Chapter 217: Expedition

This group of Amazonian female warriors totaled five hundred, ranging from the priestess leading the team to various specialized sub-units that outsiders found difficult to distinguish. The wealthy and generous Sinuoli simply hired their entire mercenary group.

Among all the mercenary groups in Tilea, Anagongda's Amazons were neither the most powerful nor the best-reputed. Sinuoli's representative had heard negative feedback regarding their professional attitude during the assessment period.

Sinuoli chose them mainly for two reasons: first, they hailed from the deep rainforests of Lustria and were adept at fighting in jungles, and the Southlands had plenty of such terrain.

On the other hand, they had contact with the Lizardmen in Lustria, and it was said there had been both wars and alliances. But what was certain was that they understood the Lizardmen's language, and regardless of Sinuoli's experience from his past life or the notes of veteran adventurers, the Southlands definitely had Lizardmen.

Sinuoli certainly did not want to oppose the Eldest Children of the Old Ones; these warriors could not be lightly insulted, even if they were in a state of decay far worse than the Dwarfs. More importantly, in Sinuoli's view, the Dwarf race was also a creation of the Old Ones.

Although even the second-generation Slann Mage-Priests found it difficult to grasp what the Great Plan actually was, the possibility that the Dwarfs had a place within it was not small—at least greater than most other races. Perhaps Sinuoli could reach some agreements with them and contribute to defining the Great Plan.

The other team consisted of Knights and other troops from Bretonnia. For the past two thousand years, these quotas should have been reserved for the fellows of the Empire of Man, but now that the name of Dieter IV was still written on the Great Book of Grudges, Sinuoli simply did not accept applications from the humans of the Empire.

The Knights came from various duchies of Bretonnia, primarily those Sinuoli had visited at the time. This included twenty Questing Knights and eighty Knights Errant; to these people who needed adventure to prove themselves, the Southlands were undoubtedly a blue ocean.

Unlike the lone Questing Knights, most Knights Errant brought more than one attendant. The Dwarfs were neither skilled at nor capable of tending to their purebred or Half-Elf Warhorses, so these two hundred attendants needed to care for the horses in addition to participating in the fighting themselves.

In addition to assisting in contacting the Knights and transporting them uniformly by ship to the Sea Gate, Kangsitanting, an old friend, had also prepared some troops for Sinuoli himself. He not only dispatched twenty Knights of the Sea God and Lady Shuman, but also sent three newly formed elite infantry squads under Sinuoli's command.

These men were called the Children of the Sea God Legion by Kangsitanting; they were a new elite infantry regiment he had selected and recruited from the original Coast Guard, sailors, and Knight attendants, and built with good treatment.

Kangsitanting hoped to use this to supplement the lack of combat power in the original infantry regiment, and now that training was complete, he wanted these men to undergo the test of actual combat.

Sinuoli also read another meaning from the telegram—he had stabilized his position in the transfer of power, and it was time to weaken the influence of the coastal nobles and the Church of the Sea who had originally supported him strongly.

The Children of the Sea God Legion sent by Kangsitanting had two Halberd squads and one Nuxhou squad, totaling one hundred and eighty men. In the end, Sinuoli's combat force already numbered exactly three thousand.

After finishing the troop list, Sinuoli let out a long breath; this was the largest force he had ever commanded, and after setting off, the fate of these three thousand people could be said to be in his hands.

Suddenly, a whim seized Sinuoli, and he looked east from the window of the Sea Gate. He knew that the Vault Mountains were there, and Karak Izor stood on the edge of the glacier, where Belegar Ironhammer was currently recruiting troops.

Ever since Sinuoli announced his expedition to Gaoyuanbao, these two Dwarf Princes seemed to have started a rivalry. Well, Belegar claimed to be the King of Karak Eight Peaks, only most Dwarfs did not yet recognize him.

Judging from the current results, the two were evenly matched this time, but Sinuoli knew that the clansmen helped him because they believed he could succeed; while helping Belegar was because they believed that if they didn't help, there would be no chance to help later—he was already the last bloodline of the Angrund Clan.

On the day of the expedition, Sinuoli boarded the Dreadnought Grimnir's Hammer amidst the cheers of the clansmen at the Sea Gate. Lord Panuosi personally arrived to see him off; he had opened a bottle of sparkling wine, usually reserved for victory celebrations, in advance to show his support for Sinuoli's expedition.

Sinuoli stood on the bridge feeling very steady; this giant ship was like a castle at sea, equipped with a large number of Cannon turrets, and the Artillery caliber used was even larger than that used by the Army. In addition to the turrets and side batteries, this Dreadnought also had a flight deck for the takeoff and landing of gyrocopters and airships.

The vast majority of people in the Old World believed that the Dreadnought was the most powerful ship at sea, but its enormous cost also determined that even wealthy Dwarfs could not possess many.

The greatest kings in the history of Balake-Wa'er all took the construction of a Dreadnought as a symbol of their achievements, but currently, the Sea Gate only had three still in operation.

"You need not worry at all; there isn't a single ship in the entire Blackwater Bay that dares not yield the way when they see us!" Panuosen stood beside Sinuoli, looking at the seawater in front of the ship with great pride.

What he said was the truth; with the contraction of the Dwarf navy, Blackwater Bay was managed like an iron barrel. The entire Border Prince Territory was under the joint influence of Tongshanbao on land and the Sea Gate at sea. As long as the Dwarfs wanted to, they could easily install a Border Prince.

"That Lailun, he is your friend. When the Knights first entered the Border Prince Territory, he was very successful relying on his status as a Knight of the Blazing Sun, and with the resources you provided, he is already a figure of note in that chaotic land."

The Dwarfs of these two fortresses were both concerned about the situation in the Border Prince Territory; they did not want it to be too chaotic, as that would affect their trade.

But they also did not want this place to be completely swallowed by the Knights. If the world were at peace, who would buy the Dwarfs' flagship products—weapons and armor? And who would need the Dwarfs to repair city walls damaged in war?

After the Knightly Army of the Knight King Chalun slaughtered the Greenskins, they did not continue to march into the Badlands but instead lingered on the spot. When the Border Princes realized the true intention of the Bretonnians—to occupy their land—these desperate men united.

Lailun, who had grown powerful by working for the Knights, this time stood on the side of his fellow Border Princes, and with the secret support of the Dwarfs, he fought against the remaining Bretonnian troops.

"He is also one favored by the gods; perhaps this struggle has already gone beyond the Mortal World." Sinuoli associated the struggle between Mannan'en and the Lady of the Lake, which he had heard about from that Scholar in the city of Bordeleaux, with the current situation.