Azeroth Shadow Trail

   Chapter 275 94. Pirates of Tol Barad

   Starting from Westfall, all the way to the north, through the vast Khaz Modan Sea, this voyage will only take three or four days to complete under normal circumstances.

   However, because the Kul Tiras fleet was transporting wounded soldiers and war supplies in the eastern continental waters, Black ordered Captain Grayson to drive along the rugged coastline.

   So the time to complete the voyage was doubled.

   It took them eight days to reach the Palatine Gulf from the Western Wilderness, and from the Palatine Bay, with the help of ocean currents, they moved to the island of Tol Balad outside the eastern mainland.

The    Jotunheim Force is extremely fast in downwind conditions and can easily reach a speed of fifteen knots.

   Now, with the blessing of ocean currents, it should have taken three days to reach Tol Barad, but with Captain Grayson's superb piloting and sailing skills, it took less than a day to reach this big island.

   The black dragon-headed longship sailed through the waves, with the sea wind full of sails.

Pushing the boat to open up white water marks in the sea, in the splash of water, Blake, wearing a pirate king suit, was holding a bottle of wine, his left foot was on the bow of the boat, and he looked forward to the vivid sight. islands.

   "Quack quack~quack quack~quack quack quack quack~"

   On the sides of the ship beside him, a group of murlocs sat there, enjoying the sea breeze and the waves, and sang the songs of the murlocs under the leadership of Pemberba standing on the carving on the dragon head in front of the ship.

  Looking at the way they are shaking their heads and tails, they seem very, very happy.

   But in fact, to the two humans, Black and Natalie, it was actually a group of fish people neighing in unison in a weird tune, but it wasn't too bad.

   Probably because of the musical talent of Pember Ba.

   The dagger in its hand is constantly swaying, like a music conductor, and as the claws are swung, the voices of the fish people are also higher.

When the    paw fell, the sound turned into a low voice.

   This scene is interesting.

   There are also some fish people who clawed on the hull of the fast-moving faucet, waved the sea water with their feet, and "hitched a ride" in this way, but they soon attracted the "attention" of the sharks in the nearby waters.

A ferocious black shark rushed up from the sea with its head and tail, intending to swallow these hitchhikers, but it charged fiercely, and before opening its mouth, a purple figure jumped from the back of the warship And down.

   "Mglrgrgrlm!"

   In the harsh battle cry, the sharp black battle axe chopped into the water, and under the howl of the old blind eye, the group of fish people crawling on the hull also rushed into the water with a shout.

   In less than a minute, the shark was torn into several pieces by the "fully dressed" fish people relying on sharp weapons underwater. The old blind eye also grabbed a large shark fin and climbed onto the warship.

   It winked and dedicated this deliciousness to the pirates.

   But Blake ate a lot of seafood on the voyage these days, which would have no appetite at all. He waved his pipe with a pipe in his mouth, and the shark fin was thrown to the other murloc next to him.

   is the very clever one in the Long Beach murloc tribe, the first murloc to follow Bumbolba.

   It's called "Cookie".

   is a weird murloc who likes to cook things in large pots. He is also good at fighting. He was promoted to the third-in-command of the quack pirates and also serves as the chef of the murloc pirates.

   As long as this guy doesn't mess around, the soup tastes good.

  Blake has tasted it himself.

   "Tolbard, I still remember that Daelin said more than once that he would buy this place from the Kingdom of Stromgard as the frontier of Kul Tiras on the Eastern Continent."

  Black ignored the fish people's actions of dragging sharks onto the deck and cutting their flesh for food.

   said to Natalie Selin, who was dressed in black beside him:

   "Actually, it's not just Daelin who thinks so. Several kings before him thought that it was not a good thing for Kul Tiras to stay overseas for a long time and keep a distance from other human kingdoms.

   The high-level officials of that country have been trying to strengthen their connection with the Eastern Continent, but they suffer from lack of a suitable location as a power projection node.

  The islands off the eastern mainland are either too small or too desolate to be suitable for long-term garrisoning. "

  The pirate exhaled a ring of smoke and said:

   "Only Tol Barad is the most suitable. The two islands in the north and south are combined, the area is comparable to the Tiragarde Sound, and the island has fertile soil, as well as forests, swamps, lakes and other terrains.

   They even secretly sent people to explore and concluded that the resources of this island are enough to support Kul Tiras to station a fleet here for a long time.

   Once this island is used by the Kul Tiras Navy as a home port, it means that the ocean island nation can send its thousands of warriors to every hot spot in the eastern continent within ten days at most.

   also means that they have enough power to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Continent.

   A complete and tidy fleet is enough to win key interests for Daelin and Kul Tiras on the mainland at a critical moment.

  Kul Tiras will no longer be far away from the human mouths of the Eastern Kingdoms.

   Its influence will really penetrate into the hinterland of human civilization, relying on this island, Kul Tiras will become an important pillar of strength for human civilization!

  What a genius idea. "

   "Well, even I, a person who doesn't understand politics and military affairs, was deeply shocked when I heard about such a plan."

   Natalie Selling nodded.

   The archbishop pulled his hood, folded his hands on his belly, held his canon, and said to Black:

   "It's no wonder that Kul Tiras has been continuously strong for nearly a hundred years. In addition to the strength of the navy, the high-level officials of that country also have enough wisdom and a big picture."

"Right?"

  Blake laughed, and he turned to Natalie and said:

   "Their idea was great and perfect. But now, it's mine!"

  The pirate spread his arms on the bow deck, as if to embrace the island in front of him, and he said loudly:

   "Tolbard Island will be the home port of my fleet and me in the waters of the Eastern Continent, and will also be the support point for us to intervene in the affairs of the human kingdom.

