This island had pretty intresting sights! Linnea walked around with a curiously happy smile on her face; having just arrived, there were plenty of things to see and do, and at this rate she could easily see herself staying here a good few days and see what else happened... Her eager eyes scanned her surroundings, taking in the sights of people going about their daily businesses. The town was pretty large and even while brimming with activity like this, it was far from being a crowded place, and thus the shy hooded ranger didn't have any problems or discomfort walking around. Passing by a market, she took a few moments to inspect a fruit shop and bought herself an apple, taking small bites as she explored the place a little more...

Everything looked o peaceful... Almost too peaceful, Lin might say. Not in the sense that she found the whole thing boring, more like she felt nothing could be this peaceful for too long. As everyday citizens went about their daily business, elsewhere, powerful players were moving their underlings around like pieces on a chess board, and thus anything could suddenly turn into a battleground.

Sadly, it turned out her feeling was right, suddenly hearing a frightened female scream, everyone's gaze turned towards the east, Linnea included, but while many fled away from the direction, others went to investigate. Narrowing her eyes in that direction, the archer sighed as she truly hated how often her gut feelings turned out accurate; hearing more screams, she grabbed her bow and an arrow, keeping it pointed down until she had a proper target. Little by little her vision grew clearer... People were running away from something, screaming "Fishmen" and "Pirates"; so that's what was happening.

No way she was gonna let them have their way, not that easily. Granted, she may be a pirate too, but she felt to kinship towards pirates who wanted to destroy the sights she wanted to see. She would take down as many of them as she could, and with a little luck maybe there would still be something worth exploring in the end. Taking cover behind an abandoned market stall, Lin took aim and waited patiently; letting loose an arrow at the first Fishman that stepped within range: Her arrow flew silently, embedding itself at the base of his neck, right where the gills were. The fish pirate would bleed out soon enough. Though they grew visibly startled by suddenly seeing a comrade fall down, choking in his own blood, they still pressed forward, looking for the sniper who by now had crouched back down and loaded another arrow. Once again rising from cover, she repeated the same process and killed yet another one.

This time around though, they were able to see where she was, forcing Linnea to quickly crouch back down and move aside to avoid a spray of bullets. Vanishing into an alley, she ran a block back so she could once again take a new position and snipe off some more fishmen. The Marines would likely meet the pirates soon enough, and once that happened, wherever they were fighting would be certainly razed to the ground...

Already feeling the adrenaline flowing through her veins, the thrill of battle brought with it an uncanny sense of focus, one that she'd use to its full extent by slowly shaving down the number of fishmen, but soon she'd probably have to snipe off Marines too...





Spent 2 arrows, killed 2 Fishmen



Turn 1

OOC: I suggest resetting the post with each turn so that we're not stuck waiting for each other to post in the exact same order.

Pic related: Outfit:

Task Name: The Influence of the Yonko
Tier: 3
Location: Universal
Crew or Personal:
Description: It's no secret the once vapid waters of the Four Blues have become lively and churn with activity of ships who have tasted the sea of the New World. It's as if everything has been moving in fast motion as of lately and not only that, but crime rates have sprung to an all time high in some areas. Reason being due to one Yonko known only as the King of the Sea. His real name remains a mystery to those in the Four Blues, but his unique moniker is enough to strike fear in the hearts of many sailors of all affiliations. He himself has no interest in looting and destroying small towns where strong people aren't, but these fishmen from his crew harbor said intentions and they aren't pushovers. Fishmen and Mermen of all shapes and sizes harboring not only killer skill, but large numbers.

They'll raid the town you initiate this task in and by Post No.6 they'll have the town set ablaze. Depending on your affiliation and maybe even Race, you can work along side the Fishmen or perhaps you will fight against them.
NPC Details:
30 T1 Fishmen | 2 T2 Fishmen Bosses: 1 Hammerhead Shark | 1 Squid Merman
25 T1 Marines | 3 T2 Marines Captains

(Adding the task details for convenience. Also, amen to not sticking to a set post order each round.)


