Volume 8: The Road to the Ancient Dragon Chapter 402: Back Home
The fleet sailed in the vast ocean. After passing through the icy waters infested with icebergs, the fleet finally entered the warm southern waters again.
The warm sea breeze made the players on the fleet in a good mood, and even the seagulls that kept making noisy calls above their heads were not so annoying anymore.
Finally back.
Both players and NPCs felt relieved.
The biting cold wind of Northrend finally no longer brings cold to people.
Murphy did not bring too many people with him this time. He left some Dragon Knights to guard Winterfell. The monsters in Northrend are of high level and strong. Without sufficient force, the city can be destroyed by the wild monsters alone.
There are also a large number of players who choose to stay to explore more maps and dig up more wealth.
After all, Dragonbone Wasteland is a new map for adventurers. It can be said that there are opportunities and wealth everywhere, and of course dangers everywhere.
This is a new world where dangers and opportunities coexist. No matter how cold it is, you have to persevere. Whether you can exchange your bicycle for a motorcycle and have a boom depends on one or two months. If this group of players seize the opportunity, they will have a great chance of getting the first wave of benefits.
To facilitate exploration, Murphy also left two pirate ships there.
However, the NPCs rescued from the freezing of Pollux all chose to return to the Eastern Continent with Murphy.
Murphy didn't care where the fleet was sailing at this time. He was studying new heroic specialties.
I haven't had time to make a choice since I defeated Borelius, but now I finally have time.
[Feat 1: Epic Explorer (Achievement Feat). You successfully crossed the sea and arrived at a game map that has not yet been opened. You conducted in-depth exploration of the map and completed an epic plot event. As a result, you were awarded the title of Epic Explorer. You have become more adept at exploring foreign maps and have mastered the tricks of surviving in dangerous areas.
Effect 1: (Professional Explorer) You will become a full member of the Explorers' Association, and you can hire explorers from the Explorers' Association to help you with your exploration activities.
Effect 2: (Anecdotes) When you enter an unfamiliar map, you will randomly hear legends/stories/rumors/written records about the map, and there is a 70% chance that the information is true.
Effect 3: (Survival Master) When you enter an area with environmental damage, you will automatically learn how to deal with that environmental damage. 】
[Feat 2: Pioneer (Lord feat). You have successfully built a town/castle in an undeveloped wild area and developed the resources on the map to a certain extent. As a result, you have developed the ambition, courage and reputation to expand your territory and power deep in your heart.
Expertise Effect 1: Use local materials. When you build a town or castle on an undeveloped map, you can collect available resources nearby to reduce the cost of building the city.
Expertise Effect 2: Summon refugees. Due to your pioneering deeds, your appeal has been improved. You have acquired the skill of summoning refugees. After using it, you can randomly summon 1-100 refugees (once a day). Refugees can be used as farmers or craftsmen, and do not require population buildings, but their work efficiency is only 33% of that of farmers or craftsmen. In the absence of supplies, refugees will flee from you and transform into humanoid monsters such as bandits, robbers, and robbers in the nearby area. You can also transform them into town residents after building a town. 】
[Feat 3: Spellbreaker (Combat Feat). In a plot campaign, you successfully fought against and perfectly broke the effects of a legendary magic, and thus you have mastered the skills and abilities to fight against spellcasters.
In your eyes, magic is no longer mysterious. Although you cannot use magic effectively yet, you can easily find the weaknesses and flaws of magic and break them.
Expertise Effect: Spell Insight. Requires concentration - When the enemy uses magic on you, you can observe with concentration to see the secrets of the magic and automatically obtain all the information about the magic.
These three specialties are all very good, but Murphy considered that he did not intend to follow the lord route, so the second specialty was obviously of no use to him.
In fact, if it were a player who wanted to expand his territory, such as Darkseid or Zhuaganbao, this would be a very useful skill, which could greatly reduce the cost of opening up new territory and increase the efficiency of opening up new territory. Unfortunately, he was not prepared to spend too much energy on managing the territory and expanding his influence.
Becoming the king or dominating the world is not his goal.
There are two remaining specialties. The first one is more suitable for team action and can reduce a lot of trouble. Environmental damage is still quite troublesome. The biting cold wind in Northrend, the poisonous fog and mud in the swamp area, the high temperature and sandstorm quicksand in the desert area... will bring a lot of danger and casualties to the expeditionary force.
Most of the wild areas in the Sky World are very dangerous. Although it has no effect on me... my subordinates can't stand it.
Anecdotes can help you learn some map information, and if you are lucky, you may even discover hidden tasks, hidden ruins, etc.
As for hiring explorers... this is also very helpful. He still remembers the experience of working with an elf explorer when he was at Tongtian Peak. It can reduce a lot of trouble.
