The Miral River is the northernmost river on the entire west coast of Faerun.

Its upper reaches connect to the snow-capped peaks of the endless mountains on the roof of the world, and flow westward along the terrain into the sea. It is the last boundary separating civilization and wilderness.

At the mouth of the sea stands an ancient and historic city - Luskan.

As possibly the northernmost city in the entire continent of Faerun, it is said that its origins can be traced back to a settlement established by a combination of hunters and fishing villages more than four thousand years ago.

It was later razed to the ground several times by orcs, and then rebuilt, even with the participation of the remnants of the Netheril.

But with the complete decline of the Netherese civilization, the original city fell under the siege of the orc army, and finally became a dangerous area where various undead creatures roamed.

The modern history of Luskan officially began only when pirates discovered this place and used it as a base for docking, resupply and selling spoils.

From then on, this place gradually developed into a paradise for criminals.

No matter how bad the crimes committed in other cities on the continent of Faerun are, as long as you escape here, you can live a normal life as if nothing happened, and there is no need to hide anymore.

To be precise, Luskan was in a state of chaos and disorder for a long time.

The entire port town was jointly controlled by those prestigious pirate captains, and large-scale fights and even bloodshed often broke out due to conflicts of interest and drunken impulses.

Since there are neither laws nor the ability to enforce them, it basically comes down to whoever has the bigger fist being right.

But all this changed with the arrival of a wizard.

He was none other than Akelom Grace, the founder of the Arcane Brotherhood, who brought all pirates and outlaws under control.

It was this evil and ambitious old wizard who integrated the various forces in Luskan, forced the pirate captains to obey his will, and slowly built the prototype of a city.

It can even be said that Luskan’s current scale and strength are all thanks to Akelem Grace.

Without him, Luskan would not have the fierce reputation it has in the North.

In addition, Akelem Grace also attaches great importance to the development of magical powers.

Not only did he build a giant wizard tower in Luskan, but he also spent a huge amount of money to recruit talents and train apprentices.

He even set up four tall towers in the east, west, south and north, with four of the best tower masters to assist him in management and share power.

Unfortunately, the arrogant Akelum Grace made the same mistake that many smart people make, which is that he thought he could control everything easily.

As a result, as the Arcane Brotherhood grew and prospered, equally ambitious apprentices and mages inevitably began to backstab, assassinate, and poison each other in their quest for power.

In the end, many tower masters who had the potential to be promoted to high-level wizards had their lives ended by a dagger stabbed by their most trusted apprentices.

The intense internal friction made it impossible for the Arcane Brotherhood, which had only about 130 members, to unite and face the outside world together.

Whenever a tower master wants to do something, there will always be tower masters who are at odds with him, as well as those mages who are eyeing the position of tower master, secretly hiding in the dark and causing trouble.

Although no one has dared to attack Akelum Grace so far, he still feels very troubled and worried.

Especially with the continuous aging of his body in recent years, his energy has become increasingly weak, and there are undercurrents within the organization.

He believed that someone was plotting a conspiracy against him, but he just couldn't find any evidence.

Whenever he thought of this, Akelum Grace would subconsciously take out the notes on the lich transformation ritual that he had collected over the years and read them over and over again, but he just couldn't make up his mind.

In fact, the reason why he agreed and allowed Luskan to attack the Nelanther Islands was, on the one hand, to save the dwindling source of funds, and on the other hand, to find something for other tower masters and potentially threatening guys to do.

In this way, he could secretly hide in the most heavily guarded area of ​​the tower and take the opportunity to complete the entire transformation ceremony.

However, since the notebook in my hand is incomplete, there is definitely a certain chance of failure.

Akelem Grace once tried to obtain relevant knowledge from the Red Wizards and Zhentarim who cooperated with the Arcane Brotherhood through transactions.

But unfortunately, both sides chose to refuse without hesitation.

Needless to say, both organizations are on guard against his transformation into an immortal lich, which would eventually lead to his complete control of the Arcane Brotherhood and become a potential competitor and threat.

"Alas - it seems that I can't wait any longer. Because the older I get and the closer I get to death, the more dangerous my situation will become."

Akelum Grace closed the notebook in his hand, and a deep worry appeared on his old face.

The shortcomings of most ordinary mages, such as lack of knowledge and foundation, were fully reflected in him at this moment.

