Path of Light.

Chapter 720 721. The Earl's Request

In order to seize some three-masted sailing ships, Roy gave up the magic explosive arrows and only prevented the crew on the magic airship from using the magic crystal arrows.

Roy had spent a huge amount of money to purchase these large magic crossbows. Each magic crossbow was worth two magic crystals. The crew could only use the whale-hunting heavy crossbow to aim at the gray dwarf bandits on the ship. This meant that to hunt down a gray dwarf bandit, Roy had to spend at least two magic crystals. This was the hunting cost if he hit the target. If he missed, the hunting cost would increase exponentially...

But even so, Roy still insisted on having all the whale-hunting crossbows on the magic airship fire at full force.

These magic crystal arrows fell on the three-masted sailing ship, and all the gray dwarf bandits within the explosion range were almost instantly turned into ice crystals, like crystal statues carved by an artist, standing on the three-masted sailing ship.

These gray dwarf bandits made all kinds of moves. Some of them planned to jump over the side of the ship into the sea, some of them held up shields, ready to block the magic crossbow arrows falling from the sky, and some of them looked at the magic airship in the sky with horror.

These magic crystal arrows had a great impact on the gray dwarf bandits, because the gray dwarves who were good at making all kinds of magic machinery were very familiar with these magic crystal arrows, and they knew how terrifying the power of these things was...

What they couldn't imagine was that the elven military would actually use such expensive magic weapons to shoot at ordinary gray dwarves on a three-masted sailing ship.

The gray dwarf bandits looked at the sky in despair, and at this moment they even forgot to hide in the cabin under the deck.

What made them even more desperate was the more than 3,000 Silver Pegasus Knights in the sky. The short flying spears thrown from their hands fell like raindrops, and some of the not-so-thick wooden boards were directly pierced by the short flying spears...

If it were normal times, the Silver Pegasus Knights would have long needed to find a deserted island to rest due to exhaustion.

Even if the Silver Pegasus Knight wanted to continue the pursuit, without any supplies, he would have no way to hunt down the gray dwarf bandits.

But this time was different. The Silver Pegasus Knights had a good rest on the magic airship and were given sufficient supplies...

This pursuit came very suddenly to the gray dwarf bandits who had sailed to the edge of Queen Ivni Islands. They even thought they had escaped this time, but they did not expect to be intercepted by the Silvermoon Elves again.

They were wearing heavy black iron armor, but they still couldn't stop the pursuit of the Silver Pegasus Knights...

The gray dwarf bandits tried to escape, but they were surrounded by two groups of Silver Pegasus Knights and could not break out of the encirclement.

Eight magic airships were floating in the air, but they lacked sufficient maneuverability and were soon left behind by the three-masted sailing ship in the sea.

Roy was in no hurry to catch up, but followed slowly behind, providing supplies to the Silver Pegasus Knights.

If he falls too far, Roy will rise into the corresponding wind layer, fly in the wind layer for a while, and then fall down...

In this way, the thirty-three three-masted sailing ships fled in the outer waters of the Queen Eweni Islands for a whole day. The Silver Pegasus Knights beat the gray dwarf bandits on all the three-masted sailing ships so hard that they dared not show their heads. The gray dwarves hid in the cabins, and the Silver Pegasus Knights took the opportunity to fly down and use the elven swords in their hands to cut the ropes on the masts that held the sails.

A large number of sails fell down one after another, and the three-masted sailing ship lost its power and gradually stopped...

At this time, the Silver Pegasus Knights surrounded these three-masted sailing ships in the sky, and Roy's magic airship fell into the sea and slowly approached these three-masted sailing ships. The mine guards on the ship took out some grappling hooks and let the magic airship approach these three-masted sailing ships full of short flying spears. Then the half-elf guards jumped onto the three-masted sailing ships one after another.

The half-elf guards were wearing sophisticated magic armor and holding magic weapons, and they boarded the ship under the cover of the whale-hunting crossbows and silver Pegasus knights.

In close combat, the half-elves wield elven longbows, shooting magical arrows that can penetrate the armor of any gray dwarf bandit.

These elven archers quickly controlled the commanding heights on the ship, and then the half-elves armed with swords, shields and spears raided the captain's room, blocked the entrance to the deck, and shouted to the gray dwarf bandits in the cabin that as long as the gray dwarf bandits were willing to hand over their weapons and surrender, they would guarantee not to kill them.

Soon, the gray dwarf bandits trapped in the cabin gave up resistance one after another, and lined up on the deck in their linen underwear, waiting to be recruited by the half-blood elf guards...

