I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 527: He who knows the current affairs is a hero
Xiao Dao, instead of disembarking, stood on the bow of the Storm, which was moored in the deep waters of the dock, looking down at the smoke-filled harbor.

Behind the port was another town. From the angle that Xiao Dao had estimated, he could see that this town, which had an elven style, was not large, with a population of about ten or twenty thousand.

"That's a bit of a shame."

He said, "I'll stab your butt with a knife."

The port has been captured, but it seems too late to take over the towns behind it.

First, time is running out. I don't know when enemy reinforcements will arrive, but it's afternoon now, the sun is setting, and it feels like it won't be long before it sinks to the other side of the horizon.

There's enough time to capture and loot the port before nightfall, but not enough time to take over the other port towns.

Night battle?

Don't mess around. When we captured the port, I saw how the elves and half-elves performed. If it weren't for the Storm's firepower support, the players really wouldn't have been able to take the port in a while.

Even with good daytime lighting, it's this difficult to fight. If it were nighttime, experienced players might be able to hold their own against the Pokémon in a one-on-one battle, but new players would have no chance.

The casualties among the players cannot be ignored. Although their morale is currently high, Xiaodaozaipi, as the supreme commander, is well aware that his side has lost a quarter of its numbers.

Casualties were reported in both the artillery battle on the Storm and the subsequent landing at the dock.

Deaths and injuries were minor issues that the players didn't care about, but the knife-stabbing incident revealed that the remaining players' stamina was running low. After fighting for so long, many players also had to log off to deal with real-life matters.

Secondly, the Storm's situation is not good. Due to the elves' magic, the superstructure of the ship has been generally damaged and its functions have been impaired. There are also many leaks under the hull.

The damage control team carried out emergency repairs on the damaged areas, but two watertight compartments were still sealed off, allowing them to fill with water.

It was obvious that this was a wound left on the Storm by the elf's magical vortex. Although it wouldn't cause it to sink, it had already affected its already weak defense and speed.

The extent of the problem can only be determined after the battleship returns to Bagnia for a comprehensive and systematic overhaul. For now, the ship's carpenters and damage control team can only perform emergency repairs.

In addition to structural damage to its hull, the Storm's ammunition storage was also nearing a dangerous red line.

The three armed merchant ships still have enough supplies to refill the Storm's ammunition, but there's an old problem... not enough time.

The hardcore nature of the game lies in the fact that resupplying battleships from supply ships is not something that can be done instantly by clicking a few buttons. Instead, players need to guide NPCs and manually move supplies between the two ships, stepping on planks one by one.

Without a dedicated supply bridge, and having to build supply channels using planks and ropes, resupply becomes even more troublesome and dangerous.

Unfortunately, what players lack most right now is time.

The reinforcements from these elves will definitely return, but when they will return is something Little Knife Pokes Butt dares not gamble on.

"Alas, what a pity. If Elvish were available as a translation option, I could interrogate the prisoners of war and get the answers."

Xiao Dao stabbed his buttocks and sighed again.

Regardless, the Storm's ammunition is now unusable; it must, in any case, maintain reserves sufficient for another naval battle.

"Notify the others to speed things up. We must leave here with our spoils and return to Bagnia before nightfall."

"Hey boss, are we just going back like this?"

The first mate couldn't help but ask.

"What do you mean by going back like this? Haven't we gained enough?"

He stabbed himself in the buttocks with a knife and retorted with a question.

"More than two hundred half-elves, more than thirty elven mages and longbowmen, and a whole bunch of magical items, equipment and miscellaneous things. Take them back and divide them among everyone, then hold an auction, and the cost of the operation will be recovered."
And now that we know how to get here, we'll definitely be able to get here much faster next time, maybe even in twenty or thirty days. Organizing a second expedition shouldn't be difficult at all.

“We could actually try to find a secluded spot nearby and set up an advance base.”

The first mate offered his idea.

"Then send the Storm and the two scout ships back, leave the armed merchant ships behind, raid the port, and get enough water and food..."

