The slave trader leaders captured in the basilisk man's lair were pushed towards the city. The slave traders stationed in Yilip were the first to mess up their hands and feet.
The city wall of Yilip is not much higher than most of the hobgoblin giants. Let alone jumping, they seem to be able to climb directly to the edge if they stretch out their hands.
The two sides were in a stalemate for less than an hour before the other side opened the city gate and surrendered.
The most difficult thing about this kind of criminal nest is not the attack and occupation, but the subsequent conviction.
It is a bit exaggerated to say that the entire city is involved in the Basilisk Human Slavery Group. To say that they are directly or indirectly connected to this industrial chain is not adding any water at all.
Gavin and Veranika had a brief discussion and then cut through the mess quickly. After gathering the representatives of Irip, they issued a series of orders.
There are two core contents.
1. Only the first culprit will be punished, and the accomplices will not be punished.
2. Hand over all the privately held and imprisoned slaves, and let the past go. Once they are found hiding or committing crimes again, they will be punished as the first culprit.
In just one day, they rescued all the slaves and swept away the stolen money and stolen goods of the Basilisk Slave Trading Group. They all withdrew without even leaving basic troops behind.
Because there's no point in doing that.
The geographical location of these two towns determined that their fate was determined by the city of Ivanso.
If the army of conquerors knocks down Ivanso City, they don't need to send another soldier, they only need to send a governor.
If there is no way to capture Ivansuo City, even if they send troops to station here, they will alienate them and create obstacles for them behind their backs.
The reason why Gavin and the others attack two towns first is to completely eliminate these local evil forces, because once they capture Ivanso, they will immediately go into the dark, and if they want to eradicate them again, the difficulty will increase exponentially. .
The process on Yeshandara's side was also smoother than expected. Whether it was a purple mask or a tide flower, the combat power that could be obtained was only a dozen extraordinary ones, and the rest were either petty thieves or ordinary thugs. It was enough for the king to dominate a small town, but facing an extraordinary battle group was completely unsatisfactory.
The more famous someone is, the sooner they die.
On the contrary, those who are unknown can hide in the crowd and escape.
But their ability to collect wealth is quite amazing.
Even if some of the wealth accumulated by Chaohua and Purple Mask over the years were distributed to the local residents, the wealth collected would be less than one million.
The half Gavin said at the beginning was just an imaginary number, not really cut in half, and most of the things distributed to them were of little use to the conqueror's army and were not easy to carry, such as furniture and other daily necessities, and the quantity Loose coins that are relatively bulky and difficult to carry, etc.
Because of the half-blue dragon hobgoblin's unwavering help, the Basilisk Man's gains were even more astonishing.
In addition to the three three-masted sailing ships with a total valuation of 500,000, the wealth seized from their secret lairs and warehouses amounted to 1.5 million, plus more than 500 slaves, only one-fifth of them came from On the Dragon Coast, the conquerors' army sent people to escort them home, and the rest were all incorporated into the conquerors' army.
Just as Gavin and the others expected, when these three local evil forces were destroyed, all the dark forces around the Dragon Coast were shocked. They became unprecedentedly efficient. A secret meeting of the dark forces was held at the West Gate. .
Simon.
Not only is it the most influential city on the Dragon Coast, it is even one of the most influential cities on the entire southern coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars.
It is said that the economic power it possesses is that of the entire Dragon Coast cities combined. This huge strength makes them the third largest trading power in the Inner Sea, after Sambia and Cormyr.
The reason why Dragon Coast has the reputation of 'everything has a price' is that Ximen is definitely responsible for it, and its citizens are not ashamed at all. On the contrary, they are proud that Ximen is an open city - open to all races, and open to all races. Open to all faiths and open to all currencies.
It is this kind of complete openness that has brought them a lot of wealth, and many transactions that are not allowed elsewhere are carried out in large numbers and openly here - such as the pirates' dirty selling of stolen goods.
Both Sambia and the Kingdom of Cormyr are strict, at least on the surface, but at Ximen, they conduct public auctions openly.
Nominally, Ximen is ruled by an aristocracy composed of wealthy families. In fact, the person who controls all key areas of Ximen is a thieves guild called the Mask of the Night.
This secret dark meeting was naturally hosted by the Dark Night Mask, and only they had this influence on the Dragon Coast. This fully demonstrated that even they felt the pressure from the army of conquerors.
There were more than thirty various dark forces participating in the meeting, and countless heads were crowded in the dimly lit conference room. It was like their identities could not be exposed to the sun.
