Patrol

As the elven druids started to panic, Richard waved a hand to release the ropes restricting them, “Go back and make sure your captain is respectful when they meet me. If they play around, I won’t mind sinking your entire fleet. You’re escorting me to the closest port, I have something important to discuss with your emperor.”

“You think someone like you can see the Emperor? Release us now, or you’ll all be executed!” the female druid cried out once more.

“Ginley,” Richard said with a frown, the old soul mage stepping forward and muttering under her breath. A grey orb of light shot out from her hands and struck the druid, prompting loud wails as a pale green blaze burnt her body.

“MANA BURN!” The three other druids cried out, but none of them dared help. They could only watch as their companion screamed in pain, her mana being burnt away. By the time Ginley withdrew the flames, the elf had lost her voice.

“She’ll be staying for now, the rest of you can leave,” Richard said flatly.

The three high elves now realised that they were absolutely no match for Richard’s crew. The leader amongst them finally gave in and asked, “May we know where you come from, and why you wish to see the Emperor?”

“Richard, of the Sacred Alliance. As for why I’m here, the Emperor will find out when I tell him.”

The druids asked no further questions, turning back into giant eagles and flying towards the fleet that had appeared on the horizon. There were seven ships in total, the same as Richard’s, but these ones were dark blue with gold trimmings and the eye-catching symbol of the elven empire all over them. Only those who had gone through ancient records would know that this was the same design of ship as was made famous in the elven era.

“Have they made no progress on the sea at all?” Richard asked with a frown. While the human empires of Norland hadn’t focused on their navies in the millenium since the elves had been routed, his fleet built by the grey dwarves was leagues over the old sailships.

Greyhawk shrugged, “Seems so. Perhaps they haven’t spent their time on this? Their ships are more than enough to deal with our empires.”

"But the duergar have gotten so much better."

“We’ve beaten the duergar back into a small corner of the mainland ourselves. Even if they could win on the sea, they wouldn’t be able to beat the elves on land. Lithgalen would have had a few more centuries, but you just happened to set your sights on them.”

Richard shook his head, “Someone else would have done it eventually.”

By this point, the Seven Moons were already in attack formation. The patrolling fleet went on full alert, but without the courage to approach they simply flanked around the perimeter. Of course, no one would have such guts when all seven of their ships couldn’t match up to a single one of the opponent.

A few giant eagles flew up from the patrol, two high elves following to land on the deck of Richard’s flagship. They were angered at the sight of the druid sprawled across the floor, but as they felt the two legendary auras and the fact that everyone else was at least level 16, they paused in fright. Richard himself wasn’t giving off any aura at all, but they couldn’t fathom just how such a powerless individual could command such a scary crew.

“We are the thirteenth patrol of the Empire. You hail from Norland, do you not? Why would you wish to see our Emperor?” one of the elves asked.

Greyhawk stepped forward and passed a letter over, “We are messengers from the Millennial Empire, and ask to be granted an audience with the Emperor as well.”

"The Millennial Empire?" the two elves' faces warmed a little. The Millennial Empire had always remained cordial with the high elves, and the royal family carried the bloodline of a previous elven emperor. The captain nodded, “We will pass this letter to our superiors; I request that you drop anchor and wait for our notice. We will also report to you if the Emperor is ready to receive you.”

Greyhawk frowned a little, “We have come all the way across the ocean, and are in urgent need of supplies. This spot is also still some distance from the continent, and it could be dangerous if there are storms.”

“This is imperial territory, you must follow regulations,” the elves persisted.

“Why don’t I remember such a regulation? Our fleets always stop directly at port.”

The captain sneered and pointed at Richard, “He humiliated my subordinates, he must pay the price!”

“Ugh…” Richard interrupted with a frown, “Since when do mere saints get to talk to me like that?”

“What will you do? I stand here representing the Empire, you spineless cretin. Your kind plotted with the orcs and dwarves to steal Norland away, but those allies are no longer here. Even allowing you near Lithgalen’s beautiful shoreline would be a stain on my reputation!”

“Sigh, elven arrogance indeed. You know what? I wanted to use a branch from a budding golden world tree to exchange for something; can you afford the responsibility of me changing my mind?”

The elf’s expression immediately warped, “How could you have such a thing?!”

"You don't need to know."

"I wish to have a look first."

“You don’t need to see it either.”

The captain gritted his teeth, “… Alright. Follow my fleet, we will bring you to the nearest port.”

The high elves carried the druid and returned to the patrolling fleet, which turned around and headed towards the continent with Richard’s ships close behind.

“I feel like we won’t be getting to see the Emperor so easily,” Greyhawk commented as they set off.

Richard smiled, “Of course not, I didn’t plan for it anyway. These egotists won’t give me what I want if I ask the normal way.”

"So what do we do?"

“Ehh… Follow them for now, wipe out whatever they hope to kill us with.”

The legendary mage smiled and tapped the railing, “I want to see how powerful your reaper modifications are.”

"Definitely not as strong as an actual reaper warship, but they should be more than enough to deal with these brats."

The two fleets floated through the endless sea, heading towards the Ashgreen Continent. The elven patrol’s sails were all bulging with magic wind as they sailed at full speed, but Mina frowned at the sight as she walked up to Greyhawk, “Brother, is this their full speed?”

Greyhawk looked at the sails of the warships and nodded, “It should be.”

“But it isn’t even half of ours! How weak are the elves? Aren’t these the people we act so respectful to?”

He forced a smile at her complaint, “The elves aren’t all that weak, you know. It’s just that Richard is too strong. This is a battleship modified with reaper technology, how could the average warship compare to it?”

The Princess’s eyes glimmered at the response, an unknown plot forming in her mind.

Greyhawk shook his head helplessly, not able to bring himself to say anything. He had to admit that she was the most likely woman in the Millennial Empire to be able to charm Richard, and at this point his desire for Richard and Mountainsea to be together was starting to wane. His heart still throbbed as he thought of his daughter’s fate, where he couldn’t even be certain that she was remotely the same as before. If Richard and Mountainsea wouldn’t join, the Millennial Empire would need to have someone else by his side just to build a good rapport.

The elven patrol sped along desperately, but their magic sails were operating at full capacity and couldn’t possible push harder. The navigator of the fleet might have been skilled, but the fifty kilometres he could cover in an hour was already well above average. Still, it couldn’t even compare to the average hundred that Richard’s seven warships did as they crossed the ocean.

No matter how hard the elves tried, they couldn’t pull away from Richard’s ship. However, a few eagle druids had taken the Millennial Empire’s scroll and flown towards Lithgalen in advance. Whether the response would be peaceful or a war declaration, only the elves knew.

It was approaching dusk by the time Richard learnt of Lithgalen’s reply. An enormous fleet with twelve primary warships that were each close two 200 metres in length greeted him on the open seas, flanked by more than twenty other ships that were each more than a hundred metres long. This was a large fleet even when the elves were in their prime, and it implied the presence of a large port nearby.

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