Chapter 96: Battle of Seagard 5
There were painful moans around them as Tyene, Nymeria and Gregory moved around below the deck to help the injured.
Sweat was dripping down their faces, smudges of blood left their trail every time they wiped their forehead with their sleeves.
This definitely wasn't the environment that the medical staff liked to work in, but no one complained as the most important part for now was to save as many as they could.
The group was at it for hours when Gregory, still behaving like a child in a toy store, told the girls to rest for a bit.
Tyene wasn't modest as she immediately moved to the top deck to check on the situation.
Running out, with Nymeria one step behind her, she saw something that was as heartbreaking as it was beautiful.
Looking in the distance the two girls slowly walked like in a trance to the railing, they looked at the bright burning flames, the steps of the sailors running next to them, bringing new supplies of projectiles for the scorpions didn't even reach the girl in their trance, and the sound of the battle ongoing further away complimented the view before them.
They saw damaged ships from both sides slowly retreating away from that chaos of battle, one here, another there.
It clearly wasn't the end of the struggle between the King's men an the Ironborn, some were simply too damaged to continue.
The lucky ones, from the North or Riverland were still fairly safe, the Ironborn stranglers on the other hand too slow to sail away, finally becoming the pray to the heavy bolt's of the deadly weapons on the Frigates as they still kept their distance circling the battle around like vulture's.
"Your prince charming is somewhere around there." Obara came up to her sisters and pointed at the distance where the fervor of fighting was the thickest.
"How do you know?" Nymeria asked not believing, but still focused her gaze trying to spot any detail confirming her sister's words.
"Look there." crossing her hands on her chest Obara pointed with her chin to the side where three big wolves were standing on their hind legs on the deck and the front paws on the railing while looking in the same direction.
Tyene wanted to be with him so much, just as Nymeria, she worried about the boy that stole their hearts.
"What did he ask of you before he left?" Obara asked and looked around.
"Nothing." Tyene had a blush on her face.
"Now even I want to know, so say it now you little slut." Nymeria's attention was now focused on her sister, the blushing face clearly made her curious.
"He... he just asked for some paralyzing poison." Tyene just said the most obvious thing that came to her mind from her meeting, she would sooner die than say something about the kiss so, before more questions were asked she turned around and ignored her unhappy sisters.
'Poison?' Nymeria and Obara were surprised wondering why they young Lord would need such a thing.
- - - Burning Ironborn ship - - -
Brendan and the Northmen were still amidst the deadly battle, the teen didn't know how much time passed, but it was their fifth Ironborn ship that they've taken from the squids.
His armor had a lot more dents, some part that had their leather straps damaged dangled loosely waiting for the boy to simply cut them off like he did few times before.
Brendan just finished fighting and watched the sailors running around to fight the fire that was consuming the vessel.
After cleaning the ship, the detachment's of archers came onboard preventing any Iron fuckers from even having the thought of regaining control over it.
When it was possible, the captured ship would be sailed away as the fighting force spread to another one like a shockwave cleaning one ship after another.
Seeing the faces of his tired men, still feeling the previous battle with Rodrik Greyjoy's fleet, Brendan for the 3rd time ordered the rotation of his men.
"Ervin!" Lord Dustin looked at his heavy breathing Centurion from this group. "Take your men with the next ship back to rest, I will take the Marines with me!"
Brendan had to shout as the sound of fighting loudly resounded around them.
"But my Lord we still can..." the Centurion protested, he didn't have much of a chance to show his worth by serving in Neverwinter so he was really unwillingly to give field.
"Just go and rest for fuck sake! There will be more fighting when you come back!" Dustin was irritated and not willing to continue this exchange.
He was tired just like the rest of them and only was able to keep at it thanks to his monstrous endurance, adrenaline and sheer will.
"Fucking hero wannabe, like I don't want to fucking rest!" he grumbled under his nose while walking away and massaging his previously damaged shoulder.
Brendan was about to gather his men for their next attack, at this point, he just wanted to get it over with, when few people with black bear on their breastplates came out from the smoke coughing.
