The West Empire soldiers withdrew. Chains clinked as the slaves began moving under the soldiers' urging. Even with whips swinging and constantly lashing their bodies, the slaves merely lowered their heads and shuffled forward. They could not have run even if they wanted to. The shackles around their ankles limited their speed.
Leo looked deeper into the naval harbor. The fighting around the galleys had also ended, with the 3rd Corps cavalry company victorious. Of the six galleys that had been moored along the shore, one had been burned by the West Empire, leaving five.
There were still three West Empire warships on the water. They showed no intention of leaving, which meant the battle was not over. The West Empire fleet was waiting for Blackport County's galleys. The only reason the ships had not entered the harbor was that the two sunken galleys were blocking the channel. Looking at row after row of broadside guns, Leo had a bad feeling.
The three-hundred-man cavalry company led by Major General Stuart Cavendish had already returned. As he passed the cadet cavalry force, Major General Stuart first greeted Catherine, then came over and patted her on the shoulder. He was very glad to see that his younger sister was unharmed.
Although the two of them were the Count's first and second heirs, no one believed Catherine had any real chance of inheriting the countship. More than twenty years separated them, and Major General Stuart's son was only a few years younger than Catherine.
Major General Stuart looked around and asked, "Where is Major Willy Belloc?"
Catherine replied, "Major General, the Company Commander was knocked from his horse by the enemy's new weapon. I don't know whether the soldiers clearing the battlefield will be able to find him."
After hearing this, Major General Stuart said, "Major Willy Belloc is a C-Grade Mage. He's very strong. He was simply a little unlucky. He'll be fine." He then continued toward the Count of Blackport.
With the return of the cavalry company, all the troops that represented the West Empire's landing force had either been driven off or destroyed. The cavalry temporarily dismounted and stood beside their horses, waiting for Blackport County's navy to win its battle just as the army had won theirs.
The galleys did not raise their sails. Instead, the oars along both sides began rising and falling. All five galleys moved out together, and the soldiers of Blackport County erupted in tremendous cheers.
Only a ship could defeat another ship.
Galleys had better short-range maneuverability than galleons. Each galley was 160 feet (60 meters) long and 30 feet (9 meters) across at its widest point. There were twenty oar stations on either side. Each oar was 40 feet (12 meters) long and required five slaves to pull it.
At the bow was an enormous metal ram. Half of a galley's fighting power lay in boarding actions after rapidly closing with the enemy, and the other half lay in that terrifying ram. The ram was connected to the ship's sturdy keel, transmitting the force of impact backward through the hull so the ram could exert its full power. When a galley's ram struck directly into the broadside of an enemy ship in particular, it could quickly break that ship in two.
Just like now... The West Empire fleet lay broadside across the sea without evading or turning away, simply waiting for the galleys to come.
The galleys rapidly reached their maximum speed, accelerating within a short distance to nine knots (4.6 meters per second) as they rushed out of the naval harbor. The two galleys destroyed earlier at the harbor entrance had now become obstacles to Blackport County's own navy.
Scattered flames still burned on the two wrecks. Some soldiers who had jumped into the sea clung to floating planks and waited for rescue. But no rescue was coming.
Standing on the sterncastle of a galley, Captain Louis Nawey of the Blackport County navy, Viscount of Rouen Castle, was nowhere near as confident as he appeared. His heart was filled with sorrow. Perhaps in only a short while, his five galleys would be sinking as well.
There were only two choices. Wait for the West Empire fleet to enter the naval harbor and have the West ships sink them beside the shore, or put the oars in motion and let the galleys sink in their final naval battle.
Louis Nawey, Viscount of Rouen Castle, eyes red, roared, "Faster! Break the whips if you have to! Make the slaves go faster!"
The five galleys smashed through the two burning ships that were already more than half submerged. In truth, those half-sunken vessels could damage the five galleys like reefs, but Viscount Louis Nawey of Rouen Castle no longer cared.
Those two half-sunken ships had fought bravely. They had bought the other galleys a little time. But only a little.
Broken planks flew in every direction, scattering bursts of sparks. The five galleys surged forward with overwhelming momentum, and their enormous size gave the Unicorn Legion confidence. The cheers of the Unicorn Legion on shore grew even louder.
The Count of Blackport, Leopold Cavendish, however, closed his eyes in pain.
The honor of Cavendish could not be stained. The honor of the Unicorn Legion could not be stained. Even if the Unicorn Legion's navy was to sink, it should sink amid waves as it charged the enemy, not remain beside the shore like a stupid walrus waiting to be slaughtered.
In this somewhat dull age, people pursued honor with extraordinary passion. Disaster brought suffering. Fragile human beings could not escape calamity, so they needed something spiritual to rely upon.
Death came so frequently that everyone had seen a great deal of it. Only by finding the honor contained within death could people accept death calmly.
The honor within their hearts was the faith of the people here. If one could not understand honor, one could not understand the rules by which people of this age lived.
Captain Louis Nawey, the second Viscount of Rouen Castle, still carried in his chest the courage passed down through the blood of the first Viscount. He roared, "Mages! Prepare!"
Each galley carried four Form Mages, who took positions at the bow as close to the ram as possible. The slaves found something strange today. The officers had voluntarily come down into the filthy, foul-smelling lower decks to supervise their rowing.
Whips kept cracking. Even the most numb and unfeeling slaves thought they hurt a little. Still, the officers they hated would soon die alongside them.
The galleys moved faster and faster, almost entering ramming range. Working together, the four Form Mages could make the ram suddenly extend and drive it deep into the vulnerable broadside of a West Empire ship.
Like a graceful narwhal, this was the most powerful warship on the Mist Sea. At least, it had once been the most powerful...
From the shore, Major General Stuart shouted, "Helmets off! Salute!"
The order passed down through the officers rank by rank. The soldiers, who had been preparing to cheer, heard their officers shouting and removed their helmets in confusion. They extended their left forearms horizontally and placed their helmets steadily upon them.
In the next instant, those helmets nearly fell to the ground. What did Leo see...
The uppermost tier of broadside guns on all three West Empire ships roared at the same time. Then came the second tier, then the third...
Dense flashes of fire. Dense clouds of smoke. Dense iron shot. With every salvo, the three ships fired sixty cannonballs.
The three West Empire ships stood in a line, and six-pound (2.7-kilogram) iron balls flew everywhere. At that same moment, the galleys' rams lengthened. Louis Nawey, Viscount of Rouen Castle, saw that the extended ram was only ten meters from the West Empire fleet.
But that was as far as it would go. An iron ball struck Captain Louis Nawey.
In the hands of a Haste Mage, even a cumbersome cannon possessed extraordinary accuracy. The shot struck the commander of Blackport County's navy dead on.
Iron ball after iron ball punched through the galleys, blasting countless splinters of wood into the air. The lucky sailors were smashed in half at the waist. They died without making a sound and without suffering any pain.
The less fortunate sailors fell into the sea after suffering grievous wounds. They would wait for death amid pain and suffocation.
The sail-less masts were smashed apart and crashed heavily onto shattered decks. Under the terrifying power of the cannons, fragments of men, decks, hulls, masts, and oars mixed together until they could no longer be distinguished from one another.
On the evening of October 14, Order Calendar Year 50, the sixth day after the death of Holy Archmage Hilquins, Blackport County's Narwhal Fleet was annihilated.
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