In November 1485, in the middle reaches of the Congo River, more than a thousand miles away from the mouth of the river, Gombe Matadi. In Congolese, this place name means "walking on the rocky land".

The turbulent rapids rush from the highlands upstream, impacting the precipitous river banks and washing away the dense rainforest. White pelicans flap their wings and fly up and down in the blue river, hunting plump river fish. Black mosquitoes buzz around.

Rotating, gathering into groups in the blue sky, chasing the smell of blood. Farther away, mist rises and lingers, the endless jungle blocks the sky, and there is not a trace of human beings everywhere, only the primitive wilderness.

At this time, the three caravel sailing ships were struggling upstream to the east in the turbulent currents, with the help of a little westerly wind. The leading flagship was slightly larger in size, and the flag of the Portuguese royal family was flying on the tall mast. Several of them were flying.

Curious waterbirds were attracted, chasing the slow-moving sailboat and circling around the mast.

Captain Diogo Kang looked pale and looked melancholy. He sat in the captain's cabin at the stern of the ship, motionless, like a silent sculpture. Even in the hot tropics, he was still wrapped in a thick woolen blanket. From time to time he was still wrapped in a thick woolen blanket.

, the "sculpture" will tremble slightly and let out a few suppressed dry coughs.

In front of the "sculpture", a roll of parchment is spread out. Next to the parchment is a quill dipped in ink, a simple protractor, and a parallel navigation ruler. There are curves everywhere on the parchment.

Precise latitude lines, vague longitude lines, and detailed Portuguese markings. It is obvious that this is a newly drawn nautical map.

The north of the map is the starting point of navigation, the capital of the Kingdom, Lisbon. Last August, the Portuguese ocean-going fleet set sail from Lisbon and headed south, passing through Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and through Guinea.

Bay, close to the Gold Coast, and finally arrived at the newly built Elmina Fort this spring.

At Elmina Fort, the ocean-going fleet was divided into two. Two-thirds of the ships in the fleet, and most of the soldiers, were led by Sir Dias.

Stationed at the port.

Sir Dias will lead more than 600 sailors and soldiers on the ship to conquer the nearby indigenous tribes. The royal order is very clear, that is, gold, gold, more gold! They will cleanse the surrounding villages as much as possible, plundering expensive

of gold, capture strong slaves, and then work as miners into the gold mines around Fort Elmina.

Captain Diogo led five caravel sailboats and continued southward. He crossed the equatorial windless zone with difficulty, lost one sailboat, and reached the mouth of the wide Congo River again. Then, the turbulent river, the boundless rainforest,

The gathering swarm of mosquitoes appeared in front of everyone again. Seeing this scene, the surviving crew members from the previous exploration were all frightened and shouted "Devil's Land".

Diogo was not afraid. With a gloomy look on his face, he personally hanged the sailor who yelled the most viciously on the bow of the ship. Then, he held the silver cross given by his old friend, prayed devoutly to God, and led the fleet without hesitation.

, sail into the river mouth and head to the devil's land.

Under the blazing sun, the fleet traveled six to seven hundred miles along the river. The devil's land was full of dark-skinned pagans, evil bloody altars, powerful indigenous kingdoms, and thousands of tribal warriors holding iron spears.

.

Diogo suppressed the murderous intention in his heart, met with the envoy of the King of Congo with a gentle expression, and exchanged gifts expressing friendship. Then, two priests from Lisbon and four envoys disembarked from the fleet and went to the King of Congo at the invitation of the King of Congo.

Mbanza Kongo, the royal capital of Congo. There, they will tell King Nziga Nkuwu the teachings of God and try to spread the glory of God.

After a short supply of supplies, Diogo left the populated indigenous kingdom. The crowd once again went up the Congo River, looking for the legendary rich land, the powerful Kingdom of Elder John. As the fleet deepened, the population gradually became sparse, and the forest

The more dense it becomes, the more powerful the devil becomes.

One after another, the strong sailors fell powerless under the curse of the devil. They either had fever and chills, or had red eyes and red tongues, or even bleeding from the mouth and nose, with red rashes all over their bodies, wailing and dying in despair. The number of sailors was quickly insufficient.

The fleet was forced to abandon one sailboat. Even Diogo himself suffered from alternating colds and fevers from time to time.

Faced with this situation, Diogo could only grit his teeth and endure it, pray devoutly to God, and then throw the sick sailor into the long river. Then, he finally relented and let the sailors go ashore to loot and massacre several tribal villages.

Give vent to the desire of beasts and capture some local indigenous people as coolies on the ship.

Under Diogo's steely will, the death route continued for more than four hundred miles. The route turned into a long river with fresh ink marks on the map in front of him, flowing towards the mysterious and unknown east. The captain devoutly sensed the voice of God, clearly

The call seems to be right in front of you.

Thinking of this, Diogo raised his head slightly and looked at the birds on the mast through the small window of the captain's cabin. The brave birds were circling among the royal flags, just like the iris tribe on the Cape, looking for the land to inhabit, chasing

With divine light.

