Chapter 140: Allies in Need of Change

  For a long time, the relationship between elves and humans has not been friendly. However, this unfriendliness has always seemed a bit strange, because from any perspective, elves appear to be quite easy to get along with.

  As is well known, elves are handsome, beautiful, and elegant in appearance, with simple and kind personalities. Elven civilization is also far more ancient than that of humans. Even the church does not harbor hostility toward these pagan races, and in many local traditions, elves are still highly respected. Except for being somewhat arrogant and self-righteous, which is often a complacency toward their culture of tens of thousands of years, there seems to be nothing about them that makes them difficult to get along with. In fact, because of their stunning beauty and grace from a human perspective, they should not only be easy to get along with but also very attractive.

  However, perhaps it is precisely because they are too attractive that their relationship with humans is so poor. An elegant, beautiful, and rare female elf is seen as an exquisite plaything worth a thousand gold pieces in the eyes of the nobility. It is said that there are also those with special preferences or female nobles who are extremely interested in male elves. And once something is worth a thousand gold pieces, it is absolutely impossible to coexist peacefully with people.

  Something worth a thousand gold pieces naturally attracts people who flock to it and rack their brains to capture it. Therefore, elven settlements are either extremely hidden or heavily guarded, and elves walking in human society are extremely rare, with even fewer humans who can befriend elves. Consequently, very few people know the actual scale of the elven settlement in the Tulalion Forest. Among the rumors circulating, besides the fact that there is indeed a teleportation magic circle there, some say it is just an elven village of a few hundred people, while others say it has two to three thousand people.

  Sylka and Axsis did want to formulate a very detailed and thorough battle plan, but with such vague intelligence, even the most brilliant strategists would find themselves powerless. Although Axsis had asked, for some unknown reason, the client who should have had sufficient information did not tell them much about the detailed situation in the forest. And the few thieves sent earlier on a reconnaissance mission only showed their faces in the elven settlement, captured a few female elves, and then fled in disarray under a rain of arrows, having no opportunity to observe the detailed situation of the elven village. After returning, they could only draw a small part of it from memory.

  Although those few female elf captives certainly knew the situation better than anyone, the stubbornness of elves is also well-known. Even the expert interrogators of The Shamushi Thieves' Guild had no confidence in getting any information out of them. Moreover, they were also valuable commodities, and Sylka really could not bear to see their flesh, almost equivalent to gold coins, being torn apart.

  Finally, based on the existing information, Sylka made a bold and brutal plan. That was to completely occupy the Tulalion Forest with the three scrolls in hand and all the people he could gather.

  However, if Sylka could have known the exact situation in the Tulalion Forest, he would never have had such a plan. Even the mysterious client who gave him the three scrolls had never intended for him to occupy the entire Tulalion. Because the Tulalion Forest is the largest elven settlement on the entire continent, it is not just an elven village of a few hundred or thousand people, but an elven city with a population of over ten thousand. There are no tall buildings standing everywhere like in human cities. This is because elves are close to their own culture and architectural style, which caused the few thieves who came here and took a few glances to have the misconception that the scale here was not very large.

  To think that someone had actually broken through the forest's barrier and even taken away several elves, Tulalion was in extreme chaos during this time. Such an incident suddenly occurred in the elves' peaceful life that had lasted for hundreds of years, like a peaceful and serene girl who was originally playing in the pond of her own garden, only to suddenly discover someone standing nearby holding a weapon and watching with drooling desire. The elves' terror and anger were self-evident.

  The elven elders were not without reaction. During this time, they had secretly sent people to Erathia to inquire about the whereabouts of the captured elves. The news had come back, and the elders immediately began to discuss, but the content of their discussion was not limited to this incident.

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  "According to the information we've gathered, several of our captured kin have indeed been sold as slaves and commodities," an elven elder said with a stern face. "Those people belong to the largest and most vicious thief gang in Erathia."

  "Just a thief gang, how could they use something like that to break our barrier?" an elven elder pointed to a pile of small things on the conference table, which were two pieces of paper scraps and some ashes. They were the remnants left after using a magic scroll. "This kind of magic scroll is extremely exquisite, and since it could break the barrier, it must have used a large amount of Star Shard. Looking across the continent, there are only a handful of people or organizations who can create such scrolls. How could they be just thieves?"