Since there is no backer and no support from the Goddess of Magic or the Goddess of Night, Shar, the knowledge and spells stored in the library in the tower of the Arcane Brotherhood have always been quite poor.

Perhaps it is not a big problem to use it to deal with low-level wizards and apprentices, but once you exceed the fifth ring, the number and types of spells will drop drastically.

Coupled with the blockade of Luskan by Silvermoon City and Waterdeep, it has no channels to purchase high-level scrolls.

As for the red-robed wizards with rich background, the magic scrolls they sell usually do not exceed five rings.

The Zhentarim only share intelligence and never engage in any form of item trade.

Just as Akelem Grace was about to contact several channels he had developed privately over the years, a young man who looked to be around 20 years old suddenly walked in quickly from outside and bowed respectfully: "Tower Master, Lord Ximanmeng is here to visit you. He said he has something important to discuss and needs to see you immediately."

"Simonmon? He's not staying in the Dark Castle. He's coming here at this time. Could it be because of the upcoming war between Luskan and the Nelanther Islands?"

Akelum Grace stroked his sparse beard and fell into deep thought.

As the head of the entire Dark Intelligence Network, Ximamon rarely comes to Luskan in person unless something particularly important and serious happens.

After realizing this, Akelum Grace immediately ordered without even looking up: "Please bring him here immediately!"

"As you wish, Master."

The young man bowed again before turning and disappearing at the end of the passage.

After a while, he came back with Xi Manmeng.

However, unlike his usual elegant demeanor, Ximanmeng's expression was quite ugly this time. As soon as they met, he immediately said in an almost commanding tone: "Stop the war with the Nelanser Islands immediately! You have no idea what kind of enemy you are provoking! You don't even know how serious the consequences of this war will be."

"What do you mean?"

Akelum Grace frowned subconsciously, quite dissatisfied with this unreasonable attitude.

"Don't ask why! Do what I say immediately unless you want to die." Ximanmeng shouted harshly.

You know, when he learned that Luskan was going to launch a war on the Nelanther Islands, he was almost scared to death.

Perhaps the Arcane Brotherhood still doesn't know who the real master behind those pirates is, but the Zhentarim know it clearly.

Especially since Ximanmeng himself had had contact and cooperation with Zuo Si before, he understood how dangerous and scary this seemingly harmless young man was.

Recently, the government of Askatla took the initiative to spread the news that it defeated an Abyss Lord who was summoned to the material plane and an army of demons of astonishing size.

If this news is true, then Zuo Si's strength has reached the same level as his teacher Mansong or other goddess elects.

Coupled with their strong desire for revenge, the Arcane Brotherhood must be tired of living and would want to provoke such an enemy.

Unfortunately, Akerum Grace was completely unaware of the seriousness of the problem. With his eyelids drooping slightly, he responded in a nonchalant tone, "Sorry, it's too late. Just two days ago, the Luskan fleet had already set out, and together with the fleet and mercenaries of Mingtan Island, they headed towards the Nelanther Islands. If nothing unexpected happens, they should have entered the northern Sword Coast and started fighting by now."

“Damn it!”

Realizing that he was late, Ximanmeng couldn't help but curse loudly, then without saying a word, he cast a teleportation magic and disappeared without a trace, not even bothering to explain to the other party.

Because he knew that from the moment the war started, the person who decided the course of events changed from the Arcane Brotherhood to Zuo Si.

And Ximanmeng's abnormal behavior undoubtedly made Akelum Grace very confused.

It was the first time for the old man to see this always elegant man lose his composure like this.

However, he did not hesitate for too long. He immediately closed all the entrances to the Mage Tower and planned to carefully begin the lich transformation ceremony.

In fact, this is not the first time that Akelem Grace has tried, but the Nth time.

However, every time he reached an emergency, he had a feeling that he would inevitably fail if he continued, so he stopped on his own initiative.

At the same time, far off the Whalebone Islands in the north of the Sword Coast, Luskan's massive pirate fleet was gathering and arranging itself into battle formation, led by five great commanders, or senior pirate captains.

They are Tal, Balam, Kurth, Surjek and Resnoor.

As "heroes" who can stand out from many pirates, these people must have rich combat experience.

Many of them had fought against the regular navy and captured at least one or two large warships from the other side.

At this moment, a total of three or four hundred ships of various sizes were divided into five teams, keeping a very close distance and approaching the Nalanther Islands fleet, which was less than one-fifth of their size.

