Ayla was a bit worried about her mental state.
But then she thought about it and realized she wasn’t much better herself.
In the end, she just mentioned one thing.
“Next time, it’s best to make some noise before you hug someone. Don’t speak up only after you’re already holding on.”
Even if nothing happened, it still scared her half to death.
The Dragon Hawk soared into the sky, gliding toward the Northern Forest.
***
Three Human girls walked forward, with more than a dozen young Elves following closely behind.
On their way to find Elder Trinia, they first encountered another, much older Elder.
Her aged face showed her years at a glance; in Human terms, calling her ancient would be no exaggeration.
“This is Elder Laiteni, the eldest Elder of the Elves.”
Tereka said proudly.
“She’s lived through many eras, including all sorts of major events a thousand years ago.”
What she meant was this Elder is highly respected, so hurry up and pay your respects.
But the girls didn’t quite understand what she meant.
Listening to her, it sounded like the older you were, the more you should be proud.
Is it like that saying, ‘An old person at home is like a treasure’?
If that’s what she meant, then maybe it was true.
“Elder Laiteni, hello.”
Celes said politely.
The old Elder looked at them kindly.
“Guests from the Human Race, you are welcome too… Are you planning to find Trinia?”
“That’s right, but before that, I’d like to ask you a few things.”
Celes asked.
“About the Holy Spring Seal a thousand years ago, what do you know? With more information, we can provide better help.”
She couldn’t let Ayla do all the work alone; she had to gather information too.
Laiteni showed a troubled expression.
“This… I’m sorry. I promised the final Survivor to remain silent about that incident.”
“Even now, facing a crisis?”
“Yes.”
Her attitude was firm.
The girls could only bid farewell and continue forward.
Vina hurried a few steps, jogging to Celes’ side.
“How strange, by his age, he should be over twelve hundred years old. Doesn’t that make him a Survivor too?”
How could it be ‘the final Survivor’?
Or is it some kind of specific term?
Who is this so-called final Survivor?
“I don’t know.”
Celes replied, not because she didn’t want to discuss it further, but because she saw Elder Trinia ahead.
“You’re finally here. There’s a mission today to assign… Well, it should be given to them, but if you’re going to watch over them, you might as well come along.”
Trinia looked at everyone.
“Why are there two people missing?”
“Elder Isadora needed to speak with my companion.”
Celes said.
She only mentioned Ayla’s whereabouts; as for where Ling went, they had no idea.
Free people should be free.
“Isadora.”
Trinia frowned, her expression unhappy.
“I thought she was like me, willing to pay any price for the future of the tribe. I didn’t expect her to become weak so suddenly.”
She talked behind her companion’s back, but only said a word before moving on to assign tasks.
Celes listened for a while.
The general idea was that there was a group of Elves whose mental state was extremely ‘lying flat’—numb, lethargic, and indifferent, their lives aimless and in a stage of eating, sleeping, and waiting for death.
Trinia wanted them to go to these Elven gathering places and distribute Flyers, stir up some excitement, and boost morale—not expecting to recruit many people, but at least to create a lively atmosphere and prevent the rest of the Elves from losing spirit.
Having finally received an ‘important’ mission at home, Tereka and the young Elves were excited, grabbing Flyers and Devices and rushing off.
Celes, Vina, and Leah quickly followed.
After walking for about half an hour, the Lying Flat Gathering Place appeared.
Life here was a bit rougher than elsewhere, mainly because the treehouses weren’t as well maintained, but as a nature-dependent race, food and shelter were never truly lacking.
“Come and take a look!”
Tereka held a loudspeaker in one hand and Flyers in the other, shouting as she walked.
“The Demon Race has launched a massive invasion on the northern border! The survival of our race hangs on this battle! The rise and fall of the Forest is the responsibility of every spirit! Stop living aimlessly—Elves, unite!”
“Unite! Fight!”
“Fight the Demon Race to the last drop of blood!”
Her voice was full of passion, but nobody paid attention.
A few people glanced over indifferently.
These Elves had messy, unkempt hair, and their figures weren’t exactly ideal.
There were exceptions, though.
For example, Celes saw a male Elf nearby searching for something.
He couldn’t be called handsome, but at least he wasn’t skinny or bloated, and his hair had been trimmed—albeit carelessly.
“How did you end up like this?”
She asked.
The male Elf didn’t even look at her, but spoke.
“I don’t believe in love anymore. Life has lost its meaning.”
“Why?”
“It was over a hundred years ago. An older sister found me. She was gentle, wise, and held a high status. I thought I’d found love and even had a child with her.”
“But after the child was born, she told me there was no love—it was all a lie. She only used me to have a child. She said she’d tried with many before me, but only I succeeded in the end…”
As the male Elf spoke, his voice broke, his expression pained, and his green hair seemed even more vibrant.
“I never even saw my child’s face. How could she be so cruel… so heartless…”
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t tell strangers everything!”
Tereka ran over and stuffed a stack of Flyers into his hands.
“You’re eight or nine hundred years old, not a child of a hundred! Don’t let someone talk a few words out of you and spill everything!”
Not far away, Silitya sneezed, sensing someone was talking behind her back.
Tereka had a strong sense of tribal pride.
Family shame shouldn’t be spread outside.
Don’t tell evil Humans about this—they’d only laugh at you.
Back in the group, Vina tugged at Celes’ sleeve, puzzled.
“This guy is eight or nine hundred years old. Even a hundred years ago, he wasn’t that young. The person he calls ‘big sister’… can she really be called that?”
At that age, even among the long-lived Elves, she’d be considered the older generation.
Celes shook her head, meaning it wasn’t her place to comment on others’ private affairs.
“Let’s help hand out the Flyers.”
She said.
The sooner they finished, the sooner they could go home.
***
In the Northern Forest, war burned fiercely.
After the initial days of skirmishes, the casualty ratio stabilized at around 1:5, with the Demon Race on the losing end.
This ratio was hard to accept, so they stopped launching reckless, scattered attacks and instead gathered together, establishing camps in occupied zones and preparing for large-scale operations.
Ayla rode her Dragon Hawk through the sky, searching carefully for the Bloodslaughter King.
This mission wasn’t going well—not only had she not found the target, but the girl behind her kept asking her deadly questions.
“Ayla, when did you and Miss Leah start hugging naked?”