Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Chapter 66: Chapter 66 The Wise Lord Black Stone

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This was a ruin buried with vines and wild grass.

A few goblins were gathered around a bonfire, roasting a plump mountain rabbit.

Suddenly, a shadow enveloped them…

Before the goblins could react, a thick, large hand lifted the leader who was roasting the rabbit like picking up a chick.

The remaining goblins turned their heads and were scared out of their wits, hurriedly turning around to kneel on the ground, trembling…

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In front of them stood a ferocious team of Half-Beasts, led by none other than Black Iron Upper Peak’s Black Stone.

Black Stone looked at the trembling goblin he had lifted, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.

He casually threw it to the ground and said,

“Where’s your leader?”

The goblin fell to the ground but didn’t get angry.

It quickly scrambled up, grinning fawningly at Black Stone while pointing in a direction, making “ah ah ah” gestures.

Seeing its ridiculous expression, Black Stone snorted coldly and casually took the rabbit meat from the bonfire, taking a bite.

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However, he soon frowned, spitting out the rabbit meat as if dissatisfied with the goblins’ culinary skills.

Seeing his actions, the goblin was filled with dread, kowtowing and choking with anxiety.

Black Stone said nothing more and kicked the goblin,

“Lead the way.”

His voice brooked no refusal.

…

Under the goblins’ lead, the Half-Beasts arrived at a collapsed building in the ruins.

The goblins walked a few steps ahead, swiftly uncovering a patch of straw to reveal a large hole on the side of the building.

They then skillfully crawled inside.

The Half-Beasts also bent down and followed the goblins into the building.

Inside were collapsed ruins and discarded trash, emitting an unpleasant odor, while a winding path was left in the middle.

Led by the goblins, the Half-Beasts continued deeper inside.

As they walked further, the view gradually broadened, and eventually, they found themselves in a spacious cave after a series of turns.

This was a hidden base of the Rock Cave Tribe in the Elf Forest, also a transit point for hunting elves.

In the center of the cave, a bonfire was burning, around which three Half-Beasts were lazily lying, sleeping soundly.

A few goblins were beside them, using large leaves to fan them continuously.

Aside from them, deeper in the cave was a man-made stone prison.

Through the iron bars, a few pairs of eyes filled with fear and despair could be vaguely seen inside.

Black Stone first glanced at the stone prison, looking surprised, then turned his gaze to the three Half-Beasts.

Seeing the Half-Beasts sleeping soundly, his already fierce face looked even uglier.

He snorted coldly and walked straight over, giving each one a kick.

“Which bastard dares to disturb your Half-Beast grandpa’s sweet dreams!”

The three Half-Beasts awoke with a start, cursing and drawing their weapons in anger.

However, when they saw who it was, their faces changed immediately, shrinking back fearfully.

“Uh… Lord Black Stone, why… why have you come to the base?”

They laughed awkwardly, hurriedly hiding their Wolf Fang Clubs and broadswords behind them, fawning as they spoke.

“Hmph, three useless fools with not a hint of vigilance!”

Black Stone cursed in frustration, then said in a deep voice,

“Lord Jushan sent me to investigate some matters. I have questions for you.”

The three Half-Beasts exchanged glances, their expressions gradually becoming serious,

“You are here to investigate the disappearance of the Half-Beast Hunting Team?”

Black Stone gave them a look, nodding,

“That is one of my purposes, but first, I need to ask you, has there been any unusual activity in the Elf Forest recently? Especially… near the Feilengcui Ruins.”

Upon hearing Black Stone’s words, the three Half-Beasts were slightly stunned. They looked at each other, then shook their heads,

“This… it seems… there’s nothing particularly unusual.”

Black Stone’s expression darkened,

“You better think again… Don’t tell me you’ve been sleeping in the cave this whole time.”

As he spoke, the pressure of his Black Iron Upper rank began to emanate, suffocating the three Black Iron Lower Half-Beasts.

Under the pressure of a higher rank, the three nearly fell to their knees simultaneously, their faces changing dramatically as large beads of sweat dripped down.

