One by one, Ivo watched his men climb up the rope ladder onto the Homeward's maindeck. Even the unconscious man he had carried with him since had been pulled up in a rope harness. At last, as the final rescuee left in the water, Ivo climbed up himself. His legs gave in from exhaustion and dropped his knees onto the hard wooden boards. Without a care for anything else, he threw off his soaked robes his bulky cork vest. Finally, he could breathe again.

But once he had calmed down and looked back up, he felt awkward. Right before him stood both Admiral Atau and King Corco, the admiral with a bemused expression on his face. In a haste, Ivo stood up and somehow tried to fix his appearance, but with the mess he was in, he didn't even know where to start.

“King Corco, this...” Reflexively, he tried to talk like the Medalans would to a figure of authority, but paused mid-sentence. He knew that the king didn't like overly formulaic speeches, so he was at a loss for how to continue. All he could do was stand there awkwardly again. To his luck, he was saved by his admiral.

“Well done, Captain Ivo,” Atau said, emphasizing his name. “You've accomplished your mission better than anyone could have expected. That's what I'd expect from my understudy. You've learned all that bravado from me, I'm sure. Once we're back in Saniya, you're due a huge reward and some well-earned time off. Isn't that right, King Corco?”

Rather than reply to the admiral, the king looked at Ivo with furrowed brows.

“How are you feeling, Captain Ivo?” he asked. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Confused, Ivo was reminded of his own state. He was exhausted, and breathing still felt a bit hard, but he had been lucky and avoided major injuries. However, the king's question reminded him of the other men who had fought with him. Only now did he remember the sailor he had fished out of the water on his way back.

“Wait, where's Alyn?” he asked in a panic. “How is he?”

“Dead,” Atau replied, his frivolous tone gone. “He's been dead for a while already, probably died in the blast or right after. So there wasn't anything you could have done.”

“I see.” Ivo's mood sank, and so did the mood of everyone him them.

“I need to apologize for what I've done here,” the king said in a deep voice and lowered his head. “I never should have put you or the others in danger like this. Even if we're outnumbered, even if it was a good strategic decision, my plans aren't something you should have to suffer for.”

Panicked at the king's frank words and humble appearance, Ivo stepped back and raised his hands in defense.

“Please, don't apologize, King Corco,” he said. “All of us are sailors by choice, driven by adventure. All of us have volunteered for the mission, because of greed or desire for glory. We're all makers of our own fate.”

“Well said.” Atau added. “And it's not like your work has been in vain. Just look at your handicraft out there.”

Together with his words, Atau handed Ivo a telescope. He wouldn't need one to see the wreckage they had caused, since the survivor group hadn't strayed far away from it. However, the battle had moved on since then.

Of the three cahlian ships they had rammed in their initial attack, one had almost entirely disappeared by now. Only the topmast and part of the bow were still visible, though even they were slowly sinking, and would disappear soon. The other two galleons had somehow managed to stay afloat for now, but they didn't look in great shape either. Both had their flanks showered by the debris from the explosions, which had left behind long gashes and craters, like pockmarks covering a leper.

Around the two ships, four of Saniya's brigantines were crossing the waters to prevent their escape. At the same time, they continuously fired more and more iron balls onto their targets. The volume of iron being shelled by real Saniya galleons was outrageous compared to the previous battle.

On average, even a medalan brigantine would have at least twenty cannons aboard, far more than the half a dozen or so the cahlian ships housed. Predictably, one of them had hoisted the black flag by now, the sign of surrender in Arcavian waters. Thus, fire now concentrated even more on the one remaining ship, which would surely give up soon after.

As far as the antiquated verdant paddle boats were concerned, seven of them had been directly attached to the hulls of the decoys when they had exploded them, and now only three of them were left. It wasn't surprising that they had been hit harder than the galleons, since these galleys were smaller in the first place, with thinner hulls. The three surviving vessels, one with heavy damage to its starboard flank, had slipped through the Saniya ships and had regrouped with the rest of their fleet.

Though of course, 'fleet' was a strong word for the leftovers. Apart from the verdant galleys, the only parts of the fleet that were left were the two cahlian galleons that hadn't been rammed. As for the Verdant Folk, the surviving raidships would be led by the less courageous or less competent captains among them.

There was a reason their ships hadn't been close enough to the blast when it happened. The last ones to rush towards the decoys, the ones that were most careful and worst at rowing, were left out of the battle, and now left over. These three coward ships were added to the three surviving galleys and two leftover galleons.

Thus, all that remained of the enemy fleet were eight ships in total, some of them heavily damaged, mostly led by incompetent captains. For now, these remnants were easy for their remaining five ships to engage. All they had to do was hold up the enemy ships long enough for the rest of the fleet to catch up and either sink them or force their surrender.

While Ivo had been watching, this very plan had unfolded without a hitch. Finally, the second of the damaged cahlian ships also raised its flag in surrender. After some semaphore signaling, two of Saniya's fleet stayed behind, while the rest began to catch up with the remaining eight enemies in the distance.

