Path of Light.

Chapter 956, Section 955: Enemy Traces Reappear
During this period, most of the imperial merchant ships on the western coast of the eastern continent vanished without a trace...

Imperial merchants doing business on the west coast of the eastern continent were almost all gripped by a sense of panic.

Rumors have spread that the half-elf army has been entrenched in the Mensa Strait, intercepting passing Imperial merchant ships to determine the number of half-elf on board and whether they have been hijacked.

These merchants had heard that many imperial merchants had been captured, along with their ships, by this mixed-elf army for trafficking mixed-elves.

An Imperial merchant ship sailed from north to south with its sails billowing. The northeasterly winds blowing from the Frozen Sea at this time of year allowed the Imperial merchant ship to quickly cross the Mensa Strait and reach Margaret Harbor in the Evernight Forest, where the Darkmoon Elves resided.

The captain of this merchant ship was also an imperial merchant.

The merchant ship departed from the province of Sloit in the Green Empire, sailing eastward along the dividing line between the Frozen Sea and the Endless Sea, reaching the west coast of Durag's Knee, and then sailing southward along the west coast of the eastern continent...

The merchant ships finally sailed along the west coast and crossed the endless Black Gold Mountains.

That day, the crew on the mainmast lookout tower were excitedly shouting. After the imperial merchant Gesbani came out of the captain's cabin, the two crew members on the lookout tower excitedly shouted that there was a port dock in the bay ahead.

Gesbani quickly turned around and went back to the captain's cabin, where he took a tape measure and began to carefully measure the nautical chart he had bought at a high price, with the first mate and second mate surrounding him.

"Based on the sailing time, the port we're seeing shouldn't be the Darkmoon Elf's St. Margaret's Port..."

Captain Gesbani said with great certainty.

At this moment, the grey dwarf navigator they had hired at Durag's Knee emerged from the bedroom, carrying a bottle of liquor. Although he was quite drunk, as soon as he stepped out of the room and saw the land in the distance, he spoke in broken Imperial English:
"Hiccup! Haha, we have successfully reached the Mensa Strait. The port you see should be the Nouwen Fortress."

The first mate turned to the drunken gray dwarf navigator and asked:
"Can we stop at Luyun Fortress for a while to resupply?"

The grey dwarf navigator shrugged, opened the bottle of golden apple cider in his hand, and said humorously:
"If you can handle the orcs stationed in the fortress, then there's no problem. Those savage tribal orcs seized Luyun Fortress from the Northern Fleet... Anyway, I can't do it. If I show up at the dock, they might chop me into pieces and throw me into the sea in seconds."

Captain Gesbani waved his hand, deciding not to discuss the matter further or risk going ashore.

"Then let's continue sailing south!"

At this moment, the grey dwarf navigator said to Captain Gesbani again:
"Attention, from now on you are out of the control of the Northern Fleet. Now you are in the control of a mixed-elf fleet in the Mensa Strait, and they are not very friendly to us."

"Furthermore, if we encounter any ships from the half-elf fleet, I need to avoid them immediately. They are currently at war with our northern fleet, and if they see a gray dwarf like me, they will simply capture me..."

Without waiting for Captain Gesbani to ask him any further questions, he slammed the hatch shut with a loud bang.

Captain Gesbani returned to the captain's cabin, where a group of imperial merchants and ship managers gathered, discussing with some concern:

"It seems the rumors were true. The half-elf fleet controls this sea area, and the Northern Fleet has been driven back north by them..."

The second mate muttered to himself, "Didn't the grey dwarves over there in Dulag say that the Northern Fleet controls the Mensa Strait?"

One of the merchant ship shareholders scoffed:
"How can you trust what those gray dwarves in the tavern say!"

The first mate asked Captain Gesbani:
"Captain Gesbani, what should we do now?"

Captain Gesbani frowned, shaving the stubble on his chin, and remained silent for a long time.

A merchant ship shareholder standing nearby seized the opportunity to say:

"I believe that merchant ships conducting normal business should not be stopped by them!"

The first mate then interjected, "I'm a little worried!"

