Shadow Trails in Azeroth

After bidding farewell to the distracted girls and going home, the pirate took the harvest of his trip back to the desert island he named "Freedom Town" in an aircraft.

The skinny boy and his apprentice who were left here have commanded the crew of the Nagfar to establish a small semi-permanent station on the desert island.

Eudora, who was making a large purchase in Boralus Port and preparing to return to Booty Bay to make a fortune, also sent a foxman to take over the station here.

According to Black's imagination, "Free Town" will become the stronghold of the undead pirates in Kul Tiras.

Of course, on the surface it is a transit station belonging to Wharton Trading Company.

While Dai Lin and the Kul Tiras fleet still exist, this trading station is destined not to play a big military role, but it can provide an additional foothold in the South China Sea for the undead fleet destined to run rampant across the entire Endless Sea in the future. It is good.

As the captain returned, the ghost ship, which had been "resting" in the trench below the desert island for several days, immediately became energetic and ready to set sail.

This time, they were going around the southwest coast of Tiragarde Sound and headed to the interior of Kul Tiras, the Drustvar Mountains ruled by House Waycrest.

This is not the first time the Nagfar has gone there. The ghost ship's first upgrade was completed in Drustvar, so this time it is a return visit.

It's also very much like an old horse knowing the way.

There is no need for pirates or first mates to control it. The ghost ship can find its own route and head to the dock of Falcon Grove Town in the southeast of Drustvar.

"Captain, are you sure you want to support the unknown Trixie as the new leader of the Mechanognomes?"

In the captain's cabin, first mate Sephiel ran to watch the strange mechanical dwarf capture, and then hurried here to discuss "big things" with his captain.

She said to Blake seriously:

"She is different from the criteria you used to select the 'Albatross' before. She is neither a famous figure among the mechanical gnomes, nor is she the daughter of King Mechagon.

She was born with a lack of legitimacy.

Even if we help her get rid of the crazy mechanical king and her gang boss, it will be difficult for her to control the overall situation on her own.

I mean, her people may thank her, but they certainly won't obey her so easily. After all, their fallen prince is still there.

From this point of view, maybe after we are done with Drustvar, it will be easier for us to go to Mechagon Island and form an alliance with Prince Erazmin. "

"Well, your considerations are very profound. The development and growth of the fleet requires your wisdom."

Blake filled in the magic fill-in-the-blank questions on the test paper in front of him without raising his head. He answered the advanced arcane knowledge points with ease and said to Sephiel:

"Under normal circumstances, I would definitely adopt your suggestion, but the problem is that mechanical gnomes are not ordinary civilization.

If you get to know them deeply, you will find that when it comes to choosing a spokesperson for the fleet, there is actually no difference between choosing Prince Erazmin, who took a clear-cut stand against his father, or Trixie, or even Bondo Bulk.

Because their numbers are too few.

The number of mechanical gnomes who have escaped the persecution of King Mechagon and are still 'alive' and still have free will can no longer support their existence as a racial civilization. "

The pirate paused.

I felt the noisy sounds of dwarfs knocking and banging from the surrounding cabins while studying engineering. They seemed to be thinking about the answer to the arcane magic question in front of them, and they seemed to be asking Sephie who was gradually understanding. I explained:

"You have to understand, my first mate, for a race that is keen on mechanical self-transformation, their reproduction speed and total number can never be too high.

I had asked Overspark before, and the great inventor told me that in Gnomeregan's records, when King Mechagon left the birthplace of the dwarfs, there were only a few thousand of his followers who followed him.

Now thousands of years have passed, and during the most prosperous period before the Mechagon Rebellion, the number of mechanical gnomes only just exceeded 100,000.

A small island can meet their daily needs.

And just a few of these people were killed overnight under King Mechagon's crazy mechanical return to origin plan! The remaining mechagnome exiles were also divided.

The guys who originally believed in King Mechagon's theory of mechanical origin, voluntarily accepted the fully mechanized transformation.

The rest fled to the surface with their prince to rebel against the tyrannical and mad king.

The last part completely lost confidence and belonged to the ambitious mechanical warlord Bondo Big Block. Of course, I prefer to call them 'gangsters'. "

Having said this, the magic eyeball on Black's shoulder turned and looked at Sephiel, and he said:

"The entire surface of Mechagon Island has been turned into a rubbish dump in the three-party war. The cavemen on the island have also taken advantage of the situation to rise. In such a chaotic situation, the brilliant technological civilization of the mechanical gnomes has essentially fallen into itself. The doomsday of collapse.

