Chapter 23: Reaching Out

It was half a month later when Vladkov and his party arrived at Island Sifnos. Although they had heard about the situation on Sifnos as early as when they stopped along the coast of the Southern Mid-Sea, they were still stunned upon seeing the island’s prosperity. The endless rows of sails and masts filled them with awe; they all knew that Sifnos had been nothing just two years ago, with not even a single permanent resident. Yet in such a short time, it had transformed into a dazzling gem in the Southern Mid-Sea—a highly strategic hub and an indispensable bridge connecting the Continent of Mist and the Storm Ocean. Who could truly understand all the twists and turns that led to this?

On the dock, merchants from various places spoke in their local dialects, discussing the conditions of the seas and regions, while showing off their fine goods. Shipowners gathered in groups to talk about changes in shipping rates and volumes. Officials from the customs office worked tirelessly, taking turns to eat and rest. Ships came and went, busy docking and departing, and they had to complete customs inspections and tax collection in a short time.

The dockworkers were undoubtedly the busiest, loading and unloading goods, storing them in warehouses. Supervisors carefully checked the quality of the goods, while prostitutes wandered around, hoping to attract wealthy clients for lucrative deals. The two-kilometer-long dock on Sifnos was like a microcosm of a city.

Sifnos had truly become a vital trading hub at the southern edge of the Mid-Sea, bordering the Storm Ocean. The vacuum left by the disappearance of Demisheme was quickly filled by the reorganized fleet of Hayredin. In this sea area where even the Kars fleet couldn’t interfere, Hayredin became the undisputed leader.

Ships from the Storm Ocean coast, if they wanted to enter the Southern Mid-Sea or head to the Continent of Mist to the east, had to pass through this sea area. They naturally stopped at Sifnos, especially after Hayredin issued a call for ensuring smooth shipping routes and encouraging trade. As a result, the number of fleets from the Storm Ocean surged rapidly, giving the local shipping industry another chance to thrive.

Port cities such as the city-state of Tyros, which had declined due to the obstruction by the Demischeme and Kars fleets, immediately sensed a chance for revival from Hayreddin’s initiative. If Hayreddin could indeed ensure smooth navigation in this complex sea area, it would represent a rare opportunity for development across the entire Southern Central Ocean region.

However, there was still one uncertain factor—a significant one—at hand: the attitude of the Kars fleet, the dominant force in the Southern Central Ocean. Regarding Hayreddin’s proposal to promote trade and ensure smooth routes, the Kars fleet surprisingly remained silent, offering neither explicit opposition nor support, not even a positive response. This left shipowners and merchants from the city-states and nations in the Southern Central Ocean region uneasy.

Without the Kars fleet’s stance, there was a huge risk factor in this sea area. Although Hayreddin’s influence in the region had grown significantly, it was still far from matching that of the deeply entrenched Kars fleet. Hayreddin’s earlier success had largely relied on the Kars fleet’s tacit approval, and his current power was mostly concentrated in the waters along the southern edge of the Southern Central Ocean and the eastern part of the Storm Ocean, where there was little direct conflict between the two forces.

Now, by proposing to ensure smooth navigation throughout the Southern Central Ocean and Storm Ocean regions, Hayreddin was essentially putting pressure on Katerina. He knew exactly about the special relationship between Katerina and her patron behind the scenes, which prompted him to make such a proposal.

Now the ball was in Katerina’s court. How she responded to this proposal would indirectly test her approach to dealing with this new rising power from Nicosia—whether to maintain a harmonious and mutually supportive relationship, establish an independent stance separate from any faction, or forcefully suppress those who dared challenge her position.

Hayreddin was also aware that the conflict between Katerina and Gott in the Northern Central Ocean had not yet ended. Logically, the Gray Skulls, having lost Homer’s support, were unlikely to continue fighting against the Kars fleet. Even if Komer maintained a balanced supply of weapons, Gott’s strength was not sufficient to sustain a long-term struggle against the Kars fleet. Yet Gott managed to do so, which surprised even Hayreddin.

