Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 354: Behold my stuff(3)

Chapter 354: Behold my stuff(3)

The moment Blake uttered the name, every trace of humor vanished from Kroll's face, replaced by a disbelief so stark it bordered on shock. For good reason, too—there was a logic to the free men's raiding habits, a pattern as old as their way of life. The southern principalities and the empire were the preferred prey, their lands ripe for plunder and their defenses weak enough to make the raids swift and profitable. Strike, take, and sail away into the safety of the open sea. It was a song the free men had sung for generations.Most times small ships hit villages and temples, however bigger fleet targeted coastal cities.

True, there had been whispers of a few places in the southern principalities fortifying their defenses, villages fortifying themselves and a prince putting coin into spears and shields. But such exceptions were rare, and the rest of the coastline offered an endless buffet of easy targets. For every fortified place, there were ten more ripe for the taking, too fractured or poor to mount a proper resistance.

More importantly, none of these lands—the empire included—boasted a navy worth the name. Their coastal waters were a free man's playground, unguarded and unclaimed. Romelia, perhaps, had a shred of maritime power, but even that was limited to a handful of small escort ships, protecting only their richest merchants. Hardly enough to trouble the swift and savage raiders of the sea, who most of the time picked out smaller vessels

The south was a land of sheep waiting to be sheared, its rulers more focused on squabbling amongst themselves than defending their shores. It was this weakness that ensured the free men lived to raid another day.

But Azania? That was another story entirely.