Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 182 The war begins
In the torrential rain, Shenba drove his moose-drawn carriage, churning through the mud, hurrying towards the Elf Kingdom.

Inside the hunting tent behind the carriage door, Cheng Lang and the others took the opportunity to rest amidst the slight swaying.

As the deer and people hurried along without stopping, they almost caught up with the elf they had captured who had escaped from Sweet Spring Village, and arrived at a town that was much larger than Sweet Spring Village.

This town is also made up of houses and trees, but compared to Ganquan Village, the layout of this town is more orderly, and outside those houses and trees, there are usually some beautiful stone buildings that seem to be used for business. Even the roads are paved with stone slabs that are larger than Yafuso.

Before entering the town, Cheng Lang and the others put on waterproof cloaks and left the wagon-mounted hunting tent. As Shenba put away the moose wagon, they also changed their faces to those of elves.

Touching his pointed ears, Cheng Lang slung his backpack over his shoulder and said, "After we enter the town, we'll immediately purchase supplies and then continue our journey."

“Leave these to me,” Yun Ji volunteered, “Shenba, you help me.”

"And what about us? What should we do?" Yavso asked.

“Let’s keep moving forward,” Cheng Lang said, taking a step forward. “Gathering together will attract attention.”

Of course, no one else had any objections to his arrangement.

The group of five split into two groups and walked step by step into the town, which was particularly deserted because it was still dark and the rain was pouring down.

What is the name of this town?

Cheng Lang asked as he walked through the torrential rain.

“Yu Hui Town,” Yun Lan replied in a low voice, “at least that’s how it’s marked on the map.”

Seeing the two captains looking at him, Yavso quickly shook his head, "Don't look at me, I've never been here."

"It's a pity, I was planning to explore the towns of the Elf Kingdom properly," Cheng Lang sighed.

"There will be opportunities in the future," Yun Lan comforted her.

"I hope so"

Cheng Lang glanced in the direction where Yun Ji and Shen Ba had disappeared, then quickened his pace and headed towards the other side of Yu Hui Town.

He didn't know, or rather, no one in Yu Hui Town knew, that Gan Quan Village had been completely occupied and the corpses of the villagers had been sent into the Dwarf Mountain.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Dwarf Mountain, deep within the Beast Reef Territory, the adventurers, lovelorn men, and speculators who had come here to venture out had been slaughtered by the thugs hidden inside Dwarf Mountain, who had also gathered a large army at the foot of the mountain.

"crash"

As the soil crumbled atop Dwarf Mountain, a hidden opening was carved into the edge of a boulder. Vanhart, who had almost perfectly missed the battle at the foot of the mountain, emerged from the opening, casually tossing a petrified, expanding foam bead behind him before heading towards the Sea of ​​Despair.

Before dawn, the seemingly man-made downpour still hadn't stopped, but by then, the armies gathered on both sides of Dwarf Mountain were no longer waiting and set off for their respective nearest towns—Sunset Town and Funeral Valley.

Fortunately, almost simultaneously with them, Yunji and Shenba also rented a carriage and purchased enough food to fill it.

Shortly after leaving Yu Hui Town, the siblings met up with Cheng Lang and his two companions who were waiting by the roadside.

As quickly as possible, Shenba loaded the various food supplies from the carriage into the moose cart, turned the rented carriage around, whipped the horse's rump, and let it pull the empty cart back to Yu Hui Town on its own.

Once seated in the moose-drawn carriage, Shenba cracked his whip and urged the moose pulling the carriage to run again.

Gradually, as they moved further and further away from the town of Yu Hui behind them, the torrential rain finally subsided and eventually let them go.

Without the influence of the weather, the moose cart finally picked up speed.

However, before they could even reach the next town, their road was blocked. They even saw the elf they had stopped earlier, now dead and impaled on a large tree by the roadside in a banished manner.

"parking"

The man guarding the intersection shouted through a tin megaphone, "In light of the heinous incident in Ganquan Village, to prevent spies from entering Sunshine City, all vehicles and travelers must stop for inspection."

"I haven't smelled such a strong sea smell in a long time," Cheng Lang said, taking a deep breath as he sat by the carriage.

"The distinctive fishy smell of sirens that don't bathe."

