Volume 3: The Land of Mist Chapter 29 Ys City
"Are you saying that you encountered the misty phantom of the Corona, the flagship of the Ten Thousand Flags Fleet?"
After the high elf officer asked about the details of the situation, his previously tense poker face suddenly broke into a smile.
It was a mocking smile with a hint of arrogance.
There is no doubt that he did not believe what Hobbes and others said.
Ava, known as the Land of Mist, had never been invaded by foreign races before entering the Mortal Era. The great contribution to this was the thick mist that enveloped Ava.
The mist that originated from the original spirit blocked all sights and interference from external gods. Until the widespread promotion of magic in the Platinum Calendar, any force that fell into the mist would completely lose its advantage in supernatural power. On the other hand, the afterimages of past things, the phenomenon called mist ghosts, is also a natural barrier.
When the fog is thick, ships sailing in this sea area may encounter ghosts that have long passed away. Of course, whether or not you will encounter them, and what kind of ghosts you will encounter, depends on your luck.
It was considered lucky to encounter merchant ships or passenger ships that sank in the Broken Sea due to storms; but if one encountered pirates who had once perished in this sea area, there would be a danger of the ship being destroyed and people being killed; as for the expeditionary fleets of the Riel Empire that were destroyed in the Drifting Battle, they were theoretically the most terrifying fog ghosts that one might encounter.
Especially the flagship of the Empire named "Crown". According to the records in the Ava State Archives, the Emperor who led the expedition in person was shot dead on that ship by the continent's ruler, Remedios. After that, his ghost has been wandering on that ship, constantly replaying the scene of his last battle before his death - of course, the Riel Empire still refuses to admit this statement.
And if they were discovered by the misty phantom on the Crown, no one would be able to escape from the opponent's hands, let alone save three lives from the opponent's hands, unless they were a strong man at the level of their continent's master.
But if the person in front of him is really a strong man of that level, is it necessary for him to come here in person to do the smuggling business?
However, due to the high elves' good upbringing, the elven officer did not directly make sarcastic . He just said to William:
"Then do you mind if you lead the way to check the cargo in the hold?"
Although he was asking, there was a tone of command in his voice.
However, not wanting to cause too much trouble before meeting Remedios, William nodded.
The current political situation in the entire state of Ava is still unclear. Before the situation becomes clear, there is no need to conflict over such a small matter.
Thinking of this, William walked towards the other party, and as soon as he walked away, Diana, who had been standing behind him, was exposed to the sight of the elf officer. William saw the other party's Tong Kong suddenly shrink, and his mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, the officer turned and walked towards the cabin.
William was silent for two seconds when he saw this, then quickly followed.
The two men walked down the deck one after the other and entered the cabin.
The aisle in the cabin was originally a bit narrow, and it seemed too low for the tall stature of the high elves. The other party had to bend down slightly to move forward. He asked as he walked:
"Did you hire this ship?"
"That's right."
William answered while keeping a safe distance from the other party.
Because the means the witch used to hide herself were invisible to the high elves, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, William did not let her follow him before leaving his room.
"I just heard from the captain that you are not going to use his connections with the Fengge family for this transaction, but are planning to sell this shipload of goods by yourself. Why is that?"
The other party continued to ask.
"I have some connections in Ava."
William answered frankly.
He is absolutely telling the truth.
"Oh? Where are the connections? Clockwork City, Fengsui City, or Stonefort City?"
In response to this question, even though the other party was facing away from him at the moment, William still shook his head habitually and answered:
"It can be considered as Yuefa City's connections."
Upon hearing this, the elf officer stopped in the narrow corridor. He turned around with some difficulty, looked at William seriously and said:
"Yuefa City will never do business with an imperial citizen. This is the rule set by the Lord of the Continent. Who exactly do you want to trade with this time? Which family? Please tell me the other party's surname."
In response to this, William tilted his head and replied helplessly:
"Not from any family, but from a ranger."
