The bay of Deepwood Keep had become a slaughterhouse.
The Dreadwolf did not fight like a ship. It fought like a predator playing with food.
After sinking the Iron Victory the iron monster turned its turret toward the rest of the confused fleet.
"Target the nearest grouping," Andar ordered. "Use explosive shells."
"Loading shell!" The gunner shouted.
The crew was working in a rhythm now. The initial fear was gone. They realized they were inside an invincible metal box.
BOOM. BOOM.
Two explosive shells arced across the water.
They hit a cluster of three longships that had tied themselves together to form a floating platform. The shells smashed through the wooden decks and detonated in the bilges.
CRUMP.
The explosion blew the hulls apart from the inside. Wood splinters flew like shrapnel. Masts toppled. Men were thrown into the freezing water.
"Reload!"
The Ironborn were in a panic.
They were raiders. They were used to boarding actions. They were used to fear. But they had no way to fight this.
"Charge it!" A captain of the Sea Bitch screamed. "Board it! Clog the propeller!"
Five longships rowed desperately toward the Dreadwolf. They ignored the cannons. They wanted to swarm the deck.
Andar watched them come through the vision slit.
"They are trying to swarm us," Andar said. "Engineer open the steam vents."
"Opening valves!"
Pipes running along the outer edge of the Dreadwolf hissed.
A cloud of superheated white steam erupted from the hull surrounding the ship in a boiling fog.
The first longship rammed the side. The raiders leaped onto the iron deck screaming their war cries.
They landed on steel plates covered in grease. They slipped. They fell.
And then the steam hit them.
It was not just hot air. It was scalding vapor under high pressure.
The raiders screamed as their skin blistered instantly. They could not breathe. The steam cooked them inside their armor. They rolled off the deck splashing back into the sea.
"Reverse engine!" Andar commanded.
The Dreadwolf backed away leaving the raiders writhing in the water.
"They are breaking," Jory reported from the observation slit. "The rear ships are turning around. They are fleeing."
"Do not let them escape," Andar said cold as ice. "If they escape they will warn Balon. They will come back with fire ships. Sink them all."
The chase began.
The Dreadwolf was slow but the Ironborn ships were fighting the wind. And they were terrified.
For the next two hours the bay echoed with the sound of thunder.
One by one the longships were hunted down.
The cannons punched holes in their waterlines. The explosive shells snapped their masts.
It was not a battle. It was an extermination.
By sunset the bay was quiet.
Debris floated everywhere. Smashed timber. Torn sails. Bodies.
Forty eight ships had been sunk. Only two had managed to escape into the deep ocean fleeing back to the Iron Islands with the tale of the sea monster.
Andar climbed out of the turret.
The air smelled of sulfur and cooked meat.
He walked to the edge of the deck. The water was black with oil and blood.
"My Lord," Jory said climbing up beside him. He looked pale. "We killed... everyone. Two thousand men."
"We protected our home," Andar said.
He looked at the wreckage of the Iron Victory.
"Drag the bodies," Andar ordered. "Find Victarion Greyjoy. I want his armor."
"And the survivors in the water?" Jory asked. "There are hundreds clinging to wreckage."
Andar looked at the freezing men.
"Fish them out," Andar said. "We need workers for the mines. An Ironborn can swing a pickaxe just as well as an axe."
He turned back to the hatch.
"And Jory? Send a raven to Robb Stark."
"What should I say My Lord?"
Andar looked at the burning horizon.
"Tell him the North has a Navy."
[Quest Complete: The Ironclad]
[Enemy Defeated: The Iron Fleet]
[Legendary Kill: Victarion Greyjoy]
[Technology Unlocked: Advanced Naval Warfare]
[Reputation: The Sea Devil]
Two Weeks Later Pyke
Balon Greyjoy sat on the Seastone Chair.
The hall was dark. The fire was dying.
The door opened.
A captain stumbled in. He was wet. He was shaking. He was one of the few survivors of the two ships that escaped.
"Your Grace," the man whispered falling to his knees.
"Where is my fleet?" Balon asked his voice rasping like a rusty saw. "Where is my brother? Did you burn Deepwood?"
"Gone," the captain sobbed. "All gone."
Balon gripped the arms of his chair. "What do you mean gone? Storm? Reefs?"
"A monster," the captain cried. "A wolf made of iron. It breathed smoke. It ate the Iron Victory. Victarion... he... he blew apart."
Balon stared at the man.
"You are drunk," Balon hissed. "Iron does not float."
"It did!" The captain insisted. "It floated! And it shot lightning! We couldn't scratch it! Our axes bounced off!"
Balon stood up. He walked down the steps and kicked the man in the face.
"Get out! Get out of my sight you coward!"
The captain scrambled away.
Balon stood alone in the dark hall. He was shaking.
Iron that floats. Ships that breathe smoke.
He looked at the map of the North. He had thought it was a soft target. A land of farmers and wood.
He realized with a cold dread that he had poked a sleeping dragon.
"Asha," Balon whispered to the empty room. "Yara. Come home. Do not go to Deepwood. Do not go."
But it was too late. The raven had already flown. The war for the sea had ended before it truly began.
The age of the Viking was over.
The age of the Battleship had arrived.
.….
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'm releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
25 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!