Normally, even if we use the convenient water transportation of the Chongsa River, it would take at least a month or even longer to travel the approximately ten-day land route from Dongxing City to Taisir.
If you happen to encounter extreme weather, such as heavy rain, it is common to be stuck in a town for seven or eight days and unable to leave.
On the one hand, the road conditions are too bad. Excessive rain makes the ground muddy, so that the wheels often get stuck in the pits and can't get out due to insufficient friction.
On the other hand, livestock such as horses, cattle, and mules that are exposed to rain for a long time will become sick or die, and certain goods also cannot be exposed to moisture or water.
Therefore, unless it is an extremely urgent situation, no one with any sense would choose to travel in the rain.
This means that according to the original traffic and transportation level of the continent of Faerun, without establishing a stable portal, any large-scale transfer of materials and personnel would require at least a one and a half month buffer period from the West Coast to the Dragon Coast.
This is the case even with the convenience of river and sea transportation, so it would be even more terrible if we rely solely on land transportation.
This is why, apart from a few forces like Cyre, Mulhorand, Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim, there are very few large-scale foreign wars of aggression in Faerun.
Even these forces usually only attack their neighbors, and do not launch cross-sea expeditions with the help of fleets.
Even if they want to cause trouble in a distant place, they will adopt strategies such as infiltration, bribery, inciting a coup, and supporting puppets.
This is not because their strategic thinking is not broad enough, nor is it that they do not understand the importance of utilizing sea control. It is more due to the huge logistical pressure caused by the poor and backward transportation system.
To put it bluntly, if too few troops are sent, they will easily be beaten back by the locals and those nosy "righteous people"; if too many troops are sent, the logistical supply will not be able to keep up.
Even if an important city stronghold was occupied, there was no way to deploy a large number of troops to control the grain-producing areas in the countryside.
They could only continue to consume financial resources and their own reserve materials, and transport them continuously from the rear.
In this case, the longer the war lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be for the invader, and the final result is often that they have no choice but to withdraw their troops and stop the losses.
The reason why Fuzor Chamberlain dared to cross the sea with the army of Zhentil Keep and invade the West Heartland area from the Dragon Coast was mainly because Zuo Si had helped him take care of all the logistics.
After landing and capturing Ximen Port, this guy directly obtained enough weapons, equipment and food supplies to sustain the army for several months.
In addition, they conquered towns and villages along the way and plundered the huge amounts of resources and wealth from the local ruling classes, which ultimately enabled them to achieve the feat of capturing Baldur's Gate.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Red Robe Wizards of Sel and the mortal rulers of the Mulhorand Empire who had just been liberated from theocracy, even if they were to engage in some small conspiracy in the West Coast Empire, the other side would not start a war for it.
Because one of them is at the westernmost part of the continent of Faerun, and the other two are at the easternmost part of the continent of Faerun, with the entire Falling Star Sea in between.
The intricate terrain of the Pirate Islands and the large number of pirates there are enough to give people a headache.
Don't ever think that the pirates of the Fallen Star Sea are just like the pirates of the Nelanther Islands on the west coast and the pirates of Luskan in the north, who are all cowards who can only hide from the regular navy.
Just the opposite!
The pirate tradition here is much older, more powerful and more terrifying than that on the West Coast.
In DR 1180, the once powerful Sembia naval fleet mysteriously disappeared in the Pirate Islands, and not even a ship or a survivor escaped.
The legendary pirate king, Imke, once opened the era of great pirates, sweeping across almost all forces in the Falling Star Sea to establish maritime hegemony.
At its peak, he possessed hundreds of fleets of various sizes, and many famous coastal port cities were attacked and looted by him.
In order to avoid such disasters, more than 70% of the towns were even forced to pay tribute to the pirate king, offering treasures, fine wine, delicious food and beautiful women in exchange for the pirate king's mercy.
Later, it was the Kingdom of Cormyr that took the lead and several coastal countries and dozens of city-states formed a joint fleet to fight a decisive battle, which destroyed the golden age that the pirates were proud of.
Although the Pirate Islands declined for a time, it is still a force that cannot be underestimated.
At least no city-state or even country along the coast of the Falling Star Sea dares to enter this dangerous waters full of undercurrents and reefs.