News from Mahagumi confirmed this: Gott had long since left Philip behind and secured stronger backing. The largest colonial families on the Vast Continent were likely his real backers. It was they who were sparing no effort to support the Gray Skulls and the Kartaginian Fleet in competing for dominance over the Northern Mid-Sea. Clearly, these immensely wealthy families wanted the Gray Skulls to help them control the routes from the Vast Continent to the Northern Mid-Sea and even the central coasts of the Mid-Sea. The two dwarf kingdoms of Smyrna and Sevilo, along with several human city-states in the vicinity—places known for their thriving slave trade—were their true targets.

It was precisely because the struggle between Katerina and Gott had yet to yield a clear outcome that the Kartaginian Fleet was forced to remain silent on the issue of the Haidrin Initiative. In fact, since the issuance of the Haidrin Initiative half a year ago, the entire Southern Mid-Sea and Storm Sea regions had remained relatively calm. The Kartaginian Fleet generally turned a blind eye to merchant ships passing through their controlled areas, but they refused requests for higher tolls. This left shipowners and merchants who frequently traveled along these routes feeling uneasy. Refusing higher tolls meant they refused to acknowledge that these ships were allowed to pass through their territory, implying they could launch attacks at any time.

It was in such an environment that Vladkov and his party arrived on the island of Sifnos.

As a Dark Knight, Vladkov was not sensitive to political matters, nor did he have much interest in them. What interested him was pursuing greater power and continuously enhancing his own strength. Only by constantly training and honing his abilities could he achieve his relentless ideal.

However, some information casually mentioned by Haidrin’s subordinates on Sifnos caught his attention.

“Dark elves and cave elves?” Vladkov frowned. His lack of interest in politics did not mean he was unclear in analyzing situations. Although his purpose for traveling to the Storm Sea region was only a general framework, it was clearly related to the dark elves.

“Well, this phenomenon has been going on for days, not just a few. According to our observations, it has occurred frequently for half a year now. We’re not sure about the differences between dark elves and cave elves, but their presence mixed with mortals is quite noticeable, which piqued our interest. We’ve also reported some information on this to our superiors.”

“Have these elves appeared in this region before?” Vladkov had to focus on the aspects he disliked. While training and honing skills were more important than winning or losing, returning in disgrace as a loser was certainly not what Vladkov wanted to see.
“Rarely. Such situations have happened very seldom before. Elves are reclusive and hardly interact with mortals. Dark elves have relatively more contact with mortals, but not to this extent. As for cave elves, it is said they have no contact with any races at all, let alone mortals. Yet this phenomenon has occurred, which is why it’s strange.”
“Where do those mortals come from? Who do they belong to?” Vladkov asked the key question.
“Well, we observed carefully and recorded the origins of those mortals who appeared with the elves. We found that they all came from a country along the Storm Ocean coast—the Assyrian Kingdom.”
“The Assyrian Kingdom?” Vladkov frowned. Although he wasn’t interested in political affairs, he still needed to travel across the Storm Ocean, so he knew something about the political landscape along its coast.
The Assyrian Kingdom was located inland along the Storm Ocean coast. Since the Mistflower Hills, controlled by the elves, lay directly between the Assyrian Kingdom and the countries along the South Mid-Sea coast, the Assyrian Kingdom couldn’t establish land connections with those prosperous nations. As an inland country, it had to rely on the ports of the city-states along the Storm Ocean coast if it wanted to use sea routes. Thus, the Assyrian Kingdom had always had poor relations with those coastal nations, with continuous wars. It wasn’t until over a decade ago that the Assyrian Kingdom finally conquered the city-state of Aquina, opening up a sea route.
However, the rise of Demisheme greatly affected port shipping along the Storm Ocean coast, and the sea route the Assyrian Kingdom had painstakingly opened was also impacted. Since Aquina Port was far from the South Mid-Sea, the Assyrian Kingdom’s naval forces were no match for Demisheme, resulting in a severe hit to its trade industry.
“Hmm, it’s the Assyrian Kingdom.”
“It seems there’s a reason why the Assyrian Kingdom is involved with the elves.” Vladkov pondered for a while before nodding.