  I will build a force here and leave enough power here.

   I will develop this island, and when the time is right, I will even build a country here, a country controlled by pirates.

  The Orcs had smashed all the troops stationed on this island belonging to the Kingdom of Stromgard when the war began, they burned the castles on the island, and burned all the warehouses and farms.

   After the forced withdrawal of Alliance forces, the island has entered its emptiest moment ever.

   After most of the alliance's military power was drawn to the southern frontier of the Eastern Continent, the island was almost undefended. It's like an accessible fruit.

   What a pirate ecstasy!

  I have already started to do this. Although my subordinates are incompetent, I think it should not be a big problem to complete the initial occupation at this stage. "

   "Wait, Captain!"

   Natalie immediately objected.

   The archbishop frowned and said:

   "You also said before that Kul Tiras has been trying to buy it from the Kingdom of Stromgard, or take this island, but they have such a powerful navy, but they have never been able to do so.

   This means that the Kingdom of Stromgard is not willing to surrender Tol Barad to Kul Tiras, right?

  If even Kul Tiras can't get control of the island through normal channels, then our group of pirates, I think, the Trollbane royal family, should not be so easy."

   "No no no, you misunderstood a concept, my ship doctor."

  Black shook his head and explained patiently:

   "Tolbard is not the core interest of the Kingdom of Stromgard, and the Arathor people have seldom set foot in the sea since the day they occupied the Arathi Highlands.

  The Arathi do not like the sea, they prefer to ride on their own high ground.

The royal family of   Torberne has always regarded this island as a garrison fortress, and they have not even pioneered large-scale development here, because it is in the open sea and is too far from the territory of Stromgard.

The reason why Stromgarde did not hand over the island to the Kul Tirans was purely due to political considerations, because the kingdom of Gilneas, which is closer to the island, has also been seeking control of Tol Barad. right.

   That island off the coast is full of terrifying reefs, they call it 'Biteer's Reef'.

  The existence of these things has led to the fact that although Gilneas is a peninsula, there are only a handful of ports available.

  The Greymane royal family has also been seeking domestic commercial power to set foot in the South China Sea Route, and they have seen the success of Kul Tiras' naval strategy.

  The profits that Kul Tiras can take from the South Sea trade route every year are enough to make other kings go crazy with jealousy.

   Gilneas needs Tol Barad if he wants to go to sea.

   As long as the Thorbane royal family sells the island to either party, it will offend the other party. But Stormgard doesn't want to offend either country.

   So the matter was left unresolved, and the island was a hot potato to the King of the Highlanders. Now occupied by a group of pirates, they say this is unforgivable, but in fact, they don't know how happy they are.

   That means their diplomatic troubles became mine. "

  Blake flicked his fingers and said to Natalie who was beside him when the fast-moving dragon head warship made a beautiful turn toward the temporarily built pier on the outskirts of Tolbard Island:

   "So as long as we can withstand the pressure from both Gilneas and Kul Tiras.

   Make the long-term occupation of the island an established fact, and the Trollbane royal family will be happy to sell this troublesome place for an expensive price. "

   "Just rely on a group of pirates to withstand the siege of two countries at the same time?"

   Natalie widened her eyes and said:

  "This is a bit too much"

   "Shh."

  Black turned back, made a silent gesture to her, and said:

  " It sounds scary, but it's actually quite simple.

   These two countries will soon face their own troubles. They don't have the time or energy to stop us from taking the island.

Do not worry.

   I have it all arranged.

  This sea, where countless wealth and disputes are born, will soon become lively. The seeds of chaos have been planted by me. Chaos is not a good thing.

   But it can give birth to vigorous and powerful, it can give birth to a great era.

  I have heard the cry of those who are unwilling to be lonely.

   Let the peaceful times go to hell!

   Right on the stage of this sea, I will, together with those challengers, swing my sword to the king of the sea and **** his crown! Take his throne!

   Invincible king of the sea, my father.

  The age of challenge and chaos has come, listen to the echo of the bell, take your ship, take your sword, in the sound of the waves, in the roar of the storm.

  Let's show off! "

   "It's the captain! The captain is back!"

When the    dragon head warship sailed into the abandoned pier on the outskirts of Tol Barad Island, Nat Pagle and his good friend Hal, who were fishing on the pier, saw the strange looking ship at a glance.

   But before he could stand up, cheers erupted from the ruins of the village behind.

   A group of foxes rushed out of the tavern, along with a few large orcs, and some trolls were whistling and shouting by the pier.

   And those human "sailors" who were not very familiar with Black, also poured out from various places, watching the ship approach the dock with piercing cheers.

   In this scene like the appearance of a superstar, Black Shishiran jumped to the top decoration of the dragon head warship.

   He wore a pirate hat, a pirate trench coat, and an eye patch. He let his blond hair be blown by the sea breeze. He held out his hand very reservedly, and waved several times to his incompetent subordinates.

   The result was a louder cheer.

  Especially a bunch of bastards.

   Seeing that the captain came back with a ghost ship, they were always in a crisis that would be discovered by the Kul Tiras, as if they had found the backbone at once.

  Evil Eye and Zarak, who are more proficient in acting, even shed moved tears on the spot, and even put on a cry, looking at the skinny boy Kanrisad who was holding a staff beside him with contempt.

   "Hello everyone, trash, your great and vicious captain is back!"

  Blake opened his hands in the sea breeze and shouted to the group of undead pirates on the dock in front of him:

   "What are you all doing here? Don't you have to work? The leaders stay, and the rest go to work, bastards! It seems that you are really tired during my absence!"

   (end of this chapter)