We reached Noctwood under the cover of the reformed clouds without attracting any attention from the Ravenous Ravens. As we approached the shrouded village, Eliza foraging ahead to meet up with its residents, I noticed a short notification window.
-New quest issued. Raven Wing: Eliminate the Ravenous Ravens and their corrupted allies in Noctwood, and deny the dark elves their surveillance capabilities. Completion of this mission will grant the appropriate rewards. –
Hmm, interesting. I didn't think there would be a quest for something like this, but that was pretty convenient. I still had the ten ordinary spirit contracts I had yet to spend, and I couldn't wait to see what other rewards I would get. Well, I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatched. First, I should carry out the system issued mission to the best of my capability.
I didn't like the Ravenous Ravens, so it would be a pleasure to shoot them down. I watched them from afar, my enchanted lenses allowing me to track their figures through infrared or radar. Thermal plumes scattered across my sight, the holographic lines projected by the runes inscribed into my plastic lenses.
Damn, this looked more science fiction than magic, but whatever works.
They didn't appear to be approaching us, so we didn't have to worry much. Even if they found us, I was confident of shooting them all down, but the information that the system provided had put me on guard. The system had mentioned "corrupted allies" as well, which meant the Ravenous Ravens weren't alone. It was best to gather more information about the enemy before we committed to an offense against them.
Intelligence was vital. Knowledge was power. One of the most quoted passages from Sun Tzu's Art of War talked about knowing the enemy in order to secure a victory. Charging recklessly into them without knowing the full extent of their strength was stupid and could result in catastrophic consequences. I wasn't some protagonist from a cultivation web novel or manhua. I didn't have plot armor. I wasn't naïve enough to think that everything would work out for me just because I had an author watching over me, bending the rules of the world backward to fit me, and I could somehow depend on a deus ex machina to pull me out of the fire every single time.
Huh? What was I talking about? Well, you know how in almost every cultivation story where the reckless protagonist boldly runs up to the home of the sect/clan/family who had hurt his friends or family or loved ones, and started attacking them right from the front gate? And then pulls a shocked Pikachu face when he encounters some elder who's like several cultivation realms higher than him, and gets his ass kicked? But no worries! Plot armor activates and he escapes with his life. However, he never learns his lesson and pulls the same shit the next arc against an enemy so similar they might as well be clones of the previous sect/clan/family. Rinse, repeat.
"You're wasting too much time whining about cultivation stories instead of, you know, doing the mission." Myria rolled her eyes and smacked me on the back of my head. "Chill, dear. I know you have a vendetta against all the trashy, awfully written cultivation web novels and manhuas floating all around the Internet, but this isn't the time or place to complain about them."
"Well, it's not like we have anything to do since we're just avoiding the Ravenous Ravens on our way to the elvish enclave here," I protested, rubbing my head. "Or would you prefer that I walk in silence?"
"Actually, yes."
"Sis Myria has a point," Silvia said cynically. Ouch. At least Sylvie diplomatically chose to say nothing. Only Morten looked confused.
"Quite frankly, I have no idea what you were talking about. I'm sorry. I don't read…uh, whatever you call it? Cultivation stories?"
"What, you read The Witcher instead?"
"That's Polish, not Norwegian. And no, before you ask, I didn't read Norwegian Wood either. That's by a Japanese author. And the novel has nothing to do with Norway."
"I know, I've read some of Murakami Haruki's works. Honestly, despite what the voices beyond the fourth dimension claim, I prefer Japanese stories to Chinese ones. I don't understand the whole 'beta' nonsense. Showing mercy and being the greater person is much more impressive than being an edgy, juvenile murder hobo who just flips out over something as trivial as being insulted. Beating someone up and bullying others doesn't make you an 'alpha' or whatever. It just demonstrates how childish you are."
"Agreed. Murder is illegal anyway."
"Yeah. Now I'm not saying be a pacifist and don't fight back. Of course, you have to defend yourself. If you're insulted, insult them back. if they hit you, strike back. But you don't have to go to the extreme and slaughter everyone who 'offends' you and their entire families, clans and sects. And then spew this nonsensical 'if I don't kill them now, they will take revenge and try to kill me later or threaten my loved ones' to justify a deliberate act of murder. Admittedly, most antagonists are poorly written cardboard cutouts who exist solely for the protagonist to kill and step on to show off his power, but realistically speaking, nobody will go to such extremes just because they were 'offended' or something."
