Celtic went dizzy at once and slumped to the table.
Only after Celtic was knocked out that Tang Cuo rembered he forgot to ask Celtic the na of the current Elf King. If the Elf King could indeed bless the [Sword of Judgnt], it would be equivalent to an extra layer of protection.
But now there was no way to ask, so the two of them could only grab this ti to head out and investigate the situation.
At this ti, it was getting dark and the mist in the forest was becoming thicker and thicker. The lights on the hanging bridges gradually lit up, illuminating the surrounding area. Perhaps because of the mist, the lights felt very cold, looking as dim as the moonlight.
The moon finally showed its face from behind the mist, but it looked very unreal. The moon was so big that it seed to walk out of a dream, carrying with it a beauty that could chill people to the bones.
Looking up and seeing a source of light hanging from the door, Tang Cuo realised that it wasnt a real lamp, but pure white flowers that was either fully-blood or blooming. These flowers looked very similar to the night-blooming cereus, which scattered everywhere along the vines. Their stans acted as the lamp wicks, while each of their petals was emanating a sort of fluorescence that was like the moonlight.
Theres a trace of magic here. The Magic Stone That Is Of No Use was sitting inside Tang Cuos pocket right now. As the elental affinity increased, his perception beca stronger. However, the magic on these flowers didnt seem to be cast by people. They simply contained lots of magic elents by themselves and glowed naturally.
Jin Cheng: This forest is unusual, even ordinary plants shouldnt be underestimated. If you have to get into a fight, be careful.
Ten minutes later, Jin Cheng casually knocked on the door of the tree house next to them and asked with a smile: Good evening, Im sorry to suddenly bother you.
There were human guests staying inside, who didnt carry the crest of the Greenvines Alliance on their chests. They seed to be lone adventurers. They recognised Lancelot and behaved rather friendly towards him: So its Lancelot. Whats the matter?
Jin Cheng shook the pen and paper in his hands: As you know, Im a bard. Its a rare opportunity to be able to co to the Forest of The Elves, so how can I not write a beautiful piece of music? I want to hear your feelings. Everyone has their own unique perceptions, which will be very helpful for my creation.
These words were truly logical. A creator of arts who treated ordinary adventurers sincerely could always gain their respect.
Jin Cheng smoothly got through the door, and when the two adventurers in the house gathered around Jin Cheng to talk to him, Tang Cuo walked around to the tree house, effortlessly avoided the eyes of the elf guards, pried open the bedroom window and stepped inside.
His goal was very clear: to find out if there were any remnants of previous guests like the feathered brooch Celtic showed them earlier. Since the bedroom wasnt big, he quickly turned the whole place upside down, while Jin Cheng was in charge of the living room outside. Jin Cheng only had to walk around the room under the guise of thinking to quietly complete this task.
As for how their tasks were assigned, it was entirely based on their roles.
The label Tang Cuo had on himself was very obvious; the identity of the Greenvines Alliance would bring him both convenience and trouble, because the others would definitely have so doubts about his purpose. And if he accidentally knocked on the door of those from the Pinwheel Harbour office, the scene might not be pretty.
On the contrary, the bard had a rather useful identity.
But without Chi Yan, the two of them went back to their original amount of luck, or lack thereof. They knocked on two doors in succession but only found lone adventurers. They couldnt obtain any information or any items from these n.
What an unfavourable start.
The third attempt was finally a little rewarding, because the one who opened the door changed from a human to a dwarf with a big beard, holding a wine bottle while being completely intoxicated.
The second he moved his gaze down, Jin Cheng quickly switched modes and stared at his wine bottle with bright eyes: Such fragrant wine, Ive never slt such a wonderful scent.
The dwarf successfully earned himself a drinking buddy. On such a happy occasion, so information would certainly slip off the tongue.
Although elves and dwarves have been neighbours for generations, they reside in the Forest of The Elves, while we reside in the Gorge of The North Wind, but the noble elves look down on us dwarves. If Im not making a bet with my folks this ti, I wont co to this mission. I dont want to be looked down by the noble elves, but I didnt expect hey, they recruited and gave such delicious wine. After I go back, we might beco best friends for a lifeti!
