Chapter 961: Act 133 – The Breeze of the Outer Harbor I
After passing through the storm, the temperament of the Sublime Inner Sea became unusually mild. A week later, specifically on the noon of the eighth day, amidst the signals from the lookout, a dark line appeared on the horizon where the sea met the sky, marking the mountains of Meiz. The sailors recalibrated the fleet’s position and confirmed that they were now in the waters near Fatan, with the imperial patrol ship bearing red sails visible on the surface of the sea.
This imperial patrol ship came from the nearby Fatan Port, and as the sailors saw a massive fleet emerging from above the clouds in the afternoon sun, they were clearly frightened. After some panic, they finally fired a cannon and inquired about the identity of the newcomers.
“They usually communicate closely using wind signals and sometimes use flag signals. They should be signaling the harbor now,” Efram explained as he stood at the edge of the ship.
Brendel nodded slightly and replied calmly, “Tell them our identity.”
…
“Did you understand what they said?” Captain Helman of the imperial patrol ship turned to ask his deputy. The drunk old man was already halfway awake from shock. He tossed aside his bottle, took the brass telescope, and swayed unsteadily as he scrutinized the unfamiliar fleet across from them.
“They said… they are the fleet of the Bujan people,” the first mate responded nervously.
“What? The Bujans! What are they doing here? You’ve got to be mistaken!”
“My lord, I would never mistake it unless they signaled the wrong flags.”
“What do you think?” Helman stroked his unshaven chin, “Is this the fleet of the Bujan people?”
The first mate stared at the glimmering sails resembling silver scales in the clouds, his expression complex, but he still nodded honestly—this was indeed the unique fleet of the City of Silver.
…
The nominal master of Fatan Port, Baron Ludwig Meiz, seemed a bit restless in his office today. Just a quarter of an hour ago, he had sent his subordinates to understand the sudden fleet’s origins at his doorstep: it truly was the fleet of the Bujan people. He heard they had even encountered the military from Jotungrund south of Ruin Port and had a confrontation. It seemed that these Bujans could be considered allies of the empire. However, sorcerers rarely intervened in worldly wars; even during the last Holy War, they had remained aloof. Baron Meiz momentarily couldn’t understand why the Bujans would suddenly change their demeanor, but at least they brought news from south of the Evergreen Path and those noble refugees. Supposedly, his subordinate had even seen Earl Orkans among the refugees and several other prominent figures. With these people as witnesses, Baron Meiz had never thought they would be fabricating anything.
However, seeing the massive fleet docked in the harbor, Baron Ludwig Meiz couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. His worry was not for himself, but rather for how long these sorcerers would stay here. Supplying such a large fleet logistically was no simple task. Even if they could be self-sufficient, so many warships suddenly pouring into the harbor would inevitably impact it. Not to mention, the berths would be reduced by more than half, and that represented a significant loss of revenue.
On the other hand, as a lord of a city, Baron Meiz ranked fairly high in the empire, but the Bujan people had, in effect, transcended mere mortals. The empire had always prided itself on being the center of civilization, but that center was typically confined to the territories under the Temple of Fire. Even Erluin and Saint Ausoor might not see eye to eye, let alone elsewhere. Most people in this era admired civilization and order, and it was well known that the civilization of this era mostly stemmed from the previous one, with much lost in the fires of war. Not to mention the invaluable ancient texts stored in Babel Tower before the Age of Twilight. In this regard, the Bujan people had an inherent advantage over the civilization of the Black Iron, not to mention that they were hailed as “guardians of knowledge,” a title claimed by craftsman sorcerers. Thus, in the eyes of the people of this era, the proud and isolated Bujans represented the epitome of brilliance and civilization, deservedly elevated above others. Among mortal nobles, there was still a strong admiration for the culture of the City of Silver, especially within the territories of various empires, reaching a rather pathological level of veneration.
Although Baron Ludwig Meiz was rather pragmatic, he was not entirely immune to the influence of such ideals. The thought of actually having to deal with those graceful craftsman sorcerers clad in white robes from the clouds made him feel a wave of anxiety akin to the phrase “having a dragon in one’s heart.”
If Brendel knew that a mere excuse he had fabricated could evoke such a mindset in a seasoned imperial noble, he would probably laugh out loud. However, he certainly wouldn’t believe there were any graceful craftsman sorcerers; during his time as a player, he had spent a considerable amount of time in the City of Silver, and the sorcerers he encountered generally fell into two categories—either very pragmatic or akin to mad scientists. The former mostly came from the Silver Council, while the latter typically originated from the Silver Academy.
