June 33rd,
The ship's hull was covered in arrow scars and dents from heavy impacts. The Dawn's Flying Fish, still smoking from the fires, had just moored at the dock. The gangplank was lowered, and most of those who disembarked were wounded. Several sailors carried the gravely injured and unconscious Fareya and Pat down to the pier.
Fareya had suffered a heavy blow that displaced his internal organs, causing severe internal bleeding. But the sailors beside him said he'd coughed up a great deal of blood on the spot, and now he only needed two or three months of rest to recover. Pat had been run through—a sword had pierced his lower abdomen and exited through his back. Fortunately, it hadn't severed his spine, though he would be bedridden for half a year.
Captain Wilson disembarked and approached Lorist to salute. He'd been wounded again—bandages wrapped around his forehead gave him the look of a man wearing an Arab's turban.
Lorist's face was cold as ice. "Was it the Chikde Trading Company?"
Captain Wilson smiled bitterly, shaking his bandaged head in confusion. "I don't know, my lord. Honestly, I can't tell who attacked our Shilovas Island, but it wasn't the Chikde Trading Company. The enemies seemed more like a band of pirates, but I can't think of any pirate fleet with that kind of strength. They had three or four hundred ships..."
"Three or four hundred ships?"
"Yes, my lord. At first I assumed it was a Chikde Trading Company ambush—only they could assemble that many ships to attack us. But once we engaged, something felt wrong. Many of the ships flew different flags and crests, and their sailors and crew were nothing like the disciplined Chikde Trading Company fleet. They panicked at the first sign of trouble.
When our ships approached, the enemies would scream and shout in a panic, even disrupting their own formation. That kind of thing would never happen in the Chikde Trading Company fleet. My lord, if you could wait a few more days, Lord Sembawood's fleet is right behind us—he might capture some prisoners..."
Captain Wilson paused, then offered his assessment.
Lorist was noncommittal. "Tell me everything from the beginning."
"Yes, my lord." Captain Wilson gathered his thoughts and began. "On the morning of June 21st, Lord Sembawood's fleet departed Shilovas Island—it was their turn to return to the Northland. Around noon, I conducted my regular patrol. At roughly one o'clock, I spotted sails to the southwest of the island. I ordered us to intercept and question them. But before we'd even gone halfway, I realized something was wrong—there were more and more ships on the horizon, enough to blot out the entire sea.
I was terrified, thinking it was a Chikde Trading Company fleet, but through my telescope I could see that the enemy fleet carried many different crests and flags—none of them bore the Chikde Trading Company's barrel-and-sword banner. So I grew suspicious, wondering where all these ships had come from. I decided to approach and hail them.
But before I could even get a word out, the leading enemy ships opened fire with firestone balls without hesitation..." Captain Wilson turned and pointed at the scorch marks on the hull of the Dawn's Flying Fish. "Fortunately, our ship was agile and fast—we dodged most of the attacks and managed to turn and flee. Once I confirmed that all those ships were enemies, I ordered an immediate return to Shilovas Island to raise the alarm.
Lord Fareya insisted on sailing out to meet the enemy, saying it would buy time for the island. He sent word to Lord Shrade and Lord Pat's garrison, then ordered me to pursue Lord Sembawood's fleet, which had departed that morning, and bring his armed ships back for the rescue.
I caught up with Lord Sembawood's fleet around midnight, and he immediately ordered an about-face to relieve Shilovas Island. But the next morning, on our way to the island, we encountered four ships that had broken through from Lord Fareya's fleet. The sailors on those ships said that Lord Fareya's fleet of nearly thirty ships was down to just these four—though they had managed to sink around fifty enemy vessels.
Those four ships brought back the gravely wounded Lord Fareya. According to the sailors, Lord Fareya had led them in an attempt to intercept the enemy fleet, but the enemy had detached about a hundred ships to pin them down while the rest sailed straight for Shilovas Island.
Lord Fareya's fleet expended all their long-range ammunition and resorted to close-quarters combat—boarding actions with sword and bayonet. At first they managed to capture two enemy ships, but then a Great Swordmaster appeared among the enemy. Lord Fareya couldn't hold his own against him. After a brief exchange, the Great Swordmaster struck him heavily across the chest with the flat of his blade, and he vomited blood and collapsed unconscious on the spot.
The sailors said Lord Tok and a handful of men held off the Great Swordmaster long enough for them to drag Lord Fareya back aboard. Then they heard Lord Tok's order to break through immediately. As they withdrew, they saw Lord Tok struck down by the Great Swordmaster...