Even if the prince finally wins, with his few followers, he is destined to be unable to rebuild the civilization of the mechanical gnomes independently.

If the prince is sensible enough, then there is only one choice left for him: to join his ancient compatriots and return to Gnomeregan, the mechanical city of Khaz Modan.

Relying on the relatively large number of gnomes to maintain the remnants of the mechanical gnome civilization. That means that they will become a branch of the dwarf race and will always exist as vassals and overseas territories of the dwarfs.

Therefore, we and Prince Erazmin actually have no common interests. It is impossible for him to choose us between the dwarfs and us. For him, this is a matter of race survival.

As for the gang leader Bondo Bulk

Although I have never met him, I know from Trixie's description that that guy is ambitious and has both sides of the fence, and he does have enough commanding power.

But he was more concerned with his own interests. "

The pirate curled his lips and said:

“I can indeed form an alliance with him, and I believe he would be happy to have an additional maritime force as an ally.

But if another powerful force that is hostile to me extends an olive branch to him, I am sure that Bondo Big Block will not have any hesitation when selling me.

Besides, Mechagon is so close to Kul Tiras itself, right?

I have to guard against it.

Once Mechagon's high technology, which is almost like an 'alien' compared to other races, falls into Dai Lin's hands, then why am I still messing around in the sea?

Wouldn't it be more comfortable to disband the fleet and go back to be my prince? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to wait for the old man to pass the throne to me? "

Black has come this far. If Sephiel still doesn't understand, she is too incompetent as a first mate.

The pirate dragon blinked and said to Blake:

"Trixie is familiar with the gangster system, but she also doesn't have enough voice to take over Bondo Big Block's 'legacy,' so she can only rely on our strength to stabilize her power.

She will obey us, at least initially, and will do her best to serve the fleet in exchange for support.

When her rule over the gang is stable, the strength of the fleet will rise to a higher level. At that time, even if she has her own little thoughts, she will have to weigh the cost of rebellion.

Wonderful, Captain!

I thought you picked someone at random, but it seems you are as thoughtful as ever. Perhaps I should compliment you by saying that your dark wisdom is as sharp as ever. "

"Don't imitate those jerks who don't make people worry-free."

Blake glanced at the chief parasaurus and said:

"If you are in the mood to flatter me here, why not go to the bilge and see how far my baby ship's consciousness has progressed? It has been almost a month, why has she still not formed a consciousness?

I'm still waiting for my 'ship girl' to show up. "

"I've already gone to see it."

Sephiel answered with his hands on his hips:

"This process cannot be rushed. Although the ship spirit consciousness of the Nagfar is huge, it is fragmented. She is like a newborn child. It is impossible to 'eat' the complete soul of the black dragon princess Onyxia." possible.

So the process is more similar to fusion.

The consciousness of the ship spirit that is born will have some of Onyxia's personality traits. You can regard her as a continuation of the existence of the Black Dragon Princess.

This is the process of ‘shaping the soul’, and it is far from as simple as you think. "

"Okay, I won't push you anymore, just watch carefully."

Blake reminded, and then focused on her magic test questions. The first auxiliary dragon quietly exited the captain's room. When she closed the door, she heard the smelly pirate command again:

"Are my gifts for Arthur and Meredith ready?"

"Well, I've chosen."

Sephiel poked his head out from behind the door and said:

"The formal gift will be sent in the name of the Albatross Chamber of Commerce. The 'work allowance' for Meredith is also ready. After we arrive in Drustvar, she will also leave for Arom's Stand.

Then you can personally reward your first albatross, my captain. "

"Okay, I don't worry about you doing the work. When patrolling the ship, ask those noisy dwarfs to knock a little more gently. I still have to learn, bastard!

If they keep making noise, throw them all into the sea and drown them! "

The pirate glared at the noise coming from around him, scolded him, and waved a thumbs up at Sephiel. The first parasaurus smiled proudly, pushed his hat and slammed the door.

A few minutes later, several dwarf screams were heard from the other side of the cabin.

Then, the whole world fell silent.

Blake could finally complete his magic test paper with satisfaction.

