Master Omar took out a red dragon blood crystal, quickly chanted a short incantation, and a tremendous pressure suddenly emanated from his body.
Unas recognized it immediately; it was the Dragon's Presence —Master Omar was simulating the aura of a dragon.
Sensing this oppressive aura, the sea monster immediately slowed its swimming speed and became hesitant.
Master Omar suddenly roared, like a dragon's cry, and a burst of blazing flames shot out from between his hands. The entire sea surface between the fleet and the sea monster was engulfed in flames, and large areas of seawater evaporated and rose up, like a sudden thick fog.
Without further hesitation, the monsters beneath the sea turned and chased after Defias's fleet.
With the crisis averted, Unas breathed a sigh of relief Dragon's Breath, combined with the simulated dragon roar, had subdued the enemy without a fight—an effect he couldn't achieve with brute force.
Without even praising the Archmage's power, Unas asked, "Is there anywhere nearby where we can get ashore? That sea monster could turn back at any moment; it's very unsafe for us to stay at sea any longer."
Luther replied, "There's a Deserted Island to the north where we can stop temporarily, but we're short on supplies and can't stay for more than a few days." This voyage is only about a week long, so Qingshui and food are being prepared to the same standard, and the supplies are almost exhausted.
The chaos in Stormwind City could last for days or months, anyone could say. Unas pondered, "For now, let's find a place to dock and avoid the sea monsters."
After the fleet had been sailing for half an hour, a barren, black rocky island appeared ahead. The ships dropped anchor, and Unas and his men gathered on the Deserted Island.
After eight or nine days apart, everyone looked weathered and worn by the sea winds—managing a ship full of refugees on a long voyage was no easy task.
"Thank you all for your hard work, but our battle has only just begun. Currently, Defias and the city's defenders are locked in a stalemate..."
Unas recounted the battle situation of the past two days in detail. When they heard that the nobles in the city had been slaughtered by VanCleef and that Defias had occupied the fortress, everyone was particularly shocked. Fortunately, none of those present were of noble birth, nor were any of them related to the nobles who had been killed.
Only Luther and Hart, two Stormwind citizens, seemed truly anxious. "Letting Defias rule Stormwind City would be an unprecedented disaster. I beg you, sir, to lead us in assisting the defenders."
"Of course," Unas agreed first, "But don't forget our most important target on this trip— the Countess has not yet shown up. I suspect that the Naga tribe that attacked the Defias fleet and that sea monster were both summoned by her."
Stormwind City and the sea creatures have always been enemies. The Naga couldn't possibly be reinforcements requested by the garrison. Such a coincidence must be suspicious.
The Night Elf the perceptive one, added on behalf of the Paladin: "So, we still have to rely on the Black Dragon to deal with Defias."
"Nightmoon is right. Before the Naga attack, the resistance forces in the city had already begun to coordinate. It must have been Black Dragon plotting in the shadows. She has been operating in Stormwind City for so long, she won't give up easily. We just need to sit back and watch them fight each other."
Huoye said worriedly, "The Black Dragon is cunning. If she defeats Defias and gains great power, it will be even more difficult for us to take action against her."
"There's no need to worry about that," Master Omar said confidently, stroking his beard. "I've further refined my spells these past few days on the ship. As long as she appears within my casting range, I can immediately break her Shapeshifting Spell and reveal her true form in front of everyone."
The Black Dragon clan is an enemy of Dragonflight and even the world. No matter how high her prestige is, once she is brought back to her original form, she is doomed.
"Then our task is to create an opportunity for the master," Unas clapped his hands and ordered, "Luther, Hart, and Pafeman, stay behind. The rest of you, come with me to the Dwarf warship. We'll go to the outer perimeter of the harbor to watch the battle."
The Dwarf warships were the fastest and could move freely. The island was not far from the port, and as long as a signal was sent, Luther and the others who stayed behind could provide immediate assistance. Therefore, everyone agreed and quickly got to work.
The bank in Stormwind City's Trade District is the wealthiest and most fortified building in the area. At this moment, in the deepest underground vault, the neatly arranged gold bricks have been swept away like scrap metal, leaving a space in the center of the vault. The person who is more valuable than gold is lying on several layers of temporary carpet.
"Thank you, Mr. Fair."
"Not at all, this is your rented private vault." After opening the safe door, bank manager Fair bowed and scraped as he stepped back to make way for the important figures.
The Countess, accompanied by a distinguished elderly man with white hair and beard and a sprightly middle-aged man, entered the treasury and gestured, "Master Hernan, Sir Shaw, please."
The elderly man and the middle-aged man hurried forward and carefully examined the human lying on the ground. They couldn't help but show expressions of ecstatic joy.
The purple-robed elder immediately performed a spell to examine him, then said, "It is indeed His Majesty, but his body is very weak, and he probably won't wake up for a while."
