Chapter 13

Bukda Neungbo sat atop a steep cliff overlooking the sea on one side and the Port Town of Woncheon on the southern shore of Seom Yosae, where the Waegu Pirates had made their capital. It was known as the Red Bastion for a reason, as the single layer of walls was made entirely out of red stone. The wall had a few bastions on it, each with a ballista mounted on it that could fire down from the cliff at anyone attempting to take the port by naval assault or who would land troops outside the similarly-made red walls of Woncheon, making the fort perfectly capable of supporting the defense of the Port of Woncheon in the event of an attack.

The wall was uniquely strong for one that hadn't been built with the aid of Bending, as the locals used alternating rows of vertical and horizontal, slim and flat, stones layered atop each other before being mortared together. The resulting lattice of stonework made the wall practically impervious to anything but a Powerful Earthbender or heavier Siege Weaponry, such as the Trebuchets that Bikki's people built or the cannons of a modern Battlecruiser.

The fortress had only one entrance as well, a single gate guarded by a red stone gatehouse with a black-tiled roof. Bikki had to imagine that all sorts of murder holes and arrow slits would be present to make a massive slaughter of any attempt to force the gates. Mind you, even should the Gatehouse be taken, fighting their way past the Barracks, Armory, and other outbuildings and into the Stone Tower Keep in the center of the Fortress Grounds would likely be just as daunting a task.

With Woncheon's walls being made in a similar fashion, from the same red stone as the fort, it was no wonder that nobody had attempted to assert dominance over the Waegu Pirates even after they became independent. To do so, they would have to take Seom Yosae, which meant taking the ports in order to advance on Seonan City, and to do that, they would need to take the fortifications guarding said ports first before even mountain an assault on the ports themselves. It was just too much of an undertaking and likely to be too difficult to bother with with the Fire Nation fighting in Earth Kingdom Territory. That General Iroh believed they could do it with what they had would no doubt have raised eyebrows at any proper war council in the Home Islands.

Fortunately, it seemed that each of the well-fortified bastions that guarded the various ports on the Island of Seom Yosae along with the Forts guarding the Commodore's Citadel at Seonan City also had at least one hidden entrance. This information had been provided by General Iroh's contacts, though they did not have specifics about the entrances for some of the forts, including Bukda Neungbo. That was why Bikki had taken the opportunity to do a little bit of a scouting mission in advance of the assault.

Sailing with Lieutenant Dal-Sam of the Tamna Island Warriors in a small, commandeered, fishing boat in the dead of night, Bikki used his Steambending to call up a bank of steam clouds that would appear to be fog from a distance and sent it out laden with his Chi, probing for any hidden passages in the cliffside with the steam that might be large enough to be considered a secret tunnel. It took Bikki over an hour to find it, and Lieutenant Dal-Sam was doubtful he would the whole time, but find a secret passage he did.

Roughly halfway up from the waterline, there was a shallow depression in the cliffside that hid a tunnel and terrace with an optical illusion arranged out of the terrain. Bikki couldn't probe too far into the tunnel before his steam cloud began to dissipate, but he was at least able to confirm that it led up and toward the fortress before they turned and sailed away. When they returned to where the Tamna Island Warriors were aboard the Wolfporpoise. The ship was anchored off a small islet containing a village called Chulsang which was really more of a collection of twenty or so houses crowded around a single teahouse and a small fishing dock.

Crucially, however, Chulsang was small enough to have not been deemed important enough to garrison by the Waegu Pirates and was around three hours sailing due southwest of Seom Yosae. Those facts alone made it the perfect spot to anchor off of in advance of the assault. Bikki found Lieutenants O-Muel and Suk-Jong waiting for him and Lieutenant Dal-Sam to return from the scouting.

"Well?" Demanded Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

"Patience is a virtue. Allow the Captain time to get situated first at least." Scoffed Lieutenant Dal-Sam.

"What crawled down your Garot? You get sick on that tiny boat or something?" Prodded Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

"Hardly. That seems like more your area of expertise." Snarked Lieutenant Dal-Sam.

"Gentlemen, please. Now is not the time for this, not on the eve of battle." Cut in Lieutenant O-Muel.

"He's right. We're going to battle at dawn. To answer your question, Suk-Jong, yes. I found the hidden entrance. It's a disguised terrace halfway up the face of the cliff that the fort is sitting on. We'll need to scale the cliffside to infiltrate, but we have grapnels and rope for that. I will be taking a small but elite strike team with me up the tunnel while the men assault the fort from the Sea. With a bit of skill, courage, and luck we should be able to cut our way into the gatehouse from inside and let you into the fort. Spirits willing, that should take the fight out of most of the enemy garrison." Intoned Bikki.

"Halfway up the cliffside? What is the Garrison Commander an Earthbender or something?" Questioned Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

"A Waterbender, actually. A woman named Deniigi. Apparently, she stole a bunch of scrolls for combat Waterbending from the Library of Agna Qel'a a few years back before fleeing the Northern Water Tribe to become a Pirate. It's likely she expected to be able to make a ramp of ice down to a waiting ship if needed. Her second wouldn't be able to help there, he's a Firebender, Kenzo the Rocket. He's supposed to specialize in the Flame Charge technique for high-speed combat." Answered Bikki.

