The Union

Ryon then turned his attention to the navy. He knew that Greenwater, having Castonia"s biggest port, had the bulk of the navy. Bulk? Ryon wanted to laugh. While it"s true that half of the navy were in Greenwater, the entire Castonian fleet was composed of only twenty war galleys. Decades of fighting land battles had prompted Castonia to neglect its navy. Nevertheless, Ryon had a plan and it involves the ten war galleys in the port.

In less than an hour, the Castonians were already in position. The five centuries below formed a shield wall to defend the breach. The men on top of the walls were also ready with their crossbows.

Ryon then surveyed the enemies. Calgarians, he silently cursed. Back-stabbing b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Calgari and Castonia were indifferent towards each other. Although Calgari shares the Golden Sea with Castonia, the two nations don"t have a common border. Ryon was confused as to why the Calgarians would suddenly attack Greenwater.

The Calgarians then made their move. Just as he expected, their flagship will not join the battle. Good, he thought. He can still go through with his plan.

But the other sixty transport galleys approached the city. Compared to war galleys, transport galleys were larger and slower. Including the rowers, transport galleys could accommodate nearly two hundred men.

Twelve thousand. That was the number of enemies they have to face. Such a large force, he thought. The defenders on the other hand, were few. Including the men from the navy, Ryon had less than two thousand soldiers.

One by one, the sixty transport galleys berthed on a beachhead just outside the city. Because the beachhead was narrow, it will still take a long time for the entire Calgarian army to finish their disembarkation.

"Should we send the signal now sir?" the soldier behind Ryon asked.

He looked at the soldier and shook his head. "Not yet. We must draw them in. We must wait until their entire force is already committed in the a.s.sault. Be patient."

He looked towards the enemy ships. Half of them had already berthed. It wouldn"t take long.

Time ticked slowly and Ryon was slowly losing his nerve. He looked towards the enemy flagship. The Calgarian flagship remained stationary in the deep water and three other ships protected it.

Ryon rubbed his two palms together. He was sweating hard but his body felt cold. His heart was thumping like crazy. He cursed himself for wishing for action. Now that action had finally come to Greenwater, he missed the peace. He was a fool for thinking that peace was boring. If given a choice, Ryon would choose being the nanny of Greenwater over being its defender.

"Sir I think we should do it now" the soldier again said.

Ryon looked at the sixty transport vessels. Most of them had already reached the sh.o.r.es. He saw that they had already committed their entire force.

"Now!" Ryon commanded.

The soldier raised a flag to signal the commencement of their plan. Ryon"s plan was actually simple – stab the enemy in the heart. The Castonian navy will attack the enemy flagship. Without their Admiral, the Calgarians would lose hope and rout.

The chain that guarded the port was dropped and the ten war galleys sailed towards the enemy flagship. The Castonian galleys raised their sails and the marines rowed with vigor. The war galleys approached the enemy flagship like arrows.

Ryon bit his lips and hoped for the best.

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The Basilisk, Flagship of the Calgarians

"Now those are ships!" Commodore Charles exclaimed while pointing at the approaching Castonian war galleys. "Sleek, fast and powerful. Nine, no, more than ten knots. And look at those sailors. Look at how fast they row. It"s amazing!"

"Castonian war galleys are currently approaching us at full speed and you are acting like that? You are insane, Commodore" Morgan said with a laugh. He then took a bite from an apple. He savored the taste because the apple in his hand was the last piece of fresh fruit in their food reserves. Life at sea sure had its downsides.

"You are not better Admiral." The Commodore laughed. "Eating while the enemy fleet approaches us. They are the feared Castonians you know. Sons of the Warrior. We should be afraid. But you.." Commodore Charles shook his head "You are not a bit afraid."

"That"s because I had already imagined the outcome. Men are anxious creatures, Commodore. But a man who already knows about the outcome of his action, is a man deprived of fear." Morgan said.

"Wise words Admiral." Commodore Charles stroked his beard. "And how do you imagine the future to be Admiral? What scene comes to your mind?"

Morgan turned his body towards Commodore Charles. He then smiled.

"Drowning Castonians"

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From the top of the southern wall of Greenwater, Prefect Ryon watched the war galleys. Even though the Castonian navy was small, all of the marines were professionals. Castonian soldiers had a stigma against the marines. But seeing the smooth but fast movement of the war galleys, he couldn"t help but feel awed.

But the war galleys suddenly slowed their approach. Ryon saw that the captains were frantically giving orders to the marines. The marines on the other hand, started rowing towards the opposite direction. It was as if they were about to hit a wall.

And then he saw it.

Two dozen enemy ships appeared out of nowhere. They have been hiding all along. He saw the moment the enemy ships slammed against the Castonian galleys. The impact threw many of the marines into the water. Since the marines were wearing the standard heavy armor of Castonian soldiers, most of them drowned. In just a few minutes, three Castonian galleys were already sunk. Piles of wooden debris float in the water where hundreds of marines were drowning.

It was a trap. They had fallen into a trap. The Calgarian flagship was a bait to lure the Castonian galleys out of the port and Ryon took the bait. Strength left his knees and he almost fell.

This can"t be, he thought. His orders doomed hundreds of his brothers. His already small army just grew smaller. It was his fault. He was too arrogant for thinking that the Calgarians would just leave their flagship undefended.

He again looked at the situation. One more galley was sinking and another was being boarded by the Calgarians. The five remaining galleys were retreating towards the port while being chased by the Calgarians. One of the retreating galleys was caught and men from two of the enemy galleys boarded it. Compared to the larger galleys of the Calgarians, Castonian galleys were smaller and could only accommodate a hundred marines. So although the Castonians were armored and were better trained, they were surrounded and slaughtered by the Calgarians.

As for the remaining four Castonian ships, they barely avoided capture. They reached the safety of the port in time.

Ryon was stunned by the events but he quickly regained his senses. Even though the disaster was his fault, he was still the leader of the defenders. He must remain strong or else his soldiers would further lose morale.

He straightened his back and puffed his chest. He then ran towards the port to check on the marines. What he saw after he arrived wasn"t good.

All of the surviving marines were exhausted. Many of them were shaking while the others were looking blankly at the horizon.

A captain then noticed Ryon. The man was bathing in his own sweat and he had this pained look in his face. The captain pointed at Ryon with his fingers shaking.

"You caused this!" the captain shouted "You sent us there to die! I saw them. I saw them drown" the captain"s voice became pitched and tears started to fall from his eyes. "Their screams…" the man continued to talk but his words were reduced to mumbles.

Ryon was speechless. He wanted to smash his head on the pavement of the port, but he can"t. He must remain strong for his men.

He then looked around and counted the survivor. It was a quick and inaccurate count, but he only needed an estimate anyway.

Less than four hundred. From more or less a thousand marines, only four hundred survived. That means Ryon was responsible for the death of six hundred of his own men. His foolishness killed a third of the defenders.

To make matters worse, Ryon heard the sound of a horn. The marines also heard it and most of them cowered in fear. It was the horn signaling the start of the attack.

The Calgarian a.s.sault on the walls had begun.