The sound of the approaching wind buzzed in his ears, and Xiulote’s extensive training kicked in. Instinctively, he sidestepped and raised his left arm to block. A copper spear skewered through the leather armor, slashed across his left arm, then grazed his chest before stopping at his right shoulder.
Xiulote paid no attention to his wound. With his right shoulder, he pinned the copper spear, preventing the enemy from withdrawing it for another stab. Then, gripping the wood shaft with his left hand, he roared fiercely.
The samurai opposite him wobbled, nearly toppling over. Then the samurai half-sank his body and exerted force simultaneously. For a moment, the two were caught in a stalemate across the long spear.
Hearing their prince’s angry shout, the trusted aides felt an urgent desperation. Three battle-hardened trusted aides, despite their injuries, finally took down their opponents. They then surged forward, swinging their weapons simultaneously, and smashed the enemy grappling with their prince into a bloody pulp.
Finally, Xiulote could breathe a sigh of relief. Clutching the long spear, he collapsed onto the boat and glanced at Bertade. The Head Warrior had knocked down the remaining foes. Then, the Young Commander turned his head to look at his trusted aides who wanted to come closer to bandage his wounds.
"Don’t mind me! Keep paddling, don’t stop!"
In a brief moment, the attack by three small boats was dispersed, and the Mexica craft picked up speed again, fleeing towards the Lerma River to the north. Seeing the fate of the warriors in the lead, the more than ten Tarasco small boats behind hesitated, nudging closer at a slow pace. Several other Mexica boats also approached, fighting desperately to protect the royal vessel on either side.
On the splendid greatboat, awe shone in Ospia’s eyes. He watched as Bertade, armed with a spear, successively slew four men, then switched to a war club and swiftly killed three, loudly praising him.
"Such an exceptional samurai! He should belong to me! Hurry, faster, all warriors paddle! Capture this longbow strongman and everyone will be rewarded with ten boxes of bronzed vessels!"
The samurais on the boat cheered loudly and then obeyed the order, moving towards the sides of the boat, gradually joining the paddling ranks. Only two guards, holding shields and Short Spears, protected their Legion Commander on each side.
The Legion Commander’s greatboat surged forward, like a rampaging bear, mercilessly shoving aside the small boats entangled in battle, charging straight towards the Mexica craft at the forefront.
Hearing the cheers, Xiulote looked in the direction of the sound and saw an exceptionally massive boat carrying thirty Tarasco warriors quickly closing in. He spotted the round-faced Nnobility waving the Spear Flag, trying to make out the shouts carried by the wind, faintly hearing, "exceptional, capture, archery, reward, bronze vessels..." Rage suddenly flared in the eyes of the Young Commander.
Bertade scanned his surroundings; the Mexica boats were picking up speed, but some time was still needed to reach their maximum velocity. The large boat behind had already breached the rear defense line, rushing ever closer. Once the large boat collided with them, the thirty Tarasco warriors would surge aboard, leaving no chance of survival for those on the small boat.
Bertade quickly surveyed the scene, his gaze eventually resting on the central part of the greatboat, where the round-faced Nnobility, wearing a purple helmet and waving the flag, had his eyes fixed on him, sparkling fiercely. The Head Warrior’s gaze sharpened, then he tossed away his war club, drew his longbow from behind, and swiftly notched a copper arrow.
Next, Bertade’s eyes, as sharp as an eagle’s, locked onto the enemy leader’s helmet. He quickly and steadily pulled back his longbow, then suddenly released an arrow as swift as lightning.
Ospia had been watching the actions of the greatbow warrior. As he saw him draw his bow, and notched an arrow at lightning speed, he sensed trouble. The "Crocodile" Nnobility glanced around and quickly crouched down, pulling over the closest guard to use as a shield.
With a "whoosh," the long arrow emitted a sharp whistle as it shot through the air. It followed an almost straight trajectory, covering a distance of thirty meters, and with a "chit," impaled the terrified face, then with a "hiss," burst out from the back of the skull. Finally, with a crisp "bang," the bronze arrowhead struck Ospia’s helmet, nearly puncturing the inlaid copper.
Felling the impact against his helmet, the round-faced Nnobility was shocked to his core, terrified beyond belief. Years of battlefield experience made him instinctively pick up his shield to protect his face. Then again, with a "thud," a long arrow pierced the Wooden Shield, lodging in his shield-bearing left arm and fastening the arm to the shield.
With the greatboat now within twenty meters of the small craft, the might of the Longbow was nearly unstoppable. Before reaching grappling distance, the greatbow warrior could still loose two more arrows! In rapid succession of thoughts, Ospia finally bellowed.
"Escort! Escort! Raise your shield!!!"
At the Legion Commander’s shrill, hoarse scream, the rowing warriors quickly dropped their paddles, grabbed the shields from the ground, and hurriedly protected the esteemed noble in front of them. The greatboat’s speed visibly decreased.
The Head Warrior hesitated briefly, then gave up targeting the enemy leader hiding behind shields and human shields. Shifting his aim, he drew three arrows quickly and pulled the Greatbow only halfway. Then, the sharpshooting Head Warrior released a rapid trio of arrows at the lightly-clothed Paddlers, sending three tumbling to the sound.
Xiuluo reacted swiftly. Ignoring his still-bleeding left arm, he too drew his Longbow, loosely pulling and aiming at the rowing Paddlers. At a distance of twenty meters, even on a swaying boat, the young samurai could still hit the enemy accurately. Long arrows penetrated the light clothing, either embedding in the Paddlers’ chests or their paddling arms, causing them to howl in pain and tumble over.
Xiuluo only loosed three arrows, and already ten Paddlers lay on the deck; the rest were the doing of the Head Warrior.
Ospia hid behind the samurais’ shields, peering through the gaps in the human wall, stunned by what he saw ahead. The Longbow sang out a trembling "hum" as the deadly arrows "swooshed" in, neatly taking lives, their heads embedding in the wooden deck, feathers still quivering.