"I've had some dealings with smugglers that trade with local Northern Water Tribesmen sometimes. Apparently, the Northern Water Tribe has some cultural taboo against teaching Women to use Waterbending for anything except healing." Chimed in Lieutenant O-Muel.

"I can confirm. Supposedly it goes back to the days of Avatar Kuruk, I don't have all the details but it was apparently thanks to something their Chief at the time thought up." Added Lieutenant Dal-Sam.

"How in the Spirit World would you know that?" Queried Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

"Does it matter?" Retorted Lieutenant Dal-Sam.

"It doesn't. Suk-Jong, you'll be with me. Dal-Sam you'll be leading the Main Assault. O-Meul, you'll be commanding the Wolfporpoise and lending artillery support with the ship's black-powder cannons. That probably won't be enough to break through the walls, but you'll be able to suppress the enemy ballistae fairly well with those." Bikki ordered.

"Count on me, Captain! I'll be your right arm." Nodded Lieutenant Suk-Jong, confidently.

"I will not fail in this. No mere pirate rabble will repulse us from the walls." Insisted Lieutenant Dal-Sam.

"I will do my utmost with the artillery support. You have my word." Promised Lieutenant O-Meul.

"Good. Get some sleep. We sail for Seom Yosae in five hours." Commanded Bikki.

With that, the meeting broke up and Bikki went to his bunk to snatch a few hours of precious sleep before combat. As he lay down to sleep in his bunk, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the expedition was faring. General Iroh had timed everyone's schedules so that the two prongs of the assault would happen simultaneously. It was going to be a big day and would largely decide the outcome of the whole campaign. They were taking two ports on the first day before converging on-shore to hit a third.

It was a huge gamble on General Iroh's part, but the potential payoff was enormous. If they could succeed fast enough, before the Waegu Pirates could concentrate their force, they would be able to take out over three-quarters of the enemy's strength on day one of the fighting. An estimated one-thousand-nine-hundred-twenty Waegu troops and twelve Waegu benders would be killed or captured if they succeeded. If they failed, their chances of victory dropped sharply.

He knew that the assault on Puleun Tab guarding the port town of Mokjang on the East Coast of Seom Yosae would be led by Captain Fukushima and the Sun Raiders who would be working with Captain Lau and the Red Banner Roughnecks. That prong also had a company's worth of Underworld Fighting Men with them. Meanwhile, while Bikki and the Tamna Island Warriors dealt with the Fort, General Iroh would be leading the Dragonhawk's Marine Contingent, Captain Aukinek and his Sons of Kiviuk, and one company of Underworld Fighting Men against Woncheon.

"I wonder what the General and Prince are up to right now?" Muttered Bikki, idly. The Dragonhawk had moored at another village on a different islet to avoid annoying the locals. Every ship in the flotilla had moored at their own small islet and village for that purpose. They would be concentrating en route to their targets instead.

"I guess it doesn't really matter, so long as everyone is ready to fight." Shrugged Bikki.

Then, with a yawn, he turned over in his bunk and went to sleep. . .

XXXX

The next day, the Wolfporpoise met up with the Dragonhawk and the Blue Sea Courser, as well as the Earth Kingdom-style Junk Hidden Blade that carried the Company of Underworld Fighting Men aboard it. The small, four-ship flotilla coordinated their movements with semaphore flags and merged into a single squadron with excellent timing and seamanship from all involved except for the Hidden Blade. The Captain and crew of the Hidden Blade just weren't at the same level as everyone else, which would become a running theme with the Underworld Fighting Men and their ships involved in the operation.

Captain Wing of the Hidden Blade blamed almost running into the Blue Sea Courser on the unexpected choppiness of the waves, of course, but all present realized he was just covering for his own mistakes. It didn't paint a pretty picture of what the man's reliability in combat would be like, but it was too late to worry about that now. At least his second, Lieutenant Chen, seemed to have some grasp of tactics. Apparently, he'd done a stint in the Waegu Garrison on his island and had helped fight off a rival pirate group before deciding to take his skills to the Black Market after his Captain, a Pirate named Left-hand Wei, refused to pay him more for combat duty.

As Bikki mused about that, however, Seom Yosae came into sight. The Island was rugged and hilly, with agriculture relying a lot on terrace farms. The interior even had a small range of actual mountains, shot through with veins of various minerals and covered in pockets of woodlands. The Archipelago as a whole would actually be a fairly decent province if it weren't in the hands of Pirates, likely on par with Bikki's own homeland of Nagai Island, even if not the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom proper.