"Dacey? Aly? Jory?" Brendan run up to them and handed them the water pouch from his hand, which the coughing girls hungrily accepted "Get me more water and call the medic!" he shouted seeing more and more Mormont soldiers coming out from the smoke, some on their own legs with bandages around different wounds, some supported by their friends.
Brendan helped the girls sit on the deck, they were covered in wounds and blood.
"What the?" he wanted to ask but Jory grabbed his forearm and pointed at the smoke.
"Uncle Jorah!" a wheezing voice came out of her dry throat as she panicked.
Brendan knew he won't get more from the girls, so he looked around and grabbed the first standing Mormon soldier.
"What happened?" he came directly to the man and straightened him up.
"The fuckers counterattacked, we-we tried holding them off and push back b-but there was one big one, tallest man I ever saw my Lord, chest as a bull and axe in hand that cut the men in two, h-he had a Kraken shaped helmet and black armour, he's like a death emissary! Our Lord... Lord Mormont covered our retreat with some of our men! H-he just shouted to get his nieces to safety!"
Hearing the man speak Brendan got pumped for a challenge.
"Men! On me!" he swiftly took off any part of his armour that was no longer useful as his men gathered around him.
When Brendan was ready, he took a rag, moistened it with water and tied it on his face, seeing their Lord, his men did the same.
"Death!?" Brendan shouted, at the same time checking his breathing in the improvised mask.
"NOT TODAY!" his Marines reply came vigorously.
"Move out!" under the bears watchful eyes the heroes departed.
"B-be careful!" Aly and Dacey wanted to shout, but only whispers came out.
The smoke was so thick that they couldn't see anything.
Men were coughing and covering their faces with their arms, the wet rugs helped a bit for the breathing, but not for the heat and the prickle they felt in their eyes.
Even so, no one wanted to finish overboard so all of them were careful while taking steps.
After moving for some time the sounds of battle got closer, but before they arrived an inhumane roar made some of them jump in fright.
Brendan was the first to exit the smoke, what he saw made him rethink the correctness of his actions.
"Victarion fucking Greyjoy!" he cursed seeing the situation in front.
A small group of Mormonts dragged the wounded and unconscious Jorah away from the monster, the squids blocked most of their paths by relying on their numbers to corner them.
The despair in the bear's eyes was clear, but they still fought with the ferociousness for which they were know for.
Victarion just looked at the group, not making a move, toying with them, simply enjoying the despair of his enemies.
Brendan of course wouldn't let that happen so he moved first and jumped to the green sail ship.
There was no shouting or warcry, he just moved as swiftly as he could.
Already in his own world, he directly sidestepped and pierced the stomach of the first squid which saw him.
"Charge!" he lifted Blackfyre and a took out from the back of his belt a specially prepared dagger just for this occasion.
Just after his shout a salvo of crossbow bolts pierced through the unlucky first and second line of the squids from behind his back.
Victarion looked at the new arrivals with a smile showing his enjoyment, Mormonts on the other hand, looked with hope and gratitude.
"What do we have here?" Victarion lifted the heavy, blood and guts stained axe from the deck and placed it on his shoulder, he didn't pay any attention to the cracking of the deck that if would be a living thing, would probably thank the Gods for taking the weight of the iron weapon from it.
Even Brendan gulped seeing the man do so.
'How d'fuck am I supposed to fight this monster?' he thought as his head looked up.
The boy himself was not the tallest, but the monster before him had to be at least 220 cm tall!
"Can we talk about it?" Brendan looked at the man who was as tall as The Mountain.
No one would want to fight that beast.
Brendan read about the man before. Capable warrior and commander, a deadly enemy to be faced against, and looking at the guts and butchered men on the deck the information was correct. Not even one body was intact.
"Talk? About what can you talk with a dead man?" placing his kraken helmet on his head the Ironborn was ready.
*Sigh* Brendan got serious as well, he already lost his helmet when he was hit with a wooden part of a spear in one of earlier battles 'At least I don't have to worry about hampering my sight' he thought and moved first.
