The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 979: Volume 31: The Hand That Conceals the Sky, - 23: Reach Out

Chapter 979: Volume 31: The Hand That Conceals the Sky, Chapter 23: Reach Out

When Vladimir Koff and his group arrived at Xifnos Island, it was already half a month later.

Although they had heard about the situation on Xifnos Island when they stopped along the southern Mediterranean coast, the actual prosperity of Xifnos Island still stunned Vladimir Koff and his companions when they saw it with their own eyes.

The endless sea of sails and masts awed Vladimir Koff and his companions, who all knew that Xifnos Island was nothing but an uninhabited piece of land just two years ago. Yet, in such a short period of time, Xifnos Island had transformed into a dazzling jewel in the Southern Mediterranean, a hotbed of central importance, an essential stepping stone between the vast Continent and the Storm Ocean. Who could really understand the twists and turns that occurred during this transformation?

Traders from various places were conversing in their local dialects on the docks, boasting about the fine goods they brought. Shipowners were discussing changes in freight rates and the volume of goods in small groups, while customs officers maintained a high level of work intensity. They could only take turns to eat and rest, as ships were constantly arriving and departing. They needed to complete customs and tax procedures in a short amount of time.

Without a doubt, the dockworkers were the busiest of all, hustling to load and unload goods, store them in warehouses and cabins. Overseers were shrewdly checking the quality of the merchandise, and prostitutes roamed about, hoping to attract one or two generous clients for a lucrative transaction. The two-kilometer-long, narrow docks of Xifnos Island were a microcosm of the city itself.

Xifnos Island had now truly become a trade hub located at the southern edge of the Mediterranean and bordering the Storm Ocean. The power vacuum left by the disappearance of Demisheme was quickly filled by Hayreddin’s reorganized fleet. In this area where even the Carter Fleet could not intervene, Hayreddin became the undisputed boss.

Ships sailing from the Storm Ocean to enter the Southern Mediterranean or to head east to the Continent all inevitably had to pass through these waters, voluntarily or not docking at Xifnos Island. Especially after Hayreddin issued a declaration promoting trade and ensuring the safety of shipping lanes, the number of fleets from the Storm Ocean surged, also fueling the resurgence of the shipping industry in the surrounding areas.

Ports like Tilo City-State, which had declined due to the obstruction posed by Demisheme and the Carter Fleet, immediately sensed the opportunity for a local resurgence from Hayreddin’s declaration. If Hayreddin could truly ensure safe passage through these complicated maritime areas, it would be a rare opportunity for growth for the entire Southern Mediterranean region.

However, all of this had an uncertain factor, a significant uncertain factor: the stance of the Carter Fleet, the overlord of the Southern Mediterranean. As for Hayreddin’s initiative to encourage trade and ensure safe passage, the Carter Fleet maintained an unexpected silence. They neither expressed opposition nor showed support, and they didn’t even offer an affirmative response, leaving the shipowners and traders from city-states and nations around the Southern Mediterranean uneasy.

Without a statement from the Carter Fleet, there was a significant risk factor involved in these waters. Though Hayreddin’s influence in this area had grown significantly, it was still far from comparable to that of the deeply entrenched Carter Fleet in the Mediterranean region. To a great extent, Hayreddin’s rise had been due to the tacit approval of the Carter Fleet, and his current power was mostly concentrated on the eastern border of the Storm Ocean and the southern edge of the Southern Mediterranean, where there wasn’t much conflict between the two forces.

Now that Hayreddin had proposed to ensure the safe passage of the entire Southern Mediterranean and Storm Ocean, this was like a challenge thrown at Katrina. Hayreddin knew very well the special relationship between Katrina and her backers, which is why he made such a declaration.

Now the ball was in Katrina’s court. How she would respond to this proposal was, in essence, a veiled test of how she positioned herself concerning the new rising power from Nicosia—whether to maintain a friendly and supportive relationship with them, to establish her status as superior to any other power, or to aggressively suppress the newcomer challenging her status?

Hayreddin was also aware that the battle between Katrina and Gote in the North Mediterranean was still unresolved. Logically, Gray Skull should not be able to continue contending with the Carter Fleet after losing Homer’s support. Even if Komer provided weapons to both sides impartially, Gote didn’t have the strength to engage in a prolonged conflict with the Carter Fleet, but Gote managed to do it, which was surprising to Hayreddin.

