[i]A Spleen-Aristo Collab: [/i]
[u][b]Off Hokksulgugae's shore, North Siphonese Sea[/b][/u]

Men screamed as their flesh came to meet sinister blades. Specks of blood on the deck turned into streams, then pools, of blood. The scent of burning wood and human flesh, although faint, was distinct compared to the normal salty scent of the sea. The creeking of wood could be heard as a ballista bolt smashed into the side of a nearby combat junk. Groaning as if in protest, the ship slowly leaned to the side as water seeped into the compromised hull. As the ship sank, Ithicists on board its two sister ships had to wonder if their ship would share the same fate. Surely there was no way for a single combat junk and a merchant junk to fight off the five Sibytte combat junks that had swooped in on the convoy.

"Ahimatsu burn them in spite!" Kau Ling cursed as a Sibytte warship came alongside either side of the ship he was on. "Prepare for a boarding party!" He cried as he drew his jian. The command was unnecessary as most of the crewmen had long expected some sort of boarding attempt. Why would the Sibyttes bother sinking the remaining ships when they could simply steal the ships and everything on them? 

Soldiers jumped onto Ling's ship as soon as the two Sibytte ships had drawn close enough throwing the crew into a pitched battle. Ling found himself almost immediately beset by a pair of Sibytte sailors who swung their dao's at him with reckless abandon forcing him to parry one aside as he stepped back to avoid the second. Nearby a Kunlander sailor bellowed a warcry as he hurled an axe at a Sibytte counterpart. The Kunlander gave a cry of victory as the axe found a home in the Sibytte's skull, only to give a second cry, this one of pain, as an arrow punched threw his simple leather armor and threw him to the deck.

Ling leaped towards his two assailants, repeatedly thrusting his jian at one of them. The man managed to parry most of the thrusts, but a few of Ling's attacks got threw the man's defense. Within seconds the man was bleeding from several nasty gashes on his arms. It was enough to make him back off and just in time as the second Sibytte had positioned himself to swing his dao down towards Ling's head. Ling stepped towards his attacker and caught the dao near the hilt of his jian, stopping the descending blade an inch from his head. He then stepped even closer to the Sibytte, sliding his jian free from the dao and positioning it so he could slash the man across the neck. Ling coolly ignored the blood that squirted out of the man's neck, drenching his clothes, as he turned his attention back to the other Sibytte. The Sibytte, obviously caught offguard by how quickly his companion had been dispatched, was unable to fend off Ling's renewed assault and quickly shared a similar fate. 

Ling had won that fight, but as he regarded the battlefield he could tell that the Sibyttes would surely win the battle.A cry of victory from the merchant junk made it abundantly clear that it now rested squarely in Sibytte hands. To make matter worse more and more Sibyttes jumped aboard the remaining Ithicist ship, turning a pitched battle into an impossible one.

---

Oars battered the waves, drawing the quartet of warships closer to the scuffle. The banners of Hokksulgug whipped about in the wind, the leering eye of Kogucheyol watching the commotion on the waters. The clamor of arms and rasps of men could be heard from this distance, though so occupied were they with killing that the shadows approaching failed to garner their notice. Captian Sun Pyeok stood in his vessel's command tower, watching over the chaos through a spyglass. Already the Sibyttes had battered the Ithicists to near-submission. He was surprised at the gall of the Sibyttes to stage a raid this close to Hokksulgug shores. If they had forgotten the consequences of such an offense, then he'd be sure to remind them.

If the Sibyttes had realized the danger of their predicament, it would be too late at this point. The Hokksulgugae vessels were speeding towards the fray, gunners readying their matchlocks and fire rockets. Sun bellowed orders to his men, who responded with an eager spring in their movements - it had been far too long since Hokksulgug's soldiers had spilled blood. The thought of the slaughter that would ensue danced in Sun's head as the warships slid into the effective range of the gunners' weapons. More than a few Sibyttes paused momentarily to notice the great death bearing on them, the folly of their actions wracking their conscious before meeting a salvo of gun shot.

The Ithicists' salvation came in smoke and fire. [i]Pang! Pang! Pang![/i] The matchlocks spat, raining lead into the ranks of Sibytte marines. Bodies rocked to the deck of the junks as rounds struck their mark. Volleys of haphazardly-aimed arrows whizzed from the Sibytte warships, striking the nearest gunwales of the Hokksulgugae vessels, but not much else. The high vantage points of the ships were ideal positions to pelt the would-be marauders below. Like fish in a barrel, the pseudo-Justinians were shot down from above. "This is what it means to be a Hokksulgugae!" Captain Sun cheered.

After the Hokksulgugae's opening volleys, Sun ordered the ships alongside the remaining vessels. Utterly battered by the superior technology of their adversaries, the Sibyttes presented a negligible threat, and Sun's marines quickly subdued and rounded up the new slaves. The surviving Ithicists were taken aboard Sun's command vessel, and he stepped down from his perch to meet them personally.

"I regret we did not arrive sooner," he began. "We'll see your needs taken to and goods accounted for. But first, who is the acting officer of this formation?"

"I would be that" A young man stepped forward, speaking in a somewhat broken and heavily accented version of the native Hokksulgugae language. His once fine clothes, a clear indicator that he came from a wealthy family or that he himself had managed to accumulate a somewhat sizable fortunate during his short life, were now soiled blood, both his and that of his foes. A makeshift bandage, little more than the torn off sleeve of his clothes, did little to halt the flow of blood escaping from a nasty gash on his forearm. 

"This one's name is Kau Ling" He gave a deep bow to Captain Sun. He then rendered a bow to the captain's nearby crewmen as he said "Ling is most debt-full for the aid rendered by his Hokksulgugae friends." The twenty-five remaining Ithicists mimicked Ling's actions, murmuring things in their native tongues, presumibly sentiments of gratitude. Twenty-five men. That was all that was left of the convoy. The ship Ling had been on had carried just over a hundred men. The other combat junk had had a similar crew with the merchant junk carrying about eighty men. All in all the convoy had had a crew of two-hundred eighty men of which only twenty-five remained.

"Ling is- was the second leader. Leader now with Irochi apparently. Ling is... how you say... son of a defender? Assailant? No. Warrior! Yes, Ling is son of a warrior." He smiled, obviously pleased with picking the right word. "Ling glad you are here. Kau will be even gladder to hear of this. Kau will surely discuss Hokksulgugae heroics with the king."

Sun Pyeok returned the lieutenant's gesture, declining his upper body toward the remnants of the Ithicists. "Captain Sun Pyeok," he introduced himself. "It was fortunate our patrol stumbled into you. The damn Sibyttes have never been so bold as to raid this close to Hokksulgug before. Any idea what might have provoked them?"

"Pride? Greed?" Ling shrugged. "Ling is confused always by the false believers."

"Yes, well, it seems that Hokksulgug cannot avoid open conflict with the Sibyttes for much longer. If they wish to challenge the integrity of these waters, they'll find themselves sorely punished." Hokksulgugae marines were clambering over the decks, retrieving whatever goods and equipment could be saved from the Imperial vessels. The survivors were led below, given space to rest and stopgap medical treatment to hold until reaching the mainland. 

"We're headed back to Hokksulgug," Sun informed Ling. "There you'll have some time to recuperate before going home. I'm sure the Daekuang would be interested to hear of the situation within the Empire as well." With that, the Hokksulgugae vessels turned back, leaving the cluster of unmanned ships and souls destined for the depths.