Path of Light.

Chapter 955, Section 954: The Strait of Mensa
Roy had the half-elf interrogators interrogate more than sixty grey dwarf officers, but unfortunately, they were unable to find out the whereabouts of the imperial merchant ships.

All the three-masted sailing ships sailed to Nantali Island and anchored in the harbor of the main island of Nantali.

The imperial merchants built some huts on the island, which were fine for sheltering from the rain and resting, but they could not be used to store supplies.

On Nantali Island, there is a stream that often dries up, only flowing into the sea during the rainy season.

There are few trees on the island, only some shrubs around the cliffs. The island is surrounded by cliffs, and on top of the cliffs are gentle slopes covering more than ten square kilometers. These slopes are covered with needlegrass, and when the sea breeze blows, the waist-high needlegrass creates waves of grass...

According to the agreement with the orc tribes, no land outside the west coast belongs to the orcs, so Roy naturally took over the area.

The Northern Army fleet's Ruyun Fortress, located on the northern part of the western coast of the Mensa Plains, was flattened by the Mine Guards and the Aries Orcs. There was no other force in the area that could threaten the Mine Guards' magic airship fleet.

Roy planned to make some repairs on Nantali Island, mainly to fix the seventeen three-masted sailing ships as much as possible, and then use five magic airships to send the four thousand gray dwarf prisoners of war back to Que Island.

He dared not allow these four thousand grey dwarf prisoners of war to return to Que Island on a three-masted sailing ship, a journey that would take more than five months.

If any problems arise en route, it will be very difficult for the magic airship fleet to arrive in time to provide assistance...

Next, the mine guards must quickly head to the Gulf of Aden fortress and contact the orc tribe there so that they can join forces to wipe out the entire fortress.

This time, Roy witnessed the true naval power of the Northern Fleet. In addition to the three-masted sailing ships equipped with cannons and ballistae, there were also super-large floating behemoths.

If it weren't for the night raid on Nouun Fortress, the mine's garrison would likely have suffered some losses before achieving victory in this war.

The grey dwarves' giant ships were equipped not only with magic cannons but also with large magical shields.

Unfortunately, the two giant ships were blasted into ruins by the magic cannons on the magic airship and crashed in the waters near Luyun Fortress, rendering them worthless.

Moira pushed open the door to the Black Pearl's captain's cabin, placed a fruit platter on the conference table, and heard Captain Rodhart, standing in front of the map, point to the middle of the Mensa Strait and say to a group of half-elf captains:
"Since we have thoroughly searched the Mensa Strait three times during this period and found no Imperial merchant ships carrying half-elves in the vicinity, it means that the remaining Imperial merchant ships that traffic half-elves have already passed through the Mensa Strait and entered the west coast of the Dragneel."

"If our fleet rashly enters this sea area, it is very likely to have a direct conflict with the Northern Fleet."

"So before the fleet enters the western coast of Dragxi, we must eliminate the threat behind us. This time, we joined forces with the Aries orcs to take down Ruyun Fortress. Next, we need to head to the Gulf of Aden Fortress as soon as possible. Before the northern army at the Gulf of Aden Fortress can react, we will join forces with the tribal orcs there to occupy the Gulf of Aden."

"The boss has already contacted the Blood Wolf Clan of the Orcs. They intend to join forces with us to deal with the Northern Army in the Gulf of Aden."

"We will stay in the Nantali Islands for a week and use this limited time to repair the seventeen three-masted sailing ships to a seaworthy condition. Three weeks later, we must reach the northern fjord of the Gulf of Aden fortress, where we will form a temporary alliance with the Blood Wolf orcs."

Rodhart briefed a group of half-elf captains on their recent priorities. The half-elfs had just won a victory at Noon Fortress, and many of them were still caught up in the joy of victory. Now, hearing that the fleet was going to attack the Gulf of Aden, they were naturally excited.

They all asked Rodhart:
"Boss, are we going to sail our magic airship to the Gulf of Aden this time? When we passed through the Gulf of Aden the other day, there weren't many ships in their ports!"

In fact, the reason why so many ships suddenly crowded the Noun Fortress was because Commander Koster's fleet arrived at the Noun Fortress, which made the Noun Fortress so crowded.

