章 95: Battle of Seagard 4
"Steady boys! Steady... Shields!" Brendan brought up his shield combining it with the other Praetorians, at the same time making from them one impenetrable structure against the flying arrows.
From under the shields they could see the majority of their ships charging at the bigger Ironborn fleet opposite of them.
Left and right ships were speeding the last part of the distance as fast as they could to get even the little bit of advantage against their enemy.
The swishing sound from above their heads indicated that Lord Seaworth was doing his part as well.
Everyone felt the tension, the adrenaline already pumping and filling their bodies with power, fear and excitement making some of the men roar their battlecry releasing the overflowing emotions.
Lord Dustin felt it as well.
Looking to the starboard side of the ship, under the constant rain of arrows hitting their shields Brendan saw his Frigates in the distance sailing in line formation and using the 12 port side scorpions on each of his 35 ships to deal as much damage to their enemies as they could.
The plan that they came up with was fairly simple.
One fleet attacks directly, the other circles around making the Iron fleet bleed from the distance, and what better for the job than his faster, more manoeuvrable, wargs supported and most of all heavy armed Frigates.
"Hold it! Hold it!" Brendan shouted to his men.
They were getting closer and closer to their enemies.
Bears, eagles, stallions, axes and bows united, sailing together to spill blood, many would not live past the day, and yet no one covered in the face of possible death.
The two fleets were getting closer and closer, the heavy scorpion bolts were now so close that the alliance men, just as his own were ducking their heads from the sheer instinctive fear of the fast moving projectiles whistling just above.
Still, the Blood wolf, as they called him after the previous battle wasn't worried.
When he separated from the Dustin fleet, taking the captured Iron ships, with a sufficient marines crew's to man them, and the contingents of Praetorians on each of the captured vessel's leaving the Frigates with wounded, medical staff and the sailors, he knew that his Master-of-ships left the best of the best to operate the heavy weaponry.
Since he was no sailor, the decision to move with his warriors directly into the midst of the toughest and bloodiest battle was easy.
"Raaaaaaa!" the young Lord shouted with all his might as he heard the Iron scum doing the same, his emotions fogged by the excitement of life and death battle clouded his mind.
Just as he did, his men followed and then the ships nearby did as well, and like a waive the Northmen roared their warcry for even the Old Gods to hear their battle song.
"Brace for impact!" Centurion at the front of the group shouted and the voices behind him repeated.
Soon after, the almost hundred men braced themselves grabbling anything they could for even a bit more stability.
Some sporadic arrows flew by, but most of the squids did exactly as them.
Time slowed down for all, a majestic painting of the savage battle spread across, some Mallister ships collided head in with the Iron fleet, Lord Mallister didn't even want to hear a word about not being able to take the lead in the upcoming battle.
'Brave man' Brendan thought watching as men from both sides got flung about during the first impact of the eagle sail and Kraken sail ships, while he was holding the rig as tight as he could just before the impact.
The teen wasn't sure if it was a miracle or just pure coincidence, but his ship and the ones closest to him drilled deeply into the Ironborn formation.
About 350 Iron ships against much less than half of that from the North and Riverlands combined together.
Brendan felt like on a rollercoaster, his own ship was brutally swung from side to side after hitting the Kraken ships from each side one after another, then a hard tug and abrupt stop almost dislocated his shoulder again.
His head was spinning, his arm hurt again after the uncontrollable collision where he used all his strength just to hold on for his dear life, his men were no better.
Some of them uncontious on the deck, others with broken limbs crying from immeasurable pain, oh how happy he was that all the wounded were send on the damaged ships to Seagard or keep on the Frigates.
His hand, clad in the iron gauntlet reached out and touched the top of his head, even with the ringing in his ears Brendan understood that he had to hit it somewhere as there was blood on his hand when he brought it back and looked at it.
"Die!" there was no time to recuperate anymore as from the starboard side first squid jumped to their ship as both vessels were now connected together and immobilized again in a cluster of innumerable number of vessels from both fleets.
Again came back the feeling of adrenaline pumping, the young Lord was the closest to this side, with one swift move he pushed himself from the deck, his hand already tightly gripping Blackfyre as he parried the axe to the right and simply continued the movement by plunging the dragon shaped, sharp hilt into the man's throat.
Confirming the fucker is dead, Brendan looked around as his Praetorians and Marines slowly got up, still shaking their heads to dissolve the consequences of the previous collision.
'Too slow' he thought turning his head and checking the squids on their side.
You can say a lot about the Ironborn, but they were one of the toughest bastards Brendan ever saw.
Definitely more of the squids were on their legs already, there was only one thing he could do in this situation to mobilize his men to the point where they were thirsty for blood like before.
"FOR THE NORTH!" Brendan gave his all into the shout and jumped to the enemy vessel hacking the first squid with his Valyrian steel sword before the man managed to get up.
Seeing their Lord charging alone and putting himself in danger, the men's vision turn red as the disregarded all injuries and moved swiftly to join the young Brendan.
All around them the air was heavy, screams of pain and battle, sounds of ships colliding, whistles from the scorpions and iron clashing, blood coloring the sea red...
Each of these things alone was enough to describe an epic battle, here... all of them joined together in the symphony of valor, bravery, death and destruction.
Brendan moved like a demon, after he killed the two men, he finally regained his optimal condition.
