The Lost

The injured Ozumat was extremely apprehensive. Its eyes scanned the building-sized enemies, trying to figure out what had hurt it. Until it was sure, it dared not move forward rashly.

Its hesitation made the situation even more critical for the faceless and naga legions.

They were already caught in a pincer attack. The water elemental legion on the front lines was on the verge of collapse due to Neptulon's injury, but the Alliance's surprise attack had taken much of the pressure off of them, especially from Ozumat. The water elemental legion quickly held the line, and after "Tidehunter" Neptulon recovered a bit, he immediately returned to the battlefield from the depths of the Abyssal Maw.

His arrival not only made the naga legion's situation dire—the naga and faceless legions quickly collapsed, and soon the remnants fled the Abyssal Maw with the second-time injured Ozumat.

This not only meant that N'Zoth's plan had failed, but now that Neptulon had reinforcements, he would no longer fear the threat of the Old God's legions.

The situation in all four elemental planes was very favorable for the Azeroth Alliance, but the naval battle near the Maelstrom was fierce.

When this naval battle broke out, the Kul Tiran elite navy faced nearly ten times their number in enemy ships. Even though Admiral Daelin was a skilled commander, the difference in strength was too great. More than four hours of bombardment and boarding actions resulted in heavy Kul Tiran casualties. Now nearly seventy percent of Kul Tiras's warships had capsized, and even the flagship Courage was battered and its speed greatly reduced.

With the naval battle reaching this point, so-called tactical command was of little use. The remaining twenty or so warships, bearing varying degrees of damage, surrounded the Courage, constantly firing on the troll enemy ships.

These brave Kul Tiran naval elites still managed to inflict twice their own casualties in the face of absolute disadvantage, but this was nothing to the massive troll fleet. Four hours after the start of the battle, they were exhausted, but the troll warships emerging from the sea mist were becoming more and more numerous, practically covering the entire sea as far as the eye could see!

This was a truly despairing scene. Now they were completely surrounded, with no way to retreat. Perhaps a few volleys from the enemy gunships would completely sink them.

Was this to be the end of the Kul Tiran naval elite?

Beneath the tattered Kul Tiran banner, every brave naval warrior thought their last moment was approaching.

But just then, the communications officer, who had been staying in the command room, ran out excitedly and shouted, "Admiral, Admiral, our reinforcements have arrived!"

"Which reinforcements are these?"

"The Valorant Rapid Response Force, the Valorant Navy Conquest Fleet, and the 'Mist Wanderer'... huh?"

Daelin knew the first two. The Valorant Rapid Response Force was a collection of flying and airborne units capable of rapid aerial movement via Storm Fortress sub-ships. Now Storm Fortress was south of the Maelstrom, ready to land in Pandaria at any time, so it was normal for the Rapid Response Force to arrive first; as for the Conquest Fleet, it was the Valorant fleet commanded by "Ocean Disaster" Gangplank, mainly composed of pirate ships from Bilgewater.

Daelin had never thought highly of Gangplank, because this guy was a pirate by origin, and seemed undisciplined compared to him, a regular navy officer. This was a style completely incompatible with the Kul Tiran navy, which was known for its rigor and self-discipline.

However, since the other party was able to arrive on the battlefield at the first opportunity, Daelin felt that he should change his view of this group of pirates who had been transformed into a regular army, the Conquest Fleet.

But what country did this last one, the "Mist Wanderer," belong to? He had no idea.

Could it be another special unit from Valorant?

Four minutes later, the sound of propellers churning the air and the low hum of engines rang out in the sky. The first batch of reinforcements, the Valorant Rapid Response Force, arriving from the air, had arrived.

In the meantime, the troll fleet had launched another bombardment, heavily damaging the Courage's side and unfortunately capsizing four warships.

The troll dragonhawk riders and bat riders were watching menacingly in the sky, constantly shooting poisoned spears and arrows at the warriors on the ships.

Just then, the valiant Grenadier Corki led the Rapid Response Force in a dive from the clouds. Hundreds of helicopters were arranged in formations of various sizes, practically blotting out the sky.