The atmosphere in the captain's cabin suddenly became quiet, and the merchant shareholder immediately proposed again:
"Then let's quickly cross the Mensa Strait and hopefully avoid being discovered by the half-elf fleet."

Before Captain Gesbani could give the order, the lookout on the masthead pointed into the air again and shouted:
"Look in the sky! A group of elves riding griffins are flying towards us!"

The two lookouts had superhuman eyesight and spotted the griffin riders in the sky long ago. Their voices reached the captain's cabin, immediately causing panic among the imperial merchants inside.

Upon hearing the news, some mercenaries also rushed out of the ship's cabin and prepared to face the air.

Some Imperial crew members even ran to the giant crossbows at the bow and stern to install the bowstrings, causing chaos on the deck.

The griffin riders in mid-air did not immediately charge down, but instead circled the imperial merchant ship at a safe altitude.

More than twenty griffin riders appeared one after another above the group's heads...

The Imperial lookout on the masthead called out to the captain's cabin again:
"They wanted to land on the ship."

Captain Gesbenny's expression also turned grim, but he could only feign composure and shouted to the lookout on the watchtower:

"Then let them come down. Everyone, don't provoke them. Let's see what they want to do..."

The following sentence was shouted to the crew on deck.

The group of mercenaries who were preparing for battle breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Captain Gesbani say this; the battle was temporarily off.

……

Sabrina landed on the deck of the imperial merchant ship with only four griffin riders.

This was the first time in so many days that she had encountered an Imperial merchant ship sailing from the direction of Drag's Knee. The merchant ship had just appeared on the west coast of Kangarmor Forest when it was spotted by the Gryphon Riders.

Sabrina had also come all the way from the Nantali Islands, but she never expected that this imperial merchant ship would be lingering near the Ruyun Fortress.

It seems the merchant ship has no intention of docking at the Ruyun Fortress pier; the crew has already begun raising the sails, preparing to sail south at full speed.

Sabrina took advantage of the fact that the Imperial merchant ship's speed hadn't increased yet, and led a group of griffin riders to approach the merchant ship.

She prepared to board the ship for a routine inspection, and obtained the captain's permission through the lookout...

Whether they agree or not, she will still board the ship to inspect. If the other party disagrees, it might be a bit more troublesome, but the result will be the same.

Sabrina released the reins of the white griffin and stood in the middle of the deck.

After the group of Imperials from the captain's cabin came to her, she spoke to them in her broken Imperial language:

"We are a patrol from the Griffin Riders of the Half-Elf Mine Guard. We are here to check if this merchant ship is holding half-elf prisoners. We hope you will cooperate with us; those who disobey will be severely punished by the mine guards." Hearing Sabrina's cold words, Captain Gesbani quickly forced a smile and said to the fair-skinned, sweet-faced wood elf swordswoman before him:
“We are merchants from the Green Empire. This time we brought a whole ship full of exquisite works of art, silk, and scrolls from the Green Empire. We plan to transport these things to the Elf Kingdom for sale, and then purchase a batch of magical herbs from the Elf World to bring back to the Green Empire.”

He then added:
"There's nothing else prohibited on board..."

As he said this, Captain Gesbani couldn't help but think of the grey dwarf navigator.

Sabrina had seen many cunning imperial merchants and didn't believe Captain Gesbani's words at all. She stood opposite Captain Gesbani, a full half a head taller than him, and her gaze was incredibly imposing when she looked down at him.

Sabrina said coldly:

“All the imperial merchants told me this, but many of them have deceived me, so I no longer believe what you say and choose to see for myself.”

"Furthermore, I warn you not to try to obstruct or resist our search, otherwise I will determine that your merchant ship is a slave trading vessel. For any slave trading vessel, we will take coercive measures to control the ship and bring all the people on board to Quey Island for trial."

Do you understand what I'm saying?

She stared at the ship on the Gesbani and asked.

Captain Gesbani was overwhelmed by Sabrina's powerful aura and could only nod obediently.

Sabrina then thoroughly inspected the Imperial merchant ship, inside and out, under the tense gaze of a group of Imperial crew members. She did not find any half-elf in the hold, nor did she find any trace of half-elf in the other cabins.

