Chapter 220: A Way Out

“Lord Tagraedi, we need to find a way back,” Eddie said cautiously.

For him, these fruits were more like a dessert than a meal. Considering his large appetite, all the fruits combined wouldn’t even suffice for one of his meals.

These damn bird people must have given them food based on their own portions, without considering the huge difference in body size.

After eating two of the hard-shelled fruits, he was not only unsatisfied but even hungrier.

It was imaginable that if this life continued for long, it would be better for him to die.

“Can the Black Pearl be repaired?” Wu Qingsong asked.

“There are so many trees on the island, there’s definitely a way to repair it. If we cut down a few of these trees we’re in now, we could make masts out of them,” Eddie had already thought about this problem and immediately answered. “But doing this on the reef is very difficult, and the ship can’t be launched from there. The surrounding area is full of sharp rocks. If we launch, it’ll get stranded again.”

“So you mean we need to drag the ship onto the island?” Wu Qingsong asked.

Aifrei nodded.

“So what we need to do is essentially two things. First, we need the full support of the Gale Kingdom. Second, we need to eliminate the nearby fishmen, or at least drive them into the deep sea,” Wu Qingsong said.

“These two things can actually be considered one,” Red Moon said. 

She looked at Ram, who was tired from excessive grief and had little energy to think about these problems at the moment. 

“For these bird people, as long as we can help them eliminate some of the fishmen and give them an advantage in the struggle, they should be very grateful to us,” she added.

“Is it really that simple?” Wu Qingsong asked. 

Ordinary fishmen weren’t much of a problem, and even those giant octopus monsters and massive mantis shrimps weren’t that big of a deal. But the huge waves summoned by the fishman shamans posed a significant threat. At least so far, he hadn’t thought of any way to counter them.

Red Moon glanced at the others and suddenly said, “Lord Tagraedi, how about we take a walk to the seaside?”

Wu Qingsong knew she felt there were some things she couldn’t say in front of the old walrus and the sea lion sailors. Although he thought she was being a bit overly cautious, he looked at Ram and, after getting her consent, left the large tree with Red Moon.

“Is it really necessary to go all the way to the seaside?” After walking a short distance, he stopped.

“Lord, do you really not want to walk with me?” Red Moon glanced at the giant tree where the Gale Queen resided and slightly shook her head.

So she was worried about being overheard by the harpies?

“Alright then.” Wu Qingsong nodded.

The night wind was strong, and after the tide rose, the giant waves completely submerged the beach, continuously crashing against the cliffs with thunderous roars.

Some penguin soldiers stood on the rocks at the cliff’s edge, likely guarding against a fishman sneak attack. They looked surprised at Wu Qingsong and Red Moon but said nothing. Their story had probably spread throughout the island by now, and all the bird people knew their identity.

“What do you want to say? We can talk here, right?” Wu Qingsong asked.

The sound of the waves was loud. Unless those harpies could turn invisible like Xeila or create illusions like Ram and hide nearby, there was no way they could overhear their conversation.

“Lord Tagraedi, do you think these bird people could be our potential allies?” Red Moon asked.

“Our?” Wu Qingsong had some issues with her phrasing. “Didn’t you just say they were too weak?”

“You misunderstood me,” Red Moon replied. “Not being able to see at night is a huge disadvantage for them, but it’s not a problem for us. On the contrary, it makes them more reliant on our protection and forces them into a closer relationship with us. Of course, that’s assuming they’re willing to leave this island and come to the mainland with us.”

“They’ll get captured right away,” Wu Qingsong said.

“Not right now,” Red Moon said. “Did you notice that most of the harpies have decent magical talents? At least from what I’ve seen, the proportion of those with wind magic talent is quite high. Using such magic against the fishmen’s tidal spells is obviously a disadvantage, but if used in the right place and the right way, this magic could be incredibly powerful.”

“You want to bring them into your faction?” Wu Qingsong asked.

“It’s ‘our’ faction,” Red Moon said. “A few hundred wind mages, even if most of them are just apprentices, their combined magical power can change the outcome of a battle. They could even stand against powerful mages. Moreover, with harpies capable of launching sudden attacks on any area, their strength is significant. Even if they don’t directly engage in attacks, simply having them drop those incendiary bombs you invented from above would cause tremendous damage. Don’t you think such power is valuable?”

Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but admire her ingenuity in coming up with the idea of aerial bombardment on her own.

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“Lord Tagraedi, the magic you used earlier, it should be necromancy from the ruins of Batiz, right?” Red Moon switched the topic.

Wu Qingsong had long known that the spies from Dark Moon had discovered this information. Given Red Moon’s analytical skills, it wasn’t hard for her to reach this conclusion.

“What are you getting at?”

“Necromancy is said to be the most powerful and unrestricted magic in this world,” Red Moon said. “Lord, if we had known earlier that you had acquired such abilities, we wouldn’t have risked a misunderstanding with you just for a small hope of disrupting the elves internally.”

Her words meant nothing to Wu Qingsong.

“What I know is only a little,” he said indifferently.

“Even a little is powerful enough in my eyes,” Red Moon said. “The method you used to intimidate us earlier, that must have been a form of necromancy, a curse?”

Though there was some misunderstanding, Wu Qingsong didn’t bother to explain.

“I believe that with your power alone, we can deal with these fishmen,” Red Moon continued. “Tomorrow, you should be able to turn those unprocessed corpses into similar undead creatures, right? If so, it’s only a matter of time before the fishmen are defeated. Perhaps you haven’t realized it yet, but with enough time, victory will surely be ours.”