HLnovel Chapter 186 Despair Looms Large
Chapter 186 Despair Looms Large
Chapter 186 Despair Looms Large
They are going to attack Henry!
When Natalie heard this conclusion at the meeting that day, she could hardly believe her ears.
But she knew that this was the truth.
The person who proposed this plan was none other than the famous loyal dog, Hubert Peyton.
Although no one else wanted to believe it, only Natalie knew that this time the loyal dog was definitely using his position for personal gain.
More than a decade ago, the loyal dog was the one who most hoped to catch Henry.
Although Natalie didn't know the exact nature of the feud between Loyal Dog and Henry, she could sense it.
The loyal dog's unwavering determination to win over Henry.
If it weren't for Natalie and Bourne's interference, Henry might have actually been caught by the loyal dog and hanged.
Naturally, there would be no reason why Casey might have missed the chance to capture Henry, which is why the loyal dog became so persistent.
Natalie couldn't accurately judge the loyal dog's true thoughts, but just like sixteen years ago, she planned to interfere and thwart his battle plan.
Henry is indeed a wretched, stupid cow, Natalie thought, but he's my cow.
Natalie will certainly do everything in her power to protect what she owns.
But she also understood that this time, it would be much more difficult.
Right now, without Bourne, she has no one to act as her henchman.
The loyal dog also became more cautious, taking his attendant, the dueling champion known as "The Fighter," with him wherever he went.
Therefore, the plan to simply replicate past successes and prevent loyal dogs from participating in fleet command is clearly impossible to implement.
What's more troublesome is that this fleet is larger than the one sixteen years ago.
Henry's enemy back then was the kingdom's combined fleet, but now his adversary is the entire world—
Just thinking about this made Natalie feel heartbroken.
Even in her imagination, she couldn't figure out how Henry could win.
The only solution Natalie could think of was to warn Henry to escape quickly and find a nameless island to hide on, so he wouldn't be like a moth drawn to a flame and become an enemy of the world.
But she soon realized that this was simply impossible.
After revealing his identity at that meeting, the loyal dog was immediately elected as the commander of the operation.
When the loyal dog received the commander's sword, carved with a lion and symbolizing dominance and courage, the atmosphere on the island instantly changed.
The island was originally under a loosely managed system, but when the loyal dog promulgated military law on the first day, within three days, the various marines temporarily gathered on the island were completely subdued by the loyal dog.
Everything on the island became orderly.
The loyal dog would also personally train the marines and the fleet. Natalie could clearly see that ships that were originally unrelated were now able to cooperate tacitly.
Natalie couldn't even imagine what would happen if he were to personally lead the troops into battle against Henry, given his terrifying command and deployment capabilities.
The loyal dog also issued an order that no ships should be sent out from any port on Shoepad Island without the commander's permission.
He truly kept his word, defying the pressure and detaining all the merchant ships in the port.
The purpose is to prevent any information from being leaked.
With such caution, this loyal dog must be determined to succeed this time.
Therefore, Natalie had no chance to send the information out.
Therefore, Natalie had no choice but to find another way to help Henry.
These days, Natalie spends her days facing the harbor, quietly observing the flags on the ships and counting the vessels again and again.
At present, Natalie has memorized at least half of the fleet's composition.
The flag bears the emblem of five curved white bones, the emblem of the Hewitt family of Footbow Harbor's Journey of Bones.
The Hewitt family has been the kingdom's most skilled naval warriors since ancient times, and the fleet at Footbow Port is definitely one of the strongest in the eastern part of the kingdom.
Moreover, their family has produced many outstanding fleet commanders. The current Earl of Footbow, Warren Hewitt, is said to be able to precisely command fifty longships at a time.
Warren brought twenty longships to participate in this joint operation, making him a very proactive lord.
Five hazelnut-colored classic sailboats were moored in the center of the sea, their sails simple and almost pure white.
The flag atop the comb pole is a white flag with a black monster on it; it is the community emblem of the Northern Community of the Frozen Continent, the Awakening Ice Spirit.
This indicates that the Northern Community sent a fleet to provide support in the name of its political system.