"Wait till you have Indonesian readers who claim that gangs kill each other over the most trivial things," Morten muttered.
"Yeah, but such things don't really happen in Hua Xia or the majority of the rest of the civilized world. In the first place, the stories aren't even set in Indonesia."
While Morten and I discussed the finer points of morality, I noticed that Sigmund was completely ignoring our conversation. His attention was focused elsewhere, and his guard was always up. I suppose he was disinterested in what I had to say, and I doubted he spent his free time reading the nonsense I did. Same went with Wesley and his party, though I suspected the dark-skinned swordsman read superhero comics. Particularly one concerning a very specific vampire hunter who was half vampire and half human.
"It's safe!"
Eliza returned from forging ahead and waved to us. That was another reason why we were idly strolling forward, feeling bored to the point where I had the luxury to rant. We were actually waiting for her. She was leading a delegation of pale, weary elves dressed in black fur coats. A very different attire from most of the other elves I had seen in the enclaves I had visited.
It was only natural. This high up, the enclave was subject to cold weather. Myria and I were used to it, with her living almost her whole life in the crushing depths of Atlantis and me learning water and ice techniques. But Sylvie and Silvia were now wearing thick coats to protect themselves from the weather. Morten too had out on a jacket, though for some reason Sigmund was completely unaffected by the low temperatures. I guess his armor kept him warm.
Wesley and his party were already dressed in thick clothing, such as leather jackets or long robes, so they didn't need additional layers. Eliza was shivering, but she accepted a black fur coat from one of her fellow elves, and draped it around herself.
For some reason, the color of their clothing and their somber mood reminded me of a funeral procession. The elves here looked gaunt as well, though nowhere as haggard as the dark elves.
"Are you the humans who have volunteered to help us with the evils plaguing Yggdrasil right now?" the lead elf asked softly, his head lowered politely. He had none of the arrogance that so many of his brethren emanated, and was instead exhausted. Probably from constant battles against the Ravenous Ravens that assailed them daily.
"That's right," I said when I noticed that Eliza didn't answer. She must have already told them, so the question was more of a formality.
"I thank you all for coming to our aid." The elf chief bowed deeply this time with his eyes closed. He looked as if he was about to keel over.
"Um, are you all right?"
"To be honest? No." He took a deep breath and straightened himself, almost falling over. Thankfully, one of the other elves caught him before he sank to the ground, but she looked just as tired as he did. "They keep us up at night."
"They?" Morten repeated, bewildered.
"The enemy," Myria told him brusquely. "The Ravenous Ravens and other spirit beasts that haunt this enclave. Am I right?"
"You are," the elf replied with a tense smile. He turned around and beckoned for us to follow him. "Come. It is almost night, and it will be dangerous for us to stay out here in the dark. The creatures that attack us have a tremendous advantage in the absence of light, while we flounder about blindly in futile attempts at counterattacks. Let us ensconce ourselves behind secure and solid walls before we converse at greater length."
We followed the elves, who had picked up the pace and were almost hurrying toward their homes. like many of the enclaves, the elves of Noctwood had also sculpted huts and houses out of wood, growing them out of trees or carving them into thick trunks. However, unlike the lively and vibrant homes in the other enclaves, the wooden structures in Noctwood seemed withered somehow, sharing the weariness of their inhabitants. There was a dull sheen to the wooden surfaces and walls, and even the leaves of the trees hanging over them were a dark, grimy green, as opposed to the verdant emerald that flourished in the other branches.
No wonder this place was called Noctwood.
We gathered around a massive round table and sat in the comfortable stools that the elves provided for us. The elf chief sat at the head of the table and hung his head wearily, resting his chin on his steepled fingers.
"You are fast," he finally said once all of us had settled down. "We only sent the request out this morning, and you're already here. I heard that you had to fight off a raiding party from the dark elves earlier today too…was it Viridian?"
"Yeah," Eliza confirmed. "But rest assured, we drove the dark elves back. Viridian Village is safe. And we intend to protect Noctwood Village as well."
"We appreciate it, of course," the elf chief said with a weary smile. "And I don't mean to sound ungrateful, especially in light of your success against the dark elves in Viridian, but I do not believe the battle will be as easy here in Noctwood."
"As long as Lelith Maledictx doesn't show up, I doubt that," Sigmund said, crossing his arms. I was surprised to hear him being so blunt.
"Ah, of course. That traitor." The elf chief's vicious hiss took me by surprise. I could hear the genuine venom in his voice. "A blight upon our elvish race, that wench is. I wish you slew her, but I am certain she is as cunning and slippery as ever."
