Winter had arrived. The cold wind howled ferociously as large snowflakes floated through the air like goose down, causing even the long-time residents of the Dark Forest, the forest trolls, to shiver and feel frostbitten. It was a good thing that Han Shuo had brought enough food and thick clothing for this visit, otherwise this cruel winter would have been a disaster for the forest trolls.
Over the next few days, Han Shuo and the forest trolls ventured deeper into the Dark Forest. This time, they didn't go straight into the depths to the south. From the beginning, they headed west.
Over the past few days, Han Shuo had also had the forest trolls construct a crude carriage for him, and he silently practised the 'Art of the Demonic Ninth Heaven'. This art involved infusing magical yuan into the meridians of the hands and legs, and then circulating the magical yuan according to a specific circulation route before being able to fly through the air.
After experiencing the basic training of the Solid Realm, the Open Passages, and the Moulded Spirit Realm, now that he'd reached the True Demon Realm, Han Shuo's speed in practising the Ninth Heaven Demonic Art was much faster than when he'd initially trained in the Glacial Mystic Spellfire. Since the meridians had already been opened and strengthened, Han Shuo didn't feel the slightest hindrance as he circulated his magical yuan according to the 'Ninth Heaven Demonic Art
Over the past few days, Han Shuo had stopped staying in the carriage. He would come up with random excuses and secretly try to fly through the air using the 'Ninth Heaven Demonic Art. Once he understood how to use it, he still needed a bit of practice and mastery of its tricks in order to truly fly. Han Shuo tried many times and could only hover. Since he still hadn't mastered the control of the direction, he fell from great heights several times.
On that day, the blizzard stopped its devastation of the land. The forest trolls also stopped in front of a mountain valley. Han Shuo was in the back, still trying to quickly master the 'Ninth Heaven Demonic Art When he noticed that the forest trolls had suddenly stopped, he immediately stopped practising and quickly rushed from the back to the front.
"Liaison, the mountain valley ahead should be where the elves live. Two of our children saw a large number of elves appear near this area a long time ago." As Han Shuo walked over to the old priest, he pointed to the snow covered mountain valley and respectfully explained to Han Shuo.
He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, gazing into the distance. It was a pity that the trees and the ground were all covered by the accumulated snow, so Han Shuo could not really make out anything in the distance.
A series of mysterious incantations chanted softly from Han Shuo's mouth as an oily green ring of light flew out in front of him, heading for the snow-covered mountain valley.
"Life Reconnaissance" was a journeyman magic of the Necromancy Major, and something that Han Shuo had only recently begun to grasp. "Life Reconnaissance" had no use in attacking, it was, as its name suggested, a spell that searched for life. It was useful in unfamiliar environments and unknown surroundings.
Han Shuo narrowed his eyes to sense things as soon as this magic was used. He didn't sense any traces of life wherever the Life Spy spell had flown. As the magic circled the mountain valley, it vanished without a trace due to a lack of mental power.
"There are no signs of life in the mountain valley. But we can still have a look. If the elves live here, they must have left signs on the trees. It would be best if we could discover the elves' homes here." Han Shou thought for a moment and instructed the old priest.
Han Shuo then took the lead with the forest troll warriors, while the hunters and priests brought up the rear. They moved slowly and cautiously into the depths of the mountain valley. As their feet creaked through the packed snow, the forest troll warriors waved their weapons in their hands, knocking the snow from the tops of the trees and kicking vigorously at the snow that had accumulated on the ground, trying to see if there were any clues.
A young forest troll let out a cry of surprise. Han Shuo's ears caught the exclamation as his body flashed towards the location, but when he stood at the source of the sound, he discovered that the forest troll who'd screamed had already vanished without a trace.
With a furrowed brow, Han Shuo listened to the sounds of disturbance all around him, and then circled the accumulated snow a few times. Finally, he stood on the messy snowy ground and suddenly stomped down hard.
Han Shou's body suddenly fell with a thud, and he landed in a pitch-black cave in the space of a breath. The young forest troll's terrified scream could still be heard from a nearby corner. It was quite deafening in the pitch black darkness of the hole.
Han Shuo's body had now adjusted to the darkness as his eyes rolled around to discover that the cave he was in continued all the way to somewhere underground. Looking carefully, he discovered that the entrance to this cave was quite large. The floor leading down from the entrance was a bit untidy, with many footprints.
Could it be that the elves who worshipped the goodness of nature and loved the forest all lived underground? Han Shuo was a bit puzzled. He activated the 'Demonic Ninth Heaven Art' after looking around in confusion for a while. His body slowly floated upwards and he punched through the ground where he'd landed, destroying the snow cover above him.
The forest troll that had accidentally fallen down had only slowly gotten used to the darkness after flapping around a bit in surprise. He felt his way around and slowly climbed out.
A strange whistling sound suddenly came from the depths of the ground. Han Shuo gasped in surprise as he once again released the Life Spying Magic and aimed it at the source of the sounds coming from the depths.
As the Life Spying Magic was released, Han Shuo discovered immense traces of life and gave a start of fear. He rushed out of the cave, throwing his head back and whistling sharply.
When the old priest heard Han Shuo's cry, he came searching for Han Shuo from far away. The forest troll who'd fallen down had also crawled out at this time. The forest troll warriors who were watching the situation around them all rushed over with their weapons, shoveling the snow away from the cave and revealing a deep cave that could hold three or four people walking side by side.