It took Roy nearly three days to complete the recruitment of thirty-three three-masted sailing ships outside the Queen Evigny Islands.

In this way, Roy led the half-elf guards to occupy three-masted sailing ships one by one, and detained the captured gray dwarf bandits in the cabins of the three-masted sailing ships.

Then, the half-blood elf guards manipulated these three-masted sailing ships, changed their routes, and collectively sailed towards Queen's Island...

According to the records of the military secretary, this time Roy not only captured thirty-three three-masted sailing ships, but also nearly 20,000 gray dwarf prisoners of war. The captured gray dwarf weapons and armor filled all the cabins of the five magic airships.

All the weapons and armor of the gray dwarves were moved to the warehouse of the magic airship. Even so, Roy was still a little worried, so he ordered five magic airships full of weapons and armor to rise high into the sky to prevent these gray dwarf bandits from taking back those weapons and armor.

"Malthus wrote to us and told us about your outstanding performance in the Dark Gate Expeditionary Camp. We didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that Captain Malthus was definitely too conservative in describing your achievements. Captain Roy, I am Joyce, the leader of the First Silver Pegasus Knights. I am very happy to work with you to pursue the gray dwarf bandits. Thank you for providing these help to the Silver Pegasus Knights on the battlefield!"

A Silver Moon Elf Knight wearing a magic pattern armor strode up to Roy, extended his hand, and greeted Roy.

Roy shook his hand and responded, "Hello, Captain Joyce."

The knights of the two Silver Pegasus Knights were repairing on the deck of the three-masted sailing ship. The half-elf crew members took the initiative to find some barley and beans from the cabin and gave them to the Silver Pegasus Knights.

As expected, the Silver Pegasus Knight fed the horse first, then sat beside it, took out his own marching rations and ate them in silence.

The tower and cabins below the shoulders of these three-masted sailing ships are two unconnected parts. The tower has three floors and is built on the three-masted sail deck, while the cabins below the deck are divided into three floors. The first floor close to the deck is the living area of ​​the gray dwarf bandits, the second floor is the cargo hold, and the third floor is the closed cabin used for counterweighting of the three-masted sailing ship.

The hull of this three-masted sailing ship is about seventy to eighty meters long and less than ten meters wide, which is definitely a large ship for the elves.

But Roy had seen larger ships in Castletown Harbor. Almost all of those ships were five-masted sailing ships from the Green Empire, and their hull shapes looked flatter.

To drive such a large sailboat, ordinary crew members on board need to have certain sailing experience.

This three-masted sailing ship has all its sails raised. When the wind is at full force, the entire hull will tilt to one side, and the hull will creak as it is pulled by an invisible force. The ship will sail on the sea at an extremely fast speed...

At this time, the metal ram on the bow would always break through one wave after another.

Flocks of seabirds will also follow behind the ship...

……

Roy's magic airship arrived at Queen's Island with two groups of Silver Pegasus Knights a week after leaving Queen's Island. At this time, Earl Swinburne and Earl Macaulay on Queen's Island had already learned from the report of the Silver Pegasus Knights two days in advance that Roy had won a great victory at sea and captured all the gray dwarf bandits who had escaped.

The two earls were both surprised.

They had never imagined that the gray dwarf bandits who had troubled the 17th Silver Pegasus Legion for more than half a year would be completely defeated by the mine guards who came from the Partington plane after this battle. Except for those gray dwarf bandits who died in the battle, almost all the remaining gray dwarves were captured.

When the thirty-three three-masted sailing ships approached Queen's Island, the port dock had been preliminarily cleaned up. There was a mountain of carbonized rotten wooden boards piled on the dock. Unfortunately, the original dock was burned down in the fire, and the entire beach was covered with carbon ash and blood.

The thirty-three three-masted sailing ships captured by Roy were unable to dock and could only stay in the waters near Queen's Island.

Roy returned to Queen Island on a flying fish boat.

At this time, the beach of Queen's Island was filled with a large number of gray dwarf prisoners. After they were disarmed, there was no suitable place to detain them, so they could only be gathered on the beach and guarded by a Silver Moon Elf Guard...

More than 30,000 gray dwarf bandits, wearing linen shirts, sat quietly on the beach under the scorching sun. There was no shade around them, but the endurance of these gray dwarf bandits was strong enough that they had no problem being exposed to the scorching sun. Although they were in a spiritual plane, there was no problem with their bodies.

