Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 193 Where to go
At the summit of Dwarf Mountain, a strong north wind carried the chill from the icy sea of ​​the extreme, but this chill could not penetrate the overly luxurious lush green hunting tent hidden between two remaining cannon emplacements.

Inside the spacious and warm hunting tent, Cheng Lang and the others, sitting around the fireplace, were tallying up the profits from their trip to the Elven Kingdom.

Overall, the gains were enormous.

Yun Ji spoke up, "Aside from the power bestowed by the Verdant Sacred Tree's recognition, our main gain is the sap from the Sacred Tree that Yafso collected."

Before she could finish speaking, Yafso had already placed the boat bottle she had borrowed from Cheng Lang on the table. The boat bottle was only less than a quarter full, but even so, considering its exaggeratedly large capacity, it was more than enough.

"And these too."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he placed the metal heart, which was still hanging on the black cat doll, on the table, and then took out the emptied blood pump and placed it on the table as well.

"Captain, why did you empty the blood of Poseidon from the blood pump back then?"

Yun Lan asked curiously, while placing the firefly pendant containing the digging beetle on the table.

"Because Yun Hai emptied the blood pump from her hand."

Cheng Lang said matter-of-factly, "It contains the blood of Poseidon, an astonishing amount of the blood of Poseidon, and there were so many witnesses on the ancient sacred tree at that time."

"Whether it's me or Yun Hai, if we take away the blood of Poseidon, no matter who we are or where we hide, we will become the target of the entire Star Sea Continent."

"So we gave up so much of Poseidon's blood?" Shenba asked with a pained expression.

"Poseidon's heart is too conspicuous."

Yun Ji said, "Perhaps many powerful forces are paying attention to this heart, no, they are paying attention to the blood pump in Yun Hai's hand!"
I even suspect that Yun Hai and the blood pump in his hand were bait thrown out by Lord Panini.

"What bait?" Yun Lan asked, though she already had the answer.

"That depends on who needs Poseidon's blood the most."

Cheng Lang answered, "Do we need the blood of Poseidon?"

"It doesn't seem to be very necessary."

When Yun Lan answered, a bright smile even appeared on her face; she understood.

"Those who need Poseidon's blood the most are the ghost ships and the dwarves who control them."

Cheng Lang said, "In addition, we must be wary of Yun Hai."

"Why?" Yavso asked, puzzled.

"On the bright side, Yun Hai didn't want to become bait, so she spilled Poseidon's blood. But on the other hand..."

"But if we look at the worst..."

Yun Ji picked up where Cheng Lang left off, "If our captain is greedy enough, she might spread the word that we control a second blood pump, and the first to receive that information would be..."

"Lord Panini," Yun Lan answered quickly.

"That's right"

Cheng Lang nodded. "Then we'll become bait, Panini's bait for hunting dwarves."

"I couldn't think of that."

Shenba scratched the back of his head and said truthfully, "So what do we do next?"

"Have a meal"

Cheng Lang, Yun Lan, and Yun Ji all spoke in unison.

I have to remind you.

Gerta, who was in charge of cooking for everyone, said, "Although we still have plenty of fresh water, this is our last bit of food. When are we leaving Dwarf Mountain?"

Let's finish this meal.

As Cheng Lang spoke, he poured some fruit wine for everyone.

"How do we get out of Dwarf Mountain?"

Yun Lan took her share of food from Gerta and asked, "We currently have three paths to take."

"Do we have that many choices?" Yavso pressed.

“The first method is to use the wings of the Night Raven Messenger to glide into the Frost Duchy,” Yun Lan said.

“But now that war has been declared, we might be torn to shreds by the Frost Kingdom’s Eagle Clan Guard,” Yun Ji warned.

"The second route is to enter Lika along the Dwarf Mountain."

Yun Lan said, "But it is foreseeable that we will be captured by the Lika military and imprisoned before we leave Dwarf Mountain."

I'd rather be fed to the birds than die in my own dungeon.

"So we'll take the third path?" Shenba asked. "What is the third path?"

"Digger Beetle"

Cheng Lang said, "We'll ride the digging beetle into Dwarf Mountain and leave without a sound."

"We choose this one."

“No, we’re flying down,” Cheng Lang said. “Flying straight down.”

"Didn't you just say you would be..."

"After so many days, news from the Elf Kingdom must have reached the Frost Kingdom by now."

Given that someone is leading a team across the Dwarf Mountains to attack the Elf Duchy.

At this time, the defenses at the foot of Dwarf Mountain would certainly be even more heavily fortified.

It was already dark enough.

Yun Ji added, "As long as we fly as close to the Arctic Ice Sea as possible, even if we encounter an accident, Captain, your whip should be able to bind the opponent's wings, right?"

“Not a big problem”

Cheng Lang replied, "We'll set off immediately after we've filled our stomachs."

