The icy sea water took on a stagnant lead gray in the early morning glow, and the mist was like a ghostly veil, low on the sea, blurring the boundaries between sea and sky.
The huge fleet broke through the waves in this hazy gray and white background, and the array of nearly 100 rowing warships of different sizes was like an ancient behemoth crawling on the sea.
The oars rose and fell, slapping the water, making a dull and neat "whoosh" sound, tearing apart the sleeping tranquility of the ocean.
The Valyrian, the well-deserved flagship of the combined fleet, has a high bow like the fangs of a behemoth, splitting the mist and waves ahead.
On the bow of the ship, Salado Sang stood proudly.
He was dressed in a luxurious burgundy velvet coat, and his lower body was dazzlingly bleached high-top leather boots, and the edges of the boots were intricately embroidered with intricate creeping patterns with silver thread.
The sea breeze blew in his delicate beard, bringing with it the vague echo of the sailors' orders in the distance.
Next to him, a pale-faced and thin young man hunched over slightly, his face was full of flattering smiles, and his voice was sharp and thin: "Your Excellency, that oriental wizard who doesn't know the height of the sky, I'm afraid that if he sees our fleet covering the sky from a distance, he will be frightened and pee, turn around and run for his life, a hundred warships, on this narrow sea, who else can compete with your might?" "
He was a close eunuch favored by Salado named Veritis.
The corners of Salado's mouth curled up, revealing a smug smile.
He tilted his head slightly and glanced sideways at Veritis, and that confidence spread like substance: "Escape? Even if he grows wings and flies back to Essos' lair, I will bring him back, tie him to the reef of Bloodstone Island, and let the seabirds peck at his eyes, and the gods will witness my determination, this Oriental man who plays witchcraft is doomed. "
Another middle-aged man standing in the back position of Salado, with a round and rich face, had lingering worries on his face.
He was another eunuch close to Salado, Mezzo Mach.
He rubbed his hands and spoke cautiously: "My lord, please forgive me for saying more, the news says that the Orientals do have some evil methods, we are going deep this time, should we be more cautious?" The Bone Eating Gorge waterway is narrow and tortuous, and the reefs are dense, just in case..."
"Wizard?"
Veritis' thin voice immediately pierced Mezzo's worries like an awl, and he sneered exaggeratedly, with undisguised contempt: "Mezzo, are you bluffed by the stories that scare children?" No matter how evil the sorcerer is, if he gets stabbed in the neck, he will have to obediently go to see their pagan evil gods, in the final analysis, it is just some tricks to pretend to be gods and trick the foolish people, and in front of Lord Sarado's fleet, it is not worth mentioning. "
When Salado heard this, he let out a loud, superior laugh.
He waved his hand, as if he had seen the flag of victory flying on the island of the split palate: "Veritis is right, the so-called sorcerers are just some..."
"My lord!" A hurried shout interrupted Salado's rhetoric.
The three of them followed the sound and saw a light paddling dinghy struggling to cut through the waves and quickly approach the Valyrian.
Standing at the bow of the ship was the captain of the Shayara's Dance, Colleen Susman.
He had a weathered face, with a pair of sharp eyes embedded in his sunken eye sockets, but at the moment he was full of anxiety.
He quickly climbed onto the side of the flagship, without even bothering to salute, rushed directly to Salado, and reported with a gasp: "My lord, the sentry boat in front has found enemy tracks, and in the waters near the entrance of the Bone Eating Gorge, about four or five enemy ships have been found. "
Sarado's eyes flashed, and instead of being nervous, he showed a hint of excitement that the hunter had found the traces of his prey: "Okay! Catch up! It must be their ships guarding the outskirts of the gorge, then the Oriental has a limited number of ships on hand, and if he destroys one, he will have less strength, issue orders, and pursue at full speed! "
Corian was so anxious that his forehead was sweating: "My lord, you must not rush in, there is the Bone Eating Gorge in front, where the waterway is so narrow that it can only accommodate two or three boats in parallel, and the water is full of sharp reefs left by volcanic eruptions, the canine teeth are intertwined, the water flow is fast and chaotic, and what is even more terrifying is that it is twisted and turned, like a maze, I am afraid that this is a trap set by the Orientals, deliberately luring us in." "
Veritis immediately reprimanded sharply, like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "Corian, there are only a few broken ships on the opposite side, and you, the 'brave' captain, have been frightened. Snare? What kind of trap do Orientals use? Just rely on the dozens of broken ships in his hands? "
The smile on Salado's face disappeared, replaced by a gloom of questioning authority.
