After the Deer Head Gang was wiped out, the remaining evil spirits in the forest continued to attract Deer Head Spirits to linger there, so Dick ordered it to be designated as a restricted area. Many warning signs were erected on the outskirts of the forest to remind passers-by not to approach easily.
Just in time for Dick to practice, he could find a deer-headed spirit to serve as a sandbag.
So Dick called Rita, Joel and the idle Lukoya, and the four of them teamed up to the outskirts of the Black Forest. They ignored the warning signs he had put up and swaggered into the forest.
As Lukoya entered the woods, he opened one of his squinted eyes, looked around and said.
"It smells like filth."
"Expert, there used to be a cult altar in the middle of this forest that could summon a super deer-headed spirit, but my uncle-master beat it to a pulp with a move called Drink More Hot Water, and it went back to recuperate. It's estimated that it won't be able to come out for a hundred or eighty years, but it shed blood here, and the land has been polluted."
Looking at the lush forests around him, Dick thought that the word "pollution" was not accurate.
Because monsters like the Deer-Headed Spirit are like super extreme nature protectors. They will indiscriminately kill any intelligent creatures that break into the forest, but where they are, plants will grow particularly well.
The situation in this black forest is very obvious. The towering fir trees are obviously taller than those elsewhere. Even other plants at the bottom grow abnormally lush, as if they are not affected at all by the fir trees blocking the sunlight.
Given the characteristics of the Deer Head Spirit, it is said that in some areas where soil erosion is particularly serious, people are willing to pay a high price to purchase living Deer Head Spirits, and then release them into the wasteland to accelerate the recovery of the forest.
The condition of this forest is a little too good, which means there are a lot of deer-headed spirits in the forest!
Not long after the group entered the forest, they unexpectedly encountered a wandering deer-headed spirit.
In most cases, the Deer-Headed Demon will stay in one place and not move, disguising itself as a dead tree covered with moss, until a living person approaches, then it will suddenly jump up. This kind of malicious old six hiding in the forest is the most difficult for adventurers to guard against.
Seeing Dick and others intruding into its territory, the deer-headed demon suddenly let out a terrifying roar and rushed straight towards them. At the same time, a large number of tentacle-like vines extended from its head and kept waving in the air. It looked both terrifying and extremely...
Seeing this, Dick calmly tapped the ground with his staff. A one-meter-high, solid magic earth wall rose from the ground, directly tripping the charging deer-headed spirit and knocking him to his knees.
Immediately afterwards, the ground where the Deer-Headed Demon fell sank and turned into a sticky quagmire, trapping it in it and making it unable to climb out. It soon sank completely.
Dick easily subdued a deer-headed demon with just two intermediate magics. Not only were both magics cast silently, but they were also cast simultaneously, but the trap magic of the quagmire, which changes the terrain structure, is notoriously slow to take effect, so it seems to be slightly slower than the earth wall.
After trying out the combination technique a little, Dick nodded complacently.
Unleashing multiple spells at the same time is his specialty as a former programmer. He has worked out a number of feasible routines. Through smooth little combos consisting of several low- and medium-level spells, he can produce magical effects that even many high-level spells cannot achieve.
From the little trial just now, Dick could clearly feel that his spellcasting efficiency had increased by about 20%, which was a considerable improvement.
But just as Dick was about to harden the ground, release the trapped lewd creature, and then try other powerful offensive magic with it, the roar of another lewd creature and the cries for help of humans suddenly came from the other side of the forest.
069. The Elves and the Middle-aged Uncle
Hearing someone calling for help in the forest, Dick thought it was really interesting.
You should know that the Black Forest is located in the heart of the western mountainous area. It was originally inhabited by the evil cultists of the Deer Head Gang. There were no decent residential settlements nearby. After the anti-bandit campaign in late winter, the surrounding area almost became an uninhabited area. Therefore, those who appear here shouting for help are generally not "ordinary people."
But since you've heard it, you should take action when the time is right. Save the person first and then deal with the situation.
