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With such an advanced ship, it was natural to sail across the oceans and strike directly into the heart of the elven territory.

This... was what Chen Xuanfeng originally thought.

Unfortunately, it couldn't be done.

Although the ship could replenish its own energy, humans lacked this capability. Even if the ship had been preserved perfectly for a hundred thousand years, it was impossible for essential supplies like food and water to have been preserved as well, so they had to be procured themselves. Moreover, although Li Jia had a vast amount of stored data, she had been sealed away when the elves retreated overseas, so her knowledge of the elves was confined to publicly accessible information preserved by the Holy Light Temple. Specific nautical charts and intelligence were completely lacking and would take time to collect. Otherwise, if they accidentally stumbled into the elves' defensive perimeter, they would likely be engulfed in a torrent of magic before they even had a chance to speak. Let's not forget, although the elves' group super magic had lost three times in battles against forbidden spells, each time it had also cost the Twelve Sages a heavy price.

Therefore, after anchoring the ship in a hidden spot on the seabed, the group once again set foot on the land of the Commercial Alliance.

Daily necessities were relatively easy to solve, as there was nothing that couldn't be bought in the Commercial Alliance. However, gathering intelligence about the elven kingdom was more complicated. The Commercial Alliance had been established for four hundred years, and its relationship with the elves was quite delicate. With the deterrence of three forbidden spell casters, the elves were unable to mount a full-scale counterattack. Under this premise, both sides maintained restraint. In a sense, the elves, wary of the power of forbidden spells, might see the merchants as less of a threat than the distant yet ambitious Holy Light Temple. Therefore, the elves' influence was often used by the merchants as a bargaining chip in political transactions. Sometimes, while there was open warfare on the surface, there were close interactions behind the scenes. Other times, while things seemed calm on the surface, there was deadly conflict in the shadows. If anyone had the deepest understanding of the current elven forces, it would undoubtedly be these merchants.

The merchants had the intelligence, but Chen Xuanfeng couldn't just go and ask for it.

Forbidden spell casters were the patron saints of the Commercial Alliance. Because they could curb the elves' frontal assault capabilities, the merchants could employ various strategies to profit from them. Once the elves had the chance to overturn the negotiation table, those long-lived beings who were too proud to even acknowledge their own kind would have no patience to deal with humans. Therefore, Chen Xuanfeng's previous actions had undoubtedly ignited the fury of the entire Commercial Alliance, and the news that "Du Xifa" was the werewolf lord had probably already spread throughout the upper echelons of the alliance. Now, as soon as they showed their faces, they would be attacked from all sides. Even if he could escape unscathed, there would be no chance to gather any information.

"So, even those merchant houses that had agreements with us would definitely not dare to help us now," was the news Li Jia had gathered after disguising herself. "Those merchant houses had previously leaked the news of their alliance with us through covert channels to enhance their influence. Although they gained considerable benefits at the time, as soon as our actions were exposed, they instantly became the focus of public scrutiny. Although they haven't been besieged yet, they have been warned multiple times. Trade with Fontainebleau is normal commercial behavior and no one can interfere, but if they secretly provide us with classified information, they will immediately be jointly boycotted by the entire Commercial Alliance. Similarly, those merchant houses connected to the orc king have also received the same warning."

Listening to the report from the artificial girl, Chen Xuanfeng gained some understanding of the current situation and nodded. "In other words, the merchant magnates plan to conceal this news to prevent the elven kingdom from reacting appropriately, right?"

"Yes, in fact, to prevent similar situations from occurring, the Commercial Alliance had long ago devised a complete set of contingency measures, mainly including the manipulation of intelligence, the division and co-optation of enemy forces, and deceptive tactics to confuse the elves. For example, they frequently disseminate fabricated information, indicating that a forbidden spell caster has died unexpectedly or that Forbidden Spell Mark Crystals have been stolen. After using such tactics repeatedly, the elves naturally couldn't tell what was true or false. Then they co-opted elven elders in the elven kingdom who valued the lives of their kin and opposed war to stir up public opinion, creating a convention within the elven community to not react regardless of the veracity of the news. Additionally, it is said that the Commercial Alliance has mastered some magical techniques that can simulate the pre-eruption phenomena of forbidden spells, so even if they wanted to deceive the elves in this way, the chances of success were not too low," Li Jia affirmed.

Chen Xuanfeng couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration. Actually, the task of contacting the elven kingdom didn't necessarily have to be done by him. The orc king and the War God Temple both had secret channels to communicate with the elves. Although these connections were not close, they were at least more straightforward than him groping around alone. However, if that were the case, a large portion of his previous achievements and reputation would immediately be divided. With the public opinion control capabilities of those two factions, when the orcs remembered this event, they would first think of who had signed the alliance treaty with the elves, and only then would they remember who had "under the leadership of the former" completed the related work. This result was definitely not what Chen Xuanfeng wanted to see.

But this matter was no longer something that could be resolved by force, so Chen Xuanfeng didn't have a good solution. He then said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. What about the other thing, any news?"

Li Jia understood what Chen Xuanfeng was referring to and replied, "No clear whereabouts, but it is said that the news about your identity originally came from the Ruby Kingdom of the Sixteen Nations Alliance, so it's more likely that the two of them are hiding there."

They were, of course, talking about the "Flame Phoenix Knight" Morova and Xi Luo, who had escaped from the underground ruins that day.

Previously, Chen Xuanfeng had never considered Xi Luo as a target that needed to be eliminated. On one hand, he felt somewhat guilty towards this disciple, and on the other, he had never seen Xi Luo as a potential threat to himself. However, during the battle in the undersea ruins, not only had Xi Luo been promoted to Sword Emperor, but he had also brought tremendous pressure to Chen Xuanfeng with the "Hero Sword" in his hand. This made Chen Xuanfeng have to take him seriously. Moreover, although Chen Xuanfeng didn't understand all the mysteries of the "Hero Sword," he roughly knew that its current form was definitely not its truly perfect state. So, if one day Xi Luo successfully restored the full power of the "Hero Sword," Chen Xuanfeng couldn't guarantee that he would definitely be able to defeat it. Therefore, it was only natural to pay attention to this rapidly growing youth, especially since he was always together with Morova, the Flame Sword Saint.