He stared at Colin with sharp eyes, and then glanced at the entrance of the Bone Eating Gorge in the distance, where the misty and jagged reefs loomed, and his tone was unquestionably categorized: "Pursue! The ships in the hands of the Oriental man are less than half of ours, and he has no capital or courage to ambush us in the Bone Eating Gorge, herald, change the fleet, and bite them for me. "
He was convinced that absolute numerical superiority was enough to crush any intrigue.
Collien looked at Sarado's stubborn and self-righteous look, and his heart sank suddenly, and a cold despair seized him.
He glanced fiercely at the triumphant Veritis behind Sarado, and roared silently in his heart.
Mezzo Maher, who had been silent, didn't care much at the moment, and took a step forward with a pleading voice: "My lord, Captain Corrion's worries are not unreasonable, even if you want to chase, please be sure to leave some people to guard the mouth of the gorge, in case the Oriental people are cunning and send ships to outflank us from behind us and block the retreat, we will fall into a real Jedi, with interception in front and pursuers behind, and the fleet cannot be deployed in the narrow waterway, and the consequences are unimaginable." "
Veritis immediately let out a disdainful sneer, and said bitterly: "Mezzo, I think your courage is really left on Bloodstone Island, an oriental wizard who started by pretending to be a ghost, and he deserves to be so jealous of Lord Sarado?" It's a big joke. "
Salado's face was completely gloomy, like the sea before a storm.
His cold gaze swept over Mezzo's face, which was chubby nervousness, and then over Corrien's anxious eyes, and finally stopped at Veritis' flattering and determined expression.
A trace of boredom and anger aroused by repeated persuasion condensed in his eyes.
He waved his hand suddenly, his voice like ice shattering: "Enough! Since you are so 'persistent', then according to you, Mezzo Maher. "
Mezzo's heart tightened, and his face instantly turned pale.
"You, follow Corlienne's Shayara's Dance and stay on guard at the mouth of the gorge."
Salado's order was decisive and his tone was cold: "I will personally lead the main fleet into the Bone Eating Gorge and crush those orientals who don't know whether they are alive or dead!" I want to see what tricks they can play. "
Mezzo only felt a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and the disgust and distrust in Sarado's tone were like whips whipping his heart.
He still wanted to struggle to persuade him again, but he caught a glimpse of an extremely complicated look from Corrian.
Mezzo's throat rolled, and finally, all the words turned into a heavy sigh and swallowed back.
The tactics have been decided, and there is no room for turnaround.
Corrien and Mezzo silently returned to the dinghy and rowed towards the Shayara's Dance, which was anchored alone on the edge of the massive fleet.
This fast warship with a three-story oar seat looked so small and helpless against the backdrop of nearly a hundred warships at the moment.
Mezzo stepped onto the deck of the Shayara's Dance, looking at the huge, gradually blending into the fog of the gorge of Sarado's flagship Valyrian, and felt his heart clenched by a cold hand: "Corrion, Lord Salado can't listen to any unreasonable advice now, it's all that idiot Veritis!" In case of any event, I mean in case we are really blocked by the other party in the gorge, our strength will not help at all. "
Corian clutched the cold side of the ship with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He looked at the entrance of the Bone Eating Gorge, which was like the throat of a giant beast, thick fog lingered between the rugged and dark reefs, and the sea currents hit the rock walls and made a dull whimper.
He sighed bitterly, his voice hoarse: "Mezzo, don't you know Lord Salado yet? He had always regarded the Stone Steps Islands as something in his pocket, and his confidence was almost arrogant.
