Chapter 137 - Civil War 9 (Capturing the nobles / Tomas and Aerius infiltration)
Minutes passed since the successful [Storm] tactic, however this didn't relieve the stress the sailors had to endure. The idea of not knowing if your enemy was dead or alive was something that played around their minds, like a demon.
"Are they dead? There's still screams of pain released by the ships." said one sailor looking at the burned ships from the safe distance of his location.
"Most likely. There's no way they can survive such a heavy barrage of cannon shots. What is the old man doing?" responded another sailor close by before asking his own question.
"Did the old man send new orders on how to deal with the ships which escaped our attack?"
"Not yet. He should be doing that soon, hopefully."
As those sailors talked about the current situation, Patrick turned his head to look at one ship that continued sailing forward, unscathed by the barrage of shots raining in all directions.
He took his hand telescope and scouted that ship, and found many people inside. The sailors on that ship had panicked, terror strike expression's along with some guys wearing expensive clothes.
"There you are, little rats. You thought you could use the smokescreen of the fight and the protection of other ships to escape? It is not so easy to get away from me." said Patrick with an evil smile on his face before turning to some officers next by.
"Tell Lagos to start steering the ship in the opposite direction. We are going for a hunt."
"Yes, sir!"
Following that order and with the officer delivering the message in time for Lagos to react, the frigate started turning under the coordination of everyone working.
Meanwhile, on the other two flanks, Nelson and Jervis also checked their surroundings and could see the ships who managed to survive start shattering around the sea.
"Damned bastards. They are running away. Come, you smelly drunkards, we need to catch them. Those are free ships for my fleet. I'll get to be an Admiral pretty soon at this rate, and I'll not even have to beg the Prince for ships."
"Captain Jervis, there are 6 ships who managed to escape from [Storm] that are going on the right flank, moving for the city of Metrimos on the Prince controlled territory. We should stop them before they reach the city first and create a mess." reported one officer to Jervis, who grabbed his red hair staring coldly at the fleeing ships.
"AFTER THEM! I'll be damned if those fuckers manage to get to the city and start killing the citizens."
"AYE, SIR!"
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The same situation was on Nelson's ship and fleet, however he approached things without as much brutality as Jervis, and when mentioning those ships' feelings, he only said to his officers.
"We don't need to try to kill them per se. Only surrounding and forcing them to submission should suffice. They are also citizens of Kaysang, admitted or not. It will be a shame if they die because we are hot-headed. For now, follow them at top speed, don't bother with old Patrick. I saw him turn his ship back. A portion of those nobles escaped going forward toward Sagletius."
"Understood, Captain Nelson. We shall try our best and not kill them. However, what if they fight back before we could approach them for boarding."
"Sigh, if we get to that part. We will fight back with our full strength." replied Nelson, a bit disappointed.
"YOU HEARD THE CAPTAIN, YOU GUYS! STEER THE SHIP TOWARD THE FLEEING ENEMY!" yelled the officer moving to give orders to the sailors who barely got some time to celebrate the success of operation [Storm].
They, too, quickly got their act together and began steering toward the fleeing enemy ships with a greater speed.
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On Patrick's side, with 5 of his ships that he chose to take with him, and the rest of them leaving to rescue any enemy sailor still alive on the sea. Yet those ships following his frigate kept close to him, and with each minute passing, they could see themselves approaching the fleeing main noble ship.
The nobles who barely managed to survive the onslaught caused by the [Storm] turned their heads and noticed Patrick's large ship moving after them, followed by 5 ships smaller in size.
"Lord Baron, they are after us. We also found who the old man leading the enemy ships is." reported a sailor wearing better clothes, like he was a captain.
Baron Meston, who was holding a spear in his hand and with a bloody hand that the other nobles were bandaging, stared at this captain and inquired for Patrick's identity.
"Mind telling me? I never saw him in Kaysang."
"Lord, that old man, a majority of my close aides believe, is the legendary admiral, Patrick Cochrane. Count of Ravendon who was believed to have died 22 years ago."
Most nobles who heard Patrick's name turned to look at the captain who said that, as if he ate something rotten, and asked in unison. "Sailor, are you sure you know what you are talking about? Do you even know who Count Cochrane actually is? How can he be alive after so many years? How old should he be by now?"
"He should be in his early 60s." replied one noble from the side.
"Excellencies, we saw his face, and even after the age changed his features a bit, he still looks the same except for his now grey hair. Remember the person who destroyed the cannonballs we thought were sent successfully on the biggest ship? Well, that is him." said the captain of the sailor crew.
The nobles looked a bit panicked as more time passed, along with the approach of Patrick's frigate and fleet. A group of those nobles shook a bit scared, remembering their encounter with Patrick when they were young, meeting him in the royal banquets while accompanying their parents.
"That old man is one of the scariest nobles of our kingdom. He destroyed the entire Briss Kingdom Navy only using a small part of the Royal Navy. Count Cochrane, someone who changed the fate of the Briss Kingdom and the Sorbet Kingdom by killing the young Briss Prince, Ogrimin, who was said to be marrying the Sorbet Princess, Anne Sorbet."
