The action continues
As I play the final part of the game, it is mostly just a giant deathmatch at this point. Too many ships and crew are being lost on a per-turn basis for me to have time to keep track and report on all of it. This is just a warning to expect very picture-heavy reports going forward, as strategic explanations are sadly a thing of the past for the most part. However, I am trying to take a lot of pictures to fully document the record-breaking carnage and enormity of the warfare that is currently taking place. In addition, there are some new developments in this report and there will be some in the last handful of reports as well!
More English ships arrive in the Sea of Allost!
Others will arrive soon:
In a cool irony, this shows the Sea of Allost in the distance to the right, with Broken Horn Island and a few English ships visible.
The French blast away at the Americans! The Conquerant and Superbe are back in action.
The Bonaparte and Descharges manage to sink the Charlemagne, getting some measure of vengeance after the Americans captured the French capital ship!
At the main battlefield, the French continue to push and push.
Various French ships are making their way northwest to assist in that area of the battle where the French aren’t as strong. The recently launched ships join the back of the gunship assembly line and will wait their turn to enter combat.
The Speedy Return gets smashed by cannonballs:
The French have some burning issues aboard their ships, and both of these infernos would sink on their next turn.
The Ghost Walker is dismasted, with the Grampus sunk:
The flood of healthy French ships seemingly never ends:
However, a few French ships will not be partaking in the war, at least not yet. The Belle Etoile and Dijon have gathered up some infantry that were stationed on wild islands, and will take them back to the Harbor. The Voleur will join them at home. The French want at least a few ships on guard at the Harbor just in case they have to make a last stand where the bulk of their land-based firepower is.
The situation from far above:
With Deleflote’s action, the Grand Vainqueur managed to sink the Ghost Walker and dismast the Constitution!
Featuring USS Appalachian under the bridge:
The Americans start their turn, sinking the Lepanto and dooming the Acorazado.
Just like the French but in lesser quantities, almost all American ships are headed for the battle.
The Appalachian’s fire shot backfired, but the Xiamen’s Claws set the GV aflame.
Lenoir’s flagship is in serious trouble, burning with just two masts standing:
The Conquerant is sunk and the Superbe crippled:
At the left, the Full Moon and Jarvis have teamed up to sink the Bonaparte.
I’ve been greatly enjoying these views from under the bridge, as it gives a new dynamic to the shots.
Turn 80!
The Pirates didn’t walk all the way to the western end of the Tunnel for nothing!!! They have resumed rock-blasting operations, but this time on TOP of the Tunnel! O_O
First it was to get to the top, and now…. ??
Without such an abundance of units, the Pirates wouldn’t have the manpower to pull off such an endeavor.
The Otter is underneath the long ladder leading up to the eastern edge of the Tunnel, and infantry climb to the top!
You may have noticed that the Celtic Fury turned around! The second 2L ladder is now hung from the opening in the ceiling, and stretches down to sea level!!
It’s truly impressive what the Pirates have accomplished in this game.
There are now 3 artillery units atop the Tunnel, with additional infantry arriving this very turn.
Of course, the land forces pale in comparison to the greatest fleet ever assembled…. O_O
Whom dare enter Mission’s Kingdom?!?
Anyone who tries will be met with certain death.
But not without a good fight first!! The Jade Rebellion declares war on the Pirates!!!!
The Floating Stone and Kalaallit team up to dismast the Executioner:
The Jades are sending what ships they can muster towards the small Pirate force guarding the southern barrier reef.
The other ships are still heading for the Tunnel, which is starting to look like a bottleneck that could rival the Castle in terms of sheer intensity of broadsides.
The East Wind finished off the Poor Adams, but this area looks oddly barren after so many spirited JR-Cursed battles.
The Cursed declare war on the Pirates!!!! The Soul Crusher finally gets into action after guarding the northern Cursed wild island almost exclusively.
I wanted to capture the last moment of the Bey’s Revenge, just due to the mast and tentacle lying on her deck. XD
The dragon is unleashed!! SHAL-BALA USES FLAMETHROWER!!!!
LOL!
More from the dragon’s perspective this time. Davy Jones (now aboard the Fiddler’s Green at the Roost) copied Deleflote to give Shal-Bala an extra action so it could move and then “shoot”.
This is a more realistic take on the actual attack:
The fire attack works similar to Namazu: This ability can only be used once this sea dragon completes a successful swoop attack. Give this sea dragon a shoot action. A blast of fire S wide and 2L long leaves the dragon from the direction the snout is facing. Roll a d6 for every ship in the path of the blaze. The result is the number of fire masts placed on the ship. This ability cannot be used on consecutive turns.
Devastation is unleashed!!
O_O
The Cursed rolled quite well for the attack, with 5’s on the Pandora and Fool’s Gold.
Even a 2 for the Black Heart and 3 for the Foresight has those ships crippled and possibly doomed for good:
Shal-Bala surveys the damage. This was a premeditated attack, planned from much earlier in the game after Devereaux did some research on ancient dragons summoned by Cursed hordes. Shal-Bala’s successful swoop attack on the Sea Tiger made the dragon more confident in its abilities, as well as the human flesh and blood used to mix the fiery concoction in the beast’s belly. O_O
An ominous sight: Angelica has flown out from the nest for the first time! She may be eyeing the Sea Snake for a possible swoop attack!!
Terrox sweeps tentacles across the decks of the Sea Duck, showing that JR-Cursed hostilities will continue despite the massive Pirate threat.