Lord Sembawood ordered those four ships to join his fleet, and by afternoon we reached Shilovas Island..." Captain Wilson's face turned extremely grim. "My lord, when we arrived, Shilovas Island was engulfed in smoke and flames. Faint screams and wailing could be heard. Through my telescope I saw the docks and beaches strewn with corpses—rivers of blood flowing everywhere. Those... those pirate-like enemies were burning, killing, and looting on the island, committing every imaginable atrocity. Shilovas Island had become a living hell...
But all afternoon, the enemy only kept growing in number. We lost seven ships while managing to burn about twenty of theirs. In the end, Lord Sembawood reluctantly ordered a retreat, and the enemy barely pursued—they seemed satisfied with driving us away from Shilovas Island.
Lord Sembawood circled the island several times, shook off the enemy, and ordered us to rest. He said he'd spotted our family's Angry Bear banner still flying atop Sailfish Ridge, so he planned to sneak into the small bay's naval camp under cover of darkness and make his way up to the ridge.
Around midnight, Lord Sembawood led us into the small bay. I noticed there were still campfires burning on Sailfish Ridge. Lord Sembawood took men up the ridge, but I stayed behind. After a long time, they returned and ordered all ships to prepare for an evacuation. The sailors who had gone up told me the enemy numbers were overwhelming—our forces were down to barely a thousand, and Shilovas Island could no longer be held. We had to retreat.
Since we didn't have enough ships, every vessel was packed to capacity. By the time we finished loading and exited the small bay, dawn had broken, and the enemy had spotted us. They dispatched a great many ships in pursuit, but the first wave—more than a dozen ships—was sunk by us, and we even captured two medium-sized armed merchant vessels. However, the enemy quickly sent nearly a hundred more ships after us. Laden as we were, we couldn't move fast, and by afternoon they had caught up.
Fortunately, Divine Arrow Jiosk was there. He and Lord Sembawood selected ten ships in better condition to serve as the rearguard, and they counterattacked, destroying the five fastest enemy pursuers. The ships behind them grew hesitant, unwilling to close in—they resorted to long-range attacks only, harassing us until dusk, when the enemy suddenly withdrew. No one knew why, but at last we could breathe a sigh of relief.
The next morning, Lord Sembawood gave me an order. Since the Dawn's Flying Fish was the fastest ship, he wanted me to take all the critically wounded aboard and sail ahead to deliver them home, while the rest of the fleet would follow a few days later..."
Lorist reached out and patted Captain Wilson's shoulder. "You've worked hard. Go get some proper rest for a couple of days. That wound on your head—is it serious?"
Captain Wilson snapped to attention and saluted. "It's nothing, my lord. A firestone ball just grazed me and burned away half my hair. I'm more worried about how I'm going to face my wife when I get home..."
Lorist nodded. "Good that it's not serious. Go rest at the sailors' barracks for a few days. I'll have the apothecaries treat the wounded, and I hope you recover quickly too. There's a chance I'll need you at the helm again in just a few days."
"Yes, my lord. I await your command at all times." Captain Wilson saluted again.
"Schwade, take some men to check on the wounded. Comfort them, then conduct interviews and record their observations—what did they notice about the enemy, what are their impressions? Also, have someone ask around and sketch out what the enemy crests and flags looked like.
Additionally, relay my orders: have Bordenfing bring a Heavy Armor Corps here to garrison the area, ready to deploy at a moment's notice. Send Ail to check on the progress of Dolles's Monowheel Chariot Corps formation, and find out how Professor Bob's artillery tests are coming along. I want detailed reports on both." Lorist thought for a moment and issued his commands.
"Yes, my lord."
...
By the time Bordenfing arrived at the port city, it was already the following afternoon. Lorist had ordered a camp established on the shore with a large command tent erected.
"My lord, our Shilovas Island has been attacked?!" Bordenfing burst in, panting heavily—he must have rushed over nonstop the moment he received the order.
"Where are your men?" Lorist asked.
"They'll arrive tomorrow, my lord. I came ahead with just a few attendants. My lord, who has the audacity to attack our family territory? Is it the Chikde Trading Company, or men under the
Lorist shook his head. "Neither. Look at these crests and flags drawn on the paper on the table. We don't recognize any of them. We suspect these enemies are pirates from somewhere..."
