Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"The first fleet ahead sent back the latest news. The pirates have turned! Your Excellency, they have corrected their route. They seem to have given up on escaping southward and instead sailed towards Chaoluo Island!

The First Fleet is in pursuit and contact operations are expected to begin in two hours. "

As Gilneas' newly launched battleship "Northern Lord" rode the wind and waves toward the waters of Khaz Modan, military intelligence briefings from the first fleet on the front line also passed through the communication station set up on the battleship by Gilneas mages. Continuously delivered to the commander.

Darius Crowley, the Northern Lord of the Kingdom of Gilneas, held the military report in his hand and glanced at the battle chart in front of him that was constantly revised by the staff.

A few well-dressed young Gilnean officers hold pushrods in their hands, and every few minutes, they will change the position of the small model representing the ship on the combat chart based on reports from the front.

Through this huge command platform, Lord Darius can see the current situation of the naval battle at a glance.

On this maritime sand table, above the blue background with latitude and longitude directions, a model representing the Gilnean First Fleet was chasing the undead pirates who had broken through and fled south along the coastline of Tol Barad Island.

Further south, along the sea line of Khaz Modan, models representing the Gilneas Second Fleet were already lined up there.

Even people who don’t understand war at all can understand this situation.

If these pirates continue traveling in the current direction, they will plunge into the naval battle area arranged by the Second Fleet in two hours.

The second fleet is iron felt, and the first fleet is iron hammer.

Now that the hammer has been swung hard by Lord Darius, the undead pirate caught between the two is the miserable walnut that is about to be cracked.

After the latest military report was delivered, the professional staff immediately revised the operational chart to make the situation clearer.

"Haha, that group of pirates did not choose to break out to the ocean when the first fleet chased them. It is already destined that they will not be able to escape the encirclement of the Gilneas fleet today."

In the command room, the tall Lord Darius put down the military report and said proudly to Dai Lin, who was silently looking at the battle chart with his hands behind his back:

"They are now desperate and preparing to head to Tidal Island. They probably want to capture enough hostages before our fleet destroys them and force us to give in.

But they didn't know that for today's battle, the Alliance soldiers and civilians on Chaoluo Island had been transferred a few days ago!

There they find nothing but despair! "

His Excellency the Lord said loudly:

“It’s exactly the same as the planned battle plan.

Our staff team is very capable and has predicted all the movements of the undead pirates. They are indeed talented people who have studied under the Kul Tiras Navy during the war.

Today's victory is yours!

I will personally ask Your Majesty for your merits. "

The staff officers in the war room immediately straightened their backs and saluted the lord as the commander. Their movements were quick and powerful, and they looked like real elite troops at first glance.

But as a "temporary consultant", Dai Lin could not see a smile on her face.

While playing with the Proudmoore family seal on his finger, he whispered to Lord Darius beside him:

"Are you sure the pirates are desperate?"

"Huh? What does this mean?"

The northern lords respected Daelin's opinion very much.

After all, His Excellency the Admiral is recognized by mankind as the "King of the Sea." On this endless sea, every word he says needs to be listened to carefully.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Darius asked humbly. Dai Lin was silent for a few seconds and said:

"The situation in front of us is indeed like a battle between trapped animals in which the pirates panic and choose their own way, and it is also in line with the original intention of the battle plan of 'catching a turtle in a urn'.

But when they are surrounded by you, this also means that the two fleets of Gilneas will also be attracted by them.

I just have a cautious concern. "

The admiral pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, and said:

"Do you think this is possible?

While you are executing the encirclement strategy, the pirates are also executing the 'bait' tactic. Maybe they want to get you together and catch them all! "

"This is impossible, Your Majesty Dai Lin."

Before Lord Darius could speak, a female Gilnean staff officer below responded loudly:

"Our two fleets add up to forty ships! Those pirates include their bulky troll transport ships, and their number is only over twenty.

The number of artillery pieces on each of our battleships is far more than theirs!

Our navy is well trained and those pirates are in disarray.

I'm not questioning your judgment, but I really can't think of what those pirates need to rely on to fight back and kill us? With this quantitative and qualitative advantage, their fleet will lose most of its combat power in the first three rounds of bombardment. "

Dai Lin was not angry because of the female staff officer's rebuttal. He waved his hand, looked at the serious female staff officer, and then at the others.

He found that the expressions on the faces of these staff officers were exactly the same as the girl who spoke, which meant that they did not think that the Gilneans would lose with such a huge advantage today.