In an instant, hundreds of missiles and rocket launchers flew towards the enemy, leaving long trails of flame. In the midst of the violent explosions, dozens of troll warships were immediately shattered.

In just one round of attack, the trolls suffered nearly half the losses of the previous four hours of naval battle!

And this was just the beginning. The armed helicopters opened fire in unison, creating a dazzling metallic storm in the air with their machine guns. Under the onslaught of machine gun ammunition, those troll aerial knights who were besieging Kul Tiras exploded in mid-air, while those who were not hit were frightened out of their wits, scrambling back to their fleet for shelter.

Corki made a beautiful fishtail maneuver, approached the Courage's airspace, easily shot down two fleeing dragonhawk riders, then pressed the loudspeaker and shouted down, "Kul Tiras allies, advance south!"

The Conquest Fleet was coming from the south. Admiral Daelin knew that now was not the time to be brave. They had already made great sacrifices and delayed enough time. More troops were on their way, and this troll fleet, which had sprung up from nowhere, would pay an even heavier price for its aggressive actions than Kul Tiras had!

Admiral Daelin's fleet accelerated its retreat under the cover of the air force, but most of their ships were badly damaged and their overall speed was very slow. How could the commander of the troll fleet accept letting the prey that was about to be caught slip away like this? Although the Valorant Rapid Response Force had hindered them, causing them to lose their air superiority, the trolls still had an absolute advantage on the sea. Therefore, they persevered, leading their fleet in a relentless pursuit.

The two sides were biting very closely, and Kul Tiras lost three more ships. But at this moment, in front of them, a large number of warships flying the flag of the Valorant Federation came surging through the waves. At the head was the huge flagship Dreadnought.

Captain Gangplank pretended to put down his telescope—because the situation on the battlefield had already been transmitted to him by air force reconnaissance planes—all he saw were the Kul Tiras warships sailing towards them.

"Prepare the cannon barrage! Give those troll whelps a taste of our power!" Gangplank shouted loudly.

He suddenly felt a cold stick pressing against his back. He turned his head, cursing, and saw the grim-faced "Troll King" Trundle.

"Ah ha, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the native trolls of this world!" Gangplank explained sheepishly.

The number of the Conquest Fleet was considerable, but only a small portion could reach this place. The actual number was not more than the Kul Tiras naval fleet before the war. Even with aerial support, they could not directly confront the massive troll fleet.

Plank relied on the advantages of his ship's speed and firepower to fight and retreat, leading the troll fleet in circles.

Admiral Daelin came to the 'Nether Abyss' and asked, puzzled, "General Plank, are you preparing some special tactics?"

He didn't understand why the Conquest Fleet was fighting like this—the troll fleet was chasing them relentlessly, but they seemed to be deliberately leading the enemy around, as if unwilling to leave this area.

"Special tactics? No! I'm waiting for a signal from over there."

"Over there?" Daelin didn't know who this "over there" referred to.

"The 'Mistwalker'!" Plank said mysteriously.

"What is that? A super warship that can change the course of the battle?" Daelin had never heard of this ship. Logically, even if the Valoran Federation had some secret weapon, they wouldn't deliberately keep it secret from them. He guessed it might be some strategic weapon that Aiden had recently summoned from Valoran.

Plank said with a strange expression, "Basically, yes—it's super huge, so huge it's beyond your imagination!"

His words completely piqued Daelin's curiosity. Kul Tiras was a strong naval power. Before the Valoran Federation arrived, they had always maintained the lead in naval power and equipment. Generally speaking, the best warships in the Eastern Kingdoms were built in the shipyards of Kul Tiras.

Due to current limitations in technology, materials, and cost, warships that could be equipped by the navy were already weapons with perfect designs. So, how big would this super huge warship, which could exceed Daelin's own imagination, be?

Would it be ten times bigger than the 'Courage'? A full metal armored ship?

But even so, such a warship could not possibly withstand hundreds of troll warships, right?

He was a little suspicious that the pirate captain in front of him was bragging.