In this way, after a day and night of sailing, the extremely fast Nagfar docked at the dock of Falcon Forest Town in the southeastern part of the Drustvar Mountains under darkness.

In this place where the Tide Sage's power rarely affects, the ghost ship finally doesn't have to be so cautious and can relax a little.

"You continue sailing along the coastline of Drustvar and dock below the sea cliff of Waycrest Manor in the far north of the mountain. After I finish my work here, we will sail directly to Mechagon."

Blake took off from the deck of the ghost ship riding the hippogryph Sky. He circled around the pier of the small pier several times, and then ordered the first parasaurus on the deck:

"Remember to replenish supplies in Klein City, get some original engineering parts as requested by Trixie, and quickly recover the unlucky Shore from his 'Ant-Man' state.

There was still work waiting for him in Stormsong Valley. "

"Okay, Captain, have a good trip."

Sephiel agreed and waved goodbye to Blake.

The pirate nodded, patted the hippogryph's neck, and then flew towards the middle of the Drustvar Mountains in the night under the "escort" of a small fishman riding a big owl.

Behind him, the Nagfar dived quietly again in the dim night, disappearing under the quiet waves like a real ocean ghost.

Relying on the elemental blessing of the Hydrasian Legion, it carried Black to avoid the Tide Sage's surveillance of Kul Tiras and roam around. It was simply the most perfect "tool ship".

On Blake's side, he flew all the way through the fiery red forest below in the night, along the ridge all the way up. As dawn was about to come, he and the little fishman finally arrived at the mountain range in the center of the Drustvar Mountains. in towns.

This is called Arom's Terrace.

As you can tell from the name, it was built in memory of Arom Waycrest, the first lord of Kul Tiras.

Speaking of which, if the people of Kul Tiras want to continue the tradition of choosing a king, the Waycrest family is actually more qualified to become the royal family than the Proudmoore family.

But the family keeps its ancient vows.

They almost never take a step out of the dark mountainous area that they shelter. It is precisely because of this noble tradition of keeping oaths that the Waycrest family has a high reputation in Kul Tiras.

The simple mountain folk of Drustvar only know Waycrest but not Proudmoore.

To be honest, this is basically no different from splitting the earth and sealing off the country.

But every king has great trust in the Waycrest family, and they are not worried at all that the family will rebel. There is even local slang that says that the Waycrest family has absolute loyalty flowing in its veins.

Facts have proved that the Waycrest family is also worthy of this trust.

In the past nearly a thousand years, no matter whether Kul Tiras was strong or weak, the lords who ruled the mountain people stood firmly behind the king and never overstepped their authority.

However, now that time has passed, Arthur Waycrest, who is about to take over as the head of the Waycrest family, may have to make some decisions that go against the traditions of his ancestors.

It's not because Arthur himself is ambitious, but because he has a wife who doesn't make people worry.

"Thank you for coming, Your Highness."

On a high-desire observation deck on Arom's Tower, in the pre-dawn night, Miss Meredith, wearing a hood, heard the noise coming from behind.

She held on to the decorative rose sword on her waist and glanced back. When she saw Blake walking out of the shadows, the intelligent countess immediately bowed and bowed respectfully.

On her white neck, the luxurious jewelry that Black had given her hung down, revealing the exquisite Azshara gold coin.

"Your arrival will make my and Arthur's wedding more glorious. It is precisely because of this that Arthur and I can formally serve you with the thousands of years of loyalty of the Waycrest family."

Miss Meredith whispered.

These words satisfied Blake to the extreme.

Look, what does it mean to be an excellent intelligence worker?

For Blake's career, Miss Meredith did not hesitate to "sacrifice herself" and used "personal reconnaissance" to break into the target's bed and lurk for a long time.

He can also exert his strong subjective initiative to help Black establish his own power in Kul Tiras.

Now, she even actively helps her husband who instigated rebellion and asked him to join Black's cause.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the undead pirates didn't have the tradition of awarding medals, Blake would have definitely awarded Meredith a one-ton "King of Spies" medal to reward her for her contribution to his career. .

The countess-to-be in front of him, who is fair-skinned, beautiful, heroic in appearance, pleasant in manners, and full of femininity, is the outstanding subordinate that Black hopes to see.

His incompetent and useless subordinates should really be allowed to come and observe and learn.

If there are ten such excellent "albatross" under the command of the stinky pirates, why worry about the failure of great things?