The first island Seiju set foot on, other than Crescent Island, in five years. As the silver haired swordsman stepped of the row boat and onto a new land he felt a refreshing sense of adventure bubble up within his time withered soul. In his blissful excitement, Seiju had wandered off from the docks while Damocles was tying down their craft. Disappearing into the crowd of townsfolk he whimsically strolled down the streets taking in all sorts of sights. The large buildings of fine craftsmanship stood tall and proud declaring the skill of their builders. Shops pedaled goods from all over showing signs of a thriving market. Laughs and smiles adorned the faces of townsfolk left and right marking this as a peaceful island with few worries to speak of. It was a nice place and the atmosphere had a somewhat healing effect on the hermit who had lived alone for half a decade. Swept up by the pace of his own exploring, before Seiju knew it he was completely separated from Damocles.

A realization dawned upon Seiju as he stood on a street among passerby strangers. "I doesn't do me much good if I strike out into the world again only to be separated from my ride...Being stuck on a peaceful island like this would be just as boring as Crescent Island." The retired marine said aloud to himself with closed eyes as he rubbed his chin. He needed to regroup with Damocles before the youth decided to leave without the old man. There was plenty of time to do so however as they only just arrived. There was also the fact that Seiju had never been here before so wandering around aimlessly would only get him more lost. Opening his eyes to scan his surroundings Seiju pondered silently to himself until he spotted a locale of interest. A bar with a rustic look that reminded Seiju of the good ol' days. "Ah..." He looked left and right check to see if Damocles was appearing from around a corner. Nope, and Seiju was secretly hoping for as much.

"Well, guess I'll drink on it."

The swordsman declared his intent with a grin as he stepped confidently through the doorway and entered the bar. As Seiju walked up to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools he ordered a sweet wine and thought to himself, "The kid knows I like my booze. If I sit here long enough, he'll find me sooner or later." The justification was shaky at best, but Seiju hardly cared. He began to enjoy his drink and savored it for a few minutes before a disturbance soured the wine and his mood. The bar door was kicked down and three fishmen burst into the room brandishing weapons.

"Gyogyogyogyogyo! Looks like we've got ourselves some monkeys in a barrel boys! Kill em all!

One of the fishman laughed and ordered his two buddies to start taking lives indiscriminately. Seiju slammed his drink on the table shattering the glass it had been poured into and stood. The wine would taste foul now that the mood had been stained by such trash. Seiju hardly saw the act as wasteful, but the loss of a good drink due to the murderous pirates certainly was a waste. The silver haired man stood and turned to face the fishmen with sharp eyes.

"Who the hell do you think YOU are?" One of the fishmen asked in response to Seiju's defiant stand.

"Trying to play hero? You'll die first then!" Another screamed as he lunged forward with a cutlass raised high.

Seiju's hand went to the hilt of his blade and his body lowered into a ready stance. "My condolences, barkeep...your shop is about to get messy."

Linnea breathed heavily as she dashed through the streets and alleyways, desperately trying to stay clear from the bulk of the fishmen horde... It was a difficult task given their number, but Marines soon started showing up. For once Lin was almost glad to see them arrive. Almost... Even if they shared their goal of stopping the fishmen, an all out battle would certainly ravage the whole island.

"There's the sniper!! Get her boys!!!", shouted one fishman pirate, clearly spotting Lin as he appeared behind her, going after her through the alley. Idiot, announcing himself like that. Quickly pivoting her forward right foot, the ranger grabbed an arrow, pulled the nook just as her body shifted around, allowing her to take aim. Locking her gaze into her foe's eyes like a huntress to her prey, she let loose the arrow, aimed at the base of the pirate's neck.

Gunshots could be heard in the distance as the battle finally commenced for real, but as she ran further away from the horde, Linnea also started hearing gunshots in the opposite direction... Only then did she understood their plan: A pincer attack. Clearly simply running away from the attacking pirates while trimming down their numbers wouldn't be a viable strategy for much longer, so it was time for plan B: Hole up somewhere and start sniping. As yet two more fishmen screamed behind her, the ranger looked around for a hiding place. Hearing panicked screams from a nearby house, she walked closer to it, running alongside it with an arrow loaded, peeking over the window: Three fishmen rampaged inside a tavern... Taking aim, she let loose an arrow aimed at the fishman furthest back before it could kill any more innocent people, seeing that a man with a sword seemed to draw their attention.

