Chapter 40: Beachhead Landing

On the Pentos Mercenaries' ships responsible for the left flank defense in the distance, the sound of the North's horns rang out.

What was bound to come finally came; at the war council, Eddard and Maron Manderly both concluded that the pirate ships would certainly launch an attack when the North Fleet landed on the island.

Eddard looked in the direction of the sound; a group of pirate ships appeared on the northern sea. Fortunately, the number was not large; Eddard counted roughly, and there were no more than ten.

Jon Snow shielded his eyes with his hand and gazed into the distance, "Lord Eddard, fortunately, the pirates have very few longships. Are these Rockborn Pirates or Ironborn Pirates?"

Eddard stared at the pirate longships appearing like ghosts under the sunlight, "I am not sure. However, if I were the Rock King Samlo Crowl, I would send out all the Ironborn Pirates under my command. Ironborn Pirates can only be effective in naval battles; once we land on Skagos, the role of Ironborn Pirates in mountain warfare and skirmishes will not be as significant."

"A similar situation occurred during Balon Greyjoy's rebellion. At first, the Iron Fleet burned the fleet at Lannisport, and the Ironborn Pirates ran rampant on the sea for a time, until the Royal Fleet led by Stannis and the Arbor Fleet led by Lord Paxter Redwyne arrived, and the Ironborn Pirates finally met their match."

"Even though Stannis destroyed the Iron Fleet at the Battle of Fair Isle, the Royal Fleet and the Redwyne family's Arbor Fleet still encountered fierce resistance in the waters near the Iron Islands. After all, the Ironborn have plenty of ships. However, when the royal army broke through the Ironborn's maritime defenses and completed the landing, the Ironborn collapsed like a mountain."

The Heir of the Dreadfort, Domeric, said, "Lord Eddard, do you think the Rock King Samlo Crowl will command from the front?"

Eddard shook his head, "Who knows what the Rock King will do? He might lead the Rockborn warriors in a charge, or he might choose to stay in the rear, standing on some hill to command from afar." The former was Robert Baratheon's style, while the latter was Tywin's.

The Rock King Samlo Crowl, who usurped the throne on Skagos, was almost as much of a mystery as Skagos itself.

Roars came from the beach; Greatjon Umber led the Umber family's warriors, brandishing battle-axes and longswords as they charged onto the beach, immediately met by a deadly rain of arrows. Eddard saw a warrior fall after being struck by an arrow, blood staining the sand. This was the first blood shed by the Northern Army landing on Skagos, but far from the last.

The pirate ships attacking from the north entered the range of the Pentos Mercenaries' ships, and both sides began exchanging arrows. These pirates were very cunning; they did not charge directly, but instead used flaming arrows to close in bit by bit. Some of the North's ships began to catch fire, but fortunately, the number of pirate ships was too small, and the fires on the North's ships were quickly extinguished.

Theon Greyjoy watched the pirate ships not far away.

"Lord Eddard, with just this small handful of enemies, not even ten longships, give me three warships and I can sink them all, capture all these pirates, and present them to Lord Eddard. Don't forget, I am a natural-born Ironborn."

An Ironborn who had been away from the sea since the age of ten—Eddard doubted that Theon Greyjoy's sailing skills had rusted away during these years in Winterfell, if he had any to begin with. Theon was only ten years old when he left Pyke; what sailing skills could a child of that age learn? He would likely struggle even as a sailor's apprentice.

"Theon, I will not allow you to sortie. Our goal is to transport as many soldiers as possible to Skagos and complete the landing. If we let ourselves be led by the nose by a small handful of pirates, it will only delay our plans."

Theon was somewhat unconvinced, "Lord Eddard, there are only a few of these pirate ships, are we just going to let them harass us? I reckon that so-called Rock King has only these ships left; how many ships can the Rockborn have?"

Eddard said, "No matter how few ships the Rockborn and Ironborn have, it is impossible for them to have only these few left. The pirate longships that once ravaged the coasts of the Umber family, Karhold, and the Dreadfort numbered in the dozens; the pirates even once sailed up the Last River."

