Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 332 The Fishman Disaster
The night tide surged, casting deep shadows along the edge of the dike.

A group of knights held their breath, cloaked in grey, and lay in ambush.

But the surroundings were completely quiet, with no sign of war whatsoever.

"Will they really come?" one of the young knights finally couldn't help but ask.

Elliott frowned: "Don't make a sound. If Lord Louis says it will happen, then it definitely will."

Then he turned to his adjutant behind him and asked in a low voice, "Have all the timber and oil drums here been moved?"

"The relocation is complete. All that's left are some dilapidated wooden frames. Let them burn them if they want."

Elio nodded, then felt relieved and continued to stare at the black water.

A short while later, a loud "boom" ripped through the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a giant deep-sea fish, more than ten meters long, was driven by a group of fish-men and suddenly crashed into the dam.

The wooden stakes vibrated, mud shot into the sky, and water droplets fell like arrows.

The camp at Dawn Harbor was thrown into chaos, filled with noise as laborers disguised as soldiers fled in all directions.

The leader of the group of fishmen in the shadows smirked slightly: Plan in place.

Meanwhile, in the shadows on the other side of the embankment, dozens of fishmen were quietly climbing up.

The fish-man's scales emitted an eerie glow, his hands held a bone spear coated with venom, and the leather pouches on his shoulders bulged, faintly emitting the smell of kerosene.

Not all fishmen are mindless monsters; a small number retain intelligence and are even smarter than ordinary humans.

So they devised a plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain, attempting to destroy these suddenly appearing human camps and reclaim their backyard.

Of course, they didn't expect that cunning humans possessed the ability to foresee the future.

"Now's the time!" Elliot roared, his body erupting with crimson battle aura as he charged toward the fishman.

As Elliot charged forward, the knights emerged from the shadows of the wooden stakes, their fighting spirit leaping between the blades.

A young knight charged forward, his blue battle aura surging with the force of his sword, cleaving a ferocious merman in two with a single strike.

On the other side, an elite knight swung his greatsword, slashing a group of murlocs and their oil sacs onto the muddy ground.

Then their companions stepped forward to finish them off, one kill after another.

However, these fishmen are not entirely without rules.

Aside from the initial surprise, they quickly rallied into battle formation, attempting to buy time and wait for their comrades to set the fire.

They roared, brandishing their spears on the narrow dikes, and wrestling with the humans.

But the knights pressed on wave after wave, forcing the merfolk to retreat in defeat, their blood and mud splattering onto the wooden stakes.

The mermen fell one after another, their oil sacs shattered on the ground, yet they failed to ignite even a sliver of the camp.

Most of the merfolk were killed on the dike, and their blood dripped into the sea through the unsealed cracks in the wood.

The remaining few were thrown into the waves and swallowed by the night tide.

Just then, a burly black figure appeared in the distant waves.

With a strange bone crown growing from his forehead, he was the leader of this group of fishmen.

Its eyes gleamed with a ghostly blue light, and it let out a hoarse and piercing howl, as if cursing its defeated subordinates.

Then it suddenly sank into the undercurrent and disappeared without a trace.

Elliot slowly sheathed his sword and looked at the dark horizon in the distance.

The camp was still in turmoil, but no part of it had been burned, and the human camp remained unharmed.

When the news reached the camp, the residents' fear gradually turned into excitement.

The previously tense garrison now realized that no matter how cunning the merfolk were, the lord was always one step ahead of them.

…………

"The night raid has ended, and the main force has been intercepted. There were no casualties, and the warehouses and supplies are intact. After taking inventory, there were more than eighty corpses on site, and the remaining survivors have been swallowed by the tide."

Elliott reported the results of the battle to Louis in detail.

Louis smiled and nodded in approval: "Very good, you did a clean and efficient job."

"It's all thanks to your meticulous planning, sir. Without your arrangements, we might not be safe in the camp today." Elliott's words were filled with unadorned admiration.

Louis smiled and waved his hand to interrupt: "Stop flattering me."

He looked at the calm sea and said in a deep voice, "But this is only a temporary solution. As long as the merman leader is still in the cave stronghold and only defending the shore, we will always be led by the nose."

There will inevitably be a moment of oversight, leading to immeasurable consequences. Therefore, we must take the initiative, completely destroy their base, and eliminate any future threats.

Elio nodded, but still hesitated before speaking: "What you say is true, sir, but we do not have enough ships, we lack the capabilities required for expeditions, and we do not know the exact location of the merfolk stronghold."

