Chapter 53: The Duchy of Vende

Apart from the three large islands, the rest of the territory of the Duchy of Vende is a peninsula with a southeastern part connected to the mainland, the connection being even narrower than that of Brittany.

The duchy has two major harbors. The port of Aarhus, located in the northeast, is a purely military port. The fleet anchored here is mainly used to intercept the scattered Orcs crossing the Öresund, and the fleet of the Benelux Duchy, which comes to support in times of war, also docks here.

The Port of Esbjerg is located in the southwest of the Duchy of Vende and is a trading port. Since the orcs do not have the technology to build sea ships, it is impossible for their large rafts and canoes to reach here. The environment is very safe, and the duchy's capital is also located here.

Of the three main islands, except for the island where the Fionnese Viscounty is located, which is relatively close to the mainland, the remaining islands, where the Stokkese and Roskilde Viscounts are located, are actually closer to the Orc continent. The orcs' large rafts and canoes have shallow drafts, so they can theoretically land anywhere on the latter two islands, making them impossible to defend against.

Therefore, although these two islands are part of the Wendel Principality, they are not actually under its control. The islands are basically in their original state, and both humans and orcs have built fortresses on them. This is actually the battleground between the two sides.

The battleship Sari docked in the harbor of Aarhus. Besides soldiers, there were all kinds of slave catching teams, mercenary groups, and adventurers, as this was their base of departure and their place to rest upon their return.

The Mage Guild, Warrior Guild, Mercenary Guild, and Druid Guild were all very large here, and even the Thieves' Guild had hung out their shields. Not to mention the temples of the major True God churches.

There is the largest slave auction house on the continent, where various orc slaves are sold every day and then loaded onto trucks to be transported to the port of Esbjerg. The peninsular terrain of the Wendel Principality has resulted in the slaves being transported overland to the port of Esbjerg, which is not only faster than sailing the merchant ships to the port of Aarhus, but also eliminates the risk of encountering orcs along the way.

From here, the only places to find supplies were the island strongholds of Stod and Roskilde, so Christian assigned tasks to the men on board.

Knight Erik Bernard was in charge of obtaining a "privateer's license," for it was no joke to be treated as smugglers without the proper paperwork. Tam, the thief recruited in the city of Frank, was responsible for asking the thieves' guild for information. If the situation on Roskilde Island was not good, they would have to wait a while. Ronny Stedrui was responsible for hiring a guide, since no one had been there before. The captain was responsible for overhauling the warship and replenishing supplies, then hiring a navigator who knew the route. Christine herself went to the Mage Tower to consult the archives.

The "privateer's license" was obtained without any problems. The official in charge could not understand why a baron would risk his life here in person, but since he was here, he had to get things done as quickly as possible.

He learned from the Thieves' Guild that although spring had already arrived, it was still too early for the orcs to make a major invasion. It was only now that the orcs were beginning to gather their forces, and they would not be able to launch an attack for at least a few months. At most, they would encounter a few scattered orc raiders during this time.

Hiring a guide also went very smoothly. The Adventurers' Guild recommended the mercenary group "Channel Winds" with the best reputation to Ronny Strud. The five of them usually scout maps for the Duchy's army. Although their combat efficiency is not very good, they are unbeatable when it comes to knowing the terrain. The only problem is that the hiring f*e is not low, but this low f*e depends on who you talk to. Christine doesn't think it's expensive.

The conditions here cannot be compared to the port city of Rotterdam in the Benelux, so Christine could only rent a villa.

"My lord Baron, I have brought the guide," Ronnie Stedroy said as he entered.

"Bring him in."

Soon, five mercenaries dressed as mercenaries followed Ronnie Stedroy into the living room.

"Greetings, Baron."

Although they were not allowed to carry weapons when meeting with the nobility, they were by no means ordinary people, judging by their fierce appearance. This was the front line against the orcs, and none of them had not killed a few orcs before surviving this long.

Christine nodded in agreement and said, "Ronny St. should have explained the requirements for hiring you, but I would like to remind you again that this time it is very dangerous.

One of the men, who looked like a captain, bowed and said, "My Lord Baron, any task on the front line against the orcs is very dangerous, but we are prepared."

"Then let's draw up the contract."

The priest of the God of Order had been invited long ago, and now that it was confirmed, he immediately drew up the contract. Christine hired her as a guide for three months for 300 gold coins. If it ended early, the payment would be the same, and if it was extended, 100 gold coins would be paid each month.

After signing the contract, Elena immediately handed over a purse with gold coins. Paying first was to allow them to prepare in advance. No one would dare to take the noble's money and run after witnessing the Great God of Order.

"Thank you for your generosity, Baron." The mercenaries bowed again.

The next thing was easy. The others prepared to leave as soon as Kristin had finished comparing the treasure map in her hands with the topography of Roskilde Island.

Kristin was a third-level mage, accompanied by Eric Bernard, a seventh-level knight, and Ronny St, a first-level druid. They were on a three-masted warship. It could be said that they had not encountered such a powerful treasure-hunting team in more than ten years, so there was no shortage of sailors applying to be navigators. In the end, Kristin chose two veterans from the fleet of the Principality of Wendel.

It's just a private job, and who could blame Baron Stewart for paying so well?

With a navigator familiar with the sea conditions, the voyage went smoothly. All orc rafts and canoes encountered along the way were mercilessly sunk.

These orc raiders' canoes carried no more than ten people, and the large rafts carried about twenty. However, Christine's guards were all equipped with powerful bows, so they could easily deal with the raiders with a volley of arrows. Even if some of the raiders were smart enough to jump into the sea in time, they would essentially drown, as the guards could simply throw an iron hook to drag the canoe or raft away before discarding it.

Orcs are not good swimmers, and the Strait is not a small river, even if it is narrow. Besides, the blood of the dead orcs will attract sea monsters.

The two sailors and the men of the mercenary unit "Wind of the Strait" were very envious of the Christian guards' practices. It was truly luxurious.

Arrows and crossbows were, of course, the weapons of choice for sea battles, but the damp and salty sea air meant that the string would only last a month, and a normal crossbow would be unusable after two or three months. The cost of a bow was about five metal coins, not including the arrows, which was fine for small-scale use, but the Duchy of Wendel could not afford to equip its army with them on a large scale.

So the warship Sari arrived unnoticed in a cove on the north side of Roskilde Island.