But when the two creatures became aware of the silent arrow killing their comrades, Linnea would have already climbed onto a crate and from there onto the tavern's second floor balcony. Her pursuers wouldn't find her so easily and she'd be able to snipe them all from this place...

As she crouched, hidden behind the balcony, Linnea's keen eyes and ears scanned the surroundings. There was still battle going on in the floor below them, as well as up in the distance, to the east and west... Sweat trailed down her face and body as she assessed her situation and formulated the best plan to get out of here alive. She couldn't count on the Marines for help, nor would she want to, being a wanted Criminal... But she didn't want to let these vicious pirates have their way with this beautiful island either. With a goal in mind, she walked inside the tavern's second floor (which seemed mostly dedicated to playing card games and the like), and approached the stairs. Soon she'd be able to take down the two causing mayhem down there and any others that came in....


Spent 2 arrows (4 total); killed 2 Fishmen, one of them inside the tavern

4 T1 fishmen dead

 Turn 2

The unbridled strength of a fishman was something Seiju knew to be wary of, however he felt no fear in face of the sharp toothed creature that charged towards him. The way the fool stepped, the grip on his sword, the focus of his eyes. Seiju gleaned all of this information and evaluated the fishman as a novice swordsman at best. In one fluid motion, Seiju drew his blade while stepping forward past the pirate effectively dodging the attack and cutting open the sea person's belly in a single stroke. The fishman howled in pain and fell over clutching his side. He wasn't dead yet, but that injury would put him out of commission until some authorities could arrive. "You son of a!" The two fishmen remaining inside the tavern both drew pistols and aimed to fire at the silver haired swordsman. Only one of the pair would get the chance however as a well placed arrow found its way into the back of the other. Gunpowder blazed and an iron ball was sent flying through the air. Seiju swayed to the side with an Extreme Acceleration and Sharp Reflexes narrowly avoiding a shot to the head. The speeding shot grazed the swordsman's cheek drawing a bit of blood as he rushed forward closing the gap between himself and his attacker. The fishman had failed to ensure his bullet had made its mark and turned his attention to the comrade that had fallen from an arrow shot. Mistake. Seiju entered effective range and performed three quick slashes that would seal the fishman's fate as a lame cripple for the rest of his life. A swift cut to the wrist severing vital tendons, another to the dominant eye stealing depth perception and focus from the fishman's sight, a final cut across the chest to paralyze him with pain. Seiju finished the surgical debilitation in a flash and was already flicking the fishman's blood from his sword by the time the fool's body fell to the wooden floor.

A sigh left Seiju's lips as he looked to the fishman that had been struck by a mystery archer. The man was dead, the heart having been pierced as if by some cruel cupid. These fishman were criminals that deserved punishment, but he saw no point for a needless death. The swordsman stepped into the door way and looked around to try and find the archer but little did he know, she had already scaled the tavern to the second floor. The old man scanned the surroundings for a hand full of seconds before his ears noticed the sound of gunshots not too far away. Then more gun shots...the distant boom of a canon roared and seconds later there was a large blast to the east sending up a billowing cloud of smoke. A frown that had already found its way onto Seiju's expression deepened as he realized the nature of the situation. This was not just a single instance of dumb thugs shaking down a bar or going on a small scale killing spree. A full blown attack on the island was taking place and form the sound of it, there were marines fighting back.

"Tch...Looks like my drink will have to wait."

Turning back to the barkeep inside, Seiju gave him an apologetic smile before speaking, "Sorry, would you mind tying those two up for me? I need to go handle some business." He then turned to face the barkeep fully bowing and clasping his hands together, "I'll come back and spend plenty of beli here to make up for it." The gesture was genuine and punctuated Seiju's time at the tavern before he turned on his heel and headed off. He didn't get very far however as another pair of Fishmen barreled out of a nearby alleyway and immediately began attacking Seiju on sight. One of them lunged for the human with a spear only to find his weapon batted aside by the flat of Seiju's blade. The old man followed up with a vertical slash but the fishman jumped back, cautious of the elderly man's swordsmanship. The quick clash ended in a stalemate with man and fishman staring each other down. Meanwhile, from the side, the other fishman had a rifle and was leveling it to aim at Seiju after having moved into his blind spot.