"They are a group of lawless executioners, butchers, and robbers. Today they can capture Pros and Irip, and destroy the Purple Mask, Tide Flower, and Basilisk Man. Tomorrow they can capture Taysil and destroy you Astor. Ruian, occupy Bosku the day after tomorrow and slaughter your Light of Bosku. The day after tomorrow we can capture the west gate and uproot your Dark Night Mask. Therefore, we can no longer sit idly by and do nothing. We should unite and form our own army to protect The Dragon Coast that belongs to us, the city that belongs to us, completely defeat this group of evil invaders."
A pirate leader waved his arms and roared with righteous indignation.
"Hey, Thornes, if you are not the leader of the Purple Mask, you might be more convincing. Who knows, do you want to use our hands to avenge your destroyed branch?" Cold words came from the darkness. , unceremoniously removed the purple mask leader's stage.
These dark forces on the Dragon Coast have never been harmonious, and there are countless overt or covert battles between them.
The battles between dark organizations in the city will also be secretive and conducted in private to prevent war between cities.
These pirate groups in the inland sea do not have so many scruples. Many of them greet each other directly with ballistae when they meet at sea. They can squeeze into this small conference room together without drawing knives on each other, except for the army of conquerors. Qianglong suppressed him outside because he was afraid of the Dark Night Mask.
The Night Mask is very secretive. Not to mention the citizens of other cities on the Dragon Coast, even most citizens of Ximen don't know that the city is actually controlled by a secretive thieves guild.
But these dark forces are very aware of this and their terrorist methods. The Mask of the Night has such a high voice in Ximen. It is not a pie falling from the sky, but something they kill out of thin air. Their enemies are either out of thin air. Disappear, no one alive or dead, either turned into pieces with a bang in front of the public, or torn into pieces alive by a group of ferocious rats.
Compared to secret assassinations, they prefer this kind of public execution to warn other enemies.
Thornes said angrily: "What I stated is a fact. If you didn't have this concern, would you still be sitting here? In any case, we cannot let them toss around at the Dragon Coast. This will seriously hinder Our business, we have to come together and knock it down.”
"I agree with the first half of you, but I cannot agree with the second half. Why do we have to use force to solve the problem? Instead of negotiation? In essence, they are still a group of immigrants composed of civilians. Migration is their main task. As long as they are sent out Dragon Coast, they will no longer be a problem for us.”
"Naive, negotiation is based on absolute force. If we don't unite and prove our strength to them, will the other party leave so easily?"
"They just wiped out a few small guilds and scared you like this? They seem to be so powerful. In fact, there are only a few thousand real professional soldiers, and they mainly rely on the two extraordinary battle groups. As long as they defeat these With two extraordinary battle groups, they no longer dare to act rashly. Moreover, their main energy now is in Ivanso. Before the entire problem is solved, they should not have the energy to use force against other cities. They sent troops to Pros and Yilip. Probably to relieve worries."
"Stupid, really stupid. How can you place your hopes on other people's plans? It is most correct to take everything into your own hands."
"You seem to have forgotten that they have more than these troops. They also have a city of hobgoblins on the Giant Plains, and an expanding hobgoblin army. Their main force has been wandering east of the Giant Plains recently. , do you think that if we use troops against the army of conquerors, they will sit back and ignore us?"
"It's easier said than done to form an army. It's not just a matter of stacking numbers for street fighting. It requires precise command. The most important thing is, who will give the command of this army?"
Soon the leaders of the dark forces began to quarrel in all directions, each holding his own opinion. Some were in favor of forming an army, while others were dismissive.
This disdain stems from their own nature. Their origins determine that they are full of distrust between each other.
How can a coalition without basic trust form an army of unity and cooperation? But without an army, there is no confidence to confront the conqueror's army.
"The Faceless One has arrived." Along with the sound of communication, the conference hall, which was as noisy as a vegetable market, instantly became silent, and all eyes turned to the entrance.
The first thing that came into view was a domino mask, which was the kind of mask commonly used for aristocratic dinners. Only the eyes and chin were exposed. However, this mask was completely white and had no shape, leaving only three holes. From a distance, the whole person looked completely different. It's like he has no face, which is probably where his name comes from.
Scarlet light flashed in the empty eyes, and whoever it glanced at could not help but feel a chill in their body, because they could not feel any emotion in the other person's eyes. It's looking at the delicious prey and weighing which place is more suitable for eating.
This person is the Uncrowned King of Ximen, the supreme ruler of the Mask of the Night, the Faceless Man who is known as the King of the Night.
As for his name and true appearance, no one knows. He has always shown this appearance to outsiders.
The faceless man sat in the chair, but had no intention of speaking. Following closely behind him, the mysterious woman who also wore a domino mask said, "Formating an army is the only idea you brainless pirates can think of. After all, if we really do that, do we still belong to the guild?
