Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill did not come forward to greet these elves.

In a way, this also indicated his intentions. As a lord with an Elven Bloodline, he allowed any elf to enter Agleya City, but as a visitor from another world, he had no intention of getting involved in the internal strife of the elves in this world.

Agleya City would maintain its neutrality unless someone provoked Hill first.

Only Lynn, with most of the Elven City Guards and many curious members of the Undead Tribe, appeared at the harbor to welcome them.

What Hill now needed to consider carefully was where those deities currently engaged in fierce conflict would appear in the Stellar Realm. It had been a long time since the All Gods had gone to war, and star shards could not be easily found elsewhere.

Especially Tampas, who was in hot pursuit of Bane, was known for his exceedingly brutal actions as the God of Battle. Wherever he went, chaos would surely ensue, and Hill only needed to find his path to make certain discoveries.

However, seated in his study, Hill was not entirely inattentive to everything happening at the port, particularly the Elves from Eternity Island, who behaved very amicably. Unlike typical royals who would wait in their cabins for an invitation, they had already stood on the deck early on.

At the very front of that massive fleet, three elves stood on the bow of the Royal flagship.

In the center stood a young Moon Elf whose stern face still revealed his lively and cheerful nature from his exposed demeanor.

To his left stood a very beautiful middle-aged elf with short golden hair fluttering in the wind; her features bore some resemblance to Lynn, and her face carried a sharp aura.

On his right was a tall, dark-haired Female Elf. Though also beautiful, she looked robust. Unlike Admiral Gar beside her, she was clad in plate armor, her helm properly placed on her left arm.

That must be Admiral Ximara, second in command of the Eternity Island Navy.

She was originally supposed to visit the cities on the mainland as a Messenger of the Royal Fleet. Hill remembered hearing last year that she had been to Candlekeep and did not expect her to have returned to Eternity Island.

This indicated that the Elf Queen's actions this time were likely premeditated; otherwise, according to the usual visitation schedule, the Navy Admiral should now be in a more southern port city, Anmur's Ascatra, eventually arriving at the Jagged Teeth Mountain Range's Mulan, where she would stay for a while. Mulan is where the Elf Royal Fleet would have the most significant influence.

As an Independent City with hardly any allies and a City Lord infamous for his stupidity,

this place occupies the most perfect bay, and the city itself is well-protected by the proximity of the Jagged Teeth Mountain Range and the adjacent, impenetrable Great Forest.

Of course, for the Mulans, the neighboring forest can hardly be considered safe; rather, it prevents them from having enough farmland. There are many powerful Magical Creatures there, and even man-eating plants might emerge, claiming many civilian lives each year as they venture into the forest to satisfy their hunger.

But for Elves, Mulan is truly a gem, especially the natural harbor that can accommodate all ships of the fleet and waterways deep and wide enough.

Upon discovering this Admiral's travel direction, Hill understood the true purpose of this Elven Royal Fleet. Should opportunity arise, they would undoubtedly take action against Mulan. After all, the Elven Royal Fleet's ships could not only navigate the seas but also take to the skies, and the oddly shaped Jagged Teeth Mountain Range was a natural skyport.

If the Elves wished, an assault on Mulan would be effortless.

Therefore, he did not at all think that this Little Prince would compete with him for territory. Agleya, with Neverwinter above and Deepwater City below, could establish a city, but certainly not a country.

Mulan, on the other hand… truly suited the purpose.

The neighboring forest, unfit for Humans to count as territory or to provide sufficient food, was a natural dining hall for Elves.

Moreover, Hill, flipping through the maps in his hand, noted that although the land occupied by Mulan was only a narrow strip, with the Elves' capabilities they could easily expand inland. Beyond that wilderness, apart from the Elf-dominated town of Brost, there were no other powers.

Most importantly, Prince Andreju of Mulan was indeed very foolish. His legendary stories fed countless Bards who sang absurd comic tales, which didn't even need their exaggeration or embellishment.

The Elves undoubtedly had countless ways to make this naive Prince err first.

Hill, unconcerned, put away the map. If Mulan was merely a stepping stone to land rather than his future homeland, then Prince Ramriel would probably be happier.

For the Eternity Island Royalty, leaving their place of origin, no matter how pleasant the new location, held little significance.

Otherwise, with the strength that Hill had just noticed emanating from this Prince, he shouldn't have waited for 100 years before deciding to build a city on the Northern Continent.