Louis pulled out his notebook, flipped to a few pages of sketches, and said, "I've already had the exact location scouted. I have some ideas for the plan; listen to them and see if they're feasible."

He then did not immediately state his idea, but instead called Hilko over.

After resolving the crisis of the Despair Witch, Louis took him to Dawn Harbor and assigned him to work related to demolitions.

We can go back together next time we return to Red Tide City; it'll come in handy now.

When Hilko arrived, Louis said to him directly, "Explain in the simplest terms the two types of magic bombs I asked you to make in Red Tide City."

Hilco immediately held the prepared item in his hand and shook it, as if showing Elliot and Louis a dangerous toy:
"Well, to put it simply, we have two new types of magic bombs. The first is a mud block. When you throw it into the gap at the entrance of the hole, it will expand like dough when it comes into contact with water, and harden after several tens of minutes, blocking the entrance."

Another type is called directional magic explosion. Don't let its small size fool you; it's quite powerful. If you fix it to a rock and ignite it, that area will immediately collapse.

Louis nodded, but didn't overlook any details: "Will the tide wash these magic explosive bombs away?"

Hilko's eyes turned serious: "We put the mud clumps into a shell with an anchor hook, drop it in, and then hook the anchor hook onto a rock crevice or debris. Then we tighten it with a short rope so that the tide can't move it."

The directional magic explosive bomb has an outer splash shield and an inner small timed fuse and slow-burning core, giving you enough time to retreat.

Simply put, hang your things securely before leaving.

He explained it very carefully, and not only did Louis nod, but Elliott beside him also nodded repeatedly.

Louis turned his gaze to Elliot: "Elliot, can you take thirty men, infiltrate the fishmen's lair, and use these two types of magic explosion bombs to deal with these fishmen?"

Elliott looked at the two items in Hilko's hands and said firmly, "I can do it, sir."

Then he began to ponder the details of his tactics and said them aloud: "A hundred knights would be more than enough."

The first team conducts reconnaissance and exploration; the second team, carrying floating mud blocks and directional magic explosive bombs, is responsible for deployment and fixation; the third team provides cover and emergency evacuation support.

Each person carries a flood block and three directional projectiles, as well as ropes, anchor hooks, and diving gear.

The timing was chosen when the fish population was at its lowest. The first team scouted near the shore to confirm safety, the second team simultaneously launched and secured the fish from both sides, and the third team provided cover on the outside.

If a counterattack occurs inside the cave, the third team will use fire tubes and signal flares to draw attention and ensure the escape route remains open. The slime must solidify within the predetermined time, and the directional flares must be operated by experienced knights; no new recruits should be allowed to operate them alone.

Louis interrupted, asking, "What if the return current blocks the road or the small boats are unable to reach the shore?" Elliott blurted out, "There are three safeguards: the tidal window, shore-based firepower and smoke screens, and emergency blasting to seal off the side walls as a last resort to buy time for retreat. Of course, that's a last resort."

"What about casualties?" Louis pressed.

"The goal is zero casualties, but we are prepared for the worst. The wounded will be taken back to the near-shore medical station by small boats as soon as possible; if they are trapped, the squad will provide cover and the shore fire will provide priority for rescue."

Louis closed his notebook, looked at the horizon, and calmly ordered: "Conduct two rounds of drills nearby: near-shore deployment and fixed-position measurements, and a complete withdrawal drill. Once everything is up to standard, launch the attack as planned."

Remember, attacks must be swift and decisive, and retreats even more swift and decisive. Make sure everyone returns safely.

Elio nodded, his voice deep and reassuring: "Please rest assured, sir."

…………

Phosphorescent light danced on the damp walls of the cave, casting grotesque faces upon them.

This is the fish people's nighttime feast, or perhaps some kind of festival.

Several strong men struck each other with bone spears, as if they were testing their strength, and blood was drawn from time to time.

Someone nearby strung together freshly torn-off sea monster entrails and offered them to the other person to smell, as if exchanging compliments.

The more mature ones would smash the seashells they caught into pieces and sing short, sharp laughs in a certain rhythm.

For them, such commotion is both a form of entertainment and a way to maintain group order.

In the very center of the banquet, the merman leader sat alone on a stone seat, looking up at the stone wall as if he were deep in thought.

Suddenly, a group of humans appeared on the other side of the shore. They erected wooden stakes and built wooden fences on the beach, treating the beach they had long controlled as their backyard.

