章 27: II Die Kriegsmarine

In the bridge, Adelheid watched carefully the raging sea. The harsh sound of rain hitting the roof of the bridge was evident, it was as if a warning, that the clouds were warning Adelheid that there was danger up ahead. Yet, Adelheid was undetered, so was Jack who too was driving the ship parallel to Adelheid's. Keeping a close distance, yet not so close that hull to hull could be touching.

A sailor went into the bridge, with him, a new and hot steaming still; tea. The same as did he consume at his days in the school, "Jasmine tea keeps my mind off the cool. And, thank you." He looked to him as he carefully grabbed the handle.

He took his hands off the handle of the steer and sipped the cup. His eyes looked to have refreshed and his mind at ease. The sailor; "You're welcome, sir. As I know of you're liking of the tea. And thankfully, there was a sac of such in the storage room."

"Ah, that would probably be the one I had stored, it was quite hidden, but thank you for finding the hid sack."

A nervous lack. "Y-yes, sir." It was after an unbroken piece of silence where only rain and the sea was heard, that the sailor, whoms't was hesitant to say, said to Adelheid; "Are you sure of this sir?" The sailor looked at Adelheid who was looking at the raging sea yonder far.

"I am." He said with that unbroken resolve, the face of a man serious, a face of a man that knows it all. He took another sip of the tea. "Why did you question?" Interested in the sailor's thoughts about it all.

"It was nothing, sir." He said, nervously. "B-but, I think I will have to carry on with my duties." -He bowed- "Goodbye, sir."

The sailor walked off some way and out the bridge by some door further in. He finished his cup of tea and put it some place were the sea could not damage it. Adelheid kept the sail.

---

A company of soldiers were advancing forward the northern highway. Traces of activity scattered about, the imprints of heavy horse hooves, bits and pieces of left camp settings. If left up to the mind to imagine, the knights would've probably seen the advancing soldiers and would have promptly ran for the trees for cover. The king knows not of the trucks the kingdom has, but with that kind of technology, to outrival even his knights, surely Hierd's army, his kingdom would have a mean's way for fast transportation.

If the knights ran, they'd be out of breath by now. To the ones who ran with horses, their horses would be foaming in the mouth with exhaustion. But Hierd's battalion, the many trucks, the machine guns strapped to the backs of it, the mass amount of rations. Hunks of iron, unstoppable by rain, undetered by exhaustion. The trucks merely ran steadfast at the highway without fancy of a break.

It did not take long for the forces to encounter themselves once more. But this time. The amount of knights were staggering. Almost as if the field of grass turned grey from the armor they wore, red from the flags they flew. And white from they blades they shone. A Division of knights, brigades worth of men. The trucks did a quick ninety degrees, letting out the soldiers at the back then the machine guns quickly. Whilst the knights just stood there watching. The king, was visible, and was at the front eyeing up the whole charade.

"Use the trucks for cover against arrows, the metal frame should be enough." Hierd said, then, looking at the soldiers. "Dig trenches, quickly now."

"Yes, sir!"

Hierd was nervous. The knights did not make any movements whatsoever, almost as if they watched at pityfully at a force that could not beat them. It angered Hierd internally. He gasped, the sharp gaze of a murderous man, it crept on his neck.

*SWISH!

The twang of an arrow! Hierd's heart beated fast. Splattered across the grass ground, a soldier just right next to him was shot at the arm. The man stood there, perplexed and confused. He didn't register pain right until Hierd shouted. "Shoot!"

The knights were charging in without care for dying. The Vickers Machine guns swirved left then right just trying to shoot as much targets as possible. The soldiers then brought in the mortars and started blasting. The knights were diverting, a flank of sorts, the soldiers were overwhelmed as is, and the lack of protection against arrow fire was one. But they could do nothing but shoot and await Hierd's orders.

The soldiers have been keeping back the lines and the arrow fire was of no issue, even if the sky were turned black, the arrows would just be deflected and evaded. As the trenches were being dug and reinforcements were being made with wood that had 'magically' spawned out of nowhere, said Hierd.

Hierd watched hiding in one of the trucks, onlooking the battle and giving commands. But as far as things had gone, there was no need for him to say anything. The knights were encirling the formation, to combat this, Hierd had been extending his line of soldiers, moving some Vicker Machine Guns to the other side. This however had weakened the firepower of some sides. "With sixteen lightly wounded and three with heavy wounds, I doubt that I am losing this one. The amount of knights Krimvald's losing by the second is grave, their formation will die by then. So why oh fucking why aren't they retreating under this heavy fire?"

