838: 546 838: 546 “This fully demonstrates that our propaganda war has been effective,” Veranika said with barely concealed concern, “I’m worried that in such a state, the enemy, driven desperate by us, might resort to actions that are harmful to others as well as to themselves.”
“Do you worry that they will spread plague toxins on a large scale throughout Efanso, turning this place into a city of death?
Even if we were to take the city, wouldn’t the gains be greatly reduced?”
“Yes, that’s a common tactic employed by Necromancers.”
“It’s because of such concerns that we’ve adopted our current strategy of siege without attack, to relieve their pressure as much as possible and to look for new breakthroughs.
This warehouse hill is our opportunity.
According to our intelligence, this is not only the location of an ancient Dwarven city, but before Humans developed here, a group of Gnos also called this place ho and thrived for thousands of years.
They have remodelled and expanded it twice.
They are most skilled in illusion magic, and there may still be hidden underground passages that have not been discovered by the world.
What we must do is to find a passage that directly connects to Efanso, and if there isn’t an existing one, we need to locate the nearest one.
Our Gnoll Construction Crew can carve out new passages.”
Their presence here was not for re reconnaissance; they had received the latest intelligence and were preparing to find a new point of breakthrough.
“General Kopofiel and Commander Yeshandalah are here too,” Kellysha pointed out the duo that had arrived together down below.
On the left was a tall figure with dark skin and a cleanly shaven head, kept company by a thick salt-and-pepper beard.
Who else could it be but General Kopofiel, the deputy marshal of the Conqueror Army?
On the right stood soone with a devilishly perfect body matched by her face, save for a pale white scar which marred the perfection yet added an air of human touch to her.
This was none other than Yeshandalah, who had just been cured of the plague toxins.
Their joint arrival was no coincidence, as over the past few days, the two had been working together to advance General Kopofiel’s cleanup operation.
Upon learning of the operation, Yeshandalah and her allies wholeheartedly agreed and offered their full support.
They had long desired to do the sa but lacked the power and audacity.
Now, with the Conqueror Army taking the lead, it was a win-win situation.
After all, General Kopofiel and his n were the heavyweights in these matters, far less advantageous than the local forces of Yeshandalah.
Under Yeshandalah’s advice, Gaven and his allies decided to concentrate their efforts on a single point rather than cast a wide net, focusing on Efanso’s warehouse hills and the cities of Ilip and Pross.
These two harbor cities, forming an irregular triangle with Efanso, were about fifty kiloters away in a straight line, with the warehouse hills situated in the middle.
The relationship between these cities and Efanso was very close, serving as points for unloading and loading goods.
However, these towns did not have the sa waterborne advantages as Taixir and West Gate because large ships could not enter and could only rely on small boats for loading and unloading, leading to a degree of labor and material waste.
At least they could save on transport over a hundred kiloters (coming from Taixir).
But this downside could also turn into an advantage—for instance, not being overly reliant on ports, the long stretch of the lake could beco their points for loading and unloading goods.
Many illicit deals could be conducted here.
Furthermore, connected to the warehouse hills, many secret goods could be temporarily stockpiled or stored here.
The most typical items included loot plundered by Pirates and slaves readied for secret transport by Slave Traders.
As long as you paid the warehouse usage fees on ti, the Necromancers of Efanso were notoriously indifferent to the specifics of the transactions, even going as far as to engage in secret trades with them, purchasing low-priced goods, be it stolen items or slaves.
As for Ilip and Pross, their Rulers were either in cahoots with those evil forces or were proxies installed by them.
“The secret controllers of Pross are two Thief Guilds, Purple Mask and Tidal Blossom; Purple Mask is a land-based fence for the Pirates of the sa na, while Tidal Blossom is a fencing agent for Pirates, maintaining secret collaborations and fulfilling the tasks of disposing of stolen goods for several Pirate groups.
The main business in Ilip City is the slave trade, dominated by the Petrified Lizards Slave Traders Group.
They have specialized channels for kidnapping, Pirate teams, and sales channels, offering a complete line of services from abduction to sale.
Compared to Pross, the situation in Ilip City is more complicated, as many of its citizens are implicated, becoming accomplices in the slave trade.
The slaves awaiting sale are not held in a single warehouse but within the hos of Ilip City’s residents.
The city itself is the warehouse for the Petrified Lizards Slave Traders Group, and it’s unclear how many living there are directly affiliated with the slave traders, how many are ordinary citizens, and how many are slaves waiting to be sold,” detailed Kopofiel as he reported on the two cities.
A portion of the intelligence was provided by Yeshandalah, and another part was recently gathered, “They’re also extrely concerned about the situation in Efanso, and have been active in recent days, especially off the coast of Ilip, where they have assembled three-masted ships.
They are prepared to take all the goods and retreat to sea at the slightest sign.”
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