Apart from the Ranger Corps assigned to seize the shipyard and block the pirates' escape, the remaining rangers were easy to deploy. Some stayed behind to guard the harbor, while the rest broke into ten-man squads to sweep designated sectors of the Bloodsail Camp for pirates.
There was no suspense when regular troops faced scattered pirates who had already been beaten senseless. Yu Lin Bloodhawk could not even muster the interest to go and watch, merely checking on the battle from the carrier's bridge now and then. By late afternoon, with the sun about to set, the fighting was over. Few of the Bloodsail Buccaneers had been killed outright; most had been taken prisoner.
That was only natural. The Gryphon Riders' bombardment had already terrified the pirates. Now that rangers armed to the teeth had landed with their battle pets to sweep the camp, there was nowhere left to hide. Those who dared resist were either torn apart by battle pets or turned into pincushions by ranger arrows in the blink of an eye. The pirates had nowhere near the cohesion or fighting spirit of regular troops, so it was hardly surprising that most surrendered.
That evening, Yu Lin Bloodhawk received the battle report. As expected, the landing force had suffered only minor injuries and not a single death while wiping out the pirates. He nodded in acknowledgment, then ordered the fleet to set sail.
All the pirate ships captured in the operation were left in the harbor. The Quel'Danil Standing Army would arrange for personnel from the Hinterlands Naval Department to take them over. Perhaps the standing army would eventually hand the entire base over to the Naval Department as well, leaving itself responsible only for managing Trial Valley and the Badlands.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk was pressed for time.