Chapter 22: No Peace

From the beginning, Vladkov knew this mission was a risky and arduous one—far from the Caucasus, deep in the waters off Storm Ocean, and involving dealings with elves who harbored hostility toward mortals.

Vladkov couldn’t understand why His Lordship would get involved in such a distant affair, and seemingly with great interest, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent the Black Flame Knights and part of the Caucasus Mage Corps across thousands of miles across Storm Ocean.

Although the elven woman who sat at the bow of the ship was undoubtedly closely connected to this mission, Vladkov believed that Komer wasn’t the kind of person to be swayed by women or willing to sacrifice for them. Though that elven woman had served as Komer’s personal secretary, Vladkov knew there was nothing between them—well, that was before. Now, things seemed to have changed, but Vladkov remained convinced that no woman could influence Komer’s decisions, as evidenced by the women who passed by him in a flash.

The two-masted sailing ship sailed steadily across the Northern Mid-Sea. Intermittent snowflakes fell; compared to Nicosia, the snow here was much lighter. Yet, driven by the sea wind, snow and rain mixed together, cutting like knives into people’s faces.

This was a territory where the forces of the Gray Skulls and the Red-Haired Witches clashed. Until recently, the Gray Skulls held the upper hand, but lately, the Karr fleet had launched frequent attacks, successively defeating the Gray Skulls’ patrol fleets. Yet neither side’s main fleets was willing to engage directly, as neither wanted to risk a showdown until they gained an absolute advantage—leaving room for those who watched from the sidelines to profit.

However, the special bear-head flag of the Caucasus Lordship was undoubtedly something neither side wanted to provoke lightly. Komer was gradually stepping back from the conflict between the Gray Skulls and the Red-Haired Witches, instead maintaining a balanced stance by selling the Thousand-Mile Mirrors and Magic Firearms to both sides. Both the Gray Skulls and the Karr fleet realized this but were powerless to change it. The struggle for the Northern Mid-Sea had turned the war into a brutal fight to the death. Only the winner of this war would be qualified to face Komer in the next confrontation.

Haideling’s fleet still maintained a degree of restraint in the Northern Mid-Sea region. After all, with the Gray Skulls and the Kars fleet already complicating matters, Haideling had no intention of getting involved. Instead, it focused on filling the void left by the disappearance of Demisheme’s forces, especially in the Storm Sea and Southern Mid-Sea areas.

Vladkov kept pondering the purpose of this journey across the Storm Sea. No one could guess Kommer’s intentions, but for the Black Flame Knights, engaging with elves, who possessed innate talents in elemental magic, would undoubtedly bring significant improvement and training to the order. The elves were not a race to be insulted lightly. Though orcs and barbarians had an advantage in collective combat strength, in one-on-one battles, they were far from comparable—especially those elf mages, who were a nightmare for ordinary warriors.

Kommer didn’t specify exactly what the Black Flame Knights and the mage group were supposed to do. The mage group had already come to inquire several times, but unfortunately, he himself didn’t know the true purpose. Kommer’s instructions were simple: help Fenitz achieve her goals as much as possible. As for Fenitz’s goals, Vladkov had no idea, and it seemed the girl didn’t want to reveal them to him just yet.

While Vladkov tried to figure out the true meaning of this mission, Fenitz, as its leader, was equally conflicted. Kommer’s instructions also remained vague. Although the independence of the forest elves needed to be preserved, his underlying message suggested a need to help the elves organize themselves, which worried Fenitz. She knew Kommer’s tactics all too well—any intervention would stir up chaos. If it weren’t for the dark elves pressing too hard and pushing the forest elves to the brink, Fenitz wouldn’t have dragged Kommer into this.

The elves had long inhabited the narrow coastal strip along the Storm Sea—ranging from forests to mountains, swamps to hills, plains to deserts. The rugged and complex terrain in this not-so-large land was perfectly suited as their habitat. Even the surrounding mortals gave up on this territory, which they considered unclaimed, due to the enormous costs involved in controlling it.

To mortals, those elves who had not yet formed a true government and lived in tribal form were not considered the masters of this land at all. It was because these stubborn and conservative elves refused any contact with mortals that mortals had been unable to take action against them for so many years. Moreover, if they were to rely solely on force to achieve conquest, the harsh geographical conditions would cost them dearly, making it an extremely unprofitable strategy.

Yet now everything seems to have changed. The evolution of the dark elves has given mortals hope, and it is precisely this change that has forced the long-isolated elven world to face the threat of collapse.

Komer actually knew long ago that the power of the dark elves was far from enough to shake the status of the other six elven races. Their boldness in provoking trouble must be backed by mortal forces. If he did not intervene, given the naive and childish mindset formed by the elves’ long isolation, it would not be long before these lovely elven women became slaves in the beds of those mortal power brokers to the south. Rather than that, why not make them his own slaves?

Haireddin and the others also hoped to establish a foothold along the Storm Ocean coast, and their strength was sufficient to support such an endeavor. This was Komer’s plan. Of course, he would not tell Fenitz so bluntly. It would be better for these lovely elves not to get too involved in those filthy struggles; it was more appropriate to let them see the good side of the world.