The only dwarf in the team was this Hammo. He took Jin Cheng in and bragged a few more rounds, then fell asleep drunk. Jin Cheng pondered his words carefully, raised his head and looked at Tang Cuo, who just ca out of the bedroom.
Have you found anything? He asked.
No. Tang Cuo shook his head: But from what he said, there are indeed a lot of shady things about this trip to the Secret Lake. If the Secret Lake is really so important and the issue hasnt been resolved after so long, why didnt the elves directly co to a powerful man like Roger Reeds to ask for help? On the contrary, they seem to simply accept whoever cos to this mission.
This is indeed a problem. Jin Cheng said.
The two imdiately left the dwarfs house, then knocked on the elves door for the sa reason. Elves didnt talk to other races easily. They were noble and proud, behaved gracefully and politely, but they always treated people with a hint of detachnt.
But wasnt not difficult for Jin Cheng. If necessary, he behaved more like an nobleman than any person on this continent
He ca from a mysterious kingdom isolated from the world and completely surrounded by golden sands, carrying real aristocratic blood of very ancient origins. He had a talent in arts and harboured the goal of becoming the most popular bard in Sicilit, one who sincerely admired the elves and intended to write a poem to praise them.
He possessed an elegant manner, appealing looks, a humourous but not frivolous tongue. All these strengths proved that he was qualified to be a friend of the elves.
Lancelot, we look forward to your song. Perhaps youve heard of it, we elves love music by nature. The God of Nature has given us a unique pair of ears, and it must be for us to listen to the most beautiful sounds in the world.
A bright light flashed in the eyes of the male elf that was talking, but he kept his movents cautious and only slightly nodded his head.
Jin Cheng replied to him with noble courtesy, calmly and without any reluctance. After saying goodbye to him, Jin Cheng visited a few other elves, but the responses he got were rather similar.
The elves held a pretty good attitude towards him, but they didnt seem to fully comprehend what happened in the Secret Lake.
After spending a long ti visiting different houses, Jin Cheng sat on the rock under the tree and took a rest. Tang Cuo quickly turned up from behind the tree and said: After you left, the two elves mumbled in their bedroom, complaining that the last guests were very rude and left without saying goodbye.
Jin Cheng stroked his chin: It seems that more than one wave of people have arrived in the Forest of The Elves, but the spread of the news is limited to only a certain circle. About the two elves saying that the guests left without saying hello, what do you think?
Tang Cuo: Theyre likely dead.
Jin Cheng: So its the elves who hide such information? Then they mightve hidden also the real situation at the Secret Lake, which is why most of the elves are kept entirely in the dark. And for people like us who co here for the mission reward, the real content of the mission might be
Tang Cuo: To get sent to death.
As his voice fell, Jin Cheng suddenly winked at him. Tang Cuo imdiately beca alard, the corner of his eye sweeping past the elf guards in the distance.
Just like what Celtic said, the guards were unnaturally serious and vigilant.
Jin Cheng wanted to ask so questions, but they had roughly figured out the situation, so there was no need to do anything extra. And this was only the outermost layer. The high-ranking elves or the royal family both werent here, so the truth mustnt be here.
The princess did ntion a word the Elves Royal Palace.
In front of us?
The two continued speaking casually. When the guards passed by, Jin Cheng even smiled and nodded at them. There was no other way; a nobleman had to always act confident and elegant.
The guards stopped and returned the courtesy, then the chief guard said: Well leave tomorrow morning. Please go back early. In a short while, my people will bring you supper. After drinking the fruit wine of our forest, youll sleep very well.
Just these few words totally shattered Jin Chengs intention to head for the Royal Palace to find more information. Delivering fruit wine to them was equivalent to checking whether they remained in the room. Celtic had been knocked out, so one of them must stay in the room.
After thinking, the two decided to return to the tree house for now. Tang Cuo stayed behind to deal with the elves while Jin Cheng went on the journey alone.
A short mont later, an elf indeed ca to deliver the fruit wine. Tang Cuo put Celtic into bed and used so equipnt to create the illusion that Jin Cheng was also asleep, successfully fooling the elf.
But until the moon reached the peak of the sky, Jin Cheng still hadnt co back.