This made Dailin more pessimistic about the overall quality of the Gilneas Navy.

These young people are not good enough.

They are just too confident.

It is unacceptable to feel like you are sure of victory before the war even starts.

However, Dailin took another look at Lord Darius Crowley beside him. He shrugged. The highest commander of the Gilnean army looked full of confidence. It is no wonder that the staff under his command It will expand like this.

He thought for a while and said:

"You are right, little girl.

I admit that your calculations are very complete and perfect, but this is not how naval battles are fought. If everyone relied on paper data to judge victory or defeat, our fleet in Kul Tiras would have conquered the entire world long ago.

What I want to say is that as a commander, as the soul of a navy, you must not underestimate the enemy at any time.

You may not have much experience fighting pirate fleets, but I do.

I can tell you responsibly that none of the pirates who can gather such a large fleet on the sea is easy to deal with.

You are certain that the undead pirates do not have the ability to severely damage the Gilneas Navy at once. According to normal logic, there is nothing wrong with your idea.

But what if they had? "

Dai Lin emphasized her tone, as if teaching a student, and said:

"If they really have the supernatural power of a 'big killer', then your encirclement tactics are throwing the precious lives of the soldiers into the mouth of hell.

I admit this is rare.

But as combat staff, you must consider this possibility. More importantly, the captain of this group of pirates is a master assassin, and he has just done something sensational in northern Xinjiang.

Facing such a person, I don't think you have any advantage. "

After saying that, Dailin glanced at the thoughtful Lord Darius.

The latter is also a true veteran. He can achieve this position of commander not because of his family background. Before he also served as the commander of the navy, the Northern Lord was already the commander of the Gilnean army.

He is a close comrade-in-arms of Genn Greymane, and the two of them are so close that they almost wear the same pants.

He's not an arrogant fool.

Dai Lin's statement also made the lord feel slightly moved. After a few seconds, he looked at Dai Lin and said:

"So, what's your opinion?"

"I'm just a temporary consultant."

Dai Lin shook her head and said modestly:

"I'm just giving you a reference. If I were to command this war, I would keep some 'reserves', just like when we fight on land.

It is unreasonable to invest all the military power at once and put the victory or defeat in one war. "

"Good! Your opinion is very pertinent."

Darius turned around and shouted to the staff below:

"Notify the First Fleet immediately, and the ten warships in the combat order from ten to twenty will be mobilized to slow down and sail in the current sea area, waiting to join my ship.

Then notify the Second Fleet and ask them to deploy a marine force of at least 2,000 people to land on Tideluo Island and protect the dock. "

"It's time to use the 'magic power' you have hidden."

Dai Lin whispered in a timely manner:

"If you are sure that you can stabilize the situation through supernatural power, then you should make preparations now, just like you must check the bullets in the pistol before a duel, so as not to be in a hurry later."

"Huh? How do you know we still have a hidden force?"

The northern lord blinked and asked.

Dai Lin shrugged and said:

"This is on the sea, my friend, and nothing can be hidden from the eyes of us Kul Tirans. And as you just said, you have been tracking the ghost ship.

Although I don't understand magic.

But my mage lover told me that the ghost ship, a creation born in death, cannot be accurately tracked by magic in most cases.

The fact that you can do this means that you must have unconventional spell-casting power in your hands.

Stop hiding it.

Take out the 'secret weapon' of your Gilnean navy and let me, an old sailor, open his eyes. "

——

Two hours later.

By "selling off" magic items and buying "downwind service" from the djinn god Al Abbas, the undead pirates who had been escaping all the way finally reached the waters of Tideluo Island.

But even after spending money, they couldn't get far away from the Gilnean First Fleet.

Mainly because the undead pirates' fleet includes two large troll ships, the Alpaca and the Wharton. Their speed is very slow. In this kind of battlefield where speed is life, they should not appear.

But Black forced the two troll ships to enter the battlefield. In desperation, other faster pirate ships could only maintain low-speed sailing as their frigates.

However, the downwind service of the Wind Elemental Demigod was really powerful. It set off the sea breeze to push the two bloated ships, and forced them to accelerate to the speed that a normal warship should have.

But this is the limit of what a demigod can do.

Al Abbas is an ethical businessman.

It is unwilling to intervene in the mortal war, of course, because there are no "quality customers" for it on both sides, so naturally it cannot be lenient.