So the group quickly ran in the direction where the sound came from. When they passed a stream, they saw several broken bodies. It was not difficult to tell from the way they were killed that they were torn to pieces by the Deer-Headed Demon.
What surprised Dick a little was that one of the corpses, with only the upper body left, actually had striking long elven ears. Moreover, unlike the curled-back fleshy ears of a half-blood like him, these were straight and hard sword ears, which meant he was a pure-blooded elf.
Judging from the many items left at the scene and the messy footprints on the ground, this group of intruders were ambushed by the deer-headed demon while fetching water from the stream, and were forced to flee in all directions.
However, it was precisely this panic they showed after encountering the Deer-Headed Demon that showed that there was no decent master in this team.
"First take care of that deer-headed spirit."
"give it to me."
Rita immediately took over the task and followed the Deer-Headed Spirit's footprints.
Dick stayed with Yoel and Lukoya to check the abandoned luggage of these people. It was not that they wanted to touch the bodies and lick the equipment, but to determine their identities by checking the items.
As a result, I just flipped through it and actually got an unexpected reward. I found a dead cell phone and a wallet with a photo of the group inside.
The photo shows two Caucasian people, a man and a woman, in an intimate posture. The background is a bar, a "Globe Bar" with lights and televisions.
Dick compared the photo with several other bodies on the ground and found the white man in the photo. The man's death was really tragic. He was lying face up in the stream, his chest was crushed by the deer-headed spirit and was completely flattened.
After discovering pure-blooded elves and earthlings one after another, Dick was a little confused about the origins of this group of people.
He initially thought that it was a fish that slipped through the net during the bandit suppression, and was forced to hide in the restricted area of the Black Forest to avoid being hunted by the outside world. If that was really the case, Dick would not mind being a mantis catching a cicada and cleaning up the Deer-Headed Demon and the remnants of the bandits.
But now it seems that this group of people is more likely to be a group of "escape slaves"!
Generally speaking, the summoned earthlings will be bound by a slave contract by the summoning ceremony the moment they step into this world, making it impossible for them to disobey their summoners from the bottom of their hearts.
However, the slave contract that came with the summoning circle only had the effect of forcing obedience.
That is to say, once the master dies, the slave will regain his freedom.
However, this is only a theoretical situation. After all, the people on Earth are neither demons nor warriors, so it is not easy to escape if they really want to.
As for the elves, as second-class subjects in human society, their situation is not much better than that of the slaves on Earth.
And if it was a runaway slave, then many things would be clear!
Soon, Rita came back carrying a frightened middle-aged man like a puppy.
"He is the only one left in this pursuit."
Putting the man in front of Dick, Rita turned around and searched for other survivors. Dick looked at the shivering unfortunate guy. He was about forty years old, with a typical yellow face, a slightly fat body, but strong arms, rough hands and scars.
Seeing these hands, Dick thought of his father in his previous life, the old mechanic who raised him alone and also had a pair of rough big hands like these.
"You're from Earth, right? What's your name?"
Seeing that his identity as an Earthling had been discovered, the middle-aged man, who was already frightened, became even more panicked.
Lukoya on the side put his hand on the other person's head and just said "calm down" softly, which quickly stabilized the uncle's emotions.
"Do you feel better?"
"Much better, thank you."
Seeing that the uncle had regained his composure, Dick asked the other party's name again and learned that the other party was Tang Wenquan, Dick's fellow Chinese fellow.
Old Tang is 47 years old this year. He was a mechanic on Earth. He was summoned to this world three years ago. The one who summoned him was not a nobleman, but a wealthy businessman. The other party saw that he was good at tinkering with machines and his skills could be put to good use here, so he did not abuse him.
As for why he appeared here, the situation cannot be explained in a few words.
Dick was asking questions when Joel, who was on guard at the side, keenly heard a strange sound. Then an arrow was suddenly shot out from the forest. Joel, who reacted quickly, caught it with his bare hands in the blink of an eye. The arrow with a hook was actually heading for the back of Dick's head!