"So that old man is still alive and kicking well and is now serving under that Blood guy. But why would he? Does he have a reason for that? He is a noble like us and holds greater prestige than we will ever gather in our lifetime." asked the nobles the biggest question they could think about.
Baron Meston was thoroughly acquainted with Patrick's stories and his legends while serving as Lord Admiral. Didn't think much about the questions the nobles were putting but instead thought about another problem.
'Can I take this bunch of morons to safety without being overtaken by Lord Patrick? It is hard to believe that his ship is something newly modelled and moves faster than my ship. Send a barrage of cannonballs in his direction? No, this would make the old man even angrier, which would lead to a greater response. What choices do I have to get out of this together with this group of morons?'
"Lord Meston, what do you say, should we fight back until we get to Sagletius?" asked one noble without caring about Meston' silence and visible stern thinking expression.
"Indeed, Lord Meston, tell us, do we have a chance to fight back and beat the old Count?" inquired another noble.
Many nobles started bothering Meston with annoying questions until he snapped and looked coldly at the entire group and unleashed a powerful spear strike with the staff down the floor, making a crack on the wood supporting them.
"You bunch of morons, shut up and stop asking me those useless questions. They don't help me at all. Look at your faces when you ask me about beating Count Cochrane. With what ship can we fight back? We only have one ship against 6! WAKE UP ALREADY, YOU FOOLS! WE LOST!
Face reality. We lost the Sea War against someone stronger than us, and he deserves every single credit for thinking of pulling that tactic on us, or rather on you fools. I told you to do as I command, but you would rather listen to that retarded count."
As Meston snapped for good at the nobles who looked down, a bit embarrassed at themselves, there was still one older noble who kept his calm and asked Meston a simple question.
"Can we get out of this? This is the only question I have for you, Lord Meston."
Breathing out slowly, Meston kept his silence for a bit before facing the noble who inquired about that.
"I have no clue, but I will try to see if we get any mercy from Lord Cochrane."
Turning toward the captain, he said calmly to him. "Prepare to slow down the ship and also turn it toward the ones of Cochrane. Also, fly the white flag and every signal you have for surrender. Don't ask why. You know it better that we got no chance to outrun them or fight back after the rest of the ships split up, scattering around the sea."
The ship captain nodded his head with a resigned expression and moved away from the nobles, starting to give orders to his men, who reacted quite well and didn't whine, also knowing that it was their last chance at surviving against this formidable enemy.
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Patrick, on the other hand, noticed that the enemy ship began slowing down and also flying the white flags, symbolizing their surrender.
'Hoh, that's unexpected. There is someone with brains in that bunch of idiots. Lagos, start advancing slowly too and prepare for the boarding procedure. However, don't kill anyone on the ship. They put up their white flag, so they are surrendering to us."
Giving his order, the ships began to slowly advance toward the noble's ship until it got in range for boarding.
The sailors released the boarding platforms and tied the enemy ship to the frigate, pinning it down in maritime terms, and most of the sailors on Patrick's ships stared like predators at the enemy sailors who were unarmed as if they knew it would be viewed as an act of aggression.
Lagos first boarded the enemy ship with most sailors armed to the teeth with guns and cold weapons.
"Your Excellency, we are surrendering to you. We hope for fair treatment and judgment." said the enemy captain when looking at Lagos with a heavy bow.
Hearing this, Lagos didn't bother much with the captain and waited in place while looking at the sailors and then up at the nobles, who slowly began to walk down to the main deck.
"There you are. To think there would be so many nobles in one ship. What was in your mind to actually gather in one place? Do you think this is a banquet you would take in your fancy castles or mansions?" asked Lagos while staring down at the nobles who arrived in front of him.
"Hah, why bother talking with them, boss Lagos. They obviously don't know shit about sailing and sea wars, or either think we are easy prey. Either way, they eat dust down." commented many officers about certain things about the nobles, to make some fun of them.
"So this is how the nobles of His Royal Highness, kingdom, look like. Sigh, what a disappointment. I thought I would see some brave men, warriors or intellectual people, but I didn't see any of them." said some officers who came from the islands allied to Vlad, later joining the navy under Patrick on Picodras Island.
Those comments made some noble look hatefully at the officers and sailors to belittle them, but Meston stared coldly at them, almost murderously, which made them eat what they wanted to fire back.
As the minutes passed and the sailors belonging to Patrick stared disdainfully at the nobles who felt like shit, barely holding themselves from saying something, they could finally hear the footsteps of someone walking toward them.
The heavy footsteps of someone walking on wood were heard on the noble ship coming from the frigate.
Slowly, with each footstep heard, the figure of an old man who had silver-grey hair, wearing some casual clothes, with a smug expression on his face started making his way. The sailors standing by the boarding platform made way for the old man in the most respectful form, and it was almost as if a king made its way to meet his subjects, waiting quietly for his judgment.
