Shadow Trails in Azeroth

The sea route from the Great Lighthouse of Greymane to the inner sea of ​​Gilneas to Dragonbone Harbor is a rare area in Gilneas that is not blocked by biting reefs.

From the moment they entered here, the speed of the fleet's return trip suddenly increased a lot, and it took about one night's sail to reach Keel Port.

As the only large-scale military port in the country, Keel Port was built on the model of Boralus Military Port. The number of shore defense artillery pieces alone is enough to give any bastard who wants to forcefully leave the port a good drink.

It is much more difficult to cause trouble after entering the military port, so for Match-Legg Dan and Captain Conrad, who have ulterior motives, this night is very precious.

They must seize this critical time to complete their plan.

Originally, these two guys planned to take the opportunity to report the battle damage to the flagship, hijack several Gilneas captains and the entire staff team currently in charge of the Northern Lord, and use this to force the flagship to leave the fleet and rush to the sea off Gilneas.

But an unexpected incident interrupted the plans of the two former pirates.

Major Dan, the order from the staff requires you to immediately hand over the command of the Wolf Mane and follow me to the flagship to accept a secret mission.

A messenger from the Northern Lord sent a message, and this sudden instruction startled the former pirate who had a ghost in his heart.

He thought his plan was exposed.

This is because the fleet's senior management wants to take away his command and then deal with him in advance.

The old pirate and the orderly next to him looked at each other, and the two almost jumped on the spot.

please hurry up.

The serious-looking communications soldier urged again at this time:

The other captains have received orders. The reputation of the fleet commander is at stake. We must seize the time now.

As soon as he said this, the wily and cunning former pirate immediately stabilized his mentality.

It turns out I wasn’t just looking for him.

He also said that it was related to the reputation of the commander. Matchleg Dan blinked. This guy who had been among the cunning pirates for most of his life immediately understood the general reason of the matter.

The senior leaders of the fleet must be trying to conceal the news of the defeat in this naval battle.

Although King Genn of Gilneas must have known the outcome of the naval battle, after all, this was a war that took place far away from the country. If the humiliating defeat could be concealed, it would definitely be beneficial to the king's stable rule.

In addition, the fact that Lord Darius, the commander of the fleet, was captured is not honorable at all. The Crowley family is one of the top nobles in Gilneas, and the family's reputation is also a factor that must be taken into consideration.

Before the fleet returns to port, there must be some unified caliber adjustments.

Regarding how to activate the official propaganda machine and describe defeat as a tragic victory and a tragic victory as a great victory, this is a required course for rulers.

Furthermore, based on the casualty rate alone, the Gilneas fleet could qualify as a tragic victory this time. Although the strategic goal was not achieved, they did destroy the undead pirates' tactical system.

Teach these stinky pirates a lesson, and you can be regarded as gaining power outside the country. As for the fleet's shameful performance in the war, this is not what civilians need to know.

First Mate! Come in!

Captain Matchlegs, who had figured this out, immediately called the first mate, handed him his command sword in front of the signalmen, and told the first mate to take care of his ship before he came back.

The young first mate accepted the order with a serious expression.

You don't have to follow me.

He then said to his orderly:

You stay to take care of the wounded on the ship. Brothers have had a bad day. The veterans will stand guard tonight and let the soldiers have a good rest.

As you command, Captain.

The orderly straightened his back and saluted the captain in farewell.

Match Legs adjusted his clothes and strode out of the captain's room following the signalman. Before leaving, he exchanged a complicated look with his orderly.

boom

The hatch was closed, and the voices of the captain and the signalman chatting away faded away. The first mate, who was in charge of the warship temporarily, sighed, nodded to the captain's orderly, and planned to leave.

As a loyal Gilnean soldier, he was going to patrol the decks.

But as soon as he took a few steps, the orderly behind him grabbed the wine bottle on the table and hit him on the back of the head with a bang. He hit him hard and accurately, knocking the veteran unconscious with one bottle.

Phew, easy and simple.

Anne Bonn looked at the first mate who fell at her feet. She clapped her hands, moved her shoulders, tied the first mate tightly with a rope, took off his socks and stuffed them into her mouth, and placed him Matchlegs Dan's closet.

Then he rearranged his appearance, put the captain's command sword on his waist, and strode out of the captain's room.

If Match-Legg Dan couldn't come back, she would have to find a way to contact the old pirates on these ships and launch an armed rebellion according to Dan's previous plan.

If only that guy could come back alive, things would be a lot easier.

But Annie's worry didn't last long. Ten minutes later, Match-Legg Dan and the other captains came back.