Yun Ji chimed in sarcastically, "This can't be hidden by a mask of hypocrisy."

"Let's do it. Keep the person who shouted the message here; I need to ask him some questions."

Before Cheng Lang could finish speaking, Yun Ji had already vigorously shaken the reins, making the moose pulling the cart speed up and lower its head, arching its huge antlers.

"Thorns are better than Drunken Golden Rose."

Before Yun Lan could finish speaking, a huge thorn spike suddenly sprouted from the ground between the legs of the hunters blocking their path.

This cunning and vicious sneak attack was undoubtedly fatal. Just as these hunters screamed and clutched their anuses or testicles, Cheng Lang swung his whip and wrapped it around the chest of the only one who hadn't been attacked, who was carrying a trumpet. With a forceful jerk, he dragged him to the side of the carriage.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Amid a series of crashes, the moose easily knocked away the barricades blocking its path and several wounded elves, whose identities were unclear, with its massive antlers, and continued its frantic run along the road.

At the same time, Cheng Lang reached down to the prisoner's temple and forcefully ripped off a mask of hypocrisy. This was a bastard of a grass carp.

You'd better answer the question obediently.

Before Cheng Lang finished speaking, thorns sprouted all over the prisoner and even along the edges of the carriage, binding him firmly.

"who are you?"

Cheng Lang asked, "If you lie, a thorn will be stuck into your ass and then come out of your mouth."

"Pirates! We are pirates!"

The prisoner quickly revealed everything he knew: "We're preparing to launch a black raid on the Elven Duchy!"

"Who organized this?" Cheng Lang continued to ask.

"Viscount Shenfei!"

The prisoner tensed, startled by the thorns that seemed to have pierced through his trousers. "He used the burrowing beetles to carve a secret passage through Dwarf Mountain! That's how we got here."

You are lying.

Yun Lan, who was hiding behind Cheng Lang, said, "Everyone knows that the digging beetles get lost when they are drilling long distances inside the Dwarf Mountain."

"But we came here following a digging-out Beetle."

The prisoner quickly replied, "We've been here for quite some time now, and with Viscount Shenfei's help, we've joined the Verdant Hunters."

"When did this happen?" asked Yun Ji, who was driving the car.

"Six months ago," the prisoner answered simply, "I was hatched six months ago, right here in the Dwarf Mountain."

“Sunshine City is just ahead,” Yun Lan suggested. “Perhaps we can hand him over to the elves to deal with.”

"Just throw him out. I don't want to bring this trouble into the city with me."

Cheng Lang patted the prisoner's face. "If you survive, tell your people not to keep chasing us, or I won't mind confiscating your hypocritical facade."

After he finished speaking, Yun Lan put away the thorns. Before the prisoner could even express his gratitude, Cheng Lang kicked him out of the carriage.

"Do you really expect him and his companions to let us go?" Yun Lan asked.

"Of course I don't expect it."

Cheng Lang shook his head. "Yun Ji, can we bypass that Sunshine City thing?"

“Yes,” Yun Ji replied, “it won’t waste much extra time.”

"Go around them," Cheng Lang decisively decided. "Let those pirates search slowly in Sunshine City."

Upon hearing this, Yun Ji shook the reins and sped up, then turned at the next intersection and took another road.

However, their good fortune didn't last long. They hadn't been running along the road for long when they encountered the Verdant Hunters blocking their way once again!
"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Without giving the other side any time to waste words, with the thorns controlled by Yun Lan launching a sneak attack, these Verdant Hunters fell to the ground one after another, clutching their buttocks or groins, letting out a series of screams.

“I’ve discovered that being an assassin is a more suitable profession for you than being a princess,” said Yun Ji, who was in charge of driving, quite seriously.

"Thank you, I think so too," Yun Lan replied.

"Where did you learn this vicious method?" Cheng Lang, who felt a chill creeping up his crotch, couldn't help but ask.

“Shenba’s suggestion,” Yun Lan replied with a smile.

In the blink of an eye, the moose pulling the cart once again knocked away the mountain bandits blocking the road. After speeding along the road for a while, it turned at an intersection and soon encountered the bandits blocking the road again.