Since they had an absolute advantage in both numbers of men and ships, and there were dozens of mages and apprentices on board who could provide long-range fire support, all the great commanders adopted aggressive tactics without exception, hoping to crush the opponent's fighting spirit in one wave.

Looking at the enemy rushing over aggressively, Vanessa, who was standing on the deck, showed a contemptuous expression and said without looking back: "It's time. Come on, let's teach these frogs in the well a lesson and let them understand the absolute difference in strength."

"Is it necessary to go through so much trouble? I think summoning two water element elders, a wind element elder, or a purgatory squid or a celestial whale will easily destroy these fragile wooden ships."

Habaser Delin, who had just joined the organization, complained in a low voice.

As the owner of the Baldur's Gate Witch Grocery Store, he obviously prefers researching and improving various techniques for making magic items rather than fighting.

If it weren't for the emergence of the Red Wizard Concession, which greatly squeezed the profits of his business, he would not have finally agreed to transform himself into a lich and hand over the life box, becoming a core member of the organization.

Vanessa's original promise was to destroy the Red Wizard's concession in Baldur's Gate and completely monopolize the city's magical resources.

"Don't underestimate the Arcane Brotherhood. Although most of their members are low-level wizards and apprentices, several tower masters are still quite powerful. What's more, under the enhancement of magic rituals, these people can exert spellcasting levels far beyond their actual strength." Tailantier couldn't help but interject.

Unlike Habaser Delin, his reason for joining was different. He joined in pursuit of immortality and more knowledge and spells.

However, after witnessing the organization's rich collection of books, spell backups, and many unheard-of theoretical knowledge, Tailantier felt that his choice was right.

Moreover, the organization's relatively neutral style of operation is quite in line with his taste.

"You're right. That's why I gathered so many core members. Alright, stop talking nonsense and come over here to prepare for the ceremony. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can call it a day. I still have to rush to Mingtan Island to clean up the mess."

After saying that, Vanessa took the initiative to step forward and stood in the middle of the magic circle drawn on the deck. She slowly raised her hands and began to chant an awkward spell.

Several other liches followed closely behind and stood in their own positions, manipulating the energy of the magic network to resonate with the former.

Since there was no cover, violent magical fluctuations began to reverberate around the sea surface after a few minutes.

In particular, the originally calm sea surface suddenly became turbulent.

From time to time, huge waves can even reach more than ten meters high.

The small boats in the Luskan fleet were overturned and broken into pieces by the waves without any attention.

As for the people on the boat, they sank to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish, without even a chance of being rescued.

"What's going on?"

As the commander-in-chief, Balam couldn't help but ask an Arcane Brotherhood mage on his ship.

Since the latter's spellcasting level was not high, he could not tell what this high-level magic ritual was, and stammered to explain: "Maybe... maybe the enemy realized that they were at a disadvantage, so they wanted to use this method to create a bad battlefield environment, so that our small boats could not be used."

"real?"

Balam obviously didn't believe this.

Because summoning a storm at sea through magical power is undoubtedly a very dangerous thing.

It is not only dangerous to the enemy, but also to yourself.

Just when the wizard was about to say something, an extremely huge vortex suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the sea separating the two fleets.

Several ships that were moving faster were instantly sucked into the vortex and torn into pieces under the gaze of countless eyes.

This scene made pirate captains like Balam terrified, and even the four tower masters of the Arcane Brotherhood realized that something was wrong.

But before they could react, a giant beast as big as an island suddenly stretched out from the whirlpool and crashed directly into Luskan's fleet at lightning speed.

Since all the sailboats were moving at full speed, inertia made it impossible for them to turn quickly. As a result, at least a dozen ships rushed forward and crashed into the water, smashing it to pieces.

Many sailors even had their brains burst on the spot when they hit the rock-hard shell, and some were pierced through the chest by the protruding spikes. It was clear without asking that there was no hope of saving them.

When the entire giant beast emerged from the bottom of the sea, everyone could see its full appearance.

It was a super giant turtle that could not be described in words, but its head and tail showed the characteristics of a dragon.

When it opens its mouth, it can spit out high-temperature steam from inside.

Any unlucky person caught in this range will be steamed alive in an instant.

If you die on the spot, you are lucky, at least you don't suffer too much pain.

But if it does not die on the spot but is half-dead, the painful wails will continue until it falls into the sea and drowns.