6 T1 Fishmen Defeated

Skills:

As she climbed down the stairs, Linnea got a better look at what was going on down there. A long haired swordsman took down a fishman with a few precise slashes, attesting to his skills. Once he had done that, the place looked relatively clear, enough for some of the patrons to finally dare heading out to go look for a better hiding place. They had to ensure the horde wouldn't find them and this would clearly not be a good place to achieve that. Of the three fishmen who entered that taven, one was taken out by Linnea's arrow and the other two by the swordsman's blade. He was good... Pretty damn good... If she could rely on this man's strength, it wouldn't be too easy to come up with a contingency plan:

"Impressive swordsmanship...", spoke a surprised Linnea as she stepped down the stairs, gawking at the swordsman. The bow in her hand revealed who had shot the earlier arrow, but as some other shouting and roaring made itself heard outside, she knew that the two enemies chasing after her were getting close, "It might be better if we stick together, don't you think?"

She smiled amicably at the stranger as the bartender and the few remaining humans tied up the downed fishman, moving to step out of the tavern too. Linnea knew exactly where her enemies would be coming from: They'd been chasing her for a good while after all; yet even then she certainly didn't expect them finding her so easily. But there was no time for any idle chatter... The moment the swordsman stepped outside, he came under attack by two more fishmen, and while he took care of one himself, Linnea grabbed another arrow, took aim, and let it loose, aiming at the guy's sternum (leaving him bleeding out on the floor. Most of her shots weren't meant to kill, but it was obvious she didn't really care whether her victims lived or died. If they weren't able to move for the rest of the battle, that would be enough for her... The two in front had been defeated:

"More coming from the west.", she warned, hearing footsteps pretty close by and swiftly turning in that direction, letting loose yet another arrow while a bullet was fired her way from amidst the cloud of smoke.

A sharp, pain filled cry confirmed her arrow hitting home, yet even Lin yelped as a bullet grazed her shoulder. She immediately ducked down, crouching as she readied another arrow. She was still a talented scout and being able to detect where enemies would come from next was easy enough...


Spent 2 arrows (6 total); took out 2 Fishmen

9 T1 Fishmen defeated

Turn 3

A brief interruption played out before Seiju could leave the tavern. A young woman approached him and suggested that they stand together to face the fishman attack. From the looks of the bow and arrows she carried, there was little doubt in Seiju's mind that he had her to thank for taking out the third fishman moments ago. The silver haired swordsman still found it left a sour taste in his mouth that she had taken a life, but at the moment he couldn't exactly pick and choose the help available. From the sound of things outside, the situation was pretty bad. "Very well...but don't slow me down." The words might have come off cold, but then again, Seiju wasn't very warm to fellow fighters whilst on the battlefield. There was nothing personal behind the sharp tone and swift dismissal of further conversation. Seiju favored action over words, especially so when lives were potentially being lost elsewhere. For every second spent tarrying here, that was less time spent quelling the threat to the safety of the town. If looting were the fishmen's only concern then Seiju would be willing to mind his own business. But an extermination? The old warrior could not let such disregard for life go unpunished.

As Seiju entered the street, everything went as before. The spearman thrust his pole only to be parried. Seiju countered but failed to make a hit. While he squared off with the spear using fishman, the woman took a shot at the other fishman which had been aiming a rifle at Seiju. This let the swordsman focus on his own encounter fully as he stepped in making a feint to the left. The fishman tried to counter with another thrust only for the trajectory of Seiju's body and slash to change suddenly. The old man stepped to the right and attacked from that side too cutting down the pirate with yet another non-lethal wound intended only to disable and disarm.

The woman then alerted Seiju of more enemies coming from the west. He turned to see a smokey cloud of cover obscuring whatever foes might have been there, but Seiju knew better than to assume that meant there were no attackers on the other side just because he couldn't see them yet. The aged fighter began a sprint towards the smoke, an arrow flying past him just as the roar of gunshots sounded. He could hear the female behind him grunt in pain as well as the agonized scream of the fishman she had hit. This made Seiju even more sure of himself as he approached the edge of the smoke and unleashed a powerful slash that would produce a Vacuum Blade. The cutting air blade would blow the smoke away revealing three fishmen that it sliced into. There were a three more behind them however and as the front trio fell, the rearward troops advanced.