Suddenly, one of the Half-Beasts raised his head, shivering as he shouted,

“Lord Black Stone, I… I remember, I remember! I remember something unusual recently!”

Hearing his words, Black Stone gradually withdrew his intimidation,

“Speak.”

The Half-Beast kneeling on the ground gasped in relief, then said shakily,

“Recently… there have been more low-level demon beasts nearby, and many of them used to only appear on the Feilengcui side. It seems they are migrating collectively…”

“Hmm? Demon beasts migrating?”

Black Stone’s eyes glinted sharply.

In the Elf Forest, the territorial awareness of demon beasts was quite strong. Under normal circumstances, such migration did not occur.

And when migration did happen, there were generally two situations.

One was that they found a better living area and actively relocated.

And the other was that they sensed some threat, being forced to migrate…

The Elf Forest was rich in resources, practically a paradise for demon beasts, so the first situation was rare.

Not to mention that the surrounding area of the Rock Cave Tribe’s base was already barren…

So the first scenario could be quickly eliminated.

Then… the result was self-evident.

“They are avoiding something… Something is triggering their sense of threat, forcing them to migrate collectively. And the source… is likely in Feilengcui!”

Black Stone’s eyes flashed.

If he guessed correctly, this was probably the key to what the Giant Mountain Priest wanted him to investigate.

Thinking it over, he asked again,

“Are there any strong demon beasts among them?”

The Half-Beast who answered shook his head,

“No, no… they’re all very weak demon beasts, the highest barely reaching the initial Black Iron Lower level, so we didn’t pay much attention before.”

Weak demon beasts?

Black Stone’s eyes flashed again.

This indicated that the threat wasn’t very strong, at least the high-level demon beasts didn’t sense any danger…

For a moment, Black Stone recalled the peculiar elf mentioned in the oracle by the Giant Mountain Priest before his departure.

“The elf battling goblins…”

He mulled over the thought.

Could it be… that this was the strange elves, mentioned by Lord Jushan, causing trouble?

And the Death God’s Favored mentioned by the priest…

“Right! Right! I remembered two more things!”

During Black Stone’s contemplation, another Half-Beast raised his hand.

Black Stone looked at him,

“Speak.”

The Half-Beast took a deep breath and said,

“About a month ago… dozens of goblins fled into the base, but most of them seemed to have been frightened by something, their spirits extremely unstable…”

“Additionally, the last destination of Lord Rock… was the core region of the Elf Forest, where Feilengcui is located…”

At these words, Black Stone’s face darkened,

“Why didn’t you say this sooner!”

The Half-Beast quivered slightly, cautiously saying,

“Well… goblins are always timid, and we couldn’t understand their shrieks, so we didn’t pay attention… As for Lord Rock… I was nervous just now… and forgot…”

“Hmph, useless!”

Black Stone cursed.

He didn’t look at the three Half-Beasts again but instead silently pieced together the information he gathered in his mind.

Vaguely, he formed a certain guess,

“A group of low-level elves has returned to the Elf Forest. They seem to have been blessed by the Death God, driving out the goblins of Feilengcui and the nearby demon beasts, likely plotting something in Feilengcui…”

“There’s a high possibility that the Death God’s Favored is involved, and Rock’s Half-Beast Hunting Team’s disappearance is likely due to discovering their secret…”

“The Death God’s Favored’s power should be quite strong… Otherwise, Rock and his team wouldn’t have encountered mishaps. Even with the holy artifact given by the priest, I might not be able to counter it.”

“Rashly entering Feilengcui could be very dangerous…”

“Heh, it seems that group with long ears isn’t as loyal as the legends say, being involved with the Death God…”

A hint of ridicule flashed across Black Stone’s face.

With a glint in his eyes, he asked again,

“Are demon beasts still fleeing from the area?”

“Yes… yes…”

The responding Half-Beast said tremblingly.

Black Stone fell into contemplation once more.

Demon beasts were still being driven away, indicating those elves should still be active around Feilengcui.

It meant… he should have a chance to capture someone around Feilengcui!

This should be a relatively safe approach!

Thinking this, Black Stone issued a command,

“Summon a group of goblins and come with me to investigate the situation around Feilengcui.”

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