Most of the other forces involved in the conspiracy also took this into consideration, so they chose to join forces with Sel and Mulhorand, wanting to test the ruling power of the new West Coast Empire and its possible reactions.
However, these people obviously overlooked one point, that is, Zuo Si had a powerful weapon, the airship, which could directly ignore the obstacles of the terrain and project military forces to any place at any time.
Moreover, the number of airships owned by the West Coast Empire is not just the ones on the surface, but also includes the terrifying magic industrial manufacturing capabilities of the floating city of Plantia in another world.
In just a few days, a super aerial gunboat crossed half the continent and appeared over the Pirate Islands.
Before the pirates could react to what was happening, countless shells fell like raindrops accompanied by a deafening roar, plowing the open space outside the simple town.
Whether it was trees, stones, or arrow towers built to defend against wild beasts and monsters, all were reduced to ashes in a single volley of fire.
The smoke powder provided by the Church of Gund, the God of Craftsmen, although it looks very similar to primitive black powder or maroon powder, is essentially still an energy explosion, so its power is not much less than that of high explosives.
The pirates were completely frightened when they saw the huge pits one after another in the open space outside the wall, the ground that had been flattened, the dust that was raised, and the flames and shock waves caused by the explosion.
Some panicked guys tried to escape by boat, but before they could get far, they were forced back to the port by dragon knights who swooped down and spewed flames, lightning, strong acid and freezing air.
There is no doubt that this was a complete surrender by force.
About a few minutes later, Arthur Mel, the supreme commander of this operation, landed in the square on a red dragon that was about ten meters long.
He announced to the leading pirate leader without further ado: "Surrender or perish. Now you make your choice."
As these words came out, countless dragon knights took off from the take-off and landing platform of the giant airship, directly covering the sky above the small town in front of them.
The pirates had never seen such a scene before. They were instantly frightened out of their wits by the dragon's roar and might, and many of them even got their pants wet.
More than seventy percent of the guys couldn't even stand steadily. They fell to their knees on the ground, shaking violently and uncontrollably all over their bodies.
"I...we surrender."
The pirate leader's face looked as ugly as if he was constipated, and he chose to follow his heart without even thinking.
He had no idea what was going on with the other party. Why was he making such a big fuss?
Why? He was just an ordinary pirate leader! Although he had done some things like burning, killing and looting, and occasionally robbed beautiful ladies on merchant ships, he had never done anything like attacking and looting a city.
With such terrifying power, wouldn't it be better for you to start a war and conquer more towns and lands?
Why are you picking on me?
Do you know that this is just overkill? While the pirate leader was complaining in his heart, Arthur Mel showed a satisfied expression on his face.
"very good!
I like your straightforwardness.
From now on, take your men and go out to sea to plunder the ships of There and Mulhorand.
Remember, you are only allowed to rob these two countries, and the ships of other countries and city-states are not allowed to be touched.
Take this with you so you can signal if you get into trouble or can't win.
As long as our dragon riders are patrolling nearby, they will quickly chase the signal and provide air support.
After successfully completing the robbery, you can take the spoils to Ximen Port to sell them without having to worry about being hunted down for your pirate identity.
After saying that, Arthurmel stuffed a Shuoyou mobile terminal device into the other person's hand.
The pirate leader was stunned for a moment. He lowered his head to glance at the gadget in his hand, then raised his head to glance at the giant gunboat and dragon above his head. He swallowed his saliva subconsciously and asked cautiously in a frightened tone: "You mean... we can now legally rob and call in dragons for air support? You represent the West Coast Empire?"
“That’s right.
You are now considered an outsider in the Imperial Army.
If you perform well during this period, you may be promoted to a formal naval captain.
Don't forget that the Empire's navy was originally transformed from pirates from the Nelanther Islands.
So work hard and I promise you will have a bright future.
But if you slack off, or violate the rules and attack ships from other countries or city-states, all these promises will be void.”
After saying that, Arthurmel reached out and patted the dark and strong man in front of him on the shoulder to show encouragement.
After he rode his dragon back to the landing platform, the other dragon riders who had used force to intimidate also returned.
After a while, the huge airship climbed again and headed towards the next island.
