Chapter 697: Wood Elves (2)

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“What’s the name of this merchant?’1

“He calls himself Ari. He’s quite young, and he has quite a few servants and guards with him.”

“I’ll send someone to investigate this matter.”

Laphia nodded slightly, glanced around, and pondered for a moment before saying, “There’s another matter. We lost contact with the Wood Elves a year ago, and the entrance to their sanctuary has been sealed. I suspect it’s related to the demons.”

Her expression grew slightly grave after she finished speaking.

“Wood Elves?”

Ji Chen looked puzzled.

Elin explained slowly.

In simple terms, the Wood Elves were a branch of the elven tribe, much like the Ocean Pixies after the divine war, who dispersed and proliferated in various places. Unlike the Ocean Pixies, who had fully adapted to the sea, and the mainstream elves who remained in the Elven Empire in the main world, the Wood Elves were a highly revered and somewhat exclusive elven group that prioritized physical strength.

After the divine war, they migrated to a secluded sanctuary west of the Elven Empire to live, avoiding contact with the outside world unless absolutely necessary, focusing solely on cultivating their physical strength.

For such a long time, only the mainstream elves of the Elven Empire occasionally had contact with them.

“In the closed sanctuary where the Wood Elves live, we found remnants of unique spatial energy. This implies that some foreign objects used spatial traversal abilities to forcibly break through the sanctuary blockade and intrude. And this unique spatial energy…”

At this point, Laphia glanced at Lainekel. “It’s extremely similar to the spatial jumping ability you demonstrated during the act.”

Lainekel’s face changed slightly.

His spatial jumping ability was not originally his own; it was the ability brought about by the legs of a demon slayer transplanted by the Dreadlord Balzarna. Doesn’t this mean that demon slayers may have appeared in rhe sanctuary where the Wood Elves are located?

And the timing was exactly one year ago.

“But the specific situation will need to be known after the sanctuary is opened. The Wood Elves are also a quite powerful force. If we can get them to join the war, it will increase the chances of defeating the demons.

For now, I can’t personally go there. I don’t trust the strength of the other elves too much when facing these cunning demons. Lord Ji Chen, can you lead a team to investigate?”

“Of course, but…”

Laphia smiled. “Generous rewards will be sent to you at that time, allowing your territory to be more prepared when facing the demon invasion.”

Ji Chen liked making friends with such smart elves. The Ocean Crown was eagerly awaiting resources, and judging from the price of the previous Merfabric, a queen of the elves would surely offer quite a lot.

After bidding farewell to Laphia and Elin, Ji Chen, Patheia, and Lainekel set out on the journey once again. However, this rime, they were accompanied by three elite squads of elven soldiers.

Originally, when these elven soldiers saw that a human was leading them, they all seemed unruly, but after Ji Chen demonstrated his epic strength, they all became obedient and respectful.

“Wherever the strong go, they are respected, a common saying among the elves.”

The entrance to the sanctuary where rhe Wood Elves reside is located a few hundred miles east of the Elven Empire, near an inland sea called the Boro Sea. Along the way are vast plains and grasslands of the northern continent, and their marching speed is not slow. They quickly reached their destination under continuous day and night travel.

It was an inland sea stretching for miles beyond sight, extending several hundred kilometers eastward from the eastern border of the Elven Empire, with the territory of another lawful race at the other end of the sea.

“Lord Ji Chen, ahead is the entrance to the sanctuary of the Wood Elves, but for some reason, it’s sealed from the inside,” said the elven officer, pointing to a valley ahead.

Ji Chen looked at Lainekel, who was tightly wrapped in armor. The latter nodded, and a muffled voice came from under the visored helmet, “Indeed, there are residual spatial energies there, along with a faint… demonic aura,” Sure enough, it was the work of demons!

Upon hearing this, the elven officer cast a curious glance at Lainekel. He had been wearing armor throughout the journey from the capital, not a speck of skin exposed, not even when sleeping. No one knew if he was human or another race.

But it was just curiosity. A person entrusted by Her Majesty should not be ordinary.

These elves probably wouldn’t even imagine that this “armored figure” was the “demon” who caused the entire Elven Empire to tremble during the terrifying attack at the club.

Ji Chen asked, “Is there a way to open the entrance to the sanctuary?”

“I’ll try.”

Lainekel used the power of the demon slayer’s legs to communicate with rhe entrance hidden in space.

Suddenly, the air in the valley vibrated, and a slow-revolving green vortex about a dozen meters wide gradually appeared.

The demon had sealed the entrance to rhe sanctuary using the spatial power of the demon slayer, which collided with Lainekel’s familiar domain.

Seeing his prowess, the elven officer and rhe other elves looked at him with different eyes.

This guy is amazing! They had been struggling for so long, but he fixed it within minutes of arrival.

Seeing that the entrance was open, Ji Chen wasted no time.

With a wave of his hand, he commanded, “Form up and proceed, stay vigilant for enemies!”

The three elite elven thousand-strong teams instantly shifted into battle formation, with three rows of crossbowmen in front and sword and shield bearers behind, advancing in formation under the command of the elven officer.

Ji Chen and his companions walked into rhe center of the formation, while the Sea Crystal Wyverns quickly took to the sky to establish air superiority.

Before them lay a desolate plain, as if scorched by a raging fire for seven days and nights. The ground was littered with charred debris, and the nearby village stood in ruins, with walls and buildings bearing the marks of scorching.

A strong sense of evil and death permeated the air.

Proceeding cautiously into the ruined village, the elven officer whispered, “Where are the Wood Elves who lived here? Where have they gone?”

No one answered him, and the surroundings were eerily silent, like the silence of death.

Passing through the entire village, they found no trace of any Wood Elves or any living beings. But from the remnants of life, it was clear that Wood Elves had indeed lived here.

A sense of foreboding crept into the hearts of the group.

“We must continue deeper into the sanctuary and find the Wood Elves… even if it means finding their corpses,”

Ji Chen looked at Lainekel. “Sense where the demonic presence is strongest; that’s where we’ll likely find clues.”

Lainekel nodded and began to concentrate.

As a half-demon, half-human who had lived in the Abyss for a long time, his familiarity with demonic aura was as high as his familiarity with his own foot odor.

In just a moment, Lainekel pointed to the northwest.

Ji Chen waved his hand, “Proceed in that direction.”

From the traces along the way, it was clear that the environment here had once been excellent, with vast grasslands, lush forests, and vibrant valleys. It had been home to a large number of Wood Elves.

However, now all that lay before them was a barren wasteland, polluted and stripped of life, with barren rocks and gravel scattered around. Bare, dead trees stood lonely on hilltops, under a sky obscured by murky clouds.

Everything here indicated a devastating invasion. The enemy not only targeted the Wood Elves but also laid waste to this place.

Looking at the grim scene along the way, Lainekel murmured softly.

“This must be the work of demons. They enjoy polluting the land to create a suitable environment for warfare, or they pollute and destroy after slaughtering everything, leaving behind only worthless land for the enemy to reclaim.”

Polluting the environment wasn’t something only the Decaying Demon King would do; all demons operated in such a manner, but rhe former did so in a more heinous and thorough manner.

According to Lainekel’s description, the Decaying Demon King could turn an area of a hundred miles into a decaying swamp, turning it into a breeding ground for demons, Once it took root in a resource-rich area, it could continuously produce demon armies.

“Report, abnormality detected ahead!”

As they drew closer to the area thick with demonic aura, the elven soldiers scouting ahead also noticed something unusual.

When they entered a spacious valley and saw the hellish scene at its center, all the elves were stunned.