After the first attack his ships had suffered in spring, Kum-ji had given up secretly smuggling slaves across to the Kai Empire. With his trusted advisors and the help of Kai merchants, he came up with a plan that appeared perfect.
Gi-gan had known he was plotting something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. All she could do was to tell the pirates that it would be the same as usual, meaning Jae-ha would jump across to Kum-ji's ship, silence the guards, and then they would attack, not killing anybody in the process if possible.
Night fell and the moon rose. Both parties began to prepare for confrontation. The pirate ship sailed into the night not long after Kum-ji's trade galleon had left the harbour. As Gi-gan's ship was small, they had managed to get close enough to the galleon without getting noticed. Jae-ha jumped to the crow's nest of the galleon and did his best to temporarily knock out the guard sitting there. He had accidentally landed on the wrong side of the crow's nest, too far from the guard, thus the man had time to let out a shout before falling unconscious at Jae-ha's feet. Soldiers came pouring on deck, trying to find the source of the cry.
Jae-ha had expected the pirates to come and help him. However, they were facing difficulties as well. A few gusts of strong wind and larger waves that, although not affecting the galleon, were strong enough to make the small ship change course, washing them far from their target. They were desperately trying to return to their original location, but they did not make it in time. Jae-ha had to get into action long before the pirates reached the galleon. Thus the element of surprise they had relied on was gone.
Although it wasn't the first time Sen had fought in a battle, she still felt sick in the midst of it. The screams, the cries, the pleas for mercy made her skin crawl and head dizzy. The swarm of soldiers against them seemed no different than her comrades, perhaps only a little better dressed and a little less determined. Swords flashed and men shouted, the noise of their stomping feet drowning out the sound of flesh being cut. Although the two sides seemed evenly matched at first, the pirates were slowly being pushed back towards their own ships. Even in the midst of the chaos, Sen could tell that they were going to lose. But all she and everyone else could do was fight and wait until Gi-gan called retreat.
But the call wouldn't come. After knocking out an enemy officer, Sen allowed herself to quickly look around to get a better picture of what was happening. She noticed something strange approaching on water, something large, something dark... It took her a few seconds to register what was happening.
"Kai reinforcements!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping to warn the pirates. Her voice was heard immediately by Gi-gan, who gave out orders to retreat. However, the pirates weren't the only ones with ears. Kai ships meant something different to Kum-ji's mercenary. They seemed to have a new burst of strength and did their best to hold back the pirates from retreating. The pirates, on the other hand, now fighting for their lives, no longer cared about Gi-gan's rules in their desperation. The first head of an officer fell not long after a call, soon to be followed by a second, a third… Eventually, the pirate crew managed to leave Kum-ji's ship, tattered and bleeding, but many of them still alive, some bringing the dead and injured along with them. Then something strange happened. Kum-ji's mercenary slowly began to leave the scene, more and more soldiers hurrying below deck. Gi-gan couldn't make anything of it.
It was a cloudy night. The moon wouldn't show her delicate face- probably she was disgusted by what she saw below. The only light was cast by lanterns, making the scene feel eerie and unreal. Above the Kai ship, something reflected the light of lanterns. Soon, there were many of those things glimmering in the night, each an arrow aimed carefully at the pirates.
Everyone began to panic. They rushed below deck, pushing away others to save themselves. Sen was pressed against the ground, trampled by others running and crawling across her body, trying to reach the trapdoor that led downstairs. Unable to get up, she covered her head and prayed for her life, her lips constantly moving. In the distance, she heard a voice cry out something she had heard before, clearly a command. Then the deadly rain came down on both the pirate ship and Kum-ji's galleon. The arrows wouldn't stop for several minutes. The men around her fell one by one, some soundlessly, some whispering, "Mother…", but the sound of arrowheads hitting their targets drowned their voices.
Once there were no men left standing on the deck, the archers stopped. The only noise that could be heard for a long time was the gentle splashing of waves against the side of the boat. It was a welcome sound. The stillness lasted for what seemed like an hour. Sen, who had been protected by a corpse falling on her, heard the creaking of boards as the trapdoor opened. Someone walked out cautiously, and after a few minutes called out a name.
More and more people came out, calling for those who had not made it downstairs. Slowly, they began to untangle the heap of dead men, identifying those who were gone and trying to coax life into the few who still seemed to be breathing. They were the ones who, like Sen, had been on the ground and had been covered by the bodies fallen on them. In such a situation, no one had the time to scream or the time to cry. Theony words that were spoken were commands regarding the bandaging of the injured. Once they were treated, they were brought downstairs and covered with blankets, coats and rags torn from the bodies of the dead. Once the last wound was splashed with strong liquor and bandaged sloppily, the pirates in charge of treating others went to sleep, some collapsing at the sides of those they had helped.
The only one who stayed up all night and most of the next day was captain Gi-gan, steering the ship and having her insides torn up by guilt.