After opening the door of the noisiest tavern in Zhanlan Port, a salty smell mixed with the smell of alcohol and seafood immediately poured into Lei Xiao's nose.
As expected, the tavern was very lively, with the sound of changing glasses and laughter one after another. Most of the drinkers were sailors wearing turbans, fishermen, as well as mercenaries and adventurers with various equipment.
On the greasy wooden tables where the drinkers were sitting, there were equally greasy and mottled light crystal lamps.
The weak light reflected the bread, wine glasses, and various seafood dishes on the plates on the table, as well as the cheerful smiling faces of the drinkers and the crumbling oak barrels beside the table.
Lei Xiao looked at the fireworks-filled scene in front of him, randomly selected a seat near the bar and sat down with everyone else.
Lei Xiao had already noticed it before coming to the tavern.
Although the Holy King of the Kingdom of Grim went on a personal expedition and assembled a million troops to attack the Sunset Fortress, the azure city was obviously not greatly affected.
After all, this place is located at the far end of the battlefield and is mainly engaged in fishing and maritime trade. It is not surprising that such a prosperous scene exists.
"However, when I entered the city, I still noticed that the quality of the land garrison in the city was low and the equipment was poor. There were also some mercenaries among them. The number of strong people above level three in the city was extremely limited."
"It seems that even the city located on the other side of the battlefield has had many elites transferred away by the royal family of the Kingdom of Grim."
While Lei Xiao was thinking this, he motioned to the white knight to order some random meals to prevent his group from appearing too abruptly.
"As a result, although the opponent I face is more powerful, it also means that the defense capability of the seaside city of Grim Kingdom has been greatly reduced."
"If the Iron Hand Islands can really be persuaded to launch an attack from this side of the coastline, then there will be chaos in the rear of the Kingdom of Grim, including, of course, the Pars Empire next door."
Lei Xiao took a sip of the rum that the waiter had just brought and nodded thoughtfully.
"The Pars Empire has a vast territory. Although the 1.2 million troops are far from the opponent's limit, the opponent's borders are long. Especially in many areas facing barbaric foreign races in the outside world, heavy defenses are needed."
"Therefore, the only troops that the opponent can mobilize in a large scale are the cities on the seaside at the rear and the combat power in other central areas. After all, the Iron Hand Islands have been isolated from the world for hundreds of years, and there is no sign of starting a war."
"Taking a step back, if the Iron Hand Archipelago plans to take advantage of this opportunity, it will not have the ability to fight against the Kingdom of Grim and the Pars Empire at the same time. After all, the maritime power of the two countries has not been used."
"Under such circumstances, even if the Iron Hand Islands take the opportunity to attack one country, I am afraid that the other country will never stand idly by."
"And once the two countries destroy our Cold Flame Kingdom, the next unlucky one will naturally be the Iron Hand Islands who take advantage of the situation."
"Thus, the top leaders of the Kingdom of Grim and the Pars Empire were sure that the Iron Hand Islands would not and would not dare to launch an attack here, so they tacitly mobilized a large number of land forces from the coastal cities, right?"
Lei Xiao felt the spiciness and sweetness of the rum in his mouth, and analyzed the current situation in his mind.
"Of course, this is based on the fact that our Cold Flame Kingdom has not formed an alliance with the Iron Hand Islands."
"Once I successfully form an alliance with the Iron Hand Islands this time, we will definitely attack from both front and back, making it impossible for the Pars Empire and the Kingdom of Grim to take care of each other. By then, the situation will be completely different from the small calculations in the minds of the two countries."
Thinking of this in his mind, Lei Xiao put down the greasy wooden cup in his hand and slowly took a deep breath of the murky salty air in the tavern.
In other words, the only way is to find a way to win over this iron-handed country that is full of mystery and unknown, and use it as a sharp blade to stab the opponent in the back.
I was confident enough just now to withstand the deadly blades wielded by the Pars Empire and Grim Kingdom, and even cause the other side to suffer backlash.
"In order to seize the still illusory dawn, even if this is a country full of vampires, I have to break through."
Lei Xiao looked at the grilled fish and bread that were served one after another with bright eyes.
After that, Lei Xiao sent his subordinates to work separately to learn about the latest situation in the port and the Iron Hand Islands, including the mercenary guild registration office next to the bar of the tavern.
In large taverns like this, there is usually a mercenary guild registration office, which is convenient for mercenaries to receive tasks and for business travelers to post tasks, so this is not surprising.
However, after some inquiring, other than learning that unknown sea monsters often appear in the direction of the Iron Hand Islands, there is no noteworthy information.
It's no wonder that the Iron Shou Islands have closed waterways and routes for more than a hundred years, and there is no official communication, let alone the surrounding sailors and fishermen.
"Your Highness, the information about the appearance of unknown sea monsters circulating in the public must have been actively spread by the Iron Hand Islands, right? The purpose is to prevent any outsiders from approaching."
Qi Duo sat back next to Lei Xiao, frowned and whispered: "After all, in the hundreds of years before the complete isolation, there was never any news of unknown sea monsters near the Iron Hand Islands."
"It seems that the Iron Hand Islands indeed hide some unknown secrets. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for us to win over each other."
Lei Xiao looked at the table, where Xiao Huan was leaning on the wine glass, holding a grilled fish as big as himself and devouring it, and smiled helplessly.
Even though this guy looks like a palm-sized pet most of the time, he doesn't eat much at all, and he doesn't know where all the food went.
"But having said that, I didn't get any valuable information."
Seeing that it was getting late, just when Lei Xiao was about to lead the team directly to the Iron Hand Islands, a small figure stumbled in from the door.
It was a girl about ten years old, with tears stained on her fair face.
She first looked around, and then rushed straight to the mercenary guild registration office next to the bar of the tavern.
"I want to issue a mission, please help my mother! Help the villagers!"
The girl stood up on her toes, put her arms on the registration table of the mercenary guild, and said eagerly: "They are dying!"
"Children, if you need help, please call your parents. The Mercenary Guild does not accept entrustments from children."
The male clerk of the mercenary guild lowered his head and patiently explained to the girl.
After finishing speaking, the male clerk seemed to have remembered something, and frowned slightly and said: "Some time ago, naughty children from the city often came to the registration office deliberately to cause trouble. Are you also their playmate?"
"Mr. Clerk, I really need help!"
With a serious look on her face, the girl tried her best to stand on tiptoes and explained loudly: "Besides, I am not a child, I am a member of the vampire clan, and I am over 100 years old!"
After hearing what the strange girl said, Lei Xiao and the others pricked up their ears and listened attentively.