"Dragon... Dragon Turtle! It's the Ancient Dragon Turtle!!!!!!"

The Arcane Brotherhood mage on Balam's ship couldn't help but let out a shrill scream, his face full of horror.

Because on the sea, there is nothing more terrifying than encountering a dragon turtle.

Especially the dragon turtles that have reached the "Ancient" age group are even more terrifying than the Ancient dragons.

Its enormous size and indestructible shell alone are enough to render most physical attacks and magic powerless.

"Turn! Turn quickly! Stay away from this monster!"

Balam was also panicked at this moment, and shouted at his men to turn the rudder.

He had been sailing on the sea for so many years, but this was the first time he had seen this legendary terrifying monster that could overturn a ship.

There is no doubt that from the moment the ancient dragon turtle was summoned, the fate of the Luskan fleet was sealed.

This behemoth could send more than a dozen ships and their crews to the bottom of the sea with just one collision.

By raising its front limbs and gently slapping the sea surface, huge waves more than ten meters high can be created in an instant.

The size of the ship and the number of combatants all lost their meaning at this moment; all that awaited them was massacre and death.

All wizards and warlocks who mastered magic of the third level or above quickly cast flying spells to try to escape.

Unfortunately, Vanessa was obviously prepared for this. She immediately led a group of liches and her apprentices to attack, either forcing the dragon turtle to give up resistance and surrender, or directly used a magic to dispel the opponent's flying skill, making the opponent fall from the sky and become a "snack" for the dragon turtle.

The fleet of the Nalanther Islands followed closely behind the dragon turtle, taking over those enemy ships that were scared to death by the dragon turtle and hoisted the white flag.

The battle lasted only ten minutes from start to finish.

The fleet that Luskan, the City of a Thousand Sails, was so proud of was sunk, surrendered, captured, and not even a single ship escaped.

Because although the ancient dragon turtle is huge in size, its movement speed is not slow, at least much faster than a sailboat propelled by wind.

As the last ship also hoisted the white flag, Vanessa immediately sent back the ancient dragon turtle that was summoned by the magic ritual, and began to count the captives and spoils.

You know, these pirates were not idle when they went south. They took the opportunity to rob many merchant ships belonging to Neverwinter and Waterdeep.

In some of the ship's cells, one could even find naked women who had been violated to the point of being in a trance and experiencing mental breakdown.

"Master, what are we going to do with these captives?"

Eric, the nominal supreme ruler of the Nelanther Islands, asked cautiously.

"Lord Soth said that we don't need to have any sympathy or mercy towards the pirates of Luskan. I will simply identify all those who have been involved in this business for more than a year and turn them all into undead. As for those who have been in this business for less than a year, I will lock them up and send them to quarries and mines as laborers."

Vanessa gave a straightforward solution.

According to his idea, these evil pirates should all be transformed into undead creatures to accept eternal pain and torture.

Soon, at the order of the fleet's supreme commander, the screening of Luskan pirates began.

Since a large portion of the fleet captains of the Nelanther Islands are evil and lawful hobgoblins, they are very efficient in implementing and executing orders.

