in the middle.

Aboard the central ship, the atmosphere was tense but was not out of control,

"Two clicks to contact, Captain," the lookout cried out; however, surprisingly, he did not have any panic on his face.

Akhil once again looked at the approaching Galleons through his telescope and made his own calculations. "It’s about 25 minutes out. That should be enough." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Divide and manoeuvre," Akhil sternly ordered.

Soon, the Bharatiya ships, which were traveling in an arrow-shaped column formation (/\\), had been broken apart. Two Pune-class ships went towards the Guimaras Strait, while another two went south towards the South China Sea.

Only one Pune-class battleship was left sailing towards the Spanish Navy.

’What The Fuk?’

Executive Officer Randolph was confused by what he was seeing. Why was the Bharatiya fleet splitting apart? Wouldn’t the combat effectiveness be maximized when all of those ships were together? He looked at his captain, Marc Anthony Lopez, with some doubt.

Unfortunately, Captain Marc didn’t have any solid idea, but he had a hunch about why the Bharatiyas made such a decision. As for any other schemes, he had no clue, as dwelling on things he couldn’t understand for too long was not his style. ’What’s the point of thinking so much? No matter what tricks these Indians play, can the warship in front of me resist the firepower of two Manila Galleons?

Heh,’ There was a sneer on his face.

"Randolph, Send the frigates and galleys behind those Pune-class battleships that left."

"They might be here to destroy what little fortifications we have in the Philippines and, at the same time, provide supplies to the rebels."

Marc Anthony was very sure of his guess, as he did not see any other possibility.

Randolph had a hint of amazement on his face. "The captain figured out the intent of the enemy so quickly. No wonder he’s the captain."

With Randolph passing the orders, the frigates and galleys that were following the 2 ,1 500-tonne monsters immediately dispersed and went to chase the warship that had diverted from the battle group.

Now it had become a confrontation between a Pune-class battleship and two Manila Galleons.

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When the Battleships of both battle fleets dispersed, many of the onlookers stood stunned, as they did not understand what was happening. However, there were some people who not only understood what was happening but were celebrating it.

Intelligence agents Niranjan and Jayadeep were among the few. They were currently disguised as fellow rebels, so they did not show too much happiness on their faces for fear of being recognized, but internally they were ecstatic.

"It worked. It freaking worked."

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The four Pune-class battleships that left the main fleet and travelled in two directions were not actually destroying fortifications on the coast and delivering supplies as Captain Marc Anthony Lopez had speculated, Instead, they were doing something else entirely.

"Captain, we have 12 frigates and three galleys on our back," the lookout of the second Pune-class battleship informed.

The captain quickly looked at the map on the table in front of him and made a Marc with his finger, a sly smile adorning his face.

"Let’s take them deeper."

"Navigator, Marc course to the Sibuyan Sea."

"Aye, Captain."

In a similar fashion, the first Pune-class battleship led the following frigates and galleys to the Bohol Sea.

The fourth Pune-class battleship led the chase of the Spanish Navy to the northern part of the South China Sea, while the fifth Pune-class warship took the Spanish Navy towards Brunei.

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Marc Anthony naturally did not know what was happening outside his field of vision; hence he was still confident in his Speculation about the Indian’s plan and sure of taking down the battleship in front of him.

However, unfortunately, what he did not notice was that as soon as he sent away most of his accompanying frigates and galleys, hundreds of smaller boats, all 10 tons or less in size, swarmed towards the large Manila Galleons.

These ships were operated by both the Bharatiya Navy and rebel sailors. Originally, they were fishing boats used by the people of the Philippines. When Spanish control of the Philippines weakened, with the help of resources provided by the Bharatiya Empire, all the fishing boats were bought in secret and modified with resources provided by Tamblot.

They were adapted to install different types of artillery.

The artillery differed from one ship to another. The stronger and more durable ships carried cannons, while smaller and less durable ships carried puckle guns and, in some cases, lower-calibre culverins.

For the artillery, smuggling took place not in whole pieces but in parts which managed to avoid the detection of Spanish officers, with the entire weapon being assembled by Bharatiya experts in the Philippines and installed on the ships.

These ships were similar to the technicals used by Middle Eastern countries for offensive and defensive purposes. The ships, akin to technicals, were civilian vessels modified slightly and fitted with artillery.

Although this method compromises the life of the ship, it was a great alternative for situations like this where newer ships could not be used and larger artillery could not be brought.

"It’s time for us to attack."

The rebellion leaders, like Tamblot and Surapati, who had been watching the battle silently until now, burst into action as soon as the swarm of modified fishing boats approached the Manila galleon.

Hundreds of small fishing boats outfitted with cannons and guns emerged from the Palawan Archipelago, which had previously seemed unassuming due to its sparse population. The rebels staying in Sandakan Port immediately acted and sent their ships towards the Spanish fleet.

Each and every small island that the Spanish had ignored appeared to have become a den of monsters, as artillery-equipped fishing vessels approached the Galleons like a group of orcas gunning for a pair of whales.

Initially, many of the onlookers were clueless about what was happening, as not everyone was informed of the plan. However, as their leaders acted, they quickly grasped the situation and naturally filled their roles.

If anyone were to see the scene from an aerial view, it would resemble a picture of thousands of rats swarming towards an elephant.

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In the meantime, Noticing the firework that went off in the sky, the Pune-class battleships 1, 2, 4, and 5 uncharacteristically stopped running away.

"Hard to port!" the captains issued the orders decisively.

The frigates and galleys chasing the Pune-class battleships, which were previously without any concern in the world, immediately realized something was wrong.

"DRRrrrrrrrrr!"

"Boom boom bommm!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Without knowing what hit them, a swarm of iron and lead struck their boats, shaking their battle formation to the core.

The Spanish fleet chasing at the Sibuyan Sea was immediately overwhelmed by the firepower coming from the rebels who had emerged from the Masbate Pass.

The Spanish fleet that went towards the Bohol Sea was horrified to find that small naval ships, equipped with artillery of different sizes and types, came out from the northern coast of the Mindanao Islands. The ships were too numerous to count.

The Spanish fleet immediately lost all its morale and suffered heavy casualties.

The Spanish fleet that went towards the northern part of the South China Sea was terrified by the fact that hundreds of armed ships poured out of the Lingayen Gulf at the northern part of Luzon, near the city of Tarlac.

The Spanish fleet that went towards Brunei did not have a good time either, as rebels who had gathered from all over Indonesia decided to take their anger out on the small Spanish fleet for their inability to deal with the Dutch.

To Be Continued...