He was prepared for this, the man in front was one of his targets from the beginning, that too was the reason he asked for the poison from Tyene as soon as he heard the Ironborn fleet was coming their way.
Opposite of how the man looked like, his moves were swift and deadly, each of them aimed to kill or maime the boy.
The men around them stopped fighting and regrouped with the Mormont soldiers while getting ready to step in if their Lord was in trouble.
Squids doing the same on the other side.
Each of them knew that if they intervene they would end up dead, but the most important thing for them was their Lord life.
They watched the fight with burning loyalty in their eyes praying to the Old Gods for a miracle.
Brendan's eyes never left the big man in front, he wouldn't do such a stupid thing normally, he knew he was like an annoying mosquito in front of the man.
Relying only on his slow down gift he still had a hard time evading the more experienced warrior.
'I just need one cut' Brendan thought as he jumped to the side, counting on his speed to shorten the distance between them.
The big axe crushed the wooden deck to his side and when Brendan thought this was his chance, Victarion moved the body of the axe, still inserted in the deck and send the boy flying with the blunt side amidst crushed piece of wood.
Getting flung to the deck, Brendan rolled over in the guts and blood of the deceased men untill he stopped on the upper half of a dead body.
"That fucking hurt!" he coughed up some blood while catching his breath.
If not for his curses, his men would already run to save him.
He felt like his body got hit by a truck, everything hurt and he could promise that some of his ribs got cracked.
"Just give up boy and let me kill you, at least it will hurt less." Victarion slowly walked closer, he looked like on a stroll.
"Fuck you!" Brendan supported his body with Blackfyre as he stood up, his hand with the dagger pushed on the severed chest of the dead guy pushing some air and blood down the hanging guts.
"You're already braver than most of the men I sent to the Drowned God today... why making it more painful than it needs to be? What is dead may never die..." at least he waited for the boy to stand up.
"You really must like to listen to your voice right? The same shit I heard from your nephew before I tasted his flesh!" Brendan wanted to anger the man, hoping he would make a mistake somewhere, at the same time he prayed that he didn't kick himself in the balls by doing so.
"Hahaha and? I have few more!" Victarion said that, but still made the first move.
Brendan almost did the matrix move as he leaned back, he would be split in half if that strike connected.
Even as this was a life and death battle the boy felt he was touching the limit of his body, he felt like an invisible barrier contained him inside of it.
It was like when you are running and know it's your fastest speed, you can feel something pushing you and holding you back, and you struggle to counter the push with your own.
This battle was one that would allow him to evolve, break out from his shell and aim higher than he ever did... that, of course, if he would survive it.
Again a swing came, again he evaded just to be kicked in his chest by the deadly Kraken.
He was hit so hard that he almost fell overboard to really drown and meet the squid God.
'Again!' he was determined to finish what he started one way or another.
The Iron fuckers from Victarion crew that cheered for their captain up till now, now started to whisper between each other.
No one lasted for so long against their Lord before.
Brendan was almost dying there, there was no part of his body that didn't hurt, he was really lucky that none of his ribs pierced his lungs or any other important organs up till now.
Victarion started to look bored, his swings were repeating itself, and yet the boy still held on.
Sporadically Brendan tried to make a counter with a swift and fast stab, but the man was too experienced to fall for that.
Everything ends eventually and as Victarion didn't see any challenge in the boy he went for the kill.
Brendan knew this was one of the hardest fights in his life up till now.
"Why! Do! You! Bother!" Victarion swung his axe with each word, only for the boy to evade, finally after the last swing a kick harder then the one before followed, only this time, Brendan was waiting for it.
Just as he saw the same sequence of moves like before, the grip on the poison covered dagger changed.
When he saw the big leg moving his way in slow motion, he only had time to grab the shoes of Victarion, stabbing the dagger in the place between the armor and the heel.
He finally drawn blood and when his body was swung by the force behind the kick at the wooden mast everything got dark, just as the pain from his back reached him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone