The Archman

Chapter 50 - A Vicious Ambuscade, Part 2

Not quite satisfied with the level of destruction yet, Adrulac pushes the lever back into its forward position, waiting a moment for the cannons to reload before yanking back on it once more and unleashing a second barrage of devastation upon the two naval ships.

Fiona and Jacob look on with astonishment as their obstacles start to fall apart and sink before them, the two ships quickly starting to sink into the water, their damaged hulls no longer able to keep them afloat. Officers on board the ship leap off in order to save themselves, as they continue to be dragged towards Adrulac's ship, being pulled under the rolling waves simultaneously.

"Brace yourself!" Adrulac shouts.

"Where?!" Eira looks about for a place to hang onto that would be least disruptive. She fears that if she so much as touched one of the many levers or the steering wheel, she would invariably cause a fatal error.

Adrulac removes his hand from the lever, grabbing Eira and pulling her into him and holding her tight, seizing her just in time as the ship collides against the two wrecked remains of the naval watercrafts. The whole vessel jerks and lurches as they crash through the husks of their victims, eradicating any remaining structure of the ships under the massive hull of Adrulac's vessel.

Wooden planks and torn shreds of fabric float up in the water around them as they continue forth, Jacob and Fiona's fleet quickly following behind in the wake of Adrulac's destruction. Though they are overjoyed to have regained their chance at a getaway, it is far too early for celebration. Having to contend with the barricade created a slight delay which allows many more naval vessels to catch up around them, keeping pace with them on all sides.

Kinsley stares out across the water with a befuddled outrage, his prey quickly starting to slip out of his grasp. He grits his teeth malevolently, balling his hands into fists. He turns to Normond, using much more volume than necessary to speak with someone only a few feet from him.

"Open fire immediately!"

"They haven't rescued the crews yet, Commodore!" Normond says with a nervous urgency.

"DO IT!!!" Kinsley fumes with a viscous indignation.

Normond recoils in silence, having never seen Kinsley in such an agitated state before. He does a quick salute and walks to the edge of the ship, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice further.

"OPEN FIRE!!!" He bellows out to all the ships in their armada.

Jacob and Fiona and look at one another, sharing the same mortified expression. They both turn away and roar their orders in opposite directions in perfect unison.

"RETURN FIRE!!!"

All of a sudden the air is filled with a calamitous cacophony of explosives, the sound of hundreds of gunpowder devices setting off ringing into the air. Projectiles fly through the air in all directions as the horde of naval vessels unloads all their artillery unto Fiona and Jacob's fleet, who reciprocate the assault with as much ordnance as they can muster.

Being the larger and faster vessel, Adrulac's ship pulls ahead just in time to evade the barrage of cannonballs, one or two grazing against the stern of the ship as they slip out of the zone of destruction. As Adrulac and Eira look back, they see that Fiona and Jacob aren't nearly so lucky. Their small fleet is riddled with cataclysmic devastation, massive holes being blown through their ships over and over again with relentless consistency. Screams and cries of panic spread through the air as the many crews all duck for cover, trying to endure the attack and preserve themselves in any way possible. All manner of organization and coordination is fractured and scattered amongst Fiona and Jacob's fleet. In contrast, the naval ships keep themselves thoroughly composed, quickly recovering from the paltry counterattack.