This time, in order to exterminate this sudden emergence of the Orientals, he not only used all his family background, but also borrowed troops from Reese, and subdued several other forces in the Stone Steps Islands to send troops together, he needed a hearty victory to consolidate his authority and show his strength to all allies, how could he listen to our words? "
Mezzo looked at Sarado's huge fleet like a bloated long snake, slowly swimming into the narrow and sinister opening of the Bone Eating Gorge, his heart was full of ominous premonitions, and his voice was dry: "Then we can only pray now, praying that the Oriental is just bluffing, praying that there is no ambush in this damn Bone Eating Gorge." "
"Prayer?" The corner of Corian's mouth pulled out a smile that was uglier than crying, and his eyes swept sharply over the foggy sea: "Gods... I'm afraid I've already closed my eyes. "
Just as the two were talking worriedly and in a low voice, a lookout suddenly screamed in horror, his voice changing with extreme fear: "Oh my God, that's... Sea monsters? "
Corrien and Mezzo were startled and slammed into the side of the ship.
Looking in the direction of the lookout finger, I saw a huge blurry black shadow slowly emerging in the depths of the mist farther away outside the entrance of the Bone Eating Gorge.
The silhouette twisted and deformed in the flowing mist, gathering and dispersing, like a giant sea monster quietly rising from the depths of the sea.
The experienced Corian's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of a needle, and a chill instantly froze his blood.
He almost roared: "Oh no, it's an enemy attack!" "
He turned around sharply and roared at the herald: "Quick! Send the fastest row, immediately enter the gorge, and inform Lord Salado that enemy ships are blocking the mouth of the gorge, the number..."
He stared at the increasingly clear and huge black shadow again, his voice as difficult as sandpaper: "Ten ships... Twenty... No, a full twenty-five! "
Mezzo also saw clearly that it was indeed a fleet, and it was pressing towards the gorge with the help of a faint but favorable morning wind.
However, when they broke through the last layer of mist and fully revealed their figures, a huge confusion appeared on Mezzo's face: "Corinne, no, you see clearly, these are merchant ships, the kind of wide-bottomed cross-sailed merchant ships used to transport goods, are those Orientals crazy?" Pull merchant ships to fight? Although the wind direction was in their favor, this kind of boat was bulky, had no oars, entered the ghost place of the Bone Eating Gorge, and could not be used at all in turbulence and reefs, how could it be the opponent of our rowing warship? "
Collien narrowed his eyes, his eyes as sharp as a falcon swept over the approaching merchant ships.
When his eyes fell on the bows of the first few ships, his heart sank sharply, and his face became even more ugly: "No, Mezzo, look at the bow, they have collided horns. "
He gasped, his tone with incredible absurdity: "Does this guy want to emulate 'Ship Breaker' Kago? Crashing a boat against a boat? The hulls of these merchant ships are soft pine, and when they hit them, they would smash a big hole in the side of our ship, and they would definitely fall apart, and they wouldn't hurt our keel structure at all, what the hell did he want to do? "
Mezzo looked at the twenty-five merchant ships pressing down like moving wooden walls, and the great confusion overwhelmed fear: "Then should we intercept it?" Although they have many ships, they are all bulky merchant ships, and our Shayara's Dance is fast, plus the location of the gorge..."
Corian frowned, his eyes repeatedly weighing between the clumsy merchant ships and his lone warship.
He closed his eyes in pain, then opened them again, his voice full of helplessness and aggrievance: "Intercept? What to stop? We only have one ship, and if we rush up to it, we will die, let them in, and I want to see what kind of waves these living coffin-like merchant ships can make in front of Lord Sarado's fleet. "
So, under the complicated and confused gaze of Corian and Mezzo, the twenty-five commercial sailboats with hideous horns on the bow, like silent and clumsy behemoths, sailed one after another unhindered past the Dance of Shayara, slowly entering the deep, narrow entrance of the Bone Eater Gorge, like the throat of a giant beast.
The fog quickly engulfed their massive figures, leaving only the dull drumming of canvas and the whimper of waves crashing against the reef.