First encounter with pirates

The pungent smell clinging to Maester Marwyn finally dissipated as he staggered away.

Liu Qian returned to the cabin, where Jelena had already completed every transaction with brisk efficiency.

The Dragon Spirit Guardians were directing several hundred newly recruited sailors aboard, and the harbor bustled with activity.

"My lord, everything is ready."

Jelena gave a concise report. "My lord, all preparations are complete. Thirty new merchant ships in total: eleven flatboats, five Swan Ships, and the rest Great Ships. They cost nearly two hundred and fifty thousand Glowcoins altogether."

Liu Qian nodded. The treasures he had obtained from Tyria and the King of Casterly Rock were more than enough to cover these expenses.

He immediately ordered them to set sail.

The vast fleet raised its sails and left the noisy harbor of Volantis, heading straight for the chaotic Stepstones.

Volantis lay nearly four hundred leagues from the Stepstones, twice the distance from the Smoking Sea to Volantis. But thanks to the new ships' excellent performance, the hired sailors' superb skills, and favorable winds and currents, the fleet made astonishing speed.

In less than a month, they reached the fringes of the waters south of the Stepstones.

Liu Qian stood at the prow of a sleek Swan Ship, holding a Myr Lens to his eye as he scanned the waters ahead for an island or reef where they could anchor temporarily.

"Hmm?" His brow suddenly furrowed.

At the edge of the lens's field of view, several tiny black dots were rapidly growing larger.

Four long, swift oared warships were attacking a small merchant vessel.

Pirates!

The pirates' four Oared Ships supported one another in a staggered formation, using their unrivaled maneuverability to trap the merchant ship firmly in their midst.

Bow-mounted ballistae and crude catapults roared relentlessly, sending stones and thick bolts pelting toward their target like hail.

The merchant ship's sailors scrambled in desperation, working the sails until a powerful crosswind carried them out of the encirclement and toward Liu Qian's fleet.

Just as the Swan Ship ahead and to the right of Liu Qian's vessel tried to evade it, the fleeing merchant ship charged like a runaway horse and slammed into its side with a thunderous crash.

"Damn it!" Liu Qian's face darkened, and he sharply ordered his own Swan Ship to close in at full speed.

The collision had left a scene of chaos.

The merchant ship's cabin doors stood open, and crowds of panicked passengers and crew in ordinary clothing poured out. Clearly, it was merely a common passenger vessel.

As soon as Liu Qian's ship drew near, Jelena and her sisters directed the Dragon Spirit Guardians to swiftly lay a gangplank between the two ships.

The moment Liu Qian stepped onto the damaged Swan Ship, its sailors hurried over in alarm to beg forgiveness. "My lord! That ship was moving too fast with the wind behind it. We..."

Liu Qian cut them off with a wave, his gaze piercing the huddled crowd on the merchant ship's deck. "Where is the captain?"

The crowd parted. A middle-aged man with a square face, a neatly trimmed short gray beard, and features typical of the Free Cities stepped forward, shaking like a leaf. He dropped to his knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Mercy, my lord! It... it wasn't my fault..."

Liu Qian vaulted over the rail and landed before him, his voice icy. "What is your name? Where are you from, and where are you going? Why were those four ships surrounding and attacking you?"

"My name is T-Terenzio Terris. I'm the captain of the Daughter of the Titan," the captain said, his voice trembling. "We sailed from Braavos and were heading to Lys. We never expected these pirates to surround us just as we passed the Stepstones..."

Liu Qian sneered. "So you had your ship ram my fleet?"

"It wasn't me! It really wasn't!" Tenesio waved both hands in terror.

"I gave the order to ram you." A deep, resonant voice came from the shadows of the cabin.

Liu Qian looked toward the voice.

A powerfully built middle-aged man slowly emerged.

A dark-skinned, thick-haired middle-aged man stepped out, holding a sword with a thin streak of blood still on its blade. He wore a breastplate but no helmet, leaving his thinning brown hair exposed.

His eyes were full of wariness, his gaze locked firmly on Liu Qian. A sharp light shone in his somber eyes, like a beast capable of explosive power.

As he appeared, the passengers around him made way in fearful respect.

