Naval Battle

There was a rich smell of gunpowder around, somewhat resembling charcoal, and the screams of the sailors mixed into a single deafening hum. Despite this, it was not difficult to find out about the cause of the general panic, because you need to try hard not to see two frigates floating around. For some reason, it seemed for a moment that all sounds instantly stopped, after which a loud shot of guns and a new wave of screams rattled. Klim's breath caught in fright, and when the ship began to shake, he lost his balance and fell on his stomach.

– Klim! Klim!... – the ringing in my ears did not allow me to collect my thoughts. Red's face loomed before my eyes, but his voice seemed muffled and indistinguishable, "Klim, come to your senses!

Cannonballs whistled overhead, some of which hit the hull before falling into the water. Fear engulfed the guy, which is why his whole body stopped obeying him. To bring his friend to his senses, Red grabbed him by the collar and slapped him in the face, and then another with the back of his hand. This helped, however, the captain's shout, which rang out behind him, had a greater effect.

– Stop messing with them, idiots! Load the guns and sink them already! – going up the stairs, Grim stopped and took a closer look at one of the frigates. Suddenly he smiled and shouted, "Why, it's the Weirdo Frol! No guns, we're boarding these fools! Kenny, take the wheel quickly!

– What are you doing again, Grim?! We need to deal with them faster before they really make a hole in us!

– Shut up, Kenny! Frol is still a drunkard, he must have huge stocks of booze on his ship! This is what I need!

Laughing loudly, the man descended from the bridge and grabbed two pistols from the sailors' holsters. Thrusting them into his trousers on the sides, he climbed onto the side and, holding on to the knobs, looked menacingly at the helmsman of the enemy ship. Following his order, Kenny twisted the steering wheel all the way to the left, and the battleship sharply tilted sideways, cutting through the waves. When Klim began to roll over on his back by inertia, Red grabbed his arm and helped him up. There was relief in his eyes, seeing how his comrade had finally come to his senses.

– Klim, stop counting crows. We need to prepare for boarding.

– What are you talking about!? We need somewhere to hide until this is all over! Sven's voice sounded scared. Holding a dumbfounded Shelly by the arm, he slowly walked towards the ladder to the hold.

"Then you hide, and I'll join the boarding party." I can't miss this opportunity! – the guy's eyes were burning just like the time when he invited Klim to compete in the race. His love for navigation is much greater than it might seem at first, since he is ready to take such a deadly risk.

–W-Damn fool! Who will cover for you if not me!? Klim, keep an eye on Shelly until we get back with him. If something happens to her, I won't forgive you!

Handing over the girl's protection to a friend, Sven hurried after Red. Watching them, the guy suddenly felt the boards under his feet begin to vibrate, so he strained not to fall and hold his girlfriend. When the hulls of the ships collided parallel to each other, another wave of shaking went through the ship, knocking all the sailors off their feet. Among the general shouts, one louder and more energetic stood out. Even Captain Grim, who was not shaken by the collision, seemed to be a completely different person than at the first meeting, when he could barely stand on his own two feet. Continuing to laugh loudly, the man grabbed the cable and stepped forward, jumping onto the deck of another ship.

– What is he up to?! Shelly, can you walk?

– Y-Yes, don't worry about me. Taking a deep breath, the girl let go of the guy's hand and took a step forward. After making sure that she was really okay, Klim followed her.

The guys ran up to the side of the ship, where Sven and Red were already standing watching something with their heads down. Their eyes were fixed on Greem, who was fighting on the enemy deck on his own. The sound of saber blades beating against each other for some reason was mesmerizing, and the man's movements were like a dance.

Conducting a flurry of powerful and chaotic attacks, he avoided the blows of the sailors, but when he failed to do so, he fired a single pistol with lightning speed. A puddle of blood slowly spread across the wooden floor, and the captain's blue jacket turned a dark shade. A real madman who sings some pirate song, depriving dozens of people of their lives.

– N-I can't look at it... – Klim abruptly turned away and sat down, trying to restrain the gag reflex. It occurred to him a couple of times that he would be forced to witness someone's death on the mainland, but he was not ready for this. The faces of the sailors, frozen in horror, still appear in my head, who even after their death continued to scream in pain. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, breathing became difficult, and his eyes darkened. The guy felt like he was about to lose consciousness, but instead an overcooked breakfast appeared from his mouth.

– Ugh, Klim, what are you doing there?! Red was indignant, looking at his puking friend.

