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“We’re under attack!” 

The watchman’s cry ripped the sky. With no time to take out the telescope, Lil lifted her head. 

Smoking iron balls were flying through the air. 

“Damn it! Get down!” 

Lil fell onto the deck, pushing the sailor next to her. 

– Boom! – 

With a loud noise, the railing was torn off. The rear deck, which was just two feet away, was also smashed. Upon impact, Lil rolled side by side with her triangle-shaped hat that almost flew away by the blast. 

A fire caused the whole deck to be covered in smoke. Coughing, Lil pulled herself up by grabbing the wheel of the ship. 

“Cesar!” 

Due to firing back, the Bell Rock lost its balance and started to swing back and forth. Lil called Cesar while grasping the remaining railing, but the upper deck between them was in complete chaos, her voice couldn’t reach him.  

“****!” 

Lil made her way through the mess, ordering everyone she passed to take cover. However, the sailors were too engrossed and instead of hiding as instructed, they just rushed by. After repeating this a couple of times, Lil got annoyed and decided to measure the reload speed.  

“I can make it.’” 

Having made up her mind, she ran down the stairs of the stern¹. The helmsman, who’d caught the wheel, called the captain to stop her. Yet Lil skilfully stepped on the upper deck, which was littered with split wood and broken ropes.  

The cannon fire stopped, but the yells and screams from the sailors struck the eardrums just as loud. Lil ran towards the bow² of the ship, going past a few distracted sailors who were still pulling themselves together. To get them to safety, she pushed a couple of them.  

“You, you there, and you! Send the wounded down! It’ll soon be over, so clear the deck. Get ready!” 

After running so frantically, she finally reached Cesar. Lil slapped the quartermaster’s shoulder who seemed to be busier than the captain herself.  

“Cesar! Do I have to leave my seat?” 

“Sorry.” 

“My head got almost blown away by those 6-nwon cannons!” 

“They must be backed by the navy.” 

“What? Then is there a navy officer on board?” 

“I don’t think so.” 

In the meantime, the enemy’s ship opened fire again. Therefore, even while standing next to her, the words Cesar was trying to say got lost in the outbreak. Lil took out the long gun she was carrying on her back and shouted something at him.

“The world has changed! 6-nwon cannons are expensive!” 

– Boom! –

“How did a tiny merchant ship get them?”

– Boom! –

Cesar muttered while the latest cannonball hit.

“…I can’t believe she thinks this Garni merchant ship is tiny…”

“There’s no navy, right?”

“No, and no other ship has been spotted nearby either.”

“Good.”

Lil raised her loaded gun and waited. She focused her eyesight on the rudder³ of the enemy’s ship. As the Bell Rock continued to ride the waves, the gun sight aiming at the rudder went up and down. She took a deep breath, feeling the flow of the waves. When the wave goes down, the muzzle points toward the sea, and when it goes up, it faces the stern of the hull⁴. The rudder was right in the middle. 

Her eye expanded and she reflexively pulled the trigger. 

– Bang! –

Her body stirred because of the recoil. Lil lowered the barrel and verified her target. Wood splinters broke off and flew through the air. The target was completely destroyed. The rudder, which was attached to the stern like a tail to adjust its direction, was shattered, making the surface of the water scattered with debris.

Sailors hanging from the watchtower and masts shouted excitedly. 

“Captain! It’s a hit!”

“The rudder has been smashed!”

“Even if I see it with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it! How can he do that with those waves?”

Lil, raising a confident smile, fastened her gun on her back again. 

She then poked her head over the railing to face the upper deck.

“Marenzio! Gunner!”

“Aye!”

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“Huh?”

“We’re in the wind⁵. Aim the gun! We’re gonna lose the mast! And prepare to board their ship!”

“All right! I’ll take care of it, stop nagging!”

After hearing the annoyed reply, Lil raised her head. Looking over the deck, her eye fell on Courant, who was crouching next to Cesar, terrified.

“Courant, what are you doing?”

“Yes? Ah, Captain…”

“What are you doing there? The battle is over and their sails need to be destroyed.”

Hurriedly, Courant began to load the chain cannon. A couple of flailing sailors helped him.

Lil squinted and stared at the back of Courant’s head. 

‘I allowed him on board because he had to support his sister after they lost their family. But he’s still too young. It’s not that there aren’t any younger sailors… Anyway, why is the guy learning from the second-in-command on the artillery deck, placed on the upper deck where shells and guns fly around?’

“Why did you set up the cannon like this? You need to raise it a little to aim for the deck below, think about the method from Marenzio’s training.”

Lil grunted, standing straight in the spot where Courant had been crouching.

“The rudder’s already smashed and if the sail’s torn, they have no choice but to surrender. Courant, aim well! Remember why Marenzio sent you to the upper deck!”

“Aye, Aye Captain!”

After adjusting the angle of the cannon with trembling hands, Courant fell flat on the floor and covered his ears. At the same time, the chain cannon was fired. 

– Bang! –

Two rotating iron balls tore the square sail of the merchant ship’s mainmast.

Raising a hand, Lil shouted excitedly.

“Courant! It’s a hit!”

Lil expressed her joy by hitting Courant’s back. 

´He may be timid, but he’s a talented guy. Marenzio has an excellent eye for sending Courant to the upper deck.’

Bending over the half-broken railing, she beckoned Alain to come. Alain, the boatswain, went to stand next to Lil and raised his voice.

“Listen up Garni merchant ship, the sea’s Black Whale’s offering his final act of mercy, raise the white flag! I’ll give you 5 seconds!”

Like a drunkard using his teeth as a corkscrew, Lil expands the telescope between her molars.

“Courant, raise your fingers.”

Courant, standing on the other side of her, raised 5 of his fingers. 

‘No matter how loud Alain is, at this distance, his voice won’t reach the enemy´s ship. It wasn’t hard to figure out. However, anyone who would see those 5 fingers, would know what they mean.’

“5, 4, 3, 2!…”

Alain vigorously shouted the numbers.

Lil watched the upper deck of the merchant ship moving frantically through the lens of her telescope. 

“1!”

White flags fluttered up as soon as Courant clenched his fist. As if confirming it, the crew of the Bell Rock started to shout and stomp their feet. The deck vibrated by their celebration. 

Lil raised her hand and silenced the noisy deck.

“Alain, Jericho!”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Aye! Captain!”

“We’ll enter through the port. Get ready.”

Lil ran up the broken stairs of the stern, followed by Alain and first mate Jericho, and grabbed the wheel of the ship. 

“Casualties?”

“Two are already dead, nine are seriously injured and thirteen have minor injuries. The rest can recover on their own.”

“All right. Tell them to hang in there for a bit. Let’s clear out this merchant ship and we’ll sail straight to Amiaeng.”

After a while, the merchant ship, which had all their sails down, lowered the anchor and waited for the Bell Rock.

The Black Whale was ferocious but merciful to those putting down their swords and guns. Therefore, most of the merchant ships familiar with Amiaeng’s Black Whale, Lil Schweiz, knew they most likely would survive once they surrendered.

1. Stern: Structure built at the back part of a ship.
2. Bow: The front part of a ship.
3. Rudder: A device that adjusts the direction of the ship, like a tail attached to the stern.
4. Hull: Back part of the ship.
5. We’re in the wind: Proverb: A situation in which the ship and the enemy’s ship are facing each other, and the ship is positioned in the direction of the wind.