仅仅不到一个小时的功夫，两千多名俘虏就按照加入海盗工龄一年为分界线，被分别驱赶到几艘大型海船的甲板上，准备迎接自己的命运。

一些从事海盗多年的老油条还以为对方这是打算招揽经验丰富的自己，所以一个个表现的十分淡定。

毕竟从俘虏中招募好手，早就已经是海盗之间不成文的规矩和惯例。

反倒是那些新手紧张的不得了，生怕遭到屠杀亦或是被贬为奴隶卖掉。

要知道在路斯坎，奴隶贸易可是合法且可以公开进行的。

在这种诡异的氛围下，瓦内萨施展飞行术来到了其中一船俘虏的头顶，二话不说便开始施展法术。

没过一会儿功夫，令人感到阴冷且毛骨悚然的负能量便笼罩了整艘船上的所有人。

还没等俘虏们意识到发生了什么，他便伸出皮包骨头的手轻轻做了个抓握的动作。

下一秒……

轰！！！！！！

惊人的负能量在人群中喷涌而出，当场终结了数百人的生命。

不仅如此！

在接下来的十几秒时间内，那些死去的尸体又晃晃悠悠的站了起来。

其中有些变成了僵尸、有些变成了食尸鬼，还有些则褪去肉体只剩下一具惨白色的骸骨。

但共同点是，他们跟普通的低级且没有智慧的亡灵不同，都仍旧保留着生前的意识和记忆。

很显然，这并不是普通的转化仪式，而是将死者的灵魂一起囚禁在死去的躯壳内供自己驱使。

如此恐怖的一幕，瞬间所有的俘虏都吓得尿了裤子。

但早已习惯的耐兰瑟尔群岛水手们却丝毫不以为意，反倒是饶有兴致讨论着这些亡灵会有什么特别的用途。

毕竟他们和家人现在美好的生活，就是靠这些亡灵日以继夜不停的工作。

时间长了，自然也就失去了对不死生物的畏惧。

瓦内萨不慌不忙掏出从左思那里拿来的【统御亡灵之卷】，直接释放出一道刺眼的光将所有刚刚转化完成的不死生物笼罩在其中。

瞬间！

这些上一秒还拥有自由意志的家伙，下一秒就成了忠心耿耿的仆从。

作为低级亡灵，哪怕拥有独立的意识和记忆，也依旧没有办法反抗【统御亡灵之卷】的绝对支配。

不用问也知道，瓦内萨这样做是为了给自己麾下的亡灵大军注入更多的灵活的战术。

否则不死尉官一旦在战斗中被干掉，他们手下所指挥的低级亡灵瞬间就会陷入一片混乱之中。

就这样一船一船的转化，没过多久便把差不多三分之二的俘虏变成了不死生物。

等做完这一切，巫妖立刻给埃里克使了个眼色。

后者心领神会，马上站出来冲那些已经被吓到两腿发软瘫坐在甲板上的俘虏大喊道：“感到庆幸吧！你们这些肮脏的海上臭虫。

介于你们成为路斯坎海盗的时间还不长，所以主人决定仁慈的饶恕你们，并给予你们重新做人的机会。

从现在开始，你们将被分配到矿坑和采石场服至少五年的苦役。

只要在此期间表现良好，五年之后你们就可以重获自由。”