In general, the special effects of the Epic Explorer's specialty are very useful, but the uses are not particularly great. However, considering that there are three passive skills for one specialty, it feels quite cost-effective.
As for the last Spellbreaker feat—
This expertise is a complete enhancement of personal strength.
In fact, judging from the description, it doesn't seem to be of much help in low-level battles. With his strength, he can just crush them.
However, if I encounter a powerful spellcaster like Borelius who has mastered legendary magic in the future, this expertise should come in handy.
After pondering for a long time, Murphy gritted his teeth and chose the Lawbreaker specialty.
Although exploration is important, it is ultimately one's personal strength that determines life or death.
Especially when fighting against those top strong men, there is a high probability that they will have some powerful spells. If you fight hard without understanding the situation, you will be at a disadvantage. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. With this expertise, it is called knowing yourself and the enemy. This is the real power, the real Pava.
Murphy decisively chose the third one.
[System prompt: You have acquired a new expertise - Spellbreaker...]
Murphy felt it for a while and it didn't seem to have any effect. After thinking about it, he decided to find someone to experiment on it first.
Morgan Lisa just walked in, and Murphy said, "Morgan Lisa, do me a favor and cast an offensive magic on me, but a weaker one."
Morgan Lisa was surprised and asked, "Are you sick?"
"I'm experimenting with hero specialties, you can just use them."
Morgan Lisa was speechless, "Okay, then get ready, I'm going to take action."
Murphy immediately became focused and stared at the other party, only to see Morgan Lisa raise her hand and shoot a fireball.
The moment the fireball was released, information about the magic immediately appeared in Murphy's mind.
[Fire Missile: Causes 455 points of fire damage.
Spell type: Single-target damage magic/missile magic.
Spell faction: Fire.
Attack method: Flying movement.
Spell Enhancement: Spell Damage +187 (Equipment Enhancement), Instant Spell (Expertise Enhancement), Spell Power Increased by 30% (Expertise Enhancement), 55% Chance to Ignite the Target (School Expertise Enhancement)...】
Wow, it’s really convenient.
Murphy silently recited the data in his mind and couldn't help but think of it with surprise.
Not only can one see through the opponent's magic, but to a certain extent, one can also reversely deduce a lot of information about the opponent based on the magic data, such as expertise, specialization, spell school, equipment, etc.
Although this effect seems to be meaningless for such low-level magic.
But if the enemy uses other high-level magic, it will be different.
In the future, when you encounter a spellcaster using some particularly outrageous magic on you, you will be able to see through it at a glance. I just want to ask you, are you afraid?
Just as I was feeling happy, cheers suddenly came from outside.
Murphy walked out of the captain's room, only to find that the fleet had finally arrived at the coastline of the eastern continent.
The fleet continued sailing along the coastline, and one day later, it finally docked at the pier of Nanhai City.
[System prompt: You have successfully completed an exploratory voyage and discovered a new route, Nanhai Town - Lindong Port. This route is a virgin route. Since you have defeated all the pirates and sea monsters encountered on the route, the probability of encountering emergencies on this route has been reduced by 80%. Please choose your way of dealing with this route.
Option 1: You choose to monopolize the route and operate it yourself.
Option 2: You choose to submit the route to the Navigators Association, and you can receive a 5% dividend on the route for three years.
Huh, there is such a setting?
Murphy was a little surprised. No wonder there were players driving boats around. He originally thought it was just a hobby, but it turns out there is a business opportunity here.
He thought about it.
You can choose between the two: either run your own business and keep all the profits you make.
Either submit the route and lie down to earn dividends.
Murphy hesitated for a moment and then chose to submit the route. He didn't have the time to go out for business. Moreover, his fleet alone could not transport much goods, and it would be a waste of time.
It would be better to submit it and let us all run this route together. If this route becomes popular in the future, we can also get a lot of money.
This is another way to make money, but he is very short of money now.
Once on the dock, Van Cleef said goodbye.
Aidan (Prince of Alterac): "I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Varian back. Say hello to Duke Lothar for me and tell him that Varian will come back one day. When Stormwind is in crisis again, he will come back in an unexpected way."
Van Cleef (Lord of Moonbrook): "I will pass on your message, Prince Aidan. It is an honor to adventure with you."
Watching Van Cleef leave, Murphy felt a little emotional. It seemed that the situation in Stormwind Kingdom would be very different from that in history.
I just don’t know what the scene will be like when Varian returns.
He shook his head and threw away the emotions in his mind.
Murphy was about to lead his men into the city when he was stopped by a group of soldiers.
South Sea Principality Infantry: "Prince Aidan, I am following the orders of my king, the Invincible Stupid Sculpture, to welcome you into the city for rest. My king has been waiting for you for a long time."
