Shadow Trails in Azeroth

The South China Sea is the most prosperous trade route in Azeroth.

This is all because it is deep in the tropics, rich in products, and has stable ocean currents, which is very suitable for commercial operations. The extremely economically minded goblin chaebols have established their own trading system in the South China Sea hundreds of years ago.

And in many businesses, a monopoly model is maintained.

Even when wars are raging in the eastern continent, this South China Sea route, known as the "Golden Sea", is still prosperous.

Of course, the human maritime power Kul Tiras mobilized many domestic merchant ships to support the war due to the war. As a result, the Kul Tiras merchants, the goblin chaebol's biggest competitors, had a great impact on their business in the South China Sea. .

So the goblin plutocrats keenly seized this gap period and developed almost crazily.

It is conceivable that after the war, the pattern of the South China Sea trade routes will inevitably undergo huge changes.

But, it’s still the same sentence.

As long as the Kul Tiran fleet remains.

As long as Dai Lin is still there.

Those greedy green dwarfs must return the wealth that belongs to Kul Tiras on this golden trade road sooner or later!

This is not a question of whether the goblins are willing or not.

If Dailin is angered, Kul Tiras' fleet will be sent to the South China Sea to fight on "piracy" or other random charges.

In less than half a year, the commercial advantages that the goblins have maintained for hundreds of years will be completely destroyed by Kul Tiras' powerful ships and cannons!

Goblins are good at making money.

But unfortunately, they are indeed not strong in combat.

The worst thing is that in the world of Azeroth, there are currently few forces that are qualified to challenge Kul Tiras on the sea. Even if the goblins wanted to throw money around to buy murderers, they couldn't find anyone brave enough to take on the job.

This is embarrassing.

But what happened on the South China Sea tonight had nothing to do with the goblins.

The sky is overcast tonight, with no stars or moon. It is a good day for infiltration operations.

The captains who received the order returned to their respective battleships.

At first, under the leadership of the "Mysterious Mother", the snake-man battleship that was the first to discover the caravan ahead, it broke away from the Alpaca's escort position, opened its full sail, and sailed forward.

The huge Alpaca was left alone behind.

It was not intended to be used in combat.

This kind of troll ship can only fight when it is equipped with a full complement of pterodactyl knights, just like an aircraft carrier. Most of the time it was used as a transport ship.

Even if there are large masts on both sides of the ship, it is destined to not be able to run fast.

Its main driving force is ocean currents. It can run at 7 knots, which is already extremely fast.

However, this ship is indeed large and can carry more than six times the supplies of an ordinary warship.

All the treasures that were piled at the bottom of the three battleships as ballast have been transferred to the Alpaca, and food and drinking water were transported from the Alpaca to be used as ballast for other battleships.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The piercing sirens soon sounded in the merchant fleet ahead. The flagship of this fleet discovered three warships approaching rapidly from behind.

But they didn't panic.

As orders were issued one after another, sailors from each merchant ship rushed to the deck and took off the gun jackets, and lookouts quickly climbed up the mast along the ship's net.

They stayed on the lookout and kept shouting loudly to point the gunners on the deck in the direction of the bombardment.

Everyone looked well-trained.

After all, it is a caravan flying the flag of Kul Tiras. Most of these sailors are from that maritime country, and the captains, first mates, second mates and gunners of the four merchant ships are all from Kul Tiras. Navy veteran.

They were not afraid of the three ships rushing over at all, even though the tonnage of this caravan's ships was not large and they were not warships for combat.

"That's the troll's ship!"

An old captain put down his telescope and said to the first mate beside him:

"When I was cruising in the South China Sea, I saw it once or twice. It was the ship of the Zandalari trolls. It was really strange. Although the fleets of those trolls were powerful, they never left their islands.

Why are there three ships here? "

"Maybe they are pirates, but they are definitely a group of novices, maybe landlubbers full of wild fantasies!"