"The returning ranger?"
The expression on his face eased a little. Over the years, despite the blockade of the storm, there were still high elves who yearned for the outside world and would travel to the Vic Continent on smuggling ships as rangers. Later, even the Ava Continent officials would send rangers to establish an intelligence network to keep abreast of all aspects of the Riel Empire.
Including the information about the Imperial Navy's current gathering in Swan Harbor and Green Water Harbor, most of it was reported back by lone rangers.
The initiative to send rangers to travel outside Ava was proposed by the current ruler, Remedios. Although the resolution was initially opposed by the Moon Council, Remedios used her status as the greatest "ranger hero" in Ava's history to convince everyone to pass the proposal.
It is also for this reason that, over the past eight hundred years, many elves have gone out to gain experience as rangers, and then returned before their blessings weakened to the point of being ineffective, and once again became part of the Ava system.
"I remember that we met in Ravenwood and went on adventures together for many years. Later we said goodbye due to some things and haven't seen each other for many years... I only found out some time ago that she had returned to her hometown."
William said very sincerely.
The high elf officer could tell from the other party's tone that he was not lying, but he continued:
"But even if you are a ranger, you cannot violate the rules set by the Lord of the Continent. Yuefa City will never allow any imperial people to enter..."
William interrupted the other party and said:
"So this is another key point... I am not an Imperial."
Upon hearing this, the elf officer immediately retorted:
"But Hobbes Black Whale said you were a source silver merchant from the Blackwater Province."
"Don't you know that Blackwater Province is now independent?"
"independent?"
When he heard this word, the other party frowned immediately.
"when?"
"It's been several months... Even in Ava, the news shouldn't be so out of touch, right? Or is the Whalebone the first ship to cross the Broken Sea and come here to do business after the storm ended?"
William said in a relaxed tone.
The other party held up three fingers said:
"It's the third ship. The first two ships have spies sent by the Empire."
"Is that why you insist on searching every ship that passes through? But how can you tell who is an Imperial spy? I mean, they will definitely be disguised. They won't write the word "spy" on their faces, right?"
William asked immediately.
Upon hearing this, the other party looked at William deeply. Perhaps it was because William had mentioned before that he had a ranger friend, his attitude towards William did not seem as arrogant as before.
He turned back and continued walking forward, saying as he walked:
“We have our own way of distinguishing.”
It's a commercial secret, so it's forbidden to disclose it, right?
William muttered in his heart, then looked at the door that he almost passed by and said quickly:
"Hey, hey, it's right here, the warehouse."
As he spoke, he took out the key and walked over to open the door, then pointed to the crude ore packed in wooden crates inside and said:
"That's all, just check it out."
The other party didn't say anything, but walked straight in.
He took out a ball the size of half a fist from his waist, and then no one knew what he did, but a bright orange-red light overflowed from it, filling the entire room.
The crude ore of source silver sparkled under the light.
After a quick inspection, he walked to the safe in the middle of the warehouse.
"What's in this?"
He asked, patting the box with his hand.
"Refine source silver."
William replied.
"Would you mind opening it and checking it out?"
The other party looked at William and asked.
"There are all refined silver ingots in here, probably several dozen kilograms, enough to buy all those ships blocking our way outside."
William said so.
"What's the meaning?"
The man asked, frowning.
"What I mean is, I don't trust you. So I won't open the safe."
The elf officer looked at the safe, then turned to look at William, but before he could speak, the other party said directly:
"If you force it open, the safe is equipped with a self-destruction spell that will directly transmit the contents into the space crack. Of course, I know you will definitely be worried about the contents, so..."
William walked over and pressed the button of the safe. A blue light flashed on his hand and he released an [Identification Spell].
The elf officer also placed his hand on the safe, and a piece of information instantly appeared in his mind, confirming that the safe contained almost completely pure source silver.