"We came close," Sigmund acknowledged, glancing at me with a nod. "But the moment her life was in danger, she fled."
"Bah! I am not surprised. She is as cowardly as she is scheming. But not taking anything away from your victory in Viridian, you will be facing a far deadlier enemy here. They might lack the cunning and intelligence of the treacherous Lelith Maledictx, but they have been gathering in great strength here. I believe that they intend to turn Noctwood into one of their strongholds, and with good reason. The dense shadowy mana here is compatible with whatever corruptive ritual they plan to carry out. Break them here, and you will be able to disrupt whatever it is that they are plotting."
With a wave of his hand, the elf chief conjured a glowing map that unfurled intangibly across the huge wooden round table. He pointed toward a cluster deep within Noctwood Forest.
"As such, they have stationed most of their military might here, to protect whatever assets they have here. I suspect they are siphoning the spectral mana that Noctwood is notorious for and channeling it toward their infernal ritual to further corrupt the World Tree. If we can expel them from here, it will be a catastrophic setback for their efforts, and we can stop whatever it is they intend to do to Yggdrasil."
"But you said it will be a difficult task," Wesley said with a frown, still wearing his sunglasses despite being indoors.
"Correct. they have thousands of spirit beasts and demonic monsters garrisoned here. you have already seen the Ravenous Ravens, right?" He glanced at Eliza, who nodded. Apparently, she had already told him about what we had witnessed on our way here. "They are not the only enemies. There are hordes of Vampire Bats and their evolved forms, Goliath Bats. There is even their final evolved form, the Crow Bat, leading them."
Ordinary ranked Vampire Bats weren't much of a threat individually, but their sheer numbers made them a massive danger. In addition, the faster and deadlier Goliath Bats had been added to the mix, their huge fangs allowing to latch onto their victims and swallow large quantities of blood in seconds, turning them into shriveled corpses. The Crow Bat was even larger than the Goliath Bats, with a second pair of wings, and was known for its speed and paralyzing venom.
"And that's just the air. On the ground, they have thousands of Kobold Warriors that I mentioned earlier, along with Lycanthrope Lords acting as company commanders. And ruling over all of them is an Earth ranked Kobold King."
We all automatically turned to Sigmund, who nodded silently.
"I'll take on the Kobold King," he assured us. I felt some weight lift off my chest and I grinned confidently.
"We'll take on the Kobolds, Ravens and Bats then."
"You're pretty much a one-man army," Morten said with a laugh. "Or rather, you can summon an entire army to help you."
"There are also reports of dark elves riding on Dire Wolves," the elf chief continued. "And it seems that they have corrupted some of the denizens in the forest to help them. Shrieking Banshees have also been spotted rallying to them in large numbers."
"Shrieking Banshees?" Myria asked.
"Ghost type spirit beasts," Sylvie explained to her before I could. "Their signature attack is their voice…a shriek, in other words. They excel in sonic assaults."
"They are nowhere as powerful as Black Bolt," I assured them. Everyone stared at me blankly, except for Morten and Wesley.
"I understood that reference," Morten said, snapping his fingers eagerly.
"If that Inhuman King is here, he'll probably blow up the entire World Tree with a single scream," Wesley muttered. "We should thank the gods he isn't among the enemy."
This time, it was my turn to gape at him. "Wait, isn't he a fictional character from a comic universe? He's not real, right?"
Wesley simply smiled at me, and I swore I could almost see a pair of fangs protruding from underneath his upper lip.
"Ahem." the elf chief cleared his throat. "That is the enemy disposition. I've affirmed it from the many scouting parties I've sent into the forest, and I can assure you that the intel is reliable."
"Nobody is doubting your information, sir," Eliza said. She glanced at us. "With all due respect, I don't think we can fight all those enemies, even with Sir Sigmund or Song Jun Wen's army of spirit beasts backing us up. I believe you only have a few hundred spirit beasts at most, and most of them are ordinary ranked."
"Yeah…" I scratched my head, not bothering to deny it. It was useless to deceive my allies, and I trusted Eliza and the elves. Despite their arrogance, they were honorable.
"I have good news on that front." The elf chief raised a hand and smiled. This time, his expression was genuine. "I've received messages from all of the parties who had come to help. They all plan to muster here by tomorrow evening, and once everyone is here, I believe we can gather all of our strength and strike at the enemy together."