Mingtan Island is a small island that stands at the junction of the northern part of the Sword Sea and the southern part of the Sword Bay. There are several affiliated islands around it.
To the west are the Moonshae Islands, to the east are Baldur's Gate, to the north are the Corin Islands, and to the south are the Nelanthal Islands.
Judging from its location, it can be called an important maritime transportation hub.
This is why Luskan took huge political and military risks to capture Mintan Island.
Controlling this place means that we can strategically suppress hostile city-states such as Neverwinter City and Waterdeep City at sea.
Not to mention the huge profits that monopolizing the trade routes along the Sword Coast can bring.
But unfortunately, Mintan Island is not like other city-states in the North, fearing the power of the Luskan Arcane Brotherhood and the fleet composed of a large number of pirates.
As a result, in a naval battle, Luskan's fleet was defeated by Mingtan Island and its allies, and fled back in disgrace.
During the battle, those outstanding sailors and mercenaries impressed everyone who witnessed the war.
Since then, the Arcane Brotherhood has never had any plans to visit this island.
Of course, this is not because of Luskan's lack of strength, but because the price to be paid to capture this place is too high, and there is nothing of great value on the island itself, so in the end it can only be left alone.p>
In addition, due to the pronunciation, many people often mistakenly regard Mintan Island as Lantan Island south of the Nelanser Islands.
The latter is the foundation of the belief in Gond, the god of craftsmen.
According to rumors, humans and dwarves there hate magic and worship technology, and many complex and advanced machines and crafts were born here.
It can even be said that Lantan Island is one of the places with the most advanced productivity and production technology in the entire Faerûn continent, excluding magic factors.
Unfortunately, the island has been closed to the outside world all year round, and there is almost no communication with the outside world.
Obviously, Gond, the god of craftsmen, is not a fool. He understands the impact that the inventions and creations made by his followers will have on the world, and how many gods more powerful than himself will be angered.
Therefore, we decisively chose to close the country to ensure that those overly advanced technologies would not affect Faerûn’s existing productivity and production levels.
To put it simply, just close the door and play by yourself.
Zuo Si has always wanted to visit Lantan Island, but unfortunately he has never found the opportunity.
Vanessa obviously saw the confusion shown by the leader of the organization, and quickly explained in a low voice: "Luskan did have a naval battle with Mintan Island.
But the problem is that since the rise of the Nelanser Islands, it has not only greatly reduced the living space for pirates, but also taken away a large amount of trade quota from Mintan Island.
Especially their mercenaries, it has been difficult to find any decent jobs.
Therefore, if a third party takes the lead, it is not impossible to form an alliance."
"An enemy's enemy is a friend? It's interesting. I'll give you forty-eight hours to find out what happened on Mingtan Island." Zuo Si gave the order straightforwardly.
Only at this time can he feel the power and power he holds as the leader of a powerful spellcasting organization.
Many times, if you just say a word, the people below will go all out to implement it.
"I have sent people to investigate, and I believe there will be results soon." Vanessa assured without thinking.
Zuo Si nodded slightly: "Then I'll leave this matter to you.
Remember, if Mintan Island really forms an alliance with Luskan, then destroy it mercilessly.
Whether it’s the self-proclaimed tyrant Tarnhir Embuyilhan or those stupid and arrogant mercenaries, let me clean them all without leaving a trace.
In the future, adventurers and adventure teams can be allowed to exist in areas controlled by organizations, but mercenaries are absolutely not allowed.
These guys who will do anything for money are a total scourge and a source of social instability.
Therefore, I don’t care what their background is. Each one counts as one. They will be given a verbal warning for the first time they enter, and a huge fine and deportation will be imposed for the second time.
If you dare to do it a third time, immediately gather your strength and kill me on the spot."
When saying these words, Zuo Si did not hide his naked contempt and disgust for the mercenary group.
He has a really bad impression of most mercenaries. They basically either take advantage of the chaos to loot surrounding villages and towns, or they try every means to create chaos and tension, and then earn a lot of gold coins from wealthy employers.
Wherever these people are present, the situation will basically become turbulent in a short period of time.