They received secret instructions, and the flagship mobilized three ships in good condition to form a temporary formation. The three ships escorted the Northern Lord, temporarily separated from the large fleet, and headed towards a docking point on the inland sea coast.

They are sending Darius Crowley to Greymane Manor!

While performing a secret mission, he personally controlled the steering wheel of the Wolfmane, which was piloting ahead. The former pirate whispered to Anne beside him:

You may not know that place. I was only invited to visit it after I officially joined the Gilneas Fleet. It was a royal estate built by King Zeon in the mountains.

It is said to be a place of refuge during war times.

The manor is large and well-defended. If necessary, it can even be used as a refuge for civilians or a temporary headquarters for the army. It was Jean himself who gave the order to 'protect' the northern lords until the matter became clear.

Tsk, tsk, are you going to shut his mouth? Don't let that upright warrior talk nonsense everywhere.

After hearing the description of Match Legs, Anne Bonn was speechless for a while, and then asked in a low voice:

Or do you plan to kill someone and silence them?

It's not as scary as you think. If other nobles fought like this, they would definitely be under house arrest. But the relationship between King Jean and the northern lords is not ordinary.

They are said to have saved each other's lives on the battlefield, and I heard that the great lord's daughter and the king's son were engaged to be engaged.

The old pirate quietly took out a small pot of wine and poured a sip into his mouth to moisten his throat.

He grabbed the steering wheel and turned to fine-tune the course, while saying to Anne:

“And things are really bad for the Northern Lords.

I just saw with my own eyes that he had a high fever, and his body temperature was frighteningly high. The priest on the ship was also helpless. He said he had never seen such a disease before, and he suspected that the undead pirates had placed a curse on the lord.

At this time, the king asked the lord to be sent to his manor, probably for protection and treatment.

Of course, our previous guess was also correct.

As expected, the staff committee ordered all captains not to reveal the specific details of the Palatine Battle to the outside world. Anyone who spoke nonsense would be court-martialed. Hey, these bastards are not good at fighting, but when it comes to this kind of chore, they are better than two.

Will Conrad be fine if he stays with the Grand Fleet?

Anne asked one more question.

It's okay. There are old brothers on the several ships I manage, and they were all agreed in advance. Conrad is a little reckless, but he can handle such a big matter that is a matter of life.

I made an agreement with him.

Matchlegs looked back at the black flagship following behind him, escorted by two second-class battleships on the left and right. He narrowed his eyes and said:

After the staff officers and flagship guards escort the lord off the ship, I will lead people to board the ship in the name of patrol report. You will command the Wolf Mane and sacrifice the ship if necessary!

First, knock down one frigate, and then we can take advantage of the chaos and run away with the flagship.

As long as this side is launched, Conrad's side can successfully bring several ships to join us in the name of 'counterinsurgency'. Now the Gilneas fleet is short of men and horses, and there is not enough ammunition.

They couldn't catch up.

I'm worried about one thing right now.

The former pirate said worriedly:

The Gilneans are very obedient, and although their navy is a little bit of a fight, it is very disciplined. There are only thirty or forty people I can trust on the Wolf's Mane.

This person can't control the flagship at all, and can't even raise the sails. Once we are entangled by two frigates, we will be doomed.

You don't have to worry about this at all.

After hearing Matchleg's worries, Annie covered her mouth and chuckled.

She glanced at the sea reflecting the moonlight in the night before her, and said confidently:

The commander has prepared everything for us. All you need to do is sneak into the flagship and control the sailors. Of course, someone will help you when it comes to sailing the ship.

In addition, the commander asked not to kill too many people this time.

Those disobedient sailors were locked up in the dungeon, and naturally someone would take them in when they went to Tol Barad. The construction of the elves' academy required a lot of manpower.

Match-Legg Dan hesitated and nodded. He also wanted to know how the magical Black Shaw could conjure a group of his own people out of thin air for him in the Gilnean Inland Sea.

Half an hour later, this temporary formation arrived at the anchorage of the inland bay. It was not far from Keel Port, a journey of up to forty-five minutes.

The flagship did not dock. Staff officer Jetaris personally led a guard of nearly a hundred people to put the seriously injured northern lord who was still suffering from high fever and a group of seriously injured officers from the flagship into a small boat and sailed to the coast.

There was already a group of royal knights waiting with their carriages ready.

As soon as the staff officer got off the ship, Match Leg Dan took a dozen people to wait on the flagship. He said that there was urgent military information that needed to be reported. The staff on the ship did not dare to delay and immediately summoned Dan to the command room.