Regardless, it was time to split up the flotilla once again this time for the attacks. The Wolfporpoise broke off from the flotilla and moved slightly eastward veering off from the course the Dragonhawk set for the other three ships towards the harbor of Woncheon Port. The whole setup ran around a crescent-shaped bay that formed a natural harbor, with the cliffs on the eastern point of the crescent containing the fort of Bukda Neungbo. That didn't mean that Woncheon itself was defenseless, however, as there were smaller towers on islands that jutted out between the points containing ballistae while the landward side of Woncheon was protected by a comparably formidable wall to that of Bukda Neungbo.

As the Wolfporpoise split off from the flotilla, Bikki, Lieutenant Suk-Jong, and about twenty of the hundred men of the Tamna Island Warriors got into a small ship's launch and began rowing their way toward the cliff while the Wolfporpoise sailed on for the lower-lying section of land that they could put men ashore on to assault the fort. As the small but elite strike force bent their backs to the oars, the thunder of guns could be heard ringing out over the early morning calm.

"Listen!" Hissed one of the men.

"Is the ship already firing?" Questioned another.

"Can't be, it's not in position yet!" Insisted a third.

"It's not. Those aren't black powder cannons anyway. That's the sound of the six-inch, blasting jelly-based, guns of a Szeto-class Cruiser in its original configuration." Pointed out Bikki.

"I just hope the General knows what he's doing. The Dragonhawk has to be pretty far away from the Port Defenses still, after all." Grumbled Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

"The Dragonhawk may be obsolete by the standards of the Fire Nation Navy, but against Pirates who are mostly still using the ballistae that most naval forces stopped using before the War Broke out? It shouldn't be a problem. Don't worry about the Flotilla, worry about us. We're coming up on the cliffside now." Reminded Bikki.

"Right, you heard the Captain! Get those Grapnels ready, you lot!" Barked out Lieutenant Suk-Jong.

As the launch pulled up alongside the cliff face, however, Bikki heard a shout from above. He spotted two pirates standing lookout on the hidden terrace one of which had just spotted what they were doing after looking out beyond the camouflaged terrace. Bikki growled and nocked an arrow to his bow, loosing at the Pirate and striking him in the neck. He tumbled into the sea below, but his fellow watchman looked like he was about to make a break for it.

"Shoot him! If he raises the alarm, this plan's ruined!" Commanded Bikki.

One of the men on the boat nocked an arrow to his own bow and let loose just as the pirate turned to run. The arrow struck the pirate in the back, and thanks to the lack of armor on the Man, wound up punching into his lung from behind. He went down just as Lieutenant Suk-Jong tossed the first grapnel up to the hidden ledge. More grapnels followed securing a series of lines to the hidden terrace of the fortress.

As the infiltration party began to climb up to the hidden terrace, Bikki in the lead, another, softer series of booms echoed out into the early morning air. These rippled out in a twenty-five gun salvo and as Bikki made it onto the terrace, he knew that the Wolfporpoise had begun laying down fire to cover the advance on the fortress gates.

"Those, Bong-Sok, are our guns." Huffed Lieutenant Suk-Jong at the soldier who had wondered if the Wolfporpoise had fired at the fort earlier.

"Come on, the assault is starting, we need to ensure the gates are open so the Company can get through when they reach them. We're going up the tunnel straight through any opposition to the gates. Cut down anyone trying to stop you, it should just be us and the Pirates in here." Ordered Bikki, slinging his bow back over his shoulder and drawing his Emushi blade.

With that, he charged into the secret tunnel, the rest of the Infiltration Team following behind him. Lieutenant Suk-Jong brought up the rear, pausing only long enough to slit the throat of the wounded and immobilized Pirate Sentry. It was a quicker death than slowly choking on his own blood would have been. When they emerged into the fort, they would come face to face with a platoon of fifty pirates led by a Tetsubo-wielding Firebender. Kenzo the Rocket was already on the field.

And he would wind up being Bikki's first opponent of the battle. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here we see the start of the invasion, along with the opening phase of the Battle of Woncheon Port. The plan Bikki put together is actually pretty sound, but the Garrison of the fort outnumbers the Tamna Island Warriors by around three to one. Hopefully, the difference can be made up in quality, tactics, and discipline. Most of the Pirate Forces aren't wearing much more than maybe padded cloth and aren't exactly well-disciplined, after all.

Meanwhile, General Iroh's own strategy for the overall campaign mostly boils down to defeat as many pirate forces as possible before they can concentrate their forces for a counterattack. As stated, it's a huge gamble because if any of the scattered garrisons link up with each other, the odds of victory begin dropping sharply with each garrison that gets linked up. It does offer them the best chance of victory with what they have, though.

In keeping with the 'What if Wokou Pirates, but Korean' theme that the Waegu Pirates have, I have utilized some IRL Korean Fortification Techniques for putting together the Port Towns and Forts of Seom Yosae. IRL Korean History had most walled cities also have a fortress nearby that could support the city in the event of a siege or assault. Usually, these forts were built on a cliff, hill, or mountain and only had a single layer of walls constructed in an unusually sturdy way, one main entrance, and one or two secret entrances. So that's how I have it here with Woncheon and Bukda Neungbo.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the battle for control over Bukda Neungbo.

Stay tuned. . .