jackal-among-snakes-16091326
chapter-510

Even though Emperor Ji Meng and his honor guard were beaten, a task of similar difficulty awaited in the next step. Though the head had been cut, the great beast that was the Imperial Navy still writhed in force. Argrave would need to ensure their surrender—or more likely, a simple truce. But Argrave had two things in his possession. One was a door and the other a key, metaphorically speaking.

As Argrave’s Veidimen honor guard secured these newly-acquired prisoners, Argrave walked to the key: Admiral Tan Shu. Anneliese had taken off her helmet and held both her hands to her face. It wasn’t a caring gesture—rather, Anneliese was sapping both Tan Shu’s magic and the effects of [Subjugate] using her A-rank ascension, [Life Cycle].

Ji Meng was bound in cuffs and had a shard of Ebonice embedded into his skin. The two S-rank spellcasters, though their spirits remained, had been subdued in a more mundane way; they merely ran out of magic. They were bound much the same way that Ji Meng was. Only the admiral would remain unbound, at least for now. But each and every defeated combatant was stripped of their divine armaments. It proved a very fruitful battle, but the damage to Argrave’s Veidimen honor guard had not been small. Seventy-two of the three hundred snow elves had perished—one of the worst losses percentage-wise that Argrave had endured.

Putting aside that grim thought, Argrave looked down at the unconscious admiral. Tan Shu looked like a stern woman—with short and wispy black hair, her face showed that she’d endured hardships but hadn’t quite lost her youthful vigor. Argrave looked at Anneliese. “Will it take long for her to awaken?”

“Not very,” Anneliese assured him.

The Brumesingers appeared at Argrave’s feet, manifesting from the mist swirling all around the quiet flagship. Though they had been black before this battle began, now the foxes were snow-white. All of their power was spent, and they heaved in exhaustion as they sought Anneliese for comfort. She looked sorely tempted to remove her hand from the admiral’s face to pet the creatures, but she kept up with her task. They contented themselves by sprawling out across her lap.

After some brief time coordinating things in this ghost ship, all of the prisoners were gathered on the front deck. The rest of the Sea Dragon was dreadfully empty. Argrave’s examination of the ship through his Brumesingers showed perhaps one hundred people that hadn’t succumbed to the fog—most either officers or the six other S-rank spellcasters. The army aboard this ship had been made blind, and the majority of them now struggled on the ground while coughing blood as their insides churned. It was a horrifying sight, and doubly so when Argrave had been the cause.

But they were alive. That, at least, was something.

Argrave ended the tyranny caused by his Brumesingers. The fog slowly faded, revealing the Sea Dragon to the rest of the world once again. Argrave walked to the front deck, peering out to the coast of Veiden. The continent somehow managed to seem small aboard this gigantic ship.

“Tell Galamon to be prepared,” Argrave spoke to Elenore through their connection.

Argrave stared out across the ocean, witnessing the destruction. This had been a terribly ugly battle, but it was clear that the Veidimen had been the victors by and large. Argrave turned and looked back, where a storm waned. He saw tremendous impacts in the water as Sataistador dealt with the three gods facilitating this voyage. The god of war had kept his word, and spared them the wrath of these sea gods.

As Argrave’s thoughts wandered, Admiral Tan Shu awoke. She screamed and struggled only for a few moments before she went eerily quiet. Argrave stepped away from the railings as she thrashed, restrained by two Veidimen and the iron shackles on her wrist. Then she went still, glancing toward her bident. Vera held it. Then, she looked up at Argrave.

“Your emperor and all his guard are beaten.” Argrave gestured toward them, bound, then looked back to Tan Shu. “You came here as invaders, and as such, all your rights are forfeit. Everything that you own belongs to us. The only thing you still possess, currently, is your life. That, too, will be lost if you don’t obey. And not only yours—the emperor’s, and every one of the thousands of men on this vessel.”

Tan Shu met his gaze with her dark brown eyes. Then, she spit at Argrave. He stepped away and dodged her phlegm. Argrave was annoyed and opened his mouth to say something, but one of the Veidimen struck her in the face. Argrave grew furious, and had a reprimand on the tip of his tongue… but these men had lost many of their closest comrades, and he could not afford to appear soft after the threat he’d just made. His command officer, however, was not so merciful. Grimalt ran forward and grabbed the offender, pushing him to the ground.

“Do not act without His Majesty’s command!” Grimalt shouted. “You’ll be dealt with later, Tyrren.”

The one named Tyrren accepted that with a nod. He seemed to project a sad anger.

Argrave knelt before Tan Shu where she had collapsed on the ground with a split lip. Her gaze was still strong, but there was something else in her gaze after she’d heard the words ‘His Majesty.’ Argrave couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but he stated his demands.

“You will command the Imperial Navy to surrender. Then, you will bring this ship to dock at the coast.” He stared for a few moments, then rose. “Grimalt. Unbind her hands.”

Argrave turned and walked away, coming to join Anneliese by the deck’s railing as she held one of his Brumesingers in her hand. He looked out across the ocean somberly, where the last remnants of bloodred fire on the ocean’s surface faded away. When he turned his head to the right, Admiral Tan Shu walked to the edge of the ship, shadowed by Veidimen guards. She stood at the front of the deck for a long while, looking out across the navy. Then, she bitterly gave the signal to surrender.

With that done, she headed for the sole set of stairs in the front deck. There, the complex enchantments that guided the ship forward waited. She and her escort disappeared beneath the deck, and half a minute later, the Sea Dragon began to move toward the coast. It pushed aside the turtle ships, and the Veidimen longships all parted for its advance.

The flagship and pride of the Imperial Navy, the Sea Dragon, landed on the shores of Vasquer not as an invader, but as the defeated.