Breaking the enemy

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Mine Harbor.

"We can't wait for him! I order you to attack at once! Move, move, move!"

As first mate Marco shouted, the pirate leaders aboard the other two Ironborn longships gave the order to attack as well. The thought of destroying House Flint's troops and attacking their fortress stirred the Ironborn pirates' excitement.

As the Ironborn longships appeared, the Clan Warriors hidden behind the mounds of earth and debris on the docks charged out with loud cries. Unfortunately, just as they were about to reach the transport ship...

The sailors of House Flint, who had long been ready to retreat, simply cut the ropes securing the ship. Since they had never intended to dock, the transport had not even dropped anchor. Instead, they had used hooked wooden poles to retrieve the ropes previously left on the docks and fastened them to the hull.

To make the deception more convincing, House Flint's crew had even lowered the anchor beneath the surface to mislead the pirates and Clan Warriors. Once the sailors finished their preparations, the transport began sailing southwest.

The Ironborn pirates saw this but found nothing strange about it, continuing to drive their longships toward the transport. To them, the enemy was already frightened. All they needed to do now was surround the transport, and victory would be theirs.

On the deck of the middle longship, however, "One-Eye" Billy huddled in a corner, his hair disheveled. He looked utterly wretched, his tangled hair and vacant gaze making him resemble someone suffering from dementia.

The surrounding Ironborn pirates were terrified by the dreadful sight and what had happened to "One-Eye" Billy. Had they not still had a raid to carry out, someone would probably have thrown him into the sea already. They avoided him like the plague, as though afraid he would suddenly lash out or pass his misfortune on to them.

In the Ironborn pirates' eyes, their former chief was completely finished. But everyone was so busy that no one noticed the strange changes taking place within "One-Eye" Billy.

At that moment, "One-Eye" Billy was trapped in some terrifying illusion. Thanks to the mysterious being's earlier intervention, it was as though an "exit" had been violently forced open in his body, leaving him with no resistance whatsoever to someone like Eddard, who wielded perception and soul power.

That was precisely why Eddard had chosen to use "One-Eye" Billy as a test subject after discovering his abnormal condition. Although the Golden Eye was powerful, it still faced various limitations during actual invasions. For example, Eddard had tried invading the other pirates, but almost every one of his "invasions" had ended in failure.

Having explored this far, Eddard finally understood why the Wildling Skinchangers beyond the Wall chose animals as their targets for "invasion." As powerful individuals possessing complete souls, humans did indeed have very strong souls, particularly those with firm religious convictions. They seemed to possess an invisible field that afforded them some peculiar protection, preventing Eddard from performing "Skinchanging" on them.

This also indirectly explained why magical races such as the Children of the Forest had lost their dominion over the continent. When the magic they took such pride in failed to work on humans, their child-sized bodies were simply no match for steel and flame.

At first, Eddard had tested his "Skinchanging" ability with complete confidence. But after expending a great deal of mental energy and wearing down his body, he had nearly given up.

Had he not finally thought of using those Twisted Souls as parasites, Eddard's perception would probably have been expelled quickly as well. Still, the current situation was already quite satisfactory. At least he had completed the first stage of the experiment. All that remained was to see how "One-Eye" Billy would react.

At that moment, Eddard was in some unknown realm, observing the changes in "One-Eye" Billy through the Golden Eye. To everyone else, Billy appeared to have gone mad.

In reality, however, the Twisted Soul Eddard had placed inside "One-Eye" Billy was fighting Billy's own soul for control of his body. Although the Twisted Soul was formidable, repeated bouts of attrition had robbed it of its original strength.

The Twisted Soul seemed to have expended considerable power during the struggle. Through the Golden Eye, Eddard also observed that the expended soul energy had not vanished. Instead, it had taken another form and become entangled with some peculiar energy inside "One-Eye" Billy's body.

Under the gaze of Eddard's Golden Eye, every pirate aboard the three longships appeared as a twisted creature with three heads. Rather than human organs, their bodies consisted of parts from all manner of sea creatures.

"One-Eye" Billy was different, however. Two of his heads had already shriveled, and under the Twisted Soul's influence, his appearance had begun shifting toward a human form.

With the Golden Eye's help, Eddard also learned that the Twisted Soul's black energy was becoming entangled with three energies colored gray, green, and blue. Those three strangely colored energies appeared to be the protection bestowed upon "One-Eye" Billy by his faith in the Drowned God.

Under the influence of this peculiar energy, the Twisted Soul's black energy actually grew fainter. As time passed, the three energies seemed to be merging with the black energy released by the Twisted Soul.

Just as Eddard wanted to continue observing, he discovered to his surprise that, strengthened by the mutated black energy, the three-colored energy within "One-Eye" Billy had begun gradually counterattacking the Twisted Soul itself.

Seeing the enemy longships gaining speed, Eddard steeled himself, activated the Golden Eye, and cast his perception into the Twisted Soul itself.

Soon, with Eddard's support, the Twisted Soul began charging toward "One-Eye" Billy's brain. Eddard's objective was clear: while the Twisted Soul still had strength left, he would use Billy's body to cause a major incident.

After a series of eerie twitches and spasms, a cloud of black vapor invisible to the naked eye emerged from "One-Eye" Billy's body. Then his eyes rolled back, and he entered the state of being "Skinchanged" by Eddard.

