Game of Thrones: The Black Dragon King

The sea serpent's fleet has made several turns in the deep sea, its sails billowing in the wind like fully drawn arrows, and the originally passive situation is being gradually reversed as the wind direction changes.

The warships of the Three Cities Alliance relentlessly pursued the fleet, with whistling crossbow bolts and stone projectiles constantly pelting the lagging ships of the Sea Serpent Fleet.

The splashes from missed attacks burst into white foam on the ship's side. Every now and then, crossbow bolts struck the hull with dull thuds, or hit the sails with a piercing tearing sound.

The sailor, barefoot on the suspension cable, laboriously repaired the hole in the sail caused by a crossbow bolt.

Corliss stood at the stern, his long silver hair fluttering in the sea breeze, constantly monitoring the movements of the Three Cities Alliance's main fleet through the Mill Lens. The commander opposite him was also a master navigator; the galley fleet, holding the upper hand, maintained its formation throughout the pursuit, revealing no weaknesses.

"It's the long summer now, and sunset is about to begin around 11:00, sir. We'll be overtaken before then," Captain Harvey reported.

"We're in the middle of the Narrow Sea, Harvey. Sunset there is about 15 minutes earlier than at Tidehead Island." The sea serpent stopped to observe and tapped his palm with the brass sleeve of the lens.

"That's to our advantage; it seems the Virgin Mary is having mercy on us."

"You should pray for the warriors' victory, for I have no intention of fleeing." Corliss turned and began to issue orders: "Raise the signal flags to notify all ships to prepare for battle and follow the flagship to engage the enemy."

"But we're at a disadvantage, sir?"

"But we have dragons." Corliss's voice was calm yet carried an undeniable power: "Irony, isn't it? The naval battle we painstakingly sought, they delivered themselves to our doorstep. Although we sacrificed over forty transport ships and five thousand soldiers, the price was worth it!"

"My lord, if I may be so bold, this is clearly inconsistent with the orders you gave to young master Lannino. I am worried..." Harvey's words were tinged with hesitation.

"Trust those two experienced dragon knights. No one knows the sea better than me, and no one knows dragons better than the dragon knights," Corliss said firmly.

The three men ended the battle on the beach early and withdrew. If they wanted to cover the fleet's retreat, they only needed to ride the dragon to fly over the enemy fleet, spew a few rounds of dragon flames, burn a few ships, and the pirates would scatter like birds and beasts.

But they didn't. After confirming the fleet's course from a distance, they flew towards the camp, clearly with grander intentions.

Was he perhaps mistaken? Collis had no idea.

On the moving warship, available means of communication were extremely scarce. The ravens brought from Chaotou Island had not yet settled in the camp, the communication boat was incredibly slow, and the dragon flew extremely fast... This situation of poor communication and decision-making relying entirely on tacit understanding frustrated him.

But in order not to affect morale, Corliss had to try his best to hide it and not let his men notice anything unusual, so he turned his gaze to the distant sky.

Harvey followed his gaze, and although he still couldn't see any trace of the dragon, he inexplicably felt a chill rise up his spine. It wasn't fear of the pursuers, but rather excitement and trepidation at the impending glorious victory.

"Then our objective isn't retreat, but to lure the enemy! We'll entangle these sea scum, give them no chance to escape, and let the dragonfire burn them all!" Harvey exclaimed excitedly, then suddenly remembered something, his tone becoming impatient: "Damn it, it's getting dark earlier than before, this is advantageous for the enemy!"

"Get to work!"

"Yes, sir!"

······

On the Ries warship "The Brothel" of the Three Cities Alliance fleet.

Captain Santos was surprised to find that the Valerian fleet, which had been fleeing in a sorry state like prey, suddenly changed direction and sailed towards him.

The wind on the sea seemed to freeze at that moment. Santos tightened his grip on the helm, unconsciously squinting and looking up at the sky, trying to find the reason for the enemy's sudden change of formation through the sparse clouds.

"Are they crazy? Even though the wind angle isn't headwind, the ship's speed is still 40% slower than ours," the first mate said incredulously, putting down his observation lens.

"The flagship Temple Maiden has sent a signal, requesting everyone to engage and do everything in their power to sink or capture them."

"Lookout!" Santos didn't rush to obey orders, but first inquired about the observation post at the top of the mast.

"No dragon in sight!" The lookout's voice trembled slightly, but it was clearer in the howling sea wind.

Santos frowned deeply, then abruptly turned to the navigator beside him: "Measure the wind direction! Measure the speed! And the water depth!"

The navigator gestured to the old sailor beside him, then turned over his small hourglass, and the old sailor immediately threw a drag buoy into the sea.

When the hourglass ran out of sand, the navigator shouted, "Good!"

"Seven Knots".

"Captain, we are now at seven knots, and the other ship is at about five knots."

"The water is 45 yards deep, and the seabed is mud and shells."

"What about sunset time?"

"There's still an hour left. No, we're in the middle of the Narrow Sea, the sun sets later than in Risso, so there's still about a quarter of an hour left."

Santos unconsciously rubbed the wood grain on the helm, smoothed by the passage of time. The unusual behavior of the Valerian fleet weighed heavily on his mind—without the protection of dragons and at a disadvantage, how dare they launch a charge?

"We're on the outskirts, and the timing is in our favor. Even if those three dragons arrive halfway, we can escape under the cover of night! What should we do, Captain?" the navigator asked.

