With the thundering sounds of chaos all around them, it was like a never-ending nightmare to those watching.
~Boom!
The heavy stones not only flattened their enemies but also created a force that caused those around them to jump towards their contacts, getting themselves accidentally injured.
And with every big stone-fall, the icy ground cracked, and the upper snow level rose too.
It was a brutal feat to behold!
But most importantly, the boulders all rolled down gloriously, with some even picking up snow from regions that weren't icy.
And thus, larger snowballs of destruction were formed, all heading down towards the docks.
Kardinal Ratum and the rest grew grim as everything came too unexpected.
The moment the first stone was thrown, it wasn't long before it reached the bottom.
And instantly, chaos filled the docks like crazy!
"Go! Go! Do! Get those bloody slaves to move!"
Ratum and everyone else in power began screaming their orders as despair quickly inched into their hearts like an unstoppable force.
Ratum's eyes darted from left to right, right to left and all other directions, completely losing focus in agony.
His money! His money! His money!!!!
Yes! That's right!
Apart from the fact that some of these sh.i.p.s, including his, carried several treasures, the sh.i.p.s themselves were worth a lot.
Not to talk of the horses and chariots left on some of the sh.i.p.s for the last units that we're supposed to go out to battle with after some time.
They had docked the sh.i.p.s carrying these war items, as well as the sh.i.p.s holding the reserve teams, close to the docks... Ready to move out any time from now.
And the other sh.i.p.s docked on the waters behind them were already empty and offloaded, with the current army taking several hits on the battlefield right now.
So without a doubt, Ratum was going crazy when he saw giant stone balls and stone snowballs heading their way.
But now, instead of shooting just one ball for a single set of bowling pins, countless going balls were coming for the same set of pins instead!
Ratum was going crazy again because just behind them, the sh.i.p.s that docked on the water were so close to their frontline reserve sh.i.p.s at the docks that even if they wanted to fall back fast, those behind had to first reverse too.
It was like getting stuck in traffic.
And with the number of sh.i.p.s they brought in, well, they were really in a 'tight' corner.
Instantly, Ratum's mind exploded in disbelief as he grabbed the person next to him with force.
"No! No! No! This is impossible!
Why do these savages have the ability to throw these sorts of attacks at us?"
[Person grabbed]...
You are the boss, so if you don't know... How am I supposed to know?
~Brrrmmmmmmm~~~~
Seeing the massive boulders building more speed and crushing more men on the way down, while sometimes jumping up in the air due to human bumps and building even more speed... Those on the reserve sh.i.p.s had now given up on trying to get the slaves to paddle away.
"Everyone! Quickly! Get to the sh.i.p.s behind! Get to the sh.i.p.s behind!"
Now, even amongst the chaos, the moment everyone heard the command through the megaphone, they bounced away.
No! Even those who didn't hear just followed the crowd to get to safety, jumping onto the next line of sh.i.p.s behind them like crazy.
This move also meant that they were abandoning the horses and chariots below... so both reserve cavalry and chariot riders would have to kiss their positions goodbye.
Of course, another painful thing was that they also abandoned some of their comrades below deck too.
That's right. There were still some Adonis warriors below deck on the many floors within the ship, alongside the slaves.
The reaction time was too close.
~Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Boom!! Boom! Boom! Boom!~
~Krack! Bam!~~
"AHHHHH!~~~."
The heavy stones rolled down from that mighty height and gained so much momentum that they instantly shattered the sides of the sh.i.p.s silly.
That's right.
All sh.i.p.s were docked sideways so as to prepare to release the reserves when need be.
But their overconfidence had become their downfall because everyone knows that the weakest parts of these wooden sh.i.p.s were their sides.
.
~BOOM!
And those below could only cry, as some within the rooms closest to the sides who had just made a run to it towards the doors, found themselves crushed along by the crushed, with their bodies now kissing the doors and walls.
Pain.
The pain was unbearable.
They were either injured or dead...Alongside a few horses in some of the lower decks too.
Some horses that did survive quickly acted fast and picked their heads through the massive boulder hole, intending to jump down from the height they were at.
Indeed
The boulders came in like wrecking balls, stopping deeper into the sh.i.p.s.
So the surviving horses quickly decided to jump out after sensing the danger, intending to run into the wild.
Some managed to do so, but some just died with the next series of balls coming their way.
As for the warriors below deck, these sh.i.p.s didn't have windows for any floors below deck.
So everyone had to rely on the news from above.
This was wood they were talking about, and no one wanted to risk placing wooden windows below deck only for flooding or any sea creature to hack to open.
In fact, there were too many fears and reasons why no one in this era... (Apart from Baymard) placed windows below deck.
So the men were only rushing upwards because they heard the commotion chaos above.
Thus, they were about to check it out for themselves.
But who knew that before they could even do so, they were crushed by an unknown enemy to bits.
.
~Plugh!
Those still alive struggled to breathe as their bodies uncontrollably spat out blood in agony.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
They hadn't even fought in the war, and now they were going down in such an unmanly way?
Unwilling! Unconvinced! Unacceptable!
They were about to go crazy in despair when they felt their bodies slowly give way, with some directly dying, fainting or going into a coma.
But just 3 or more breaths after cursing, more and more stones came through like crazy.
~Boom!
....F***!
~Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Ahhh!!!!!"
Wooden pieces shattered and forcefully stabbed several people like an assassin in the night.
The boulders had managed to even make their way towards the narrow corridors of each floor below the deck, now clocking them from fleeing.
Those facing the docks were now trapped and doomed to die, while those on the other sides trapped in their rooms dared not dilly dally at all because soon, who knows if the boulders will make their way to them?
With that, they forcefully broke right through the wood, creating their very own doors.
And very quickly, they had their contacts on the sh.i.p.s behind send them ropes.
Yes. They tied them to one of the pillars and began climbing up non-stop... But for how long?
Heh!
.
~Bam!
"Help! Help! The ship is sinking!
The slaves cried in pain as the wood couldn't handle the heavy mass of the stones above.
Thus, the stones all dropped to the lower floors with force... With some finally bombarding the lowest deck of all.
And like so, the bottom of the sh.i.p.s started to have leaks, which then turned into bigger holes because of the water pressure.
The slaves were desperate and helpless.
But soon, they managed to roll one of the stones over the hole, thinking that they would be saved.
But that was far from the truth because as more stones dropped in, it began an instant nightmare for them.
~Bam! Bam! Crack!
The falling stones fell and directly killed several other slaves, as well as fell onto other boulders, instantly cracking into several pieces.
And amidst this horror, came the opportunity for those who survived to get freed.
Yes!
The stone pieces that cracked were as sharp as knives!
And the chains on them that had rushed a bit would be able to break, but not after a lot of work.
Thus, they began filing the chains as fast as they could, holding the sharp blade-like stone pieces formerly, bloodying their hands again.
But they didn't care.
To them, survival was too important!
Those on the sides facing the docks died, but those on the other side diligently worked hard for what felt like an eternity.
Time was truly against them because the water was getting in, and the sh.i.p.s were slowly sinking.
So will they be able to make it out?
Would all their efforts be in vain?
This was a typical day in their lives as battle slaves.
Everyone was fighting for survival, with chaos reigning everywhere.
Mikel, who had fallen to the side, looked at the situation grimly.
Could they truly win this war?