"No, it won't work. Winter is just a month away."

The man casually dismissed the first mate's idea, even though he had a knife stuck in his buttocks.

"Although it seems to be a tropical climate here, and the winters aren't too cold, the climate will eventually change in winter. Also, the elves are the locals, so what we consider a secluded place might not be secluded for them."

Xiao Dao stabbed his buttocks and shook his head.

"Don't do things that have low returns and high risks..."

"Boss, boss!"

The shouts coming from the dock caught Xiao Dao's attention. He stopped talking, pressed his chest against the wall, and peered out.

One of the players on the dock saw the knife stabbing his butt, and he waved his hand excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Good news! We've found a ship from the Macon Alliance, and there are several people on board who can speak Elvish and act as translators!"

"Seriously, fucking good news!"

When Xiao Dao heard about this, he couldn't help but shout.

"Bring these Maconites here quickly, and then bring all the elves onto the ship and separate them into different prisons. I want to interrogate them one by one!"

Players have many questions, the first being: what are the names of the archipelago scattered in this sea area, and is there an elven kingdom here?

Next, how did the Elf fleet that fought the Revenge Fleet today suddenly disappear, leaving empty ships here?

Besides the two major questions mentioned above, there are many other minor questions that players are eagerly awaiting answers to.

Before long, several Macon people dressed as merchants, looking nervous, were escorted onto the Storm by the players. Two of them had bruises on their faces and blood at the corners of their mouths, indicating that the players had used some force to find and persuade them.

Meanwhile, the elven captives were escorted onto the ship one by one and imprisoned in cabins that were temporarily used as prisons.

The interrogation soon began in the captain's cabin of the Storm.

Xiao Dao sat in the main seat, while a Makon translator stood trembling beside him. The first person brought in was a wounded but stubborn half-elf. He was wearing a military uniform that was more exquisite than the standard clothing of other half-elves, and was clearly a junior officer or something similar.

The interrogation began with the half-elf officer being roughly forced onto a chair in the center of the captain's cabin.

The player responsible for acting as a henchman lifted the swaying whale oil lamp, revealing the half-elf officer's still-wet bloodstains and arrogant expression.

Xiao Dao sat opposite him, his backside pierced with a knife. He watched the person being interrogated with great interest, the pressure emanating from his gaze filling the small space.

"Name, rank."

Xiao Daozai's buttocks finally spoke, conveyed through the nervous translator beside him.

The officer raised his eyelids but did not speak.

He didn't seem to care about the knife pricking his buttocks and continued talking.

"What are the names of this sea and these islands? Who rules them?"

After hearing the translator's words, the officer gave a contemptuous smile, then spat a mouthful of bloody saliva in front of the knife, which splattered on the floor.

The half-elf officer's meaning was made clear through this action.

Xiao Dao lost interest in talking. He shook his head, got up, and walked out.

"Alright, you can do it now, as long as no one dies... Oh, and don't make this place too dirty, I'm sleeping here tonight."

"No problem, boss, it won't be too dirty."

The players inside the captain's cabin revealed sinister smiles.

I am grateful for China's tradition of recording history, and I am also grateful for the game's hardcore nature and freedom, which allows several players with special interests to put theory into practice within the game.

Xiao Dao leaned against the wooden door outside the captain's cabin, leisurely took out a match and a cigarette, and slowly began to smoke.

The matches were carried on the ship, while the cigarettes were found in a warehouse in the elven port. What made the players laugh and cry the most was that the exquisite box filled with cigarettes and sawdust was stamped with the mark of the Bagnia Supply and Marketing Cooperative... That's right, cigarettes are a specialty of the Kingdom of Bagnia.

Before Chris restored his kingdom, the Greek mainland had coffee beans and sugarcane, but no cigarettes. After the establishment of the Kingdom of Bagnia, players certainly wouldn't miss out on tobacco, an industry even more profitable than selling drugs.

Therefore, even without the sign of the supply and marketing cooperative, players can tell from the sight of cigarettes here that the Maconians were secondhand dealers... buying goods from Bagnia and then reselling them to the elves.