Liu Qian's gaze sharpened. He slowly drew the Valyrian steel sword he had taken from Teres. Dense, swirling markings covered its cold, mirrorlike blade, which reflected a pale light.

He pointed the sword at the burly man. "Give me your name. I don't want to kill a nameless man."

The man's gaze swept over the weapon in Liu Qian's hand, and a flicker of shock passed through his eyes.

Frowning deeply, he sized up the young, black-haired opponent before him and retorted, "Boy, if your swordsmanship is worthy of that blade, there'll be time enough to ask my name."

He held his sword across his chest and settled into a steady stance.

Just then!

Whoosh-thunk!

A Siege Bolt as thick as a child's arm tore through the air with a deadly shriek and buried itself in the merchant ship's rail.

Wood splinters burst outward like a downpour. The hull shuddered violently, and the passengers' screams once again tore through the air.

Liu Qian glanced toward the four Oared Ships.

They had cunningly stopped two hundred yards away, exploiting their range to continue harassing the ships.

Figures moved aboard them, and the shouts of crews reloading ballistae and catapults mingled with the pirates' brazen curses, all clearly audible.

"Jelena!" Liu Qian's voice was decisive. "Order every Swan Ship and Great Ship to close in and board them by force! Have the flatboats block the perimeter. Don't let a single person escape!"

"Yes, my lord!" Battlelust blazed in Jelena's eyes, her armor gleaming in the sunlight.

The Swan Ships and Great Ships were large and sturdy, but less maneuverable than the nimble Oared Ships, so they had to encircle their enemies.

Seeing the Swan Ships and Great Ships closing in from the flanks, the four Oared Ships churned their oars, trying to use their superior speed to break through the encirclement. At the same time, they concentrated their fire, furiously attacking the two Swan Ships leading the advance.

Stone projectiles whistled through the air and smashed into the brand-new oak planking, leaving dents.

Thick bolts thudded into the rails, their fletching quivering.

But the new ships' timber was thick and tough, and the pirates' hastily fired ranged weapons had limited power. Most caused little more than superficial damage and could do nothing to stop the encirclement from tightening.

The first Swan Ship used its superior size to ram an Oared Ship attempting to turn and escape. The heavy impact sent the Oared Ship tilting violently, snapping oars and throwing screaming pirates off their feet.

Before the gangplank was fully secured, a figure had already leaped over the rail. It was Jelena,

her agile body encased in Valyrian Steel Armor, a sword of the same metal becoming a dreamlike shimmer of light

and shadow in her hand.

Nearly a hundred pirates crowded the Oared Ship's deck, armed with short swords and dressed in ragged clothing.

Seeing only one person leap aboard, they froze for a moment, then burst into bloodthirsty howls and rushed her together.

But the sword flashing toward them brought only destruction.

Jelena's swordsmanship had already been honed through countless trials, and the terrifying strength and speed granted by the Dragonblood Pact turned her into a human weapon.

When her Valyrian steel sword swept out, it was no longer a matter of technique, but the pure beauty of violence.

Its gleam became an untrackable ribbon of silver. The pirates' crude weapons snapped on contact, and their shoddy leather armor-even thin iron plates-was like paper before the peerless blade.

Severed arms and limbs flew with sprays of blood wherever her sword passed. Every step she took brought several piercing screams and the dull thuds of bodies falling.

Against absolute strength, speed, and an all-cleaving blade, the pirates' ferocity was laughably fragile.

Jelena remained expressionless, unstoppable as a reaper swinging a scythe through a wheat field. In that cramped space, she carved a bloody path paved with corpses.

She alone brought the morale of the entire pirate crew to the brink of collapse.

Then more than a dozen Dragon Spirit Guardians silently vaulted over the rail.

Clad in armor, they moved with precision and heavy steps.

The Valyrian steel swords in their hands formed a moving forest of death.

The pirates' desperate counterattacks struck heavy steel armor, leaving only a few pale marks or negligible scratches.

Every silent thrust and sweep from a Dragon Spirit Guardian claimed a life.

They formed a tight battle line and steadily advanced through the opening Jelena had created, mercilessly crushing the remaining resistance.

Soon, corpses and moaning wounded covered the deck.

The pirates aboard the first Oared Ship broke completely. The survivors threw down their weapons, sobbing and shouting as they knelt to beg for surrender.