After Valtar went on his way, Elmyra and the group of Dark Elves remained there motionless. Eventually, one of the elves asked, "That old man Zhao definitely has some big cards. It was definitely the work of the Fae folks."
Elmyra immediately shot a deadly glare at the elf and shut him up. "You better keep your damn mouth shut. Just thinking about those terrifying things makes me shiver. We had to literally sacrifice half of our tribe for the key of intervention."
"Who knows how many people and tribe members that trash Zhao killed over time to get their help? No, never mind, if they find it entertaining, they'll just help Zhao because of that reason alone. Those damn things only view us as lowlives and entertainment."
She forcefully stopped herself from thinking about them any further. Who knows, one of them might just appear in front of them out of nowhere. After all, they were the true rulers and real horrors of the forest. She revealed the name with shaking fear, "The Gloamshade Court." She did not dally anymore at that place and set off towards her tribe area immediately to tell her father, the tribe leader, about the happenings.
After Valtar came back from checking the barrier, Zho was thankfully still asleep, or pretended to be asleep. It didn't matter either way.
An hour later, Zho woke and felt weird. He looked at Valtar in suspicion for a moment but did not say anything in the end.
Half a day later, at midnight within the eastern tribe,
Zhao received a message that his last two guests were just about to arrive. There were exactly 120 tribe members standing in an organized manner as if they were about to go to war.
They were all surrounding Zhao as if circling their king, and there was a straight path open from Zhao to the forest gate where the two of them would emerge. As if the two intruders would only have one small path forward in the midst of all the soldiers to reach their king.
The skinny bodies of the previous weak-looking tribe members were not weak or skinny anymore. All of their eyes had red, vicious patterns within them, telling the tale of the harrowing possession done to their bodies by the black ghosts summoned by their own trusted tribe member, Zhao Khanarasa.
Bright fires lit all over the place, so despite it being midnight, it was bright enough, and shadows were flickering constantly on the tribe members' bodies. Their shadows made the exact shapes of the dark ghosts that possessed them, painting a disturbing sight of horror. And in their middle stood the man responsible for all this treacherous chaos. Unlike the tribe members, he was wearing the regal clothes of the tribe leader, holding a beautiful and strong spear that is passed down from every chief to the next one. The tribal crown he was wearing made him look even more menacing, and a glowing red crystal in the middle of his forehead told anyone who would look at it about the immense and sinister power contained within him.
Just as Zhao was daydreaming in his own grandeur, sounds of steady footsteps were heard. They were as steady as the incoming storm and as powerful as the imminent bloodbath that was about to occur.
Zhao's attention instantly turned to the sound. Even he felt a sense of unease but quickly shook it off, thinking how nonsensical it was. Then a mocking voice sounded from the forest as his shadowy figure was slowly revealed,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What is this? The preparation for your funeral, Old Man? Aren't you thinking a bit too highly of yourself? To the point of planning to take all the tribe members to heaven alongside yourself?"
Zhao sneered, "Oh no no, how can that be? It is merely a welcoming party to our guest who worked so hard for us and risked his life in the western lands despite being an outsider. Please don't think too much of it, little one."
Valtar replied shamelessly, "Uh, yes, indeed, so that's how it is. Of course, for someone as important as myself, your measly tribe should indeed hold such a grand ceremony as this. It's only right that you do so after all."
"Actually, now that I think about it, I also have a present. A very beautiful present, actually, just for you, Old Man Zhao. I am sure you're absolutely going to love it."
He brought up one of his hands as it was holding a black bag which had something the size of a football in it.
"Oh, what is it? And where is my son Zho? Though I understand that none of the other warriors were able to make it back, because they heroically perished fighting the shadow beasts, but Zho is with you, is he not? I've long known his intentions. What a foolish boy, does he think his actions can escape my eyes?"
"Oh, you know his intentions? That makes things easier. He is with me, no worries. First, check my gift, please."
He then proceeded to throw the bag right at Zhao through the air in a slow motion, indicating it was not any attempt of an attack.
Zhao stared intently at the bag flying through the air towards him, not sensing any danger from it. He was still vigilant of it. He ordered one of the tribe members beside him to catch the bag. The tribe member did, and there were still no signs of danger. He got the bag in his own hands and opened the knot, emptying its contents onto the ground.
Seeing the contents of the bag, his mind went absolutely blank as he was seeing the severed and bloody head of his only son. His eyes became even more red and sinister as he went on his knees immediately and started sobbing, "No, no, this can't beee, NOOOOOOOO, HOW CAN YOU DIE LIKE THIS, MY BRAVE CHILD?"
He continued to whimper. The eyes of his son were still wide open, and his expression was filled with pain and agony, telling him how treacherous and painful his death must have been.
Valtar and Zho, a while before entering the tribe area.
Valtar suddenly stopped and suggested something to Zho, "Let me go forward alone and check the situation. I have a skill called Silent Steps; you should know what it is. The dark elves gave me a 1st stage core and helped me advance to the 1st stage, and luckily when I absorbed the core, I got the Silent Steps."
Zho had already figured that he had advanced to the 1st stage; if not, he would be utterly useless against his father. But what surprised him more was the fact that this guy actually gained that desirable skill which all the dark elves had. He cursed internally and said,
"How the fuck did you get the skill?"
"I don't know, maybe the core they gave me was slightly special," he said.
"Look, I know you don't trust me, but I have a bad feeling the closer I get to the tribe area, and as a first stage awakened, you should be able to feel it too. At this time, we can't be having our own thoughts if we don't tread carefully and not use every single opportunity. We're both as good as dead, let alone escape out of the damn forest."
The things Valtar said were indeed mostly true. He had to reveal some of his cards to make this guy trust him for a while until he does a check at what Zhao had prepared for them. He did indeed have a bad feeling the more he got closer to the tribe. As for the reason he has to do the check, it's naturally something else.
Zho, seeing how honest and straightforward he was being, and the things he said were indeed true. If not for the artifact he got from the Fae folks, he wouldn't even dare to go back to the tribe. He was feeling that much danger the closer he got. So, he finally gave in and agreed to Valtar's proposition.
Valtar was running at his full speed, and his Silent Steps skill was working on full power. There wasn't even the sound of winds as he strode forward at such speed. After reaching the edge of the tribe's area, he became extremely careful of his movements as he did not make any large movements.
What he saw was far worse than what he expected. "System?"
[Analyzing...]
[Aside from the man at the center, who is Old Man Zhao, everyone else in the tribe is not producing any life signatures. There is an 80% probability they are all dead.]
[120 first stage awakened detected, and the entity at the center is a third stage awakened.]
"Analyze that red circle, the things on it, and Zhao's facial expressions."