There were only less than eight thousand seriously wounded gray dwarf prisoners lying under the shade of palm trees by the sea. The elves not only gave them plenty of water and food, but also bandaged their wounds with linen bandages.

The physical strength of the dwarves is second only to that of the orcs, and in some aspects they are even stronger than the orcs. Therefore, many seriously injured gray dwarves, even if they are only breathing weakly, their injuries may improve as long as they are allowed to rest more.

These gray dwarf prisoners stared at Roy silently. They would never forget the day of the battle when it was this human-like officer who brought eight magic airships and destroyed the rear line of their fleet in almost an instant.

If the rear line of the Gray Dwarf fleet had not collapsed, the Gray Dwarf bandits would not have fought so fiercely, and more than sixty ships would not have been engulfed by the fire. In the end, under the pressure of the fire at the port dock, they were forced to surrender to the 17th Silver Pegasus Legion.

"That man is the devil. If he hadn't spewed fire from the magic airship, we wouldn't have lost so miserably!"

"Maybe I won't lose at all..."

"Hey, guys, instead of sitting here in the sun every day, we might as well take the risk and rush into the sea. As long as there are two rotten planks from the destroyed ship, I have the confidence to float back..."

"Don't dream. Although the Silver Moon Elves don't kill prisoners, it doesn't mean they won't kill escaped prisoners. If you miss, go by yourself. Don't drag me with you!"

"I heard that they don't even let go of the guilty Silver Moon Elves. If they dare to escape, they will be killed during the capture..."

"Stop talking, the food delivery guy is coming soon. I've only eaten three apples in the past few days. I feel like if I don't get some protein, my muscles will melt away..."

The gray dwarf prisoners sat on the beach and discussed in low voices.

At this time, Roy also saw some Silver Moon Elf guards pushing some flatbed carts. As expected, the flatbed carts were full of fruits, basically breadfruits and apples that were not very valuable. Moreover, when they distributed these fruits, each person received a small portion.

Roy had no objection to this.

If Roy was in charge of these gray dwarf prisoners, he would definitely not give him fruit at this time.

The entire Queen's Island can only store a certain amount of fruit. This part of the supply is for the elves on the island. Once it is distributed to the gray dwarf prisoners, the food on the Queen's Island will soon be consumed by these gray dwarf prisoners.

Roy even thought that he could let the gray dwarf prisoners dig clams in the sand on the beach to fill their stomachs...

When walking through the area where the dwarf prisoners were, the Silver Moon Elf warriors he met along the way would salute Roy.

A week ago, these Silver Moon Elf guards were not like this!
Roy looked at these spirited Silver Moon Elves, smiled at them, and then strode towards the military headquarters.

……

War Office, Earl Swinburne's office.

Roy knocked on the door, and it was pushed open by a Silver Moon Elf lieutenant, who saluted Roy.

"The Earl is waiting for you inside, Captain Roy."

Roy quickly returned the greeting. Before this, the Silver Moon Elf adjutant had never been so friendly.

When he walked into the tree house office, he saw Earl Swinburne looking up and saying to him with undisguised admiration in his eyes:

"Roy, you guys have won a great victory in chasing the gray dwarf bandits this time, and solved all the troubles I was worried about!"

Roy walked straight forward and saluted Earl Swinburne.

At Lord Swinburne's behest, he sat in a chair opposite Lord Swinburne's desk.

"Tell me, what are your plans next?" Earl Swinburne asked Roy.

Roy chuckled and said to Earl Swinburne, "I know you are also short of ships. This time I seized thirty-three three-masted sailing ships. How many do you plan to keep? I plan to take the rest back to Partington Island for modification."

Lord Swinburne smiled slightly, as if to say so, and said to Roy:
"I don't want any of these three-masted sailing ships you seized, but I have another request. If you drive these three-masted sailing ships away, you must take all the gray dwarves on the beach with you. You will be responsible for settling them. I don't care whether you set up a prisoner-of-war camp on the Partington plane or send them to labor reform in the mines, but you must keep these gray dwarf bandits on the Partington plane..."

Roy was a little dumbfounded. There were tens of thousands of gray dwarf prisoners of war on Queen Island, and he was not capable of managing so many prisoners.

But judging by Earl Swinburne's expression, this doesn't seem like a joke...

Roy was a little embarrassed, but when he thought that this way he could bring all 33 three-masted sailing ships back to Partington Island, he gritted his teeth and agreed:
"Okay, I'll take them back to the Pagisto Plateau!"

(End of this chapter)