毫无疑问，这番话对于刚刚亲眼目睹了上千名同伴在死灵魔法的屠杀下变成亡灵的俘虏无异于天籁之音。

正所谓没有对比就没有伤害。

如果一开始就告诉这些家伙他们要去服五年的苦役才能重获自由，必定会怀恨在心并且想尽一切办法偷懒、逃跑。

可是现在，他们的内心只有劫后余生的庆幸跟感激。

是的！

你没听错！

俘虏们竟然对饶恕自己一命的巫妖产生了感激之情，纷纷跪在地上痛哭流涕表示要洗心革面、痛改前非。

资深海盗的埃里克看到这一幕，内心之中感觉十分的荒诞。

他甚至不禁去想，要是自己当初没有做出正确的选择洗白上岸，现在是不是也会跟对方一样，成为被那些可怕巫妖清理的对象。

当然，现在思考这些已经没有任何意义了。

身为耐兰瑟尔群岛名义上的统治者，埃里克早就是人人羡慕的人生赢家。

他哪怕什么都不做，光靠从贸易和保护费中抽取的分成就能过的相当舒服，甚至还在前不久举办了一场奢华的婚礼，正式迎娶哈莱特船长的私生女作为妻子。

由于并不知道自己的父亲就是死于埃里克的背叛，因此这个年轻的姑娘并没有对这桩婚事产生什么排斥。

事实上在海盗群体中，让最信任的手下或者兄弟迎娶自己的女儿或是姐妹，一直都是有传统可循的。

这样做不仅可以建立起以血缘为纽带的亲戚关系，同时还能提高忠诚度，简直就是一举两得。

更何况，埃里克已经是名副其实的“耐兰瑟尔群岛之王”，在费伦西海绝对算得上是一号人物，甚至又不少贵族和富商都愿意送出女儿与其进行联姻。

至于哈莱特那位知晓部分真相的情人，在这种时候也不敢拆穿对方的谎言，生怕遭到可怕的报复。

不仅如此，她还半推半就成为了对方的秘密情妇，任由这个杀死了哈莱特的男人在自己身上发泄扭曲的欲望。

毕竟费伦的社会风气在这方面是如此开放，你不能指望一个每年只能偷偷见上哈莱特几面的女人，会对其产生什么至死不渝的感情。

刚好相反！

这个女人愿意成为哈莱特的情妇，归根结底还是对方能够提供一大笔钱，让其可以像贵妇一样去享受美好的生活。

现在哈莱特死了，换一个男人依靠对她而言并没有本质上的区别。

唯一的缺点是，埃里克并不像哈莱特那样英俊且会说一些讨女人欢心的情话。

但优点是，他在某些方面更加强壮、持久且凶猛，可以带来不一样的新鲜体验。

……

就在剑湾北部与路斯坎主力舰队的战斗结束后，远在南方的明檀岛上，还没来得及出发的舰队和雇佣兵便被红龙堵在了港口里。

维尔梅斯仿佛从天而降的红色死神，一口滚烫的烈焰吐息就把对方的旗舰当场点燃，变成一个燃烧的巨大火球。

而船上的人，连一个都没能逃出来，全部在火海中哀嚎着死伤殆尽。

“怎么回事？为什么会有龙攻击这里？他们今年不是已经给胡恩达尔上过贡了吗？”

红袍巫师加尼尔猛地从酒馆里冲出来，满脸都是震惊和难以置信的表情。

很显然，她把维尔梅斯与另外一条在明檀岛附近筑巢的红龙搞混了。

不过很可惜，没人能够回答这个问题。

尽管港口附近的雇佣军和水手们拼命想要使用床弩、弩炮之类的大型器械对巨龙进行射击。

可是在奇物的大范围思维感知下，这些人类的想法被一个不落的收集起来，并传递给维尔梅斯。

这直接导致了后者哪怕不用看，也知道那些地方有能够威胁到自己的床弩和弩炮，目前的角度和瞄准方向是哪里，然后以极快的速度将其摧毁。

大概几分钟之后，所有的弩炮和床弩都在龙焰吐息下全部焚毁。

不管是港湾内的船只，还是那些房屋和地面上四散奔逃的人群，都彻底变成了活靶子。

一条红龙对于城镇的破坏力，在此时此刻被体现得淋漓尽致。

就在烧杀抢掠唤醒了维尔梅斯沉寂许久的暴虐情绪，打算将这座城市彻底变成一片废墟时，红袍巫师加尼尔终于坐不住了，立刻带着手下的塞尔佣兵走出来，通过扩音术向头顶的巨兽大喊道：“停下！快停下！胡恩达尔！不管你想要得到什么，我们现在都可以谈谈。”

“胡恩达尔？”

维尔梅斯听到这个名字顿时露出疑惑之色，随后一个俯冲降落在地面上。

当她落下来的瞬间，加尼尔立马意识到自己犯了一个致命的错误。

眼前这条红龙根本不是居住在附近另外一座岛上的胡恩达尔，而是另外一条红龙。

因为后者的体型要比前者至少大两圈。

这也就意味着，其年龄层可能已经达到壮年乃至老年的程度。

咕咚！

在场神经紧张到极点的塞尔佣兵不约而同吞了口唾沫。

尤其是佣兵队长，低下头瞥了一眼自己手中+1的魔法长剑，根本不确定这玩意砍在龙鳞上是否能留下什么印记。

“告诉我，女人，胡恩达尔是谁？”维尔梅斯低下头瞪着两只宛如熔岩般流动的眼睛质问道。

很显然，她对于这个同类起了歪心思。

一方面打算洗劫对方巢穴里的财宝，另外一方面想要俘虏对方，然后带回去跟身为雌性的艾什泰兰瑟日夜不停交配产下更多的龙蛋。

要知道胡恩达尔这个名字，一听就知道是条雄性红龙。

“我……我想我们可能有些误会。”

汗水在极短时间内就浸透了加尼尔身上那件标志性的红色长袍。

“最后一次机会！告诉我胡恩达尔是谁！他的巢穴又在什么地方！”

Wilmes obviously had no patience, and hot sparks instantly spewed out of his nostrils, leaving a large number of black burn spots on the opponent's exposed face and neck.

But Ghaniel didn't dare to move, let alone scream. He endured the pain and replied, "Huendar is an adult male red dragon. His lair is on a volcanic island only sixty kilometers west of here. I assure you that there are mountains of treasures in his lair, and there is also a powerful magic item."

Needless to say, this sinister and cunning red-robed wizard wanted to take advantage of Wilmes's greed and make him leave Mingtan Island to fight another red dragon.

Unfortunately, her wishful thinking was directly exposed by the strange object, which reminded her through telepathy: "Don't be fooled! This guy is using you. We must complete the task assigned by the master first."