The captain gave the order, and the others naturally had no objections.

After hastily filling my stomach with this overly simple dinner.

Following Cheng Lang's instructions, Yun Lan drove the burrowing beetle down a distance of about a hundred meters and sealed it with expanding foam. Then she emerged from the side, put away the burrowing beetle, and returned to the top of Dwarf Mountain by stepping on the thorny walkway she had made.

At this point, everyone redistributed the luggage they needed to carry.

As the large, black wings unfolded silently, Cheng Lang was the first to fly out.

Immediately following behind, Yavso also spread her wings and began to glide.

Behind her, Yun Ji and Shen Ba also began gliding, each carrying Yun Lan and Gerta, who were unable to use the Night Raven Messenger.

Almost as their silhouettes were completely swallowed by the night, faint streaks of fire appeared at the northernmost tip of Dwarf Mountain.

After a long time, a group of soldiers arrived at the top of the mountain and immediately discovered the traces of Cheng Lang and his men's camp, as well as the traces left on the ground by the digging beetles.

"Notify the guards that the wanted criminal is suspected of driving a digging beetle into Zushan. They must increase patrols."

As the captain of the squad gave the order, one of the soldiers immediately began writing a letter and then released the letter-bearer that had been perched on his shoulder.

Propelled by the biting cold wind, Cheng Lang and the others glided a considerable distance and maintained a sufficiently high altitude.

After flying far enough, until the Dwarf Mountain behind him disappeared into the night, Cheng Lang, whose face was almost covered in frost from the cold, finally began to descend.

Just then, several winged orcs caught up from below and began to circle around them.

"We are the Eagle Clan Guard of the Frost Duchy"

One of the orcs who flew to Cheng Lang's side said, "You have already..."

With a feather pendant in his mouth, Cheng Lang waved his hand impatiently. Instantly, the wings of the surrounding Eagle Clan guards were bound by invisible whips, and they began to fall like cannonballs.

Fortunately, Cheng Lang did not intend to kill them, and those invisible whips could not maintain such a distance.

So before they even landed, they regained control of their wings and struggled to regain their footing amidst the swirling feathers.

At the same time, Cheng Lang waved to everyone and then pointed directly below. Upon receiving the instruction, everyone immediately folded their wings and began to descend. As they gradually came into view of the vegetation and snow on the ground, they unfolded their wings again and finally landed steadily on the ground.

"Digger Beetle"

Before Cheng Lang could finish speaking, Yun Lan took out the burrowing beetle and, together with the others, crawled inside. They then burrowed directly downwards into the hard frozen soil and blocked the tunnel behind them.

When the burrowing beetle emerged again, it was already in a sheltered spot on a low hill in the distance.

"The problem now is, does anyone know where we are?"

After stepping out of the digging beetle, Cheng Lang looked around at the desolate scenery and asked a question.

"I know"

Gerta sniffed. "This familiar, cold air, and the smell of lubricating oil mixed in with it... gentlemen, we must have flown to the lubricating oil mining area of ​​the Frost Duchy."

"No matter where we are, where should we go to find something to eat?" Shenba asked this question as his stomach began to rumble.

"Which direction is this smell coming from?"

Gerta pointed in a direction, "If we hurry over there, we should be able to get some food."

"Is there anything special about this place?" Cheng Lang asked.

"It's similar to the Sin Gold Mine in the Elf Kingdom."

Gerta said, "Those who come to the mine to extract lubricating oil are basically criminals, including, of course, those who marry elves."

"They're really evenly matched."

Cheng Lang muttered to himself, "Let's rest for a bit and set off once we've warmed up."

"I think we don't need to rest anymore."

Gerta sniffed again, pointed in another direction and said, "I smell the scent of Gat Wolf Grass coming from that direction. If I'm not mistaken, a caravan will be coming soon, and we might be able to buy or even plunder them."

"We are not pirates, and certainly not land pirates."

As Cheng Lang spoke, he pulled out a bag of gold coins and tossed it to Gerta, saying, "Buy it."

"Look at me"

With exceptional confidence, Gerta took the money bag and headed towards the fork in the road not far away.

Sure enough, just as he had guessed, a short while later, a caravan of ten moose wagons emerged from the distant mountain valley.

The lead caravan had a smoking iron barrel hanging from the moose antlers.

"That's Gate Wolf Grass."

Yavso explained in a low voice, "The Gate Wolves are the masters of the Ice Plains. Those huge packs of wolves are afraid of nothing except the smoke from burning wolf grass."

"Have you been to the Ice Plains before?" Shenba asked.

"I've never been here."

Yavso pointed in a direction and said, "But when I was very young, Grandpa Gerta told me stories about the ice fields."

"Is this ice field very large?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

"It is indeed very big."