Since the death of the legendary pirate king Imke, there has never been a leader who can truly unite all the pirates, so it will take some time to conquer the entire archipelago.
Fortunately, the airship is fast enough, and dragon knights can be sent out for low-altitude reconnaissance.
Therefore, no matter how covertly these pirate gangs establish their bases, they cannot escape the sharp eyes of the dragon.
In this regard, the advantages of airships combined with dragon riders are simply incomparable to surface fleets that still have to rely on landing for reconnaissance.
When the huge airship completely turned into a black dot and disappeared in the distance, the frightened pirates got up from the ground one after another.
One of the orcs who looked like an adjutant calmed down a little, and immediately came up to ask: "Captain, what should we do next? Do as they say?"
The pirate leader rolled his eyes in annoyance: "Do you even need to ask this?
How long do you think we can survive if we don't obey orders? Even without the giant gunboats and dragon riders, other pirate gangs will kill us just to make a living.
Judging from the situation, the other party intends to directly recruit all the pirate captains in the entire archipelago.
This means that this operation will be a war between the West Coast Empire and Sel and Mulhorand for hegemony over the Falling Star Sea.
You just heard that as long as we perform well enough, we may be transformed into the Empire's navy at any time.
Moreover, the stolen ships and goods can be taken to Ximen Port for legal sale.
This makes much more money than selling it to black market dealers at a low price.
Those damn vampires always lower the value of the goods to half of the market price or even lower.
How can I be worthy of myself if I don't try my best for such a good opportunity?
Go and inform all your brothers to pack up and prepare to board the ship immediately."
"Hey, I see."
The half-orc lieutenant grinned, revealing his signature sharp canine teeth, and then he started beating, kicking, and scolding the other pirates.
After about twenty minutes, they completed the supply replenishment and boarded a medium-sized paddle boat which was not very large but very fast and set sail.
Since the Falling Star Sea is an inland sea of the continent of Faerun, or you can say it is a super large lake, the wind and waves are very small.
Paddle boats are more useful here than sailboats, especially in pursuit situations, as they can burst out at amazing speeds in a short period of time.
If you look down from the air for a long time, you will find that in the past two days, more than 300 pirate ships like theirs have left the archipelago and started cruising along the busiest waterways of the Falling Star Sea.
If they spotted a Mulhorand or Cyrene ship, they would immediately approach and attack.
If they find that there is a wizard or other powerful person on the other ship who they cannot defeat, they will use the Shuoyou mobile terminal to send out a distress signal.
The other two gunboats docked on the north and south sides of the Agrallon Peninsula to carry out blockade missions will immediately send dragon knights to provide support.
Normally, when the people on the ship see a giant dragon appear and attack them, they will quickly give up resistance and surrender.
Because a slow and clumsy ship is basically a sitting duck in front of a dragon that has air superiority.
Although there are cases where a dragon is shot down with a crossbow like in the world of Game of Thrones, the probability is so low that it can be almost ignored.
This is usually caused by the dragon being too arrogant.
Otherwise, the dragon only needs to fly around the ship at high altitude, avoiding the shooting angle of the giant crossbow, and then dive down to spit dragon breath.
One side firmly holds the initiative, while the other can only passively defend. It is obvious who is superior and who is inferior.
At this moment, on another airship, the Iron Princess Yalusel was looking down at the sight of flames rising from the sea, as well as a large number of warships being destroyed by artillery fire and sinking to the bottom of the sea in billowing smoke.
Countless soldiers and sailors from Cyre wailed on the boiling sea, begging for mercy and forgiveness from their opponents.
But all they got were shells raining down from the sky, explosions, and the deadly breath of a dragon.
Even an outsider seeing this kind of scene would know that this is not a war or a battle at all, but a one-sided massacre.
As for the victims of the massacre, they were of course the garrison fleet from the province of Sel'Alar.
The so-called Alaur Province refers to the two southernmost islands in the country, far away from the mainland. It is also the smallest province, without a doubt.
However, despite its small size, it is the largest naval base in Sale.
Yalusel believed that if the base and the warships in the port were allowed to exist, it might cause some damage to the blockade plan. Therefore, after gathering more than forty pirate ships, he took the initiative to launch an attack here.
With her brilliant strategy, she first used pirates as bait and pretended to launch an attack on the coast, successfully luring the fleet out of the port.