Using a skill known as Touho, Seiju launched himself into these fishmen with great speed moving past them where he would perform a quick one eighty degree turn allowing him to slash low for their heels. The fishmen all fell to the ground clutching their severed tendons while screaming out bloody murder. They spewed curses and insults at the human who maimed them, but Seiju paid it no mind and turned his gaze to look for more fishy fighters.

15 T1 Fishmen Defeated[Total]
Stamina: 135/150

Skills:

This guy hardly seemed like the chatty type... All for the best, since Lin wasn't one either. But this little team of theirs was actually a pretty effective one, his skilled swordsmanship did wonders to draw the enemies' attention away from the ranger and back to himself, giving her the time and freedom needed to properly aim her shots. As he dashed head first into the same cluster of foes, Linea took cover behind a pile of crates. They protected her from unsavory attention from the enemies currently focused mostly on her allied silver haired swordsman, but the guy seemed very much capable of taking care of himself.

Their rear proved a much more serious problem. The group the swordsman was currently taking on must have come from the west, while the ones Linnea initially spotted came from the east. Once these two groups met, all hell would break loose, but at this point she was more concerned with ensuring the stragglers coming from the West wouldn't get a chance to pincer attack the two of them. So while the swordsman trimmed down the fishmen on one end, she turned to the other, blocking out the deafening noise of cannons, gunshots and men screaming left and right. By now there was a decent dust cloud keeping them from seeing much further than 50m, but that worked for both themselves and their enemie. As three more fishmen appeared from the east, Linnea had her arrows primed, and let loose one aiming for the sole rifleman among the trio.

"One...", she muttered as the fishman fell with a an arrow stabbed in his neck (she wasn't too keen on allowing gunners the opportunity to shoot)

The next too had spotted the two humans standing up to their onslaught, breathing heavily and clearly exhausted from battling the marines. They likely hoped to encounter easier prey among defenseless humans, but what they found were even scarier hunters. Once they noticed Linnea shooting arrows without anyone there to even supress her in some form, they charged immediately. The girl with platinum hair wasted not a single moment in responding to their attack, holding her breath and narrowing her eyes, drawing, nocking and aiming another arrow at the swordsman closest to her, she let it loose towards his knee, quickly knocking the pirate down as he slid face first through the dirt. She took a deep breath once the arrow was let loose, only to hold it again after she had the next one loaded.

"Two...", whispering to herself, she let loose the next and final arrow for this round, letting it fly through the air at the next fishman, who stumbled from running over his suddenly fallen comrade. This arrow caught him straight in the lung, easily incapacitating him, "...And three..."

Scanning her surroundings for more pirates hoping to ambush the two of them, she found none for the time being, and as such her hunting gaze darted back to the Swordsman's own fight. The first enemy she spotted was one fishman bleeding profusely from his legs, still desperately trying to take aim at the silver haired foe who slashed him. Wasting not a single moment, she loaded another arrow and let it loose, catching the guy between his ribs and seriously wounding (if not killing) him for good this time.


19 fishmen defeated (total)

Spent 4 arrows (10 total)

Turn 4

Cleaning his blade of blood with another swift slash through the air, Seiju turned away from the fishmen on the ground just in time to miss the sight of the arrow taking out one who had been desperately attempting to pass judgement on his attacker. The sound of the projectile landing caused Seiju to turn back with a glance at the fishman and then to the archer who had sealed his fate. The old man was frowning, but he wasn't about to go scolding the girl for watching his back on a battlefield. Not only would that be disrespectful, but it would have been a waste of time. Instead, he nodded in acknowledgement of her help before looking to the source of the loudest commotion nearby. Seiju pointed in that direction and called out to his mystery partner, "It seems something big is happening that way." The sound of another canon echoed throughout the town. Seconds passed as the cacophony of a riot in the distance became the ambient theme only for the canon ball to land with another large blast.

"I'm heading there." Seiju said, informing the girl of his intentions before running off to investigate.




