Path of Light.

Chapter 182.013. The Transaction
On the Nantali Islands, forty magical airships of the mine guards have gathered.

In recent days, these magical airships have been conducting a thorough search of the clouds above the northern region of the Mensa Strait, and have only found eleven imperial merchant ships. Among them, seven imperial merchant ships were carrying mixed-race elf slaves northward, while the other four imperial merchant ships were engaged in normal trade.

This also means that if the information provided by the Adventurers' Guild is true, then there are still more than twenty Imperial merchant ships transporting half-elf warriors that have not been found.

The magic airships have now swept across the Mensa Strait three times. Those imperial merchant ships either haven't entered the northern part of the Mensa Strait yet, or they have already entered the Frozen Sea. It's impossible for these magic airships searching in the sky to miss them.

The half-elf guards had completed their pre-battle preparations and were sitting casually on the deck, discussing the grey dwarves of Luyun Fortress.

Over the past few years, these half-elf guards have followed Roy on his campaigns, and they have grown accustomed to this lifestyle.

Several company commanders from the Second Guard Regiment gathered together to chat.

"When it's time to charge, your second company will follow behind our third company this time. Last time on Quetzal Island, we assisted you, but this time it's our turn to be at the front no matter what..."

"Your third company only has a few shield-bearing guards, while there are so many spearmen and archers. You're destined to be the ones finishing off the enemy from behind."

“Our third squadron’s shield-bearing guards are also at full strength, so why can’t they be at the forefront?”

"You're talking about this so early in the morning. Do you even know that we're facing the regular army of the Northern Fleet, not those weak and ineffective gray dwarf bandits?"

"Of course we know. I heard from Commander Flint that the gray dwarf warriors we encountered in the jungle battle on Quake Island were regular troops from the Northern Fleet, and we still managed to rout them."

"That battle was different from this one. We fought in the jungle that time, and we elves aren't called the children of the jungle for nothing. Besides, we had assassination squads supporting those guys from behind. Those gray dwarf warriors in the jungle, countless of them were shot down by our archers alone..."

"This time we want to attack the Noon Fortress, but we have no geographical advantage."

"With the addition of the Siren Legion, I feel our mine defense force is stronger than before..."

Zephyr and Olive were on the top of the magical airship. When they heard the half-elf officers talking about the Siren Legion, they both looked toward the deck. However, the deck was densely packed with countless half-elf guards, and the chatter was drowned out by the noise.

Olive's soft body was curled up on a recliner. Even as an elf, her beautiful face was still alluring. When she squinted her eyes, she looked just like a lazy orange cat.

A long, drawn-out horn sound came from afar...

The first magic airship took off from a sheltered harbor south of the main island of the Nantali Islands, followed by a second, a third...

Soon, the magic airship carrying Zephyr and Olive also rose into the air propelled by the immense buoyancy.

Zephyr looked towards the distant sea, then turned to Olive and asked:

"Olive, what do you think of the Endless Sea?"

Olive shook her head and replied with a smile:
"I don't feel anything. This isn't my home, and the sea doesn't smell familiar. If I had a choice, I'd prefer to stay in the western waters of the Partington plane... What about you? What do you think of this place?"

"The Naga sea race occupies the Endless Sea. Although this sea is quite nice, it does not belong to the sea monster race. It gets colder and colder as you go north, and I don't like places that are too cold. If I could go south to see the Seven Realms Sea, I would really be looking forward to it."

"Zezena said, squinting her eyes."

After saying that, she took off the water bag from her waist, pulled out the cork, and poured the seawater inside over her head.

Olive sat up from the wicker chair, repeating the name 'Seven Realms Sea'.

“I heard that these grey dwarves want to migrate to the Seven Realms Sea, and the island of Quel’s that we occupy happens to block their southward migration route. So we are destined to have a battle with the grey dwarves’ northern fleet. This attack on Ruyun Fortress is also to see the true strength of these grey dwarves.”