The first mate grabbed the dwarf musket in his hand and said to his captain with a look of contempt:

"Look at those three ships. They can only rush forward with full sail, but they can't even seize the downwind position. There is no angle on their ships. Are they planning to fight us directly?

whispering sound!

What a bunch of brainless, stupid pirates! As long as we have a standard battleship and fifty good guys who obey orders, I'm sure to kill them! "

"not now."

The old captain put away his telescope and looked at the troll ship rushing towards this direction with a serious face. He said to the first mate:

"At other times, I would be happy to teach these stinky pirates a lesson, but not tonight. Send a message to the Klein and let it leave the fleet immediately.

The remaining two ships follow our ship to meet the enemy!

The origin of the enemy is unknown. We will fight with all our strength and protect the safety of the young lady at all costs! "

The first mate took the order with a serious face and left.

Soon, the four ships in the merchant fleet completed the formation change. The three small but extremely flexible merchant ships were like knights arrayed to meet the enemy.

They kept changing their course during the voyage, and finally lined up in a row, facing the enemy on the left string. While entering the bombardment position, they blocked the direction of the three pirate ships.

The last, slightly larger merchant ship changed its course in the opposite direction, as if it was escaping from battle, opening up the sea area where the artillery battle was about to take place.

The three merchant ships that faced the enemy were all sloops with a capacity of about 180 people. They had only one gun deck and were "small" carrying about 20-30 guns.

Such ships are also heavily equipped in the Kul Tiran fleet, but they generally do not participate in naval battles. They only serve as traffic information and occasional escort for merchant ships in the navy.

That kind is still an enhanced version for military use.

At present, these three "civilian versions" are even more miserable. They have less than 80 naval guns in total. Their firepower is very weak. Only the sailors are full of fighting spirit.

"Huh? Why don't the pirates fire?"

The old captain who was in charge of commanding the battle saw with his telescope that the three pirate ships had entered the 600-meter range, but they had no intention of firing, and they still charged like bulls.

This gesture, which completely violated all naval warfare regulations, frightened the old captain for a moment.

He thought the trolls were playing some weird witchcraft, so he didn't give the order to fire. It wasn't until half a minute later, when the distance was even closer, that flaming crossbows were fired from the three ships.

It's sparse and has no accuracy at all.

"Oh my God! The tide is rising! It's not that they don't fire cannons, it's that they don't have cannons at all!"

The old captain was "astonished" by the pirates on the three ships at this moment. He looked back at his equally dull first mate and said:

"Where did these stupid young men come from? Why haven't I heard of such people in the South China Sea? Are they planning to use that backward crossbow machine to counter our artillery?

Are they primitive? "

"Don't ask me, Captain, I don't know where they get their courage."

The first mate took out the sailor's knife from his waist and said to his captain;

"But I know one thing, that is, we can get an easy victory tonight. These pirates are here to give us military glory!"

How considerate.

With so many pirates, if we return their heads to Boralus, we might be able to get a Navy reward in exchange for a decommissioned fourth-class warship. "

"fire!"

The next second, the old captain laughed and swung his command knife downwards. The twelve cannons on the left side of the merchant ship he was on fired at the same time. This was a signal, and the other two ships also opened fire in succession.

The accuracy of sailors on merchant ships is not as exaggerated as that of the navy, but a salvo of nearly forty guns is still accurate at a distance of less than 500 meters.

The "Black Hand", which rushed the fastest and most violently, was the first to receive a wave of shells, which directly broke the main mast and blasted several large holes in the deck of the entire ship.

But the good thing is that because there are no naval guns equipped and there is no gunpowder on the ship to ignite, there is no explosion.

This was an unexpected surprise.

The more cunning Black Teeth and the Mysterious Matron relied on the Black Hand to attract firepower from the front, and then accelerated their advance from both sides.

They were determined to rush over and engage in a gang fight with the merchant ship.

"Fire!"

A minute later, there was another salvo, this time targeting three ships. Water jets shot up on the sea, and the unlucky Black Teeth also took a few shells.

Several orcs were hit by cannonballs, and their flesh and blood flew everywhere.

