17.
Night Attack 23: Chapter 17.
Night Attack 252 AC.
The Stepstones.
Irat Rexarion.
Night.
Screams and blood-soaked deck planks.
The clash of steel mingled with the sickening sound of metal biting into flesh.
The roar of fire consuming one of the masts.
And the face of a pirate staring at me, his mouth twisted in a mad grin, full of rotten teeth.
A disgusting sight.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to look at it for long.
Seeing what he thought was easy prey, the pirate charged at me, raising his axes for a strike.
A stupid decision.
I took a short step toward him and severed his left arm with a swing of my sword.
It took a few moments for the pain of losing a limb to reach his brain.
But his open mouth never had time to make a sound.
Another swing, and his severed head rolled across the wooden deck.
The lack of proper armor had once again played a cruel trick on the pirates.
The moment the decapitated body collapsed, flooding everything around it with blood, I felt the familiar surge of strength.
The weakness that had plagued me for the past few days faded, replaced by the urge to act.
To take a few more heads and gain even more power.
Without realizing it, my face twisted into a bloodthirsty grin.
Looking around for a new target, I assessed the situation.
It wasn’t looking good.
The ship was engulfed in flames, and to save it, I had to move fast.
The same went for the second ship we were escorting, though things there were even worse.
That vessel was mostly a cargo ship meant to transport provisions from Tyrosh.
But things had taken a different turn.
The pirates had chosen their moment perfectly.
Night, thick fog, and lax security on our ships, our men had grown complacent after a string of victories and assumed no one would dare attack us.
All of it played into the hands of these spawn of port whores.
We were caught completely off guard, and it cost us dearly.
There was no one to blame but ourselves.
Still, there was no time for despair.
We had to save the ship.
Finally choosing a target, I charged toward a pair of pirates who were pressing hard on one of our mercenaries.
Another moment, and the man wouldn’t be able to hold them off.
I moved quickly, picking up one of the axes from the pirate I’d just killed.
As I closed in, I accelerated sharply and slammed into the pirates from behind, catching them completely off guard.
No honor, no courage.
Just exploiting an advantage.
One of the pirates caught by surprise took an axe between his legs.
A long, pain-filled howl echoed across the deck, drawing attention.
He collapsed, still whimpering and flooding the area with blood.
It wasn’t a killing blow, but that was only temporary.
Sooner or later, he’d bleed out.
By then, the second pirate had turned to face the new threat, a fatal mistake.
The mercenary I’d come to help didn’t waste the opportunity and drove his blade into the pirate’s exposed side.
However much pleasure I got from watching the disbelief on that scumbag’s face, I didn’t hesitate.
A strike to his exposed neck, and another head rolled across the deck.
Accepting the silent thanks from the man I’d saved, I savored the feeling of weakness fading further.
Wanting to prolong the sensation, I looked down at the still-alive pirate with the ruined groin.
His eyes had already lost most of their awareness.
Towering over the soon-to-be corpse, I placed my foot on his head.
Grinning, I shifted my full weight onto it, while increasing the pressure with my gravitational power.
There was a crack of splintering wood.
Then his head burst like a watermelon, turning into a bloody mess.
Pulling my foot back, I caught the terrified look on the mercenary’s face.
“What are you staring at?” I snapped, looking into his eyes and not recognizing my own voice.
“The pirates aren’t going to kill themselves.
Go on, go!” That was enough to snap him out of it.
He took off, clearly wanting to get as far from me as possible.
“If you die without killing at least a few, I’ll piss on your corpse!” I shouted after him, spurring him to move faster.
At that moment, I had to spin around and parry a pirate’s strike with my sword.
The pitiful ring of metal on metal joined the cacophony of sounds.
A tall pirate, a head taller than me—and I was no small man, stood before me.
If he was surprised that I’d blocked his strike with one hand, he didn’t show it.
Grinning nastily, he pressed harder.
“I can do that too,” I smirked, increasing the gravity.
The surprise on the pirate’s face was a feast for my eyes.
His grin vanished.
Gritting his teeth, he tried with all his might to stay on his feet, no longer trying to push me.
I even took a few steps back and watched his struggle with interest, then began to slowly increase the pressure.
I could have crushed him instantly, but I was afraid of damaging the already battered deck.
At some point, he couldn’t hold on, and his legs buckled.
Collapsing to his knees, he stared at me with superstitious dread.
“You just got unlucky,” I said flatly, slashing his throat with a swing of my blade.
Before his body even hit the deck, I’d already turned my attention to new opponents.
“When will you all just die already?” I spat, charging into the fray.
The next few minutes blurred into an endless succession of battles.
The moment I finished one enemy, two or even three more would take his place.
At some point, I stopped holding back and unleashed my full power.
Severed limbs and heads were now joined by crushed and mangled bodies.
The planks beneath me had long since cracked, groaning pitifully with every step.
The deck itself was already completely painted red.
Blood squelched underfoot, trying to seep through the soles of my boots.
New enemies slipped in puddles of blood or tripped over severed arms and legs.
Suddenly, another opponent froze, his face contorted in a grimace of pain.
The tip of a sword protruded from his chest.
Behind him stood Ross’s massive figure.
“Seven hells, Ross,” I cursed, looking into the subordinate’s eyes.
“That one was mine.” The mercenary said nothing, only looked at me with concern, as if searching for wounds.
I returned the favor, studying him.
He looked battered but, thankfully, unharmed.
Even relatively clean, compared to me.
I’d had quite a bloodbath, throwing myself at every pirate I saw.
Just then, Rob rushed up to us, looking no better than I did.
Judging by his satisfied expression, he’d also had his fun killing pirates.
“Glad you’re intact,” Ross breathed out.
Before I could answer, a group of pirates descended on us.
