Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Arrival at Black Forest Island
At Cyan Snake Fortress, Lloyd was respectfully reporting to Eric.
"Your Majesty, word just came from Michaelson Port. Baron Duane’s ship has already left the harbor."
Eric sat somewhat lazily on the throne, holding an intelligence report from some unknown department.
He snapped back to reality and nodded slightly. "The guy has been well-behaved recently. He left right on time and didn’t cause any trouble."
Lloyd smiled and said, "Indeed. I just wonder, now that he’s left, when he’ll have the chance to return to the Royal Capital again."
"He’ll have his chances. As a Baron, he has the right to be invited to any major celebrations in the Kingdom."
Eric put down the document in his hand, looked at the guard Randy beside him, and ordered:
"Inform Grand Mage Clement for me that Lakefront Manor will be renovated in the next few days, and he can move in shortly after."
Mage levels range from Level 1 to Level 9, from lowest to highest.
Among them, a Level 6 Mage is also called a Grand Mage. Levels 7 through 9 are Mage, Magic Master, and Grand Mage, respectively.
Although in terms of level, a Grand Mage is equivalent to a Celestial Tier Warrior like Carter, their status is not the same.
For one, it is inherently more difficult to become a Mage than a Warrior;
For another, this group can master abilities that Warriors cannot;
Furthermore, the Elemental Tides on the Shadow Mist Continent arrive later, making high-level Mages quite rare...
Due to this combination of factors, the status of Mages is much higher than that of Warriors.
Naturally, Eric placed great importance on securing the aid of a Grand Mage.
He was also willing to cater to the mage’s preferences, using this opportunity to reclaim Lakefront Manor and then gift it to Clement.
After all, the man had mentioned more than once how much he liked the tranquility and beautiful scenery of Lakefront Manor.
"Lloyd, go inform Bowen. Have him take people to clear out Lakefront Castle as soon as possible. Repair and expand it as needed. Have Leo cover the costs."
Bowen was the grand steward of the Royal Palace. His role was somewhat similar to that of a butler in a noble’s castle, but his status was certainly higher.
As for Leo, he was the Kingdom’s finance minister, and some construction funds were disbursed from his department.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Randy and Lloyd bowed, accepted their orders, and immediately set to action.
Duane, of course, had no idea the King had already made plans for Lakefront Manor. At this moment, he was on a ship, sailing down the Great Michaelson River.
Although it was a sailboat, its speed was not slow with a favorable wind and current.
They arrived at Silent Harbor around noon the next day. After briefly resupplying, they set sail again, heading for the Silent Sea.
Duane had originally worried they might encounter some trouble along the way, such as being intercepted during their voyage or being hassled by someone in Silent Harbor.
But that didn’t happen. He had been overthinking it.
Perhaps in the eyes of those nobles, Duane was just a nobody. After they had gotten the Lakefront Secret Realm and Manor, continuing to target him would only be a waste of manpower, resources, and money, and it might even give others a reason to criticize them.
So, no one paid him too much attention.
The voyage was boring.
On the Great Michaelson River, Duane could at least watch the scenery on both banks.
But once they entered the Silent Sea, the scenery became monotonous. There was nothing but the sea and the sky, and looking at it for too long caused visual fatigue.
To pass the boring time on the journey, Duane chose to practice his Spirit Swordsmanship and Basic Shield Skill during relatively calm moments.
Unfortunately, the sea was not land, and calm moments were only occasional.
As a result, Duane spent most of his time training alone, but at his current stage, solo practice didn’t provide much improvement.
Seven days later, when Duane finished training again, his Skill Levels for Spirit Swordsmanship and Basic Shield Skill had only increased by 11 and 19 points, respectively, reaching (Entry 196/200) and (Skilled 34/300).
Just then, the low sound of a horn came from the cargo ship leading the way.
The passenger ship’s captain, Freck, walked to the front of the deck and peered ahead, then shouted excitedly, "My lord, look!"
He pointed toward the edge of the sea, where a piece of land seemed to be visible.
