Dangerous Waters

After the words of the captain, everyone on the ship paid attention to the bow, and all eyes were turned in that direction.

At first, it was difficult to see because of the fog that was around. But as the sun rose, it was getting brighter and brighter. The only ship we saw, became dozens and dozens of ships. Then the fog got thinner and thinner, as the light got brighter and brighter.

And here they were. Almost tens of ships, standing still in the great ocean. With tons of men, aimed their guns and cannons towards us.

When they were one, they later became five, then ten, and fifteen. We were facing an army four times bigger than us. And after a while, their number had become uncountable. They had prepared so many ships for this attack that they seemed to be invincible both offensively and defensively. And the exact thing that scared us, was they had covered all our sides with ships around from a pretty good position. The fighting positions, the positions they were aiming at us, all of them, were all carefully prepared.

It was as if they knew everything from second to second and thing to thing. And when the sun reached the top, the fog disappeared. The island and the ships in front of it were finally clearly visible.

It had a very tense atmosphere.

Hundreds of ships lined up next to each other, waiting for us to arrive.

And when I turned around, our soldiers, who saw the view, were in the same situation. They were forgiven for a moment, shivering and swallowing. And they were covered in sweat. There have even been those who have dropped their weapons out of fear.

Hiroshi looked around said in a quiet voice tone, while living so little,

"And I thought you all would act like soldiers."

Although everyone was trembling with fear in this war, we were as determined as the king in this war. We wanted to destroy this obstacle, to get back to our goal. Besides, we couldn't go back anymore.

So with a stone-cold face, the king said with a calm manner,

"Move forward."

The soldiers shouted back,

"Yes sir!"

The current hadn't cut our speed even a single bit. We were heading straight for the enemy ships at full speed. Now neither our fear was dominating us anymore, nor the enemies standing in front of us. That's why I didn't take my eyes off them for a moment.

At that time, one of the side captains approached the king in a frightened state, and started talking while gasping for air,

"Sir! There are too many! There's no way we're gonna win this war!"

"It is not their number that will determine the war, but our will. So don't return anything here."

He then looked at the other soldiers and shouted,

"Anyone who wants to return can jump off the ship!"

However, no one dared to jump out of the ship at that moment. Even though they were trembling with fear, the moment they jumped off the ship, they would either be killed by the creatures, or they would be soldiers who couldn't do anything.

And just then, Hiroshi said something that made the soldiers move,

"I don't think they get going with just a little discipline. But if anyone wants to swim from here to land, jump now. Or you all will drown before nightfall."

Everyone was more scared of the fact that they would die to sea creatures. That's why everyone started acting again and they always shouted as one.

"Right away sir!"

The co-captain did not know what to say after these words. Because, as the king said, returning after this time would have turned all the preparations made into a farce. Even though many could return somehow, soldiers had no explanation about it to give the authorities. So they all gathered their power, united, and took the necessary position to fight while gathering their weapons.

Now the tense atmosphere was replaced by an excited and cold one.

It was time.

The king shouted again,

"Now get the cannons ready! And don't slow down a little bit!"

"Yes sir!"

On the king's orders, the soldiers got faster and faster. And started preparing the cannons as he said. But the sounds of footsteps and shouts were so loud that I could hardly hear my own voice.

And just then everyone was moving, Babu approached me and said,

"Do you think we can outsmart their strategy, Ryuu? There are a lot of ships that have higher advantages than ours."

"If we move as one and come up with a better strategy, we can take down some ships faster than we think."

"You better have something useful, Kid. Because if you don't, we will sink into the bottom of the ocean and will die for sure." Hiroshi said while sitting at the upper deck and looking at the ships with a spyglass.

Then Babu said with a nervous expression,

"Ryuu, we have more ships than we can count."

And Hiroshi added while throwing me the spyglass,

"And more soldiers inside them."

Then he got down using a rope, and lit his cigar to calm down a little bit.

"With such a crowded army in front of us, and a lot of cowards behind us, it will be very difficult for us to get through them without a fight."

"We will fight by the king's command. After that, we will follow the plan that he said and move to the island quickly and secretly."

"It had better work out. Otherwise, it will be too late for everything."

As Hiroshi said, if we fought the whole army, even if we won, we might not have time to save princess Mila. We could have gone in another direction last minute, but we didn't know the outcome.

And all of a sudden, when I was side by side with Hiroshi and Babu, Lezlie's words came to mind.

*Be careful. You all have to be.*

Maybe I really never would have found this chance again. I might never be next to people I see and feel like family with again. I was fighting, and I was trying.

But how long was it going to last?

Maybe they were the people who would protect me till death, but I couldn't always escape death. That's why I told them what I had to tell them.

"I'll try to do what's necessary. But... Be careful. I can't always watch my back on my own."

They both knew something was off, looking at my eyes that were filled with doubt and fear. And even Babu tried to say something.

"What do you-"

But once again we heard the King shouting from above,

"Twenty yards! Get ready to crash!

Even though there was so much distance between us, we ended up beside them thanks to the wind and the current. And when we turned our heads across, the enemy ship was almost about to collide with us. At that time, some of the soldiers took aim and some drew their swords. Hiroshi pulled out his guns from their hilts, and Babu took the bamboo stick in his hand. The knight was holding his sword and the king was holding his spear at the ready.

Everyone was ready.

And I had warmed up my body and stretched my legs and arms. Waiting for them.

Now we were in a war.