“To get to the point, just like Leader Raviata said, these elves have undergone these changes due to a magical power that is different from the magical power of the forest.”
“That doesn’t seem immediately helpful to our situation… is there anything else?”
Shane shook his head in response to Adam’s question.
“However, unlike the elves living in the desert or polar regions, these elves are in a corrupted state.”
“Corrupted, you say?”
“Elves usually adapt their magical power to the surrounding environment. But these elves have forcibly altered their magical power. It’s artificial. If I had to say, it’s like a necromancer controlling corpses.”
“…Necromancy!”
At this point, the group’s expressions turned instantly grim.
Even though necromancers had been eradicated by the Empire and the Coalition, everyone here knew the extent of the damage they had inflicted on the continent.
“Of course, it’s fundamentally different from that. But the result is similar. These elves are practically undead. That’s why cutting attacks were of little use.”
“Ugh…”
Certainly, if it was as Shane said, the previous battle would make sense.
Conversely, this meant their weakness was also clear.
“Then they must be weak to fire. Fire is the most effective against the undead.”
However, Shane shook his head at Dominic’s low words.
“Impact attacks will be the most effective. Or light-type attacks. Although they are practically undead, they are not actually undead.”
To be precise, these dark elves were incomplete works of the organization.
For now, they lacked reason, but with a bit more refinement, they would become fully rational killing machines.
On the other hand, Shane was also relieved.
In his previous life, Shane had seen the completed dark elves.
Just their appearance alone would have meant death for most of this expedition team.
“…Shane. Just now, you said it was artificial. If I understand correctly, does that mean this is the work of humans?”
Adam’s question hit the mark.
If they were simply monsters, the gravity of the situation would decrease. This was also one of the pieces of information the expedition team sought.
However, if it was artificial, the story would change.
“Yes. It’s not an ancient magic. In fact, it’s hard to even call it magic. It’s closer to alchemy.”
“So you mean to say there are other beings besides us in this cradle. We were being lured by them?”
The expedition team came to explore the cradle known as the Great Mezaiya Forest, not to face unknown enemies within it.
Moreover, the fact that there were beings in this forest capable of corrupting elves?
This was already beyond their ability.
“I think it’s best for us to leave this place. I believe it’s already sufficient with the information we’ve gathered so far.”
Adam was the first to express his opinion. Although they had not found any clues regarding the Dragon Heart, they had at least confirmed that Shane’s hypothesis was applicable in the Great Forest.
And that wasn’t all.
Thanks to the presence of Orca, they had found a more effective way to explore the Great Forest.
This breakthrough in solving the previously intractable problems of the Great Forest was a huge achievement.
“Of course, that’s true, but it’s still hard to leave with peace of mind, isn’t it?”
In contrast, Dominic believed they needed to continue their exploration.
“There are unknown entities in the Great Forest. Entities with the ability to bring elves to this state. At the very least, shouldn’t we find out who they are and what they’re up to?”
On the surface, Dominic’s argument also made sense.
As the group remained silent, Dominic continued speaking.
“Unknown individuals are doing suspicious things in the Great Mezaiya Forest. Who knows what kind of discord this could bring to the continent? Isn’t the Haiel Kingdom the closest to the Great Forest?”
“Ugh…”
Adam swallowed. He could no longer find anything to say.
“…But we need to inform people outside about this. We can’t rule out the possibility that we might not be able to leave this place.”
“I understand. But how can we inform the outside world about the unpredictable weather of this Great Forest? Splitting our forces here could create variables that could affect our main mission.
“There’s a flaw in that argument, Sir Dominic. Variables have already arisen. If you’re afraid of those variables, we should turn back now. If not, we should at least inform the outside so we can prepare for what’s next.”
“… I don’t think you’re wrong. But the decision rests with Leader Raviata in the end. So? what do you think?”
The final decision was left to Raviata, and she decided to go with Adam’s suggestion.
“Adam isn’t wrong. Let’s first select the people who will go back to inform the outside world about this.”
Once the discussion began, things moved quickly.
Soon, they decided to select people from the Imperial Guard Knights and the Knights of the Haiel Kingdom.
Adam called together his separately assigned knights.
“If you sense anything strange from the Empire’s side, either attack first or flee. You must inform His Majesty of what happened here. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Attack from the rear!”
How much time had passed since they sent out the selected personnel and resumed their exploration?
One of the knights from the Haiel Kingdom shouted as if screaming.
During the fierce battle with some huge caterpillars that suddenly appeared through the ceiling, the dark elves launched a surprise attack from the rear.
And rather than charging head-on, the dark elves exploited the expedition’s gaps.
As a result, since the messengers had been dispatched to inform the outside world, the expedition’s movements became more cautious, but today the attack was fiercer than usual.
“Damned monsters!”
“Die!”
The intensity of the ongoing battle made Raviata’s eyebrows twitch.
Something’s not right.
Except for their initial attack, the enemies had only conducted ambushes and they only hindered the expedition. But today, they were charging with a resolve to fight to the death.
This indicated that they wanted something significant in return.
The problem was that their numbers weren’t enough to pose a significant threat to the expedition.
What could their plan be?
In an instant, Raviata’s pupils sharpened like those of a reptile.
Magical power? No, that’s….
Something dark and sinister moved beneath the dark elves’ feet and it started spreading into the ground.
Immediately after, the magical power of the dark elves which had been moving slowly shot into the roots of the surrounding trees as if it had sensed Raviata’s gaze.
“Ah! Everyone, gather here!”
Though it was corrupted, it was still elven magic. The magic absorbed into the trees could cause unpredictable events.