News from Maha Gummi confirmed this. Gote had long distanced himself from Philip and found a stronger support—several of the largest colonial families from the Continent were his real backers. It was their relentless support that enabled Gray Skull to fight for supremacy in the North Mediterranean with the Carter Fleet. Clearly, these families, wealthy enough to rival countries, intended to use Gray Skull to gain control of the passage from the Continent to the North Mediterranean and even to central parts of the Mediterranean coast. The dwarf kingdoms of Shimaina and Severo, as well as surrounding human city-states, which traditionally had the most prosperous slave markets, that was their real target.

It was precisely because the struggle between Katrina and Gote was still without a definitive outcome that forced the Carter Fleet to maintain silence on Hayreddin’s initiative. Indeed, in the six months since Hayreddin’s declaration, the entire Southern Mediterranean and Storm Ocean region had been relatively calm. The Carter Fleet mostly turned a blind eye to the merchant ships passing through their controlled area, but they refused requests to collect higher passage fees, which left merchants and shipowners who regularly traveled these routes somewhat uneasy. Refusing to collect higher fees also meant that they refused to acknowledge the permission for these merchant ships to pass, and it implied that they could launch an attack at any time.

Vladimir Koff and his group arrived on Xifnos Island in such conditions.

As a Dark Knight, Vladimir Koff was not particularly sensitive or interested in political matters. What he was interested in was the pursuit of greater power, to continually improve his own strength through endless training and tempering. That was his tireless ideal and pursuit.

However, some information mentioned casually by Hayreddin’s subordinates on Xifnos Island did catch his attention.

"Dark Elves and Cave Elves?" Vladimir Koff furrowed his brow. His lack of interest in politics did not mean he was confused when analyzing situations. The purpose of his trip to the Storm Ocean coast was a broad framework, but it was evidently greatly related to the Dark Elves.

"Yes, this phenomenon is not something new; it has emerged frequently since six months ago. We are not sure about the differences between Dark Elves and Cave Elves, but their involvement with Mortals is quite conspicuous, and thus it sparked our interest. We’ve even reported some intelligence about this to our superiors."

"Have these Elves appeared in the region before?" Vladimir Koff had to focus his mind on aspects he loathed. While the process of tempering was more important than victory or defeat, returning in disgrace as a loser was not something he wished to see.

"Rarely, such incidents were uncommon before. Elves are quite reclusive, hardly interacting with Mortals. Dark Elves, to some extent, had more contact with Mortals, but it wouldn’t reach the current level. Cave Elves, it is said, have no contact with other races at all, so it’s even more improbable for them to mingle with Mortals. Yet, this phenomenon has occurred, making it quite curious."

"Where do these Mortals come from, to whom do they belong?" Vladimir Koff asked the crucial question.

"Well, we’ve carefully observed and recorded the origins of these Mortals appearing with the Elves, and found that they all come from a country along the coast of the Storm Ocean—Assyria Kingdom."

"Assyria Kingdom?" Vladimir Koff’s brow creased. Although he was not interested in these political affairs, he still needed to understand some of the political dynamics of the Mediterranean coast as his journey would take him across the Storm Ocean.

The Assyria Kingdom was located in the hinterlands along the coast of the Storm Ocean. Since the Elf Clan-controlled Mist Flower Hills lay right between the Assyria Kingdom and the prosperous countries along the Southern Mediterranean coast, it prevented the Assyria Kingdom from connecting with these countries via land routes. Being a landlocked country, if Assyria wanted to engage in sea trade, it would have to use the ports of the city-states along the coast of the Storm Ocean. Therefore, the Assyria Kingdom had long-standing tense relations with these coastal countries, leading to continuous wars until, more than a decade ago, it finally conquered the Aquina City-State, thereby opening a maritime trade route.

However, the rampant scourge of Demisheme significantly impacted the port shipping industry along the coast of the Storm Ocean. The trade route that the Assyria Kingdom had painstakingly opened was also affected. With Aquina Port being far from the Southern Mediterranean and the Assyrian navy incapable of contending with Demisheme, the trade industry of the Assyria Kingdom was severely hit as well.

"Yes, it is the Assyria Kingdom."

"Looking at it this way, it appears there may be some reasons behind the involvement between the Assyria Kingdom and the Elves," Vladimir Koff contemplated for a moment and nodded his head. (To be continued, if you wish to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there are more Chapters, support the author, support authorized reading!)