Lord of the Oasis

Summer is over.

Although the coast of Mannheim is close to the Nalen Desert, there have never been four distinct seasons, but the many races living on the coast can still perceive the eagerness of summer, which has begun to fade.

A breeze from the sea of ​​stars blew across the coast.

The leaves of the trees swayed in the wind, and when they sensed autumn, they turned pale yellow within a few days.

Autumn is almost here.

However, taking advantage of the autumn wind, there were also sails that were full of wind on the sea of ​​stars. They were fully hung on the mast and drove the merchant ships full of cargo to the fertile coast of Mannheim from the open sea.

The port of the Royal Capital of the Greymane Kingdom also has a large number of merchant ships entering and leaving.

And there are quite a few.

On both sides of the stone-built wharf, various merchant ships moored alongside.

The coolies composed of the bottom gnolls are neatly loading and unloading goods for the merchant ships on the dock.

In the shopping mall of the pier, you can see businessmen of all ethnic groups.

Gnolls, lizardmen, including elves, humans, and even orcs.

They are all discussing eagerly or negotiating fiercely. The straightforwardness, honesty, friendliness, and cowardice of the race have evolved into businessman-style cunning without leaving any traces on the faces of these businessmen.

The purpose is to earn so many big silver coins.

This shiny round silver product is something that any race is rushing for.

Including these jackals.

The royal port of the Graymane Kingdom, as the only deep-water port on the entire coast of Mannheim, even if the gnolls are not good at ocean navigation, relying solely on berthing fees and commercial taxes, they will eat full of oil.

This is the advantage of maintaining a monopoly on the coast of Mannheim.

There is only one port in the royal capital that can berth a large number of merchant ships, receive them, and maintain a huge amount of commercial trade.

This is also something that the lizardmen have always brooded about.

They are good at sailing and ocean-going trade. In their own kingdom of lizardmen, there are only two small ports.

The number of merchant ships that can be docked every day is pitiful, and even large merchant ships with deep drafts cannot berth a few.

It is incomparable with the port of the Royal Capital, which can accommodate at least 50 large merchant ships.

But the two races have a long-standing feud.

In order to ensure their trade, the lizardmen chose to compromise.

But the conditions offered by the jackals were that while renting a wharf at high rents, a huge amount of commercial tax would also be charged for each trade. The conditions were extremely harsh, and it was almost a blatant extortion.

There was a war between the two races.

The population of Greymane Kingdom is 40,000.

The population of the Lizardmen Kingdom reached 70,000.

Although the infantry of the Greymane Kingdom is the strongest in the army, the Lizardmen's crossbowmen are not bad either.

In addition, the Lizardmen have their own navy, and several fierce pirate groups that they have secretly cultivated. When the war started, they blocked the port of the capital, and made the Kingdom of Graymane, which completely relied on tax collection, to avoid the rat.

It is precisely because no one can do anything about the other, and each is afraid of the other's strength, that they rely on this practice to continue.

Until the Elven Council came across the ocean and established a colonial city on the east side of the Mannheim coast, although the number of people was only a few thousand, it was able to fight well and had a very strong fighting force, making the overlord Lizardmen who originally occupied the east side of the Mannheim coast. The kingdom has suffered a lot of losses, and after negotiating, they pinched their noses and acquiesced to the existence of the elves.

The fragile peace created by the three clans also continued because of mutual jealousy.

But this morning.

5 warships slowly entered the port of the royal capital.

The streamlined hull accurately cut into the side of the pier and slowly docked.

Many merchant ships moored at other piers were all puzzled. They swept across the blank flagpole with no race or power marked. Some shrewd merchants suddenly turned pale and their hearts beat a little faster.

There are many pirates in the sea of ​​stars.

Including gnoll pirates who like to jump overboard to fight, wear chainmail, and hold two-handed tomahawks.

Usually let these ferocious pirates jump on the deck, the robbery can be declared over, because there is no merchant ship of any race that can defeat these strong and burly gnolls on the deck.

Just like the burly gnoll warriors who are queuing down on these five warships.

If there are businessmen with sharp eyes.

You can even see familiar faces who have robbed him before.

Just then, the entire port received news from the Greymane Kingdom, claiming that for the stability of the Xingchen Sea and the safety of many merchants coming to the port of the capital, the pirate group of the same family had been recruited and reorganized, and it was included in the army of the Greymane Kingdom. In the sequence, this ferocious gnoll pirate group will not appear on the Xingchen Sea in the future.

The new young businessman might believe these words.

But for those veteran businessmen, they secretly sneered.

This ferocious gnoll pirate group has been running across Xingchenhai for so many years. If there is no backer behind it, it is absolutely impossible, and the only backer who can fully support this pirate group composed of gnolls may be the only one.

However, without this pirate group, it is always good for the merchants.

But for the lizards and elves, they were all surprised.