Even though he had a strong mind, after receiving this information, he felt as if his head was hit by a hammer and felt dizzy.
This is dozens of kilograms of refined source silver...
There are no mines of silver in Ava. Some scholars even believe that this is an important reason why the high elves, who started their magic research earlier than humans and whose talents far surpass those of humans, were once overtaken by humans in the application .
It was not until the establishment of the Riel Empire and the human race began to reverse history under the laws of the stars that they were able to barely catch up.
"Is that all right?"
Looking at the elf officer whose breathing had become heavy, William asked.
His breathing was also slightly heavy, not for any other reason, but because his previous [Identification Technique] did not rely on Liz to establish a magic channel for him, but was released directly through the holy emblem across a distance of tens of thousands of kilometers.
An ordinary apprentice-level spell consumed so much magic power that even a peak spell might not be able to use up.
…………
The final inspection result was that they were allowed to pass, but they had to be accompanied by their people throughout the process and their every move had to be under their surveillance.
"So, it looks like your 'release plan' has failed. Do you plan to let them walk on the plank on the return trip, or just take them back with you?"
William quipped to Hobbes.
Hobbes had originally planned to release the three imperial sailors in Ava, but now it seems difficult to find an opportunity.
Hobbes did not respond to William, but looked at the distance with a worried expression.
On a larger and more ornately decorated elven longship not far away, the elves who had come aboard to inspect the ship earlier were reporting something to an elf wearing ornate golden scale armor. As they spoke, they occasionally pointed at Hobbes' ship.
"What do you think they were talking about?"
William followed Hobbes and watched for a while before asking.
"I don't know...but ever since those pointy-eared guys got off the ship after their inspection, my eyelids have started twitching. Normally this only happens when a storm is about to come."
Do people in this world believe in this?
William suppressed the urge to complain and turned his gaze towards the dock of Misty Harbor which was getting closer and closer.
Yinsu City is the city of voyagers in Ava Continent. Half of the city is built on land, and the other half is built on ships. Almost half of the residents lived on ships all their lives, and have never set foot on land except for receiving the blessing of the Holy Fire and returning to the Holy Fire.
During the Moon Realm Crisis, a quarter of the entire Yinsu City was dismantled into a fleet to support the Wick Continent. The High Elves' reinforcements boarded this fleet to support Fairy Bay in Ravenwood, helping the Forest Elves resist the Gray March led by the three great demon generals under the Ruin Demon, and successfully diverted the attention of the Ruin Demon Odin. This bought precious time for the Judgment Seat to directly capture the other party's hometown, the Ruins.
Because he was busy stealing the house, William didn't see the magnificent scene when a quarter of the city came over. He only heard the battle report afterwards - there wasn't even a CG. But based on this battle report, he also imagined what a shocking scene it would be, and how prosperous the navigator city Yinsu would be.
But after one thousand and eight years, when William finally saw this legendary city for the first time, he blurted out only four words of evaluation:
"It's so quiet..."
As described in the literature, the densely packed ships here formed a city on the sea. But unlike the literature, the city did not change with the movement of the ships, because the ships were connected together with chains to form an artificial island.
Because it had not been operated for a long time, most of the hulls were covered with barnacles that could kill people with trypophobia on the spot.
"It has been like this since eight hundred years ago."
Hobbes said on the side after hearing William's words.
"It is said that the ships here have been cleaned up more than ten times, big and small. The ships left now are not even one-third of those in the War of Kings era."
"Why compare it to the Age of the War of Kings?"
William asked doubtfully.
"Because that was the peak of the entire Yinsu City, the several major kingdoms with equal strength on the continent all hoped to get military support from Ava Continent, so there was an endless stream of trade fleets traveling back and forth."
Hobbs replied.
"After the storm blocked the Broken Sea, the grand spectacle of thousands of ships launching at the same time was no longer seen. Now, except for the fishermen, most of the residents of Yinsu City have moved to live on land."
