Chapter 13.5- The Seadragon's Roar

I stepped into his guard and went for his legs just like I’d done with high school wrestling a million times in my first life. Except that unlike all those times, my opponent was not even close to my weight class. He kicked me in the midsection with his other leg— the one I’d failed to catch in my initial charge, and even through my chainmail, I felt the blow rattle my ribs. I rolled away, just continuing blind with the pain until I came to a stop against something. It took me a second to inhale and realise just what I was laying next to. A corpse. A still warm corpse that belonged to one of my father’s men. I looked up to see the pirate that I’d been fighting— was fighting too generous a term to use for what we’d been doing— coming straight over here. Well, he was committed, I’d give him that.

I swallowed my instinctive revulsion and began to check the corpse I was next to for anything that could be used. The pirate was almost upon me when I found it strapped to his waist and pulled it free with a jerk. The motion had caused his innards— he’d died trying to shove them back into his stomach it seemed— to escape his grip and fall upon me. Ugh. Don’t think about it, I scolded myself as the pirate stepped into range and was about to bring his blade down, already drunk with victory.

He gurgled. It was a sound between a cough, a curse, and a laugh when he met my eyes. I’d moved faster than I ever had and shot up with my stolen dirk aimed for the underside of his jaw. It was a quick death. A quicker death than he probably deserved considering all the indignity he’d made me suffer. As he fell, I snatched his sword from his hand. It was passable. Longer than I would have preferred considering my height so I had to wield it with two hands instead of one to move it around properly. The balance was poor, but it looked sharp enough, and a bigger like me was far from being spoiled for choice as one pirate spotted me and ran my way. His charge was poor, and I wasn’t surprised that he almost slipped on some bloodied mud before he reached me.

He managed to catch his footing though, and his first attack was almost competent. It also happened to be his last attack. I parroted the blade he held in his left hand in one motion, and with the next, stepped forward, stabbing my newly acquired sword straight through his neck. Did I hae something with necks? I wondered. That was my fourth neck kill so far.