Captain Rodhart asked Roy:
"Boss, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Roy was still picking and choosing from the fruit plate, specifically selecting orange segments to eat. He looked up, paused slightly, and then said:
"Since Rodhart has already explained the mission arrangements for the next three weeks, I will talk about the wounded in the mine guards. All wounded elven guards must return to Que Island by magic airship to recuperate. Also, you airship captains returning to Que Island must remember that for every wounded elven guard you drop off on Que Island, you must mobilize new troops and bring back a batch of elven guards in full. Our fleet needs new troops to replenish it."

"In addition, the priests of the Knights Templar will also be rotated this time."

"There's one more thing to note: all the grey dwarf prisoners of war transported to Que Island should be escorted back to Padestor City by Commander Tiprado. Don't leave them on Que Island!"

All the half-elf captains in the captain's cabin stood up and said in unison, "Yes, sir!"

"Sit down, everyone. This is just a meeting, there's no need to make it so formal. Next, everyone, gather together the crew members who are skilled in ship repair, and use these limited days to repair these seventeen three-masted sailing ships as best you can..."

"Yes!"

……

A group of half-elf captains disembarked from the Black Pearl and got busy after disembarking.

On the contrary, Roy became more relaxed on the Black Pearl. He lay on a deck chair in the flower garden on the roof of the ship, feeling the abundant holy light in the flower garden.

Moira stayed by his side. The Black Pearl swayed slightly with the waves, and it was this slight swaying that made Moira, who was on the deck chair, sleep soundly.

Miss Tiffany came up from below, and Roy made a gesture to be quiet.

Miss Tiffany didn't care about any of that; she sat down next to Moira and squeezed into the same recliner with her.

Moira, fast asleep, nudged Tiffany with some dissatisfaction, but couldn't move her. She turned over and went back to sleep...

Miss Tiffany said to Roy:

"There are over 100,000 Grey Dwarf prisoners of war in the Partington Plane and over 150,000 Highland Headhunter prisoners of war. The prisoner-of-war camps are becoming increasingly dangerous. You should remind Mullin to disperse the Grey Dwarf prisoners of war as soon as possible to prevent them from living in the Highland City prisoner-of-war camps for too long."

"We also need to avoid contact between the gray dwarves and the headhunters. One is a native and local strongman of the Pagesto Plateau, and the other is a bandit who is naturally good at digging holes. If they join forces, they might turn around and take over the entire Pagesto Plateau."

Roy was also thinking about these things; Mullin had been doing a great job.

However, due to the war between the mine guards and the northern fleet of the grey dwarves, grey dwarf prisoners of war will continue to be transported back to the Partington plane, and the number of grey dwarf prisoners of war in the highland city will increase. If these grey dwarf prisoners of war are not handled properly, they will become a bomb that will detonate directly on the Pagisto Plateau...

Miss Tiffany's idea was to disperse the grey dwarf prisoners of war to various mines as soon as possible after they arrived in the highland city.

Using the numerous mines of the Pagisto Plateau, these grey dwarves were separated... Roy, however, wanted to expand the forging workshop. All grey dwarf prisoners of war had to undergo a month-long investigation at the POW camp in the Plateau City, and only genuine grey dwarf craftsmen would be sent to the forging workshop.

The mine guards are now cooperating with the orc tribes on the Mensa Plains. These orc tribes are also after Roy's large quantity of metal tools, including weapons, armor, and daily necessities.

These metal tools require a large number of grey dwarf craftsmen to make, so Roy needs to select another group of dwarf craftsmen from among these grey dwarf prisoners of war.

"Also, pay attention to the number of elven guards and dwarven craftsmen at the forge. These grey dwarves are a group of hardworking and dutiful dwarven craftsmen when they work, but they become a group of bloodthirsty bandits when they riot. Once they feel that the forge's defenses are weak, they will launch a riot without any scruples..."

Roy put his hands behind his head, exhaled, and then said:

"The bloodstains in the southern spinel mines haven't been cleaned up yet. No one knows those gray dwarves better than the half-elf of the Pagisto Plateau, so we don't need to worry too much."

"This time we're facing the Northern Fleet of the Dragneel, and behind them are two million Grey Dwarves. So we need to conduct thorough investigations and research for every battle from now on. If only we had such a giant ship..."

Miss Tiffany curled her legs up on the chaise lounge, leaning against Moira, and replied firmly:
"We will definitely get one. As long as they don't give up their idea of ​​heading south, we will definitely snatch a giant ship back from the Northern Fleet."