He didnt trigger another side mission, did he? Tang Cuo thought.
It indeed happened exactly as he guessed.
With his great strength, Jin Cheng successfully bypassed all the guards on patrols and the outposts, triumphantly approaching the Royal Palace. But when he got closer, he discovered that a deep trench lay between the palace and the tree houses.
The trench had the shape of a ring, like a moat that surrounded the entire Royal Palace. Standing on the edge and looking at the opposite shore, the distance was actually a few hundred ters. Moreover, both sides of the moat were completely hard rocks, without any grass growing, while filling up the bottom was a dense mist that was constantly drifting upwards, which made the entire royal compound look like a kingdom on the clouds.
The Royal Palace carried a very different architectural style from the surrounding tree houses. The buildings were black, ancient yet grand, emanating a solemn air of majesty.
The only way to get to the Royal Palace was through four hanging bridges, but they were all heavily guarded.
Jin Cheng didnt believe that his hands were tied, so he walked along the edge for a while, trying to find another way in. But before long, he triggered a side mission.
As soon as the sound of Ding! ca, he was certain he didnt hear it wrongly. But nothing happened after the sound. Suspicious, he changed his position and trotted around the trigger point before hearing the sound once more.
Ding!
Congratulations to the player for triggering the side mission [Desperate McCaw]. Today is the seventh day after McCaw fell. During these seven days, he kneeled on the ground and sincerely prayed to the gods every single day. Will there be anyone who cos to save him?
Jin Cheng was standing on a protruding rock by the edge of the trench, where he would definitely fall if he took just one wrong step. But what the system ant was that: They wanted him to jump down.
He held up the small harp and felt like reciting a poem
My dear Cuo Cuo, Yong Ye City really wants you to beco a widow.
What was troubleso was that so elf guards instantly rushed over, and there was nothing to obstruct them along this trench.
As the clock ticked, Tang Cuo, who had to stay behind in the tree house, frowned. After waiting for so long and Jin Cheng still hadnt returned, Tang Cuo was convinced that he must have encountered sothing.
Tang Cuo didnt rashly go out to find him. Between Jin Cheng and him, one of them had to perform the mission of paying a visit to the Secret Lake. This was the most important thing.
So Tang Cuo waited and waited, until dawn broke the next day.
Not sleeping all night wasnt much of a problem for Tang Cuo now, not to ntion that he was simply sitting inside the room, which was considered a rest. It was just that Jin Chengs current situation remained unknown. Even if Tang Cuo had ample confidence in Jin Cheng, his expression wouldnt look too good.
Used to Theodores cold expression, Celtic wasnt suspicious at all. Rubbing his head, he mumbled about how he fell asleep last night.
At this ti, the day just barely ca and the morning light had slightly driven away the thick mist. After walking to the outside of the tree house and taking a deep breath, the energy from nature that prominently lingered in the air made everyone feel imnsely refreshed.
Celtic praised from the bottom of his heart: Forest of The Elves truly lives up to its na.
At this ti, two mbers of the elf guards ca under the tree house and nodded politely at him: Good day to you, my guests. The elders are already waiting in front, its ti to leave.
Celtic said: Okay, well prepare a little bit and will be there soon.
The guards imdiately left and to inform the others.
Realising now that Jin Cheng wasnt here, Celtic quicky asked: Wheres Lancelot?
The problem now is whether I should tell Celtic the truth.
Tang Cuo had actually considered this issue, so he only paused for a second and said casually: He noticed sothing strange last night and was sure that other guests had been here. The elves are hiding this from us. I split up with him to ask about the situation, but he hasnt co back yet.
Then what should we do? Celtic frowned imdiately, deep worries cast in his eyes: This is bad, we have to find him as soon as possible. The Forest of The Elves is too big, yet were unfamiliar with this place. Its too dangerous for Lancelot to be alone.
Tang Cuo shook his head: No, the team will set off right away, its too late now. Celtic, rember well, dont reveal the truth to the elves, you only have to tell them we only found out that Lancelot was missing this morning.
Celtic seed to figure sothing: You an well put the bla on the elves?
Tang Cuo: Yes, we absolutely cant let them find out what weve discovered.
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