Chapter 178 - 177: The Sea Elf’s Guidance of Destiny

Chapter 178: Chapter 177: The Sea Elf’s Guidance of Destiny

However, although Colson had advanced to a One-Engraving Silence at just twelve years old, several years had passed before he could finally control the Power of Nature. Therefore, his advancement speed wasn’t considered too exaggerated.

At least compared to Vili, there was still a clear gap.

According to Colson’s description, after his advancement, he could manipulate and establish a connection with creatures within a five-kilometer radius. The number of creatures he could control depended on his Spiritual Power.

Once connected to these creatures, Colson could manipulate them in battle and share their field of vision, perfectly fulfilling the role of a Natural Commander.

This made Vili extremely excited.

Previously, he had been very worried about a sneak attack from the Sea Elves. After all, the human guards couldn’t possibly keep an eye on White Bear Town’s entire coastline, which stretched for over five thousand meters. It was highly likely that the Sea Elves would manage to sneak in.

But with Colson’s ability, none of that was a problem anymore.

Colson manipulated dozens of seabirds, transmitting monitoring commands to them through his consciousness. If they discovered any traces of the Sea Elves, they would trigger an alert for Colson, who would then report directly to Vili.

This completely solved White Bear Town’s coastal defense problem!

To some extent, Colson’s ability held more strategic significance than the abilities of Vili himself, Wally, or Benduin.

However, after half a month of monitoring, Colson still hadn’t discovered any Sea Elves sneaking ashore.

This immediately aroused Vili’s suspicions.

Since Kangbi’Er could find this place, the other Sea Elves should have been able to as well. Yet, more than half a month had passed, and they still hadn’t shown up. For a time, this made Vili suspect that the Sea Elves had already infiltrated White Bear Town.

Because of this, Vili had ordered intensified internal inspections of White Bear Town, but they hadn’t found anything suspicious.

"There is definitely no problem with my ability..." Colson hurriedly explained. "Lord Baron, you can rest completely assured about this. You must know—"

"Wait." Vili waved his hand. "I believe in your ability."

Colson touched his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. He had prepared a slew of explanations, only for the Lord Baron to cut him off directly.

Vili stood up from his seat, crossed his arms over his chest, and paced back and forth across the room, looking perplexed. Had the Sea Elves really just given up on Kangbi’Er and Selena? He couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

"Continue monitoring the coastal defense line. There cannot be the slightest bit of carelessness," Vili ordered.

"Understood, Lord Baron." Colson nodded heavily. "You can be completely at ease. I will definitely complete the coastal defense task seriously. You must know—"

"I know, Colson." Vili patted his shoulder, signaling that he could leave.

Colson finally fell silent, bowed to Vili, and left the room.

"Sea Elves..." Vili looked toward the sea through the manor’s window. "Even if you don’t come looking for me, I’ll go looking for you when the time is right."

The ocean had always been Vili’s ambition.

"Lord Baron." Just as Vili was deep in thought, a personal guard reported in a low voice from the door, "Mr. Meira from Storm Town has come to visit you."

"Meira?" Vili raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised.

Meira was the highest-ranking official under Baron Nando of Storm Town, simultaneously holding the positions of Town Mayor and First Secretary. Ever since Baron Nando’s younger brother, Knight Naver, was assassinated, Meira had been the second most powerful figure in Storm Town. Even Baron Nando’s eldest son, the successor to Storm Town, currently couldn’t match his authority.

Meira could also be considered an old acquaintance of Vili; they had met twice before. Their first meeting was in Diamond Town during the New Year at Baron Kels’s manor. The second time was shortly after Vili became the Baron of White Bear Town, when Baron Nando and Meira came in person to congratulate him.

Storm Town and Diamond Town were on good terms, and since Vili hailed from Diamond Town, Baron Nando and Meira naturally felt a sense of closeness to him.

"Where is Mayor Meira?" Vili asked the personal guard.

"He is waiting for you in the reception room," the personal guard answered respectfully.

"Alright, I’ll be right there." Vili nodded. Although he didn’t know what it was about, the fact that Meira had come in person indicated that it must be quite important.

Meanwhile, in the study of Count Lumbar in Golden Flower City, Dawei Province.

"Kaczas! This is your fault again!" Count Lumbar slammed his hand hard against the desk, reprimanding the middle-aged man in front of him.

Kaczas kept his head down, a bitter expression on his face. The last time the Green Shell Pirate Gang annihilated Blue Whale Town, he was the one who had been reprimanded as well.

As the First Chief Administrative Officer under Count Lumbar, he was practically the number one scapegoat in Dawei Province. As long as any problem arose within its jurisdiction, it was his responsibility. After all, as the Lord, Count Lumbar could never be at fault.

"Lord Count, this is all my dereliction of duty. Please punish me," Kaczas said in a low voice.

Count Lumbar pointed a trembling finger at Kaczas, but ultimately managed to control his emotions.

In fact, the only thing that could make Count Lumbar so angry at this point was the war between the Lanton Duchy and the Wata Duchy.

Although the scale of the war between the two duchies was not large, Dawei Province—acting as the main battlefield—had suffered deeply from it. Multiple Viscount domains under Count Lumbar had taken a massive hit, and some Viscount domains, along with many Baron’s domains, had been completely annihilated in the crossfire.

This war, which had dragged on for nearly ten months, had made Count Lumbar age ten years.

However, Count Lumbar was also well aware that this was not just a challenge, but an opportunity. If he could force the Wata Duchy to retreat and further conquer more territory, he would acquire a vaster domain and receive honors personally bestowed by the Duke.

Therefore, Count Lumbar placed immense importance on this war.

But just the day before yesterday, Kuangjin City, under the jurisdiction of Dawei Province, had been ambushed by a cavalry unit from the Wata Duchy. Within this cavalry unit, there were about ten Knight-level combatants, fifty Knight’s Squires, and even the presence of a Senior Knight.

Caught completely off guard, Kuangjin City suffered heavy casualties. Fortunately, they managed to react in time, mounting a defense before giving chase, and contacted Count Lumbar to intercept them at the front lines.

However, contrary to all expectations, the mobility of this cavalry unit was incredibly high. Moreover, they were unusually cunning; instead of retreating along their original route across the border, they charged headlong through Dawei Province.

After severely damaging multiple Baron’s domains along the way, they were still advancing, charging toward the northwestern border. Judging from their route of advance, their objective was crystal clear: after carving a path of destruction through Dawei Province, they intended to flee back to the Wata Duchy through the weak northwestern frontier.

No one could have anticipated such a mad escape route.

When Count Lumbar learned of all this, he was blind with rage.

This cavalry unit had suffered almost no casualties after their sneak attack and continued to cause trouble within his territory. Furthermore, due to their mobility and his own lack of available manpower for deployment, Count Lumbar was completely unable to deal with them immediately.

As a result, this cavalry unit from the Wata Duchy was on the verge of pulling off a breathtakingly audacious raid. Penetrating deep into enemy territory, slaughtering their way through, causing massive losses, and then returning to the Wata Duchy completely unscathed.

Once they accomplished this, Count Lumbar would be eternally disgraced!

Even if they ultimately won the war in the future, this stain on his record would continue to circulate among the nobles. If that happened, Count Lumbar would be thoroughly branded as incompetent.

For Count Lumbar, who placed unparalleled importance on noble honor and reputation, this was absolutely intolerable!