Then, suddenly, chaos breaks out.

In the absence of the captain, the Wolf's Mane opened fire on the adjacent frigate Shadowfang without warning. The second-class warship was caught off guard and was blinded by the friendly fire attack.

No one expected that there would be another battle after entering the inner sea of ​​Gilneas. As a result, the mast was broken by the naval gun calibrated by Anne Bonn in one encounter, and the entire deck was cleared.

Then, amid a burst of chaotic screams, a group of murloc pirates rushed out from under the sea, taking advantage of the chaos of the Shadowfang and howling onto the deck.

He cut down people on sight, and viciously deliberately detonated some of the Shadowfang's powder barrels, causing the second-class battleship to instantly fall into uncontrollable chaos.

Fighting also breaks out on the flagship.

The dozen or so old pirates brought on board by Match Leg quickly threw several lit gunpowder barrels into the cabin. After a muffled explosion, they sealed the hatch leading to the deck with debris and sealed the lower deck of the flagship. The resting sailors blocked the cabin.

The staff and sailors on deck responded quickly.

They planned to launch a counterattack against the damn pirates, but were unexpectedly knocked down in the command room by the evil murlocs of the Guala Guala Pirate Group using a snake-man blowgun.

Wearing a pirate suit, a pirate hat, and a black eyepatch, the murloc pirate leader Benbolba calmly rode his large owl and landed on the deck of the Northern Lord.

After it landed, there was no extra movement, and it simply directed the fish-man pirates who were constantly climbing on the ship to take over important donations.

It itself took out the luggage from its waist, and while Matchleg Dan, who was still stained with blood, watched in shock, he poured a lot of air coins in the luggage onto the deck.

He took out another elemental emblem and rubbed it hard in an obscene manner.

The next moment, the big elemental demigod Al Abbas descended on the Gilneans' black flagship with a deep laugh.

Quack quack quack!

The little fishman, who was not afraid of stage fright, waved his paws and turned the steering wheel to sail the boat towards the elemental demigod who was looking down at him. He then raised his paws to simulate the flight of a bird.

He signaled Al Abbas to quickly help with some downwind so that they could sail the big black ship out smoothly.

Since the air coins brought by the little fish man were sufficient and more, they should be the service fees for the elemental demigods. The easy-to-talk elemental merchant laughed, raised his claws, and the sea breeze suddenly blew.

The main sail that had just been lowered by the fish-men pirates was instantly filled with the surging sea wind, pushing the black giant ship slowly sliding backwards.

A group of people on the coast were dumbfounded by this sudden change.

Also dumbfounded was Match Leg Dan.

The old pirate stared dumbfounded at the murlocs busy around on the deck. Those stupid guys were doing the work on the deck in a decent manner.

Those who pulled the sail pulled the sail, those who raised the anchor raised the anchor, and a white murloc holding a bone wand summoned seawater to wash the deck. The remaining murlocs climbed the rope net more skillfully than the Gilnean recruits. Much.

At first glance, it looks like he has been specially trained.

But the murlocs.

You can swim, so why are you learning to sail a boat?

Too busy?

And the ship!

Seeing that the Northern Lord was really driven away by this group of strange fishmen, Match Leg Dan, who was holding a navy knife in his hand, reacted with excitement.

He rushed up and shouted to the little fishman who looked like a leader:

Bring my Wolf Mane with you too! This black ship is a gift to the evil Commander Black, but that ship is my own, I have feelings for it!

Bring that too.

Quack!

Benbolba glared at the troublesome Match-Legging Dan, and waved the hunting pistol he picked up from the old dwarf Hemet in a threatening manner, telling the pirate to shut up!

Now Lord Benbolba has the final say on this ship! Stupid human pirates have no place to speak!

However, after all, he is one of his own people.

Moreover, Anne Bonn was still on that ship. The female pirate was usually kind to him. Ben Bolba felt distressed and took out a few more magic items from his bag and exchanged the elemental emblems for air coins.

A few minutes later, the Wolf Mane was also blessed by the sea breeze, and smoothly rushed out from the burning frigate. Amidst the roars and curses of Staff Officer Jetaris, it followed the black ship and disappeared into the night. on the sea below.

It's too late to chase.

These damn pirates!

Ms. Jetaris, the female staff officer on the shore, was holding her naval sword with cold hands and feet. She felt waves of dizziness, probably from anger.

Your Majesty Dai Lin is right.

None of the pirates on this sea are trustworthy, and they all deserve to die!

And the fishmen!

All pirates and murlocs deserve to die!