Roy turned to look at the three-masted sailboat anchored in the harbor and said to Miss Tiffany:

"Actually, the biggest weakness of the mine guards right now is that they don't have a shipyard. All the three-masted sailing ships we have are the ones we stole from the gray dwarf bandits. Now we've also seized more than fifty or forty imperial merchant ships. If the fleet suffers heavy losses, we won't be able to get timely replenishment like the Northern Army fleet."

Miss Tiffany asked with a smile, "So that's why you built a shipyard on Quey Island, gradually accumulated some shipbuilding craftsmen, and then developed it into a shipyard?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking..."

Roy replied.

……

Four thousand gray dwarf prisoners of war boarded six magic airships, filling all the lower decks of the six airships to capacity...

Each magic airship was also escorted by three hundred half-elf guards. These six magic airships, fully loaded and ready, were to travel for two weeks in the wind column.

Miss Tiffany instructed the half-elf captains on these magic airships to regularly inspect the grey dwarf prisoners of war in the hold.

The six magic airships left the Nantali Islands carrying Miss Tiffany's earnest instructions.

Seventeen three-masted sailing ships lined up and sailed away from the Nantali Islands a day later...

The remaining thirty-four magic airships, carrying seventeen thousand half-elf guards, five thousand siren warriors, and two thousand griffin riders, moved to the Gulf of Aden.

……

The Gulf of Aden fortress is located on the territory of the Blood Wolf tribe, which is why the Blood Wolf tribe controls the Gulf of Aden free market.

Currently, both the Gulf of Aden Fortress and the Ruyun Fortress face the same predicament: the Grey Dwarves are experiencing a severe shortage of supplies in their various depots at the Knees of Draggoor, and they are no longer able to allocate a portion of their supplies each month to the Horde orcs' free market.

The problems at the Gulf of Aden fortress are even more serious than those at the Nouwen fortress.

The only difference is that the Blood Wolf tribe orcs here are probably more patient than the Aries tribe orcs, so the free trade market in the Gulf of Aden fortress is relatively stable.

This information was provided to Roy by old Luke.

As a traveling merchant of the Blood Wolf tribe, Old Luke had a certain reputation within the tribe. It was a letter written by Old Luke himself that allowed Roy to make contact with the chief of the Blood Wolf tribe.

……

One month later,
Roy led 20,000 half-elf guards and joined forces with 20,000 Blood Wolf Clan wolf riders to capture the Gulf of Aden fortress. The Blood Wolf Clan orcs seized all the supplies and facilities of the Gulf of Aden fortress.

The mine guards captured only six three-masted sailing ships in this battle.

Clearly, the wolf riders were far more dominant on the battlefield than the Aries orc warriors. When faced with the wolf riders' charge, these gray dwarf warriors crumbled almost instantly, surrendering without putting up any resistance.

The grey dwarf warriors on the three-masted ships resisted even more fiercely. The half-elf guards and griffin riders launched repeated attacks on the three-masted ships, but in the end they only managed to capture six from the grey dwarves, while the rest were all destroyed by them.

Numerous wrecks of three-masted sailing ships sank near the port in the Gulf of Aden...

In the spring of 1415, the northern army of the Grey Dwarves lost the fortress on the Gulf of Aden on the west coast of the Mensa Plains. The Horde Orcs regained control of the two fortresses from the Grey Dwarves, while the Mine Guards of the Half-Elves completely occupied the Strait of Mensa.

In the two battles, Roy captured nearly 10,000 grey dwarf prisoners of war, all of whom were transported to Que Island by magic airships and entered Padstor City through the Que Island portal.

Roy returned to the Nantali Islands with the fleet of the mine guards and planned to build a military outpost for the half-elfs on the main island of the Nantali Islands.

This place will become extremely important if the mine defenders and the Northern Fleet officially go to war.

Since these two fortresses are quite far from the frozen island northwest of Durag's Knee, the Northern Army fortresses may receive the battle reports from here even later.

During this period, Roy's magic airship fleet continuously transported large quantities of goods to the two free markets of Luyun and Aden. In addition to the agreed-upon metal utensils, the half-elves even delivered food such as apples, orange wine, and dried fish from the city of Padestor to the free markets.

Unfortunately, the beastmen neither liked to eat fruit nor dried fish, so these things had almost no market.

Iron and bronze ingots, on the contrary, were extremely popular; almost every quantity transported to them was snapped up by the orcs...

(End of this chapter)