When he heard the news about Luskan, Levi could see the other party's purpose almost at a glance. At the same time, he had to sigh that the world also had many careerists who saw the general trend of the future maritime era and made preparations for it.

Perhaps no one in this world understands the control of sea power in this era and the meaning behind it better than Li Wei, who came from another world and was familiar with the background of a similar era.

It can be said that whoever can control the shipping routes will control the development rights of new colonies and will accelerate the transformation of social forms.

Why did the Eagle Kingdom of Blue Star rise from behind and become the so-called empire on which the sun never sets?

The fundamental reason is that it won the Seven Years War in the struggle for colonies and world colonial hegemony, thereby becoming the most powerful colonial empire in the world and establishing assets that were more advanced than feudalism at the time.

At the same time, the class system consolidated original capital through overseas colonial expansion and overseas trade, and obtained a large amount of low-cost labor through the "enclosure movement". Colonial plunder also brought massive precious metals, coal and iron resources, and at that time, domestic handicrafts

The technology of factories has also been accumulated, and foreign colonies have brought huge markets with unlimited potential.

All of this gave birth to the industrial revolution and made Eagle Country the 'world's factory' at that time.

It's just that this former world hegemon has failed to adjust its economic structure in time since it lost its advantage in industrial technology after World War II. A large proportion of capital exports made London the world's financial center. However, funds continued to shift from domestic to foreign countries, which also

It restricted domestic production investment and technological innovation, causing the British economy to become dependent on foreign countries.

By the time of Li Wei, this former maritime overlord had turned a good country into a 'financial company' that constantly hedged against the country's fortunes. He could only rely on education to export the 'old aristocratic attitude' to achieve success.

With this comparison, Luskan is somewhat similar to the Great Eagle Empire in its early years, both in terms of location and nature.

And Amn and Tethyr, who have also taken control of the Northland's maritime advantage, are a bit like Spain and Portugal at that time?

However, how could Levi, who had completed the initial integration of forces and the prototype of industry, sit back and watch Luskan annex the Moon Shadow Islands?

The geographical shape of the Sword Coast coast in the North of Koriel is really special. From Icewind Dale in the north to Baldur's Gate in the south, it is about 1,400 nautical miles long from north to south. Except for Luskan, there is no winter along the coast.

These natural harbor cities, including City of Waters and Baldur's Gate, are almost all cliffs with a height of several hundred feet.

This means that almost all shipping in the Northland relies on these seaport cities as supply stations and trade hubs, and Luskan's ship is no exception.

So when he heard that Luskan planned to invade the Moon Shadow Islands, the first thing that came to Levi's mind was:

After Luskan realized that he could not capture Neverwinter and Drapwater through infiltration or invasion, he finally needed to seek control of the transit supply depot on his sea route.

The Moonshadow Islands are isolated outside the Northland. It is a cold, rocky island covered by mist and deep forests. It has a wide and winding coast, numerous swamps and towering peaks. There are several large islands along the way.

Almost all of them face Northland across the sea.

As far as Levi knew, Rusim Island in the northern part of the archipelago was actually controlled by invaders from the North, but it was unclear whether the forces behind the scenes were the pirates of Luskan.

The islands in the south are controlled by a group of dark-haired and skinned human beings, the "Fu" tribe. They have spawned a dozen small kingdoms and are ruled by a "Supreme Queen".

In the early years, the Northlanders and the "Fu" people spent a lot of time fighting each other, especially because of the bloody colonial policies adopted by the Northlanders. The rise of the High King Tristan Kendick unified the two groups of Moon Shadow Island.

Most people.

Later, Tristan's daughter, High Queen Alicia, unified her kingdom through a series of small battles between the lords of small countries.

The Fu people are full of reverence for the earth and regard the belief in the earth mother goddess Chantia as their state religion.

They long ago discovered the sacred power contained in the rushing streams, mysterious ponds and foggy forests of their island, which also gave birth to a group of early primitive druids and

Priest of Mother Earth.

The Fo tribe's deep and lasting love for their homeland is something that other humans cannot understand. In addition, they also maintain certain connections with the dwarves and giants in the mountains, so they face threats from the Northlanders and even pirates.

Invasion is not without the strength to fight.

However, Luskan does not actually need to completely annex the Moon Shadow Islands. It only needs to capture the easternmost Korin Islands and Mintan Island, and then occupy Llewellyn Port on Alalon Island to achieve its original goal.

If they can capture the Nelanser Islands to the south, which are also occupied by pirates, they can almost achieve the initial goal of getting rid of the restrictions of Neverwinter and Drawwater.

By then, I am afraid that the entire Sword Coast coastline will be unrest.

Thinking of this, Li Wei couldn't help but feel a little thump in his heart and asked:

"How is our sea power in Zeelandia today?"

Fisher, who had been mentally prepared for this, suddenly smiled bitterly:

"We currently have more than a hundred single-masted ships in our hands, two-thirds of which are inland river ships. As for the three-masted ships, including the merchant ships we can temporarily requisition, there are about twenty. This is still approximately

Three years ago, after Director Ige and the Battle Mage Group analyzed Luskan's strategic purpose, they temporarily acquired an old shipyard in Jishui City to reach this data."

As soon as he heard this data, Levi suddenly fainted.