Bordenfing snatched up the animal-hide paper from the table. One look and he froze. "My lord, these enemies aren't pirates. I recognize these crests and flags. They're from the great slave lords and slave traders of the Haneabada Kingdom..."
"What did you say? The Haneabada Kingdom? That slaveholding archipelago nation?" Lorist's voice was like ice—at last there was a lead.
"Yes, my lord. You've never been to that kingdom, so you wouldn't know their crests and flags. In fact, their crests and flags are rarely seen on the Galentea Continent. Look—these crests and flags all have black borders. That's the mark of the great slave lord nobles and slave trading companies of the Haneabada Kingdom. Most nations on Galentea refuse to acknowledge the nobility of the Haneabada Kingdom. In the eyes of almost all royal families and legitimate aristocrats, they're nothing but a pack of lowly pirates and slavers."
Bordenfing had actually been to the Haneabada Kingdom twice. The first time was at the invitation of Tiger Ross, where he stayed for a month. Tiger Ross had been working as a bodyguard for a slave trader at the time, but Bordenfing couldn't stand the atmosphere of treating slaves as less than human, and after a month he found an excuse to leave.
The second time was to purchase slaves from Nubit Port in the Haneabada Kingdom to build up the armed forces of the Northbound Convoy, and he'd also managed to rope in Tiger Ross and Malek along the way. With those two experiences, Bordenfing naturally understood exactly what these crests and flags represented.
"Shilovas Island?! The audacity! Aren't they afraid of our family's retaliation?!" Lorist was livid.
Bordenfing shook his head with a bitter smile. "My lord, the Haneabada Kingdom was founded by a bunch of slave traders and pirates. For them, raiding and attacking coastal regions is nothing out of the ordinary. A century ago, they terrorized the Golden Coastline of Galentea. After the coastal nations gradually strengthened their defenses, the pirates conquered the Haneabada Archipelago and established a slave kingdom. The pirate chiefs and slave traders reinvented themselves as kings and nobles—this is one of the reasons the continental nations refuse to recognize Haneabada's nobility.
After establishing the kingdom, they even raided Hidden Gold Bay, forcing the Commercial Alliance to assemble an Invincible Fleet to fight them. But then their old pirate king died, and the new king declared an end to coastal raids, which earned them trade agreements with the coastal nations. Over the following decades, the slave trade brought them great prosperity.
My lord, at the end of last year, Count Kemess,
In recent years, the Haneabada Kingdom's slave traders have come to despise the Second Prince. They consider traveling to the Four Grand Duchies and Iberia to acquire slaves too dangerous, and have essentially abandoned those markets. Many nobles in the snow salt trade have even asked us if we need slaves. They hold deep resentment toward the Second Prince, believing he meddled where he wasn't wanted and slashed their incomes.
So, my lord, I suspect the Haneabada Kingdom's great slave lords and slave traders attacked our Shilovas Island for two reasons: first, to kidnap the tens of thousands of refugees and laborers on the island into slavery, and second, to retaliate against the Second Prince's hostility toward them. They're not afraid of our family's retaliation. Remember—they were pirates to begin with, and they're an archipelago nation. They'd actually welcome our retaliation. In the Haneabada Archipelago, they have home-field advantage and know the terrain, while we're on unfamiliar ground and easily worn down and defeated..."
*Bang!* Lorist slammed his fist hard on the table, then slowly sank back into his seat. The two sat in silence.
"Bordenfing, once your Heavy Armor Corps arrives tomorrow, get them organized. The three Monowheel Steel Crossbow Battalions that Dolles has finished assembling will also be arriving soon, and they'll be under your command. In a couple of days, the whaling fleet will return from their catch—I'll have them prepare for departure. Once Sembawood's fleet arrives, you'll lead the troops aboard and sail for Shilovas Island to reinforce...
If—like you say—the enemy will have already fled by the time you arrive, then handle the aftermath on the island first, and I'll send further orders. If enemies still occupy the island, eliminate them immediately. Also, be careful. Wilson told me the enemy has a Great Swordmaster. Don't engage him in single combat—order Dolles's Steel Crossbow Battalion to deal with him. Understood?"
After a long silence, Lorist finally spoke and issued his orders to Bordenfing.
Bordenfing stood. "Yes, my lord."
"Guards!" Lorist called out toward the entrance of the tent.
Schwade walked in. "My lord, your orders."
He then nodded to his father.
"Mm. Schwade, send someone to Stone Fortress and have Steward Speer find me all the maps and materials related to the Haneabada Kingdom and the archipelago."
...(To be continued.)