Therefore, it was quite normal to find the Maconians and their ships in the Elf Port. After finishing his cigarette, Little Knife turned around, opened the door, and went into the captain's cabin.

Pushing open the door, a faint smell of sweat and a subtle, almost imperceptible fishy odor wafted out, replacing the previous obvious smell of blood.

The half-elf officer remained seated in his chair, his hands and feet firmly bound.

At first glance, he did not have any new, visible wounds on his body. Even the bloodstains left from the previous battle seemed to have been simply wiped away. However, his condition was completely different from before. His previous arrogant and unruly demeanor, and even his willingness to spit, had disappeared.

Now, his head drooped deeply, his long, pointed ears hung limply, his body trembled slightly involuntarily, and sweat soaked the hair on his forehead, sliding down his pale cheeks and dripping onto the half-elf's exquisite military uniform, leaving dark marks.

When one of the players inadvertently moved, picking up the needle box and the wet towel from the table next to him, Xiao Dao could see the half-elf's body tremble violently, then instinctively curl up into a ball, and then shrink his neck to look at the player.

During this process, Xiao Dao saw that the half-elf officer's eyes were unfocused, and deep in his pupils remained extreme fear.

Meanwhile, the translator from the captain's cabin, Macon, slumped in the shadows in a corner, his expression blank. A dark stain was spreading from his crotch, the source of the fishy smell in the air.

"Did you find out?"

The man stabbed himself in the buttocks in a calm tone, as if he had just gone out for some fresh air.

One player wiped his hands, a satisfied expression on his face as if he had just completed a technical task, and reported.

"This kid is called Seron Ironfeather, the captain of the Moonstone Port. The elves here call this sea the Blue Dome Sea, the Maconians call it the Tranquil Sea... Well, the names are a bit different, but they all call the archipelago the Blue Flame Islands, and the elven kingdom here is called the Blue Flame Kingdom."

There's clearly more to explore here, but I didn't ask due to time constraints.

"Very good, what's the answer to the second question?"

Xiao Daozai nodded and sat down again opposite the officer. His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable pressure.

"Why did the crew and weapons of the elven fleet we fought today suddenly disappear, leaving only empty ships? How did they manage that?"

Ma Kong, the translator, hurriedly and nervously began his work.

Players who enjoy interrogation are highly skilled. After the translator finished speaking, Xiao Dao didn't even need to repeat the question. He just gave a look, and the half-elf officer stammered out the answer.

"It is... it is the Redemption of Life and Death, it is engraved in the flagship of the Moonstone Fleet... As long as elves and half-elves possess leaves of the World Tree on Blue Flame Island, in times of danger, the fleet commander can activate it to teleport all those carrying World Tree leaves to the foot of the World Tree."

The translator, Ma Kong, immediately translated what was said, making Xiao Dao and the other players around him suddenly understand.

"Does this magic have any obvious flaws?"

Xiao Dao nodded, signaling for the translator to get to work.

This time, however, the half-elf officer showed obvious hesitation and resistance after hearing the translator's words.

Seeing this, Little Knife sighed again. He made a move to stand up, and the half-elf officer turned pale with fright. He hurriedly spilled what he knew.

"The activation of the Redemption of Life comes at a great cost. Each activation consumes the life force of the World Tree. Elf and half-elf in the port are prohibited from possessing World Tree leaves except for members of the Kingdom's fleet. Furthermore, the fleet is not allowed to activate it unless it is certain that the entire fleet will be wiped out."

Secondly, this strategic magic cannot be activated by a single person. Once activated, it will teleport all living members within a ten-kilometer radius who possess the leaf to safety.

"Oh……"

After hearing the translation, Xiao Dao immediately understood; it turned out to be a group teleportation spell.

What is its teleportation range?

"It only works near the Blue Flame Islands."

"How much exactly?"

"I don't know. I'm just the garrison captain of Moonstone Harbor. This isn't something I should know."

