Wolfheart, Clearwater Bay.
As one of the only two seaports in the Kingdom of Wolfheart, the dock area here is always bustling. Every day, many merchants from the inland areas bring goods to the sea ships for sale to other countries, or directly exchange what they need from the sea merchants. Therefore, the dock area is also like a large market, with everything from furs to slaves available.
White sat in his carriage with nothing to do, listening to the laborers beside the carriage chattering, while gazing at the sea.
Since the war between Hermes and Graycastle began, the task of transporting orphans from churches across the land to the Holy City has also stopped. He lost his biggest source of extra income, and his life suddenly became difficult. But worse was yet to come. The kingdom order overthrown by the church did not recover with the end of the war. Minor conflicts between lords were constant. Cart drivers like him, who relied on carriage companies to make a living, basically lost their stable source of income and had to come to Clearwater Bay to find new opportunities.
Although the prosperity here has also been affected to some extent, fortunately, the lords are fighting for power, but their pursuit of enjoyment has not diminished. In addition, the main road crossing Cage Mountain is controlled by the Token family, and other lords rely more on sea transport for the luxury goods they want, making the city still maintain its pre-war prosperity.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Baron of Clearwater Bay has always insisted on neutrality.
White also chose this place with stability in mind.
He is old and doesn't want to travel around anymore.
After a few more freight trips, he can buy a house outside the city. When the time comes, doing some small business should be enough to survive.
"Uncle, haven't you found any work today?" Suddenly a young laborer climbed onto his cart with a grin.
"Go, go, go, what's it to you whether I've found work or not," White waved his hand like he was shooing away flies. "Don't touch my cart, you can't afford to pay for a broken axle."
"Don't say that. Compared to the goods, how much do I weigh? Look here, you'll know." The latter first patted his exposed belly, then lay down in the carriage, picked up a piece of straw from the bottom and put it in his mouth, looking around. "What did you carry last time? Why is there a sour smell inside?"
"If you don't get down, I'm going to hit you." White said angrily. This guy doesn't have a name. The other laborers call him Quickwit, but he doesn't know where he's quick-witted. The two have no relationship. They just happen to be working in the same dock and have seen each other a few times.
"Based on your fake leg that hurts so much you can't stand up on rainy days?" The other party said nonchalantly. "The weather seems to be getting rainy again. Your bones must be aching now, right?"
White couldn't help but choke. This annoying little devil, when did he—
"Hey, don't stare at me like you want to eat people. I'm here to help you find work." Quickwit spread his hands. "There are so many goods to be transported on a ship. You're old and can't compete with others, so you naturally earn less."
"What exactly do you want to say?"
"It's simple. My brothers can help you grab a good spot. You'll get much more work than if you were doing it alone. Are you interested?"
"Hmph, you won't be helping for nothing." White spat.
"Ten percent of the freight, that's fair, right?" Quickwit smiled.
He fell silent for a moment. At this time, the sky overhead was already a little gloomy, and the sea breeze was whistling, obviously a heavy rain was coming. If a ship were to arrive at the port at this time, it would indeed be difficult for him to snatch business from the other carters. That fake leg was both an obstacle for himself and a reason for employers to screen him out.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Quickwit snapped his fingers. "Since you're not refusing, I'll take that as a yes."
"The ones you're helping… aren't just me, right?" After a long while, White glared.
"Ahem, if everyone could line up, we could save ourselves a lot of trouble, couldn't we?" Quickwit deliberately glossed over it. "I say, Uncle, can't you change the straw in your carriage to cloth cushions? The most valuable goods in Clearwater Bay besides the chaos drinks from the fjord are perfumes. Although the buyers are all nobles, who don't usually have their own carriages, there will always be accidents, and there will always be a need for extra carriages. And your carriage smells so bad that even if we help you grab a good spot, the employer might not agree…"
Glancing at the guy who was talking eloquently, White suddenly understood why people called him Quickwit. But he's lived a long time and isn't a pushover. "By the way, didn't you ask me what I carried back before?"
"Huh?"
"Cow dung, the kind used for firewood." He said slowly. "Although it's all been dried, it's normal for some residue to be left behind after it gets damp."
Quickwit's face suddenly stiffened. He turned his head, spat out the straw in his mouth, and began to cough dryly on the carriage frame.
Tch, in the end, he's just a young brat. White snorted through his nose and looked out to sea again, then froze on the spot.
Several three-masted sea ships appeared at the end of the horizon, slowly sailing towards Clearwater Bay. Each one was a flagship-class ship of the Fjord Chamber of Commerce, with a main mast nearly ten yards high, and a gold-bottomed, black-edged flag fluttering from the top of the mast. But that wasn't any of the merchant guild emblems he knew.
But who cares? As long as there are ships and business, hauling goods for any company is the same, right? And three ships are coming at once. Even if he doesn't find these laborers to help, he should be able to get one or two cartloads of goods.
White climbed down from the carriage, untied the horse rope in two or three strokes, and was about to lead his mount to the unloading area to wait when Quickwit suddenly reached out and grabbed his clothes.
"Hey, hey… something doesn't seem right."
What could be wrong? White turned his head impatiently—and that one look left him dumbfounded.
Behind the three sea ships, many more masts were gradually appearing, and the raised sails were vaguely connected, forming a "white wall" on the sea.
"My God…"
When a group of gray-black hulls entered the field of vision, almost covering the original appearance of the sea, White initially tried to count how many ships were coming, but after counting to fifty, he realized that his eyes could no longer keep up with the speed at which the ships were appearing. A hundred? Two hundred… no, probably much more!
Among them, there were many huge three-masted sea ships, but more of them were paddle steamers emitting white smoke. He had occasionally seen this type of new ship without sails a few times, but the appearance of so many at once was completely beyond his imagination. He swore that even the sailors living in the port had never seen such a large fleet!
Others in the harbor also noticed this incredible scene. Whether they were merchants, sailors, or laborers, they couldn't help but put down the work at hand and hold their breath, watching the approaching majestic fleet.
The originally noisy dock became quiet.
As the ships approached, the fluttering flag became clearer—on the gold bottom, White vaguely saw the emblem of a tower and lance. And all the sea ships were flying the same flag. When hundreds of emblems fluttered in the wind, forming a new sea skyline, anyone could feel the majesty contained within.
Quickwit gasped.
"Could this be… the royal flag of Graycastle?"
White murmured in disbelief, "You mean… the King of Graycastle is here?"
Because Clearwater Bay could not accommodate so many large ships, most of the ships lowered their sails outside the port, while ten steamships sailed straight into the port.
As soon as they docked, a group of people wearing uniforms of the same color poured out of the gangways and quickly assembled into neat rows on the pier, stepping onto the dock in a uniform manner. These people were expressionless, their eyes carrying a chilling light, like seasoned warriors, but without the arrogance and flamboyance usually displayed.
White swallowed. Although he had never seen such a team, he felt a sincere fear in his heart, and he knew that he was not the only one—these outsiders quickly occupied every pier, but no one dared to raise any objections to this.
White realized that this fleet was definitely not here for business.
The atmosphere of the dock seemed to freeze.
The clouds in the sky were also getting lower and lower.