The defensive line in the Outer Sea off King's Bay had completely collapsed, and the battle between the Combined Fleet and the Iron Tide Pirates had come to a temporary end.
Yet although the large-scale naval battle was over, small clashes still broke out from time to time.
Sentinel Camp, the westernmost garrison in King's Bay, came under a surprise attack that night.
The Iron Tide Pirates had been drifting in the Outer Sea for months, with nothing aboard their ships to eat but thin gruel and dry biscuits.
The pirates had originally lived reasonably well. Supply ships from the south often brought dried meat. Though it looked unclean, it tasted good.
But that small comfort had been cut off the previous week, when vast quantities of supplies were lost. The pirates could only fill their bellies by fishing at night.
A handful of pirates who had not forgotten their actual profession refused to settle for seafood. Under cover of darkness, two small pirate fleets crept along the southern coastline into the waters near Sentinel Camp.
They would steal all of Sentinel Camp's supplies, kill every soldier, and burn the camp to the ground. Ideally, they would also carry off a few attractive female soldiers.
The sea wind had been biting during the day, and thick clouds blanketed the sky at night. The entire beach lay in pitch darkness.
Once their ships reached shore, the pirates took up their long blades and axes and crept along the coast to the outskirts of the camp.
The soldiers at Sentinel Camp were preparing to withdraw.
With the defensive line falling back, Sentinel Camp would be left completely exposed to attacks by the Iron Tide Pirates. Fortunately, a fleet had arrived that night to pick up the garrison. The soldiers stayed awake through