Murphy nodded and said, "Lead the way."
But in my mind, he is becoming the king, when it is just a principality.
But you have to say, looking at a whole team of human infantry and human knights equipped with the shield of the Principality of the South Sea, and looking at the flag of the Principality of the South Sea on the city wall, it does look quite authentic.
It's like an independent kingdom within the alliance.
Following the soldiers along the way, Murphy found that the city was much quieter. Nanhai City was a trading port after all, with convenient transportation, but there were not many adventurers. It was much quieter than the last time he saw it.
As soon as we entered the castle, the invincible sand sculpture immediately came to greet us.
Wudi Sha Diao (King of the South Sea): "Brother, you are finally back. Now there is a big event in the alliance. The brothers are looking forward to your return to discuss state affairs."
Aidan (Prince of Alterac): "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Godwin is such a jerk. He wants to build an orc detention center and asks all of our countries to pay for it. If we don't pay, he will impose a trade embargo and economic sanctions. It's a pity that my South Sea Guild only has this one way to make money, and now it's all blocked. There's simply no way out."
Orc detention center? Murphy was stunned when he heard it. He recalled the plot and immediately remembered what was going on.
In fact, there was indeed an event called the Orc Detention Center in the original history of Warcraft.
This plan was devised by King Terenas after the Second War. Due to the defeat of the Horde, a large number of orc prisoners were left behind. At that time, the Alliance countries had different opinions on how to deal with these orc prisoners. There were iron-blooded ones, such as Admiral Proudmoore, who wanted to sacrifice all the orc prisoners because his son was killed by orcs.
There is also the Elf Kingdom, which , having suffered severe losses, also believes that it would be best if all these savage orcs were killed.
But there are also the Virgin Mary faction, such as those in the Church of Holy Light, who think that although these orcs are evil, they are still living beings after all, and should not be treated so cruelly. They should be taught well and allowed to mend their evil ways.
Eventually, King Terenas took control and chose to build a large number of orc detention centers to detain these captives, attempting to educate these orcs and turn them over to the right path.
Then a bold move came out. King Terenas asked all the countries in the Alliance to contribute money to feed these orc captives, and the price was quite high, so high that it could affect the finances of each country. It was really a bit confusing to use so much money to feed a group of prisoners of war. This incident eventually caused many conflicts within the Alliance, and it almost split.
Many detention centers were built. Later, when Thrall established the new tribe, he rescued a large number of orc captives from the detention centers and recruited them into his army.
Of course, that's a story from another timeline.
Although the Alliance-Horde War in this timeline was not as bloody as the original one, it still produced more than 100,000 orc captives. If Murphy's idea was followed, he would just go for the simplest and most convenient option.
In fact, this is also the general view of Alliance players.
Godwin actually chose to follow his father's example and build an orc detention center. Doesn't he know that this is a trap?
No, this guy must have other ideas.
Murphy remembered that there was a conspiracy theory at the time that the fundamental purpose of Terenas establishing the Orc Detention Center was actually to control the finances of the various forces in the Alliance.
On the one hand, requiring a large amount of money can consume the strength of the alliance countries, and how can so much money be used up? Anyway, as long as the orcs are not starved to death and given some food, it will be fine. The rest of the money must be a kickback to Terenas.
On the other hand, these orc captives are not raised for nothing, they also need to work.
Since the orc captives are in Terenas' hands, they are of course doing Lordaeron's work.
Terenas is equivalent to collecting money from various countries while using orcs to work for himself.
In this way, as one side gains strength while the other loses strength, Lordaeron becomes stronger and stronger, while other countries become weaker and weaker, and finally Lordaeron has the opportunity to unify the world.
Unfortunately, Terenas went too far. In the end, Kul Tiras, Gilneas, and the Elven Kingdom withdrew from the Alliance one after another, Alterac was annexed, and the old Alliance was eventually split.
Later, the Alliance of Lordaeron was established with Lordaeron as its core.
Murphy didn't know whether this was Tenaris's plan, but there was definitely something fishy going on when Godwin did this.
"Didn't you vote against it? You have five votes now. Are you still afraid of that Godwin kid?"
"Oh, forget it. We don't even have a single vote now. We sent an envoy to the last alliance meeting, but Godwin didn't recognize our status as kings at all and treated us like ordinary lords."
Mo Fei thought, aren't they just ordinary lords? All of you are duchies, and strictly speaking, your identities are just dukes.
Alterac was originally at the bottom of the list, and now that it has been split into five, it has even less presence.
How can people take you seriously in such a small country with only one city and three forts?
Although Zhuagenbao inherited the orthodoxy of Alterac, it is just a kingdom of a city, a "very weak" force. It would be strange if others would look up to you. To put it bluntly, strength is still the key in this world.