It also attempted to attack them, trying to regain control.

However, several attacks failed, and one of their largest attacks was ambushed and killed by humans, forcing them to leave behind nearly half of their warriors.

However, this did not frustrate him; it only angered him.

He was determined to block these invaders on the shore one by one, and no longer allow them to set up their henchmen on the shallows.

Of course, his previous failures also made him realize that he could no longer charge forward as easily as before, and he had to use more cunning strategies.

If a direct confrontation doesn't work, then use trickery to lure them deeper into the territory and then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

A slight smile played on his lips as he calculated how to make his next attack more covert and deadly.

Of course, he didn't know that on the other side of Chentao Reef, a group of figures were moving slowly but in an orderly manner.

…………

The rocks were wet, and the seaweed swayed.

The Red Tide Knights, dressed in light black robes, moved stealthily among the reefs and sea mist in multiple columns, striving to make every move as silent as possible.

Elliott stood on a small boat. He wasn't a strong swimmer, but he still came to the front lines as the commander-in-chief for this operation.

He was wearing a gray cloak and had various signal flares ready around him, just in case.

"The tide has been receding for forty-five minutes, and the current has entered a calm phase," the knight beside me, who knew about water, reported in a low voice.

Elliot exhaled a chilly breath and whispered the order: "First team, move out."

As soon as the command was given, tiny ripples appeared on the water's surface.

The first team glided into the night sea like fish; these were knights carefully selected by Red Tide who knew how to swim.

Their diving suits clung to their skin, their magic explosives were packed into special backpacks, mud sludge was tied to their waists, and anchor hooks were wrapped between their finger bones as they swam toward the various parts of Chentao Reef.

The mission is to figure out the terrain of this reef and the location of the merfolk.

"Gulu...Gulu..."

The three stealthy knights slowly swam to the edge of the crevice, and the leader pressed down on his companion's shoulder, signaling to stop.

Then they quietly approached the cave wall and cautiously poked their upper bodies out.

"Saw."

They had never seen the fish-man carnival scene so closely before.

The cave is arched, with a sunken stone disc in the center, covered with the remains of torn sea creatures.

Dozens of fishmen were fighting, some scratching each other with bone spears, some swinging their arms to throw fishbone spikes at the top of the rocks, and some even tearing at each other while fighting over a string of slimy entrails.

The scene was bloody and eerie, with blood mist slowly spreading in the water.

The Crimson Tide Knights watched the scene unfold before them without moving.

Even if just one person emits a bubble, it could trigger a frenzied riot by the monsters.

They stared at each other in silence.

The team leader slowly raised his hand and made a gesture: "Withdraw."

The other two nodded without hesitation and quickly turned back to dive.

It turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving no trace of the water behind it, moving as if it had never been there.

They returned to near shore and quickly climbed back onto the command boat.

The team leader drew symbols on the stone slab with water: "Target confirmed. Most of the fishmen are gathered inside the cave for a feast, and patrols are sparse."

Elliott took the stone slab, his heart filled with joy.

He whispered the order: "Second team, go into the water."

The second team quietly leaped into the sea, splitting into two groups, diving from the two flanks of Chentao Reef towards the fishmen's lair.

They moved slowly and quietly along the rock face, like silent shadows.

They work in pairs, with one person holding the outer casing of the dispenser and the other protecting the sides to block any turbulence that might come in.

The mud clump was wrapped in tarpaulin, and the shell was wrapped with an anti-slip layer and a short waterproof rope. The hook at the end gleamed faintly.

The knight reached the crevice, casually pushed the shell into the recess, and quickly pulled out the rope with his fingertips. The anchor hook was driven deep into the rock wall, and the rope was pulled, knotted, and then bent back to secure it.

The cover man took out a directional magic explosive grenade from a waterproof bag and stuffed it into a depression in the side wall of the rock crevice.

The fuse was wound around the rock mouth, the slow-burning wick was inserted into the reserved opening, and the last safety pin was snapped on.

From the moment the first mud sluice was dropped to the moment the last directional projectile was secured, a full ten minutes passed without a single error.

By the twenty-fifth minute, under the protection and support of the third team, all the deployers had quietly withdrawn to the assembly point, with not a single person missing. Their movements were clean and efficient, after all, they had practiced this more than ten times.

Elliott crouched on the small boat, clutching his pocket watch in one hand, his gaze fixed on the waves.

He silently counted in his mind: "...twenty-six...twenty-seven..."

(End of this chapter)