No one present wanted to believe that the Iron Tide Fleet could break through the layers of blockades in the outer seas and launch a surprise attack on Guardpoint Ridge.
While everyone mourned the fallen garrison soldiers, Rowan had already put his grief aside.
He was searching for a way out.
No matter how much Rowan doubted the Iron Tide Pirates' ability to turn invisible, the facts were right before him.
The pirate warships could indeed vanish at sea, and they could evade the Tidesages' patrols.
If the invisible Iron Tide Fleet launched a surprise attack on Morris Town during the war, how would I defend it?
For fuck's sake. The more Rowan thought about it, the angrier he grew. Here I am, eagerly developing steam-powered Iron Warships, and the Iron Tide Pirates have already mastered invisibility. How am I supposed to fight this war?
Rowan felt a surge of frustration, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. The naval battle at Guardpoint Ridge was only the prelude to a larger war.
Considering Guardpoint Ridge's special significance to the Kingdom of Kul Tiras, Rowan knew this was the Iron Tide Pirates' attempt to break their morale.
If the naval reinforcements arrived too late, or their commander hesitated and chose to defend against the invisible Pirates Fleet, passively taking a beating, Guardpoint Ridge would fall sooner or later.
The main fleet in the outer seas could not possibly arrive in time. Besides, the Iron Tide Pirates would never give Guardpoint Ridge more time to recover.
The situation was dire.
Once Guardpoint Ridge fell, full-scale war would erupt immediately.
The information Rowan had gathered would then prove true, one piece at a time.
From the Norwington Family's perspective, the outbreak of the fourth campaign to annihilate the Freehold pirates could give the family's