It didn’t take long to deal with them.
Rob gutted one, spilling his entrails.
A terrible, agonizing death, since the pirate remained alive for a time, staring at his own insides.
Ross simply cut his opponent in half.
“Where are the others?” I asked, finishing off the attacker.
Pulling my sword free, I examined the damaged blade with annoyance.
I needed better control of my strength until I found a worthy weapon.
“Magok and the recruits are in the hold,” Ross answered, planting a foot on the dead pirate to pull his sword free.
“Ammis was wounded, but nothing serious.” “John?” I asked, shifting my gaze from one subordinate to the other.
“Beric?
Where are they?” Rob just shrugged.
“Haven’t seen them since the attack started,” Ross said.
“Then find them, dammit,” I ordered, bending down to pick up a small axe dropped by a dead pirate.
“Go!” Ross nodded seriously and turned to Rob.
“Protect the commander,” he said.
I swung and threw the axe I’d just picked up toward Ross.
It flew past the mercenary and embedded itself in the chest of a pirate sneaking up behind him.
The subordinate turned in surprise to see the body crumpling to the deck.
“He’s giving orders,” I muttered.
“Protect yourself first.” The big man nodded gratefully.
I gestured for Rob to go with him.
“And keep your eyes open,” I called after them.
With a moment to breathe, I surveyed the scene.
The fighting on deck was beginning to die down.
The fire, surprisingly, hadn’t spread much.
Only the mostly burnt mast and the risk of the fire spreading worried me.
Turning my attention to the burning ship in the distance, completely engulfed in flames, I understood I didn’t want the same fate for us.
“This is going to be a long night,” I muttered, gripping my sword tighter and watching the approaching pirate galley.
— Gutting a pirate with a captured sword, I prepared to fend off the next attack.
But it didn’t come.
Lowering my sword, I looked around and finally allowed myself to exhale.
Except for a few stragglers that the surviving mercenaries were swarming, this was the last opponent.
Only then did I let my sword drop.
The almost unending surge of power, which had blended into a single wave, began to subside, leaving behind a pleasant bracing sensation.
And that was after such a prolonged meat grinder.
Though there was no physical fatigue, nor the weakness that had plagued me lately, the mental exhaustion remained.
Looking at the deck littered with corpses, at the few survivors, and at the second mast still smoldering, all I wanted to do was curse.
“Damnit,” was all I could manage.
Watching the mercenaries wandering the deck, I could only grimace in frustration.
Tired and wounded.
Completely defenseless.
“Someone put out that fire,” I ordered, not expecting much.
I went to find my squad.
If anyone had survived.
“Looks like luck was on their side today,” I thought, spotting Ross’s massive figure from behind.
Magok saw me first, nodding curtly before nudging the big man.
Ross didn’t understand at first, but following the Summer Islander’s gaze, he spotted me.
I immediately saw him relax.
He even exhaled in relief.
“Glad you’re all right,” I said, approaching.
“Wouldn’t say all right,” Ross muttered, stepping aside.
A grim sight met my eyes.
John sat on the deck, leaning against the railing.
Rob fussed over him, hastily bandaging his…
arm.
What remained of it, anyway.
“Commander,” John said weakly, smiling, trying to wave his damaged arm.
“Stop moving,” Rob snapped, trying to tighten the bandage.
“Sorry,” John said, still weak.
I turned to Ross with a questioning look.
He understood without words.
“When we got there, he’d already lost the arm,” the big man explained, looking at the wounded comrade.
“The pirates were about to finish him off.” Silently, I looked at the new cripple.
On one hand, it was a miracle he was alive, undoubtedly a plus.
The downside was that John was now useless as a fighter.
Which meant my squad had taken another loss.
Cursing quietly, remembering the pirates and their mothers, I turned back to the big man who had become my de facto second-in-command.
“Where are the others?” I asked again.
“Sent them to get our things,” he replied, looking over my shoulder.
Curious, I turned around.
What I saw left me confused.
Around us stood the surviving mercenaries who still had the strength to stand.
All looked worse for wear.
Tired faces.
Dirty with drying blood—their own and enemy blood.
Looking at these men, forced to fight without any protection, I wanted to curse again.
The pirates had caught us at a terrible disadvantage.
“What are your orders?” one of them asked the moment I acknowledged them.
“Why are you asking me?” I asked in surprise.
“Find the sergeant.” I was about to turn away but noticed the fighter hesitate.
A bad feeling crept in.
“Don’t tell me the sergeant’s dead,” I said with a hint of hope.
“Ah?
No, fortunately not.
But…” “Just say it,” I snapped, getting annoyed.
“He’s unconscious,” the fighter blurted out and ducked his head, as if it were his fault Aastaar was out cold.
I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down.
“Where are your decani?” I asked, starting to get angry again, but I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Looking at who it was, I met Ross’s calm eyes.
He slowly and silently shook his head.
Without a word, he’d answered my question.
“Damnit,” I hissed through my teeth, trying not to vent my anger on those around me.
“Fucking pirates.” Deep down, I knew that getting angry was pointless.
But no matter how many times I told myself that, it irritated me that things weren’t going according to plan.
Clenching my fists, I lifted my head.
The mercenaries still stood around me, waiting for orders.
Orders that only I could give right now.
“Alright, listen up,” I exhaled, composing myself.
“Drag all the bodies into one pile.
Anyone wounded, clean the wound with warmed wine and bandage it.
Those lucky enough to be unharmed, help the wounded.” Slowly, everyone began to disperse to carry out their tasks.
I thought about what to do next.
Once they finished, I’d order them to gather their belongings.
If the ship couldn’t sail, we’d have to transfer to the pirate galley.
Speaking of the ship…
“And someone put out that damned vessel.”