When the group successfully passed the test again using the same trick, they were unaware that it was precisely because of their "disregard for the law" that some townspeople from Yu Hui Town, who had received the news, were able to enter Sunshine City before the Green Hunters, who were suffering from groin pain, were rescued, and brought news that someone was about to attack Sunshine City.

It's hard to say whether the news that plunged Sunshine City into chaos and panic saved the city's residents, who were either preparing to flee or ready to fight. However, the moose-drawn carriage that bypassed Sunshine City simply changed to a new moose halfway through the journey and continued on its way.

Even so, they were still being watched, though they were unaware of it.

"Ahead lies Dawn City."

On the evening of the third day after leaving Ganquan Village, in the carriage filled with the light of oil lamps, a slightly tired-looking Yun Lan pointed to the markings on the map and said, "After Dawn City is the Elf King City, Captain. I think we need to rest in Dawn City."

"That's right"

Yafso, peeking out from the hunting tent, chimed in, "We don't have much food left from the emergency purchase in Twilight Town, and it's already gone bad. Most importantly, we're running out of fuel for the stove."

"Mr. Gerta will pass through Dawn City if he intends to travel to the Elf King's City."

As Yun Ji emerged from the hunting tent with Yafso, she said, "He might have left us some clues in Dawn City."

"Alright, then let's rest in Dawn City for the night."

After a moment's thought, Cheng Lang made a decision. They were already so close to the Elf King's City that they should be safe.

"I'm going to have a big meal later," Shenba, who was driving, said expectantly, even swallowing unconsciously.

“I thought I would have a comfortable and easy life after coming to the mainland,” Yun Ji sighed, “but in reality it is more difficult than at sea.”

"When we get to Dawn City, I'm going to take a good bath," Yun Lan added.

"Yafso, if Gerta left any clues, do you have a way to find them?" Cheng Lang asked.

"Of course!"

Yavso confidently gave an answer: he and his grandson had their own secret means of communication, a method they had honed under the constant shadow of having to be discovered and banished by the Green Hunters.

"I have no doubt that Yavso can find Grandpa Gerta."

Shenba, who was driving the car, pointed to the sky above and asked, "But aren't there too many falcons overhead?"

"normal"

Yun Lan said, "The falcons of the elves are used for communication, just like the messengers at sea. Moreover, there is a war in Ganquan Village, and there may even be fighting in Yuhui Town. It is normal for there to be more falcons at this time."

We still need to be careful.

Yun Ji suggested, "Let's find a place ahead to put the carriage away and walk into the city."

"Give them all a new face"

Cheng Lang also reminded them that thanks to their previous "waste," they now have enough faces to borrow.

Under Shenba's control, the moose carriage left the main road and entered the roadside forest, and soon disappeared completely.

After traveling through the forest for a while and emerging back onto the main road, Dawn City was already in sight.

This so-called Dawn City is surrounded by a ring of towering trees that form a natural city wall. The tops of these trees, which serve as the city wall, have many windows. Not only are soldiers guarding these windows, but you can also see huge cannon barrels protruding from them.

However, even more striking than these natural walls is a taller and thicker tree inside the city behind them.

The tree's canopy wasn't particularly dense, but it had many branches on its main trunk, and on those branches stood falcons.

And within that sparse, even bald, tree canopy, stood an outrageously large cannon.

"That's the Verdant Cannon."

Yun Lan tilted her head back and introduced, "These cannons were commissioned by the elves from Rica after the Valkyrie killed Poseidon. At that time, the craftsmen who made these emerald cannons were all dwarven craftsmen who had participated in the war."

"Moreover, only the Elf Duchy was qualified to use the Azure Cannons, a total of 49 cannons, distributed in the 7 guard cities surrounding the Elf Royal City."

These cannons have a maximum range that allows them to attack the elven borders; to the elves, they are totems as important as the sacred tree of immortality.

Yun Ji added, "This is also the Valkyrie's order, to thank the elves for their sacrifices in the war, and to compensate for the fact that only the elves do not have access to the sea."

"boom--!"

Just as Cheng Lang was about to say something, the cannon suddenly fired a shell in the direction from which Cheng Lang and the others had come!
"The war has begun"

Yun Lan sighed amidst the lingering echoes of cannon fire and the rushing air currents.

(End of this chapter)