At this moment, the lord was pondering how to approach these noble guests. Outside, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor. He raised his head, and suddenly, the office door creaked open. This unexpected development made Ludwig Meiz furrow his brow slightly. He thought to himself that these southerners truly didn’t understand manners, barging in without waiting for an announcement. He never imagined the incoming people would be Bujans. In his mind, the Silver people ought to be more civilized than the earth-dwelling populace and would certainly not act in such a rude manner.
As the door swung open, Baron Ludwig Meiz did not see the Bujan sorcerers clad in silver robes. Instead, to his astonishment, he watched a group of armored soldiers dressed in blue battle cloaks, each wielding long polearms, stream in. These soldiers were certainly not his subordinates. He had clearly watched them stride right up to him, pointing their long spears at him from either side.
“What is the meaning of this…?”
Baron Ludwig Meiz was momentarily stunned. He finally found the origin of the military uniforms deep in his memory. His face changed several times before he blurted out:
“Erluin people?”
…
Indeed, they were the Erluin people.
Unfortunately, Baron Ludwig Meiz realized a bit too late. This was precisely Brendel’s intended outcome; by using the fleet of the Bujan people as a facade, he hoped to let Fatan Port lower its guard. The fleet itself was uniquely built by the Bujans, and the warships followed the sorcerers’ traditional style. With Earl Orkans and others on board as witnesses, even if the Cruz people wanted to suspect something, it would be quite difficult.
As things progressed, the fleet smoothly entered the port without hindrance. Once the warships docked, the soldiers aboard surged down to disarm the Cruz harbor guards. The guards couldn’t believe that the lofty Bujan sorcerers would suddenly turn against them. After all, in their eyes, the Silver people showed no concern for worldly affairs; worldly power seemed but a fleeting moment to them, and centuries of tradition created a kind of inertia that gave Brendel a massive advantage.
He directed Charles, Oni, Marjory, Efram, and the others to split up and “take over” the entire port. He led a group directly to Baron Ludwig Meiz’s castle, encountering no resistance whatsoever along the way. In fact, the castle’s guards opened the gates for them. When they finally confiscated the guards’ weapons under the threat of genuine force, the guards still looked on in shock, inquiring about what these Erluin people intended.
But as soon as they realized they were not facing the Bujans but the Erluin people instead, their expressions mirrored that of Baron Ludwig Meiz—first shock and disbelief, then shock and disbelief again.
Despite their confusion, Brendel had no time to address their questions. With a wave of his hand, he had them all locked in the dungeon below the castle. In this manner, almost without any troubles, he and his fleet effectively took over the harbor.
Of course, this was only temporary. After all, he was merely an outsider, and ruling such a large city could not rely solely on a handful of Erluin people. He could at most capture the upper-level officials, but he neither had the time nor the capability to detain all the mid- to lower-level officials. Moreover, even if he had the ability to detain everyone, who would manage the city for him after imprisoning them?
Running a large port required more manpower than merely a few.
Fortunately, he had not only the Erluin people but also a considerable number of Cruz nobles, who were significant figures in the empire. With these people under his control, he could justifiably use military authority to seize the city. After all, the empire was currently facing both internal strife and external threats. To the east of the Evergreen Path, the empire was locked in battle with the wind elves, while to the south, the suddenly rising military from Jotungrund was eyeing them greedily. Not to mention that the lionmen, under Toquinin, had finally conquered the Anzeruta fortress. At this moment, the situation in the southern empire had turned into a quagmire, even exposing the Meiz region to the sword.
At this time, they were nominally allies of the empire—a fleet of Bujan people—who had reached a consensus with the nobles of the empire to rest here and assist them in combating the military from Jotungrund. This scenario did not sound particularly strange. Allowing those southern imperial nobles to contact and command the mid-level officials would prevent the Cruz people within the harbor from feeling like they were “occupied,” making them believe the port was still under imperial control while this Bujan fleet was merely a temporary shield.
Of course, to accomplish all this, he needed to reach a consensus with Earl Orkans and the others.
Brendel had not initially thought about how to deal with these noble refugees, as taking a port from an imperial city lord seemed like an act of rebellion to these noble refugees. Yet unexpectedly, a captured imperial merchant ship they encountered during their voyage has proved to be immensely helpful.
He had ordered the capture of that merchant ship to prevent the news of such a large fleet appearing in the heart of the empire from leaking out. However, upon boarding the ship, they discovered the hold was filled with refugees fleeing from the core regions of the empire.
These refugees brought with them an unimaginable piece of news—
Civil war had broken out.