Several arrows whistled as they were shot from the mouth of the cave, frightening the forest trolls who had poked their heads out to see what was going on. The old priest's face grew angry and he was about to give the order to attack the creatures in the cave, but Han Shuo held out a hand and stopped him.
The elves loved nature very much and of course would not live in such a dark and gloomy place. Han Shuo understood this, and that was why he hadn't let the forest trolls make a move right away.
Several figures shot out of the mouth of the cave with a whoosh. Their sharp ears, handsome and beautiful features were the unique trademarks of the elves, but these elves had black or dark purple coloured skin and white hair, which made them look even more different.
"It's the dark elves!" The old priest exclaimed as soon as he saw these strange elves appear.
Han Shuo finally reacted to the old priest's cry. This tribe was also made up of elves, but they had abandoned peace, nature and the worship of the Nature Goddess. Instead, they worshipped the Queen of the Night, Rose. Living in the dark underground world for so long had caused their skin to turn black and dark purple.
Their nature was evil as they burned and plundered everywhere. Their society was matriarchal, with women holding most positions of power. In the underground world they were like the forest trolls, an evil race full of villainy.
After the first few Dark Elves had left, more of them began to appear. When they appeared, they first guarded the entrance to the cave while they stared at Han Shuo and the forest trolls in an unfriendly manner with weapons in their hands.
Han Shuo waved his hands and motioned for the old priest to do nothing for the moment and for everyone to slowly back up and spread out behind them. However, he also had everyone brandish their weapons against the dark elves in case they suddenly made a move. The beautiful female dark elves wore revealing outfits that showed off the tantalising bodies of all of them. Even though it was the winter season, they still didn't seem to want to cover their skin. Although the dark purple skin was bizarre, it had another kind of captivating appeal.
After a while, a beautiful dark elf noblewoman, who looked quite stately and opulent, emerged from the cave. She was wearing a soft leather jacket, subtly revealing her beautiful legs, with a pagan air about her.
When the beautiful dark elf lady came out of the cave, she looked at the forest trolls around her and laughed shyly. She asked in the common tongue, "So it's our brave forest troll friends. What are you doing here?"
The old priest also knew that they'd come looking for the wrong people. As the wise man of the forest trolls, the old priest's experience was extensive. Of course he understood that the dark elves weren't the ones of the light either. He snorted lightly and replied, "Our children recently discovered the traces of a large group of elves. Since we forest trolls have a deep hatred for the elves, we've come to destroy them.
The beautiful pagan lady was much friendlier after his words. She nodded, "We also hold a deep grudge against those who live on the ground. From time to time they enter the underground world to attack us. The large number of elves you discovered must have come to fight us. Hehe, we've long heard of the brave ferocity of your tribe of forest trolls on the surface. It seems that we have a common enemy.
The old priest was silent for a while after she had spoken and turned to ask Han Shuo respectfully, "Liaison, what shall we do now?"
Han Shuo actually wanted to rob the dark elves, but he didn't know how many of them there were and how strong their fighting skills were. So he weighed things up privately.
The fey dark elf madam was very surprised by the old priest's questioning of Han Shuo. Even though he was wearing a dark robe that covered his entire body, his body was noticeably smaller than the forest trolls, and it was obvious that he was of a different race. Naturally, the beautiful woman was quite surprised to see the respectful attitude of the old priest.
"Brave friend, our family is currently under attack by a dark dragon. If you're willing to help us, we can offer you a wagonload of gold and a wagonload of jewels in thanks. If you can slay the dark dragon, everything on it will be yours. The dark elf madam suddenly spoke up when she saw Han Shuo standing there without a word.
Han Shuo started. He had not expected that these dark elves would be facing the attacks of a dark dragon right now. Dark dragons were evil dragons that liked to live beneath the surface. The dark elves were truly unlucky to encounter a dark dragon.
Frowning, Han Shuo thought for a while and felt that this dark elf's suggestion was a bit tempting. Although the dark dragon was probably incredibly strong, the combination of this group of dark elves and five hundred forest trolls should be able to kill it.
Each dragon had an extraordinary treasure that would make anyone tremble. Therefore, the reward for killing a dragon was a temptation that many couldn't resist.
"Let's go to the underground world first. If we can handle this dark dragon with the help of the others, we'll agree to your proposal." Han Shuo thought for a moment and opened his mouth to say.
"I can promise you that with the help of your five hundred brave forest troll friends, this dark dragon will undoubtedly be dead. My name is Dana, you're welcome to join us in the underground world." The dark elf madam said happily and then gave a word of instruction to the dark elves.
The dark elves, who had just rushed out of the cave, reentered the cave at Dana's command. Dana lifted her buttocks and walked in last, waving to Han Shuo and the old priest.
Following them meant that they could retreat if anything went wrong. So when he saw that the dark elves had gone down first and Dana had stayed behind to look after them, Han Shuo felt that there should be no danger and he nodded to the old priest.
Han Shuo and the old priest were at the front, the carriage with the little skeleton in the centre. Five hundred forest trolls entered through the cave and began to walk down into the underground world where the dark elves lived.
The further they went, the larger the cave became. There were even some reddish-brown rocks growing in the depths, giving off a faint light and making it not so dark inside.