It was dawn, and the fog still covered the land. In the quiet town of Xihai, people began to work. Although they could not see the dawn of the morning, they understood that the night was over. A thick fog obscured everything, and the mist haunted their humble mother, and also obscured the sea not far outside the town. Even though they couldn't see, they could still hear the sea lapping against the shore, stirring around the pier.

Then they heard something else...... Through the mist, slow and low. They couldn't tell where the sound came from and where it came from. Is it from the land behind them, or from the endless sea? Is it just the waves that are more rough than usual, or is it pouring rain from the fog? Or is it a whole line of mule-drawn wagons driving along the hard dirt path?

The townspeople listened intently and finally determined that the unusual sound was coming from the sea. They hurried to the shore and peered into the fog, trying to see through the fog, trying to figure out what it was, or what it portended.

As if propelled by the voice, the fog slowly began to spread, and a shadow gradually revealed its outline. The waves rushed to the shore, and the inhabitants retreated. Some of the young people screamed, but were ordered to stop them by the elders.

They have lived here for generations, relying on fishing in the sea to make a living, and they know this sea area well. So quite a few people have already guessed that this sound and waves mean that something is approaching the shore. The shadows and mist gradually approached the shore, and the strange sound of the waves gradually increased. Eventually, the shadow cut through the veil of fog, splitting into many and revealing its shape.

The townsfolk were a little more relaxed - fortunately, it wasn't the legendary sea monster, but the ship they were familiar with. But they also have a hint of vigilance. Xihai Town is a quiet and peaceful fishing town, with only a few small sampans. Although a dozen merchant ships dock to the shore every year to replenish supplies, that's about it.

But now, one, two, three...... No less than thirty foreign boats were coming towards them at the same time, what did it mean? The alarm bells in the center of town were ringing, and people were grabbing whatever they could find: short clubs, knives, hooks, even fishing nets. They waited nervously, watching the ships get closer. More ships appeared in the fog one after another, seemingly endlessly, and each time a new ship sailed out of the fog, the shock of the inhabitants of the place grew.

There were not dozens, but hundreds, of approaching boats, and it was as if an entire village and town had been packed up! The inhabitants had never seen so many boats. Where did these ships come from? What made them set sail at the same time, and what drove them to Westsea?

Residents have tightened their grip on their weapons, and children and women have taken refuge in their homes, locking their doors to the deadbolts. The number of ships coming out of the fog was still increasing, and the strange sounds were clearly discernible. It's the sound of oars hitting the water, disrupting the rhythm of the waves. The lead ship docked, and the residents who were waiting at the pier saw the figure on board.

They breathed a sigh of relief—there were men and women on board, and judging by their size, it seemed to be children—that certainly wasn't the pirates' visit to Seatown, at least most likely not a premeditated invasion.

More ships docked, and people stumbled aside. Some collapsed on the rocky shore crying, while others stood straight and breathed heavily, as if happy to be out of the sea. The fog began to reced, turning into wisps of mist in the light of the morning sun, dissipating in the intense sunlight. The residents of Xihai Town now see that these people are not the military. In fact, many of them were women and children, and most of them were in ragged clothes, and many of them looked very thin. They were just ordinary people, apparently ordinary people who had suffered some kind of calamity, and many of them were so exhausted that they could barely stand or stagger on the shore.

However, there are still some people who wear armor. One of them, who stepped down from the lead boat, walked towards the place where the townspeople had gathered. The man was tall and muscular, with a bare head, a thick beard on his chin, and a face as purple as that of a man who had been begging for a living at sea all year round. The armor on his body was clearly battle-hardened, but it was also well-maintained—many of the scratches from the slashes were smoothed out, and the bracers were patched with leather.

"Greetings to all of you!" the warrior said loudly, walking towards the villager, his palm pressed against the hilt of his sword at his waist but not drawing his weapon, "We are refugees, and we just came out of a terrible battle not long ago. I beseech you to give you some food and water. If possible, there is also a place to live. I can pay you with Gem Coins. ”

The townsfolk looked at each other, then nodded, their weapons no longer pointing at the newcomers. The man spoke with a pure northern accent, not an archipelago colloquial phrase that most pirates often speak. Moreover, although Xihai Town is not rich, they are not poor, at least not so poor that they stand by and watch those women, children, old and children.

In a short time, the women of the village were already cooking pots of hot porridge and stews, and the men led the refugees to settle down in a church, the town's most solid and spacious building, and the sacred abode of Nord, the "Lord of the Sea Breeze."

There is a presiding officer who is very attentive to the refugees who have just escaped from the sea, because their deities are in the neutral camp of goodness. The priest and his attendants boiled potions to help the sick refugees.

"Thank you," said the soldier who led the convoy to the self-proclaimed mayor of Algat Red, "we are refugees from the Trade Winds Chamber of Commerce, and this is a small and insignificant reward for our generosity to the people of Seasea. As he spoke, he untied a cloth bag from his waist, which contained several fist-sized opal emerald coins.

Algart looked at the heavy gifts, and he first placed them in the hands of the church priest next to him, counting them as the town's worship of the gods. Then the old man frowned and asked, "When I was young, I also ran merchant ships for a while, and I know that the Trade Wind Chamber of Commerce is a very prestigious Chamber of Commerce in the north. I wonder why you're here in our little town. ”

Considering his words, the mayor of Seasea inquired carefully about the battle that had befallen the Trade Winds Chamber of Commerce—he had to do it out of duty—but he knew what the Trade Winds Chamber was about, which was one of the eight franchisees on Dwarf Island. If a force can crush such a behemoth at sea, then crushing Xihai Town is simply easier than stomping your feet.

Out of gratitude, the warrior did not hide anything, and carefully told Olgart everything that had happened to the Chamber of Commerce.

"A few days ago, the mayor issued a newspaper saying that the monster army had been blocked in the Black Willow Swamp in the north. But according to your words, those guys actually took a detour to defeat the island of the Trade Wind Chamber of Commerce...... Maybe the landing has been completed somewhere on the West Coast. Olgat gasped. He had a vague bad feeling in his heart.

It's just that they don't know yet, except for the Trade Wind Chamber of Commerce, the eight franchise dealers who are related to the gnomes and control the maritime trade network have been completely destroyed at this moment.

Just like the remnants of the refugees of the Trade Winds Chamber of Commerce, the members of the Chamber of Commerce who survived have left the overseas islands where they have settled for many years and landed in some places on the west, east and north coasts. All kinds of bad news have been frequently spread to the command center of the coalition army.

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