Then, relying on the speed of the gunboats and their air superiority, they launched a direct surprise attack, intending to annihilate the most powerful fleet of Cel on this burning and boiling sea, and completely break the opponent's will to resist with one blow.
Facts have proved that when not facing an opponent of the level of Fuzol Chamberlain, the Iron Princess is definitely a qualified and even excellent commander.
Under her calm command, the dragon knights cooperated with the covering fire of artillery, and often a dive could set a ship on fire and send it to the bottom of the sea.
Less than half an hour after the war started, Sel's main fleet suffered losses of more than 60%, and most of the remaining fleets had lost their combat capability. They either abandoned their ships and fled on the spot or struggled hard on the sea.
More than a hundred mages equipped on the warships who tried to take off into the air to fight were ruthlessly killed by the dragon knights.
You must know that the dragon knights created by Zuo Si are not just warriors with long-range magic weapons.
Instead, it was modeled after the magic knight of the Mutahar floating city, and underwent a series of optimizations and genetic modifications to make it more like an armored dragon vein sorcerer.
It's just that they know fewer spells than Dragon Vein Warlocks and can only cast about half the number of spells, but they also have good melee capabilities.
Perhaps in a one-on-one battle on the ground, you may not be able to defeat a spellcaster of the same level.
But if you fight in the air while riding a dragon, a magician below level 13 will have basically no chance of winning.
What's more, Yalusel did not come alone, he also brought a heavyweight ally to take charge.
This "special guest" was none other than the ruler of Agrallond, known as the Storm Queen, Simbu, who hated the Red Wizards of Sel with a passion.
Her greatest characteristic is that no matter who wants to cause trouble for the Red Robe Wizard, she will definitely come forward to help.
With Xinbu around, not only would the ordinary red-robed Tournament instructors not dare to show up, but even the chiefs including Sazastan would have to behave themselves.
As a loyal believer in firepower advantage in the magic field, the Storm Queen was undoubtedly full of interest in the amazing destructive power displayed by the huge war machine under her feet. While looking through the window at the spectacular scenery of the burning sea below, she asked without looking back: "This thing must have been made by Soth, right?
How much does it cost to build one?
If it's not too expensive, I'd like to buy one to deal with the endless invasions of the Red Wizards of Cyre."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I can't answer any of these questions."
Yalusail shrugged helplessly.
To be precise, if she had not persuaded Zuo Si to give her the opportunity to go out and fight, she would not have known that the empire actually possessed such terrible weapons of war.
Moreover, the Iron Princess was very clear that she was just a guest and not a member of the empire's military and political system, so it was not convenient for her to inquire about too many secrets.
Even being named supreme commander of one of the airships was somewhat unexpected.
Xinbu turned around and looked up and down the youngest member of the Cormier royal family with interest, then smiled and said, "Interesting.
I am very curious about how close your relationship with Soth is to the point that he would give you such a powerful military force to command. "
Upon hearing this, Yalusel's face suddenly turned red, and he stammered to explain: "We are just friends who admire each other. He gave me the army to command simply out of trust."
"Haha, I'm afraid even you don't believe what you said.
Forget it, I'll go ask Soth myself later.
At least he was honest about it and never hid anything.
Now let's hurry up and get rid of those fleeing Sel ships.
How about lending it to me?"
As he spoke, Xinbu stretched himself as if no one was around and began to move his limbs, his joints making a series of crackling sounds.
"Of course. Here, this is an armband that can communicate with a dragon. Once you wear it, it will be able to accurately understand the various commands you give it through a telepathic link."
Yalusel took off the silver armband inlaid with emeralds from his arm and handed it over.
Needless to say, the last dragon that was not deployed was assigned to her as the supreme commander of the ship.
Xinbu took it and put it on his arm.
About three to five minutes later, she jumped up from the flight deck riding a scarlet young dragon, swooped down at an extremely fast speed, and caught up with a fleeing warship in the blink of an eye.
Before the soldiers and sailors on the ship could react, the Storm Queen raised her hand and threw a fireball.
Boom! The blinding red flames instantly exploded in the densest part of the crowd.
More than ten soldiers died on the spot, and the captain was killed instantly.
