Hoist the Colors Ch. 24 (Mobuseka) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Deirdre makes her decision and the battle commences!

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… She would present her case to Lady Angelica. Admittedly it went against some of Deirdre’s baser instincts. If Angelica refused her, she didn’t quite know what she wanted to do. Much like her sister, Deirdre wasn’t the type of woman who just gave up. In general, she wasn’t the sort of person who took well to being told ‘no’. Maybe that made her spoiled… she liked to consider herself driven.

However, at the same time… her time in Stephanie Offrey’s ‘tender care’ had given her a new outlook on life. Not enough to change her most base personality traits, but certainly enough to open her eyes. Stephanie was the epitome of a spoiled bitch, the sort of woman who thought she was entitled to far more than she actually was.

Deirdre would never allow herself to be anything like that dead fucking cunt… she’d sooner die herself than act anything like Stephanie had. And that meant… playing nice.

Of course, there was another very good reason to play nice with Angelica and seek her approval before making any sort of move. The other woman might be a Lady of the Kingdom of Holfort, but she was apparently a Queen of Pirates. As the Pirate Queen of Tortuga, Angelica was on an entirely different level and Deirdre needed to respect that as well as the firepower that was backing the other woman.

Put bluntly, she needed to tread carefully… and so carefully she would tread.

Doesn’t mean she has to like it though, and as she lays there on the bed, Deirdre’s hands wander as she fantasizes about the other ways in which she might have ambushed Leon directly. Soft moans leave her lips as she starts to touch herself to her fantasies.

After. After the battle, she would petition Angelica for an audience. Until then… she would simply have to be content with her own imagination…

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The morning of their arrival at House Roseblade’s Seat begins like any other for Leon. With Angelica and Olivia cuddled close to his chest and a report from Luxion to get him out of bed. He slips out from between the two naked blondes, letting them hug each other closely instead as he rises and listens to Luxion’s low tone.

Within the hour, they’re close enough to see the state of things with human eyes… and as Leon had already known, the Winged Shark Fleet is still besieging House Roseblade’s main island. The massive ancestral castle remains standing for the moment, though it’s clear that the Roseblade Fleet has taken quite the beating.

Another day or two and the Winged Sharks would have proven victorious. Alas, unfortunately for them… they don’t have a day or two. They don’t even have another hour.

Leon wastes no time in ordering the attack even though Angelica is still asleep. Not a single one of the Pirate Lords who have been pressganged into service tries to backtalk him either. They know he speaks with their Queen’s voice… or maybe they’re just too terrified of him from the time when he was King and the things he’d done to become the Pirate King and instill some order over the rabble in the first place.

Ultimately, Leon acknowledges that this entire mess is at least partially his fault. When he’d first decided he was going to become Pirate King and institute a ‘code’, he’d done so largely on a whim after running into one too many of his peers engaging in despicable, disgusting practices.

But once he’d actually taken the Isle of Tortuga and conquered Port Paix, forcing the rest of the Sky Pirates who used it as a hub to ‘bend the knee’, it had quickly become obvious to Leon that he’d signed up for a headache and a half. Within weeks he had been dealing with a multitude of petty feuds and minor grievances between his ‘Pirate Lords’, all of whom were forbidden by the Code from lashing out at each other.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, that’s all Leon would say. But in the end, his morals had turned out to be weaker than his lack of patience. There was only so many squabbles he could break up before he stopped caring and Leon had hit that point rather quickly.

So he’d left, all but abandoning his post… and that had given rise to groups like the Winged Sharks and others who thought they could break the code in his absence. It wasn’t like Leon was entirely gone, they knew he was still out there… but that didn’t stop them from going behind his back. And in the Winged Sharks’ case, they got more and more brazen because they believed the backing of House Offrey would protect them from him.

Funny, given that Leon had all but crippled House Offrey when he’d rescued Deirdre. Not just by Deirdre killing their heiress Stephanie Offrey, but also by way of him blowing up their shipyards and their official fleet in order to create a ‘distraction’ by which he could slip in and find the kidnapped noblewoman.

News of this should have reached the ears of Winged Sharks leadership by this point, but they still hadn’t turned away from their attack on House Roseblade. Likely because to give up now would be their death anyways, but also because they couldn’t say for sure who exactly had attacked House Offrey anyways.

All of this to say… as the combined might of Tortuga rushes up on the Winged Sharks from behind, they are ill-prepared for it. Why? Because Leon had sent several drones controlled by Luxion ahead of his fleet in the night. Said drones had annihilated any and all scouts and pickets, completely blinding the Winged Sharks to his approach. It was only now, when it was far too late, that the Winged Sharks saw their doom approaching and began to turn to meet it.

The Pirate Lords go first, some for glory but many just too scared of him to hang back. That’s smart of them because Leon’s much more technologically advanced fleet follows behind them, pushing forward inexorably as the clash begins.

Fortunately for the Pirate Lords, the Winged Sharks are entirely out of position and also likely undersupplied as well by this point. The resulting clash is bloody and brutal but also entirely one-sided. Airship after airship is destroyed, with five Winged Sharks going down for every one of Tortuga’s forces.

Of course, the only airships destroyed on Leon’s side of the battlefield belong to the Pirate Lords. Any attacks that even reach his personal feet don’t do more than scratch the proverbial paint. The battle swiftly turns against the Winged Sharks as the beleaguered Roseblade defenses take advantage of the sudden reinforcements to sally forth and strike their own blow.