Although the fleet was small in number, Natalie knew that it consisted of longships made from miasma trees.
Natalie knew that this force absolutely could not be underestimated.
The Frozen Continent has a very strong academic atmosphere regarding witchcraft, and wizards are keen to develop newer and more powerful supernatural powers.
Natalie had reason to believe that these ships were imbued with some kind of supernatural power.
The northern continent is also rich in silver ice ore, so these ships may have used some kind of top-secret silver ice technology.
The blazing sun hanging in the sky is the emblem of the city of blazing sun in the Holy Envoy Duchy, but the history of this emblem seems to be later than that of the Crimson Prince.
As the only naval force of the Holy Envoy Principality, and given their status as descendants of the Crimson Prince, only a fool would underestimate them, even though they only brought six ships.
The Far East continent seemed to have sent quite a few ships, but all of them looked almost identical.
It is generally accepted that the productivity of the Far East is far greater than that of the kingdom, and this seems to be true.
The giant crossbow originated from that land's technology, suggesting they have mastered more advanced shipbuilding technology and can easily mass-produce warplanes.
Natalie once saw ten square-shaped oriental ships sailing together out to sea.
Natalie then saw that these ships were actually pieced together side by side at sea, forming a "hundred-ship giant".
Its scale even surpassed that of the Black Goat in Natalie's memory.
Natalie then realized that the power of technology could be terrifying!
Later, Natalie learned that the fleet was called the Fortress Fleet.
Hmm, there's absolutely no exaggeration in this name!
In addition, there are many other distinctive fleets that Natalie should be wary of.
The royal family also dispatched ships, and the Platinum Crest of the Sinclair family was raised in the port market the moment the royal fleet entered the port.
But Natalie doubted whether these ships would directly participate in the war, because the heraldic officer named Jonas had come with those ships.
According to what Natalie had heard, the court officials were full of bureaucratic manners and it was unlikely that they would be implicated. Natalie hoped that this was the case, as having one less ship involved in the naval battle would increase Henry's chances of escaping danger.
The molar-toothed yellow dog is the coat of arms of the Payton family, but Natalie only saw one such flag.
The boat looked very old, with blackened wood and a dog head statue on the bow that was full of wormholes and cracks.
Judging from its appearance, this ship must have accompanied the loyal dog on its battles for many years.
But even though it was just one boat, it was what Natalie feared most.
Simply because this ship was always with Hubert Peyton.
The title of "Loyal Dog" alone is worth the fighting power of a hundred ships.
A fleet is not necessarily better the more ships it has; it needs someone to command it in order to unleash its true combat power.
If there is anyone in the world who can command hundreds of ships at the same time, Natalie has only one answer in her mind: a loyal dog!
Natalie trusted Henry, who was undoubtedly the greatest navigator of his time, far ahead of his contemporaries, and perhaps even the greatest of all time. However, he was not necessarily a top-tier fleet commander.
In Natalie's memory, Henry always seemed to have only one boat.
Even this time, he only had the Two Gold Coins ship at his disposal.
Natalie had a vague feeling that perhaps this loyal dog was truly Henry's nemesis.
She would rather Henry's adversaries have a hundred more ships than have her loyal dog become the fleet commander.
Henry, you idiot, Natalie, I'm praying you get through this!
Looking at the hundreds of sails moored along the island, Natalie felt only her own insignificance.
They might be able to quietly set fire to a few ships, but that wouldn't affect the overall situation at all.
What can I do? Natalie thought anxiously, how can I help him?
Mermaids are always a combination of beauty and wisdom.
But Natalie is already thirty years old, and her beauty will slowly fade.
She also knew that while she might occasionally be a little clever, she had never truly possessed wisdom.
Besides, being a mermaid was her dream, and she could never become a mermaid.
There was a knock on the door, and Natalie responded:
"Come in."
It was Baron George who pushed open the door, and it could only be him.
He said, "Miss, lately you've been sitting by the window gazing out. Look, the open space in front of the hotel is practically turning into a tourist attraction. They say you can catch a glimpse of a mysterious beauty's exquisite face here."
Natalie looked ahead and, sure enough, saw quite a few men staring at her intently.
However, Natalie felt no emotional reaction.