The shouts of a commanding officer sounded as a young marine Captain tried to rally the soldiers serving under him as the attempted to fight off the remaining fishmen. Things were looking grim for the marines. One of the captain's leading them had already been killed and only ten aside from the remaining officer were still in fighting condition. The fishmen, on the other hand, had eleven fighters still standing not counting the two bosses that led them. The only saving grace for the marines was that the captain had anticipated their forces would be dwindled like this ahead of time and had this subordinates fall back to reinforce a position defensively. The marines had used tables from nearby buildings to create a barricade in front of a corner where two buildings met. There was no retreat, but they had cover to hide behind and shoot from.

It was unlikely the marines would be able to hold the position for long, but it was a desperate stand that would allow them to take out as many fishmen as possible before going down themselves. A pair of fishmen tried to charge the fortified position under the cover fire of their crewmates, but it was a fool's errand. "Now!" The captain shouted and a pair of marine snipers popped up from behind cover each placing a bullet between the eyes of their respective approaching Fishman.

Seeing his pawns fall, the Hammerhead Fishman boss spit on the ground cursing his own men for being so useless. "I'm heading out." The muscular boss picked up an iron turtle shield and began walking towards the marine defenses without a care in the world. Seeing the shielded fishman approaching, the captain grit his teeth with concern before gesturing forward with his arm, aiming at the Hammerhead fishman. "Everyone, take aim at that man! Fire till you've run out of ammo!" His men heeded the command and ten rifles appeared from behind the knocked over tables, all roaring with blasts of sparks. The scent of gunpowder wafted heavy over them followed by a sense of terror as they watched their shots ricochet off the iron turtle shield like they were fired from a toy cork gun.

"Don't stop! Keep firing! Our ship has already sunk theirs!"

The captain tried to spur the men on with news from a den den mushi about how the pirate's ship had been defeated, but only half of them began to reload, the others giving in. Seeing this from behind his shield, the fishman grinned and began to laugh. It looked as though all was lost for the marines. Once their defensive barricade was smashed, there was nothing stopping the remaining fishmen from charging in and slaughtering the lot of them. But fate would not be seeing those men to their graves today.

"Aaaaaah! Thish shucks!"

A silver haired old man stumbled into the square, shouting at the top of his lungs in a slurred voice. Everyone turned to look at him, eyes blinking or wide with surprise as the seemingly drunk Seiju wandered in. The tense moment was shattered by the comedic scene of the old man wobbling up to the fishman with a stupid grin only to trip and fall flat on his face a couple meters away. A muffled shout escaped the old man's lips as he spoke face down on the ground, "All the bars are clooooooooooooooooooshed! What kind of shtupid town ish dish anywaiz!?" He slowly pushed himself back up and locked eyes with the Hammerhead Fishman. "What are yoooou lookin' at? Huh!? You wanna fight!?" Seiju blurted out as he put up his dukes and started punching the air while jumping up and down lightly in place. The swordsman circled around the fishman boss placing himself between the pirate and his own crew.

"No, I'm looking to kill you and every other stinking human in this town!"

The hammerhead fishman didn't seem too amused by the old man's antics and bared fangs at Seiju, but he kept his shield facing the marines. It wasn't enough, Seiju had to push harder. A snorty laugh escaped the elder's voice and he pointed at the fishman with a look of disbelief. "Some puny fish like you, kill a human? Bwahahaha! That's rich. You'll end up sushi before you know it." A sly smirk danced across Seiju's lips as he stared the fishman down. Enraged at the comment about his race being mere food for humans, the hammer head fishman growled and lunged for Seiju looking to smash the man with the iron turtle shield. The fishman hadn't even noticed that Seiju stopped slurring his words, the drunkenness having all been an act.

A burst of Extreme Acceleration carried Seiju into a swift side step dodging the blow. At the same time the swordsman drew his dagger and performed a stroke across the fishman's wrist severing his tendon. Seiju then jumped backwards a good two meters and performed a hand motion from his marine days that signaled troops to fire. The fishman was forced to drop his shield as his hand no longer had the strength to hold it leaving him open to the volley of bullets that rained down upon him once the marines got over their shock at what had just transpired before them.