Admittedly, they would have been better off hanging back and letting Leon’s fleet do the dirty work, but he appreciates their courage all the same… for what little it matters. At the same time, his eyes are fixed on the Winged Sharks’ flagship… where he can see a certain something that makes him smile wickedly.

“Luxion. Ready my armor. And… full speed ahead. Bring us to the front.”

“Of course, Master.”

He’s not too worried about endangering the people he cares about, even if everyone in the world that he loves or feels even one iota of affection for is currently aboard this ship. It’s the most advanced ship in his fleet, with the toughest hull and made of the strongest materials that Luxion’s sensors and fleet of mining drones could locate.

Built on old world tech, it would take more than all of the remaining firepower that the Winged Sharks have to even begin to do damage to it. Indeed, the only thing they might be able to do… is try and board it to take it down from the inside.

Which is precisely what the Winged Sharks commander tries to do once Luxion brings them close enough. Unfortunately for him, even as he pilots his armored suit over to the deck of Leon’s ship… he’s met with Leon already encased in his own suit Arroganz.

“Welcome to your death, slaver scum.”

For a moment the other armor straightens up as if to respond… but then there’s just an inhuman roar of desperate fury from its occupant before he rushes Leon with all he has. He’s still moving as slow as molasses though as far as Leon is concerned. More than slow enough, in fact, for Leon to reach back, detach his weapon from his chassis, and bring it around.

Leon is, admittedly, playing with his food a bit so it’s not the decapitation strike it could be. Instead he leaves a large gouge in the front of the enemy’s armor, forcing the Winged Sharks commander to leap back. Though his opponent is hidden within the cockpit of his armored suit, Leon can tell he’s radiating disbelief.

“Is that a shovel?!”

Chuckling, Leon lifts his ‘shovel’ and puts it on the shoulder of his armor. Technically it’s certainly shaped like a shovel… but its edged to be sharper than most swords, as evident by the damage it’s already done. That doesn’t stop his opponents from being humiliated and disgusted when they realize they’re up against someone who isn’t taking this at all seriously, however. Indeed, alongside the disbelief in the enemy commander’s voice is a distinct note of outrage.

“This legendary weapon has been passed down through my family, generation to generation. It will be more than enough to beat you.”

There’s a pause at that… before the enemy commander howls once more.

“TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!”

He lunges forward again, but Leon sees right through him. A feint designed to make Leon swing and overextend. Alas, unfortunately for the Winged Sharks commander… his fleet has already lost. Leon can see it with his own two eyes if he just looks around them, but more than that he has Luxion whispering updates in his ear.

And so, before the other armored suit can even complete its feint, Leon lunges forward as well at five times its speed. He moves far too fast for his opponent to keep track of, and this time when he brings his weapon around, he does so from below… up through the armor’s crotch.

The impossibly sharp edge of his ‘shovel’ cuts through the armored suit from crotch to head, digging deep into the cockpit as it does so… and coming away caked in blood.

Leon flicks his shovel off to the side, even as the enemy armor slumps down to its knees, both armor and occupant dead from the killing blow.

“Get some clean up going, Luxion.”

With that, Leon packs the shovel away to be cleaned later as well and exits the suit. He’s just about made it back below deck when the doors open and Angelica and Olivia both wander out wearing nightgowns and rubbing sleep from their eyes.

“Leon? What’s going on?”

Grinning wickedly, Leon sketches a bow to his ‘Queen’.

“Your Majesty. The Winged Sharks have been routed and their leader defeated. House Roseblade is saved.”

Angelica blinks… and then squawks as she looks beyond him, her eyes widening more and more.

“Wha- but how… how did we sleep through an entire battle?!”

Leon just shrugs in amusement.

“You needed your rest, I suppose. I must have really tired you out~”

The innuendo has Angelica and Olivia flushing in embarrassment. Of course, the truth is just that his flagship is so advanced one can miss an entire battle happening outside while one is resting in one of the inner rooms. Angelica and Olivia must not have bothered pulling back the curtains over their bedroom’s portholes though. Maybe they immediately went looking for him instead of taking a peek outside.

Either way, the battle really is over already. The fighting has become sporadic at best and the surviving Winged Sharks are mostly trying to surrender or flee. The former group is being taken into custody, though they’re all going to be executed anyways, one way or another. The latter group… is not getting away.

Not a single Winged Sharks ship is escaping the battlefield, with Leon’s fleet hunting down any stragglers while the Pirate Lords pull back to stick close to Leon’s ships.

All in all, the Winged Sharks are through… but that just means it's time for the hard part. Leon looks to Angelica, who is staring with wide eyes out at the destruction he’s wrought. Arching a brow, he clears his throat to bring her attention back over to him.

“Well then… now all that’s left is to decide exactly who is going to deliver the good news of salvation to Earl Roseblade directly. Your call, my Queen.”

Angelica’s eyes widen as she realizes the conundrum at hand, her face going a little pale. Because, well… there was no doubt that Earl Roseblade would recognize Leon for who he is. To say nothing of all of the other Sky Pirates who had just fought to save his Earldom from certain doom.

Talk about a tricky situation to navigate. Luckily, it wasn’t Leon’s call anymore!

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A/N: Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

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Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M-cHAkb3iPvwTd2zI4UvXRbSCSGb1iFPWNPCj1jHk1I/edit?tab=t.0