Shaw angrily said, "His Majesty has been kidnapped for so long, he must have suffered inhuman torture at the hands of these foreign races. I will immediately send someone to fetch the Archbishop, and we must ensure His Majesty's recovery."
The Countess said, "The Cathedral is besieged by Defias and communication is cut off. Surely Sir Shaw is unaware of this?"
"Don't underestimate SI:7's channels, Your Excellency Prestor. I naturally have ways to get the message in. His Majesty the King is here; the Silver Lion Knight Order will be mobilized," the intelligence chief said, his eyes flashing coldly. "But those mercenaries you've gathered should really put in some effort, otherwise your gold will have been wasted."
Shaw glanced at the piles of gold bricks in the treasury, his face showing displeasure. The information about the Countess's corruption, bribery, and exploitation of the people filled his desk. Now it seemed that her methods of accumulating wealth could only become more heinous. However, she had many supporters in the House of Nobles, and the nobles were complicit in her corruption. Even if the evidence was conclusive, no one had the power to bring her down.
"Is that so?" The Black Dragon Princess's expression was equally unfriendly. She had used money and temporary violence to subdue the mercenaries, but after their attack on Defias's defenses faltered slightly, the mercenaries began to slack off. "I thought Sir was going to lead your Assassin Corps into the church and summon the Archbishop?"
The Assassin Corps only had about fifty members, leaving them with no room to maneuver on the front lines. Since last night, Shaw had been able to only lie in wait and secretly assassinate a few minor thief leaders, achieving almost nothing and feeling extremely frustrated.
"Alright, you two, stop arguing," Hernan Archmage his hand. "The most urgent matter is how to defeat that scoundrel from Defias."
"That's precisely why I invited you two here. If we work together, VanCleef will surely be beheaded!"
The Countess did not intend to reveal the fact that she had redeemed Varian too early—after all, this docile personality was not the real person, and there was a risk of exposure if she rashly allowed outsiders to come into contact with her. The head of the Head of the Mage Academy and the head of SI:7 were both cunning people, and if they found a loophole, all her efforts would be in vain.
But not long ago, a faint Dragonflight aura suddenly emanated from the direction of the port, making her feel uneasy. To avoid any further unforeseen events, she had to first knock the king unconscious and reveal the dragon's presence in advance so that the Mage Academy and SI:7 would be at her disposal.
"Draw the bow! Fire the cannon! Open fire!"
VanCleef, his eyes bloodshot, roared in a fit of rage, pointing his broadsword at the fleeing soldiers surging on the sea.
Arrows and cannonballs rained down on the battlefield, all aimed at their own men, and blood splattered everywhere, instantly turning the harbor's sea surface red.
The seawater, mixed with a large amount of blood and flesh, was like a spring of sweet water to Behemoth. It swung its giant tail violently, hiding its massive body under the surging waves, and drank blood and ate flesh voraciously.
Half an hour earlier, before the nine warships chasing the merchant ship had even managed to escape into the harbor, the sea monster caught up with them and held them back.
The eleven warships that remained behind quickly sailed up to provide support, and the two fleets were still quickly linked together with iron chains.
The fleet and the sea monster engaged in a life-or-death tug-of-war outside the harbor. Behemoth's specialty was using brute force to drag the ships to the bottom of the sea, and then enjoying a delicious meal.
But this time it ran into a brick wall. It could easily deal with one or two ships, but it couldn't possibly win against twenty fully loaded warships.
The Defias fleet also struggled to gain the upper hand. After a night of bombarding the port, coupled with their severe ammunition shortage following the battle with the Naga, Behemoth, having submerged underwater and protected by the seawater, was beyond the reach of Spear Gun and cannonballs.
Moreover, fighting this beast is pointless; regardless of victory or defeat, the losses will be heavy, and there will be no benefit whatsoever. Therefore, the warships can only defend as much as possible, hoping to drive it away.
Despite losing the tug-of-war, Behemoth was still unwilling to give up the delicious food at its mouth. It frantically stirred up waves underwater, and the sea where the fleet was located was like a hurricane. The seawater became the most terrifying weapon, ramming the ships wildly.
The thieves quickly threw down several Whale-hunting Nets and all the remaining Sea Mines. The Sea Mines could only cause minor injuries to the monster, but the two giant nets entangled it. Behemoth was immediately restrained on all fours and extremely annoyed, and it seemed that it was about to run out of tricks.
But then a turning point suddenly appeared. A ship began to list without warning—this was the warship most severely damaged by the Naga. After temporary repairs, it had reached its limit in the giant waves. The wooden planks blocking the large hole in the hull loosened, and seawater rushed in.
Like a domino effect, several hastily repaired warships began to malfunction, with massive amounts of seawater flooding into them, leaving no hope of saving them.
The other intact ships had no choice but to make the difficult decision to cut the chains connecting them to the wrecked vessels. Five or six damaged warships were thus abandoned and would soon become victims of the sea monster.