"Little" Camo was the ship's helmsman that day. Small and weak, he had been assigned to help at the helm. Without "One-Eye" Billy directing things, the longship was in considerable disorder. Normally, when a captain lost the ability to command, the deputy captain and first mate would take over.

But after "One-Eye" Billy became an "idiot," many of the Ironborn pirates had begun entertaining other ideas. Many wanted to demonstrate their strength in battle so they could win more votes when the time came to elect a new captain.

"Little" Camo watched his companions preparing for battle with some envy, his eyes full of longing. Still, his hands remained tightly wrapped around the handles of the helm. If he made a mistake, first mate Marco would certainly give him a beating.

Although "Little" Camo had worked aboard this longship for a long time, his height and strength had always kept him from seizing anything valuable, much less taking a Salt Wife.

I hope I can truly pay the iron price this time and become a real Ironborn!

"Little" Camo thought silently. Just then, however, he suddenly sensed someone standing behind him. Turning his head, he saw "One-Eye" Billy, his face somewhat contorted.

"Chief! You..."

Bang...

Under Eddard's control, "One-Eye" Billy slammed bodily into "Little" Camo. Because Camo was so short, the impact immediately made him lose control of the helm.

Camo's handling of the helm also sent the longship into a sharp turn. Moving at tremendous speed, it slammed into the longship to its right.

Boom... crack...

Amid a teeth-grating screech of scraping and crashing, the middle longship's ram smashed into the other longship's side. The tremendous impact damaged both vessels to varying degrees. The ship that had been struck suffered particularly badly: momentum tore a gash roughly two meters long through its side.

The pirates aboard both longships were stunned by the sudden turn of events. The collision came so abruptly that quite a few unlucky men were thrown straight into the sea.

The remaining longship, which had escaped the collision, now faced a dilemma. Rescuing the others would cost it the opportunity to attack, but refusing to help might leave it locked in a struggle with the enemy.

Moreover, everything had happened so suddenly that the undamaged longship had already surged far ahead. While its leader was still agonizing over the decision, Eddard's soldiers made it for him.

Wooo...

Just as the Ironborn pirates descended into chaos, the two Oared Warships the pirates had confirmed were leaving suddenly appeared on their flank, poised to attack.

Eddard had discussed the countermeasures with his men before they even left Flint Castle. The two Oared Warships had used only about a third of their oars, with just a handful of sailors visible on deck. Most of the soldiers had hidden below. All of it had been for this final, thunderous strike!

"Enemy attack!"

"Hard to port!"

"Ready your weapons!"

"You little bastards, get ready to pay the iron price!"

Amid the jumble of shouts, the Ironborn pirates prepared for battle. Although some still appeared badly rattled, most were utterly fearless. It was precisely this reckless disregard for death that allowed these Ironborn pirates to range freely across the Sunset Sea.

Boom...

The two Oared Warships swept in, enclosing the Ironborn longship from both sides just after it turned its bow. House Flint's soldiers aboard the warships used grappling hooks to hold the longship fast.

Oared Warships were built specifically to counter Ironborn longships. They generally stood higher than the longships and carried large numbers of grappling lines on their mainmasts and hulls, intended to restrain the swift Ironborn vessels.

Once an Ironborn longship was restrained, the soldiers aboard the Oared Warships would attack the pirates from above with bows and crossbows. This was also why many coastal cities maintained Oared Warships.

The sides of Eddard's Oared Warships stood roughly two meters higher than those of an ordinary Ironborn longship, giving his soldiers the opportunity to inflict casualties first during boarding actions.

Ironborn pirates trained in climbing and grappling-line skills from childhood to strengthen their arms, allowing them to make the fullest use of their longships' assault advantages in later battles.

South of Sea Dragon Point Peninsula lay a stretch of towering cliffs roughly four hundred kilometers long. Many Ironborn pirates came there after reaching adulthood to climb the cliffs and demonstrate their martial prowess.

This distinctive training allowed Ironborn pirates to board ships in mere seconds during their raids. To counter crossbow bolts fired from Oared Warships, they also fought back with throwing axes. Both sides had accumulated these techniques through years of fighting.

But surrounded by House Flint's soldiers and mercenaries, these Ironborn pirates had no chance to exploit their advantages. Normally, Ironborn pirates would only risk attacking a single Oared Warship, and even then, only if they had three longships.

When faced with two fully crewed Oared Warships of this kind, Ironborn pirates generally chose to avoid battle. Unless they had around five longships, they would not trouble the Oared Warships.

"Cease fire! Board them!"

Seeing the pirates aboard the longship dwindling as the fighting continued, "Scar" Rickard promptly ordered his men to board. Soon, the Oared Warship carrying guard captain Arthur Stone and his men also stopped shooting and sent more than twenty mercenaries aboard in very short order.

After releasing their grappling lines, House Flint's two Oared Warships charged toward the remaining two Ironborn longships. Aboard the longship carrying "One-Eye" Billy, first mate Marco had only just finished organizing his men. As an Ironborn with extensive seafaring experience, he knew exactly how to escape their current predicament.

The other longship, damaged by the ram, was beyond saving. Although his fellows were still crying for help, first mate Marco could only abandon them to avoid losing everyone.

Unfortunately, events rarely unfolded exactly as one wished. Just as first mate Marco was about to order everyone to retreat swiftly southwest, the transport flying House Flint's banner appeared directly in their path.