  "But the intelligence we've gathered is absolutely reliable," the previous elven elder said very firmly. Elves who can move in and out of human society are the elites of our clan. Whether in martial skills or intellect, they are impeccable, and they can absolutely handle themselves with ease in human society.

  Tulalion and Whispering Woods are completely different. The elves here are still conservative and proud, but by no means stubborn and closed off. Because they don't have as perfect a barrier as the Sunwell territory, they must learn to protect themselves. Although they don't have as complete a political and military structure as human nations, they at least do what needs to be done.

  "Since the intelligence is not wrong, and that scroll is also not wrong, the conclusion can only be one," the oldest-looking among the elven elders sighed and said. "And that is that this matter will definitely not be so simple."

  Most of the elven elders here are several hundred years old, but only this elder appears aged. Elves' appearances are elegant and handsome for the vast majority of their lives. For an elf to show signs of aging from their outward appearance, like this elven elder, it means that this elf is either about to die of old age or has some other special reason, such as practicing special magic or being overworked.

  "Elder Lloyd, your judgment and intellect are the most outstanding among us. What do you think is really going on with this matter?" an elven elder asked the oldest-looking elder.

  Elder Lloyd coughed twice and replied, "Although I cannot be sure what it is, I know that we had better take measures as soon as possible."

  "You mean you're still urging us to form an alliance with Erathia? But there is no precedent for this even in the ten-thousand-year history of elves, and our noble elven race does not need to compromise or form alliances with humans..."

  "I did not say that we should form an alliance with Erathia. I just said that what we need now are allies, what we need is change and help," Elder Lloyd said lightly. "Everyone also knows what the incident in Whispering Woods signifies. We cannot deal with those dark beings who covet the Leaves of the World Tree by ourselves; we must seek help and change. I have an inexplicable premonition that this incident might be a prelude to something that is about to happen..."

  An elven elder hesitated and said, "The great Mafa said that a life of tranquility without change is the true path to longevity, which is why I have always suggested not letting other elves know about what happened in Whispering Woods, allowing them to continue living in peace and tranquility. Now, do we really want to bring them into the turmoil and fear of change?"

  "To cling stubbornly to ancient doctrines in the face of turmoil and change is hopeless. Hasn't the result of Whispering Woods already illustrated this truth?" Luya stood up and looked at the other elders. Probably because she had experienced that life-and-death trial, her expression and voice carried a sense of strength that other elves did not possess. Although she was still just a child by elven standards, her special status and experience were enough to make her one of the most important members among the elders.

  When Sedros brought Luya here, the elven elders only then learned about what had happened in Whispering Woods. The sacred place in their minds was actually destroyed in an instant, with their kin and the forest turning into a piece of scorched earth. If this matter had not been told by Luya, they would never have believed it. Such a significant event was not just a bolt from the blue for the elves who had always lived in peace and quiet, but a cataclysm that shook the heavens and split the earth. The elders had not even intended to let other elves know about this matter.

  Although much more open-minded than the elves of Whispering Woods, the elders, being elves who were accustomed to a peaceful life after all, seemed at a loss with these changes. Only after a discussion with Luya did Elder Lloyd, together with her, suggest that the elves now need to seek the help of allies, while also changing their seemingly proud but actually low-key posture, and stepping onto the stage of the continent as a race.

  Although this proposal might be effective, it was really difficult for the elves to achieve. So it was delayed again and again, until this time.

  "The current situation is already urgent. If we delay any longer, more serious things might happen..." Luya was saying when, as if to verify her words, a warning bell suddenly rang.

  The one who sounded the warning bell was the elf in charge of guarding the monitoring magic circle. The elders quickly rushed to the side of the magic circle.

  One of the functions of Tulalion's magic barrier is to permanently display the movements of the entire forest. In the image formed by the magic circle, light points representing outsiders were moving toward the center of the forest. The number was not large, divided into two groups, one with five people, and the other with about ten people.

  "Gather all personnel, prepare for battle. Quick, quick." In the overly tense voices of the elven elders, the message of battle readiness quickly reached every elf's ears.

  In Tulalion, there was no one who could not fight. Elves had no concept of the old, weak, women, or children. Ten thousand elven archers, sufficient to serve as snipers in human troops, quickly took their positions, quietly waiting for the enemies who were throwing themselves into the net.