Mages from the mage battalion were shooting spells at the formation of soldiers, it had damaged some of the guns and trucks, lightly that is. Hierd had observed the majority of the knights now ducking and crouching, avoiding some of the gunfire to get closer. And some of the knights looked to be following orders to move this big wooden structure reminiscent of a Trebuchet.

However, under the heavy fire of the soldiers, the wooden structure of the siege weapon had splintered into a hundered different pieces, providing no use whatsoever for the battle. The knights were losing grip, however the quickly stretching line of soldiers weakened Hierd's defences, and he? saw it too late.

"Charge!" Yelled the captain of the knights, he himself holding out a sword to the raging heavens.

His word was as thunderous as the claps of lightning yonder that watery horizon, and the knights behind him quickly began to charge at the weakened line of soldiers. Then, that battery of bullets, the wall that prevailed against all odds. However, the arrows and mages focused all their power onto that spot. And the soldiers were being hit by the arrows, fireballs and some other magical prowess.

Hierd jumped out of his truck as he saw it all unfold. The line of soldiers were being slain as they swung their blades carelessly about, just trying to hit someone or something. Then not even a moment later, Hierd shouted for back-up. The Vickers machine guns were then just pouncing on the grey armor of the normal knight and the white one of the mage, trying to lower the amount of soldiers as good as they could. The soldiers threw grenades and pulled their triggers, not even letting go of it up until the last round, switching to the next magazine as swiftfully as humanly possible.

The piles of knight bodies kept piling up, the knights behind such bodies climbed the mounds, some even used it to cover against the barrage of bullet fire. A brutal yet effective enough strategy. Krimvald's forces were dwinding quickly, yet why so aren't the resolve of these knights wavering? It was all too queer, their determination was undying. "Fifteen dead, thirty wounded." Said Jeane. "Lord, we need to retreat back into Unchean."

"No." Hierd stood his ground.

"Lord?" Jeane asked confused. "We would be losing soldiers were if we stayed here. We need to retreat."

"We are winning the front, I am sure of it."

Jeane looked at Hierd's face, stern and determined in that answer of his to her question. Then Hierd looked at her. "Concentrate fire on the breach, and if successful, push; advance forward, breaking their flank, ultimately, overpowering them."

"Yes, lord." She bowed before making her exit.

"Where in the world is Adelheid and Jack!?" Hierd screamed internally. "They said they'll be taking care of the battalion 'ahead.' And yet, they're not here." He quivered, not by the cold of the rain, but by the thought of losing the two. "Hope to God they're just lost on their way." He wasn't sure of that final remark.

( * )

A frightning sight. An armada of ships, the galleon from before was merely the commander of a fleet of thousands, and her ships were deathly wanting revenge for her fall.

"Dee' Crossier's a queen! Well ain't that der truth!" Jack looked at the fleet with fascination, the mere site of a thousand wooden hulls, with white waves crashing on the wooden bows made it look like the entire sea was moving away just to give these wooden warships the space they wanted.

"A queen and her court." Adelheid remarked through the radio. "What do you propose we do captain Jack?"

"Use aur' speed I say." Jack said, hiding enthusiasm, quite badly. "Den! We strike dee' ships from far away. With aur' guns."

Adelheid sighed with exhaustion over the radio. "Then lets do just that, captain."

Adelheid and Jack's ships were quite a ways up, passing the brigade's worth of knights. They did not bombard the shore, at that point simply because Adelheid had another plan. "To bombard the capital." A brutish plan called out Jack, but he agreed with the effectivity of such a way. But the innocents! What of the civilians caught in the crossfire!? Adelheid had another way to deal with that hurdle.

The wooden ships were not galleons, they were more akin to a Gallesea of some sort. They were bits smaller than galleons, without much weapons, but had faster speed so to speak. However in stormy waters in stormy days, these wooden ships have but one speed they could follow, which the waves impose and the winds relay. The two iron sloops did not need to abide by such rules.

The ships should have had seen the two warships by that distance, and with great detail. Jack called it; 'A show of power.' Jack led Adelheid to perform circles round each other, going from portside to starside. Showing the agility of their ships compared to theirs. It had certainly taken an affect on the wooden ships looking at the spectacle ahead of them. The sailors were dazzled by the iron hull and fast turning and speed. Whilst the captains looked in horror as they saw the 'long barreled' cannons they called. And of the several unknown armaments aboard it, were they even armaments? They did not know what to call the things even. All they knew was that they were scared.