– Get off ... – when the gag reflex passed, and his eyes cleared, the guy grabbed the side and pulled himself up to find out what was happening on the deck of the enemy ship. – Captain Grim is a real monster. Do you think he will be able to capture the ship on his own?

After a while, the man falls to one knee after an unexpected attack from the back. Pulling out a pistol, he tried to shoot the sailor who attacked him, but nothing happened and his hand takes all the damage. The blade is driven into the wrist, stopping in the middle because of the interfering bone. Grimacing in pain, Grim abruptly moved his hand so that the blade of the saber slipped out, and then abruptly turned around, cutting off the head of the offender. When the body fell to the floor with a thud, he squeezed some fingers on the cut hand and screamed.

– That's what a blow is! Hey guys, I need your help!

As if on cue, a group of sailors simultaneously jumped onto the enemy ship and joined the battle. By this time, the second frigate, which had been trying to get into such a position all this time so as not to offend its allies, finally decided to open fire again. The captain would most likely be very displeased with this, but there was nothing else Kenny could do except sink him so as not to interfere with the boarding. After raining down a hail of cannonballs on him, the enemy vessel quickly went to the seabed along with the entire crew.

– How cool is that! You saw it, right?! He sank an entire frigate with just one volley! The combat power of battleships is truly terrifying! – Red almost trembled with admiration, watching as the mast of the sunken ship slowly goes under the water. There were people who were probably waiting for families on land, but he continued to smile, as if just not thinking about it. Klim can't understand why the three of them didn't react to the deaths of enemy pirates in any way, not like him. What difficulties they had to go through to watch the battle indifferently now.

After some time, the boarding came to an end. The captain of the enemy team surrendered along with the surviving sailors, after which they were captured. Grim alone killed almost half of them, and the rest were dealt with by the pirates who joined the battle. As expected, there were indeed large stocks of alcohol stored there, which was immediately transferred to the captain's cabin. The crew divided the rest of the loot in the form of food and cheap rum among themselves as a reward. The ship itself was almost not damaged except for a few holes in the hull, but they began to close them immediately after the battle.

– That's my hat! Where did you get it? – Kenny happily turned the hat in his hands, and then put it on his head, smiling broadly. – So what? She disappeared a couple of days ago when we were hanging out in the city.

– We found her in the ammunition compartment. Captain Grim said he took it from you himself," Red stood in front while all his friends chatted about something to the side. He noticed that after boarding Klim behaved strangely. He is less talkative, so now he has to conduct all the negotiations himself.

– By the way, have you found the so-called thief?

– Yes, most likely. This is Captain Grim, but he denies everything. In any case, it is unlikely that he will even remember it at all.

"Haha, you're right there. His supplies have been replenished again, so he will sit in his cabin again until they run out again. Okay, guys, dinner will be ready soon. Eat well and go to bed, today was a busy day.

When the bell rang, announcing the readiness of food, the sailors descended in groups to the dining room. After dinner, before heading to the cabin, the guys stayed on deck for some time, breathing the sea air and discussing today's boarding. Red still hasn't moved away from what happened, so he kept sharing his impressions until Sven and Shelly went to bed. Left alone with him, Klim decided to sort out his experiences in order to avoid situations in the future where he would show weakness again.

– Red, about today. How did you manage to stay calm in this chaos?

– What are you talking about? When did I want to join the battle?

– And this, too, however, I am concerned about something else. You didn't react to the deaths in any way, but on the contrary. As if they were glad to see them–when the guy saw the carnage that Captain Grim had staged, he almost turned inside out. He had never seen human corpses before, especially in such numbers. The screams of the drowning sailors reached him, causing only despair in his heart.

"I know what you're talking about. We, like you, thought about their lives, but we perceived it differently. Our grandfather constantly said that any life is so fragile that even with the dullest knife you can get rid of it. This does not mean that we all need to live in peace and harmony, there will always be those who will disagree with it anyway. If you understand that your life is more fragile than any piece of glass, then be ready to fight for it by any means. Even if you have to throw away your humanity.

The last words sounded exactly the opposite, they were filled with sadness and sorrow for all those who died today. Although he does not show it, but inside Red is just as worried about it as Klim. His eyes, looking into the distance, suddenly filled with tears. Trying to wipe them off, he continued to whimper, turning away from his friend.

– Well... I couldn't help myself...

– Hey, it's okay. I threw up so much today because of this," trying to cheer up his friend, Klim put his hand on his shoulder. – When you cry, let's go to bed.