In the chaos and despair, a captain led the way by jumping overboard to escape, and a large number of sailors followed suit, jumping into the water and swimming toward the port.
VanCleef, who was watching from the shore, was furious. He could not tolerate deserters, especially the fools who abandoned his precious warships to save their lives, so he ordered them to be shot.
The ruthless killing order temporarily halted the fleet's rout. No one dared to jump ship anymore. Behemoth dismantled the abandoned, damaged warships one after another under its giant horns, claws, and long tail, as if dismantling a toy. Those on board either died on the spot or fell into the water, becoming food for the monster.
While Behemoth was feasting, VanCleef ordered the remaining fleet to cease attack and retreat to the Docks, hoping in his icy heart that the sea monster would leave on its own after it had eaten its fill of the carcass.
Behemoth did not stop the fleet's advance; the hundreds of floating corpses and several times that number of those who had fallen into the water would keep it busy for quite some time.
The remaining fourteen warships hurriedly fled back to the Docks. The shore batteries and the Docks's defenses offered some protection. VanCleef had just breathed a sigh of relief when a panting bodyguard brought even more urgent intelligence:
The Cathedral's Church Guard Knight suddenly launched an attack and almost broke through the siege. At the same time, the City Guards and mercenary groups in the Trade District also launched a fierce attack on the stone bridge connecting the Church District. This time, they received assistance from a large group of mages, and the bridgehead was in grave danger.
If the bridge is lost, the City Guards and mercenaries will enter the Church District to relieve the Knights, and the two sides will then join forces to cut off the retreat to the Dwarf District, leaving VanCleef trapped in the harbor and unable to move.
The King of Thieves felt an unprecedented crisis. The shift in the balance of power so quickly was beyond his expectations, and his thoughts were momentarily in disarray. However, he would not sit idly by and wait for his doom.
"The offensive in the Old Town is cancelled, Vanessa. You are in charge of all the elite troops there. Go and bring them here. They must wipe out the Knights of the Cathedral. Bakir, I now entrust all the elite troops at my disposal to you. Go to the Stone Bridge immediately to oversee the battle and repel this enemy offensive!"
His loyal daughter and deputy nodded in agreement. VanCleef waved for Vanessa to leave quickly and shouted to the bandit leaders around him, "Including the musketeers, all battalions, follow Deputy Chief Bakil to the Stone Bridge for defense. Gentlemen, victory or defeat hinges on this!"
The musketeers were also his lifeline; all three hundred men were equipped with the latest Ironforge Repeating Muskets and served as his personal guards.
With even this team dispatched, the leaders immediately knew that their leader had made a great decision, and dared not object any further. They quickly led their respective forces away.
As the crowd surged away, VanCleef was left alone, with only a few bodyguards and a squad of personal guards remaining, along with the old marshal and Sophia, who were essentially under house arrest.
VanCleef gave a wink to one of the men in black robes beside him. The bodyguard silently cast a spell, releasing two beams of black light that accurately struck the unsuspecting old marshal and Sophia, causing them to collapse to the ground.
"Marshal and Major, please bear with this for now. I will apologize to you later."
VanCleef was now unguarded and had lost his composure. To prevent the two from causing trouble, he had no choice but to change the house arrest to a "hard confinement."
Windsor and Sophia were drained of their strength by the Curse of Weakness, their tongues even becoming weak and unable to utter the curses. They could only let the thieves tie them up and throw them into a warehouse at the back.
VanCleef left a few thieves to guard the area, then led the rest of his men to the Docks to personally command the fleet's defenses.
Behemoth had already devoured all the visible floating corpses, but it was still not satisfied. A giant sea monster like it could go for months without eating, but once it opened its appetite, it needed a huge amount of flesh and blood to be full each time.
Those who had fallen into the water and were desperately swimming towards the shore were its next targets. Despite its enormous size, Behemoth was no less fast at swimming than a human, and the thieves who lagged behind were swallowed up one by one like grains of rice.
VanCleef, standing on the shore, frowned. The fastest swimmers who had fallen into the water were less than 300 meters from the Docks. If this continued, the sea monster would be attracted there.
These men were not the deserters from before; they had survived the destruction of their ship and swam back by the skin of their teeth. VanCleef hesitated for a moment, then issued a second, ruthless order: Shoot them!
To avoid the loss of the warships, the only option was to feed the sea monster with the flesh of these people. In the eyes of the King of Thieves, sacrificing these lives was insignificant.
Scattered cannon fire and arrows rang out simultaneously, and a dozen more blood blossoms bloomed on the sea surface, but this was far from enough; there were as many as three or four hundred people who had fallen into the water.
The second salvo was even sparser—already short of ammunition, they were now also shooting their own men. The captains of Defias began to resist their leader's orders and started to slack off.