Counting the expropriation, it's just a small amount, so we can just watch.

However, he also knew that this could not be blamed on Fisher and the others. After all, before Levi fell asleep, he did not expect that he would sleep for so long. Therefore, the most important strategic purpose promulgated before going to bed was to fully build and develop Minas Tirith and

Industrial Development.

If it were only for ten or twenty years, Zeelandia would have to spend all its resources and energy just to vigorously develop and build new cities and faltering industries.

In addition, Baicheng is just an inland city near a river in the North, and it has not even stimulated its own domestic demand. If they want to develop shipping together with it, it will only lead to the failure of both ends of the city to develop.

And judging from the current situation, the cheap goods they produce by relying on industrial assembly lines can fully meet their needs with current shipping.

If part of the profit is not shared, it is completely foreseeable that the probability of Zeelandia's merchant ships encountering 'pirates' at sea will increase significantly.

Sometimes reality is so fucked up, and appropriate compromise and distribution of benefits are often helpless.

"What about Luskan?" Levi thought for a while and asked.

Fisher scratched his bald head and said with a dull face: "Based on the information collected so far, it is conservatively estimated that there are at least four hundred three-masted ships in Luskan that can participate in the battle. They have even built some four-masted ships in recent years.

In addition, they also master a "deep sea magic" technology that allows their ships to dive below the sea surface, approach the target like a ghost, and then rush out of the sea like an orca, delivering a fatal blow to the target.

, so there were legends about ghost pirate ships circulating in the Sword Coast Strait over the years.”

"Have you pointed out all the unscientific magic trees like Flying Henanese? It's a bit hard to resist."

Li Wei was envious and jealous, so he couldn't help but complain.

"Huh? Flying Henanese?"

Fisher, who didn't understand this Blue Star joke, was confused. He thought his boss had given the Luskan pirates some strange nickname.

"This is such a huge disparity. I'll discuss this with Ige and the others later." Levi said with a headache.

Just as they were about to fly out of the city and approach the Sebring River, a panting voice from a certain half-elf suddenly came from behind:

"Mr. Long! Wait for me."

Levi couldn't help but look back and saw Ellini chasing up the rooftops of the mountain city like some 'parkour assassin'. He immediately flapped his wings, slowed down and hovered, facing

The flying half-elf ranger shook his big tail:

"Oh, it's my battle sister, Miss Elline. Come on, grab my tail."

"Why!"

Elliny was stunned for a moment after hearing this, wondering if this would be too offensive. However, while her mind was thinking this, her body instinctively jumped up from the roof and grabbed the tip of Levi's tail.

"Hold on tight, Elline."

Levi grinned ferociously and threw his tail forcefully. Ellini shot into the sky like a cannonball on a siege vehicle, drawing a perfect parabola in the air.

Ellini had never played such an exciting bungee jumping sport before. Her little face turned pale with fright, and she covered her skirt and screamed in mid-air.

Just as she was about to fall towards the Sebring River, Levi approached her suddenly and stretched out his front paws to catch her in his palm.

He originally planned to use his neck to catch it like in the stories of Corel's bards. Fortunately, he remembered in time that his back had a row of sharp dorsal fins, so he quickly gave up and asked the other party to do it again.

The Dragon Knight's idea.

Otherwise, Ellini is likely to become the shortest dragon knight in the entire Coriel.

But even so, the poor half-elf was so frightened by the dragon's prank that he burst into tears. He held Levi's paw with both hands and protested loudly:

"Mr. Long! How could you treat a lady so cruelly! I thought I was going to die!"

"Ah ha, with me here, your 'wish' may not be so easy to come true." Levi couldn't help but joked.

Seeing the "beauty and the beast" chatting happily, the head of the Philippine University hovered in the air knowingly, silently bowed to Li Wei, and then left first.

The caring and extremely sensitive Ellini naturally noticed this scene and couldn't help asking with a sense of guilt:

"Mr. Long, have I disturbed your work as a lord?"

"It's okay. Fischer has finished reporting what he should report. Some things cannot be decided with a slap on the head. The rest, I still have to go to the mages of Zelandia to discuss it. And now, I

We are preparing to visit the 'Endless Farm' in Zeelandia, so I have to say, Ellini, the timing of your visit is always just right." Levi said with a kind smile.

"It should be said that every time you show up, you are so timely."

When Elline heard this, her originally pale face suddenly returned to a slightly flushed color. She thought it was the other person's intention, just like when she was escaping from the endless wilderness, she happened to be rescued by him.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Is there something urgent you came to see me for?"

Li Wei naturally saw that this half-elf girl seemed to have something on her mind, and it might be something very important to her.

Ellini looked down at this prosperous and beautiful city-state with some confusion at first, as if she was a little reluctant to give up. Then she mustered up the courage to raise her head and asked hopefully:

"I haven't thought about it yet. Can I go with you to the farm in the wilderness to see it first? I heard that this place is usually not open to outsiders. Today I will benefit from Mr. Long's glory."

"Haha, that's as you wish."

Levi's laughter echoed over the city-state like the muffled thunder in the sky. His wings suddenly flapped, and he rushed up to the sky with Ellini who couldn't stop screaming, scattered the clouds in the sky, and dived down again.

In the wasteland of the earth, this poor half-elf experienced a "roller coaster" from another world.
To be continued...