_ 383 _ they were ready to fight, and so he at once ordered the raising of anchors of those ships moored along the coast. When Khwaja Attar saw this he moved at once from the beach with all the terradas in line and began to surround our fleet. Then they began to move their naos, and opened their gun-ports, which up until then they had not done, and started a heavy bombardment, as well as firing many arrows and lances at our ships, which continued without respite. When he saw the gun-sports being opened, before any firing had commenced from the Moorish boats, Afonso de Albuquerque ordered that a camello be fired at the Meri and with which he killed and wounded many of the Moors. Once battle was joined between the two fleets, Khwaja Attar began to approach our fleet and as soon as he had surrounded us he ordered artillery to be fired and then under cover of the smoke created by his gunfire and our own, ordered his ships to move within archer’s range. From them he fired so many arrows at our ships that they filled the sky, injuring many. This lasted a short time, however, because our artillery sank so many terradas that the others began to withdraw, the majority retreating to the mainland, and Khwaja Attar wen with his ships to the King, who was watching
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