When Joel saw this, his expression suddenly became ferocious because of anger.
"Who is it? Get out!"
After hearing Joel's angry roar, Dick saw the arrow shot from behind him. Judging from the shape of the arrowhead and the magical fluctuations emanating from it, this was an arrow used by the elves to break magic barriers.
Apparently the archer who launched the sneak attack recognized him as a magician and regarded him as a high-threat target who should be eliminated first. But he didn't expect that Yoel, who had no power fluctuations at all, was a pure woman who reached the level of a high-level warrior simply by relying on her physical strength. She actually caught the arrow shot by the elf with her bare hands!
Without thinking too much, Dick immediately cast a magic spell and put five layers of barriers on the four people present, while Lukoya quickly gave Yoel a BUFF.
Although she is an incarnation specially created by Quetzalcoatl to adapt to the laws of this world, she uses magic from the Age of Gods after all. Even if it is a degraded version, the degree of enhancement is considerable.
Jo suddenly felt that his whole body was filled with incredible power.
"You've been strengthened, come on!"
After being patted on the shoulder by Lukoya, Yoel disappeared from the spot like a cannonball at a speed so fast that he seemed to teleport. Then, a loud noise was heard from the woods not far away, and a giant fir dozens of meters away suddenly fell down.
Although Dick was not an archer, his elven blood gave him excellent eyesight, and he clearly saw a figure jumping down from the trunk of the giant fir tree. The other person was almost invisible when he stood on the tree before, and the distance was beyond his mental perception range.
If it weren't for the extremely intuition-sharpened Joel guarding by his side, that arrow might have really hurt Dick, who only had three layers of magic shields.
Three floors. For Dick, who is cautious to the core, this is a rare moment of relaxation.
With superb archery skills and specially made magic-destroying arrows, the attacker's identity seems to have been revealed.
Dick touched the back of his intact head and thought that it was just as the rumors said. Most elves hated half-blood elves like him and even gave them the derogatory name "blood-stained ones".
Not long after, Joel came back carrying a comatose female elf.
The other person looked very thin, about the same size as a human child of fifteen or sixteen years old, but for a pure-blooded elf with a long life and slow development, this guy must be at least two hundred years old.
Dick used his telekinesis to lift the other person's head and removed the translucent veil. The female elf's face was incomparably beautiful than that of a human, but there was a black tattoo around her right eye that extended to her forehead, and the pattern resembled a burnt dead tree.
When Dick saw this tattoo pattern, his brows immediately frowned.
"Why are these guys here?!"
"Master, do you know who she is?"
"They are the Elven Restorationists. The Empire calls them the Dead Tree Party."
Dick, who was familiar with the world history, knew that more than 1,800 years ago, when humans first began to record history in writing, declaring the end of the ignorant primitive society of the entire race, the elves had already established an extremely powerful empire and dominated this continent for ten thousand years.
They proudly and unquestionably declared that all the land under the sun belonged to the elves, and discriminated against all foreign races equally. In their eyes, humans were just a group of wild monkeys who had just learned to speak. The elves at that time would never believe that their great empire would be replaced by the powerful human race in less than a thousand years.
Although the human race was one of the main drivers and the biggest beneficiaries of the destruction of the Elf Empire, the real root cause was that the elves brought their own destruction upon themselves.
Just like many feudal dynasties that followed the laws of history and reached their end, the arrogance, corruption and depravity of the top rulers eventually led to the entire country's people being doomed to eternal damnation.
But it is undeniable that the Elf Empire's former glory and achievements, and the absolute dominance it once achieved on the continent, are far beyond the reach of even the Hessian Empire, which is now known as the strongest human race.
In addition, the elves are a long-lived race, so it is inevitable that there are those old people who were born at the end of the Elf Empire and still miss the empire very much and want to restore its former glory.
Thus, "Elf Restorationism" came into being. The dead tree they tattooed on their faces symbolizes the Tree of Life that was burned down more than 800 years ago. That giant tree is also their spiritual totem.