By then, Mulan had changed rulers and was no longer so easily conquered by Elves. Hill didn't pay much attention to his own country, but it should be located in the Ice Plain, which was by no means a comfortable place for Elves.

And yet, still, this Prince resolutely abandoned Eternity Island, indicating that the situation there could only get worse.

As for the other Elves, the Moonflower Royalty was once willing to endure pain for their people, but after the Queen's disappointed departure, Prince Ramriel gave up on the idea of continued sacrifice for his subjects.

Hill felt that they should have left long ago. Who couldn't see the tragedy of the Eternity Island Royalty? Even Elves indifferent to politics must be aware, but they silently watched.

Because ordinary Elves actually lived more comfortably than the Nobles, while the Nobles could lose their lives in power struggles, they could live without worries about food and clothing under the protection of the Queen's Nature's Divine Art.

Hill thought that the Female Elf Queen must have finally understood this point when she gave up everything to search for her missing children.

Even if only bodies were found, at least if she could bring her children to Agleya City for burial, perhaps their wandering souls could find the entrance to the Divine Kingdom and reunite with their father.

Moreover, while Eternity Island could not be entered at will, it was quite easy for ordinary Elves to leave, depending only on whether they were willing to follow the Moonflower Royalty and leave that safe place.

Ordinary Elves may not know that the Puzzle Lock of Eternity Island is connected to the Moonflower Royalty.

Suddenly, Hill remembered the Great Noble who deceived the Princess, leading to her sorrowful death. He wondered if that Noble was now in grief and pain. If there was a child between them, the vacant throne of Eternity Island might have been theirs! Why bother fighting to the death with other families?

If it were the past, the Elf Nobility might have found ways to intercept the Little Prince. After all, many pirates at sea had received generous amounts of their gold.

The Royal Fleet would not protect the trade ships of these Elf Nobles; they could only rely on gold to pave the way.

But now, everyone knew that Coron was in Agleya.

No pirate would take such a deadly offer, instead, they might kill the messenger and send them to Agleya City.

Even pirates, compared to Ambori, would rather have their waters under the control of Agleya. This new Sea God, while not responding to their calls to calm the storms, would not create inexplicable maritime disasters to extort money.

If it was just a natural storm, what old Sailor couldn't read the winds!

So any coastal city might face these mad Pirate attacks, except for Agleya City.

Shaking his head, Hill collected his thoughts. What pleased him was that his harbor had easily accommodated these hundred-plus ships, and because of the excellent anti-collision measures, even the leading huge ships smoothly docked without any trouble.

You should know that these huge ships, capable of holding dozens of heavy weapons, often couldn't dock at the shore. Elves usually had to anchor them far at sea and then switch to smaller boats for travel.

If that were the case, the current spectacle wouldn't have been as awe-inspiring. Hill glanced at the crowd of onlookers, wondering if Deepwater City and Neverwinter were afraid now.

Hill was clearly not aggressive, but this Little Prince was different. His arrival foretold that lands on the continent would face a test.

If Admiral Ximara had stayed in Mulan after arriving and did not leave, the continent's Wise Ones would always be able to discern the Elves' intention. Unfortunately, she turned back halfway through her journey.

Hill could spot the problem with the Admiral's route because he knew that the Royal Navy had always been restless to stay on Eternity Island. Accustomed to the surging seas, they had no desire to vie with the Elf Nobility for that little bit of territory.

As Lynn said, General Gael stayed on Eternity Island solely out of respect for the Queen, not because she was willing to stay on that island.

So when Coron's gaze returned to Toril, General Gael was immediately invigorated, attempting to dispatch her subordinates to scout for a suitable location to reclaim land.

Even if the Queen hadn't made such a decision, she would have acted against Mulan eventually, just not so soon.

The Elves aboard the ships began to disembark in an orderly fashion, with Admiral Gar jumping directly from the bow with grace and ease.

Hill watched as Admiral Gar vigorously rubbed Lynn's head, turning him around a few times to look at him from different angles, suddenly recalling when his cousin clung to Lynn's clothes, concerned for his safety—indeed, they were family.

Hmm? Why weren't Lynn's cousins here?

Hill looked closely and realized that they were all stationed on the ostensibly important watchtower at the harbor...

It seemed they had no affection for their Old Grandmother, like Lynn, and only wished to keep their distance.