However, he didn't have much mood to consider such things, because in the great naval battle just now, the Kul Tiras navy suffered heavy losses, with more than 80% casualties. Many brave naval warriors fell into the water because their warships sank. Without rescue, even if the trolls didn't send people to hunt them down, it would be difficult for them to survive. Moreover, the trolls would not give up the good opportunity to capture prisoners, as most trolls had the habit of eating people.

Whenever he thought of this, Admiral Daelin's mood was very low.

However, he didn't notice that another small-scale naval battle was breaking out in the area where the naval battle had just taken place.

One side of the battle was, of course, the trolls. They were a fleet specializing in salvaging human warriors who had fallen into the water, mostly transport ships, with only a small number of frigates. Salvaging was not out of any battlefield principles or humanitarianism, but because these were all their "food reserves." As Daelin thought, most troll tribes had the habit of cannibalism.

"Simple" trolls like the Darkspear tribe of the Echo Isles were very rare. It was precisely because of this that people could gradually accept those Darkspear trolls who joined the Valoran Federation.

The main battlefield of the naval battle had been dragged to the rear by the Conquest Fleet, and this place seemed relatively calm. The sea surface was full of wreckage of ships, some from the trolls and some from Kul Tiras. Some warriors with good swimming skills were dragging floating objects such as planks and barrels to avoid sinking.

The trolls rowed small boats on the sea, rescuing their own people and capturing human prisoners along the way. Those who resisted were killed, and those who surrendered were dragged back to the ship and tied up.

However, their cleanup work had only just begun when the troll commander on the ship received a report from the first mate: an island had appeared in the mist.

This was not a big deal in itself. There was a layer of mist on the sea before, and the visibility was not clear. It was normal for the warring parties not to notice the nearby islands.

But what was abnormal was that even though they were performing a cleanup mission in this fixed sea area, they found that the island was getting closer and closer!

After ruling out the possibility of ocean currents carrying them, the troll commander came to a conclusion that startled him—the island was actually moving!

But how was this possible?

He thought he must be seeing things, or that it was an illusion created by the enemy. To be on the safe side, he still dispatched dragonhawk riders to scout.

Before long, the things on the island gradually became clear. After some reconnaissance, the dragonhawk riders of the frigate brought back the news that the troll commander feared most.

The island was really moving... because the island was actually a huge sea turtle!

Moreover, there were some pandaren living on the island, and now they were wielding weapons, preparing to fight!

The pandaren were not allies of the trolls, and it was clear that they were not here with good intentions.

But that wasn't all.

Because the knights also scouted that next to this huge moving island, a fleet was breaking through the waves.

This armed fleet was also from the Valoran Federation, and the commander was "Miss Fortune" Sarah, who was standing on the bow of the 'Maiden's Call,' fiddling with her twin guns.

"How boring, to make my Blue Flame Fleet deal with these transport ships!"

Miss Fortune looked bored.

Because her fleet was slightly further away from the Maelstrom battlefield, she naturally couldn't join the battlefield at the first moment. According to the orders of the staff, she was to work with the pandaren on the Wandering Isle to rescue the Kul Tiras naval warriors who had fallen into the water and attack the enemies who were hindering them.

She thought there would be a big battle, but the news brought back by the reconnaissance plane showed that most of the designated area was full of transport ships that didn't even have cannons and ballistae installed. Presumably, there were no regular navies on them.

There were also troll frigates, but that little power was not enough for her fleet to fill the gaps between their teeth!

The battle started quickly and ended quickly. Just as Miss Fortune had expected, when the Blue Flame Fleet and the gigantic Shen-zin Su charged into the enemy ranks, the troll side quickly collapsed. The few frigates only resisted for a short while before being sunk. Those transport ships had no fighting power and were too slow to escape. How could they escape the pursuit of the fastest ship on the Conquest Sea, the 'Maiden's Call'?

After occupying this sea area, the pandaren from the Wandering Isle, under the command of Master Shang Xi, rode on boats of all sizes to rescue the naval warriors who had fallen into the water. As for those trolls who fell into the water?

Those who listened were stunned with a paddle and dragged up to be tied up, and those who didn't listen were stunned with a paddle and let them sink to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!