Veylin and Elias stood before the hide map, the flickering candlelight casting enormous shadows of their figures.
The rough map lay spread across a wooden table, with charcoal lines tracing the outline of Peaceful Bay and the possible anchorage sites of Barbosa's fleet.
"Peaceful Bay is long and narrow, with two submerged reefs at its entrance." Elias pointed to a corner of the map. "The Bloodsail Brotherhood's warships are large and have to navigate carefully to enter the bay, so they usually send small patrol boats to keep watch outside."
"Our advantages are stealth and speed." Veylin tapped the map with a fingertip. "The Leviathans can dive deep enough to evade all conventional reconnaissance. They leave no trace when moving underwater." He placed several pebbles at the warships' anchorage sites inside the bay, then set several more in the deep water beyond its mouth.
"Here's the plan. First, we'll use special weapons to launch a surprise attack on the Bloodsail Brotherhood fleet anchored inside the bay, creating chaos. When they try to escape through the mouth of Peaceful Bay and enter deep water, the submerged Leviathan fleet will surface immediately, forming an arc around them and closing the trap."
"So... this is a trap to lure them out?" Elias said slowly, grasping Veylin's intent.
"Exactly. A trap they'll sail straight into." Veylin pushed the pebbles inside the bay toward those in the deep water outside. "Once the Leviathans engage at close quarters, those ships won't be able to put up much resistance."
Elias studied the map carefully, sharing everything he knew about the bay and adding details about the currents, tides, and the Bloodsail Brotherhood's patrol patterns.
The meeting was tense but orderly, every detail refined through repeated scrutiny.
Veylin was far more relaxed than the others, because he had