Chapter 185: Slave Hunters (2/2)
Even a village kid like him knew the reason why there weren’t any wood elves for sale in the slave market was not because humans couldn’t find them. The forests the elves were rumored to live were just a few vast woodlands after all, and should the humans come in sufficient numbers and sweep it, they would always reach the elves.
The problem was that not many humans could win against the elves even if they found their dwelling place. With their long lifespan, the wood elves could learn various skills, and by adulthood they would become learned mages, archers who never miss, or patron of the arts who have the finest taste in art and cultural upbringing.
In terms of combat ability alone, any adult elf was an equal match, or if not better in comparison to the cardinals of middling churches. They were all powerful hunters with rich experience, and while most cardinals would own formidable sacred arts, they might not actually best veteran knights if caught off guard.
Therefore, Gou Dan could not help being perplexed when he saw the slave hunters.
Who could have given them the courage to come here deep within the Trinia Forests to catch elves?
While he began posting in the forums informing Edward and the others regarding present circumstances, he also warned them not to take reckless actions.
Ultimately, the slave hunters were behaving too weirdly. If their ability was to be judged by their appearances, a single adult elf could wipe them all out thrice over…
It would take an army of ten thousand fully armed, supported by a guild of mages and a sacred choir to actually stand a chance against the wood elves. And that actually includes the conditions of the opposing elves not having elite units such as Listeners, the Moon God’s sentinels, and Silver Dragons…
And the reality was that even though the humans could gather such an army, the elves would already have learned about the attack before it happened thanks to their bonds with the forests. In turn, they would just pack up and leave, and all the humans would get is empty villages of treehouses.
As a matter of fact, humans studying the cultures of other races believed that this continent would have been ruled by the elves instead of humans, the latter of whom were now occupying more lands and flaunting their might. The only reasons stopping the elves was their poor gestation cycle where only up to two were born to a small tribe over centuries, along with their pacifist patron deities.
***
In reply to Gou Dan’s post, Edward and the others had sworn that they were definitely not going to do anything reckless.
Gou Dan, however, knew very well that those characters loved flirting with danger and getting their own demise ever since they had become undying Players, their once passionate curiosities completely exploding into overwhelming impulse.
It wouldn’t mean a thing even if he warned them.
In theory, when a normal person sees a button labeled ‘Don’t touch or you’ll die’, they would try their hardest to hold back the curious impulse to touch it. On the other hand, a Player would try their hardest to touch said button and see what would happen no matter how hard others would try to stop him…
And soon enough, Gou Dan could see several familiar names hovering in the air above some nearby bushes.
But when Gou Dan was about to meet up with them and enlighten them about the seemingly confusing details included in his post, he suddenly felt something.
Pasting himself to the tree, he charged the Emerald Heart which he had obtained after becoming a Junglewalker, fusing his presence completely to the natural environment around him. Anyone would have trouble finding him even if they were standing right in front of him.
And before long, certain figures that were hidden relatively well but less so than Gou Dan began appearing around the slave hunters…