Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 73 Aurora Florella

Over the past few decades, the population of Salt Island has been slowly declining, resulting in many vacant and abandoned houses in Iron Harbor City.

Now, a large number of lizard people refugees have arrived on Salt Island, not only completely filling these abandoned houses, but also leaving many people with nowhere to live. Therefore, they can only transport some reed mats to the outskirts of the city so that these lizard people can sleep in open-air communal beds temporarily.

At the same time, the pressure on food supplies has also increased dramatically.

Fortunately, the old marquis had ordered that a large amount of grain be sent to Salt Island from Haiyan City recently, so there was no immediate risk of famine.

What troubles Renne most is how to utilize this surge in population. If people don't put their skills to work and create value, then no matter how large the population is, they're just mouths wasting food.

Renn had already made up his mind: to assemble a fleet of ships.

Lizardmen are skilled swimmers with excellent balance, making them ideal sailors; the problem is that there aren't enough ships.

The shipyard on Salt Island remains under the control of the family; it is the lifeblood of the old Marquis Fahel, and no one is allowed to touch it—not even his own son.

As for the ships rented from the Nightmare Legion, most of them are shallow-draft flat-bottomed boats, and even if they are forcibly borrowed and never returned, they are not suitable for long-term use as seagoing vessels.

Raine didn't hesitate for long; he quickly summoned the former high elf pirate Diamond and asked:
"I'm thinking of getting some ships recently. When you were a pirate, did you know any other pirates, friends, or enemies, and do you know where their fleets are usually stationed? Could I borrow some ships from them?"

Diamond was dumbfounded: What do you mean by borrowing a boat? You're trying to steal it!

“My lord, I used to work with the Bloodsail Pirates for a while.” He said respectfully, “The Bloodsail Pirates’ fleet is stationed in a secluded sea cliff cave near the Serpent Mountain Range, and the fleet has at least a hundred ships.”

This fleet was large enough to be considered a major pirate force, even posing a threat to the Fahre family. Diamond's implication was clear: you haven't even built up your navy yet, so it's best not to get involved with the Red Sails.

Renn did the calculations carefully: over a hundred ships... Once I get them, I can properly sort through them and build a fleet.

"Where exactly is that cave?" he pressed.

Seeing that he still wouldn't give up, Diamond could only grit his teeth and persuade him:

"Lord Renn, fighting at sea is completely different from fighting on land. Forgive my bluntness, but the knights and generals you are so proud of cannot exert even half of their strength at sea."

“Forced boarding and boarding combat are actually rare occurrences. Most of the time, pirates maintain a sufficient distance from their enemies and then hurl crossbow bolts, stones, and oil bombs... If they still can't win, they simply hoist the sails and flee at full speed, not even giving you a chance to use magic.”

This reminded Renn of the situation. Ellina's lightning and Bersalia's flames both have a range of around 100 meters. That's perfectly adequate for land battles, since heroes can actively close the distance, but it's a bit too short-range for naval warfare. After all, naval battles rely on military equipment, and range is king; you can't expect heroes to swim across, climb onto ships, and then engage in combat.

Dia, now a dragon, has no range limitations, but her dragon breath can burn the entire pirate fleet, making it completely pointless.

Ok?
Raine suddenly remembered that the Wood Elf hero of the same era as Ellina and the others, "Eye of Nature" Aurora Florella, was famous for her accurate long-range sniping.
This hero's preferred combat style involves climbing the highest nearby mountain and using her bow and arrow to snipe enemies from above. Her archery skills are enhanced by magic, allowing her to easily manipulate wind to counteract gravity, and her aim typically reaches a range of 800-900 meters…

If you put her in a fleet, you could have her find a mast, climb to the top, snipe all the pirates on the enemy ship's deck from afar, and then swagger over to pick up the ship. Wouldn't that be perfect?
Raine quickly finished his plan, then told Diamond to go back first, and then called Ellina and Berthalia over, asking:

"Where did Aurora Florella, the Wood Elf hero and Eye of Nature, die in the Battle of the Forest?"

The two elven heroes looked at each other, one with a serious expression, the other eager to try.

“I know!” Berthalia exclaimed first. “After the battle against the White Walkers, her remains were removed from Oak Cemetery and moved to Blackwood.”

"Wait, why move out?" Elrina died at the end of the White Walker war, so she hadn't heard about this and asked in confusion, "Wasn't she the Eye of Nature?"

“According to the tradition of the Wood Elves, the Hand of Nature and the Eye of Nature must be married in the presence of the forest and the moonlight, and after death they will be buried in the same grave in the Oak Cemetery,” Berthalia explained in detail. “But Aurora had a problem, which was that she died in the Battle of the Forest before she could marry the Hand of Nature, Quen.

"Then, Quen also perished in the battle, his remains never found, which put Aurora in an awkward position. Without completing the ritual of witnessing nature, and with her fiancé's remains missing, some questioned whether Aurora's legitimacy as the Eye of Nature was sufficient. Finally, after a long period of arguing and wrangling, the Druid Elders decided to move her remains out of Oak Cemetery and send them back to her hometown of Hesse, to be relocated to the Florella family manor."

"Because of this incident, the Florella family considered it a great disgrace and brazenly launched a century-long war with the Elders. Even after I died, they were still fighting."

Ellina was silent for a moment, then looked at Raine.

“I understand,” Renn said casually. “Oak Cemetery is a love hotel for wood elves, and only couples can check in. Aurora is an old maid like you, and her fiancé died before she was married, so she was kicked out in the end.”

“Well…” Bersalia’s expression was strange, and after a long while she said, “That’s true, but what I really mean is… the essence behind this matter is actually a power struggle within the Druid Elder Council, namely, the Florella family has not produced a high-ranking druid for a long time, so they can only bet everything on Aurora. With her death, the Florella family has lost its only chip, and in the end, of course, they can only be eliminated by the players at the table.”

“It’s obvious,” Ellina said calmly. “This is true at the higher levels for all races, so it’s not surprising.”

“We’ll set off for Blackwood immediately,” Raine declared decisively. “Our objective is to resurrect Aurora Florella, all in order to better combat the White Walkers!”

(End of this chapter)