"Monsters they is." Said the enemy admiral. "The Crossier, our most strongest warship could not defeat the thing, what say us defeat that two with our hundreds!?" He threw the cup of wine he had to the wooden floorboards, the red wine leaked all over.

"Admiral." Said the ship's captain. "May rest the Crossier, her crew and the Rear Admiral, but o' lord we need to think of a plan, and quick, admiral."

He looked at him, thought enraged that he was, even in his dazed alcoholic state, he knew he was already in a bad position. And he might perish today. "Yes, yes, you are right captain."

---

Adelheid was getting impatient, the wooden galleseas have stopped in their tracks with only the towering waves moving it forward or backward. Radioing in, Jack picked it up; "Yes, sir Adelheid?" That rough sea accent was even more this time.

"They are not advancing, we are running out of time, the lord must've had advanced already encountered the countless of knights we've seen. We. Must. Attack."

There was a brief moment of silence over at the other side. But after, it was broken up with the sound of Jack's most irritable long cough. "That is, that is, sir Adelheid. We will attack!"

The K-3 ships were already lined up and raring to fire. The barrels faced starboard, all eight barrels ready to bombard the armada with it's every shell.

-3-

-2-

"One."

The sailors heard the saw and heard the sound of an explosion and seconds later, hulls were getting blown up. The explosions ignited the gunpowder inside the storage rooms and not even a moment later, the ships were getting burnt up, the sails were getting scorched by creeping fire, and the men were running for their lives, if a shipw were nearer, they'd jump to it whilst some succumed to the mercy of the sea.

The admiral was shocked, either the wine had done it for him or just the total delirum he felt as he watched aweshook by the blasts of fire that those small ships brought down. The thunderous clouds that hailed down it's cries hadn't rid of the ships of fire, it merely kept burning uncontrollably. "I am losing men by my standing here, I must enact the captain's proposed plan." He looked to the captain, whoms't too was standing with eyes that could not understand what was happening at that very moment.

"Captain!" His shout reached his ears. "Do it!"

"Yes, admiral!" He replied already racing to the helm.

The seamen were too instructed their due parts. The sails were already rolled up part-way before but as the captain shouted; "Pull them up!" They were tied down, and as if docked, no sails were let loose. Then, the seamen flipped the flag of Krimvald upside down way up the main mast. The ships round it took it a sign of distress, a signal! The hundreds of ships before were narrowed down to a low fifty or somewhat, and the captain was leading the fleet.

"They're too fast." Commented the admiral. "While it may contribute little, we need as much speed as possible. And that's where the mages aboard come into play. Wind magic's hard to do, well, that's what I hear, but water magic's easier. With both applied to the stern's rudder, we'd get a couple knots of speed at the very least."

Adelheid and Jack kept on the shooting and the other sailors aboard were shooting at the ships with the Anti-Air guns. The heavy caliber shot and crippled the wood into pieces and chunks. Holes on the hulls were rampant and many ships in the advancing fleet were already sinking by the bow as they slowly fill up with water, deck by deck till the sea takes the sails.

Jack looked at the frontmost and fastest ship of the fleet, it, fast enough to atleast battle the waves.

"We's in the crossshairs now!" Jack laughed jovially as he observed the ship making it's way to the already departing K-3 sloops.

The turrets turned to the admiral's ship. The captain, looking at the slowly turning twin barreled turret, his heart dropped and he silently gasped. Then he shouted out of pure fear and of his own wit; "Everyone! Shoot the cannons!" The seamen ran to their cannons, out of the twenty five total, the seamen focused on the ship's starboard (left side of a ship) as the K-3s were in that direction.

The turrets were now perfectly aligned to the wooden Gallesea. Simultainously, the firey hiss of the cannon's fuse, the trigger of iron bolts and cogs, and then that final blast out of the shot. Time freezed in those moments, the captain's eyes begged, whilst Jack and Adelheid stared fearlessly.

*KABOOM!

One shell had reached the Gallesea, and hit the middle mast. Toppling the whole thing down for the waves to engulf. But then again, they were still moving, and the captain had not another time to dilly dally. "Quick! We need more shot!" He yelled to the top of his lungs.

By a stroke of good luck and the help of the waves, the cannons were able to deflect and hit some of the shells and some were just near misses. Jack smirked. "Good thinking this lad." He then asked for the sailor behind him to radio in with Adelheid.

"Yes, captain Jack?" Adelheid questioned at the other side.

"Take care of dee' oder ships! And let me take care of dis' un!"

