The Decline of Padesto City

The arrest of Baron Alvis caused a great upheaval in the Silvermoon Elven Nobles circle of Padesto City.

Many of the Silvermoon Elven Nobles of Padesto were involved in the slave trade, and even those who were not involved were aware of it.

The portal to the Pattington Plane Teleportation Portal is located on Pattington Island, which is situated deep in the Endless Sea in the eastern part of the Elf Continent. It is adjacent to Parraram Island and belongs to the outermost edge of the Elf Continent, thus forming an excellent port for the slave trade.

Baron Alvis's greatest brilliance was that Pattington Island was developed into an island entirely inhabited by Half-Elf.

Many Half-Elf from other places come to Pattington Island after hearing about it.

However, Pattington Island is not very large, and the habitable areas have long been filled by Half-Elf. Those Half-Elf who came from afar could not live on Pattington Island. They heard that the Pattington Plane was also inhabited by Half-Elf, so many Half-Elf went to the Pattington Plane.

It's easy to buy Teleportation Portal to the Pattington Plane, but it's quite difficult to leave the Pattington Plane afterward.

The continuous influx of Half-Elf immigrants into the Pattington Plane made them the safest source of slaves.

The slave trade had far-reaching implications. Half-Elf slaves were not only sold to human kingdoms on the Roland Continent, but also to elven mine owners. Due to the low fertility of elves, the Silver Moon Elf population had been declining for over a hundred years. Although Half-Elf- Half-Elf people lived at the very bottom of the Elven World, their population was increasing year by year.

It is for these reasons that the Pattington Plane has gathered a group of people who are extremely hostile to Half-Elf.

Baron Alvis was the most ruthless and highest-earning Elven Nobles in this group.

Ironically, most of the Slave Hunters and Slave Traders under his command were Half-Elf. Among these Half-Elf, some were ruthless in their pursuit of survival, while others were purely opportunistic, believing that by climbing the social ladder to become a Silver Moon Nobles, their own status would become incomparably noble...

After hearing these inside stories about Padesto City, even Sabrina was amazed:

"Our safe departure from Padesto City that day was not only due to good luck, but also thanks to Christine's noble status..."

Miss Christine, however, did not become arrogant because of this. She sat smiling on a chair on the treehouse terrace and asked Miss Tiffany for advice on Water Magic.

"Yes, if we hadn't stumbled upon this secret, the slave trade in Padesto City would probably still be going on," Woods said with lingering fear.

In a way, he was also a victim. If it weren't for rescuing Woods, if it weren't for Eleanor, the Elf Ranger Instructor Eleanor in the Elf Academy Adventure Group who was skilled in stealth and tracking, and if Roy hadn't insisted on bringing Woods back...

The Padesto City may still be bustling, and the captured Half-Elf will remain untouched.

"If it weren't for the discovery of the Silvermoon Elven Nobles trading slaves, perhaps the Half-Elf Rebel Army would never have appeared..." Roy sighed.

After Baron Alvis conquered the lands of those Half-Elf, they simply continued their southward migration.

"The large-scale screening operation is about to end. It's a pity that we couldn't find Benjamin and Abbott, and that we wasted so much of everyone's time."

Miss Christine sat up straight and spoke to her young companions.

"Actually, it's not just you. I also really want to find Benjamin and Abbott. Abbott killed my friend Jasper in Castleton City, and Miss Tiffany and I have been looking for him everywhere." Roy explained, glancing at Miss Tiffany.

Miss Tiffany had become quite indifferent to Jasper's death.

"Yes, I came here to find Abbott," Miss Tiffany said.

"Me too! I came to Padesto City, not for Benjamin, but I have my reasons!" Woods added.

Sabrina came to Padesto City purely to help out, but as a member of the Elf Academy Adventure Group, it was only natural for her to come and lend a hand.

Only Klayr is here on vacation...

Although there wasn't much to see in Padesto City and the food was very monotonous every day, Klayr always managed to find some fun for herself, and occasionally she would play the piano for everyone on the terrace.

Actually, Klayr hasn't been without success lately; he's just been putting his heart into composing music every day.