As for that drunken gray dwarf, Sabrina couldn't be bothered with him at all...

Unable to find any other half-elves on the Imperial merchant ship, she and her four half-elves decided to ride away on a white griffin.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the imperial passengers on the merchant ship stood obediently in place, waiting for Sabrina to finish her search before leaving the ship on her griffins without uttering a word.

Once the griffin riders overhead had quickly dispersed, Captain Gesbani and his crew breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the stairs outside the ship's deck.

Captain Gesbani, leaning on the wooden railing with one hand, looked around at the people with a puzzled expression and asked:

"How could they have griffin riders?"

The other imperialists, unaware of the truth, also shook their heads.

Seeing that the griffin riders had left without damaging or taking anything, Captain Gesbani even felt a strange fondness for them.

……

The mixed-race elf mine guards have firmly controlled the Mensa Strait.

The fall of two fortresses of the Northern Fleet led to a complete retreat of the fleet, and the Grey Dwarves' southward migration plan was put on hold.

In recent months, the Northern Fleet has sent numerous ships to the Mensa Strait to conduct probing attacks...

To fulfill his agreement with the orc tribe, Roy transported large quantities of metal tools from the Partington plane almost every month to the two free markets at Noon Fortress and the Gulf of Aden Fortress.

Roy originally intended to send these goods to Castleton City and make contact with the elven merchants there.

Unexpectedly, the situation in Castletown was so dire that the deal ultimately fell through...

Now that he has transported these goods to the Mensa Plains, the orc tribes are very happy with them. The business that had originally failed has actually resumed smoothly with the orc tribes.

Thinking about it, it was a blessing in disguise...

This is why Roy chose to build a transit station for the half-elf people on Nantali Island.

Since there were no forests on the Nantali Islands, he felled timber in the Kangamore Forest and transported it back to Nantali Island in three-masted sailing ships to build cabins and warehouses. He also built a dock in the harbor of the Nantali Islands that could accommodate ten three-masted sailing ships.

The hybrid elves now have a supply depot on the Mensa Strait.

Recently, some ships from the Northern Fleet have been approaching the Nantali Islands for reconnaissance, but almost none of the three-masted sailing ships in the sea can escape the pursuit of the Griffin Riders, and they all disappear after entering the Mensa Strait.

The Northern Fleet finally discovered that no matter how many three-masted sailing ships they sent to the Mensa Strait, it was as if they had sunk without a trace.

Recently, there have been very few three-masted sailing ships coming to scout this area.

After remaining silent for more than ten days, the Northern Fleet has finally made a new move.

Griffin riders patrolling around the Nantali Islands discovered that two giant Poseidon ships were slowly descending in the high-altitude vortex above the main island, and soon after, they were hovering above the clouds.

The two Poseidon warships were spotted immediately by the griffin riders, who then reported this to Sabrina...

Sabrina had just searched an Imperial merchant ship in the waters near the Ruyun Fortress and was now hurrying back to the skies above Nantali Island on her griffin.

There are already eighteen magic airships confronting the two sea emperor giant ships. The two sides are currently far apart, but the atmosphere here has become very tense.

From afar, the Black Pearl could be seen among the group of magical airships. Sabrina signaled the griffin riders to hover in the air while she returned directly to the Black Pearl.

Pushing open the door to the captain's cabin, I saw Roy standing there, carefully observing the two giant ships...

"How about it? Let's make our move now. I'm confident I can keep one of these giant ships."

Sabrina said to Roy.

"The giant ship not only has magic cannons, but also magic shields. It's too dangerous for you to force your way onto the ship with the griffin riders and fight those gray dwarves hand-to-hand."

Roy then gave instructions to the half-elf crew members on the lookout tower:
"Remind other magic airships to keep their distance from the giant ship and avoid being hit by its magic cannons..."

The messenger on the lookout tower immediately responded:

"Yes, boss!"

Sabrina then stepped in front of Roy and said to him:
"Recently, the regiment has been discussing how to engage in aerial combat with the giant ships of the Northern Fleet, but unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to try those ideas out. This is a rare opportunity, and I want to give it a shot..."

(End of this chapter)