Seiju himself ran for the barricade as the fishmen on the other side of the square opened fire too. A bullet managed to catch him in the left arm and the swordsman grimaced in pain, but he was able to dive behind the tables in time to avoid any more injuries. On the other side of the defenses, several kneeling marines looked at the old man in surprise. Seiju simply grinned at them while he put pressure on his gunshot wound. "Name's Seiju. Retired marine. Looked like you boys could use some help."

21 T1 Fishmen Defeated
T2 Hammerhead Defeated
15 T1 Marines Remaining
1 T2 Marine Captain Remaining

As the two fighters gradually thinned down the horde at their current spot, the number of enemies showing up to attack them naturally lessened, but that didn't mean the battle was any closer to being finished. The deafening sounds of gunfire and cannonballs still echoed and reverberated throught the streets, robbing the two of what little visibility they yet had. Lin had to hope there wasn't any fishman around with an immunity to dust coulds, or this would get troublesome quickly enough... She returned the acknowledging nod before turning around to watch their rear once more, but there weren't any more enemies coming to greet them. WIth that, she turned around as the swordsman spoke once more. It seemed he was going to check out the battle elsewhere:

"Alright. I'll cover you from higher ground.", she answered with a determined gaze as she quickly scanned her surroundings once more

Those crates she'd been hiding behind were good enough to climb and to give her something with which to reach the rooftops once more. As a ranger to whom every bit of the envoiroment was traversable terrain, she acrobatically leapt from the crates to a higher ledge, and from there found herself at the roof once more. She trailed after her swordsman partner, but found herself reflexively tugging on her hood as she found him surrounded with Marines. No way she was going down there now, lest she be mistaken for a friend of the fishmen... Marines could be overzealous like that. From her experience, she found them to be either corrupt or overzealous, rarely shade of gray in between. She took her place on a high roof, watching the scene as a Hammerhead fishman danced around with the swordsman, before the two finally clashed. For whatever reason, the shield wielding fish seemed pretty confident of his ability to take down his foe, but with a single slash, he was forced to lower the shield and what followed was a hail of bullets that fully put a stop to his plan.

"But these guys just keep on coming...", Linnea muttered to herself, as five more fishmen found their way into the plaza, in a flash she had taken aim and shot an arrow at the first that dared poke his head there, piercing his chest and putting him out of his misery before the marines could even react.

After that, she took aim at yet another fishman, and shot him down but before she could do anything else, she saw one of the marines fall with a bullet right between his eyes. The shot had obviously not come from any of the remaining fishmen in the square, and it prevented the marines from shooting them outright, providing the pirates with suppressing fire as they sought out cover to engage their foes in a gunfight. It was obviously the work of a sniper, leading the ever attentive Linnea to quickly calculate where the shot had come from... It was time for her to do what she did best, as she was confident in her skills to take down the enemy sniper: More importantly, her own weapon was silent, as opposed to her foe's rifle. Crouching down and looking over her cover, the huntress quickly deduced the possible spots where the enemy sniper must be, and simply watched each of them in turn.

"Where are you hiding now...?", she thought out loud to herself, not even noticing the minutes that went by as she carried out the difficult task of locating a sniper.

She eventually did, noticing a rifle barrel barely sticking out of a window. The guy was an amateur, even if he had some skills at hiding himself. It was a squid Merman... Most of the marines were still hiding behind their cover, but every now and then the sniper popped out to take a shot. And when he finally did so again, Linnea intercepted him by letting loose another arrow, that flew a clean path across the square and landed straight in the sniper's eye...

With that, she looked back at the swordsman. He probably wouldn't see her now, but if he happened to turn his gaze towards the roof, he'd find her giving a thumbs up.


23 T1 fishmen defeated
T2 Hammerhead Defeated
T2 Squidman Defeated
14 T1 Marines Remaining
1 T2 Marine Captain Remaining

Spent 3 arrows (13 total)

Turn 5

(My bad, only 10 marines were left at my last post. Not 15. New count as of this post is 9)

"You certainly showed up at the right time..." Said the marine captain as he crouched his way over to Seiju's side. The strange mask he wore was off putting as Seiju couldn't see the man's eyes, but the lower half of the marine's face expressed gratitude. The man reached out as if to touch Seiju's wound and then pulled his digits back thinking better of it. "We have any medical supplies?" The captain asked of his men only for Seiju to wave away the gesture of kindness. "Don't worry about it, keep your men focused on the fight. This isn't over yet, kid." Seiju then reached down into his doctor's pouch and began using his own supplies to treat and bandage the bullet hole in his left arm. Seeing this, the masked captain smiled and nodded, a hint of respect in the look due to the way Seiju took care of himself so the marines could do their jobs without having to tend to an old man. "You're right...Keep firing men! Or do you want this retired marine to think the champion's of justice have gone soft in recent years!?"