However, to be honest, although Dick also has elven blood in his body, he really does not feel a sense of belonging to the elves. This is not only because of his inner soul as a time traveler, but the key is that the pure-blooded elves do not recognize him as a half-blood elf, so he really does not want to use his warm face to stick to their cold buttocks.
At this time Tang Wenquan came over, and Dick pointed at the female elf on the ground and asked him.
"Do you know her?"
"Should, should know."
"should?"
"I don't know her name. The elves who captured us also had their faces covered. But judging by the way she was dressed, she must be one of the ones who went out to explore the way."
Tang Wenquan looked aggrieved. He had never thought of running away when he was under the command of the rich businessman before. After three years of traveling here, he had already seen through the situation. But suddenly one day, this group of elves broke into the rich businessman's manor, killed all the rich businessman's family and bodyguards, and then forced him and another summoned earthling to follow them.
Tang Wenquan was timid and knew that the rich businessman's family had been wiped out. Even if he stayed, he would still be dead, so he had no choice but to go with these murderous elves.
To be honest, Tang Wenquan did not have a good impression of these elves, or even could be said to have a very bad impression.
They called themselves "saviors" in front of Tang Wenquan and several other earthlings, and asked everyone to work for their elves in the future. Although these elves had their faces covered so that Tang Wenquan could not see their expressions, their words revealed an undisguised arrogance.
During the time he fled with them, Tang Wenquan suffered a lot. If he had not witnessed the elves' terrifying archery skills and ruthless methods, he would have wanted to run away long ago!
After a brief pause, Dick asked Rita to look after the unknown female elf. After confirming that there were no other survivors, Dick used his telekinesis to move the fragmented bodies and buried the dead earthlings and elves separately, and then left the Black Forest before sunset.
After bringing Tang Wenquan back to town, Dick arranged for him to receive treatment at the clinic. The old man was in very bad physical condition. He looked fat, but in fact he was suffering from morbid edema.
It is worth mentioning that Tang Wenquan, who is nearly 50 years old, still knows nothing about anime from the classic Calabash Brothers era. He doesn't recognize any of the two-dimensional beauties around Dick, which saves Dick a lot of unnecessary trouble.
After settling Old Don down, Dick left Rita at the clinic.
In addition to asking her to "take good care" of Old Tang, it was also to protect Shizuka Marikawa.
On the way back, Dick learned about Lao Tang's experience in detail. He realized that the elves of the Dead Tree Party were deliberately recruiting earthlings, especially those like Lao Tang who were technologically savvy.
These guys didn't choose to summon by themselves, after all, the materials of the summoning array were expensive, and the summoning itself was a "poison pool" with no guarantee. So they chose to take shortcuts and directly rob the Earthlings summoned by others, and they chose to rob those who were capable.
According to this line of thinking, "Doctor Shizuka", who is already well-known in Laguge, is likely to become one of their targets.
In comparison, Natasha successfully disguised herself as an alchemist, unlike Shizuka Marikawa who exudes an undisguised "Earthling temperament".
Back at the castle, Dick interrogated the female elf first.
In fact, the other party had woken up once on the way back, and then because of insulting Dick, she was hit by Joel's "physical hypnosis" and was now hung in the dungeon. The spy was next to her.
Dick had deliberately spared this buddy's life so that he could use his "immortal soul lamp" to disgust a certain earl who had his hands in other people's homes.
When he saw the unknown female elf again, she was obviously much more honest. She just glared at Dick in front of him and didn't dare to spit at anyone with her not-so-clean little mouth.
After Dick sat down in front of her, he looked at her for a moment with a smile, and then spoke slowly.
"You guys should be looking for those pirates in the northern fjords, am I right?"
071. The Legendary Assassin
As soon as Dick finished speaking, the female elf's expression moved slightly, and her eyes subconsciously dodged, and this reaction just proved that Dick's speculation was correct.