Just as the scene was in chaos, the red dragon opened its mouth and spewed out a deadly breath of fire at Xinbu's command.
A blindingly bright cone of flame sprayed from the bow to the stern, and all the unlucky people on the deck were burned to death or injured on the spot. Countless people on fire jumped into the sea one after another in extreme pain.
As for those who hid in the cabin, their situation was not much better.
The entire ship quickly turned into a mobile incinerator in the raging fire, and eventually burned out and sank to the bottom of the sea.
"Hahahaha! Well done! This is much more exciting than the usual spell duel."
Xinbu laughed and patted the red dragonet's head.
Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind under the strong airflow, and then she regained her altitude to chase the next target.
If I had to describe the scenery on the water in one sentence, it would be that the sea is burning.
The hundreds of warships that Seel had accumulated with great difficulty were now like huge torches, stretching for kilometers.
Naturally, this large-scale battle that broke out in the sea east of the Sulpan Volcano and west of the Alaur Province could not be hidden from anyone.
Because whether it was the huge roar of the gunboats shooting from high above, or the many dragons and dragon knights flying and diving in the sky, or the largest fleet of Cel being annihilated on the sea, the flames and black smoke rising into the sky could be seen clearly from several kilometers away.
When this shocking news spread, the first reaction of all the countries and city-states along the coast of the Falling Star Sea was to be stunned.
They simply couldn't believe that the West Coast Empire actually launched an expedition across the entire Falling Star Sea for a little "trivial" test, and almost wiped out the navy of the traditional power, Cel.
You have to know that this is Sel, ruled by red-robed wizards!
Possessing the most advanced military and magical power in the continent of Faerun.
Even Mulhorand, which also has a vast land area and population, pales in comparison.
If the chiefs had not been fighting each other endlessly, the surrounding areas such as the Giant Valley, Sesk, Seraman, Nafir, and Agralon would have been annexed long ago to establish a huge empire dominating the East.
Its land area is almost the same as that of the West Coast Empire which has not yet annexed the North.
But now, such a powerful country has been defeated in one war and lost almost all of its naval power. It may not even be able to protect the isolated overseas province of Alaur.
Not only the red-robed mages who had been beaten into a daze were dumbfounded, but the other spectators who were here to watch a good show of dragons fighting tigers were also dumbfounded.
The most outrageous thing is that this feat was accomplished by just one of the three aerial gunships.
After receiving the news, the rulers of several coastal cities in Mulhorand immediately ordered their fleets to return to the port and hide inland along the river.
They didn't want to repeat Cel's mistake and lose their entire fleet.
In that case, not only will it be impossible to launch an invasion of the neighboring country of Enther, but the most important sea transportation route, the Aranbo Sea, will also become a playground for pirates to wreak havoc.
In fact, after destroying Cel's main fleet, Yalucel and the gunboats she commanded docked on the sea west of the Alaur Province to carry out blockade missions, and did not continue to attack Cel's coastal ports and inland areas.
But the pirates she brought with her began to revel without any hesitation.
Since the province of Alaur was originally two small islands, there were not many soldiers stationed there after the fleet was destroyed, and it was easily captured by the pirates who arrived later.
Not only were all the valuables looted, but the families of the officers, soldiers, and mages who remained on the island also suffered.
Some of those who tried to resist were killed without mercy, and the young women became tools for the pirates to vent their desires.
However, the pirates did not just destroy and kill, they also experienced freed the oppressed slaves at the bottom of the society and absorbed them into their team to strengthen themselves.
Because to a certain extent, slaves are naturally the most ideal soldiers for pirates.
Because they are born with a strong desire for freedom, and at the same time they will be wanted after breaking free from the constraints of their masters, they have no way of returning to normal life.
This also means that slaves will not easily escape or become traitors.
Many pirate gangs grew stronger by constantly attacking slave ships.
After receiving two or three thousand slaves from the province of Alaur, their number quickly exceeded four thousand.
Some of them began to launch all-round three-dimensional attacks on the ports, towns and villages of Cel along the southern coastline.
Another part went south into the waters controlled by Mulhorand to expand their business, and also contacted the rebels in Unther to establish an alliance, using the intelligence provided by the other side to continuously attack the logistical supplies of the invading army.
