章 14: The Fleet From Hell

The Diekplous is a form of maritime military technique that is being invented and used by the ancient pagan Greeks. Especially suitable in the Mediterranean ocean which is like a water basin. It involves assembling an elite naval task force, place it in one breaking point in the battle line. This elite task force is in charge of plunging into the opponent's battle line and produce a hole in their line of defense.

Then things are rather simple, the elite task force can pour into the gap produced like water into a sinking ship, it can flank and ram itself directly into the enemy broadside producing a substantial amount of damage, one can even ram and slash multiple ships into half.

Antonius decided to adopt this form of tactic even before the enemy could recover from their loses in the underwater boulders and form a defensive formation to have the flexibility against the Roman fleet.

Just as the ships are going to engage, the respective scribe on ships reported their captains the signals they received from the flag ship.

"Sir! Signal from flag ship! Bring out the Greek Fire Siphons!"

"Aye lads! Bring'em our fire blessed by the God!"

The cabin door is opened and six burly men pulled and pushed a giant bronze rod across the deck. It has the head assembling a Wyvern or a Lion, a body covered in bronze decorations and plating, on a transportable four wheeled cart. It resembles the 'canons' that the Mongols brought into Kieven Rus and Syria from Khitan, but the major difference is that instead of a ignitable rope behind, it has a giant piston and a tank.

"Wind is howling North, today's weather is fine but waves are high. Listen lads! Today, it is either we live, or they die! Suppression fire!"

Immediately after the order, the flagship fired a salvo of arrows first, successfully suppressing any enemy retaliation attacks due to the help of increased range by the southern wind. Many professional Ottoman bow man is pinned to their wooden deck even before they can fire a retaliation salvo.

Rapid firing by the rest of the ships soon followed. Countless arrowheads bolted their way into the enemy sailors pinning their ships almost into hedgehogs.

"Prepare the God's fire!" Ordered Antonius as he stares at the opposite ships and calculate the effective range of the Greek Fire.

Another flag is flown on the flagship, a flag of red and destruction. The rest of the ships soon followed.

"In the flagship's orders! Prepare the God's fire!"

…

The sailors in charge of Greek fire quickly pulled off the cloth covering the front of the bronze rods, revealing the colossal bronze Wyern heads shining under the lights.

Behind those exquisitely curved bronze eyes of dragonish glare, is the tube connecting the oil tank that is ready to explode like those ancient serpent kings, beasts of the deep seas. Ready to produce an overwhelming flame that can vaporise the blood of foes.

The ships of both fleets have become dangerously close and Antonius instantaneously realised that it is the time, he widened his eyes and slashed his clenched feast on the wooden handle of commanding deck.

"Ignite…Fire!"

The sailor lit the candle in the Wyvern's mouth and immediately backed off, while another sailor adjusted the aims and position and when everything is set, the sailor at the back activated the piston. A chain of unknown chemical reactions quickly took place inside the mechanics and eventually a spark is produced at the Wyvern head that just looks like there is a raging Wyvern on the Roman ship spitting fire.

The newly born flame thrusted forward like a phoenix, licked the Ottoman ship in front like a serpent's tongue tasting its prey. They flickered and began spreading across the easily inflammable wooden hulks. The flames danced a dance of despair painted in orange, red and yellow. Within seconds they grew ravenous devouring everything in its path including men, engulfing every bit of wood and oxygen.

As fast as a pair of human eyes can see and react, the flames on Ottoman ships grew hotter and hotter, filling the atmosphere with their fury and wrath, the night sky is painted a crescent red – assembling the night sky when vampires come out. With the favourable wind blowing from the South, the fire blazed from the already burning sails of the lead ship to the ship behind.

The newly born flames eat up everything in its path with joy, enjoying a feast of buffet with its deadly untouchable toxin, leaping in the air. The Ottoman sailors, with fire on their backs, rolling on the decks in the hope that it will extinguish, but it came to no avail and they can only exhaust their last bit of strength yelling and running until their final fate comes.

Some other smart sailors immediately jumped into the sea to relieve themselves, only to see the sight that would terror them for the rest of their lives – if they still have any.

The ocean is burning.

Ordinary sailors of course did not know that flames by the Greek fire can still burn on water surface. The reflection of the burning sky collapsing ships, cries of agony from fallen Ottoman sailors, the burning ocean and the intolerable temperature, all made the environment look like living hell.

Soon as the burning of water surface and ships continue, the ship cabin and men floating on water surfaces all realised one thing, the ocean is boiling like lava. After such a long time of burning, the surrounding water reached an appalling temperature and the men on water surface soon released it and began diving underwater, but still they then met the same fate with the people in the cabin room, they ran out of oxygen. The flames have burnt away most oxygen in surrounding air.

In the midst of burning, the Roman fleet rushed forward with their oars and their sails already lowered. Antonius has ordered them to cover the deck with fire resistant material like soaked animal hides. The vast fleet knocked its way across the burning Ottoman ships and inferno.

The Roman sailors cheered and yelled battle cries, while using their crossbow to fire at every fallen Ottoman sailor on the water surface, there is no such thing called war regulations this time, everything follows the rule of kill or be killed.

The rest of the Ottoman ships, although still having the numerical advantage, decided to disperse and flee. They have no orders and restrictions now as their admiral is in the middle of flames, furthermore their psychological line of dense has already been demolished, by the burning skies and seas, and most importantly, the Fleet from Hell.

The Roman fleet, or the Fleet from Hell, continued marching forward in one, pulling aside every burning ship in the surrounding. Antonius is laughing like mad on the bow of his flagship, laughing happily from this successful battle and one more page of his naval military achievement in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, to the Ottoman sailors, he sounds more like the Satan himself laughing in the sight of this catastrophe.

Antonius jumped around in joy, hugged and kissed with Abdullah and Abraham, and making fun of each other.

"Hey Abdullah! Where is that long moustache of yours! Abraham! Where is your eyebrow! Hahahaha…"

"Stop talking about us, feel your head, you are half bald now! From today onwards you shall be called the bald admiral!"

The three men joked and laughed in joy, laughing, and howling soon spread across the fleet, everyone is celebrating and appreciating the devastating scene they have just created. They are just about to get out of the encirclement that put them in despair hours ago.

However, disaster struck in the most inappropriate time. A Roman Galley is halted and trapped in the middle of two burning and sinking ships, unable to move. The men are filled in horror as they watch the flames, who has no eyes, slowly lingers onto the Galley. While the other ships start to sail away.

In this point of utter urgency, the crew on the galley started shouting for help but to no avail, no one can hear them in the midst of all these burning and fire cracking.

The captain Julian of the ship, with a calm mind and quick thinking, immediately organised the sailors and started shouting simultaneously.

"Admiral, are you abandoning us!?"

…

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