96 Vol 2. pt. 33 Patch 6.0: The Second Round (2/2)

”Serra! Ready?!” Fenrir shouts.

”Ready!” Serra shouts back.

”Tabs, can the engine handle one final burst?”

”She'll try it but make it quick!” Tabitha shouts.

”Alright, we've only got one chance at this, so let's make it work. Hold onto something!” Fenrir shouts to the crew.

The Shoebill performs its hardest turn yet as it sharply turns one hundred and eighty degrees. It now directly faces the longship.

”Serra!” Fenrir shouts. ”Fire!”

The ballista fires its fishing-hook-tipped bolt right the longship's mast again and reels in on it to get it stuck there.

”Grappled!” Serra shouts back.

”Cannons, ready!” Fenrir orders.

Bonekraka, Cassiel, and Corwin come back above deck and get in position at their respective cannons. Each one is already loaded and ready to fire, so all they have to do is wait to get lined up – well, and dodge the multitude of javelins being thrown at them. Fortunately, any holes in the hull caused by the javelins are quickly repaired thanks to The Shoebill's latest upgrade.

”Fire!”

The Shoebill unloads its portside cannons on the longship! Each shot tears through the side of its hull, but none of the crew are hit and any damage is quickly repaired.

Fenrir and the rest of the crew were expecting to have javelins tossed their way once they were this close, but instead, the longship's crew are either trying to dodge or block the cannon shots while a few of them are climbing their mast to un-grapple their ship.

But that's alright. Serra already grappled their ship, so all they have to do now is keep them from getting away and buy enough time for Jax and the others to surround the longship. Once they do, the longship will be faced with so much cannon fire and magic that they won't be able to survive. No matter how powerful the crewmembers may be, no matter how overpowered the ship's hull might be – they won't be able to survive the onslaught that is prepared for them.

Well, that was the plan.

There is one major flaw in the plan that, now thinking about it, Fenrir should have been more wary of.

”H-hey, Fen, why are they fighting?” Cassiel asks.

”Because this was a fucking trap. I knew not to trust that guy just because Jax and them did! How did I make such a stupid mistake?!” Fenrir shouts, slamming a fist against The Shoebill's mast as he watches The Steel Tiger fire on its own allies.

Three allied ships have already sunk, two more are on fire because of Alexander himself personally using magic to set their ships aflame, and only The Weeping Tit and Barracuda's Nightmare are left without damage. Each of them open fire on The Steel Tiger, but their shots bounce off the near-impervious hull or only cause minor dents in it.

”Cut the line, Serra!” Fenrir orders.

”Captain, what about slowing—” Corwin stops when he sees Fenrir's glare.

”Those bastards are the least of our concern right now. We have to go help Jax and White Tooth before that bastard sinks them,” Fenrir explains.

The chain line connecting the ballista to its shot is cut loose, allowing The Shoebill to speed towards the battle unhindered by the longship.

”I thought he wanted fame and to take credit for everything?” Cassiel asks.

”Yeah, exactly. I'm such an idiot. Oleander! Full speed ahead! Serra, take Bone's place on the cannon. Bone, get back down there and get ready to help Tabs with repairs. Everybody! Get ready for a potential boarding!” Fenrir shouts out his latest orders as The Shoebill heads directly for The Steel Tiger.

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Several grapple shots are fired from Barracuda's Nightmare and latch onto the side of The Steel Tiger. Fenrir sees White Tooth himself brandishing a cutlass and about to jump onto the enemy's ship as soon as they're pulled in close enough.

”He looks strong,” Serra says.

”Yeah, he should be able to deal with at least a couple of those bastards,” Fenrir says.

As soon as the ships slam into each other's sides, White Tooth leaps over from his own ship and subsequently gets immolated by Alexander's magic. The flames from Alexander's hands are enough to completely engulf White Tooth's body as well as shoot past him to ignite Barracuda's Nightmare's sails.

The rest of its crew are dealt with in short order.

Jax and the crew of The Weeping Tit are the only allies that The Shoebill has left.