“Halt!”
“Fire!”
Orders were shouted down the deck as it fell into chaos. Wood barrels tipped over, rolling across the ship. Ropes swayed violently while some of the crew clung to them. Other crew members passed messages along. The sailors fired the alchemy cannons. With thunder-like blasts and black smoke, cannonballs lit up the sea..
Dozens of battleships were at war. The now tattered flags showed the identities of the two parties. One had the rose symbol from the human Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro. The other had the trident and waves of the Mermaid Kingdom.
Both parties continued to fire. The blasts from the precisely placed cannons, the rising steam and the smell of smoke all got the adrenaline pumping. A few battleships from both parties sank into the sea.
The Mermaid Kingdom fleet was nothing like that of the humans. At the bottom of the mermaid ships were doors. When at war, the doors would open and mermaid warriors would leave the ship to attack the enemy fleet from underwater.
It did not take long for a few ships to be cut through. Sea water spurted into the battleships like a fountain.
“Water in the ship! Water in the ship!” called out an uneasy crew member.
“Boatman!”
“Where is the boatman?”
“Block the holes immediately! Block them!”
Experienced sailors immediately began to patch up the holes. It was impossible to stay on top of the damage, however, and even as they blocked some of the holes, water poured in from the rest. They could see that the battleship was sinking. Some of the crew drowned, others were killed by the Koutao sahagins lurking below. The sea was stained red with blood.
In sea battles, the mermaids had a natural advantage. However, it seemed that the fleet from the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro had come prepared. A huge number of priests stood on the bows, casting a group witchcraft.
“Divine incantation, blast!”
All the priests chanted the spell together from the battleships. Balls of light sank into the water, hitting the sahagins with strong vibrations and churning waves. They felt their insides begin to vibrate and churn as well. Many of them exploded and their entrails colored the water. Some of the stronger sahagins held out a little longer, but then blood began to ooze from their ears, eyes, and mouths before they lost consciousness, floating to the surface of the water like dead fish.
This divine incantation was specifically created for sea races and creatures. Only with sea water as medium could it have such power. The crew members and priests on the ships were not impacted by it.
These priests of the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro were from the Galton branch of the Church of Light. They’d killed all kinds of underwater mermaid warriors in the blink of an eye with the invincible power of divine incantation. These priests had now joined forces with the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro. Technically they were still managed by the Church of Light, but here on these battleships, management had given them the independence to do as they saw fit.
“Children of the Sea in the bottom of the ocean, in the name of god’s children, I summon you!”
“Answer my call!”
Priests of the God of the Sea from the Mermaid Kingdom had joined the battle. They were all from the mermaid race. The men were handsome and the women were charming. It seemed that they all carried the mind bewitching power from their mythological ancestors.
They immediately began to chant spells. Waves of mind power travelled far distances, reaching out to the creatures of the deep. The denizens of the sea answered their call. A few moments later, the waters started rolling. A mountain-sized ray fish crashed against the main battleship of the Rosa d’Oro fleet.
The enormous body jumped out of water, flipping the giant battleship. It jumped over the ship, smashing masts. Sails fell all over the deck. Thunder exploded, lightning spread out like a web, covering the ships. Crew members were captured by the electric web, and burst into flames, then turned into a puddle of black fluid.
More and more Children of the Sea answered the summons. Gigantic monsters with supernatural powers crossed the sea and gathered at the scene of the battle. Cannons fired, priests chanted, Children of the Sea fought, and the water was stirred into chaos.
Battleships from the human fleet were destroyed and sank into the deep bottom of the sea. The fleet of the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro was annihilated.
—
“War! This is a declaration of war on our Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro!”
“Openly breaking the trade deal, firing at our fleet, they are challenging our kingdom! The are challenging the human race!”
“We should sanction the Mermaid Kingdom! It’s time to let those beasts know that we rule the world!”
When the news of the battle reached the Alan Continent, the entire Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro was in an uproar. The entire fleet was destroyed! That was a tragic loss for the kingdom.
The Mermaid Kingdom repealed the trade deal with the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro and banished all of their fleets and merchants. They confiscated all houses, lands and merchandise owned by merchants from Rosa d’Oro as well.
The fortunes of merchants and nobles evaporated overnight. They were banished. The impact of these losses even surpassed the loss of an entire fleet. This was unacceptable for the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro.
Nobility from the snubbed kingdom contacted the Kingdom of Mara and Sean City-State Alliance immediately. The three most powerful kingdoms at sea had a conversation in the capital city of the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro.
“We could break into the door of the Mermaid Kingdom together! Gold, slaves, spices and all sorts of resources we need could be found on the Swirl Continent. If we defeat the Mermaid Kingdom, we could have everything!”
This was all spoken by Hubert Evers, the King of the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro. He was in his thirties; strong, energized and high spirited.
However, the emissary sent by the queen of the Kingdom of Mara disagreed.
“The Kingdom of Mara has signed a trade deal with the Mermaid Kingdom. We don’t believe declaring war hastily is a good idea. We will not take the risk just for your kingdom.
The ambassador of Sean City-State Alliance agreed with the emissary from Mara.
“Sorry, your majesty. The Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro was banished because you robbed the towns of the Mermaid Kingdom. We will not pay for your mistake.”
“The Mermaid Kingdom is getting stronger,” King Evers replied. “They have taken half the waters, and will take more in the future. If we do not stop them now, the oceans will be controlled by the mermaids! Power is everything on the sea. Without power, there’s nothing. When the Mermaid Kingdom controls all the oceans, will your so-called trades continue in peace? Will the tax-free term continue, and will they still open their doors unconditionally? Defeat the Mermaid Kingdom with me. We will share the oceans. It will be our time. We are growing faster and gold is running low. The orc kingdom in the north has started to limit gold exports as well. Apart from gold, we need a massive number of slaves. Not to mention if we defeat them, the mermaids’ power of controlling the sea and the Children of the Sea will be ours. This will be a significant step towards ruling the waters! Do we listen to others, or do we defeat them and take what we want?”
This bold statement of profit and fortune from the King of Rosa d’Oro made quite a few around the table frown and whisper. However, the representatives from the other two kingdoms were lost in thought.
“We need to discuss this!”
“Certainly, but fast!”
Half a month later, the emissary sent by the Queen of the Kingdom of Mara, and the ambassador of Sean City-State Alliance signed the Sea Alliance Agreement with the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro in the royal city, declaring war on the Mermaid Kingdom.