The Homeward that Ivo was aboard also moved in the direction, under command of the admiral. If he didn't count the decoys, their entire fleet consisted of four galleons and six brigantines, and they hadn't lost a single one yet. Their enemies had six small galleys, plus two galleons with only a handful of cannons. This would be easy.

Their enemies had come to the same conclusions. All this time, the galleons and brigantines had engaged each other, while the verdant raidships had hovered behind the cahlian galleons for cover. Yet as soon as more Saniya ships threatened to join the fight, they rushed ahead from behind the cahlian galleons.

Through the onslaught of the cannons, they charged towards a group of two brigantines that were somewhat isolated from the other three. In a coordinated move, the cahlian ships followed right behind them. Their plan seemed to take on the two isolated Medalan vessels first, and then take them out before the end of the battle. This was probably as much damage as they could get done after the disastrous start to the battle. At least they wouldn't taste a total defeat like this.

Right away, Saniya's captains initiated defensive maneuvers. The ships leaned into the waves as they tried to evade the ramming attacks. Although their hulls were thick and they wouldn't sink from a single hit, there was no need to fight to the death, not when they could pick their enemies off from a distance without any losses. However, Ivo smelled something fishy in the desperate maneuver, and Atau thought the same.

“Shit!” the admiral shouted. “Signal the two brigantines! Engage, don't evade!”

However, his words were too late. By the time the semaphore was ready to send the message, half the enemy plan had already succeeded. Rather than crash into the medalan ships, their enemies swerved starboard and avoided the brigantines entirely. Instead, their remaining eight ships charged past them, out of the encirclement and towards one of the atoll's exits. Saniya's own ships, still evading and thus out of position, had their back turned towards them and couldn't even properly fire to punish their boldness.

“All captains pursue!” Atau shouted in response. “Damnit, we're not letting them get away with a cheap trick like that!”

However, not everything would go the admiral's way today, despite his tough words. At first, things still went well. Even before the new order was transmitted, the two brigantines that had been fooled turned their broadsides towards the enemy and once again began to fire on them. While their momentum had carried them away, they were still in range for a few attempts, and they had plenty of cannons, and plenty of practice with them.

One of the verdant raidships had already been damaged heavily in the explosion and was taking on water as a result, its hull leaning portside in the water. The heavy ship trailed behind the formation as a result, and took the brunt of the damage. Once again, wood splintered and people screamed. This time, from such close range, the broadside dealt a decisive blow.

Under several volleys, the galley's entire stern and rudder were torn apart, as were half the rudders on the starboard side. After another barrage, the ship all but stopped its momentum, slowly sinking into the ocean as the warriors aboard fled their coffin. Now there were only another seven ships left for their enemies to rely on. Even worse, all of them had taken some degree of damage in the previous fight with the brigantines, while Saniya's ships were still in fine condition, all of them built for speed in deep waters. Eager to end the battle early and avoid more surprises, the rest of the Medalan fleet caught up as well, and began to take aim at the distant cahlian and verdant ships.

In time, they would catch up back into firing range. That, in turn, would be the end of the enemy resistance. However, just when it seemed like the battle was about to be decided, the most advanced of their galleons simply stopped dead out of nowhere. At the same time, the other ships behind slowed down or circled around the galleon, confused at the new development.

“What happened!?” Admiral Atau shouted at his first mate.

“Admiral, the Arao is sending out the emergency signal,” the first mate, with his telescope pointed at the bow of the stranded Arao, translated the semaphore signals in real time. “They say that they ran onto a sandbank they couldn't see in the shallow water. They can't move back or forth.”

“Damnit!” For a moment, the admiral had nothing to add beyond a single curse. With a gloomy expression, he stared at the enemy ships, as they slowly put more distance between the two sides.

“Should we leave a ship behind to rescue the Arao and continue the chase?” the first mate suggested.

“No,” the admiral said in a deep tone. “This fight is over. Cease pursuit.”

“Aye aye, admiral.” the first mate saluted and transmitted the captain's orders. However, not everyone was happy with the decision.

“But they are right there. Why not go after them?” the king asked.

“Even with those maps you brought, we really don't know the local area as well as them. With our speed and all, there's no way those ships would get away from us on the open sea. But here in this atoll and the surrounding area, the terrain is complex and the water is shallow. Here, the verdant galleys have the advantage, at least when it comes to running away. Their keels don't have the same depth as ours, and they're more maneuverable in tight spaces. Plus, they have decades of experience in the area. We've already run onto a sandbank, next could be a reef. We can't risk losing any more ships, even less so since we don't know if the Cahlians have any more reinforcement hidden somewhere close by. We've turned the tide of the ambush once, and they can do the same. At this point, I think it's best to count our money and give up.”

“In that case it's fine. We've done enough damage for a day. Let's collect whatever's left over of the cahlian and verdant ships, free our own, and get back to Rasacopa.”

With that, the first battle of the Verduic War came to an end. While they had let seven of their enemies get away, it would still be considered a massive win for them. The war was far from over, but their bold actions had caused big losses to their foes and won them some previous time. After today, their enemies would be much more cautious in their attacks, lest they run into another ambush attack like today. For now, Saniya and Rasacopa would be safe, and they even won a few cahlian galleons as a bonus. Their war effort was off to a roaring start.