"Speaking of which, these grey dwarves are really baffling. They would rather give up the Knee of Dragag in the Northland than go to war with the Dark Legion, yet they run rampant on the west coast of the Eastern Continent, and then they migrated their entire tribe south to the Seven Realms Sea..."

Olive whispered to Zezena.

……

The Black Pearl arrived at the edge of the Kangamor Forest, where Roy and the old chief of the White Sheep tribe agreed to conduct a transaction.

Three magic airships arrived at the edge of the jungle. After only half a day, they saw a large group of agile Aries warriors. Their jumping ability was amazing. From the time they discovered their tracks to the time they arrived around the magic airships, it took only about fifteen minutes.

These orc warriors were noticeably faster than the elves when running across the grass...

Roy came out of the ship's superstructure and stood on the deck, waiting for the White Sheep warriors to board the Black Pearl.

"The elven merchant the chieftain made us wait for was you?"

The leader of the Aries warriors looked at Roy with some surprise and spoke in Orcish.

After Saire translated, Roy carefully examined the Aries warrior in thick leather armor opposite him, but couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

It was Leah behind him who secretly reminded him:

"He is the Aries warrior that Alice revived with divine magic on our way back from Luyun Fortress last time."

Roy then realized that this robust Aries warrior was indeed the pale-faced wounded man from before, but in his memory, he could only recall the hot Aries female warrior...

"It was us. I made a deal with your chieftain."

After Roy finished speaking, he had the half-elf guards carry out some wooden crates from the cabin. Inside were thick-backed machetes, lumberjack axes, and short throwing spears made of black iron, among other things.

Roy loaded three ships with these supplies; the Aries warrior hadn't expected Roy to be able to bring so many weapons all at once.

These orc warriors preferred to carry lumberjack axes and black iron short spears, and the white sheep warrior's gaze remained fixed on those gleaming black short spears.

"My name is Tagob, and I don't know your name yet."

The Aries warrior spoke to Roy very politely.

“Roy, they all like to call me Boss Roy,” Roy said. “However much of these goods you can take, I’ll give you that amount…”

The White Sheep warrior said with some difficulty:
"The chief sent me to receive this shipment, but there are far more goods than we anticipated. I only brought this many magic crystals. I hope to buy more of these spears, and preferably some axes as well."

Roy nodded, considered for a moment, and then stated the price:

“One magic crystal can buy a wooden box, and such a box contains fifty short throwing spears, or fifteen lumbering axes. If you think the price is acceptable, we can make a deal.” Since the wooden box contains only ordinary black iron weapons, the price is relatively low. Roy mainly wants to establish some contact with these Aries orcs.

Tagob took off a string of magic crystals from his waist. These magic crystals were strung together, looking like a large beaded necklace. There were at least a hundred magic crystals in various colors. The only thing that Roy regretted was that all of these magic crystals had holes drilled in them.

As Roy had the half-elf guards bring out a hundred crates of black iron javelins...

Several Aries orcs behind Tagob also came out one after another. They were also wearing strings of magic crystal beads. They traded six hundred boxes of short spears and two hundred boxes of logging axes in one go, emptying half of the ship's cargo.

This time, the Aries warriors didn't want the perforated and very close-fitting armor plates. They preferred the short throwing spears and spent most of their magic crystals on these short-handled throwing spears with a dark, glossy color.

Hundreds of Aries warriors waited around the magic airship. The wooden crates were carried to the bottom of the ship by a crane, and the Aries warriors carried the crates on their shoulders, preparing to enter the Kangamor Forest...

At this moment, Roy had the half-elf guards bring out fifty boxes of apples and twenty boxes of dried fish from the cabin and place them in front of Tagob.

"These boxes contain apples and dried fish from the elven world. Consider them a gift for the old chief. Please help me pass them on to him."

Roy said to Tagob.

“Before our chief left, he told me that his agreement with you is still valid. If you have any plans that require our assistance, you can talk to me,” Tagob said somewhat reluctantly.

Clearly, if Roy hadn't presented these gifts to the old chief, Tagob probably wouldn't have even considered bringing it up.

