The Naval Fleet Sets Sail

That evening, Elfie returned in a small boat to the flagship of the Coastal Defense Fleet, which was anchored outside the harbor. Sonanda had been waiting for his return.

Sonanda stood on the ship's railing and asked Elfie, who was climbing aboard the flagship covered in dust, "How did things go?"

After climbing onto the ship, Elfie stood on the deck, dusted himself off, and then said leisurely, "Your Excellency, rest assured, everything has been taken care of. Legion Commander Beck was having a great time!"

"I used your name to reach an agreement with him, promising to give him 2000 gold coins after the war."

"What? I should give him money? Are you kidding me?"

Sonanda was furious when he heard Elfie's words.

"No, sir, I only agreed to him to appease him. I've already given him the 500 gold coins you gave me, and now he really believes you need his help to get through this difficult time."

"Once we finish this battle, not only will Beck and his First Legion be gone, but the Grand Duchy of Vera might not even exist anymore. We won't need to give him any money then."

"What you say is true, but you've already spent the 500 gold coins I gave you. You're really willing to give them away."

Elfie scratched his head and said with a smile, "I will definitely arrange the things you entrusted to me clearly. Just watch and see if I can be considered to have made a great contribution this time."

Sonanda nodded. "Alright, Elfie, you've done a great job this time. If the First Legion is confirmed to have been infected, I'll give you a major credit and at least guarantee you a lifetime title."

After saying that, Sonanda reached into his pocket, took out a money pouch, and threw it directly to Elfie.

"Consider this a reward. I'm giving it all to you now. Use it sparingly. If you do manage to get a lifelong title later, this money will be enough for you to marry a girl from a collateral branch of a noble family, so you can at least have a surname."

Elfie took the money bag. At first, he thought there wasn't much in it, but it felt heavy in his hand. After hearing what Sonanda had said, he knew that there was quite a lot in the money bag, and he immediately beamed with joy.

Sonanda waved his hand, "I'm giving you all a break tonight. You can go have a drink before we set off. Remember to be back on the ship before 7 a. m. We'll be leaving at 8 a. m. tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

Elfie left the flagship in high spirits. After boarding the small boat, Elfie took out his money pouch and started counting it.

"The Viscount is so generous, much more so than that Beck. I gave him so much money, and he didn't give me a single penny. A full 200 gold coins, plus that money, would be enough to find the daughter of a minor Court Noble!"

Meanwhile, in the First Legion's Temporary Camp, Beck sat in his room, took out a money bag, and carefully counted the money.

"That's a whopping 300 gold coins! My annual salary is only 500 gold coins. Sonanda is really rich. Would it be too little for me to ask him for 2,000 gold coins?"

"No, if I help him this time, I'll be living off him for the rest of my life. I not only want my family to become a genuine viscount, but I also want to make money off Sonanda."

Beck picked up the gold coins and started counting them again, humming a song as he did so, envisioning his bright future.

The next morning, April 15, eight days after Victor's landing.

The Great Oak Territory's Coastal Defense Fleet finally met up with the fleets of other coastal nobles. The two fleets joined together, forming a massive force of over a hundred warships and tens of thousands of soldiers.

Numerous ships sailed north together, completely blocking the sea lanes Sunset City, and passing merchant ships kept their distance.

They knew that war was about to begin. Apart from the merchants who were specifically accompanying the army, most merchants disliked war, and many of them gathered together to discuss it with great concern.

Two merchant ships were moored together, and the two captains, who were also the heads of the merchant guild, stood together, looking at the Coastal Defense Fleet in the distance. One of the young men asked the other old man, "Hank, do you know what this Coastal Defense Fleet is going to do by gathering together?"

"It's been so long since Count Black has assembled so many warships. I even saw the Blacklin Viscount family's fleet. Aren't they no longer obeying orders from Great Oak Territory?"

"Little John, how long has it been since you paid attention to the situation in the principality? I've told you before, what do we merchants rely on to make money? It's information asymmetry. We need to know where goods are cheap and where they are expensive. If you keep doing this, you'll suffer sooner or later."

"Alright, stop talking nonsense and tell me what happened!"

"Young people need to be patient!"

Seeing John's growing impatience, Hank stopped keeping him in suspense. "Little John, you just came back from the East Sea Alliance, right? Just a few days ago, a fleet landed at Rotten Tree Beach, south of Suffolk County. I heard it's an army of at least tens of thousands."

John looked very surprised. "Is everything you're saying true? Who would dare to be so bold? Could it be that..."

John pointed north.

Hank nodded. "You guessed right!"