The half-elf officer Seron's voice trembled; he clearly dared not conceal anything any longer.

“I…I really don’t know the exact range. Only the high-ranking mages and fleet commanders of the royal court know. I’ve only heard that on the outer islands far from the main island, the effect may be unstable, or…or completely ineffective.”

The knife stabs his buttocks, and he squints his eyes. This information is crucial... "Redemption of all life" is not invincible across the entire territory; it has geographical boundaries.

“Good… Let’s go, brother. Get another interrogator and translator.”

Xiaodao nodded.

"Keep asking."

Xiao Dao was cautious; he didn't completely trust the half-elf officer and the translator. The former's account might be half true and half false, while the latter might cause trouble.

Only cross-validation can ensure the reliability of intelligence.

The next person to be interrogated was a captured elven mage.

The mage was older, and although his robes were tattered, they still carried a certain dignity. When questioned, he initially tried to maintain his elven pride, keeping his lips tightly closed and his eyes filled with defiance.

Well, it's the same old story. Xiao Dao goes out for a smoke, and when he comes back in a few minutes later, the old guy behaves himself and answers whatever is asked.

The third person brought in was the translator from Macon, whose crotch was soaked.

He was already terrified by the previous observation, and with almost no intimidation, he tearfully guaranteed that he would translate the text truthfully without any concealment or distortion.

To test him, Xiao Daozai deliberately had the player ask a few irrelevant questions in Bagnian, and then had the translator relay them to another player who understood Elvish but not Bagnian, to confirm that the translation was basically accurate.

Preliminary cross-validation suggests that the intelligence provided by the half-elf officers and elf mages is largely credible, while the Makon translator is at least temporarily reliable, driven by fear.

During a break in the interrogation, a player responsible for counting the spoils of war rushed into the captain's cabin, carrying several exquisitely carved wooden boxes.

"Boss, a major discovery! We found this in the ruins of the magic tower at the port!"

He opened the wooden box, inside which lay soft silk, upon which lay several palm-sized, perfectly shaped, emerald green leaves with a soft, shimmering light flowing through their veins.

They exude a tranquil yet powerful life force, completely out of place in this environment filled with smoke and bloodshed.

Leaves from the World Tree!

The man who stabbed the woman in the buttocks and the player next to him exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously.

This unexpected joy delighted them.

Xiao Dao carefully picked up a leaf, its surface warm to the touch, as if life were flowing through his fingertips.

"Seal it immediately; this is the highest priority spoils of war!"

Xiao Dao smiled brightly, and Chris came to mind.

"Find a few trustworthy brothers and ask the elven mage how to preserve this thing so that it won't have any problems. Judging from its name and appearance, this leaf looks very vibrant. I reckon it can extend the lifespan of NPCs."

"Give it to Chris, and we can definitely get a new battleship in return. We're counting on this for our next expedition!"

The players present immediately burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the other players were also busy, taking action with great intensity.

The players in charge of looting loaded all the valuable materials in the port warehouses, except for those goods bearing the mark of the Bagnia Supply and Marketing Cooperative, as well as some high-quality yew wood, metals of unknown specific uses, and magical equipment seized from elf corpses and prisoners, onto the Storm and armed merchant ships like ants carrying food.

Of course, they didn't forget to take the most important food, water, and drinks as well.

While harvesting, the players didn't forget to set up sentries and establish a perimeter. In addition to sending people to guard the town, some people went out in small boats to vigilantly monitor the town and the open sea, in case of elven reinforcements.

The sun finally sank below the horizon, and night began to fall.

At this moment, lights also came on on the Storm, illuminating the busy figures on the deck and the mountains of spoils.

Xiao Dao stood at the bow of the ship, taking one last look at the elven town and Lingo Harbor, their outlines blurred in the twilight.

Then he turned to face the players and the first mate who were waiting for orders, and spoke in a loud voice.

"Brothers, prepare to set sail, destination... Bagnia, we're going home!"

"Wow!!!"

(End of this chapter)