It's clear that not all the Aries orcs want a full-blown war with the gray dwarves of Luyun Fortress...

“I plan to attack Luyun Fortress in a week, and I hope the orcs will support me,” Roy said.

Tagob nodded and said:
"Understood. We will send two thousand Aries warriors to assist you in attacking Luyun Fortress. However, once we capture Luyun Fortress, we will take it back. It cannot belong to the mixed-blood elves."

"Sure, I just want to drive these gray dwarves back to their old home in the north..."

Roy agreed without any hesitation.

Hearing Roy say this, Tagob looked suspicious, but he still bumped fists with Roy, and the matter was verbally agreed upon.

"If we attack Runemont Fortress from the sea, won't the orcs there see us as enemies and join forces with the grey dwarves of Runemont Fortress to fight us?"

“These matters can be handled by us. We will notify all the orcs on the other side of the Lu Yun Trading Market Mountain in advance so that they can temporarily evacuate.”

Tagob said casually.

……

Sabrina landed on the deck of the Black Pearl on her white griffin, jumped off its back, tossed the reins to a half-elf crew member beside her, and then strode toward the captain's cabin.

When she pushed open the door and went in, Roy was looking at the sea chart near Noon Fortress and whispering with Zezena about the battle plan.

"A fleet has just arrived at Luyun Fortress. This fleet includes two giant ships that are even larger than Imperial merchant ships. Moreover, these two giant ships are equipped with at least twenty levitation devices. They should be large magic airships from the Northern Army fleet."

"We have never seen such a large magic airship on the west coast of the Elf Continent."

"In addition to the two giant ships, twenty three-masted sailing ships also arrived at the fortress at the same time, and now the port of the fortress is almost full of ships."

Zephyr stared at Roy and asked:

"Could it be that one of the orcs leaked the information, which is why the gray dwarves at Luyun Fortress were on guard?"

"It shouldn't be. Even if someone leaked the information, the Northern Fleet's reinforcements couldn't possibly arrive this quickly. This place is too far from the Frozen Isle," Roy said.

"Should we change our battle plan?"

Roy shook his head and said:

"What's coming will come eventually. Our attack on the Northern Fleet's Luyun Fortress was also to see the true strength of the Northern Fleet. If we don't start the battle at Luyun Fortress this time, they will soon be advancing to Kui Island..."

“I’ll send someone to keep an eye on them and see how many grey dwarves they’ve actually sent as reinforcements,” Sabrina said.

Roy hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Also, pay close attention to what weapons they have on board. Did you see any gray dwarf magic cannons on the giant ship?"

Sabrina shook her head and said, "It's too far away, I can't see very clearly..."

Roy said, "Then let's take advantage of this trip to Runeterra to complete the deal with old Luke, and then check on the situation at the port."

……

When Roy saw Luke again, Luke stared at him with a somewhat uncertain expression. His pupils had shrunk slightly, making the whites of his eyes appear larger, which filled them with a deathly aura...

"You want to team up with those guys from the Aries tribe to drive out the Grey Dwarves from Luyun Fortress and then completely monopolize the trading market here?"

Old Luke's voice was full of wariness and skepticism.

He clearly didn't trust Roy, and the Aries tribe had already spread the word...

Roy smiled faintly and said:

"My purpose in dealing with the Northern Fleet is not to monopolize the trading market here, but because we are destined to fight the Northern Fleet. I chose Luyun Fortress because I can still find some allies here..."

Old Luke leaned against a wooden crate and said to Roy:

"The Aries tribe has been stationed on the southern slope of the Black Gold Mountains for many years. The hatred they have accumulated with the Gray Dwarves over the years has made them hostile to all Gray Dwarves."

"But the other orcs here don't think that way. Most of them would rather get more tools from the gray dwarves that they can't make themselves..."

"If you drive them away, you'll have to make up for that market demand. Let me see what good stuff you've brought this time!"

As he spoke, old Luke instructed the young orc beside him to unpack the wooden crate that Roy had brought.

(End of this chapter)