He could see the group of Ironborn charging at him, slow motion kicking in, yet he did not falter, he blocked the first blow from the closest man on his right and lifted his left leg a second later as a heavy axe swished below the soles of his shoe from the left.
Parrying the blow from the man on his right again, he punched the one with the heavy axe in his jaw, just as the man was winding up his previous swing.
Seeing the squid now on his knee, supporting himself with one arm and shaking off the punch, Brendan evaded the sword of the other one again by leaning to the side and kneeled the attacker in the gut.
Now like a football player in his old world, he kicked the face of the kneeling man hearing an *crunch* sound and stabbed his sword in the back of the puking swordman mouth.
It wasn't a nice view to the other men, especially when one of their friends looked at them terrified, with a beautiful shining blade sticking out from his mouth.
This was probably the first time when they felt this kind of terror.
Brendan was looking at them while stabilizing his breathing, Praetorians already started cleaning the ship from the Iron scum in groups like they were trained to do.
In the corner of his eye he saw one man trying to sneak up on him.
Just as the squid was about to rejoice, two thin, sharp blades emerged from his throat.
Noya moved her short swords in the opposite direction and a head came flying from the Ironborn's neck.
No words were needed between the Lord and his sworn shield, just one look was enough and they both knew what the other was about to do.
Brendan and Noya nodded at each other and the next moment the young Lord charged in the mids of the hesitant group of squids.
Blows from different weapons slid from his armour, he just had to watch out for his joints and his face, as the best way to kill a knight in full armour was to stab him I these places, otherwise, they were almost unstoppable, but would Lord Dustin give them a chance to do so?
The answer was no.
Brendan moved the light Blackfyre like a reapers scythe claiming the lives of the squid around him, the blows from the weapons he could, he parried or blocked with his reinforced gantlet, which he could not, he evaded while retaliating with fury.
Like an incarnation of the Stranger from the Seven he claimed life after life with Noya's support filing the Ironborn with dread and despair.
It took them about an hour to clean the first ship from their enemies as a Praetorian stabbed his sword into the last lightly armored squid chest.
- - - Winterfell - - -
Maester Luwin came running to the great hall where his Lady was having breakfast with her little pups.
The excitement on his face was for everyone to see, and even Lady Stark was surprised as such a behavior was uncommon for her subordinate.
"Calm down maester Luwin, it's unbecoming of a man of your stature to behave like that." Lady Stark berated the man just as she finished feeding Bran.
Robb, Sansa and Aria just looked curiously from their plates while chewing their food under Septa's watchful eye.
"My apologies my Lady, this couldn't wait!" he was almost skipping up to her not able to contain his excitement.
Catelyn looked around the hall, not seeing any other servants around she simply dismissed the guards ordering them to guard the hall entrence and took the small parchment from Winterfell maester.
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the broken wax with an image of a scythe.
Not believing her own eyes she looked at her confidant and said "House Harlaw?" the maester confirmed and inpaciently hastened her to read the scroll.
Lady Stark did just that, but with every word she read her mouth came agape.
Even before she finished, the maester started whispering after seeing the young children further away playing on the bearskin under their religious caretaker supervision.
"Lord Harlaw wants to unconditionally surrender if Lord Stark can guarantee to take him as one of his Northern Lords, he promised to return Lady Dustin and pay the damages to the Warden of the North, if not, as he wrote, he will kill her before their castle falls."
Luwin was so overwhelmed by the prospect of ending the war earlier that the face his Lady made after reading everything was a surprise to him.
Lady Stark stood up and walked around for a moment deep in her thoughts, she enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace while thinking.
"Where is the boy now?" she would be damned if she use the child's title after their first interaction.
"Last we herd, he was attacking the Ironborn fleet with Houses Mormont, Ryswell and Glenmore my Lady." he felt something was wrong.
"And what are their chances of success?" her gaze now looking at the fireplace as she turned her back to maester.
"Not high my Lady, with the might of the full Ironborn fleet approaching, if they join the other fleet, it would be almost a miracle for our smaller fleet to win." as smart as the maester was, he didn't have the information about capabilities of Dustin fleet and weapons.
After Brendan returned from Essos the first thing he did was to arrange an accident for Neverwinter's castle maester.
Now, the position was occupied by one of their own spies that was placed in the Citadel long ago.
Luwin looked at his Lady, keenly observing her actions.
Under the man's gaze Catelyn extended her hand and the possibility of early ending the war burned to ashes with the parchment inside the warm fireplace.
"My Lady!" Luwin was disturbed, he just couldn't understand his liege actions.
"Tell me Luwin, what will happen after Lady Dustin dies?" her cold and cunning eyes looked at the man as if signaling his doom if he even dared to hesitate in his reply.
"L-ord Dustin w-ould rule the house as he d-oes now..." he stuttered a bit during his reply, cold shivers running through his body.
"And if the boy dies?" her lips curled into a smirk and the maester finally understood.
"Then Lord Stark, as a Warden of the North would take back the lands after the house died out..." her cunningness terrified him.
"You see old friend, I have two sons... One will take over after his father, ruling Winterfell and the North... Do you expect me to send my little Bran to the dump of Moat Cailin? No, he deserves better, Neverwinter will be a good gift for him when he's of age." Lady Stark lovingly watched her child sleeping in Septa's arms. "There was no raven from the Iron Bay. Understood?" Catelyn again sternly looked at her maester as he repeatedly nodded his head.
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