If a woman has ever had a man who could conquer the world enter her heart, then other men will become a bunch of monkeys who only know how to make noise in her eyes.
George continued, "If you want to go out, you can tell me, and I'll go with you to clear your head."
If one day she really wanted to set the ship on fire, she would:
"What is it, Your Excellency?"
"Miss, I think I've treated you well, and we're even related by blood."
"Yes, it's as light as your hair color."
"But we're still distant relatives," George said. "Miss, I mean, it's been so long, shouldn't you at least give me some information?"
"I told you, sir, I won't say anything."
George shook his head and sighed, "Alas, I thought I had won your trust. Since that's the case, and I don't see any results, miss, I'm sorry, I will sell you to someone else."
Natalie was taken aback upon hearing this.
"Have you already found a buyer?"
"That's right."
She knew George would eventually do this, but she didn't expect it to happen now, with a naval battle imminent!
George Zeke's family's reputation for being smooth-talking prevented him from taking advantage of Natalie, but if any other lord were to obtain Natalie, her fate would be unpredictable.
She tried to persuade George to change his mind, but at that moment, a fat man in a tuxedo pushed open the door and entered.
He placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly:
"Oh, beautiful lady, I am the Earl of Hairroot Harbor, and I grant you permission to call me by my first name, Quincy."
Natalie tried to remain calm: "Your Excellency."
"Miss, from now on, please come with me."
Natalie asked, "You gave Baron George gold?"
"I haven't paid yet," Quincy said, "but I'll pay soon."
"Why waste your money?" Natalie said. "Since Baron George couldn't get anything out of me, neither can you. Besides, you don't even know if the information I have is of any value to you."
Quincy chuckled lightly: "I'm absolutely certain that the intelligence is worthless to me."
Natalie was stunned: "What?"
"Oh! I think you've misunderstood," Quincy said. "Beautiful lady, I don't care what you know at all. What I care about is you. Look at that group of perverts down there. Without exception, they all admire your beauty. You know, I've joined them many times, admiring your beauty from afar."
Natalie panicked slightly: "I'm over thirty, I'm an old woman."
Quincy said, "When a man is over forty, he doesn't care as much about a woman's age."
"Then you won't get me. I'll end my own life before you even try to take me away."
Natalie wasn't bluffing; she still carried the knife she'd stolen from the ship, intending to use it to commit suicide should anything happen.
Quincy grinned lewdly: "Your body will make you cold, but your beauty won't fade immediately. The fleeting urgency will make me cherish you even more."
Natalie realized that the person in front of her was probably a psychopath.
At this moment, we must think of other solutions.
Natalie turned to George: "Baron George, I've made up my mind. After this battle, I'll tell you all the secrets."
Before George could answer, Quincy took out a small bag and handed it to him.
Hearing the clinking sound coming from the bag, Natalie knew it contained gold coins.
George accepted the gold coin: "Miss, you should have said so earlier, but since Earl Quincy is here, I can't go back on my word. You know, our family doesn't want to offend anyone."
Quincy pressed forward relentlessly, while Natalie retreated repeatedly.
She drew her knife and pointed it at the other person:
"Don't come any closer!"
Quincy's face lit up like a flower: "You naughty one!"
"I am a member of the Capello family. If you hurt me, the forest will not forgive you!"
“I am not a vassal of the Northern Forest,” Quincy said. “I don’t have to be subservient to them. Besides, the Capello family bloodline is rife with lust, and I’m sure you are just as thirsty.”
"I do want it," Natalie thought, "but only if Henry."
Quincy wasn't going to let her off the hook, and Natalie held the knife to her own throat.
But she wanted to make one last attempt: "You can't hurt me. I know someone you absolutely don't want to offend."
Quincy stopped and glanced back at George, who shrugged and spread his hands.
He smiled and asked, "Oh? Then let me hear who you're talking about?"
"Really?" Natalie thought quickly. "Who do I know?"
Suddenly, a name flashed through her mind, and she blurted it out.
But she regretted it as soon as she said it.
"I should die," Natalie lamented, "I've dragged Henry down with me."
she says:
"Loyal dog!"