Black quietly asked the person who paid the price. Even for a "high-quality customer" like him, the "service fee" for a demigod to set off a big storm to destroy the Gilneas fleet was something he couldn't afford.

"There's the captain!"

On the big mast of the Alpaca, the fox-man Eudora, who was holding a telescope, excitedly pointed to the end of the sea in the southwest and shouted. At the end of the telescope, she saw the Nagfar coming from under the sea. The magnificent scene of water breaking out.

But it's too far away from the undead pirates' main formation.

A conservative estimate is that it is at least thirty nautical miles away, and it looks like a small black dot through a telescope.

Far water cannot quench near thirst.

The pirates in the undead fleet were going crazy at this moment. The Gilnean First Fleet was chasing them, and the distance between the two sides had reached a very dangerous level.

Some pirates with good eyesight could even clearly see that the gun windows on the hull of the First Fleet's battleship were opening.

They were turning to seize more favorable bombardment positions.

And on the other side.

The formation of Gilneas' second fleet, which had surrounded Tidefall Island, spread out. A dozen warships lined up in a row, completely blocking the path of the undead pirates.

It was like a pocket array opened on the sea, or like an urn made of steel and gunpowder, and the desperate pirates who rushed in were the old turtles in this urn.

The gryphon knights of Gilneas take off.

They are not as "luxurious" as the Kul Tiran fleet, equipping each warship with a team of gryphon knights.

However, the total number of gryphon knights in the two fleets exceeded one hundred. They were divided into four formations and flew over in a mighty manner. Their momentum and pressure were still very strong.

Some frightened pirates thought the end was coming.

They disobeyed the captain's orders. Some were trying to seize the ship and surrender, while others had already plunged into the sea and swam towards the distant Tide Island.

"Kill these traitors!"

The orc captain Maimu held up his red coral trident and issued a cold order.

Immediately, the orc musketeers spread out along the side of the ship and pulled the triggers on the pirate traitors who jumped into the water to escape.

Traitors are always more hateful than enemies!

And if they are not stopped immediately with death, this rebellion will quickly defeat the poor confidence of the undead pirates. But even the most determined old pirates have no idea how to win in the current situation of being surrounded.

This scene also completely fell in the eyes of everyone on the Nagfar floating on the surface.

Surrounded by warlocks and scum, their evil captain strode onto the deck, Black paying no attention to the brutal naval battle that was about to begin in the distance.

He looked at the surrounding sea with a nostalgic look.

He said to the first mate who was following closely:

"Do you know why I chose the battlefield here?"

"The ocean currents here are chaotic and irregular? This is outside the borders of Gilneas. Their navy is not familiar with the underwater terrain here. Is it convenient for the Nagfar to launch a surprise attack?"

Sephiel, who was wearing a Kul Tiran military uniform, tilted his head and gave two reasons. After seeing Black's disapproving expression, the pirate dragon laughed and said:

"Just kidding, of course I know why you chose the battlefield here.

You died here a year ago.

The six warships of the advance fleet of the Kul Tiran Third Fleet and the wreckage of those loyal sailors are still lying quietly on the seabed.

Are you trying to declare something to those brave men who have died? captain. "

"maybe."

Blake flexed his fingers, neither confirming nor denying.

Behind him, Zarak and Kanrisad were working together to push the already weak Tidestone over.

"Naval battles are different from land battles.

Naval battles are elegant. We can drink tea and wait for the cannonballs to cross the sea and land on the enemy's ship, so we can correct the trajectory. The duration of a naval battle is measured in days. "

The stinky pirate put his hand on the cold surface of the Tidestone and said to the people around him:

“But naval warfare is also brutal.

The key to victory lies not only in on-the-spot performance, but also in the preparations made in advance, the daily training, the efforts made for the unknown battle when it will come, and even more in the commander's forward-looking vision.

The outcome of a naval battle is determined long before the war begins.

Fortunately, I had been preparing for this war for a year.

I've traveled across most of Azeroth, and I'm better prepared than the Gilneans who decide to rush into war within a month or two.

So.we are destined to win! "

Black grinned with a malicious smile, closed his eyes, and began to mobilize the remaining power in the Tide Stone.

"Alas, these principles were taught to me by an excellent teacher. Today I will use what he taught me to teach the Gilneans a lesson.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see this scene.

Otherwise he would be very pleased. "

PS:

Chapter 176 has left the palace!