Merman

"It's actually Murloc."

Lin Lei said with surprise.

"These days, many coastal territories have been harassed by Murloc, and many soldiers have died. The Viscount saw that I also have a coastal territory, so he specifically notified me."

Lin Lei folded the letter and recalled the situation of Murloc in Azeroth.

"The Murloc race in Azeroth, commonly known as Murloc, were later recruited by the Naga to become the most basic workers and combat units.

The Murloc have a very clear division of labor. There are Murloc Slave that are the same as human peasants, good at building and transporting resources. The Naga Witch can parasitize Murloc eggs on enemies to produce the lowest-level Murloc Rock-man, which have even lower combat power than Murloc Slave.

Murloc Raider are the regular army among the Murloc, generally stronger than human infantry of the same level, and the best among them usually have more powerful abilities, carrying an aura command field. Murloc Blood Witch are the spellcasters among the Murloc, most of whom know healing magic.

Murloc Hunter are naturally good at throwing nets and also know a slowing magic, which can be considered a low-level spellcasting unit. Murloc Nightstalker reduce their presence when they stand still at night to achieve the purpose of invisibility; they are natural assassins.

Murloc Shadow Mage are the top-tier mages among the Murloc, mastering hexes and curses. Hex is similar to the Polymorph spell of human mages, while curses reduce the enemy's hit rate, causing missed attacks. They are generally the decision-makers among the Murloc.

Of course, there is also a top-tier combat unit among the Murloc, the Murloc Mutant, which, like the Undead Butcher, is born with a poisonous mist and can also devour corpses to replenish its state."

Lin Lei was startled by his own realization.

It turned out that the Murloc race in Azeroth was so clearly divided, and they occupied the vastest sea areas; this force should be stronger than humans, right?

Lin Lei slapped his head hard and reasoned rigorously once again.

"No, Murloc are only near-shore units, and their reproduction also requires land. They cannot survive in the deep sea at all, otherwise, the Murloc race would not just be wild creatures in the game, appearing only within the Naga race."

"However, even if the strength of the Murloc is not high, for a small lord like me, I still need to be vigilant. A force that the human kingdom does not care about is not something a small baron like me can resist. I must make preparations early."

Lin Lei muttered to himself, a trace of worry faintly visible between his brows. He picked up an envelope from his desk and began to write.

"Cress, send the fastest soldier to deliver this to Furell. Tell him to strengthen his guard; he may be attacked.

Then notify Allen, Luo Ji, and Lin Yu to come over. I have something to announce."

Lin Lei quickly folded the written letter and handed it solemnly to the butler.

"Very well, Master."

Cress, who had been waiting on the side, took the letter and hurried out.

"Baron, what can I do for you?"

Not long after, the three of Allen hurried to the living room and knelt on one knee.

Although Lin Lei heard that Murloc might attack his territory, he was not a pushover. Unlike other nobles who inherited their family territories, everything he had now was earned through fighting.

"You are here. Take turns reading what's on this and express your opinions."

Allen took the letter handed over by the servant suspiciously, frowned, and passed it to Luo Ji. The three of them browsed through it, each having their own calculations in mind.

"Baron, our territory currently has more than six hundred soldiers, which is among the best in the entire kingdom's baronial territories. These weak Murloc are not worth our attention."

Allen blurted out. Lin Lei shook his head with some disappointment after hearing this.

This Allen never liked to use his brain and was too reckless in his actions. Something that the kingdom took very seriously, he actually despised so much.

Lin Lei shifted his gaze and cast an expectant look at Luo Ji.

Luo Ji felt Lin Lei's burning gaze and braced himself to say.

"I think we should strengthen our defenses, arrange more sentry posts, increase the number of night patrols, and be careful to guard against Murloc coming ashore for sneak attacks."

Lin Lei nodded noncommittally and moved his gaze to Lin Yu, hoping he would have a novel answer.

"Lord, I think we should take the initiative. Instead of being beaten passively, it is better to launch an attack on them. The best defense is offense. In this way, moving the battlefield away from the territory can minimize the loss of the territory."

Lin Yu thought carefully and said neither humbly nor arrogantly. His voice was powerful, even though his body did not look very strong.

"Impossible, we don't even know where these Murloc are, how can we launch an attack on them? Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. We don't even understand our opponents, how can we act rashly? If something goes wrong, what should we do about the whole territory?"

As soon as Lin Yu finished his thoughts, Luo Ji jumped out to refute.

Lin Lei didn't speak, but used his eyes to encourage Lin Yu to continue with his thoughts.