As a force that has taken root on the coast of Mannheim, they naturally understand that this pirate group, all composed of gnolls, is actually the force that the Greymane Kingdom secretly deployed in the sea of ​​​​stars.

Now it has been recalled directly, claiming to have been recruited and adapted.

It is equivalent to handing over the rights of Xingchenhai to others, how can this be believed by others.

After all, if you have mastered the deep-water port of Wangdu Port, if you lose control of Xingchenhai, there will be frequent incidents, which is enough to make the Kingdom of Graymane, which relies solely on the port, be very busy.

There are some things that cannot be done by explicit means.

Just like the merchant ships of the Lizardmen, why are they often plundered.

And some merchants who rely on the port for a living and who are friends with gnolls will also be patronized by the pirate group.

These are secret truths.

Losing these means is equivalent to losing some partners, and even for businessmen who have formed a good trade relationship, they must carefully consider whether they should befriend other races.

The port of the royal capital was indeed under the control of the gnolls.

But it does not mean that he will be firmly held in the hands of the jackal all his life.

Dark tides on the coast of Mannheim.

But to the upper echelons of Greymane Kingdom, it's just a way to distract the enemy's line of sight.

The recall of these more than 300 fierce pirates is also part of their plan, because these fierce gnoll pirates will form 3,300 people together with 1,000 elite gnoll warriors and 2,000 gnoll warriors drawn from the army. The expedition force of , crossed the Naron Desert, went to the opposite strange world, and plundered enough resources to come back.

This is a plan they have been planning for ten years. If possible, the Greymane Kingdom will even extend its territory to the south of the Naron Desert, conquer the local humans, and create a rear that belongs to the higher gnolls.

They are terrestrial creatures.

The vast and turbulent sea is not an ideal battlefield for gnolls.

The undulating deck is not comparable to the heavy earth after all.

After contacting and fighting with those lizards and elves, these high-level gnolls of the Greymane Kingdom had to admit the reality that although they were on land, the frontal army was invincible in the field battle.

But on the sea, it is not the opponent of the Lizardman navy or the elf navy at all.

Flexible, good at water, Lizardmen who prefer to use crossbows.

Wisdom is high, there are all kinds of extraordinary spells, and archery is also a clever elves.

These burly and high-level gnolls have nothing to praise except for melee combat, or the more violent melee combat after the shamans have used various simple witchcraft.

That's right.

Even if they come out on their own, they are not suitable for the sea.

So make strategic decisions.

Since he is not suitable for the sea and cannot have a strong navy, then he will give up the hegemony of the Xingchen Sea, stick to the only deep-water port on the coast of Mannheim, and extend his power towards the human kingdom south of the Nalen Desert. His own land hegemony, or even conquering the human kingdom to become a colony, took the opportunity to develop and devour the coast of Mannheim.

In the Naron Desert, the gnolls who are good at enduring are not afraid. They can endure the heat and cold, marching during the day and night, and unexpectedly attack.

So recalled the most elite 300 gnoll pirates.

They are all tried-and-true elites who fight against the Lizardmen and the elf navy every day.

Plus 1,000 elite gnoll warriors stationed in the capital city-state, 2,000 heroic gnoll warriors, and a few shamans who have mastered extraordinary powers, enough to conquer the human kingdom.

Of course, this is a conquest force that will not leave until a month later.

The first to pass now is the 300 most elite gnoll pirates.

Capture the already recorded sentry oasis, lead the low-level gnoll tribe in the Naron desert, create an outpost, and the expedition force composed of the remaining 3,000 gnolls can set off without fail.

This conquest of the human kingdoms must not fail.

And in the minds of the upper echelons of Greymane Kingdom.

Even 500 weak human soldiers could not stop 50 ordinary gnoll warriors.

Although human soldiers also have long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows, the level of shooting is not as good as that of the elves, and the level of melee combat is too poor, and they can't even be like the lizardmen. And move.

Practical examples have been shown.

Among human beings, there are indeed heroes who deserve to be praised.

But most of the time, when the ferocious gnoll pirates jumped on the deck of human merchant ships after resisting the shooting of feather arrows, then this means that a massacre is about to begin.

Humans are really weak.

300 of the most elite gnoll pirates are enough to capture the Sentinel Oasis.

Perhaps, it can also drive the low-level gnolls living in the desert to launch a general attack first.

A country that can easily slaughter humans without the arrival of the main force of the Greymane Kingdom.

PS: Recommend a newly discovered divine book "Rise of Ten Thousand Years": World War I, the main weapon is the rifle. In World War II, the main weapons were aircraft and tanks. The third world war...the fourth world war, the main weapons are spears and stones. Ten thousand years later. When civilization is lost, when technology is gone, when everyone in this world dreams of being a revivalist. I met a woman from the 21st century 10,000 years ago who gave me dreams. She taught me math, physics, chemistry, the products of those sciences at the height of the planet's glory. She is my daughter-in-law.