That's the advantage of being with Roy; there's always a moment when you can hear him humming a beautiful and unique melody.

With the month-long outdoor practice course holiday coming to an end, the large-scale search operation in Padesto City is also drawing to a close. Of the five districts of Padesto City, the last remaining district, the South District, has screened nearly half of the treehouses.

But we didn't even see a trace of Benjamin...

Another day of fruitless effort...

Due to the recent severe loss of the elven population in Padesto City, the large number of vacant treehouses has made the screening operation more difficult...

In fact, Roy had been thinking for a long time: if he were Benjamin, and such a major change occurred in Padesto City, would he hide in the city and observe the situation from the sidelines?

The answer is naturally no, because as a human magician, Benjamin is a prominent figure in the Elf City. Even if he knows some disguise techniques, close observation will still reveal some clues.

Based on this, Roy deduced that Benjamin wouldn't be foolish enough to hide in Padesto City.

Of course, they wouldn't venture deep into the jungles of the Pattington Plane. Benjamin is a mage, Abbott is a Novice Priest; unless they could find an Adventure Group, there would be no possibility of them going deep into the jungle.

As expected, after the screening of the last area of Padesto City was completed, Benjamin and Abbott were not found, not even the slightest clue.

This screening operation successfully rounded up all the Slave Traders hiding in Padesto City. Not only that, these Half-Elf Slave Traders also implicated some Silvermoon Elven Nobles, and the Elven Nobles in the city finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Many Silvermoon Elven Nobles rushed to the Teleportation Portal in the Central Square, hoping to return to the Elf Continent through the Teleportation Portal.

However, their request was decisively rejected by the military of the Seventeenth Silver Pegasus Legion...

Roy and his friends are returning to Pattington Island tomorrow, and Roy is feeling a bit down because he couldn't find Benjamin and Abbott.

In the past few days, Sabrina and Klayr have been drawing portraits of the Benjamin the Mage and Abbott on Seagrass Paper with pencils.

They didn't have a strong impression of Benjamin and Abbott, so Roy was constantly correcting details as they drew the first sketch.

Even so, the Wanted Portraits drawn only bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to the actual individuals.

Before leaving the hotel, everyone gathered on the terrace of the hotel's treehouse, from where they could see most of the Padesto City.

"It's a pity... we couldn't catch those two guys!" Miss Tiffany said with some helplessness.

"In a little over two months, it will be another long holiday. If anyone still wants to come here to look for Benjamin and Abbott, I can arrange it..."

Miss Christine clearly had no intention of letting Benjamin and Abbott off so easily.

Roy guessed that the main reason Earl Swynborne was able to conduct such a large-scale screening operation in Padesto City was to get revenge for Miss Christine.

The next step was to arrest all the remaining Slave Traders hiding in the city...

Clearly, the Elf Warrior of the Seventeenth Legion had done an excellent job in capturing Slave Traders.

"Perhaps Instructor Nora has some new plans," Roy suggested from the side.

The next day, a horse-drawn carriage sent by the military arrived at the hotel entrance.

Roy and his group, who had already packed their luggage, boarded the carriage one after another and headed to the Teleportation Portal in the Central Square.

When everyone arrived at the square, Roy discovered that a group of Silver Moon Elven Nobles had gathered in the Central Square.

The Silvermoon Elven Nobles waited quietly in the square...

The Elven Nobles saw a carriage parked at the edge of the square and all looked toward it.

Roy was the first to step out of the carriage, but he paused slightly when he saw the Silver Moon Elven Nobles in the Central Square.

In his mind, wouldn't it be better to stay at home and avoid trouble during such a critical time? The Padesto City is now in even greater chaos, and many Silver Moon Elven Nobles live in constant fear, afraid that an army will suddenly break in and send them to the Buenos Tribunal.

"Why are there so many Silvermoon Elven Nobles here? It's usually so hard to even see one..." Klayr muttered as she got out of the car.

As Roy and his group approached the Teleportation Portal in the Central Square, the Elven Nobles gathered around them.

