Chapter 175: Harvest and Impact

On this August day, fear and unease lingered over the entire retreating fleet. The warships carrying the nobles up ahead had been attacked by the Bloodsail Pirates. This news spread throughout the fleet, thanks to the Gryphon Riders' messages.

Kul Tiras' experienced Admiral Cook, who had originally decided to have the fleet return to port, was persuaded by a messenger from Lordaeron that Anduin and Duke could handle the enemy fleet, and that the Naga-led Murloc forces were already on their way.

Hesitantly, Cook decided to maintain three-quarters sail, deliberately splitting the fleet in two. The front was led by the Kul Tiras fleet with some combat capabilities, while the transport ships in the rear had a chance to escape if things went awry.

Three days later, a vast expanse of Bloodsails appeared on the horizon.

The peculiar crimson color made the lookout almost instinctively sound the alarm. In fact, a young lookout did just that. But the experienced Admiral Cook, foreseeing the danger, arranged for double the lookouts, and a more seasoned lookout stopped the young man.

"Wait and see the flags on the ships!"

Upon closer inspection, all the lookouts were dumbfounded.

"Captain, I suggest you come and take a look at this."

Indeed, they were Bloodsail Pirate warships.

The distinct Kul Tiras design could be recognized even in ashes: a single square sail and three triangular sails for maximum agility in various wind conditions; the heightened hull designed for boarding combat; and the detachable wooden outer decks for cannon battles. Everything told Kul Tiras' admirals that these were indeed their old adversaries.

However, the Stormwind Kingdom's golden lion flag, hanging from the mainmast, announced to the world that these ships now belonged to Stormwind.

The Kul Tiras admirals could barely contain their excitement.

Before becoming Bloodsail Pirates, the pirate leader, Duke Fairweather, had the best warships in all of Kul Tiras. In terms of quality, they were even superior to the main fleet led by Admiral Daelin Proudmoore. The only difference was that Duke Fairweather had taken a smaller number of ships – 12 large merchant ships and 24 warships, which had been upgraded and transformed into a total of 36 vessels, the core strength of the Bloodsail Pirates.

Now, 12 of those ships had been captured by Stormwind, and the Kul Tiras couldn't help but feel envious. If they didn't know that Stormwind was on the verge of collapse, they would have suspected the kingdom of threatening their maritime supremacy.

Moreover, the newly-built warships were of impressive quality.

In addition to the ships taken by the nobles, the Kul Tiras fleet now faced a massive fleet consisting of 70 warships.

Had they not seen the Naga and Murlocs capturing Bloodsail Pirates through their spyglasses, the Kul Tiras fleet might have been consumed by jealousy.

Admiral Cook lowered his spyglass and muttered to himself, "Damn it, if we didn't have more powerful greenskins to deal with, I'd definitely suggest suppressing Stormwind upon my return."

On the Sea God, Edwin VanCleef leaned on the window, staring intently at the strange fleet sailing in the opposite direction from the south side of their fleet. They were so close that he could even see the desperate and despondent expressions on the faces of the nobles' private soldiers.

This was far from the joyous expressions of those who survived a disaster.

If there was one word to describe them, it would be – homeless dogs!

VanCleef felt his blood pumping with excitement, igniting every cell in his body. The nobles were finished! Those arrogant and tyrannical nobles were done for!

The voice was so clear and distinct, that VanCleef could hardly control himself.

No matter how Duke managed to do it, from this point on, when the rotting flesh was cut away, even if Stormwind fell, the kingdom of Stormwind would be reborn!

Unconsciously, the light of the Duke filled Edwin VanCleef's heart. It was a fervor that made him want to offer everything he had, including his loyalty, his life, his soul, and even his beloved daughter Vanessa, without hesitation.

Late into the night, VanCleef remained restless.

Of course, he was not the only one who could not find peace.

King Llane read the report three times, and after finishing it, he was stunned for a full minute without saying a word.

The report was too shocking.

Not only for him, but also for all the high-ranking nobles who remained in Stormwind City.

Out of the nobles who retreated, one-tenth were demons! When the Bloodsail Buccaneers attacked, the demons revealed their true forms, causing the largest death event among nobles since the founding of Stormwind Kingdom.

Out of 387 nobles with titles, only a mere 32 survived, all injured. A total of seven families were wiped out forever, while the remaining 13 families had few members left. Half of the surviving nobles were minors.

Most of them were severely traumatized.

This was not a report fabricated by someone or some faction. The testimonies of over 800 survivors were almost identical. These survivors included several devout priests.

Not only them, but the testimonies of the captured Bloodsail Buccaneers were also largely similar.

King Llane closed his eyes in pain, "Do I have to tell my people that one-tenth of the nobles they trusted, the leaders they followed, the nobles of the Stormwind Kingdom who inherited the legacy of King Llane Wrynn, were demons?"

Llane's voice was not loud, but it clearly spread to every corner of the council hall.

Everyone looked at each other.

If they did this, the blow to morale would be too great.

At this moment, Count Kardon, who was once an ally of the Brand family, gently raised his hand and requested to speak, "Why can't we think positively? At least we have acquired twice the number of ships. We have enough fishermen to serve as sailors. We can evacuate our people at twice the rate."

King Llane shuddered, suddenly feeling a warmth in his chest: Yes, the loss of the people would be reduced.

But

Count Kardon spoke again, "Those who died in this battle were local lords. I think we should respect their opinions before announcing the results to the public. After all, they are the cornerstone of the kingdom."

The words of the count were like music to their ears.

Indeed, a large part of the nobles had evacuated, but not every noble was able to do so. For example, those who held important military positions within the kingdom.

How could they announce such a disgraceful incident as their own kin turning into demons and killing their family members? In fact, they had already thought of a reason, but they did not dare to propose it.

Now that Count Kardon had spoken up and given them this excuse, they were so delighted that they almost wanted to kiss the count on the spot: Ah, indeed, in critical moments, one must rely on their own people. (To be continued.)