"I know this without you reminding me."

Wilmes replied unhappily, then immediately raised his front paws and uttered dragon language from his mouth that most mortals could not understand.

The next second...

A magic of dispelling was cast on Garnier on the spot, removing several protective spells cast on him.

Immediately after that, the strange object was thrown over with a mind control, and the red-robed wizard was completely turned into a controlled puppet.

Not only her, but also the Sel mercenaries behind her who were responsible for protecting her safety.

Since the previous ruler, Tarnsir Embiilhan, had been killed in a coup, and the temporarily elected mercenary leader was also burned to ashes in the flames, the entire Mingtan Island inevitably fell into a state of chaos with no leader.

But soon, with the assistance of the red-robed wizard and the Sel mercenaries, Wilmes brought this small port city and its surrounding islands under his control.

By the time Vanessa and her men were teleported over, only a handful of tribes were still resisting sporadically.

The great wizard who specialized in necromancy had no intention of being polite at all. He immediately slaughtered all the mercenaries and turned them into part of his own undead army.

You have to know that in the Sword Coast area, almost all wars are closely related to these mercenaries who make money from war.

Sometimes, in order to make money, they would even take the initiative to stir up conflicts between two forces or two lords.

Therefore, Zuo Si was extremely disgusted with these guys who only brought war, death, destruction and chaos, and directly regarded them as enemies of civilization along with orcs, goblins and gnolls.

When the population structure of the entire Mingtan Island was combed through from beginning to end and all the survivors were trembling and hiding in their homes, Zuo Si finally appeared on the streets littered with corpses and charred buildings through teleportation magic.

"Sir, Mingtan Island is now completely under our control. How do you think we should deal with the red-robed wizards and Sel mercenaries who are deeply involved in it?" Vanessa asked immediately.

"Have you obtained all the intelligence and information in their minds?" Zuo Si asked casually.

"Of course! In the face of psychic powers, no one can keep secrets except constructs and undead."

When saying this, the lich's tone clearly revealed his undisguised gloating.

Because through Garnier, he had learned about the number of people and defense status of the Red Wizards in the main towns and concessions on the west coast.

This means that as long as Zuo Si gives an order, the entire organization can uproot the Red Robe Wizard's power from this area and replace it.

"Was this action instructed by those chiefs, or was it a private act by this woman?" Zuo Si asked the question that concerned him most directly.

Vanessa immediately replied, "Based on the information we have so far, I tend to think that Garnier planned this operation on his own, but the top leaders of the Red Wizards also acquiesced."

"So... this is a test for us?"

Zuo Si's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately understood the other party's plan.

Vanessa nodded. "You can say that. So how you respond next is crucial. If you appear too weak, the other party will take advantage of it. If you respond too fiercely, it may lead to an all-out war."

"Hahahaha! It looks like the Red Wizard's high-level officials have given us a difficult problem.

But it doesn’t matter. My principle is never to make choices based on answers given by others.

It would be better to let Garnier issue orders to the strongholds and concessions under her control to attack the dark intelligence network of the Zhentarim at all costs.

Anyway, in this incident, both parties are our enemies.

Then we will release Garnier and see how the top red wizards will deal with this mess."

Zuo Si laughed and gave a perfect solution.

He was looking forward to how Manshoon and Sazastan would handle this conflict and whether they would throw G'Haniel out as a scapegoat.

"As you wish."

Vanessa bent down and bowed deeply.

The decision Zuo Si just made happened to coincide with his thoughts.

Nothing is more likely to create discord and confusion between two enemies.

And even if the top leaders are clear-headed, the heavy casualties among the people below will accumulate enough hatred.

In many cases, with just a little incitement, this hatred can quickly turn into actual acts of revenge.

When dealing with a top spellcasting organization like the Red Wizards, choosing to confront them head-on is the most foolish thing to do.

Because the former controls a country with a vast territory and has established a complete mechanism for training mages, which can provide a steady supply of talent reserves.

Isn’t Storm Queen Xinbu, one of the chosen ones of the Goddess of Magic, powerful enough?

But it's the same as being annoyed by the various conspiracies and harassment from the red-robed wizard.

Therefore, Zuo Si hoped to give the other party a warning through this incident, and at the same time demonstrate his own strength and means, so that Sazastan would understand that it was not a wise choice to be his enemy.

(End of this chapter)