"That is your Territory! We’re almost there!"
Duane’s spirits lifted. He hurried forward to look, and sure enough, a landmass had appeared on the horizon.
Based on the ship’s daily progress of one hundred kilometers at sea, the distance between Black Forest Island and Silent Shore was about 700 kilometers.
To be honest, that wasn’t very far.
The long travel time was purely due to limitations like the ship’s speed and the wind conditions.
’In modern times, it would probably take two days at most to get here.’
As they sailed further southwest, the land on the horizon grew larger and larger.
The crews on the three ships began to handle the sails, maintaining their forward momentum while gradually slowing down.
"This is my Territory!"
Duane raised a hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun, gazing at the simple harbor that was drawing ever closer.
He felt a surge of excitement. ’This will be my starting point.’
Like him, the accompanying guards, soldiers, and servants were also cheering.
For the past few days, their minds had often been filled with images of a massive wave capsizing the ship and everyone sinking to the bottom of the sea.
Thankfully, they had finally arrived safely.
All their anxiety and unease vanished the moment they saw the island’s silhouette.
Kaelon secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a smile also appearing on his face.
’From this distance,’ he thought, ’even if the ship sinks, I can still swim to the island with Duane.’
’Arriving safely at Black Forest Island is the first step in the Brian Clan’s resurgence.’
"Alright men, let’s have a good cheer!"
Kaelon said in a loud voice, but then his tone shifted. "But only for a little while."
He reminded them, "Remember our previous arrangements. Everyone, get your gear on and grab your weapons now!"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone ran into the cabins and began to bustle about.
Duane looked at the horizon, where the sun, about to sink below the sea, had painted the entire sky red.
"It’s getting dark soon. We’ll stay on the ship for one more night."
Duane said this as he turned to the captain. "Mr. Freck, how many ships do you think the harbor ahead can berth?"
The harbor at Black Forest Island was concave. Its scale, of course, couldn’t compare to Michaelson Port or Silent Harbor.
There was only a single, long wooden pier for ships to dock and for loading and unloading cargo.
Freck gazed into the distance for a moment. "The pier isn’t short. If the water around it is deep enough, it should be able to hold two."
Duane nodded. "We’ll dock first. If it can hold two, have Conaberton’s Sea Bird line up behind us."
"Also, have the cargo ship with the grain anchor out at sea, far from the harbor."
"As you wish, my lord!" Freck replied and went to relay the orders.
Kaelon was a little confused. "My lord, why are you having the grain ship stay far from the harbor?"
"It’s a precaution."
Duane explained, "We don’t know the situation on the island. If some faction tries to rob us and sets the grain ship ablaze with Fire Arrows, we’ll be in deep trouble."
If clothes and other things get burned, we have some time to recover, but losing the grain would be a major disaster.
According to the records in Lloyd’s book, even in the years it paid taxes, Black Forest Island never turned over much grain.
If this place is already short on food, and Duane loses his own supply, the first thing he might have to do upon arrival is seize grain from the populace.
Even though everything here was his, Duane didn’t want his first act to be taking things by force.
"You’ve thought of everything," Kaelon said with a hint of admiration.
Duane smiled faintly. "It’s almost dark. Let’s just spend one more night on the ship. We’ll enter the town tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord. After the ships are moored, I’ll discuss it with Raymond. We’ll secure the pier area tonight and make sure no one can get close easily!"
"Good. I’ll leave the defense matters to you."
As the two spoke, the Sea Bird had already begun to give way, its speed slowing.
The passenger ship Duane was on sailed slowly into the harbor. Since the water depth was adequate, the Sea Bird gradually followed.
A few sailors went ahead on a plank boat, got onto the pier, and began to help the ships dock.
A proper harbor wouldn’t require this step. Unfortunately, this place was too crude, and people were needed on shore to help the ships dock safely.
This process took a good half hour.
The sun had already set, and night began to fall over the lonely island. Amidst the SPLASHING of water, the two ships came to a steady stop alongside the pier.
Duane finally set foot on his Territory.