It can be said that with the three gunboats firmly occupying the most critical nodes of the route, the entire Falling Star Sea is under the deterrence of the empire's military power.
Theil and Mulhorand, which originally occupied a large share of the trade, quickly collapsed under the pirates' pursuit like mad dogs, and lost hundreds of ships in a very short period of time.
Ximen Port, where spoils can be sold legally, has become the largest commodity and second-hand ship trading market.
Many merchants gathered here to buy cheap goods and cargo ships captured by pirates.
With the Sulpan volcano as the boundary, maritime trade to the west is still extremely prosperous, but to the east there are almost no ships to be seen.
Even if we saw them, they were most likely pirates active here and plundering the coast.
Due to the blockade of water transportation, merchants from Cyre and Mulhorand were forced to use more expensive roads for transportation.
All of a sudden, the prices of many imported goods began to soar exponentially, while the prices of some local specialties plummeted because they could not be shipped out.
The rapid deterioration of the economic situation led to a large number of uprisings and rebellions in the already unstable Mulhorand region, which was exactly the same as what happened in the neighboring country Unther at the beginning of the collapse of its rule.
In comparison, Searle, who practiced autocratic rule, was slightly better, but not much better.
The massive amount of food they obtained through agricultural production by the undead had no price advantage at all after they lost the cheap sea transportation.
But this is not the most ironic thing.
The most ironic thing is that in order to get rid of these serious surplus grains in exchange for funds, they can only sell them to the neighboring countries they have invaded at extremely low prices, allowing the other party to earn the difference several times their own profits.
That's not all.
The always arrogant red-robed wizard had to swallow his anger and use the channels of these countries to import various materials necessary for the magic research institute at high prices, allowing the other party to flee him.
That kind of psychological gap and imbalance has even caused many members within the organization to begin to feel strong dissatisfaction with the current chiefs who are not taking action.
As the country closest to Cyre on land, Agrallon, ruled by Storm Queen Simbu, was completely helpless under such strange circumstances.
In particular, ultra-low-priced food not only solves the country's food shortage problem, but also can be exported in large quantities to earn profits.
As for the magic materials that the Red Robe Wizard urgently needs, he would simply sell them to the other party at double the price, and occasionally he would deliberately disgust or make things difficult for the other party.
If possible, Simbu hopes that this blockade can continue until the red-robed wizards of Sel can no longer maintain their rule and eventually collapse and disintegrate.
At this moment, Sazastan was throwing all the bad news on the table at the Chief Council, and said to the other chiefs in an extremely gloomy tone: "I warned you before, don't provoke that damn guy easily.
Because he is a madman! A sane madman!
Any stimulation from the outside world will inevitably make him have a strong desire for revenge.
Now who can tell me how to deal with this situation?"
"Can't we gather our forces and use teleportation magic to get those three aerial gunships? Even if we can't get them, we can destroy them through magic rituals."
Another chief expressed his opinion.
Perhaps for other forces, there is no good way to deal with airships floating two or three thousand meters in the sky.
But for the red-robed wizard who controls many arcane spellcasters, he is not invincible. It just requires a certain price to pay.
"Seize? Destroy?
Soth had such a big reaction to a small attempt to incite rebellion.
What do you think will happen if we do this? I can tell you very clearly that it will lead to a full-scale war! He will show his cards without hesitation and launch an attack on the entire territory of Cyre, bringing tens of thousands of troops and mage groups to kill every red robe mage who is unwilling to surrender, until our rule collapses and disintegrates.
Not to mention that there are many gods standing behind this madman.
If you want to die, go ahead, but don't take me with you."
Sazastan glared at the other person fiercely, his tone full of undisguised contempt and disgust.
The longer time passed, the more he felt that the chief council system that was established when the organization was first established was a pile of shit.
How can you govern the country well with a bunch of insects who only know how to fight and pull each other back all day long!
Especially Aznar Sruer, his political enemy, is an absolute scourge.
This time, the small move that they secretly made in alliance with Mulhorand was most likely related to him.
"So what do you think we should do? Are we just going to watch helplessly as the other side blocks maritime transportation and trade?"
Another chief frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the cowardly behavior.
Sazastan sneered and asked, “What else?
Are you planning to fight Soth?
