Chapter 123: Investigation

To be fair, when she heard the words “Demon Race invasion,” Ella’s left brain smacked her right brain.

The Demon King is conducting a diplomatic visit to the Elf, and the Demon Race invades?

Are you treating the Demon King like a plush ball or something?

Isadora dared not delay and immediately led the girls back to the treehouse.

The Forest is vast and sparsely populated.

It’s best to discuss with others first before arranging things like defense.

While walking, Celes asked anxiously, “If we give up the sealed land, will the Demon Race accidentally let Xisha out early?”

“No, her awakening time is a powerful fixed value. Whether delayed or advanced, neither we nor the Demon Race can change it.”

It was unfortunate news, but also somewhat reassuring.

Ella ignored the voice in her head saying, “You can advance this time, you know, just one word is enough.”

The military situation was urgent.

Elf Scouts rode deer ahead to notify others.

The girls followed Isadora, but it still took nearly an hour to return.

When they arrived near the treehouse, they found many more people present.

Besides the familiar faces of the envoy group and that stern-looking Elder, there were many others as well.

In the end, five Elders and various renowned adult Elves gathered here.

Talented youths like those in the envoy group stood on the outermost edge.

The girls stood on the outskirts too.

Being farther away and with so many people present, it was impossible to hear what the Elders in the center were discussing.

Ella didn’t use her abilities to eavesdrop—it wasn’t necessary.

“Why did the Demon Race suddenly launch an attack? Why didn’t our first line of defense send an alert?”

“Because of a shift change during duty. They just happened to catch that time slot.”

“Who scheduled the shifts? How could such a huge mistake happen?”

Several Elders all looked at Trinia.

At that moment, another person spoke up, “These days, arranging exchanges with the Human Race affected the scheduling.”

Unexpectedly, everyone still looked at Trinia after those words, because she was the one who first proposed exchanging with the Human Race.

Even Isadora only seconded the motion.

“Rather than that, let’s discuss how to respond.”

Facing the gazes of the Elders, Trinia said calmly, “I propose mobilizing the entire tribe immediately to participate in this life-and-death battle.”

An aged male Elf Elder said, “But we still don’t understand the purpose or scale of this invasion, nor what the Demon Race intends.”

“That’s right. And we also have to face the Sacred Spring matter half a month from now.”

“I think we should take a longer-term view.”

Trinia chuckled lightly.

“Sacred Spring? Have we prepared for it? What preparations? We’re doing nothing but waiting for that day to arrive.”

“Don’t say that. You proposed seeking help from the Human Race, and we’ve already brought people in.”

“Yes, and then?”

“Enough. The situation is urgent!”

The arguments went back and forth, but finally, both sides compromised and raised the state of war readiness to a medium level.

A low level meant doing nothing and waiting for further developments.

The highest level was total mobilization—everyone dropping what they were doing and joining the war.

Medium level meant something in between—most people stop and wait for orders, ready to join the battle at any time, while an elite squad is dispatched to gather intelligence.

This elite team was made up of the Ranger Team, skilled at moving through the Forest, but the talented young Elves from the envoy group weren’t included.

“Elders, we are ready to contribute our strength to protect the Forest!”

Tereka declared.

“Please let us go!”

Usually, she would have given up, but after being slighted by Ella and the others these past few days, she was eager to prove herself.

Trinia was about to speak when Isadora said sternly, “No. This isn’t something you can handle now. If you make a mistake, you won’t just lose your life—you’ll endanger your well-trained companions!”

It was the first time Tereka saw Isadora being even stricter than Trinia.

She was so startled she couldn’t speak.

“Let us go with them, then,”

A girl’s sweet, gentle voice came from the side.

“We often deal with the Demon Race and are good at protecting ourselves.”

“But you can’t keep up with the Rangers.”

“No problem.”

Ella bowed slightly.

“We’re a flexible, mobile squad ourselves. We can act independently and share any information we find.”

The Elders exchanged glances.

Mainly, they worried whether these girls might collude with the Demon Race, but after thinking about the events at the Royal Capital of Humanity—how the girls had driven away the Demon King and killed a tribe leader—they realized the enmity on both sides was immense.

Having thought it through, the Elders agreed to her request.

Since they weren’t skilled at riding yet, the Hero Squad wasn’t assigned any Dilu, only given a map of the Northern Forest.

The defense line there had been breached by the Demon Race and was in a semi-collapsed state.

On the road to the North, Vina couldn’t help but say, “Why do I feel like the Demon Race is always haunting us? No matter where we go, they’re there.”

Looking at the Hero Squad’s actions since their debut, the first two times aside, last time they went to Harbor City, climbed the mountain to seek help from an Independent Demon Army, and now during a friendly exchange with the Elves, the Demon Race invades again.

Leah was slightly surprised.

“Now that you mention it, it’s true.”

“Maybe after the Demon King fell, things got messy inside the Demon Race, so they’re everywhere.”

“By the way, what does this symbol on the map mean?”

Ella steered the conversation away.

The girls gathered around the map, discussing for a long time.

Most of the symbols were unrecognizable, so they finally chose a relatively safe target—a hilltop without thickets.

“It’s about two thousand meters from here,”

Celes gripped her sword hilt with one hand.

“We might encounter the Demon Race on the way, so be careful.”

“Okay~”

On the way to the high ground, Ella felt conflicted, her mind replaying past scenes.

“Demon King, why not attack the Middle Great Forest? There are only tens of thousands of Elves, with weak reproductive abilities. If we fight a war of attrition, we’ll win for sure.”

“There’s no need. Forcing a fight with the Elves does us more harm than good. First, we can’t effectively develop the Middle Great Forest, and if we take over an area but can’t use it well, we can only push forward stubbornly. The cost is too great.”

“But they’re Elves—one of the oldest intelligent races on the continent. Defeating them would make the Demon Race famous.”

“It’s meaningless. Fame only brings disaster. Enough. My mind is made up. The current focus is the Human Kingdom.”

“Aio, you’ll regret this!”

“Insolent. I am the Demon King!”

***

“There’s movement up ahead!”

A girl’s voice pulled Ella from her thoughts.

She looked in the direction indicated, and sure enough, a few figures were approaching.