Herald of Steel

"Agghhh!"

"*Clang*, *clang*, *clang*."

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Do not hold back! Fight! Aghhh!"

Ser Robert's sneak attack on Alexander's fleet proved to be quite a successful endeavor, and thus a raging duel soon developed around that part of the sea.

It was a strange duel, with no shield on either side, but only swords and arrows, thus making the air reverberate with the distinct clanging of steel hitting steel, and bolts wheezing past one another.

And it was here that Hemicus really showed his mettle as a swordsman, taking him little time to find the balance of his feet on such uneven ground and then going toe to toe against most of the Margraves troops without giving an inch.

Even just in the short time till the battle had started, the man had managed to kill five men and wound several more, really proving to be in his element even without the shield.

Hemicus thus thrust, swung, parried, and jabbed his short sword with such speed that it seemed like it was an extension of his limbs. And when accompanying this with his expert footwork, it was a display that most of the enemy was unable to counter, especially not without a shield of their own, or with just a really inferior short ranged dagger.

Thus as the dead bodies began to pile up around this one great blue armored man, the Margraves seeing this wisely decided to avoid that space, going around to instead fight his brothers and hopefully surround him.

This was not a bad plan. And indeed if given enough time, the Margraves might have been able to make quite a headway in this endeavor as certainly not all legionaries were so skilled as Hemicus.

But the slight caveat to the plan was the phrase 'enough time'. Because it had to be remembered that the platform they were fighting on was not solid ground, firmly, and securely anchored to the ground.

Rather they were on a wooden ship that was slowly sinking.

And yes, it was only one ship because Alexander quickly had all the troops from the other ship that had rammed him join his side too, being of the mind to engage the enemy as a single coherent unit rather than face them separately in a piecemeal fashion.

It was of course the correct move, stymying any idea of the enemy dividing them.

But the trouble was this also made the ship grossly overweight. Alexander's vessels were rated to be able to carry only around hundred to hundred and fifty men. Whereas now they were carrying over two hundred.

It was a number that was instantly smashed when the invading Margraves troops were taken into account, making it reach close to four to five hundred.

This was thrice the recommended limit and when taking into account also the fact that the ship was gravely damaged with water filling up its hull, the ship naturally began to slowly list and creak, giving away under such enormous pressure.

It was not a dramatic collapse, and thus at first, many of the men amidst the heat of battle were unable to perceive it.

"Dammit! Why am I constantly slipping!"

"Fuck! There's something with father's eyes. I am seeing everything slanted."

"Hey, anyone else feeling ….weird? Like he is about to fall?"

Since they were among so many men on deck, it was hard for anyone to understand if the ships were truly drowning or if it was just the natural sway produced by so many of them running around in so many different directions.

Thus they were found consulting themselves like so, shouting out their experiences while looking around for any takers.

"We are sinking! Fuck!" Alexander was among the very first to wake up to the real phenomenon that was causing this, which he confirmed by quickly looking towards the railing of two sides of the ship and comparing their slant.

They were no longer equidistant to the water, but the right side was significantly closer, showing the ship was listing starboard.

And seeing this he could not help but curse the captain who had assured him that everything would be alright.

"Alexander! Jump quickly! There is no time!" While, no sooner had Alexander let off this curse, Hemicus turned to shout this order in a panicked, almost didactic tone.

Alexander instantly understood why the man was asking him to once again abandon his ship

Because if the ship were to really sink, well then they would be doomed. Transformed into sitting ducks, they would be easily captured by the nearby Margraves ships.

And there would be little alternative to this fate, as it would be either taking the rope of surrender or drowning. There was no way they would be able to reliably swim to shore while being pursued by fast ships equipped with bows and arrows.

It seemed the original plan of simply weathering out the enemy by sticking together and producing a great number of casualties was a bust.

The Margraves troops were not going to break before the sink.

In fact, they might very well run back to their ships and simply chose a 'wait and see' approach, circling around the wreck like ravenous sharks who had gotten a taste of blood and were just waiting for the prey to come to them.

That would cut off all paths to Alexander's men's escape, as well as save all of theirs.

Alexander was able to quickly figure all of this out in his head.

But just because he was able to find the logic, did not mean he was willing to follow it.

Because first of all, he still held out hope that things might not be as bad as looks.

Yes, the ship was sinking, but who could stay it would not reach an equilibrium after some time Alexander thought.

Or that it would not sink fast enough, still floating while daylight existed. After all, it was already close to noon, and given it was the middle of winter, evening tended to approach fast, due in only a few more hours. Hence it was really not that far fetched a thought.

And if dusk were to really descend while their ship still existed, well the tired and out of food Margraves ships would have to return to port, thus saving the poor legionaries.

Of course, all such scenarios were quite far fetched, especially given Lord Parker might send reinforcements along the way any time now, thus foiling any attempt by Alexander to wait out the enemy.

Hence pushing out any such stalling techniques, Alexander silently but quickly nodded to Hemicus, signaling his acknowledgment and then turning his head towards the water, ready to jump.

However just as he was about to take the dip, Alexander suddenly found his head swerving side to side, himself asking, "And then what?"

The meaning was, sure he could escape the ship, but what was he going to do afterward?

The most logical thought would be to of course beeline for the island's shore, it being just a few hundred meters away.

But that was also the most logical thought for the enemy and thus Alexander could see it being heavily patrolled with many ships, all zooming to and fro across the small section with a vigilant stare, thus showing their determination to prevent any enemy fish from escaping.

All these huge vessels around such a restricted body of water put great fear and apprehension in Alexander's head, as the congested space caused him to imagine being instantly spotted by the sailors there and then captured like a fish, before being taken as a trophy to their commander.

Alexander wanted to avoid that at all costs.

But perhaps even more than capture, there was the far graver fear of being entirely missed and having their ships run him over.

Even a slight glancing hit would be enough to seriously injure the man, if not snap his body in two just like this. In fact, just all the churned up water by the passing of the ship would pose a serious problem for Alexander, the turbulent waves threatening to drown him.

Thus Alexander contemplated giving up on this destination in favor of the alternative- in favor of returning to the Royal harbor.

The problem with that however was also very apparent.

The safety of his 'defensive lines' lay even conservatively a few kilometers away, and swimming such a distance would be extremely draining even under the best of circumstances.

Which was not certainly the case now, where Alexander was still wearing a chainmail over a leather thorax, which in the water would surely feel like being in a straitjacket.

It would be too constricting.

As for taking everything off before going ahead, well first of all the water was, to put it in mild terms 'fucking freeze'.

The sun might be out and shining, but it seemed no one had bothered to tell that to the waters. Even the scant few drops that occasionally lapped against Alexander's skin made his spine tingle.

Thus Alexander did not think he could make the long journey ashore naked without catching a serious cold, if not outright dying of hypothermia.

Alexander thus began to ponder on any other alternatives that might be available to him.

When suddenly….

"Retreat! Retreat!" This order began to ring out from the other side.

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

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