"Keep the momentum, we need to push through the next one!" Centurion Cato shouted, also noticing the danger that was appearing on their flank. To the left of them the battle continued with over a hundred ships currently engaged from the first to fourth rows of both Xanthippus and the Persian Fleet's Centre, whilst the right flank where the sixth row was based, the ships were moving freely in the open water towards them.
"Prepare to board and be boarded!" Centurion Septimius shouted as he motioned for his men to get themselves ready, whilst Gan Ning at the front began aiming the Ballista towards one of the Trireme heading towards them, rather than the one that they were closing in on.
"Increase pace to ramming speed!" Centurion Cato shouted, the drums echoing loudly as the tired arms of the Warriors and Oarsmen below pushed to engage once again. The Bellona was a powerful ship and so were the Warriors that were using it, however neither of them would be able to fight for much longer without some rest for their tired arms. Artemisia had explained to them the risk of pushing the crew too far, even the strongest crew were known to have men collapse at the oar, their hearts giving out due to the over working during close battles.
"I think we should prepare to brace." Dom said to Mardontes, the captured Persian Admiral, whilst the captured Players continued to sit, watching the battle around them in amazement.
"I would agree." Mardontes replied as he bent his legs slightly and held on to the side of the ship.
"Pull in Oars and brace!" Centurion Cato ordered loudly as if on cue as the Bellona rapidly approached the exposed flank of the enemy ship in front of them. The enemy crew could see them coming, but had little control on how to react, with their Trireme itself unable to move out of the way.
The deck of the Bellona shook as the ram once again powered in to an enemy ship, the momentum causing those onboard to shake as the ram cleanly split the wooden planks that made the side of the enemy Trireme. Splinters shattered everywhere as screams could be heard from below of men that were crushed by the momentum or killed by the pieces of wood that came loose from the attack. Dom waited as they travelled, hoping they would clear the enemy ship as they had with the last one, cutting through the enemy fleet and away from the oncoming danger, however the Bellona seemed to come to a halt as they reached the centre of the enemy ship.
The Ram of the Bellona cracked the enemy keel, but not enough to go through it. The Bellona shook as she was brought to an abrupt halt, with the enemies mast creaking loudly, before coming loose and falling in to the sea beyond. Dom saw little point in boarding and before he had chance to issue an order, Centurion Cato was already shouting.
"Rear Oars, in the water and pull us free!" Centurion Cato shouted as Dom looked to the right where the enemy ships were now coming towards them, quickly closing in. "Get us free now!"
The crew reacted instantly, unaware or uncaring of the approaching danger as they followed the order. The rear oars were pushed in to the water and began pushing away, trying to disengage the Bellona from the enemy Trireme, whose crew were currently stripping armour and jumping in to the sea.
"If you had cleared it, the outcome would be very different." Mardontes commented, seemingly accepting that his life wasn't in his hands anymore regardless of what happened.
"Get us free now!" Centurion Cato shouted again as the drums began beating louder and faster. More oars were able to be put in the water as the Bellona became free, the swell of the water flowing in to the bowel of the enemy Trireme. Dom looked in the water, disgust hitting him slightly as the mesh of bodies fell in to the sea. He didn't have time to think about it long as Centurion Septimius began shouting.
"Prepare for impact!" Centurion Septimius shouted, whilst Gan Ning and Meng Ai were loosing arrows and bolts towards the oncoming ships, the damage clear, but not enough to stop the momentum they already had.
"Two ships will hit us." Mardontes commented as Dom realised the importance of having his flanks covered in a naval battle like this. His plan was to use the enemies flank against them, but his powerful ship had caused him some risk of it's own.
"Only one!" Centurion Septimius sneered as a bolt from Gan Ning hit the lower front corner of one of the two that would hit them, causing it to veer slightly to the left and in to the back of the enemy ship that the Bellona had just disengaged from. The enemy ship that had been hit again seemed to crumble under the pressure, causing the Trireme that had just rammed it to be tangled with the rear that was being pulled under the water by the rest of the ship.
Whilst the crew of the first enemy Trireme recovered from their incorrect engagement, the second Trireme rapidly approached, with the ship out of Gan Ning's turning angle range. Centurion Meng Ai and his men continued to loose arrows, but they wouldn't reach the Oarsmen who were underneath.
"Brace!" Centurion Cato shouted, as Dom closed his eyes as he held on. The Bellona was higher, thicker and made from stronger material than the Trireme's in the Persian and Greek fleet's. However, the momentum of the enemy ship would cause damage regardless, especially to Dom's Oarsmen below who were quickly pulling in their oars so that the momentum didn't snap the oars and the men wielding them.
There was a sound of a crash, loud and angry, as wood hit wood. Dom stayed still, his eyes still closed as the sound got louder, with the voices of men shouting and screaming, depending on which side of the attack they were on. Dom didn't move though, the Bellona beneath him stayed silent as the voice of his Centurion's reached his ears. Dom could hear Actumerus beside him, the breathing heavy on his Batavi Emperor's Guard.
