Thanks to his strong physical fitness, Sarlayan did not fall into a long coma and regained consciousness after only resting for most of a day.
Before opening his eyes, the noisy sounds around him first reached his ears.
In addition to the "whooshing" sound of the sea breeze blowing by, you can occasionally hear the strange quacking calls of unknown water birds as they fly over the sea.
The shouts and shouts of passers-by stimulated Sarlayan's eardrums, truly awakening him from his dazed state of getting up.
"Um?"
When his consciousness returned, Sarlayan realized something was wrong.
He actually fainted while maintaining his bear form. No wonder his posture always felt a bit awkward.
At this time, Yangfan Port was undergoing post-war reconstruction in full swing, and residents who had hid in basements and evacuated the city had returned to the city.
If Kael'thas hadn't ordered people to set up a cordon near Sharlay'an, the naughty children running around might have regarded this unconscious big bear as a holy place to play.
Half a day was not enough for Sarlayan to recover his overdrawn vitality. When he moved his hands and feet to stand up from the ground, he could clearly feel the sluggishness and heaviness of his body.
Sarlayan, who had barely released Ursoc's incarnation and returned to his human form, was swaying at his feet.
When Valeela and others who had been standing nearby heard the news, they rushed out of the hut on the side and hurriedly helped him.
"Hiss~"
After moving his body a little, Sarlayan felt pain all over his body.
Valeera propped up his left shoulder and complained angrily: "You really think you can stop thousands of troops if you are allowed to show off?"
Sarlayan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "In that situation, someone always had to stand up and block the enemy."
"Can you rest assured that those second-line security forces are at the front? Once they are defeated, the morale of the defenders will completely collapse, and there will be no other choice but me."
Stellagosa sighed: "This encounter can be regarded as a lesson. Just treat it as a test of your ultimate endurance. Don't mess around again in the future."
Sarlayan promised with a smile: "Okay, I promise you."
"Back to the subject, what happened after I fell into coma? Did the enemy retreat?"
…
After evacuating from Yangfan Port, the remaining privateer fleet first sailed westward, leaving the coastal waters of Yongsong Forest.
Under the pursuit of the Red Dragon Knights, the already severely damaged flagship Mayflower had already lost power. Only the last of the three battleships was left, and only two frigates remained.
Even the three ships that narrowly escaped were scarred.
If the Knights of the Red Dragon hadn't given up the pursuit after entering the border of Lordaeron, Weswin and Abbendis would certainly have perished in the sea.
The remaining three ships bypassed the southern part of Eversong Forest and eastern Tirisfal, headed southwest along the uninhabited coastline, and finally docked at a secret port in the northeastern part of Tirisfal Glades.
This secret port is naturally formed and is located in a cave near the sea.
This was once the home of a group of pirates who roamed the North Sea. Three years ago, the North Sea pirates were wiped out by the main fleet of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, and the home in the cave was also breached by the army.
Having accidentally obtained a secret port that was unknown to the public, the Kingdom of Lordaeron did not announce it to the outside world and managed it quietly.
According to the original plan, the privateer fleet would have completed its "whitewashing" at this secret port.
The black sails are replaced, the pirate flag is lowered, and after some renovation and modification, the flag of the Lordaeron Navy can be hoisted again.
As long as Quel'Thalas doesn't catch him, the existence of the privateer fleet will not be recognized by Lordaeron.
The two officers involved who executed the order were in a bad mood at this time.
Not only because of the possible punishment from the king if the mission failed and the fleet suffered heavy losses, these two upright soldiers had an instinctive resistance to this despicable approach.
Compared to Abbendis, who always looked ugly, Barry Westwin, who was not a paladin, was relatively calm.
"Alfred, what are you going to do next?"
"If the mission entrusted to us by His Majesty fails, even if there is no explicit punishment due to confidentiality reasons, privately he will never make it easy for us."
"snort!"
Abbendis snorted angrily: "At worst, I will hide in Tyr's hands and never come out again. I don't believe that the Menethil family can deprive me of my noble status and territory."
The Abbendis family is not considered to be caring for the people, but compared to the noble lords who expropriate and extort money in their own territory, the people of Tyr's Hand at least live a decent life and will not easily cause turmoil such as peasant uprisings.
.
If Terenas forcibly deprives the Abbendis family of their fiefdoms and titles, it might irritate the local residents who are doing well, and the gains outweigh the losses.
