The pirates of the Stepstones were not too surprised by the sudden betrayal of the Three-City Alliance.
After all, they had been fighting for several years, and the hatred between them was already deeply ingrained.
Once there was a chance to eliminate the opponent, neither side would show mercy.
Therefore, the pirates quickly reached a consensus with the mercenaries of the Partilios Family Fleet and began to join forces against the enemy.
On the battlefields of this world, all changes are so sudden!
Enemies who were just fighting to the death now quickly retreated into the small fortresses at the bow and stern of the ship, under the cover of the pirates' oak shields.
The reason why the Purple Fleet's three-masted ships are hailed as the most advanced vessels in the world today, in addition to Braavos's exquisite shipbuilding technology, is also due to the excellent combat fortresses at both ends of the ships.
These fortresses can not only accommodate and protect archers, allowing them to form powerful suppressive fire on approaching ships, but also effectively protect the small trebuchets placed inside from being easily destroyed.
Breaking through these fortresses in a boarding battle would also come at a great cost.
These fortresses were also the key to the Purple Fleet's many victories against superior numbers in naval battles.
"Longbowmen, prepare to ignite, fire!"
The mercenary leader immediately ordered the longbowmen to switch to fire arrows and shoot them at the sails of the Three-City Alliance's approaching ships on the left.
In an instant, many of the Three-City Alliance's ships were set ablaze.
However, the Three-City Alliance warships on the right were still using ballistas for long-range shooting, and the huge arrows fired by these ballistas came whistling through the air.
Some directly pierced through the ship's planks, sending splinters flying; others hit some facilities on the ship, causing a stir of chaos; some fortresses were even almost shot through.
The ballistas developed by the Three-City Alliance were originally intended for the Targaryen Family's dragons.
It could be said that, apart from those ballistas crafted by the artisans of Holy Flame Island, the Three-City Alliance's ballistas were the most advanced in the world today.
They could indeed cause fatal damage to adolescent dragons.
Seeing this, the mercenary commander roared, ordering the flag bearers to relay the command,
"Pass the order, activate Dragonfire!"
What he called Dragonfire was actually a simplified version of Wildfire.
Not only did King's Landing have the Pyromancers' Guild, but Essos also had many sorcerers and warlocks skilled in fire magic.
And Braavos was a place where all kinds of talents gathered, so almost every family stockpiled a good amount of Dragonfire.
The mercenaries carefully opened the boxes containing the Dragonfire.
These boxes were filled with ceramic jars, and fine sand was used between the jars for shock absorption.
This way, even if they encountered rough seas, these jars would not easily break.
As the flag bearers waved their flags, the catapults placed in the fortresses at the bow and stern of the ships simultaneously launched hundreds and thousands of ceramic jars towards the Three-City Alliance warships.
"Bang ~ bang ~ bang ~"
As the ceramic jars exploded on the Three-City Alliance warships, clusters of ghastly green flames erupted like unleashed devils, spreading wildly.
The viscous green flames, once on a person, could not be extinguished no matter how much they were patted.
Even if a person jumped into the water, it would continue to burn until the person was reduced to charcoal and the green fuel was exhausted.
And the sails were even easier to ignite; to better waterproof them, they were already soaked in a large amount of grease, making them highly flammable, let alone with this powerful Dragonfire.
Therefore, dozens of warships in the Three-City Alliance fleet on the right were quickly engulfed by the terrifying green flames.
At this point, the longbowmen on the Purple Fleet's side also changed their strategy.
They were divided into two teams: one continued to fire rockets at the ships on the left, and the other operated the ballistas, specifically targeting the ballistas on the Three-City Alliance warships on the right.
After several volleys, many of the ballistas on the right-side warships were destroyed, and the frequency of ballista attacks significantly decreased.
However, at this time, the Three-City Alliance warships on the left had successfully approached the Purple Fleet, and many ships had already begun boarding.
Under the cover of the crossbowmen, the Three-City Alliance mercenaries easily dealt with the mercenaries and pirates blocking their way and successfully boarded the Purple Fleet.
Meanwhile, inside the main cabin of the Purple Fleet, Patirius led his family members, kneeling before three Dragon Eggs, praying devoutly,
"Blood for fire ~ fire for blood..."
The two Patriolius Family members kneeling on the outermost side truly could not understand the leader's actions.
"What good will praying to Dragon Eggs do? Even if these Dragon Eggs hatched now, could they defeat the enemies outside?"
"I heard this is a secret art that the patriarch spent a fortune to learn from Holy Flame Island, which can assist in Dragon Egg hatching."
"If hatching Dragon Eggs were that easy, the Targaryen Family wouldn't have only recently seen their dragon numbers increase after several centuries."
Unlike these peripheral characters, several core Patriolius Family members closer to the Dragon Eggs felt a strange power seemingly awakening within their bloodlines during the prayer.
Therefore, they began to believe the patriarch's words, and their prayers became even more fervent.
At this moment, the Sunset Sea seemed like an enraged beast, letting out roars.
Strong winds caused the dark clouds in the sky to accumulate thicker and thicker.
Amidst flashes of lightning and thunder, although it was still afternoon, the nearby sea area seemed to have already plunged into night.
Above the sea, the Three-City Alliance fleets on both the left and right had completed boarding with the Purple Fleet.
Thousands of mercenaries were now spread across the various Purple warships, frantically attacking the mercenaries and pirates who had retreated into the fortresses.
More than an hour passed, and the arrows and combat supplies in the Purple Fleet's fortresses had long been exhausted.
Even the remaining Dragonfire had been thrown out of the fortresses with the intention of mutual destruction.
However, the Purple Fleet's mercenaries and pirates had already suffered heavy losses in the previous boarding battle.
Therefore, facing the Three-City Alliance mercenaries, who outnumbered them several times over, even with all their tactics and the advantage of the fortresses, they had only managed to eliminate half of the enemy.
But now, the Three-City Alliance mercenaries still outnumbered them by half.
And relying solely on their swords and daggers, the combat fortresses clearly wouldn't hold out much longer.
In fact, many of the outer combat fortresses had already been breached.
Bloody hand-to-hand combat was now taking place within the fortresses.
The pirates, with ferocious expressions, wielded sharp axes, letting out wild shouts; they always liked to intimidate their opponents with such fierce momentum.
The mercenaries, however, were fearless; well-trained, they held long spears and shields, forming tight formations, advancing steadily.
A burly pirate roared, leaping high, his iron axe striking down fiercely at a mercenary.
It instantly split his head open.
The mercenary's companion next to him slammed his shield into the pirate's chest.
The pirate cried out in pain, stumbling back, and the mercenary seized the opportunity to thrust his long spear, directly piercing the pirate's abdomen.
On the other side, a slender pirate moved nimbly among the mercenaries, his dagger striking like a venomous snake.
He consecutively cut the throats of several mercenaries.
A mercenary leader, momentarily inattentive, had his leg slashed by the dagger, blood seeping out.
But he gritted his teeth and held on, using his shield to firmly block the pirate's subsequent attacks, then, coordinating with his companion, two long spears simultaneously pierced the pirate, making him howl in pain.
The battle grew more intense, blood continuously splattered, quickly staining the entire deck red.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"