Chapter 351 |
The next morning, the port of Unfallen City was extremely busy, with countless large and small warships constantly maneuvering in and out of the harbor.
Tyrande stood at the port, looking at several steel giant ships over a hundred meters long in Abbendis’ fleet in the distance, a trace of solemnity flashing across her face.
Because before today, she didn’t knew that these ships were part of Abbendis’ fleet.
Previously, the largest warships in Abbendis’ fleet were only sailing battleships about seventy meters long—although such warships were already extremely powerful among human kingdoms, to the Night Elves they were not a significant threat.
After all, as an ancient civilization with tens of thousands of years of heritage, the Night Elves’ foundation was much deeper than it appeared on the surface but these newly appeared warships were different.
According to recent intelligence from her subordinates, these warships were newly developed by the human kingdom and called Ironclads.
Although essentially just wooden-core ships covered with a layer of steel armor, this extra armor often was enough to change the tide of battle.
At least for the Night Elves’ throwing blades, their damage to these ships would be greatly reduced.
Moreover, these seemingly heavy warships reportedly used an unknown technology called the steam engine, allowing their maximum sailing speed to reach several times that of conventional warships.
After all, past intelligence suggested this was not a peaceful and compliant race.
If...
As Tyrande was thinking about how to face humans (Abbendis), a potential formidable competitor in the future, a series of bell chimes sounded from the city tower in the distance.
That was the assembly bell for the human ground forces.
“Honored Priestess, it’s time to board the ship!” As the bell rang, a human attendant hurried over to Tyrande.
Although the Night Elves also had warships following this Broken Isles expedition, as the top ruler of the Night Elf race, Tyrande was invited to board Abbendis’ flagship, the “Dauntless”!
“Welcome to the Dauntless, Princess Tyrande. I hope you have a wonderful voyage here!” After being guided by the envoy, upon boarding the Dauntless, Abbendis, who was already waiting, greeted her.
“Thank you, my lord. I also believe that...” Tyrande was about to exchange pleasantries when the alarm bells in Unfallen City suddenly sounded again.
Everyone turned to look, and a black dot rapidly approached Unfallen City in the distant sky.
At such a distance, other races might not clearly see the visitor, but the sharp eyes of the Night Elves quickly identified it—a Night Elf messenger riding a hippogryph.
“Sorry, my lord, that is our race’s messenger. There must be something important happening. Please let him through!” Tyrande hurriedly said.
Abbendis did not make things difficult and waved his hand to lift the alert.
Thus, the hippogryph rider didn’t even need to dismount, passing straight through Unfallen City’s multiple defenses, landing on the deck of the Dauntless, then leapt down and handed a scroll to Tyrande.
Tyrande took the scroll and glanced at it, her expression suddenly darkening.
Seeing Tyrande’s change of expression, Abbendis thought to himself that this was serious.
“Sorry, my lord, I cannot accompany you to the Broken Isles, but my deputy Maiev will remain on the ship!” After reading the scroll, Tyrande closed it with a grave expression and said to Abbendis.
“Priestess, what happened?” Maiev stepped forward and asked Tyrande.
She was curious about what urgent matter could make Tyrande so tense, while her own Watchers had received no news at all.
“Silithus!” Tyrande didn’t elaborate but softly told Maiev the place name.
Hearing Silithus, Maiev’s expression also changed. She fully understood what it meant.
The Thousand-Year-Old Battle of the Sand was perhaps the most difficult crisis the Night Elf Empire had faced since the ancient wars.
At that time, Maiev’s Watcher forces were a subsequent reinforcement on the battlefield, but the boundless surging insect swarm left an extremely deep impression on Maiev.
If not for the timely arrival of the dragon legion to bear the main brunt, it would have been another devastating defeat for the Night Elves.
Even so, the Battle of the Sand left a profound scar on the entire Night Elf race.
Could those bugs have come out again? Maiev looked at Tyrande questioningly.
Tyrande didn’t answer verbally but nodded slightly.
The silent exchange made Maiev realize the gravity of the situation, and she did not press further.
After a brief arrangement, Tyrande mounted a hippogryph she had brought and headed toward Feralas.
Around last night, urgent news from Silithus had already reached Feralas.
Feralas, as a strategic stronghold connecting north and south for the Night Elf Empire, was always garrisoned with large numbers of sentry troops.
After a night’s preparation, these sentries were battle-ready and could depart to aid Silithus at any moment, just waiting for her to take command.
After Tyrande left, Abbendis arranged for Maiev and the remaining Night Elves to go to their cabins. Before leaving, he looked at Maiev thoughtfully.
Because of the Watchers’ special nature, not only outside the Night Elf race but even within, especially for the new generation of Night Elves after the ancient wars, Maiev was an obscure figure, far less renowned than her brother, the great Night Elf hero Jarod Shadowsong —even though she had once served as a high priestess before Tyrande.
Therefore, in prior interactions, Tyrande had concealed Maiev’s true identity as a Watcher but did not hide her name.
Yet, she never imagined Abbendis was cheating. From the moment he learned Maiev’s name, her identity was completely exposed.
Watcher Maiev Shadowsong...This Night Elf heroine was top priority on Josh’s latest purchase list.
Unfortunately, the Night Elves were at their peak now, not a good time to act.
As the fleet set sail, Abbendis returned to his cabin with a trace of regret.
“Abbendis!” Just as he sat down, a voice echoed in the normally empty cabin.
“Master Ancient One? What are you doing here?” Startled, Abbendis turned and saw that Ancient One had somehow appeared in his cabin. “Mr. Xu Wenwu said you had important matters to attend to. How did you return so quickly?”
Before departure this morning, he had noticed that Ancient One was missing from the group that came from Josh’s universe.
When he asked Xu Wenwu, the deputy leader, he was told Ancient One had urgent matters last night and let the fleet depart first, saying she would catch up anytime.
Abbendis was somewhat dissatisfied and worried, after all, he was the local lord of this world. Even though they were here to help, they should have informed him of everything.
What if something went wrong and affected the entire plan?
But over the years, he had developed a very calm demeanor and did not show his displeasure.
“The matter is basically settled; otherwise, Tyrande wouldn’t have left, right?” Ancient One said calmly.
“Ah? So Tyrande’s sudden departure is related to you? I wonder what exactly happened?” Abbendis was surprised; he really hadn’t expected Tyrande’s sudden leaving to be connected to Ancient One.
“That’s right. Something special happened last night, so I went to Silithus...Rest assured, the entire Night Elf race no longer has the capacity to bother you. Once you reach the Broken Isles, you can let go and act freely!” Ancient One explained.
“Silithus? C’thun and Ahn’Qiraj?” Hearing Ancient One mention Silithus, Abbendis’ face also changed, as he knew what was there.
“Don’t worry, C’thun and the Azj’Aqir are not a threat to you!” Ancient One smiled slightly. “They will only clear the Night Elves’ obstacles for you.”