Some of the pirates aboard the ships raised bows and crossbows, firing arrows at the merchant vessels opposite them.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Thunk, thunk, thunk!
Agh!
Both sides fired arrows, dense volleys constantly streaking back and forth between the ships.
From time to time, sailors, guards, or pirates were struck, crying out in pain.
Some who were climbing the masts were hit by arrows and fell straight down, smashing onto the decks in bloody ruin.
Bang!
Bang!
The single-masted ship struck first.
Then the double-masted ship rammed in brutally as well.
Kill!
Bruce roared, raising his blade and pointing it at the merchant ships of the Fergus Merchant Fleet.
Kill them!
Rob them!
The pirates roared. Some flung out metal grappling hooks, fastening the ships together to keep the waves from pushing them apart.
Some pirates brought out long ladders and set them between the ships, while others used long wooden planks.
All of these allowed the pirates to cross over.
Other pirates grabbed swinging ropes and swung from the masts toward the opposing ships.
Every pirate holding a swinging rope was quite capable, and there were Tide Warriors among them as well.
They shrieked wildly in midair, deliberately creating even greater psychological pressure for those aboard the merchant ships.
A few unlucky ones were shot down into the sea by the merchant ship guards while still in the air, but even more pirates successfully leaped onto the merchant ships.
Charles and his men targeted the large ships first. As for the escort ships, they could not be bothered with them for the moment.
The pirates leaped onto the merchant ships and swiftly clashed with the guards aboard.
At first, the pirates were at a disadvantage in numbers and fought with some difficulty.
But more and more pirates charged aboard.