"Although we don't know where this group of newborn Murloc are, we certainly understand these guys. Our Kingdom of Kul Tiras is located on an archipelago and often fights against these Murloc.

Years of fighting have long made us know these guys. Their nests must be on the edge of the coast or on small islands not far from here. As long as we search along this information, there is a high probability of finding them.

According to historical records, although we have been committed to exterminating Murloc, every year Murloc from the Northern Continent of Lordaeron and the Southern Continent of Stormwind Dynasty migrate here. They can breathe underwater, but they cannot survive in the deep sea."

Luo Ji was speechless. Although he did not agree with Lin Yu's approach of taking the initiative to attack, he could not find any errors to refute.

Lin Lei actually understood very well that Luo Ji was a defensive general, always conservative, not greedy for merit or advancing rashly, and good at steady progress. A good warrior who has no glorious battle achievements is exactly the kind of person he is.

Compared with him, Lin Yu became another extreme, very warlike, and mostly reckless in his actions, but every time he could achieve miraculous results, which made Lin Lei both love and hate him.

Recklessness is closer to courage than cowardice, and he still appreciated Lin Yu very much.

"Good, if you two have no objections, then start acting according to Lin Yu's idea.

Our Crouching Dragon Ravine does not yet have the ability to build sea ships, so we cannot go to the surrounding small islands to scout, but we can still search the reefs and caves around the coast."

The three of Allen looked at each other and walked out of the Lord's Mansion after receiving the order.

"Cress, you also send someone to the Mercenary Guild to post a mission for information and locations of Murloc. These scattered soldiers can sometimes play an important role."

The butler nodded and wrote down Lin Lei's instructions.

"By the way, how is the plan for my newly constructed castle coming along? Have Furexi and those Goblin engineers finished the rough blueprints yet?"

Lin Lei closed his eyes to rest, his right hand tapping unconsciously against his left wrist. He had suddenly remembered the task he had assigned to the Goblin engineers last week.

The current Lord's Mansion Lin Lei occupied was a shoddy piece of work rushed together at the beginning; it wasn't even as large as the mansions of some knight-lords, which had a significant impact on his reputation.

Now that the refined iron ore was being mined from Crouching Dragon Ravine every day, there was no shortage of resources—not to mention stone—and having passed the difficult initial phase of development, his human resources were also abundant. It was time to get himself a better residence.

"My Lord, Furexi and his team came by this morning. They delivered three sets of blueprints, saying they wanted you to choose the one you are most satisfied with. I have placed them in the storage room."

"Bring them here. Let me see what kind of castle those Goblin masters have designed for me."

Lin Lei said calmly, though his words carried more than a little curiosity regarding the castle designs.

At a gesture from Cress, a maid bowed and retreated, returning with the three blueprints to hand over to Lin Lei.

"Baroque, Gothic, and Romanesque—they look very similar to the castles of the European Middle Ages."

Lin Lei recognized these architectural styles at a glance. The lines on the blueprints were exquisite, making it easy to distinguish between the three different styles.

"Tell Furexi and the others to build it using the third blueprint, the Romanesque style. I am quite fond of this one; the water management, defense, and aesthetics all meet my requirements. Tell them to start construction as soon as possible."

Lin Lei made his decision and placed the three blueprints back onto the tray.

"Alright, Cress, you've been busy all day as well. Go and get some rest."

"Yes, my Lord."

Cress left obediently, and Lin Lei resumed his light slumber; the exhaustion from traveling day and night for two or three days was starting to take its toll on him.

At the Magic Academy, two beauties, one older and one younger, were staring at each other.

"Sister Aierlan, I'm going to start now."

Aierlan nodded, signaling for Alice to cast the primary magic she had just learned: Summon Water Elemental.

Summon Water Elemental was a very basic spell, but it held the greatest potential within the entire water magic system and was often the first spell a magic apprentice needed to learn.

A Bronze-rank magic apprentice could only summon a common Bronze-rank water elemental, which could only attack enemies with water currents. By the time one reached the Silver rank, not only did the number of summoned water elementals increase, but their strength also grew, and they even possessed their own magic, making it a decent support spell.

"Summon Water Elemental."

Alice waved her staff, channeling her mental energy to communicate with the mana, struggling to coalesce the water in the air into a single entity.

"Ugh..."

As the magic fluctuated slightly, there was no sign of a water elemental on the ground. Aierlan knew immediately that Alice had failed this time.

"Alice, keep trying. Success isn't achieved overnight; you need to practice more. Learning spells as a mage is all about persistent practice. You already produced a magical fluctuation just now; you were very close to succeeding."

Aierlan comforted her.