The nobles who started seeing the old man gulped down, and one of them muttered under his breath. "He looks the same."
"Not really. I aged a bit. I turned rusty compared to how I used to be. My hair also turned grey which is sad, but I heard from the young Prince there are treatments for that. He is working on a crazy project." replied Patrick, fully hearing that slight murmuring.
"Well, let's not waste our time. Whoever is your bunch leader, step forward."
Every noble didn't linger too much and stared at Meston, who was at the center of the gathering of nobles. Feeling their gazes on his back, Baron Meston took a step forward and greeted Patrick.
"Count Cochrane, this small Baron called Meston Alexander is honoured to meet you."
"Cut the bullshit. I don't care about those noble titles since I lost my territory anyway. Now listen well, you foolish idiots. I will not kill you here since you surrendered nicely and didn't make me waste my time, which I appreciate. Whoever came with the idea to do that, good thinking.
While I will not kill you, this doesn't change your status as traitors of Kaysang, who allied with the leader of traitors, Lacilet Vestios. As Lord Admiral serving under Royal Prince, Vermilion Vlad, I must capture you and imprison you until the war is ended."
The nobles who heard Patrick mention Vlad's name and title looked totally confused. They didn't mind the imprisonment part, but Vlad's mention stuck hard at them. However, Meston was different. He went forward with his question that looked more like something one would ask to confirm something.
"Lord Patrick, this Royal Prince, he is Blood, am I right?"
"Smart. I will not waste my time asking how you could guess that brats identity. I will let him ask you himself. But for the rest of idiots, indeed, this Blood guy you fear so much is the Royal Prince, the son of the dead Lucius. Now you better shut up and follow the instructions of my people. I have another front to be at."
"Lagos, let's go, leave two ships to watch over those guys. We need to reach Sagletius fast."
Lagos nodded his head and gave some orders to some officers leading two ships who began approaching and hooking their ships to the noble's ship before they started boarding it. Only after that Lagos and the other sailors from Patrick's ship retreated and started sailing toward Sagletius.
Mestos, who was lead by one officer toward his ship, along with the rest of the nobles, asked, staring at Patrick's departing ship.
"How badly did we lost the war? I am asking on all fronts."
The officer stared at the baron, and with a calm tone, he replied.
"I don't know about the situation inside the mainland. But from one of pops talks with one high officer of the Black Army, we took over the Royal Bridge and are assaulting the Royal Fortress. That was about 15 minutes since we engaged in the fight with you. Dawn City should also be taken over by now, or a vast majority of it. Your duke should also be dead because he is facing His Royal Highness.
Do you need me to tell you the situation on the sea?"
"No need, I figured it out myself. You don't use normal gunpowder. It is something more potent. You guys deserve this win in totality." replied Meston with a resigned tone, moving forward after the officer.
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Back to the mainland of Kaysang, around the walls of the fortress, there was a young man with short black hair, a fit build, but his face held some immature features.
He was moving in a dirty environment like it was a canal, and on his head was a black cat with four tiny wings tucked on his back, yelling at the young man.
"Tomas, you dumbass. Why did you drop down in the canal system? Argh, it is so dirty here. You better take responsibility."
"Brother Aerius, please shut up. It was you who told me to go that way to enter the fortress. How the hell would I know that there is a draining canal system? I might have lived on the streets of Sol since I was young and got used to the dirt, but this is much even for me." replied the young man with an annoyed expression.
"You want to say that it is my fault?! How dare you! I want to go back with Robert. He was far smarter than you and know to follow my instructions. You are just like a bull moving forward, even when I tell you to go left or right."
"Yeah, sure."
As this young man moved on the canal system from nowhere, he felt a great tremor close to him that had all the sewage in the canal to splash on his face and Aerius, who gave a horrified and disgusted scream."
"By the Gods, my clean fur and feathers smell like shit. How will I face the lovely ladies from Dawn City when I go to meet them?!"
Cleaning his face of the sewage dirt, Tomas waited for the quake to stop, jumping hard when a wave of sewage discharge was moving to hit him.
"Good one. Now you better dodge the other garbage moving in our directions. Also, what was that quake? It came not far from here?" asked Aerius, a bit perplexed.
"That should be the Royal Palace that big brother chose to assault. His fight should start by now. However, this means we are inside the fortress. I just need to find an exit and start infiltrating and opening the gates to the fortress."
"I guess that's also good. I had in mind killing most of those guys inside the fortress, but it would be time-consuming, and we got no time to waste."
Saying that to Tomas, Aerius settled back on the young man's head and listened carefully to any change around him.
Suddenly as they were walking in the direction of the canal system, Aerius grabbed Tomas hair and said to him.
"I hear a lot of voices talking about the defense of the gates. We should be close. Check for an exit. We should be close to a building or something like that."
"Ohh, so we also got to a point using the canal system. I guess the words about having to get dirty to finish a business is something universal."