Adelheid sighed. "Yes, captain Jack." The line was cut.

Adelheid then put his ship at full speed, barreling straight towards the crumbling armada of ships. Then, without mercy, he let out the pure rage that the K-3'd ever possess. Shooting left and right, getting nearer, the sailors shot with their Anti-Air then closer, some had shot with their lugers. Unsurvivable. A word fitting only for the sailors aboard those wooden ships. They grasped at their sinking ships, holding onto the wood to not be dragged in by the rage of the sea. To the capsized Galleseas, the sailors swam to the barnacle covered keels of their ship's belows. Their hands bled as they climbed as the barnacles cut open their hands, slicing, cutting. The barnacles looked like closed eyelids or lips, an eerie, digusting, cruel site. The crys of sailors were heard all around, it was so powerful, their yelling, that it had masked the thunder, the waves, and that hellish downpour of rain.

Jack's ship rotated to face the fast Gallesea. Seeing the turrets aimed at them, the admiral and the captain standing at the quarterdesk, were making their last prayers, and had already accepted the fate they would be delaying, at that point, the cannons would do nothing. The mages had stopped accelerating the ship as the admiral ordered so also since they were exhausted. The cannons were already prepared, ready to fire. And without even the need of their captain's words, they lit the fuses of the cannons.

*BOOM!

The blast pushed the cannons back, sending the cannonballs straight towards the coming iron-hulled warship. It hit the iron hull, to no effect! A dent? A scratch!? By God, it did nothing for them. The seamen aboard let out a cry. They put their hands on their fellow comrades, they wept and prayed as did the captain and the admiral. For they could do nothing else.

The ship got closer and closer. Then closer still, it was so close that they could be touching hulls at that point. The admiral and captain was confused, so was everyone aboard the Gallesea. Why did the iron warship not finish the task, could it be? Will they torture the crew? Questions, questions, all without answers to appeal the admiral, now sober.

Then, men in white, the sailors of the German navy. Appeared from the ship's bridge and out towards the bow, and, dressed in the navy blue, a suit akin to a duke's most decorated suit, Jack stepped out and made his presence known. The rain had slowed down a little in it's rage, and the clouds a little less darker.

"Who is the captain of the ship!" Jack tried hard to hide that sea-procured accent of his so too his dialect.

The captain jumped down from the quarter deck then towards the edge of the rails where he was closest Jack. "I am, sir!"

"You will-"

"We wish to surrender!" He yelled without a second thought.

"You steal my thoughts!" Jack laughed. "However, I will only be taking the captain and any high ranked man in the ship. The sailors and the knights aboard, I will not take company!"

The crew was both ecstatic and worried. The captain looked at the men who he knew as deeply as one would know a dog one'd have since birth. He couldn't abandon them, but the seamen, looking at the situation in full detail, had to oblige to the surrender. It was either death or love. Whether the years of the crew's being together had made or broken relationships, they were all aqquainted, and the captain's heart was split.

"Captain." One of the seamen came forward. "Ye' must go."

"Bu-"

"Captain." Another said, coming. "I think so too."

The faces of the men around him said all the same thing. The knights however weren't too big into the idea.

The admiral made his way down the steps to the deck. Leaning at the same edge as did the captain. "I and the captain are the only high ranking officers of the naval military in this ship."

"An admiral?" Jack was interested. "Why was dee' man not in dee' Crossier? Did e' take a shit and missed the departure?" He laughed internally.

"Very well! You two, please jump aboard the ship."

They took it to no qualm, though the sea waves were crashing and the gap between the K-3 and the Gallesea was widening, they took a big leap and had landed on the frontmost of the Jack's bow. "Welcome to the K-3 sloop of the German Navy. You are being taken prisoner." Said most formally by one of the sailors as if he was a border man letting in a man without a visa.

The seamen left behind the Gallesea, the captain looked one more time at them, waving goodbye as the ship drifted with the waves. The two Krimvald officials were placed in a hold of sorts, a cabin, one bunkbed and one window. And the K-3 was ready to move once more.

( * )

Hierd's plan worked out as good as it could've had. The flank was long gone, and Hierd's quickly advancing troops had overcumbered the knights and many died. The king no longer saw the meaning of the battle, too many knights have been lost and he ordered to retreat, leaving with the help of arrowfire.

"What shall we do lord?" Heduc questioned.

"Nothing, we need to recuperate, then, after, advance. So we will be going back."

"Okay, lord." Heduc was pleased with the answer.

