Chapter 23: The Bustling Menas Port
After giving Airael a little poke, the small one burst into even more laughter.
Airael didn’t care about the earlier minor mishap, focusing instead on keeping her company and dismissing other thoughts.
Though life was nearly unchanged day after day, she found joy in it nonetheless.
Her main tasks now were twofold.
One was to lead the Elven Race to prosperity, and the other, of course, was to raise Anna.
Once those two tasks were fulfilled, she could nearly retire in peace.
Menas City, Port Area.
Dressed in a gray cloak, Shadow stood on a rooftop alongside Hank, observing the fleet of ships gathered before them.
Counting carefully, there were no less than twenty large merchant ships, plus five escort vessels.
“I never thought I’d see such a large fleet in my lifetime, and those ships are beautiful,” Hank remarked, awe evident in his voice.
Having been at sea for so long, he had never encountered a fleet of this size before.
The amount of goods this fleet could transport was beyond imagination.
Shadow remained silent as he watched the assembled ships.
He had noticed the Elven Race had been quite active lately.
First came the announcement of their envoy to the continent, and now such a large fleet was gathering in the bustling city of Menas.
He was skeptical that a merchant alone could summon so many ships; clearly, there was some hidden power backing this. But which one?
At that moment, Shadow felt an intense sense of frustration.
He was unfamiliar with the Elven Race and had barely uncovered any useful intelligence.
Without information, he couldn’t analyze the situation he had discovered.
It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in quite some time.
“My lord, are we here just to look at the ships?”
Seeing Shadow remain motionless, merely staring at the ships, Hank couldn’t help but inquire.
“Don’t speak.”
Shadow replied, turning his gaze to the surroundings.
Such a large-scale gathering of ships naturally attracted many eyes; crowds had amassed in the port area, eager to see what was happening.
As a result, the already lively port was bustling with people.
Suddenly, a synchronized sound of marching echoed through the port area.
An elite Elven army was escorting a horse-drawn carriage, entering the port area.
Faced with the sea of people and the multitude of scrutinizing gazes, Sally, riding a warhorse, furrowed her brow and instructed the nearby soldiers, “First Brigade, clear the way.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The captain of the First Brigade responded promptly and led his men forward to clear the path.
At this, the commoners finally realized the situation and hurriedly made way for the intimidating-looking troop.
Shadow’s attention was immediately drawn to them.
He observed the insignias emblazoned on the soldiers’ armor and frowned slightly.
Before coming, he had brushed up on his knowledge, and these insignias represented the Elven Royal Family, meaning they hailed from the Elven Royal City, not Menas City.
Particularly the soldiers near the carriage felt vastly different from the others nearby.
Those protected by the Royal City soldiers must be important figures from there, and given the display, it was clear they were no ordinary individuals.
“Are they envoys?”
Recalling the earlier news, Shadow began to speculate.
However, upon seeing the insignia on the carriage, he couldn’t help but revise his thoughts.
He recognized this insignia; it belonged to the Elven Merchant Association.
Shadow felt that, regardless of the circumstances, the Elven Race wouldn’t send a mere merchant as an envoy.
Though the Elven Merchant Association was a significant force, anyone who had managed to run it to such an extent was far from a fool—this simply didn’t make sense.
Surely they should send a noble as an envoy.
With that in mind, Shadow concluded it must be a coincidence; the envoy likely had deep ties with the Elven Merchant Association, and they just happened to be journeying together.
No matter how he thought about it, Shadow would never have guessed that the envoy was Rolt from the Elven Merchant Association.
The Elven Race’s decision to send envoys to the continent was not only for the purpose of exchange but even more so to conduct trade, purchasing resources from the continent and leveraging its strength for their own development.
Hank’s attention followed suit.
However, compared to Shadow, he was merely enjoying the spectacle.
Hank’s feelings about this spectacle were quite complex.
The common soldiers were one thing; however, among those near the carriage, Hank realized every single one of them could pose a threat to him.
Some could even easily overpower him.
After all, he was a high-level warrior.
Though he didn’t boast about it, he held a fairly good opinion of himself.
In human armies, high-level warriors like him often served as senior officers.
Yet here, in front of this Elven army, they appeared as mere foot soldiers.
It was incredibly demoralizing.
Snapping out of his contemplation, Shadow glanced at the downtrodden Hank and chuckled, “Feeling a bit of a disparity, huh? No need to be too glum. That army is likely meant solely for palace defense; their numbers are quite limited.”
Upon hearing this, Hank felt significantly better.
So it was a special case.
“What’s the palace defense unit doing here? Could it be there’s an Elven Queen inside?”
“Not quite. Look closely; that carriage bears the insignia of the Elven Merchant Association.”
At Shadow’s words, Hank turned to look.
Indeed, he saw the insignia of the Elven Merchant Association, one he was far from unfamiliar with.
“The palace guards are here to protect a merchant?”
Hank found it hard to believe.
“I suspect they’re not protecting a merchant but rather an envoy about to head to the continent; they must be friends and just happened to travel together,” Shadow shared his hypothesis.
Hank nodded in agreement.
With that perspective, things made a bit more sense.
“Let’s go.”
Realizing Hank had figured it out, Shadow decided not to linger any longer.
Staying here any longer wouldn’t yield more information; to acquire more, actions were necessary.
However, after today, the Elven Merchant Association had caught Shadow’s eye.
This peculiar performance by the Elven Merchant Association meant something significant was brewing behind the scenes, and he looked forward to their forthcoming moves.
Moreover, on certain matters, they might be able to seek help or collaborate with the Elven Merchant Association.
Dealing with merchants was relatively easy.
As long as you offered them ample profit, they would be inclined to assist.
As for risks, as long as they weren’t life-threatening, they were willing to give it a shot.
That was Shadow’s perception of these merchants.