"Dong dong dong..."

A gentle knocking sound interrupted the captain's thoughts. Diogo silently held the dagger at his waist and asked in a deep voice.

"who?"

"Honorable Royal Knight, Captain Diogo Kang. It's me, Royal Counselor, Martin Perheim."

The voice coming from the door was New Latin in the classical style. This kind of New Latin, which imitated the Roman era, had not long emerged. It was accompanied by the revival of classical art and was mainly spread in the prosperous Italian commercial city-states.

Diogo frowned. He could understand New Latin, but was more accustomed to the old Latin used by the church. At this time, he answered in an old-fashioned tone.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Dear Royal Advisor, please forgive me for not being able to stand up to greet you, but please come in directly."

The door to the captain's cabin opened immediately, and a young aristocratic scholar walked in. He was only in his twenties or thirties, wearing a complicated noble dress, the cuffs of his hands and feet were deliberately tied, and under his feet were a pair of shiny cowhide boots.

The climate is so hot that the hair of noble scholars has been soaked with sweat, but the buttons on their collars are tightly buttoned.

He was the nobleman of Nuremberg, son of a member of the Venetian Republic, student of the astronomer John Muller, and court advisor to the Portuguese royal family, Martin Behem.

Martin walked in the door and sniffed his nose gently. There was an indelible smell of blood in the captain's cabin. He hesitated and asked softly.

"Captain Diogo, are you feeling better?"

"The merciful Holy Mother protects me and I am fine."

Diogo replied calmly. He had quietly covered the navigation map on the captain's desk. It was the top secret of the royal family.

"Ah! That's good."

A sincere smile appeared on Martin's face. Then he took out a piece of paper with numbers on it from his arms and handed it to Diogo.

"Here, Captain! This is the latitude I have measured over the past week, as well as the hydrology recorded along the way."

"Praise the Lord! Thank you for your help!"

Diogo responded with a smile. He took the paper, looked at it twice, and nodded. Regularly measuring latitude and recording hydrology should be the job of the captain or first mate. But now the first mate on the ship has died of hemoptysis, and the captain himself has also died.

The joints are sore and the hands and feet are trembling. This important work can only be left to the young aristocratic scholar Martin. By the way, in the current era, longitude cannot be measured accurately and can only be estimated by senior navigators.

Martin stood there. He looked at the captain in front of him carefully, like looking at a ferocious and weak lion. At this moment, he already regretted participating in this dangerous voyage. The ocean voyage was not the romance he imagined.

.

Difficult accommodation, extremely bad food, and a seemingly endless voyage tortured the young noble scholar all the time. The seemingly gentle captain killed people, as ruthlessly as a lion. The vulgar sailor's hands were stained with blood.

There are repressed beasts on the boat, but they are even more cruel than the beasts on the shore. What is even more terrifying is the curse of the devil in this land! It silently takes away the living lives, completely unable to defend against it, not to mention origin and blood.

!

Martin stood for a long time until the captain looked over. His gaze was so sharp that it seemed to pierce him.

"Scholar Martin, do you have anything else to do?"

"Ah! Dear captain, I, I..."

Martin hesitated for a while and stopped talking. The suggestion to return was stuck in his throat, but he could not say it out. After a while, the noble scholar spoke.

"Captain Diogo, I feel that the atmosphere on the ship is a bit off recently. The sailors sometimes gather privately..."

"oh?"

Diogo raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"I understand, please go down. If it is convenient, please call the noble knight Bruno."

"good!"

Martin turned around and left as if fleeing. The moment he opened the door, he remembered the etiquette of the aristocracy again. So the aristocratic scholar turned his head and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"May the Lord protect us!"

"May the Lord bless you!"

Diogo replied calmly, watching Martin hurriedly leave. He straightened his back and kept holding the dagger by his side with his right hand, turning into a silent statue. After a while, the captain's cabin door knocked again.

rang, a familiar voice came.

"Captain, are you looking for me?"

"Come in, Bruno."

The hatch opened with a creak, and Bruno walked in carefully wearing a tight-fitting sailor suit.

"Greetings, my dear captain."

Diogo nodded. He looked at the outstanding nephew of the clan and showed a melancholy smile. Then, his eyes became sharp and his face became serious.

"Bruno, how are the sailors doing these days?"

"ah?"

Bruno raised his head and looked at the captain's expression, then lowered his head in awe.

"Four days ago, the sailors came ashore and massacred an indigenous village, which boosted their morale. But yesterday, two more sailors became seriously ill and were thrown into the river. The sailors on the ship were afraid of the power of the devil and prayed to the Virgin day and night.

, some even go crazy..."

"The power of Our Lady will protect us against the attacks of the devil."

Diogo held the silver cross around his neck with his left hand and said firmly.

"Those who cannot resist are those who have devils in their hearts and are not pious enough!"

Having said this, Diogo glanced at Bruno lightly and asked calmly.

"Do sailors make any other sounds besides prayer?"

"others..."
To be continued...