Chapter 23: A Hasty Departure and the Hunt for Elves

“Really? That’s great!”Upon hearing Nia’s words, Qi Lin’s heart swelled with delight. After a brief pause, she inquired further, “So, when do we leave?”

“Now!”

Ailin, who had approached without Qi Lin noticing, stared at her with a taut expression and calm eyes.

“What? Now? It’s the middle of the night; don’t you two need to rest?” Meeting Ailin’s gaze, Qi Lin gestured towards the large moon hanging in the sky. She didn’t include herself in the question because ever since transforming into a Bloodline, she rarely felt sleepy, often feeling quite energetic during the night.

“We don’t know when the War Fiends might emerge. To be safe, leaving Firefly Forest is our best option,” Ailin explained softly to Qi Lin.

“Heh, if they come, we’ll just wipe them out,” Qi Lin remarked, finding Ailin’s concern a bit exaggerated. With her around, what was there to fear?

Frowning, Ailin pressed a hand to his forehead, a hint of a headache in his voice. “Don’t assume you’re invincible just because you can handle a few low-level War Fiends.”

“Low-level War Fiends?” A new term piqued Qi Lin’s curiosity, prompting her to ask.

Watching Qi Lin, whose eyes betrayed an almost childlike naiveté, Ailin felt his headache intensify.

‘Is this person all brawn and no brains?’ he mused. ‘Where did this pampered young lady come from? How can she be so ignorant of basic common sense? And how did I even lose to her?’

He already had a headache dealing with Nia, his somewhat innocent adopted sister, and now there was another one.

‘Never mind,’ he decided. ‘One is one; what’s one more? Besides, I already promised Nia I’d help this girl find someone.’

With a sigh, Ailin began to explain to Qi Lin. “Ahem, listen closely. War Fiends are also categorized by rank. Those you’ve eliminated were relatively low-level War Fiends, which I can also hunt, though it expends a great deal of energy.”

“As for distinguishing their ranks, it’s quite simple: observe their color intensity and size.”

“Low-level War Fiends are typically green and relatively short, though still taller than our own races.”

“Leading these low-level War Fiends are pseudo-high-level War Fiend leaders, identifiable by their darker coloration.”

“For instance, the green low-level War Fiends you destroyed were led by dark green War Fiends.”

“War Fiends come in many colors, with the highest-ranking ones appearing as black as charcoal ink. If you ever encounter a War Fiend of that color, don’t even think; just run.”

“Furthermore, Firefly Forest lies within the territory of the Deiters Empire, and the War Fiends here are usually under their control. Since we—or rather, you—have eliminated too many low-level War Fiends, the Deiters Empire has surely taken notice and might have even dispatched high-level War Fiends to investigate Firefly Forest.”

“Therefore, escaping now is our only sensible course of action.”

Qi Lin nodded blankly, absorbing Ailin’s breathless explanation.

“Did you understand?” Ailin asked, frowning at Qi Lin’s dazed expression. ‘Why does she seem so easily distracted now? She wasn’t like this when we were fighting half an hour ago. Is it just my imagination?’

“Ah, yes, I understood…” Qi Lin replied, then, recalling something, quickly pressed on, “By the way, could you elaborate on the War Fiend color hierarchy?”

“Yes, I can.” Ailin offered no further comment on Qi Lin’s question, simply relaying what he knew.

“The lowest-level War Fiends are green. The next rank up turns cyan. Following this progression, after cyan comes orange, then yellow, followed by light red and blood red, and finally, black.”

Once Ailin finished speaking, Qi Lin nodded. “I understand!”

“In that case, let’s prepare. We need to leave this place before the Deiters discover our presence.”

With that, Ailin retreated into his tent to pack.

Nia, having bid farewell to Qi Lin, also headed to her own tent to gather her belongings.

Several minutes later,

The two emerged from their tents, each carrying a few backpacks. Under Qi Lin’s watchful eye, they placed their bags on the ground and began folding their tents.

Almost instantly, the tents were neatly folded into compact squares and set alongside their backpacks.

“Retrieve! (Orcish, Canine language),” Ailin uttered, extending a hand towards the folded tent. In the blink of an eye, the tent and their belongings vanished into their spatial storage.

“Alright, let’s go now!” Ailin, ready to depart, gazed at the night sky and addressed the two beside him.

They nodded, then followed Ailin as he strode towards the creek.

****

Upon reaching the creek bank, Ailin didn’t wait for anyone to speak; he simply snapped his fingers.

A flicker of light emanated from his fingertips, followed by a dull rumble from the ground as a stone bridge abruptly materialized, connecting both sides of the creek.

Without needing a prompt from Ailin, Qi Lin and Nia stepped onto the bridge and crossed to the opposite bank.

“Alright, tell me, who are you looking for?” Ailin asked, meeting Qi Lin’s gaze as the stone bridge dissipated.

Responding to Ailin’s query, Qi Lin produced the tuft of white fur and handed it over.

Ailin took the fur and brought it to his nose, sniffing lightly.

As he sniffed, Ailin’s brows furrowed.

Noticing his frown, Qi Lin asked, “What’s wrong?”

“This fur… it has the scent of an elf,” Ailin murmured, not directly answering Qi Lin. He stood still, staring intently at the strands of fur clutched between his fingers. “You’re looking for an elf? Could there truly be surviving elven settlements?”

“Yes, this fur was given to me by an elf to help find someone. So, what’s the matter?” Qi Lin, with her exceptionally keen hearing, easily caught Ailin’s soft muttering.

“Nothing, I’m just… ah, marveling,” Ailin replied, snapping back to attention at Qi Lin’s words. He looked at her with a complex expression. “I truly never imagined that the elven race could have survived the conquests of the three great empires. Our beastmen haven’t formed any new settlements; we’re just a few scattered individuals.”

Dispelling his complicated emotions, Ailin infused the tuft of white fur with magical energy.

As the white fur floated from his hand, Ailin’s lips moved, chanting a spell.

Wisps of unseen threads, invisible to Qi Lin and Nia, shot from the fur and darted towards Ailin’s nose.

Once the threads vanished, the white fur slowly drifted back into Ailin’s hand.

“Well?” Qi Lin asked, looking at Ailin expectantly.

Ailin tilted his head, narrowing his eyes as he sniffed the air.

Opening his eyes, Ailin looked to the west. “That way. Follow me!”

With that pronouncement, Ailin began walking towards the west.

Seeing Ailin set off, Qi Lin and Nia exchanged a glance before following closely behind.

****

Not long after they departed, a Youth, guided by a signal instrument installed within a War Fiend by the empire, arrived at Ailin and the others’ former encampment, accompanied by several War Fiends.

“The instrument’s last trace leads here, but where have those who resisted gone?” the Youth murmured, standing in place.

He surveyed his surroundings, his gaze pausing on a broken tree not far from the creek bank. “This tree… it appears to be man-made damage. That indicates the resisters indeed lingered here.”

With a slight glance at the ground, the Youth spotted fresh traces of the resisters. “Footprints? The resisters are truly careless!”

Chuckling softly, the Youth slowly turned his attention to the opposite bank.

“Let us press on and fulfill His Majesty’s command!”