After all, the market for mercenaries will only rise when there is a war.
For example, the Kingdom of Tessel, where a fierce civil war is currently raging, has several mercenary groups active in its territory, ranging in size from hundreds to one or two thousand people.
They may still be working for one of the noble lords today, but tomorrow they will join another camp and turn around to fight their former employer.
There is no other way, who can ask the other party to give more money?
This shows that the so-called professional ethics is bullshit for most mercenaries.
"Understood! I swear that the mercenaries on Mingtan Island will never see the sunrise tomorrow again." Vanessa's eyes flashed with a terrifying cold light.
Obviously, this necromancy archmage is ready to start a massacre and let all those stupid guys join his army of undead creatures.
"Don't be so hasty. We are a reasonable and neutral organization. Even if we want to take action, we must first seize the opponent's handle. And I have a hunch that Mingtan Island's actions this time will definitely be similar to those of the red-robed wizard or the Zhentarim.
It will be inseparable."
Zuo Si casually expressed his speculation.
Ever since he learned that the Arcane Brotherhood was cooperating with these two organizations, he had made comprehensive preparations.
Even with the arrival of Manson and Sazastan, there is no way to avoid the end of the Arcane Brotherhood's rule over Luskan.
"I'll be careful."
Vanessa nodded slightly, then turned around and headed to the teleportation room of the Mage Tower, using the fixed teleportation gate to return to the Nelanthel Islands.
Along with him were several new lichs who had joined the core of the organization.
After all these people were gone, Zuo Si focused on making a suitable weapon for himself.
There is no doubt that with his current financial resources and the magic metals and materials at his disposal, he is fully capable of making a sub-artifact like the Archmage's Staff.
But unfortunately, the staff is too bulky to use and is far less convenient than other weapons.
So after thinking about it, Zuo Si decided to make a melee weapon instead of the cane traditionally used by most mages.
Although he himself has not received any form of melee training, he can gain corresponding experience with many magic and divine arts.
In addition, melee weapons confuse enemies far more than staffs, making them confused about the situation and making wrong judgments.
Just do it!
Since we are building a melee weapon, the main material must be a special metal that can accommodate magic power.
Secondly, a series of complex designs must be carried out in advance, such as how many magic symbols are to be inlaid in total, what does each one mean, and what effect it can have, all of which must be repeatedly checked and corrected.
Finally, it is necessary to integrate the different systems of magic knowledge that Zuo Si has collected so far and inject them all into this weapon.
At least dozens of magics ranging from one to nine rings will be needed.
Due to the heavy workload, Zuo Si quickly forgot about the forces under his command, and unknowingly began to secretly clash with Luskan and the Arcane Brotherhood no less than dozens of times.
At almost the same time, in a tavern far away in the port of Mingtan Island, a middle-aged woman wearing a red robe and a very obvious tattoo mark on the back of her bare head was sitting at a table, bored.
Yawning.
Judging from his attire and iconic tattoos, it is easy to tell that this guy is a member of the Red Robe Wizards.
About ten seconds later, a man wearing chain mail walked in from outside and bowed respectfully: "Master Garnier, according to your instructions, we have successfully solved the problem of Tarn Hill En.
Buyil Khan, and controlled the entire island."
"Well done."
The woman known as Master Garnier stood up and slowly walked out of the tavern door.
At this moment, I saw that the port and city of Mingtan Island had been completely occupied by the red-robed wizards from Sayre and their troops.
Although the number of these troops is not large, only about five hundred people.
However, their equipment is extremely sophisticated, and they even have many low-level mages and apprentices assisting them.
Coupled with the cooperation of some local mercenaries, the island's guards were finally defeated at a very low cost.
As for Tarnhir Embuyilhan, who had a certain warrior level, he was killed on the spot as expected.
Judging from the charred black corpse hanging in a conspicuous place, he was probably killed by a fireball that burned his face, or was directly hit by lightning.
"I will give you two days to gather all the forces on Mingtan Island and prepare to cooperate with Luskan's fleet to launch a sneak attack on the Nelanthel Islands." Garnier gave the order without looking back.To be continued...