"Do they also need to go through the Teleportation Portal?"

Miss Christine walked up to the Teleportation Portal guard, handed him a pass, pointed to the Silvermoon Elven Nobles behind her, and whispered to Teleportation Portal guard, "What do you mean?"

The Teleportation Portal guard first bowed to Miss Christine before answering:

"No, they've been waiting here for four or five days. Our orders are that only with this pass can we pass through the Teleportation Portal. Miss Christine, this Teleportation Certificate is for six members. Please make sure you check your companions."

Miss Christine never expected that even the Silver Moon Elven Nobles would now be restricted from freely entering and leaving the Pattington Plane.

She quickly pulled Roy, Klayr, Woods, Sabrina, Miss Tiffany to her side. Some Elven Nobles tried to join them from behind, but were stopped by the Teleportation Portal guards.

As Roy stepped through the Teleportation Portal, he glanced back at the Pattington Plane...

In fact, these past few days haven't been easy for Commander Baldwin of the Seventeenth Silver Pegasus Legion either. Almost every day, several Silvermoon Elven Nobles have visited him, hoping he could open Plane Teleportation Portal...

At least half of the Silvermoon Elven Nobles have considered retiring and want to take their accumulated wealth back to the Elf Continent.

As for the assets that couldn't be taken from the Pattington Plane, they were simply discarded.

Some Silver Moon Elf even sent Commander Baldwin some 'little gifts' specifically for this reason.

For example, a bag of Magic Crystal Stone, several large boxes of monster materials and Magic Herbs, etc.

Commander Baldwin was very troubled. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept these gifts; among them was even his favorite bronze statue of an elven maiden. It was just that he dared not accept them!

Countless eyes are now focused on the Pattington Plane, and his duty this time is to guard the Teleportation Portal.

In addition, they are working with Miss Christine to track down two criminals, one of whom is said to be human. Unfortunately, after so many days, they still haven't been able to find them.

Commander Baldwin's troubles lay in the Teleportation Portal; so many Elven Nobles were trying every means to get close to him, flatter him, and bribe him, all in order to leave the Pattington Plane.

The more Slave Traders were arrested, the more Elven Nobles were implicated in the affair...

Everyone wanted to get out of this quagmire as soon as possible, but Commander Baldwin dared not let them go...

He was merely guarding one side of the ship's Teleportation Portal; he didn't control the entire Teleportation Portal. If things were exposed, given Earl Swynborne's personality, he wouldn't escape unscathed.

The gift was too hot to handle; Commander Baldwin dared not accept it.

At this moment, Officer Cardiff entered the command room and reported to Commander Baldwin, "Commander, Miss Christine Swynborne and her friends have left Padesto City. In this large-scale screening operation, Miss Christine and her friends were unable to find those two people!"

Commander Baldwin turned around, took the report, and patted Officer Cardiff on the shoulder, saying, "Well done, Cardiff, you've worked hard this month!"

Officer Cardiff asked Commander Baldwin, "Commander, what should we do with the nobles gathered in the Central Square?"

"Let them keep waiting. The report compiled from the Slave Traders has been submitted to Commander Swynborne, and we should get a reply soon," Commander Baldwin said somewhat dejectedly.

Miss Christine's safe departure from Padesto City brought him a slight sense of relief.

Roy and his group returned to Pattington Island, but did not spend the night there. The sailboat that would take them back to Castleton City was already waiting at the dock...

There were enough rooms on this medium-sized sailboat for them to rest.

After boarding the ship, Roy did not rest in the cabin, but sat on the Ship Building, gazing at the distant Parraram Island.

The Prison Island can only be seen on a clear day.

At this moment, Roy thought of the Gray Dwarf Relf again; who would have thought that he had actually been drowned by a Naga Warrior...

"Roy, what are you doing here? Listen to this piece of music again, how is it written..."

Klayr, carrying a thick sheet of music, caught up with Roy from below the Ship Building and asked him about it.

"Klayr, are you preparing for the End-of-Term Ball?"

Roy turned his head and asked Klayr with a smile.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I managed to write one chapter today, even though it's a holiday.