The marines shouted a battle cry back, their spirits lifted at the turn of events. They took turns in a three set volley system sending unbiased bullets down range threatening the fishmen with a swift case of high speed lead poisoning. Support from the archer above made their jobs all the more easier as fishmen fled cover trying to stay out of her line of fire only to fall victim to the hail of bullets that showered their direction. In a matter of moments, the last of the fishmen pirates were gunned down or felled by arrows, including the squid fishman boss. "It looks like we have another helper to thank. Friend of yours?" The marine captain asked as he stood and his men cheered upon securing their victory. Seiju turned his head and looked up to see the girl from before giving him a sign of accomplishment. He nodded to the young woman before sinking back below the barricade resting his head against the flipped table.

"Maybe now I can finally get a drink..."

All Fishmen defeated
Nine Marines and One Captain Survived

One more shot, and yet another, and another... There weren't that many fishmen left, something even a blind man could easily notice given how much the screaming and shouting had died down. Most of the enemies were dead, dying or severely wounded, including the two leaders of this ragtag band of pirates. Linnea took note to ask around about fishmen attacks at the next island she went through, cause this whole thing seemed far too organized for a single random pirate raid. She also made sure to remember this swordsman... Earlier on, when he was fighting the Turtle shield fishman, he signalled the Marines to fire as if he were one of their own.

Regardless. Lin kept shooting her arrows until the battle finally died down for good. No more gunshots reverberating through the air signalled the end of the battle, and as the smoke cloud slowly died down, several white clad marines scurried around the battlefield, both to attend to their fallen comrades, as well as restrain the few fishmen that were still alive in the wake of their own mayhem. Now confident that the battle was over, Linnea put away her bow, and tugged on her hood further.

This unconscious gesture she could never keep herself from doing at times like these was born from a desire to remain hidden and invisible, a desire further spurred on by the unease of being surrounded by Marines. She was a wanted pirate and unless she hid her face, some would eventually spot her. With all the Marines on this island due to the Pirate attack; she had to make herself scarce, and the best way to go about it would be to explore this island's wilderness. With a final wave to her swordsman partner, the archer vanished, travelling through not so frequented alleys as she avoided all the Navy presence...


Turn 6

The marine captain couldn't recognize the archer as a pirate from this distance, but he watched her as she waved and took her leave. "Not the most talkative type, is she?" He asked in Seiju's direction. The retired soldier simply shrugged and remained seated with his eyes closed. "Hell if I know, I never even caught her name. She just happened to be fighting the fishmen as well." There was a slightly grumpy tone in the old man's voice but it was washed away when the sound of liquid shifting around in a flask caught his attention. The marine captain was holding a silver canteen towards the silver haired man with a smirk on his face. "That drink you wanted." Seiju huffed a small laugh of amusement and accepted the offering before taking a deep swig of what tasted like rum. It wasn't Seiju's favorite drink, but it would do.

"Thanks, kid."

Seiju handed him the canteen back only for the man to shake his head and gesture for the swordsman to keep it. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. Nine of my men survived today. If you and that woman hadn't shown up, we'd probably all be dead." All of the marines quieted down as they overheard what was being said. When the captain bowed his head in thanks, his subordinates followed suit, "We are in your debt, Seiju. Thank you. Truly." It was a heart warming sight, but Seiju sighed through it and made a grunt of effort as he stood to his feet. He insisted the captain take his flask back by shoving it into the young man's chest.

"I was just doing what I wanted. Don't think so much of an old man's selfish whims." With a smile Seiju hopped over the barricade and began a search for Damocles. As he left, the marine captain shouted out for Seiju to hear. "I'm Captain Zed J. Maxwell! If you ever find trouble, look for me at the local marine branch!" Seiju waved back at the man without looking back and took his leave.