Yun Ji explained, "From the foot of Dwarf Mountain all the way to the easternmost Gate Death Valley, this area is considered the Icefield. South of the Icefield is Beast Corpse Territory."

"Legend has it that this is the place where the Valkyrie and Poseidon had their final battle, and where the Valkyrie killed Poseidon."

Yun Lan continued, "Although this place was already an ice field before that, the Frost Kingdom insists that it was because Poseidon was killed here that the curse turned this land into an ice field."

"Is all Poseidon capable of is subtle, underhanded curses?"

Amidst Shenba's mocking mutterings, Gerta, standing by the roadside, easily bought the supplies from two moose carts while waving his money bag.

Once the transaction was completed, the caravan continued north, while Cheng Lang and the others gathered around the two moose carts and together dragged them into the coniferous forest by the roadside.

Without even mentioning it, Yun Lan took out the burrowing beetle and dug out an L-shaped tunnel in the shadow of the mountain. Then she called on Yafso to help set up the hunting tent.

She had barely finished preparing when Gerta and Shenba had already driven the two moose carts into the tunnel.

"We were lucky."

As Gerta lifted the tarpaulin from the moose wagon, he said, "They used to exchange everyday items for lubricating oil at the mines. The wagon I bought was mainly for food and clothing."

"Where do we go next?"

After Cheng Lang asked the question, everyone looked at Gerta.

"What about going east?"

Gerta asked, “I know a road that is relatively safe to cross the Gate Canyon. If we cross the canyon and walk for another day, we will reach Frostflower.”

"We'll leave the next steps to Gerta."

Cheng Lang snapped his fingers. "Shouldn't we have a proper celebration?"

When this suggestion came out of Erlang's mouth, it was immediately approved by everyone.

Amidst everyone's busy work, the luxurious hunting tent that the dark elves of Funeral Valley had given them was re-erected at the end of the tunnel. Everyone carried various ingredients into the tent, ready to treat themselves to a good meal, leaving only the hardworking undead Xiao Bao to stand guard at the tunnel entrance.

That night, Cheng Lang and his companions, who were hiding in their comfortable hunting tents and getting completely drunk, were unaware that Princess Bacla of Lika had now taken refuge in the only inn in a small town on the border of the Principality of Mofita, which also borders the Elf Principality, in a particularly disheveled state.

"Snapped!"

Princess Bakla angrily overturned the food that had been brought into the room.

She didn't go anywhere all day, staying in her room, repeatedly trying to summon the golden rose bestowed by the ship's heart.

However, since the real Princess Bakla awakened, all she can summon are mushrooms.

Mushrooms of all colors and shapes, even various flavors and whether they are poisonous or not—nobody knows exactly what went wrong.

Just as no one knew, Yun Hai, who had only just escaped into the Duchy of Boerlan, had already torn off her mask of hypocrisy and tossed it to her subordinates. As she climbed into the carriage waiting for her, she asked, "Has the news been spread?"

"It's been spread."

Yun Hai's subordinate made no attempt to conceal his dark elf appearance, and said gloatingly, "Now the entire Elf Kingdom is searching for Princess Bacla, who grows mushrooms."

"Where is she now?" Yun Hai asked with great interest.

"Pure Love Inn, within the territory of Murphyta," Yun Hai's subordinate replied.

"What a piece of rubbish name!"

Yun Hai's sweet, harmless voice held undisguised disdain: "Contact our people and inform those short-legged antiques that Princess Bakla's people have stolen the real Blood of Poseidon and the Armor of Ambition. Also, reveal her exact location."

Will those dwarves believe it?

As soon as Yun Hai's subordinate asked the question, Yun Hai, who had climbed into the carriage, grabbed his collar with his small hand wearing a lace glove. His fierce, childlike voice retorted wearily, "Can't you just take our people to that Pure Love Inn and put on a show?"

"oh--!"

Yun Hai's subordinate suddenly realized and said, "I understand! I'll go right now!"

"If only I could snatch Sister Yunji to help me."

Yun Hai sighed, then slammed the carriage door shut.

"Snapped!"

In a room at the Pure Love Inn, Princess Bakura, whose room was now covered in all sorts of mushrooms, slammed the plate she had just picked up against the wall once again.

She didn't know why, but she felt increasingly irritable.

That same night, on the ice outside Frostflower Harbor, a huge, crab-like figure silently broke through the thick ice and, under the cover of wind and snow, slipped into a flower boat.

Soon after, the flower boat suddenly raised its sails, and then, propelled by the wind, gracefully turned on the ice, heading straight for Highwall Harbor, which is right next to the northern border of the Dwarf Mountains.

As the pleasure boat sped faster and faster, the elves, orcs, and even humans and sirens who had come aboard for amusement were thrown off the deck, landing awkwardly on the hard ice.

(End of this chapter)