Before the people could gather as Raviata instructed,
The trees touched by the corrupted magic suddenly lunged at the group.
Why is it so difficult to face elves in the forest?
It’s because the entire forest is practically an extension of an elf’s body.
The trees which grew so slowly they were hard to distinguish with the naked eye moved and attacked like intelligent animals.
Some might suggest simply burning the forest, but there were various types of trees in this world.
Some trees did not burn even in fierce flames, while others would cause a massive explosion if burned.
But was luck on their side?
The roots of the trees corrupted by the dark elves merely swelled rapidly, blocked their path, and then calmed down without causing further harm.
The only problem was that the group was split during the intense battle.
“Damn it, those guys were hiding this all along?”
In fact, Raviata had not overlooked such a possibility.
Given the presence of elves, the group was always prepared for the worst. They were ready to face death at any moment.
Such was the formidable power of elves in the forest.
However, the dark elves had never shown any ability to control trees, which was why they had proceeded with the expedition.
But now they pulled this trick!
Still, is it fortunate that their limits are only this much?
Raviata looked at the fallen dark elves on the ground.
They had exhausted their strength just by blocking the path with the trees and lay there, pale and unmoving.
Eventually, the expedition team confirmed the dark elves’ deaths and sighed in relief.
“It seems we should end the exploration here.”
Raviata said at that sight.
Even though they had only blocked the path, the fact that dark elves could control trees with clear hostility meant that their lives could not be guaranteed in this tree tunnel.
“…That seems wise. But first, we should regroup with the others.”
The expedition team originally had about 26 members.
However, only 14 were gathered here now.
The rest had been separated due to the dark elves’ actions.
“Let’s start by finding the others.”
“Raviata, can’t you use your magic to burn those trees?”
“It’s not difficult, but these trees are corrupted by the dark elves’ magic. Burning them with my fire might cause unknown toxic effects.”
“Ah… Then what about moving to an area that is not corrupted?”
“It’s difficult. I’m an expert on monsters, but I don’t know much about trees. Do you think the elves created this passage with tree roots just for decoration? I don’t think so.”
The elves likely had some sort of defense in place, and there have been trees that reacted sensitively to heat and exploded as they came this far.
Because of that, Raviata couldn’t fully use her fire which was her main strength.
And there was more.
“If we burn the trees wrong and the passage collapses, we’ll be stranded.”
“This is indeed difficult.”
They were also considering ways to reunite with the rest of the expedition team that had fallen into multiple areas.
Among them, Klein made a suggestion and there was some hope placed on Dilaila as well.
“Can’t I do something with my magic?”
Klein who had been separated from Shane stepped forward and said.
Big brother…
Since entering the dungeon, Shane has often shown a reliable side, but being separated from him in this situation felt quite heavy on Klein.
Moreover, hadn’t he vowed to protect his brother before coming to the cradle?
But of all times, this incident had to happen.
If fire didn’t work, he proposed a method of digging through the trees using his overwhelming magical power.
Similarly, it would be troublesome if the passage collapsed. He also suggested that Dilaila could manage the heaps of dirt in the collapsing passage but…
“Hmm, that might be a bit difficult.”
In fact, Dilaila had been experiencing difficulties recently.
At some point, the earth had stopped responding to her calls.
Or rather, it seemed to be in confusion.
As a member of the underground race, Dilaila could sense the subtle emotions tied to the earth.
The earth shared itself with a diverse array of life forms.
And among them, the life form most closely connected to the earth was the trees.
“Ever since the dark elves died, the trees have been angry. Because of that, the soil here doesn’t move according to my will.”
Under normal circumstances, such restrictions might not have mattered.
But this was the elves’ region and the trees influenced by the magic of the elves had a strong willpower that was incomparable to that of trees in other areas.
This had created a close connection with the earth here.
“We have no choice but to search directly.”
If possible, they didn’t want to move much. After all, it was generally safest to stay put when stranded.
However, the problem was that they were in a dungeon and they didn’t know the state of each group’s food supplies, so they needed to act quickly.
“Then let’s move right away.”
The group each nodded at Raviata’s decision, and Klein bit his lip and gripped his sword tightly.
I will find you, brother.
Meanwhile.
Shane who had been separated from the group was in a space with Dominic, the imperial guard knight, several knights under his command, and a few members of the Lampert adventurer party.
Dominic who had the highest rank here frowned as he looked at the tree roots blocking the path.
Unlike typical tree roots, these were thicker than an adult male and intricately tangled.
Several knights tried to cut the roots with their auras, but they were so sturdy that they only managed to leave minor scratches.
“It seems we’ve fallen into a trap. I think we should follow the path as it is. What do you all think?”
Dominic’s question was directed at Shane and the members of the Lampert adventurer party.
Shane remained silent, and the Lampert members who were anxious about being separated from their leader nodded in agreement.
“Since we can’t do anything here, they must be looking for a way to move on their side as well. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, there have been several convergence points so it seems right to find and move towards one of those points.”
“Understood. The Lampert adventurer party will follow Sir Dominic.”
“I have no objections either.”
A senior Lampert member said this, and Shane nodded his head in agreement.
“Thank you for saying that. Then, let’s finish our preparations and get moving.”
Despite the current situation, Dominic maintained a friendly smile and his knights appeared to stay vigilant.
However, Shane had definitely seen it.
He had noticed the imperial group’s movements approaching this way the moment the dark elves appeared.
As if they had anticipated this situation.
But Shane merely smirked as he looked at Dominic walking ahead.
This is like an opportunity landing right into my lap.
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