Release that Witch

The second hawk-headed ship was still turning around, so its side was directly facing the steel vessel, making it even more vulnerable than the first. The Rats were all terrified by the incoming steel vessel, but a few of them still attempted to shoot the enemy with bolts. However, the bolts were as tiny as a needle compared to the giant boat and did not even make a dent.

Soon, the unstoppable steel vessel directly smashed into the center of the hawk-headed ship’s side, instantly crushing a dozen of its paddles. Then, to Eden’s disbelief, the river current and force of the impact caused the hawk-headed ship to flip sideways, which also lifted the bow of the enemy ship into the air.

The steel bow rose up and then crashed down heavily onto the hawk-headed ship’s deck.

The hawk-headed ship cracked with a shrill sound, and the unharmed Rats jumped into the water to escape, while the others trailed blood all over the deck, screaming in pain from their injuries. Eden watched the steel vessel slowly lower into the thin hawk-headed ship, which fell apart under the weight with a series of cracking sounds. Its hull could not withstand the pressure and suddenly snapped in half, causing both ends to shoot upwards with a great splash.

The two halves did not immediately sink, but floated like corpses on the river with only half of the side port above water. On the other hand, the steel vessel did not have a single scratch on it and instead began to charge toward Eden’s ship.

Eden heard the sailors around him gasp in fear. His hawk-headed ship was about to be the fifth one to be instantly snapped in half, and he was preparing to abandon the ship.

Luckily, he had given the right orders before!

His ship was completely pressed against the shore, and the enemy was turning to pursue the remaining Baron Derrick, which was trying to escape.

”Raise all your bows and torches!” Eden took a deep breath and roared, ”I want all of these cowards hiding in this metal shell dead! I’ll give you one gold royal for every enemy you kill! Do you hear me? One gold royal!”

If he survived and escaped back to King’s City, he would definitely never be promoted, so his only chance of gaining Timothy’s approval was to defeat the rebel king’s ship. Even though this ship might have been produced by demons, the crew on it was still human and defeatable!

The sailors seemed to regain some of their confidence after dodging the last round of the enemy’s attacks. These men all dealt with murder in their previous jobs, so they were used to seeing blood and gore—as long as they were not going to be completely slaughtered, they were still willing to earn a gold royal or two.

When the hawk-headed ship was completely safe from being hit, it left the shore and sailed parallel to the steel vessel, slowly inching toward its course, until the two ships were sailing alongside each other.

Before the steel vessel passed them and when the two ships were only meters apart, the sailors raised their various weapons. They would first fire at the passing ship and then board it to attack the crew, which was the common tactic used against merchant ships. However, there was not a single man on deck, only a dark tube encased in metal and containing a row of small holes, pointing directly at the sailors.

Before Eden could figure out what this thing was, the tube began to spit tongues of flames!

Bursts of blood began to appear among the row of armed men, and wooden fragments and gore flew everywhere. The sailors were cut down like rows of grass, while the surviving ones immediately began to search for cover. However, neither barrels nor masts were a match against the metal tube, which shattered the barrels and snapped the masts with a loud crack. After the sails fell into the water, the hawk-headed ship began to slow down.

Eden did not get the victory he had dreamed of. He realized that the tube was some sort of flintlock, but it was much faster and shot out streams of bullets with a hissing sound. However, he could not understand how the rebel king managed to drastically improve such a slow and inaccurate weapon... perhaps this could only be explained as the power of the devil.

Soon, he was struck by a shower of bullets.

*******************

This was Rodney’s first time witnessing such a battle. The Roland barreled its solid bow straight through the enemy ships as if they were dry weeds, leaving them completely helpless. He waited by the cannons for an order to open fire, but that order never came.

When the fourth enemy ship was left floating in pieces in the river, the battle was officially over.

The enemies’ screams and groans filled the air, while the survivors gave up their faith, swam to shore, and escaped without hesitation into the forest. His Highness did not order the crew to chase after these deserters and left them to run off on their own. There were also some badly injured men who were holding onto their last breaths and lying against the broken ships, but no one tried to save them from their inevitable deaths.

”What a shame.” Jop put the unused shells back in their cases. ”I thought we’d be able to show off the true power of cannons to those fellows in the Gun Battalion.”

”Yes,” agreed Nelson disappointedly. ”Compared to the ammunition we used for the heavy machine guns, a round of cannon shells uses about the same amount and is much more effective.”

”That’s enough. Miss Anna personally made these, so they’re much more valuable than machine gun bullets, which are produced by the hundred every day,” said Van’er with a frown. ”You’ll get your chance when we attack the city, so be sure to aim well and save face for the Artillery Battalion! I hand-picked all of you...”

”To join your elite team, commander, you’ve told us this many times,” said Nelson, splaying his hands. ”Don’t worry, it won’t take more than three shells to blow open the gate in King’s City.” He nudged Rodney. ”Hey, say something.”

”I want a battleship like this one...”

”What?” The other four men were shocked.

”I hope to own a shallow water gunboat like this one someday.” He repeated, his eyes glittering with excitement. ”I’m going to call it the Rodney!”

”Wait, don’t you think your elder brother deserves this honor first? The second boat should be called the Nelson.”

”No way... I’m not giving you that right.”

”Save it, you two. The second boat will definitely be called the Van’er. Don’t forget that I brought all of you into the elite mortar team.”

”Here we go again.” Cat’s Claw sighed.

”Could it be called the Cat’s Claw or the Jop?” Jop mumbled quietly.

”No,” responded the three men in unison.

After the concrete boats caught up to the flagship, the expedition fleet resumed its journey. Two days later, King’s City’s gray city wall emerged into sight.