The fact that he did not take the initiative to attack our homeland shows that his attitude is one of limited retaliation.
Any counterattack at this time would be tantamount to declaring an intention to expand the scale of the war.
What's more, Xinbu has joined in now.
Together with Khelbourne and Lyra who have always stood by Soth, if a war breaks out, we will need to deal with four chosen ones of the magic goddess who possess silver fire at the same time.
And that's not even counting the power of his own Arcane Mystic Society and the Guild of Masked Mages.
Oh, yes, in addition to this, there is also the great arcanist left over from the Netheril era, Ovo the Undead."
As these words came out, all the chiefs present fell silent.
You know, just the Storm Queen Xinbu is enough to make the entire Red Robe Mage feel fearful.
After a long silence, Aznar Sruul finally couldn't help but speak up and suggested, "If it doesn't work, send an envoy to admit defeat.
As a price, we give up retaining all naval defense capabilities.
Just like the Sword Coast and the Sword Sea, each ship pays a protection fee based on the value of its cargo.
He shouldn't refuse this way."
"At this point, do you think this little concession will satisfy Soth's appetite?
Don't be naive!
If I'm not mistaken, in order to get him to lift the blockade, at least two islands in the Alaur province must be ceded.
Once Alauer is captured and transformed into a military base, all of Cyre will be within the attack range of those gunboats and dragon riders.
Our skies will never be at peace."
After saying this, Sazastan was obviously extremely angry, and his eyes looked as if he wanted to eat the other person alive.
Thanks to the information provided by the Wizard King Lalok, he was very clear about how terrifying Zuo Si and the West Coast Empire he ruled were today.
Especially after cooperating with the church of Gunder, the god of craftsmen, the army was equipped with gunpowder weapons on a large scale, allowing ordinary soldiers to exert power comparable to that of low-level wizards in war.
Aznar Sruul was obviously feeling guilty, and he avoided Sazastan's murderous gaze and responded in an evasive tone, "Then cede it.
Like you said, what else can we do now?
You can't hit him.
If the blockade continues, many provinces will be in financial difficulties.
Not to mention providing us with funds to research magic, even its own operations might fail.
Cyre's rule and order must not collapse.
I believe everyone here should have this consensus.”
"I agree!"
"I agree!"
"Pay a small price to put an end to this farce."
"At worst, I will just have to be extra cautious when dealing with Soth and the West Coast Empire in the future, and try not to provoke this lunatic."
…
In just a few seconds, the chiefs present expressed their attitudes one after another.
Since Sel had eleven provinces, and the one that needed to be ceded was the smallest province, Alaur, which did not belong to the sphere of influence of any chief, they did not feel sorry at all.
When Sazastan saw this situation, he became more determined to kill all these insects and take control of the power himself.
However, his plan was still in the planning stage, so he could only suppress his anger and nodded: "Okay! Since everyone agrees, then we will formally send an envoy to negotiate. But the question is, who will be this extremely important envoy?"
"If you don't mind, let me take care of this matter."
Demetra Flas stood up and took on this obviously daunting task.
As one of the few women among the Chiefs, she is a secret ally of Sazastan, walking between the two hostile factions, so that both sides consider her to be one of their own.
But anyone who knows something about the politics of red robe mages knows that these people are the most dangerous.
In fact, Demetra Flas's role in the Chief Council is to sell the plans and intelligence of both parties to each other, to ensure that both factions know each other's intentions, thus forming a delicate balance.
It goes without saying that the risks of doing this kind of thing are very high, but the rewards are also very high.
Otherwise, with her qualifications, it would be impossible for her to climb to the chief position at this age.
Sazastan glanced at the dangerous woman and finally nodded slightly: "Then I'll leave it to you. Remember, when facing Sos, don't try to show so-called toughness and try to bargain. Just state our conditions directly."
"Don't worry, I have some experience in diplomacy. What's more, I have a perfect candidate this time."
After saying that, Demetra Flas stood up, bowed slightly, then activated the teleportation magic and disappeared on the spot.
As she left, the other chiefs also stood up and left one after another.
It is not difficult to see from the tense atmosphere that the contradictions between the top rulers of this country have accumulated to a very terrifying level and may suddenly erupt at any time.
(End of this chapter)
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