"I want those Oars back in the water, rotate us towards the sixth row now!" Centurion Cato shouted loudly, as Dom unclenched his eyes. He noticed that most of those around him had also braced themselves for the worst, but were quickly running around to follow orders.
Dom turned and looked towards the oncoming ship, now with a Trireme of it's own wedged in to it's side. The crew of the enemy ship had seemingly been similar to Dom's own and had one target in mind, unaware of the dangers they faced.
"Who is it?" Dom asked as Centurion Septimius shouted orders beside him to pass water to the oarsmen below.
"The Young Athenian Captain." Centurion Septimius stated, pointing behind them as a couple other ships appeared nearby, one of the Trireme of the Player GiantWrangler, whilst the other was one of the Spartan Trireme's. It seemed the others were still understandable engaged or hadn't untangled themselves yet.
"We owe him one." Dom replied seriously, as the oars were placed back in the water for their next engagement. "Centurion Cato, let's capture the ship in front of us that is tangled with the sinking vessel, with our allies here we have more time."
"You heard the Lord, I want oars rotating and then forwards on my command!" He shouted as the ship turned slightly towards the enemy Trireme, this time with the intention to come alongside it, rather than to use the ram.
"Lord, look at the rear of the Young Athenian Captain's ship!" Centurion Septimius shouted, as Gan Ning approached them with a tired look on his face.
"That was a close one." Gan Ning commented as they both looked, seeing the Young Athenian Captain pointing behind them and shouting something towards them.
Dom turned to see what he was pointing at, noticing that in the other engaged lines, an Athenian ship in the centre was currently engaged with two Persian Trireme. The sixth line seemed to be trying to change their momentum and retreat now that the flank had been attacked by Dom's small fleet. The fifth line was partially engaged or trying to do the same, not that Dom could see or hear anyone that had shouted the order.
"I think he wants us to rescue that ship." Centurion Septimius commented as Dom seemed to understand, they had the opportunity to chase the ships that were fleeing, but the Trireme were slightly faster then the Bellona and it could leave them exposed to a counter attack. Where as some of their allies were engaged and could do with the support.
"Centurion Cato, change of plan, we'll leave this Trireme to our allies. Let's go rescue that ship." Dom ordered as he pointed towards the ship the Young Athenian Captain had been pointing at. Dom had claimed the Trireme that was entangled and even if someone cleared it, he would argue that it was Gan Ning's Bolt that had caused it's defeat in the first place.
After nearly a minute of rotating the ship, the began heading towards the fourth line of the Centre, towards the rear of the enemy ships that were engaged with their Athenian Allies. Centurion Cato aimed them alongside the closer of the two enemy Trireme engaged with the Athenian ship that had been pointed to them. He was worried that if he rammed it, the momentum could risk their own allies.
"Prepare to board!" Centurion Septimius shouted, as Gan Ning himself prepared to board this time, his sword ready in his hand for the engagement. The sounds of shouting could be heard across the water as swords and spear clashed amongst themselves atop the deck of the Athenian ship that had been squashed between the two Persians.
The ship they were approaching had noticed their arrival, with some of their marines having to disengage the Athenian's that they were fighting to prepare for the new enemies arrival. The Greeks in the fight instantly had some relief as the Bellona appeared beside them, towering above them slightly as Meng Ai and his Wu Dang Archers unleashed arrows down at the deck of the Persian Trireme.
"Board!" Gan Ning shouted, as he made the large jump down the the Bellona to the enemy Trireme. He was soon followed by thirty Marines, before being followed by Centurion Septimius and thirty others. Most Trireme had around two hundred crew, with around one hundred and seventy on the oars and the other thirty being marines. The sixty experts from the Bellona easily cut through the enemy that put up a fight, with the majority having already been taken down by the Arrows of Meng Ai and his men.
Dom soon followed, leaving some guards to stay with the Captured Players and Mardontes. Dom climbed down the railing of the Bellona, with Actumerus and another guard beside him, they followed the sound of fighting that was happening in the centre of the Athenian ship that was under attack. The Persians had been mainly dispatched by Gan Ning who was now on the Athenian Ship and fighting his way to their allies, whilst Septimius had his men capture any oarsmen that had surrendered, a much needed constant resource for his fleet.
"Thanks for the rescue!" The voice of Xanthippus said, catching Dom's attention as he headed through the deck of the captured Trireme, the other now being boarded itself by Gan Ning and Xanthippus's men. "We were in a tight spot for a few moments."
"The Young Captain you sent with us is the reason, he just saved our flank and then pointed for us to save yours" Dom replied as he stood beside his new ally.
"Oh Pericles and his young crew, I told them to stay behind, but youth such as yourself don't like to listen to instruction." Xanthippus replied proudly, as Dom realised who their ally on their flank really was.