Moreover, as Barry Westwin said, this privateering mission was shady.
Regardless of success or failure, rewards and punishments cannot be discussed openly. At most, they can only be done in small actions in private.
Abdis, who was in a depressed mood, planned to lead his direct subordinates to leave first.
"Failure is failure, and you should accept punishment. No matter what the Menethil royal family plans to do, I will follow it."
"Old friend, you should wish yourself well."
"No matter how much Terenas forces me to do this kind of sinister mission, I will never take part in it again. This one time in my life is enough for me to 'aftertaste' for the rest of my life."
Watching Abbendis leading his men away with a depressed expression, Weiswein looked up at the clear sky with a bitter smile on his face.
"Me too... I didn't expect that the regular navy of Lordaeron would one day appear as a pirate to plunder other countries. Haha~ It's really self-destructive."
…
As expected, when Abbendis and Westwyn returned to the Royal City of Lordaeron to explain the execution of the dense forest, they were scolded by Terenas who learned that the mission had failed.
But that was all. In order to avoid the news leaking, Terenas did not punish them further.
Abbendis could tell from Terenas' cold and disgusted eyes that the king had lost trust in him, which was more serious than any substantial punishment.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! 'Fuck you! You sinister and sinister old boy, I won't play with you anymore!'
As a paladin, Abedis was originally very resistant to this mission.
Terenas's attitude aroused the anger in his heart.
Abedis secretly swore in his heart that unless he encountered a major crisis that could lead to the collapse of Lordaeron, he would never help the evildoers again.
Terenas can do whatever he wants, it has nothing to do with me anyway.
Weiswein could not be as free and easy as Abidis, and he also knew that his future promotion might not be so easy, so he could only hold his nose and admit it.
Out of guilt, Abidis returned to his own territory and resumed trade with Quel'Thalas, despite Terenas' private ban on the lords.
But that’s a story for another day.
"Huh~"
After scolding Abedis and Weswein away, Terenas, who looked a little pale, spat with lingering anger.
"Tsk! I didn't expect there would be a red dragon knight in Quel'Thalas. They are hidden deep enough."
"Your Majesty, one failure means nothing."
A middle-aged man with a feminine appearance walked out of the shadows behind the throne and saluted Terenas with a smile.
"The weakness of the High Elf Navy cannot be improved for at least two years, and it is impossible for them to dispatch the Red Dragon Knight in time every time. If it doesn't work this time, they will just have to find a way next time."
"Ahem~"
Terenas has been in poor health recently, and it took him two coughs to calm down his impatience and anger.
"Portman, please continue your planning, and you must knock down the arrogance of Quel'Thalas!"
"As you command, Your Majesty."
When the middle-aged man named Portman bowed his head to accept the order, the corners of his mouth curved in a sarcastic arc where Terenas could not see.
…
"This humiliation must not be repeated again... Ahem! We need to build a navy strong enough to protect ourselves!"
After dragging his sick body back to Silvermoon City, Sharlayan did not hesitate to express his attitude to Kael'thas and the Silvermoon Council.
With the lessons of the past still fresh in their minds, most Silvermoon councilors agreed with Sarlayan's proposal.
Once upon a time, it was said to be careless. The proud high elves could not tolerate the "pirates" who continued to plunder their coastline.
Silvermoon Chancellor Dar'Kan raised some concerns about this.
"Even if we start building ships now, even if Kul Tiras shipbuilding consultants provide help, it will be impossible to build a finished warship in a short time."
"During this vacuum period, how can we protect coastal areas from the re-invasion of 'pirates'?"
Although Kael'thas has always been wary of Dar'Khan's every move, it must be said that the questions he raised really hit home.
Liressa pondered for a moment before giving the best answer at the moment.
"Strengthen the connection with Kul Tiras and buy ready-made warships from them, even if they are not the most advanced ones."
Kael'thas frowned: "Is it possible? Kul Tiras may have too much time to take care of itself now, right?"
Sharlayan shook his head and said: "Your Majesty the Sun King, you underestimate Kul Tiras' war potential."
"Since the war with Zandalar, the naval shipyard in Boralus has been operating at full capacity and will be able to produce a new batch of secondary battleships within 2 months at the latest."
"Let me go to Boralus as an envoy, and I will do my best to persuade Daelin to sell these warships to Quel'Thalas."