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Chapter 21: Hunting the Squids! - Part 2
🕑 Added 2023-05-12 15:52:33 +0000 UTCDamian was able to kill the Ironborn Lord because no one on the ship expected the arrival of a Falcon who was capable of ripping a chunk of meat off a Human's neck with its sharp talon and puncturing a hole with its sharp beak.
No one could react in the meantime, giving the Falcon the chance to fly off after completing its work.
Now if he wanted to kill someone on the ship, it would be almost an impossible task without having their attention diverted elsewhere.
Still, he could not leave yet. The Ironborn ship still held victims of its recent raiding and it was still moving on.
"Oh, wait, they are changing their direction!" Damian cheered when he saw through the Falcon's eye, how the Ironborn were rowing to change the ship's face in his direction. It looks like the Ironborn wants to get revenge on him. With Ace's sharp eyes, Damian found the person who was furiously ordering the Ironborn to chase him. The person looks young, almost his own age. Probably the son or relative of the Lord that he killed.
"Haha, Come and get me motherfucker," Damian shouted mockingly, but of course, only a bird's screech came out through Falcon's mouth. Still, the Ironborn seemed to sense something and rowed more furiously in his direction. Damian deliberately flew lower so that the Ironborn could have some hope of getting him.
This went on for full fifteen minutes, before, the Ironborn finally stopped chasing him. Not because they lost their anger or they got tired. It was just that they saw a ship heading in their direction.
Damian finally left the Falcon's body after mentally telling Ace to fly away out of their sight for some time and wait for his instruction.
When Damian's consciousness came back to his body, he had a vertigo-like feeling and his mouth felt bitter for some reason.
"Argg!" Damian groaned in pain and disgust.
His magic or mana was almost empty due to long-time possession of his companion, and this gave him dizziness. The bitterness was wholly due to inadvertently tasting the Ironborn Lord's blood when he poked his neck with Ace's beak. The taste seems to transfer to his own body and it feels like he had really got a few drops of blood in his own mouth.
Unfortunately, time did not wait for him, and soon someone knocked on the cabin's gate before shouting from behind it, " Damian, come out. The enemy ship is sighted and they are heading our way."
From the voice, Damian knew it was Jory. He seemed a little nervous.
The guards opened the door when they got the nod from their Captain.
"Damian, the Ironbo-,"
"Yes, I heard you loud and clear, my friend. Let's kill some Ironborn. Are you ready?"
"I am," Jory did his best not to show any nervousness and confidently said yes. It was his first true sea battle and it would be wrong to say that he wasn't nervous. However, he was a northerner first men warrior and fighting was in his blood.
Damian smiled and walked out with the guards following behind him each holding a sword and shield in their hands.
Sirius came to him and said, "Captain, the Ironborn ship is smaller than ours and so they should have fewer fighters. Plus, they seemed to be holding some prisoners. I don't think with the kind of space on their ship, they would be having more than 30 warriors."
"Good observation, Sirius. We outnumber them in both number and reach. We will fight. You know the drill. First, kill as many enemies as we can with our bows and arrows and whittle down their number further." Damian said, and continued, "Then get close to the enemy ship so we can board it to take out the rest."
"Aye, Aye Captain!" Sirius acknowledge his Captain's command and started giving orders to the men on the ship.
"What should I do?" Jory asked. The three Starks guards were also waiting for his command.
"Do you want to shoot at the Ironborn first?" Damian asked. He was not a marksman but in a battle like this, you do not need a true aim. Just firing at the gathered crowd should work fine.
"Eh, well, no really. I would like to cut them down with my sword. That's what I'm comfortable with." Jory answered after some thinking.
"Then you wait with me until we get close enough the board the enemy ship," Damian said.
When they got closer, Damian surprisingly found that the Ironborn had their guards relaxed and were signally for a talk. It seems they were mistaken about the owner of the Longship and never considered it having their enemy onboard.
Yeah, how could they? They must not have heard about the defeat of Rodrik Greyjoy, the son of Balon Greyjoy in the Storming of Seagard. To them, Ironman's Bay must be like their backwater now. The Ironborn must be thinking of them as allies who were like them, reaving in the coastal region of the Mainland rather than fighting the main forces of the Greenlander.
Damian smiled deviously upon realizing this and instructed Sirius on how they should use this golden opportunity.
"That is not honourable," Jory quipped his thought but when Damian looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he soon changed his tone and said grinning, "But I like it. These bastards deserve what's coming for them."
"Haha, you had me there for a moment Jory. I almost took you for an idiot." Damian chuckled and so did the men standing around them.
The distance between the two ships got closer and now they could see each other more clearly. Damian could already see the widening eyes of the reavers when they realized that Damian and his men were not like them and something was amiss. But before the reavers could react, Sirius ordered the marines who were holding bows or crossbows behind their backs, to fire at the enemy.
Twang Twang!
Swish!!!
Thud! Thud, Thud!