"Twenty have died, fourty injured." Hierd thought. "Those are numbers I could juggle with."

"Let us go back." Hierd said, exhaustedly.

( * )

Seen from the horizon, Naturvege saw the trucks rushing fast to Unchean. Immidiately, as word got around of their coming back, the citizens and soldierres rushed for the northern gate. The citizens were not permitted any further out of the northern gate, but as the trucks stopped and out came multiple stretches of bodies. The families cried out a yell.

Hierd looked with a hint of guilt, yet he could not find the time to express it. To him, it seemed that twenty dead soldiers against three company's worth of knights were worthy numbers. But this thought came into his mind; should he have made his numbers lower? That there should be five dead instead of twenty? Or that there should only be injured and none dead? The thought pestered his mind as he looked on at the already grieving citizens.

"Lord." Naturvege ran up to him. "What happened?"

"We fought quite the lot." Hierd tried to put on a smile but backed out of it as he saw the mood of the situation.

"What of the two ships?" He questioned with due intention of knowing Jack's and Adelheid's safety.

It was a brief pause before Hierd had saw from the then lulling down seas. "Right there." He pointed. It looked large from afar and was one majestic ship, like a grace from the heavens, the sky had cleared and the sun had shone on the two arriving ships. The sailors, drenched in water in their white uniforms, they waved their hands, to catch the attention of the soldiers and citizens from afar. The iron hull twinkled and dazed the onlookers, looking perfectly white in a sea of dark blue, a stark contrast, a beacon.

Hierd's past worries were immidiately thrown out the window. "Heduc." He called for him. He coming to his call.

"Yes, lord?"

"Take care of this, have the soldiers on their break with their families." He threw all his responsiblities at Heduc. "I will go to the dock, so to the unfortunate families, give them five gold coins, and a free burial."

"Yes, lord." Heduc sighed. "The lord seems so non chalant about this. People died, yet he remains indifferent. What is he thinking right now?" He stood there staring at him intently.

"Heduc?" Hierd was encapsulated by the gaze, but before long it got awkward. "Heduc...?"

"Ah! Yes, excuse me lord." He bowed before quickly going.

Hierd was confused of Heduc's staring. Was his hair going into his nose? Was a cockroach on his ear? He checked both places to no avail. But quickly he shook the thought out of mind as he saw the ships were nearing ever closer to the pier. His squad of soldiers appeared out of the blue and picked up a vacant running truck. He sat on the passenger seat whilst a soldier of his drove.

---

"She took quite the beating." Jovially put by Jack that was next to Adelheid.

"So did mine." Chuckled in Adelheid.

A set of heavy footsteps approached them from behind. Then a not so gentle slam to the both of their shoulders. They were inadvertedly shocked and immidiately turned around. it was Hierd. "I've heard from a sailor of your accomplishments, captain Jack, and Adelheid."

"Thank you, lord." They said in unison.

Hierd looked at the bits and pieces of damage on the ship's hull and upper deck. There was minimal damage, cannon balls were round and though heavy, would not be able to do damage to iron, especially not the iron that was welded on the K-3's engineering, where it would've had to defend against the blasts from dive bombers, destroyers, gunboats, and a whole mix of other things explosive, no wonder the cannon balls couldn't have done anything.

"That was still quite reckless," Hierd continued. "I mean, an armada? The sailor I questioned was part of Adelheid's ship and he commented on his own experiences, that when you," -he stared intently at Adelheid. "Had set full speed ahead towards the crumbling brigada, firing all weapons, and I think he omitted, but you rammed a ship!"

Adelheid laughed nervously. Then Jack intervened. "O' lord, he need no such thing, he's a great man he is. Quick thinkin' I think. You'd know better that he's great for dee' seas, I, as once captain of a galleon myself, I thinks' he should hold a rank similar to mine, me lord. Captain. I knows he bears not that title of mine."

"Of course I will captain Jack." Hierd smiled. But his attention was quickly grabbed by a couple of sailors dragging out from Jack's ship two 'pirate-looking guys' he thought it. "You had grabbed a prisoner?" Questioned Hierd with deep interest, he started walking on the direction of the scene, Jack and Adelheid followed behind.

"Yes, me lord." Jack said. "And un' of em's an admiral!"

Hierd froze in his tracks. Then slowly turned to look at Jack, he himself sweating bullets not knowing what Hierd was going to do. Then, "You catched yourself a big fish captain!" His face was ecstatic.

"Y-yes, yes me' lord I dids."