The Heir of the Dreadfort, Domeric Bolton, said, "When the White Harbor Fleet sailed north, they sank some ships, and the warriors of the Umber family, the Karstark family, and my Dreadfort also destroyed some. I feel that there cannot be many pirate longships left. Look, our army is pressing in and has already begun to land; they can only send out this many longships."

This was indeed not quite right. According to information revealed by Rockborn captives, after the Rockborn and Ironborn allied, they possessed shipyards and smithies on Skagos. As the largest island in the North, Skagos did not lack timber for shipbuilding. The cost of longships was much lower than that of warships, and the production cycle was shorter; the pirates should have had more longships on Skagos.

Soon, the pitch and burning oil on the pirate longships were exhausted. They could no longer use flaming arrows to attack and could only shoot arrows at the Pentos Mercenaries' ships, the North's merchant ships, and fishing boats, further reducing the threat.

The captain of the Summer Islands swan ship *Eros*, Didier, maneuvered the *Eros* near the Pentos Mercenaries' ships to fire arrows. The black archers used goldenheart longbows, a specialty of the Summer Islands. Such bows were expensive, and their range could easily suppress the pirates' crossbowmen; some pirates screamed as they were struck and fell into the water.

The Pentos Mercenaries, White Harbor sailors, and Lys crossbowmen on the side cheered in unison for the Summer Islands' crossbowmen.

Seeing they could not gain an advantage, the pirates had to retreat dozens of meters, avoiding the range of the Summer Islands' goldenheart longbows, but they did not turn and leave, instead standing off from a distance, seemingly preparing to wait for an opportunity. Because Eddard ordered that no ship was allowed to pursue the pirates, Captain Didier did not maneuver the *Eros* to chase when he saw the pirates retreat.

At this time, the Umber family's daredevil squad led by Greatjon Umber was on the landing beach, facing the rain of arrows from the enemies on the shore, suffering heavy casualties. Umber family warriors lay dead everywhere, and Greatjon's broken chain giant banner was also shot down. Eddard worried whether Greatjon had died in the chaotic battle.

Fortunately, the scout cavalry led by Fellan and Robett Glover had already landed on the beach. Some cavalrymen were shot down before they could even mount their horses, and some horses ran toward the seawater in panic after being struck by arrows. Fellan and Robett Glover braved the rain of arrows, shouting and cursing, preparing to organize the cavalry to charge at the Rockborn crossbowmen.

Horns sounded from the south. The sailors on the Lys galleon *Sweet Kiss* saw the pirate ships approaching from the south from the watchtower and immediately blew their horns.

Eddard's gaze turned to the southern sea. On the right flank of the North's ragtag fleet, more than ten pirate ships appeared.

Theon clapped his hands and said, "I understand now! The pirate ships appearing in the north are responsible for a feint, attracting our attention, and then this pirate fleet attacks from the other side. I have to say the enemy is still quite cunning, but it's a pity their ships are too few; they can't threaten us at all."

Eddard did not think so. If the northern pirate ships were truly a feint, why did the southern pirate ships take so long to appear? At this time, the wind was strong, and the pirate ships attacking from the south could have used their long sails to help them charge into the North Fleet like lightning, but they didn't even use their sails, instead using oarsmen to row slowly closer.

The newly arrived pirates' tactics were as dull as those of the northern pirates: approaching slowly and then firing arrows, approaching, retreating, and repeating. The northern pirates also showed no intention of coordinating with the southern pirates.

The crossbowmen on the North Fleet kept the pirates outside their range. On the beach of Skagos, Robett Glover and Fellan finally organized a cavalry charge. Just as Eddard had anticipated, the enemy's crossbowmen quickly scattered in the face of the cavalry charge.

After paying a high price, the Northern Army finally established a position on Skagos. Blood stained the beach and seeped into this ancient land of Skagos.

(End of chapter)