During the week they had sailed in the Sublime Inner Sea—in fact, on the second day after leaving Ruin Port—the Cruz Empire underwent a dramatic transformation. Her Majesty the Queen suddenly commanded a previously unseen army, composed of the Sainya and Minren people, directly stripping Varla of the powers of the Pontiff of the Temple of Fire and announcing a religious reform. A religious reform initiated by a secular monarch was simply a tremendous joke. At that moment, the church within the empire was sharply divided. The academic faction took a clear stance with Her Majesty the Queen, while the local faction loyal to Varla immediately raised the banner of rebellion after a brief turmoil.
In short, chaos erupted within the empire. This was not merely an internal matter of the Temple of Fire; this significant change of interests affected everyone’s heart. The nobles of Cloak Bay indeed responded instantly to the call of the Queen of Silver, but the northern nobles clearly could not accept this fact. In fact, there had already been clashes east of Meiz, where surprisingly, the traditional military aristocrats were defeated, suffering significant losses. Brendel could not glean much more information from these refugees, only knowing that the coalition formed of several lords had retreated towards Ludwig after their defeat.
But none of this was the key point; a true bombshell was:
The Minren people have returned.
These descendants of the Dark Dragon Age had finally come back to life.
When he heard this news, even supporters of Her Majesty the Queen, including Earl Orkans, initially could not believe it, followed by skepticism; however, after repeated confirmations, they fell into silence. After all, this was still a world dominated by the post-war order of the Saints’ Battle. No matter how deviant or unconventional they were, they could not deny the righteousness of the Four Sages. This principle was the very foundation of the Black Iron people and the esteemed aristocrats. They were momentarily dumbfounded, unsure of what had overtaken Her Majesty the Queen—had she gone mad? How dare she?
But after a silence, Brendel understood his opportunity had come. He hastily seized the moment to instill his plan into these shocked noble refugees—under such volatile circumstances, it would be best to establish a foothold before deciding on the next steps. Perhaps under such a massive upheaval, the minor issue of “taking over” a port would not weigh heavily on these fleeing nobles. Moreover, Earl Orkans and the others were not foolish; they understood what the best choices were amid surrounded enemies and an unclear situation.
Regarding Brendel’s actions to take over the port, they all chose to remain silent in unison.
But Brendel knew that choosing silence at this time, in essence, was also a form of support.
As matters within the port settled and tasks were delegated, Brendel stood in the former office of Baron Ludwig Meiz. Looking through the arched window, he noticed that there had not been any significant disturbances in Fatan Port; everything remained orderly. He finally let out a sigh of relief. This time, the Bujan sorcerers had posed a tremendous challenge for him, but he finally stepped into the hardest first step. Fortunately, Turiman had not deceived him; Her Majesty the Queen indeed acted first. This way, his choices widened.
At least, the empire was no longer a monolith.
As for raising the banner of a tiger as a flag, Brendel thought that the Bujan sorcerers certainly wouldn’t mind such trivialities. He couldn’t help but think, with a hint of malice, that these damned individuals wished to remain uninvolved, yet he absolutely could not let them succeed. This was to make those self-righteous sorcerers realize that acting as a pawn also came at a cost.
He tapped the table and saw Charles push the door open and enter.
The young sorcerer attendant looked at his lord with a curious expression and spoke up, “My lord, the weather is great today, and there seems to be an unexpected harvest in the harbor.”
“Less chatter,” Brendel said with a stern face, then slightly startled, “Unexpected harvest?”
“Yeah, a big fish… oh, no, it should be a little mermaid.”
What kind of nonsense is this? A mermaid? I could care less about sirens. Brendel frowned, about to speak, but Charles had already anticipated what he wanted to say and hurriedly interrupted him with a grin, “I’m not making it up, my lord, you’ll see for yourself.”
…
The dim light filtering through the darkness served as the only connection between this massive moving prison and the outside world. It emanated from an aperture above, casting a beam of light that landed on the floor not far from Faina, forming a round spotlight. She was shackled with cold cuffs on her hands and feet. The cuffs weren’t heavy, but embedded with runes that nullified her magical powers, reducing her capabilities to nothing.
She calculated the passage of days and nights based on the position of the light spot and the food provided. Since being locked in this cage, nearly a week had passed. If she factored in the days she spent imprisoned in Wagner, roughly half a month had elapsed.
Thinking back to the initial moments of being put into this cage, she was furious and wished to kill that damned little man Rodney; however, as the days went by, she became somewhat numb. What followed anger was deep-seated unease and fear. Yet, what Faina feared most was not her own fate—after all, she was a student of the Blue Sword Saint Veronika and was not the type to grovel before her enemies for survival. Instead, she worried about her family, her father, and her sister suffering misfortune. If at this point she still did not understand who was operating behind the scenes against the Leafy Paladin, she would be no different than a truly foolish noble girl, lacking any sense of political awareness.