Hierd ran to the two men, but coming nearer, his face took off that jovialness and took in a stern look, a serious, ironclad face. His blonde hair rushing in the blonde, a little wet, so too was his uniform, yet even if, the black of his suit hid it. And coming nearer, his steps took a ran to a walk, his boots made more heavier steps. To the two men looking at him, he was a monster. A wall that could not be broken. They gulped.

"Lord!" The sailors bowed to him, letting go of the two in their grasps. The sailros greeted Adelheid and Jack too as they came.

"So this is their lord." Thought the admiral. "Frightening, his blue eyes swirl like a madman, yet his body, his hands, his stare at us, commands order. It is as if I am looking at the king's eyes once more."

Hierd looked at him. "You are the admiral, are you not?"

"Y-yes, lord." He bowed low to the ground, showing as much respect as could possibly be shone. "I am thankful the lord wishes to meet me."

"And your companion, he is not of your rank?"

"N-no lord." Raised the captain. "I am the captain of my the ship the admiral rode."

Hierd looked at the captain, his gaze was sharper, harsher at him. As if he said a racial slur at him. "You are in my domain, and so yet late, I have grown quite ambitious, I am sure your king knows of this. As you know, I hold the princess in my grasps. Or perhaps you know that the princess is gone to somewhere to someplace. That Easel city's been invaded. And the princess has given me ample enough ideas of Krimvald. Yet, even I wish for a second source of knowledge." His gaze eased at the two. "Defect."

The admiral looked at Hierd with an astonished face. "Defect, lord? I wish for more clarification." He was sweating, and his heart was beating faster. "Does this lord wish for me, an admiral of my country, the country I was born in and worked hard in the position I wished for. To defect to his country? To his dominion? To become his lackey? Or shall I become a peasant?" He looked to the captain, who was, although astonished, did not look as aweshook as he, the admiral was.

"Could I have said it any better? Defect. Defect and work for me. Defect and become part of my army."

The captain kneeled on the floor, quite suddenly. "I-I, wish to defect to your country, lord. No. My lord." He held is head low to the ground his nose could smell the wooden planks of the pier.

Hierd smiled, then it faded as he saw the admiral, unable to form a word and was, unlike his companion, not bowing nor kneeling to accept the order. "Admiral. You are idiotic to assume that not accepting will accomplish anything for you." He stated with daggers for eyes.

"I-I cannot abandon, I cannot leave my country. I cannot, lord, I cannot do that. I cannot do that. I am an Admiral of the Krimvald navy. I wish, I-I, wish for my name not to be blemished, b-blemished with; with t-the name of a country that massacres!

The air stood silent for a couple moments. The silence was heavy and loud. Hierd looked at him, his dagger-like eyes easing to show his own reaction over the situation. Adelheid and Jack was impressed yet did not show it in their turned-serious faces.

"Your tenacity is quite certain, admiral. And your love for your country is a love that one cannot corrupt. A perfect soldier for a country is one that loves their country. But." -he grabbed his luger and pointed it at him- "A perfect soldier is a tool. And if a tool cannot be reusable, it is nothing for another."

*BANG!

Blood splattered on the wet pier. The body fell to a thud, and the man's face laid there with the final look of despair. The blood leaking from his head, fell to the docks, the sea drinking it and sweeping it away to the far ocean.

The men around stood there, their mouths wide open and their expressions greatly shook. The captain, right next to the admiral, was breathing eratically and his eyes had spasmed looking at the body of his once superior now but a body on a wooden pier, not even a proper place for a soldier to die on. A battleground or even on a ship. But this? He looked relieved, but he was deathly questioning what his next move will have to be. Then his eyes looked at Hierd, now expressionless.

"You will be doing field training for three weeks before you are able to be properly fitted for my navy. During those weeks your performance, as well as other recruits who will be there, will be watched upon and looked at. Whether they are fit to be a soldier or not. The future will hold your reigns. So hold onto it properly." He made a quick exit.

Adelheid and Jack stood there with the same gasped faces as the sailors around. The captain stood up and walked slowly over to the admiral. "I would like to pay for a proper burial for the admiral."

"Do not worry. Lord Hierd is merciful." Adelheid said.

"I think it best for yee' to head over to the manor, there's a recruitment happenin' tons'a people are there, won't miss it. The lord didn't say but e' conducts deez written tests." he looked at the dishevled captain. "If you wanna defect to us, defect properly I tells ya' good you picked aur' side. Since the world'll be a whole lot different in the future captain."

The man wept a single tear.