But it didn't take long for them to jump up and down again.

"Something's wrong!"

The old captain felt something was wrong.

Ordinary pirates would definitely retreat after testing this level of firepower, but the three ships in front of them had withstood two rounds of bombardment, and each ship was in tatters.

But he still kept his head down and rushed forward.

"There's something in the water! Watch out! They're coming!"

Just as the old captain was thinking, the screams of the crew suddenly came from behind.

The veteran broke out in a cold sweat for a moment. Looking back, he saw some weird-looking guys grabbing weapons and hissing as they climbed up the side of the ship from the water behind.

snake!

It’s a snake that can walk upright!

Oh my God!

Their weapons are also wrapped with arc lightning.

"Ha! You really thought we were just going to fight gangs, didn't you? Arrogant Kul Tirans!"

One hundred meters away, on the bow of the Black Teeth, Red Blackhand took off the sword from behind with a grim smile. He looked at the three merchant ships in front of him that were invaded by snakemen from underwater and were in a mess. His eyes were full of confusion. A tyranny.

"Marines, get ready!"

Chief Blackhand shouted:

"Don't destroy those naval guns! Capture those human sailors alive! They are all our property!"

On the other side, under the water.

Blake looked at the raging gang war going on on the sea above with a look that was more filled with sadness than heartbreak.

The performance of the immortal pirates under his command tonight cannot be described as "poor".

What a farce.

Where is a naval battle going on here?

If it weren't for the snakemen who could quickly travel through the water to the vicinity of the merchant ship, the three small boats with their speed and agility would be able to "fly kites" and "fly kites" by just seizing the gun positions and sailing. The ships were buried in the sea.

Fortunately, he encountered a merchant ship with insufficient firepower. If it were a Kul Tiran standard battleship in front of him now, Black would definitely give up his incompetent subordinates immediately and sneak away alone.

There is no chance of winning.

And the current battle scene that made people laugh uncontrollably made him wonder if his standards for selecting his subordinates were too low?

"Captain, why are you frowning? We won! The snake people are so powerful. They are faster underwater than on land."

First mate Sephiel was very excited. The ghost dragon looked at the fire above her head and the shouts coming from the pirates fighting. She, a ghost, even felt her blood boiling.

no way.

Although he was born into the dragon clan, Sephiel had never observed the lives of mortals in such detail in his previous life, let alone intervened in them so actively.

She didn't understand naval warfare, she just thought it was fun for a group of mortals to fight.

"well"

Sephiel's amateurishness made Blake feel even more tired at this moment.

He didn't even bother to explain this to his first mate.

He turned the steering wheel under the water and let the Nagfar gallop at full speed in the other direction. He was very concerned about the ship that broke away from the merchant ship line before the war started.

Judging from his experience.

Either there was something important on that ship, or there was someone with an unusual status on that ship.

But no matter what it was, it succeeded in attracting Blake's interest.

"Sefir, tell me, should I find some crew members for the Nagfar?"

As the underwater battleship galloped at full speed, the pirate rubbed his chin and said to the ghost dragon mate beside him:

"It's the flagship after all, but it doesn't feel good to always be so empty."

"It must be elite!"

Seifer pushed up her three-cornered hat and said seriously:

"I don't want that junk on my boat."

Blake nodded with deep understanding. He stared at the weird ship that was getting closer and closer in front of him and said:

"Well, that makes sense. Let's choose a time tomorrow to screen among the prisoners of war. Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered a good idea that would definitely be interesting."

PS:

Well, the content of yesterday's chapter was actually nothing. I guess it was coupled with the funny chapter title, which irritated some readers. Actually, there is no need to worry.

I have learned the lessons from the previous books. This book guarantees that there will definitely be no literary youth plots or dark stories of cannibalism.

This book is essentially light-hearted.

So, don’t be afraid that there will be too dark content. Of course, I welcome brothers to put forward their own opinions in this chapter. When reading, exchanging opinions is very important.

Let's discuss rationally. In addition, the alliance leader will update next month. I will save some articles. I love you.