Actually using a kraken in a game! XD
Unlike the French in Karkuda, most of the Cursed firepower is aboard Cursed ships farther from the front lines. This initial Cursed attack against the Pirates is just the beginning!
… there we go… the Cursed are certainly not capable of defeating the Pirates in a straight fight, but between Jade intervention and the eventual arrival of the English at the battlefield, the Pirates will be hard-pressed to resist the triple threat.
Unfortunately, some of the Cursed gunships are so damaged as to be almost irrelevant to the war effort. Unrelenting tension with the Jades will not help that fact.
Without Devereaux and either dragon, the Roost is desolate compared to its normal state.
The Pirates hold a very strong position: they have defensive lines from the south of the sea to the north, and not only control the waters of the Tunnel, but the top of it as well!
Shal-Bala’s sudden strike from behind Pirate lines has given new hope to the Cursed:
An armada is coming to the Pirates, even though it may be a disjointed one….
But of course, the Pirates are ready!
One of my favorite angles so far in the game:
Just awesome! 
Here you can see the respective sides entering the opposite ends of the Tunnel:
The rare, occasional, and tough-to-get view from the Cursed perspective:
Three 10 masters are just visible here, with a possibly unprecedented forest of masts to the left.
Total dominance of one of my favorite custom pieces ever!
The English continue to arrive in force!
9 new ships from the Caribbean:
Not quite as many will arrive next turn, but the English have a decided role to play against the Pirates. The Jades and Cursed are severely diminished, not just in terms of their fleet sizes but also with how many of their ships are too damaged to be effective warships. The English fleet may possibly have the highest percentage of fresh ships (no masts gone) in the game as of now. They also hate the Pirates more than the Jades or Cursed do, and will soon present themselves as the Pirates’ main rival (but only after the Jades and Cursed exhaust considerable efforts against the Pirates, which could make it more of a fair fight).
The Neptune wades into the fray:
The Appalachian is doomed:
Ships burn all over the battlefield, with bodies falling off islands and decks of ships:
A unique shot showing the aggressive French flood:
The badly damaged Sioux and Julius Caesar signal the near-end of American resistance coming from between the castle areas.
The Satisfaction and Bartlett are not powerful enough to take down the Tepant and Monaque:
The Enterprise strikes again, and the Americans are beginning to win the battle around Fish Island!
Turn 81
I’ll be taking some pictures with the Tunnel removed so you can see what’s happening more easily.
The Celtic Fury is in action!
The Golden Medusa has an impressive turn, pounding the Soul Crusher. Just like that, and the old ship with some of Wraith’s captures aboard is useless and about to sink.
This area of the battle is developing slowly as Cursed ships sail into the Pirate lines.
This is not something you usually see. The Pirates don’t have just a line of defense, but a large pack of ships on both sides of the reef! In some places both lines are 5 ships deep, with reinforcements arriving in the far north every turn.
The Sea of Allost without the Tunnel:
As with the previous piratical activities in the Tunnel, I wanted to show some of the progress.
The Pirates have made it all the way through!!
The Pirates have blasted their way through the end of the Tunnel!!!!
There they are! Pirate infantry standing tall above the battle below! XD
An incredible sight!!
(I love how the wall actually looks like a sky with clouds here)
A few views from near the Roost:
The Pirates are HERE!
With their giant 10 master below them:
And so, the Pirates have completed another impressive operation at the Tunnel.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! XD
The eastern end of the Tunnel is well-fortified. The scale of the army units is way too small, but some of those rocks don’t look all that big…
The Pirates approach a boulder at the opportune moment…
With enough manpower…
… anything is possible! XD
The Pirates push the boulder over the edge and crashes down to the Sea Wind unknowingly waiting below!!!! O_O
The boulder smashes right through the ship’s hull and splinters her port side!!
The Jades have lost yet another ship, though this time not to cannon fire….
The Pirates on the Tunnel celebrate their nasty handiwork:
The Sea Wind was camped out by the Tunnel in an effort to surprise the Pirates on the other side of the southern reef line, but the Pirates were the ones to get the jump on her!
A Pirates’ View:
The Pirates still have both of their giant ladders set up in the Tunnel, but now concern themselves with sending as many ships to the western end as possible.
Rarely can I get such a nice shot inside the Tunnel itself:
This one is VERY weird. These shots are very difficult to get, as I almost have to maneuver the camera into the Tunnel, trying not to knock over ships at the eastern entrance in the process. Therefore I cannot aim the shot like I can with the other ones, and it’s mostly just luck on how they come out. A lot of them get deleted due to blurriness, not having the flash show in the right spot, or just poor quality in general.
I guess that’s a ladder in the foreground that looks like a spotlight shining on the Celtic Fury. XD O_O Perhaps it’s a sign of divine intervention, that O’Brien and the CF are here to bring the Pirates to the promised land of ultimate victory. XD
The cannons atop the Tunnel are ready to fire, and one finds the range on the Forward! (bad angle to show the actual firing arc) However, it missed.
The Foresight is doomed to burn, but the Black Heart has a chance to escape Shal-Bala’s fiery wrath:
From the main masts of the Neptune’s Hoard:
The Pirates still appear very strong, and even more so now that they’ve fortified the top of the Tunnel and worked their way to create a “tunnel in a Tunnel” from which they may be able to fire down upon the invaders.
Around 46 ships were sunk in the day’s action on December 8th.
Ending this report with a few shots from the infantry perspective as darkness falls on the action:
Dark times indeed….
