Chapter 74: Templars vs The Navy II
The row of Templar and Redflower ships continued circling around the navy warships, loosing cannon fire whilst meeting no retaliation for a minute.
The enemy ship closest to them was suffering damage; however, it was durable due to its ship modifications. Any standard ship would have long since sunk, but the oceans of the world granted powers that changed the laws themselves.
As Roseus stood on his ship watching the subsequent battle taking place, he couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong.
They should have been attacked by the enemies by now, especially with that large gun turret that sat atop the Destroyer. For a Navy Commander, he was being bullied so far, remaining on the defensive.
Nothing made sense to Roseus... until he finally spotted the reason for this delayed response.
Suddenly, he felt his ship lurch forwards with vicious momentum. It was as though an unseen force had grabbed onto the vessel, dragging it across the sea against its will.
Had it not been for the significant increase in manoeuvrability granted by the Two Churches modification, the Redflower ship would have been helpless before the pull.
The crew reacted instantly, making the necessary changes to try and fight against the force as they steered the ship towards their left.
Ahead of them, Captain Lionheart’s ship executed the same desperate manoeuvres, trying to steer left. Whatever force gripped them was affecting both ships.
For several tense moments, the two vessels fought against the sea itself. Then, with a final surge, they broke free of the unknown force.
Only then did Roseus finally see the source.
A colossal whirlpool swirled within the Translucent Seas.
The vortex stretched across at least a hundred metres, its spiralling waters descending into a dark abyss. Entire waves bent towards it, as though it was feeding the great threat. The sea around the abyss twisted violently, forming a barrier no ship could safely cross.
Beyond the whirlpool, Roseus caught sight of Bonnflammé’s and Onoes’ ships. They had been swept to the opposite side of the vortex, forced farther away with every passing second.
The formation had been split in two.
Roseus and Lionheart remained on one side of the monstrous whirlpool, while Bonnflammé and Onoes were stranded on the other.
And between them, the sea itself had become an impassable wall.
The Redflowers cursed, and Pip called out warnings from the Crow’s Nest. The warning was that the enemy navy ships had finally started moving!
The two navy Warships that flanked the navy Destroyer sped up, charging ahead of the greater ship belonging to their commander. Once ahead, they steered to their right, circling around the whirlpool to come and meet the Armegeddon and Lionheart’s ship.
Meanwhile, the metal navy Destroyer pivoted and began circling the other way, heading towards the two ships belonging to Bonnflammé and Onoes.
This had been their plan the entire time. Someone on the ship had the ability to create whirlpools and had used it to separate the enemy forces.
Such a plan struck fear into the Redflower crew, but they were then calmed by the words of their captain. Although they might have been outnumbered, Bonnflammé and Onoes had an advantage over the Destroyer.
As long as they could destroy the metal ship in time, they could come back and give aid.
All they had to do was hold out until this happened.
The Armegeddon and Captain Lionheart’s ship fell into a new formation, with Lionheart’s ship positioned in front of them, preparing to take any of the damage that might come from the ranged strikes of the warships.
Lionheart’s crew loosed cannon fire at the Warships, and for the first time, the warships launched back.
The water and the ships rumbled under the aggressive weight of the cannonballs, as well as the force of the whirlpool that still gradually threatened to drag them deep underwater.
Lionheart’s ship was covered in a golden force field that blocked most of the cannon fire, whilst their own flaming cannons passed through the force fields of the enemy Warships, doing more damage.
From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Lionheart had the advantage. However, from close up, it was clear that this golden force field was already taking damage. Lionheart’s ship could not afford to take the brunt of two ships’ strikes by itself.
That meant that they had to deal with at least one of the ships to even the fight.
Roseus drew his Greycloud Longsword and felt the five charges of Rai’zac’s thunderbolt surging through its golden blade. Two bolts had managed to defeat a lieutenant in the past, so with two more, he believed that he might be able to take down another.
From there, the Redflowers and Lionheart’s crew could aim to board the ships and engage in close-quarters combat, where they believed they might have better luck. They believed they would have better luck because, at range, the Redflowers were of no use, as only elemental cannon fire could pass through the force field, which they currently did not have.
However, this first required Roseus to behave as a priest.
If Roseus were to use the lightning bolt, Captain Lionheart would question where the strike had come from, as the clouds above were few. He might then be able to come to the conclusion that someone on the ship was a believer in storms.
So, Captain Roseus stood on his deck and outstretched his arms, focusing on the clouds above. Still being close to Highstorm Island, which was the source of Rai’zac’s powers, he still had significant control over these storms.
He imbued the clouds with the power of Rai’zac. His nose and eyes bled as the clouds became red and poured with rain.
This benefited him in more than one way, as he could also use the Ring of Unfavourability when it was time to board the ship.
With the clouds filled with rain, Roseus finally drew his Greycloud Longsword and pointed it up towards the heavens.
Then, he focused on a target.
