Nordic: I Created a Forbidden Land for the Gods

"So you think we should storm in now?"

Killian took a deep breath. Although he found the potential profits very tempting, he didn't immediately order his men to attack. Instead, he continued to seek advice from his advisors.

After all, they came to the icy sea to "avoid disaster," and they were already wary of the gods, knowing what level of beings those were.

Even the weakest of them are exceptionally powerful; even if they can kill heroic spirits, they dare not be careless in front of the gods.

At least not before advancing the Blood Rune.

After all, what they had to go to great lengths to destroy was something that someone of that rank could do with a mere wave of their hand.

Even if a god is severely injured, he must still have some trump card.

Winterfell Island, which has undergone a sudden and dramatic transformation, is the best example.

Hearing the captain ask again, his tone a mixture of apprehension and underlying eagerness, Fanny pondered for a long time before finally extending his finger in suggestion:

"I think we should still launch a surprise attack, but it should be a slow, well-planned attack."

"Because we don't yet understand whether the beings in the forest are truly gods, which race of gods they are, or what the current situation is."

"If they still have trump cards to retaliate, then ignoring the warnings and landing would mean a complete breakdown in relations. In the worst-case scenario, if they use their trump cards, we will definitely not be able to escape."

This external brain with dwarven ancestry clearly takes this very seriously.

Even he believed that the situation in the forest might not be good, based not only on the wooden sign but also on the recent arrow barrage.

Although one of their crew members was killed, it was due to a sneak attack and their carelessness in failing to dodge.

They appear dense, but each arrow deals little damage, only inflicting some harm on them.

While sheer numbers can pose a threat, it only reaches the peak before entry into the country. If ordinary crew members are well-prepared, they can withstand and cope with the situation.

Some of them had already entered the country, not to mention the captain.

And this is just their regular combat strength; this pirate ship is more than just scary-looking.

It has functions such as turrets and rune arrays, and even that pirate flag has great power, which can play a role in mythical-level wars.

If it weren't for their desire to sacrifice the island and their suspicion of the unknown, they could have easily razed the small island to the ground!

"Therefore, I think the most important thing right now is to probe and determine the current situation of what is happening in the forest."

"Winter Isle is not large, but the forest is only located on the east side, and the rest is wasteland. At least that's how it was when I last visited. There's no cover and you can see it clearly, which is very disadvantageous as a military position."

"Therefore, I suggest that we first have the ships circle the island to see if the entire island has been transformed or if only the forest has been transformed, before making a judgment."

"If it's the latter, then land on the western side, which is furthest from the forest, slowly encroach on the other parts of the island, and finally defeat and sacrifice the target."

Fanny slowly opened his mouth, revealing a sinister but highly successful scheme.

Upon hearing this, Killian's eyes flickered, and he slowly nodded.

……

……

"It seems that after the recent rain of arrows, they will choose not to launch a direct attack, but to observe the situation first."

"If things go as expected, they will circle around the island and then land on the west side, choosing to slowly nibble away at it."

In the forest, in the settlement, when he saw that the enormous, awe-inspiring blue-red pirate ship, a hundred meters long, had not sent anyone down, Slud nodded in thought and made this analysis.

Neil stood on the lookout tower of the first arrow tower, and upon hearing this, he stared intently and saw that the ships had indeed stopped approaching and instead circled around. He couldn't help but nod in admiration.

"Just as you said, Miss Slud, you seem to be quite familiar with this pirate crew?"

"No, before I came to the Ice Sea, my elder sister only gave me some relevant information. I think that the ship that was able to escape until now had a strategist, but I don't know much about it."

"This is simply based on some basic strategic common sense."

Hearing Slud's matter-of-fact answer, Neil nodded, but he didn't really think it was a judgment that could be made so easily.

At least he hadn't made the prediction right away. Even though he had discussed and rehearsed with Slud beforehand, he was still on edge, ready to operate the arrow tower to attack at any moment.

"Moreover, without Slud's suggestion to unleash the arrow barrage just now, those vicious pirates would definitely have come directly to the island."

"It seems that having a Valkyrie at home is indeed like having a treasure."

Even when Neil was reciting the last sentence in his mind, he paused for a moment and deliberately changed his wording.

The leader of the evil dragon is clearly a shrewd and far-sighted opponent, not an easy adversary to deal with.

The fact that he was able to survive and even fight back against multiple attacks from heroic spirits speaks volumes.

However, such a character was predicted and even exploited in advance, which is obviously not as good as the Valkyrie who has been through many battles.

Although the crisis is not yet resolved, at least for now, it is safe, which relieved Neil.

"So, our next move is indeed to hold the forest and implement a delaying tactic?"

Slud looked at Neil, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and spoke in a clear voice.

"They haven't reached the shore yet, so they can still choose the remaining option."

She asked Neil to confirm her opinion again.

"Continue to hold your ground and delay." Neil paused for a moment, but then nodded decisively.

He and Slud had finalized three plans for dealing with the evil dragon.

One set of hers went far away, while the other set saw her unleash her full power to scare away the pirate crew.

The last set of measures has been finalized and is currently being implemented: the "turtle tactic".

The first option is to abandon the entire Winterfell Island, which would result in the greatest loss, but would also minimize the risk because it avoids direct conflict.

The second plan was for Slud to disregard her injuries and forcefully release her divine aura to scare the pirate crew away.

Like the first set, completely avoid direct conflict.

But Neil made no choice.

Actually, it wasn't that he didn't want to choose the first option, nor that he lacked the courage for a strategic shift; it was just that Slud hadn't recovered to the point where he could leave calmly without attracting attention.

Once they are exposed as being extremely weak and confirmed to be fleeing, the pirate crew will absolutely not bother to hunt them down on a mere deserted island; doing so would be tantamount to suicide.

If it weren't for the fact that mortals can't fly, and that she could turn away while drawing attention, Slud actually thought the first plan would be feasible.

So it was shelved until the pirate crew arrived in the waters around Winterfell, at which point they had no choice but to abandon it.

The second plan is also a gamble; failure would completely expose their weaknesses and deprive Slud, their trump card, of any opportunity to be used.

Moreover, even if they manage to scare the enemy away to some distance, the pirate crew will still return to port once they realize they are not being pursued, and then they will still be finished.

The "turtle-like tactic" isn't actually that good overall.

Being too passive, coupled with an absolute disparity in strength, will only worsen the situation over time.

It's similar to boiling a frog in lukewarm water.

However, even if the rest of Winterfell is occupied, they will be safe as long as the forest is not captured.

"Although other parts of the island will be temporarily ceded to them, the more they conquer, the higher their sunk costs will be. Even if they discover problems, they will not act rashly, but will want to deal with us more cautiously."

"Anyway, I can't use those places now, so it doesn't matter if I give them to them for the time being, and it will buy me more time."

"As long as I can hold out until Slud recovers her strength, I can wipe out the Evil Dragon Pirate Crew!"