What do you think of those aristocratic rulers?
Aren't you afraid that you are starting a fight with these aristocratic rulers before starting a war with the army of conquerors?
Aren't you afraid that ordinary citizens will unite to fight against you?
Secret manipulation is our foundation.
Even if the army is being formed, it is not us who form it, but the rulers who are on the surface to do it. It is their sacred and unshirkable responsibility to protect our city. "
This person is wearing a purple close-fitting robe, which perfectly shows off her exquisite figure. The mask she wears is not faceless, but a fox mask. The exposed eyes are standard fox eyes, and her every move is full of enchantment. The taste is perfect, the red lips are perfectly curved, and the bright red lipstick is applied on them, making them extremely charming.
"Mrs. Zi, what you said is correct. For this kind of thing, hiding behind the scenes and manipulating it is the wisest choice. If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. If it fails, the merchants and nobles will take the lead. There will be no loss for us. "
"We can definitely use a two-pronged approach, that is, to encourage the merchants and nobles to form an army to pose a frontal threat to the conqueror's army. We can also secretly organize elites to form a team of assassins to put pressure on them and prevent them from acting rashly."
"We can definitely contact Arms in Ivanso, provide them with contact, and let them fight with the conqueror's army there. It's best to make both sides suffer."
"Stupid, this kind of playing with fire, if we are not careful, will bring disaster to ourselves. I believe you have witnessed the terrifying extent of the plague virus in Ams before. Once it spreads on a large scale in the city, The damage caused will be devastating. If the conqueror's army completely wipes out it, it's okay to say. Once the conqueror's army fails to attack Ivanso and these necromancers get a large number of corpses, I don't need to know what the consequences will be. Say more, right? It may even trigger a natural disaster of the undead on our dragon coast, causing a devastating impact on all cities. The damage caused to us at that time will be ten times more than the conqueror's army. "
"Yes, we can use all methods, but let's not mention the method of using the necromancers of Ivanso. In this matter, we must stand firmly on the side of the living, even if it is the conqueror The army will pose a threat to our interests, but this is still a matter between living people. When the undead are mixed in, the nature changes."
"Isn't the army of conquerors going to the valley? We can use this matter as bait, use our super shipping capabilities, send them to the opposite side of Long Lake, and let them go to harm Sambia. This will save them a lot of time and energy.”
"This proposal is too whimsical. You seem to have forgotten who you are. Will they believe the promise of a group of pirates and hand over their goods and people to you for transportation? Aren't they afraid that nothing will be left in the end?"
"You can give it a try. Even if it doesn't succeed, we have nothing to lose."
"I wonder if Lord Faceless Man has any better suggestions?"
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the charming woman named Madam Purple is obviously the spokesperson of the Night King. What she says is no different from what the Faceless Man said. It is inevitable that these leaders of dark forces do not take it seriously.
Moreover, the opinions she put forward were extremely pertinent and scratched the itch of many leaders.
The purple mask leader's proposal to form an army encountered strong opposition because it was seriously inconsistent with their past behavior.
Although evil is in power in the Dragon Coast, it has not reached the level of hell on earth. Everyone is a vicious devil thug. If that were the case, the basic rule would not be maintained at all, and the place would be in ruins long ago.
Most of them are ordinary citizens who are relatively kind and easy to rule and slaughter. The evil ones are only a minority after all. They can only control them in the dark. Once they surface, even if the citizens of Dragon Coast do not unite to overthrow them, they will come from other countries. And the heroes of the city will not sit idly by.
There has never been a shortage of such people in Faerûn, especially the Harpers Guild, which is famous for being nosy. The valley is their headquarters, and their spies are active in many cities, especially Ximen. The City of Evil has always been their focus.
If they find out that the dark forces across the Dragon Coast are preparing to form a coalition, they will definitely not sit idly by.
On the contrary, secretly controlling those merchant rulers and letting them act according to their own will is their best and most commonly used method.
"So, you don't have any objections to secretly urging major cities to form urban armies?" Madam Zi asked again, her eyes mainly falling on the leaders of the two major forces, Poscu's Light and Astorian.
They represent the city of Boscu and Texir respectively. Together with Ivanso and Ximen, they are the four core cities on the Dragon Coast.
As long as they firmly support this strategy, the remaining small and medium-sized towns will naturally follow suit.
"We have no problem with Boscu." The person who replied was a woman. Most of her body was hidden in the darkness. She could neither see her true face nor her figure. She was like a ghost. This person was Boscu. The leader of the light.
"There's no problem with Tesir, either." A dull male voice replied.
"We have no problem with that either."
"I agree."
Others followed suit and expressed their opinions.
(End of chapter)
