Free Web NovelThe Elven Forest.
Time quickly reached noon.
If one looked down from above at this moment, they would see dense stretches of tents already stationed along the outskirts. Row after row of soldiers held engineering tools, digging firebreaks.
The First Prince was speaking with a black-robed, masked man whose body was bloated like an ox. Rarely seen, the prince’s attitude toward ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) this masked figure was unusually respectful.
“Lord Xubing, according to the information my third brother brought back at the risk of his life, that Holy Sword bearer seems to have colluded with the elves. Right here, in this forest...” freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“First Prince, the elven race has deep foundations. This matter won’t be easy. And that Holy Sword wielder herself is no kind soul—several of our sect’s experts have already fallen to her. Difficult, difficult,” the black-robed man sighed, then abruptly changed the subject. “But speaking of which, how many of those children on your grasslands who carry traces of the Ancient God’s blood have you found for me?”
“......”
Hearing this, the First Prince’s face instantly turned as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly. Damn it—both of them were old foxes. What was the point of pretending to tell ghost stories here?
His aged face twitched, yet he still replied calmly,
“Only the direct lineage of the Chief Priest can detect children with that kind of blood. I truly wish to help you, my lord, but unfortunately the sole remaining heir of the Chief Priest’s line has already run off to defect to the Holy Sword bearer. I’m powerless here.”
“Then that is truly a pity. It seems I can only seek cooperation opportunities with your other brothers.” The masked man shook his head regretfully and rose to leave.
“Wait!”
The First Prince suddenly spoke.
“Oh? Does the First Prince still have some business?” the masked man asked in surprise as he turned back.
“I have a plan that can force the Holy Sword bearer out...” The First Prince took a deep breath and said slowly, “But if she comes out, you will have to act as well. I will capture the Chief Priest’s heir. I will bear the elves’ wrath. But as for her—you deal with her.”
“Heh, that’s easy to say.”
The masked man chuckled, sat back down, and said pleasantly, “The First Prince truly lives up to being the great ruler of the grasslands. Such courage, such decisiveness—I admire it! I truly admire it!”
“Admire your damn ass, you dead horse brat...” The First Prince spat on the ground, then laughed. “That’s how we grassland folk greet each other. It means: happy cooperation.”
“Stupid pig.” The masked man’s voice turned cold, then he also laughed. “That’s a word I use to curse people. It means you’re as dumb as livestock. Don’t doubt it—I’m cursing you.”
Bang!
The First Prince slammed the table and stood up, fury raging in his eyes like a lion about to leap out. He glared hard at the masked man, threw out a single sentence, then stormed off,
“I hope your abilities are as sharp as your mouth. Otherwise, in the future my Western Border will implement the same heretic-purging campaign as the other continents. xxlkk says: welcome to read this book at the fanfiction website tongrenxsw.com!”
......
At the same time.
Vieya also entered the cave. In front was an astrologer who doubled as a chuunibyou weapons master leading the way, and behind her was an elven knight who cultivated both magic and martial arts and was proficient in the Six Arts of the Gentleman.
As for Vieya herself, the slime—there was no need to elaborate. A truly heavyweight existence.
A tiny trio, yet a gathering of elites.
“This isn’t right...” The first to run into trouble was the astrologer Tiya. She stood at the fork in the cave, looking left and right, her voice panicked. “We’re doomed, we’re doomed—someone is interfering with the star phenomena above the Elven Forest! My divination water mirror has failed!”
“How are you this useless?”
“You can’t blame me! Something must have happened outside the Elven Forest!” Tiya said anxiously. “How about we forget this mission and go back out to take a look first?”
Vieya: ?
“I also have a bad feeling...” Aislin’s expression looked unpleasant as well. She pressed a hand to her chest, closed her eyes, and spoke slowly. “I feel like I can hear the trees of the forest crying...”
“Wow, this elf big sister is absolutely right!” Tiya nodded repeatedly, raising her hand in agreement. “No objections from me.”
“......” As if you ever had any objections.
Vieya fell silent for a moment, glanced at Tiya, then at Aislin. In the end, she placed the decision squarely on Aislin’s shoulders and said,
“This merit-gaining operation was centered on you from the start, and it concerns your future potential anyway... In short, whatever you think we should do, we’ll do.”
“Put the mission on hold.” Aislin leaned against the cave wall and slowly opened her eyes, enunciating every word. “I hear the trees and flowers calling for help... I have to go out and see.”
“Fine, we’ll go with your call.” Vieya put her hands on her hips. “Merit isn’t going anywhere.”
With that, the three of them retraced their steps.
Among them, the one with the shortest legs—the slime—was actually the fastest runner. But very soon, they sensed something was wrong.
The way back hadn’t been this long!
Vieya felt as if the path before her was endlessly stretching. She couldn’t remember how many forks she had passed or how long she had been running, yet she still hadn’t seen the exit.
Before them was pitch-black darkness. Behind them was pitch-black darkness. No way out, no way back.
Suddenly, a cold white mist appeared before Vieya, slamming into her face. The bone-chilling cold jolted her completely awake.
At the same time, inside her body, within the Golden City, the white mirage demon pearl placed together with the Holy Sword and the dragon horn suddenly jumped up. That familiar loli voice rang out again:
“You brainless slime who never learns—how the hell did you fall into an illusion again?!”
The moment the voice fell.
Vieya’s vision blurred, the darkness completely dissipated, and she saw herself, Aislin, and Tiya standing in place like wooden figures. Ahead of them was a brightly lit exit.
But standing at the exit was a person. Backlit by the light, his features were indistinct, his presence mysterious.
“Huh? You broke free this quickly? The intel was wrong, then...”
Before the mysterious person could finish speaking, he discovered that his voice had been severed at his throat. The world before his eyes spun violently.
“...Huh?”
His reactions had been honed over decades. Normally, he could respond even to shells and bullets. Yet now, he realized he was absurdly slow.
No—he wasn’t slow.
The enemy was simply too fast.
So fast that even the defensive talismans he carried didn’t have time to activate before—
His head was severed with a single sword strike!
Vieya flashed behind the mysterious man, flicking the blood droplets from her blade. She didn’t know who he was, nor did she care to find out.
She only knew one thing.
It was time to slaughter.
With the illusion caster gone, Aislin and Tiya quickly broke free as well. They collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
“W-what just happened... I think I saw a terrifying dream. I dreamed the entire forest was burned down, crimson waves of flame devouring the sky, black smoke and ash blotting out the heavens...”
“Ah—so we were trapped in an illusion just now?”
“......”
Vieya said nothing. She stood at the cave entrance, as if she were staring at something utterly inconceivable, frozen in place.
Aislin and Tiya exchanged a glance, then stood up and walked past the headless corpse. They stopped beside the slime girl and followed her gaze outward.
They saw countless fiery meteors raining down from the sky, searing heat igniting the forest below.
Crackling explosions rang out as trees burned. Birds and beasts wailed as they fled from the blazing woods, but the flames had already begun consuming the outer perimeter of the Elven Forest. With nowhere else to go, they could only desperately flee deeper inside.
Faced with this apocalyptic scene, Tiya froze, murmuring,
“They actually set the forest on fire...”
“Unforgivable!” Aislin’s clenched fists trembled, her nails biting deep into the soft flesh of her palms. Vieya had never seen her this angry before...
No—beyond anger, Vieya also saw a trace of hatred in her eyes.