"With the dragon gone, this is a rare opportunity! If we defeat the Sea Serpent Fleet, we'll have at least a year of fun..." the first mate urged.

Santos nervously swallowed, then pulled out his flask, which contained spiced Risso red wine. He took a large gulp, the sour and cinnamon-spicy liquid sliding down his throat, but it couldn't calm his pounding heart.

My gaze fell once more upon the distant Valerian banner fluttering in the wind. The fleet's silhouette drew ever closer in the slanting sunlight, a great battle imminent. In the distance, the flagship Temple Maiden continued to wave its signal flags urging the engagement.

The sailors on deck seemed to sense the captain's anxiety, and the originally noisy footsteps gradually thinned out, leaving only the monotonous sound of waves crashing against the ship's side.

"Damn it!" Santos slammed the wine jug to the ground.

His response mirrored that of most of the Three Cities Alliance's navy and pirate ships. Long oars extended from the sides of each vessel, and the oarsmen strained with all their might, the wooden paddles carving dense arcs through the water like the tail fins of flying fish, propelling the galleys faster towards the Sea Serpent fleet. The previously orderly pursuit formation began to subtly disintegrate as they accelerated, with some impatient pirate ships even breaking away from the main force, charging forward alone like sharks smelling blood.

The flagship Sea Serpent took the lead, and Corliss stood on the deck, watching the enemy fleet gradually approaching in the distance, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Maintain course, bow facing the enemy, do not expose my flank!"

"One hundred yards!" roared the lookout at the bow.

"Full speed ahead!" Before the words were even finished, the sea serpent snatched the helm from the captain's grasp.

"Paddle harder!"

"Hoho~!" "Hoho~!"

Inside the damp and sweaty cabin, the bare-chested oarsman, covered in oil and sweat, increased the pace of his rowing.

The powerful acceleration caused everyone on the deck to lean back involuntarily, then firmly grab onto the fixed object beside them.

The Sea Serpent, a large ship equipped with three double masts and five oars for ocean voyages, ruthlessly rammed through the waves at its bow with an unparalleled momentum. The bronze ram, usually submerged underwater, now emerged from the water as the bow rose, its sharp ram gleaming coldly in the sunlight, revealing a sinister killing intent.

"Fifty yards!"

"Prepare for the impact!"

The crew of the Sea Serpent crouched down and grabbed whatever was nearby.

"Turn around! Turn around!"

On the small Rees warships, which were being pushed forward by the formation, the hysterical captain no longer cared about accidentally injuring friendly forces, and struggled with the dutiful helmsman for the helm. Although the ship was much faster than the Sea Serpent, he dared not use the hull of his small boat to compete with the sturdiness of a large ocean-going warship.

Because of his struggle, the warship shifted at an angle. What was originally a head-on collision of rams turned into a one-sided crushing. The Sea Serpent's ram, which was obviously longer, pierced through the enemy's bow planks like a hot knife through butter. The gradually rising transitional structure at the base of the ram continued to penetrate into the enemy's hull along the hole it had created.

The seawater, which could penetrate everywhere, rushed into the cabin instantly, causing the small boat to begin to sink.

"Oar against the current! Oar against the current!" The officer at the bow, his helmet gleaming, glanced at the white bubbles gushing from the hole in the enemy ship and immediately roared toward the cabin. Before he could finish speaking, he was shot down by a crossbow bolt.

As its flagship, the Sea Serpent was naturally the primary target of the Three Cities Alliance navy. On the battle line, the Rees, Tyrosy, and Mill warships, once within attack range, simultaneously unleashed a barrage of catapults and crossbow bolts upon it.

Just as the Sea Serpent was slowly retreating and carefully pulling its weapons out of the sinking Rees warship, it was attacked by two enemy ships.

The massive impact caused everyone to stagger.

"Check the hold! Report the situation!" Corliss roared as he got up. Before he finished speaking, a stone projectile covered in asphalt and trailing smoke and fire struck the ship's side not far away, and two sailors immediately fell into the water. Splinters of exploding wood covered the silhouette of the sea serpent.

"My lord!" Harvey exclaimed, his eyes wide with rage.

Fortunately, the plate armor on the sea serpent was of good quality, but the smoke and dust made him cough a bit.

"Royal Guard! Are you motherfuckers blind?! Protect the Lord!"

Several knights wearing Valery's cloaks staggered to their feet and immediately used their shields to protect the sea serpents. Two sailors ran over from other areas to fill in, and they took the initiative to pick up the sand buckets hanging on the railings and began to fight the fire.

"You should go down to the cabin; it's safe there, sir!"

"You don't need to tell me what to do, Harvey. Go and find out what's going on."

An officer in the lower deck climbed onto the deck: "It's punctured! The port bulkhead is more severely damaged! We're plugging the leak and draining the water. Please list to starboard and avoid port as much as possible!"

"I'll try my best!" Sea Serpent gripped the helm and continued aiming at another enemy warship, much larger than itself. "Back to your post! Tell the oarsmen to give it their all! Speed ​​up! Don't stop!"

The officer gritted his teeth, turned, and returned to the cabin, shouting orders along the way for the sailors to reinforce the bulkheads. The sea serpent's veined hands gripped the helm tightly, his gaze like that of a hawk fixed on the massive enemy ship ahead—the enemy flagship, the Reiss Warship Temple Maiden—which was attempting to turn and evade.