Traitor

Hide the bodies and cover their tracks.

Judging by Pigeon's footage, the elves had probably divided the island into sectors to scout. Each group likely had a way to contact the others and had to check in at intervals.

That gave them a window of time to exploit.

Before the elves realized something was wrong and raised their guard, they would ambush as many as possible, steadily thinning their ranks and inflicting casualties. That would make them realize the despicable Goths were hiding on the island and draw more of their attention.

Then they would prepare a big surprise for them.

Kang De called A Xing over to help, and together with the knight, they dealt with the elves' bodies.

They also dealt with the two bodies hit by the firebombs. Although the Molotov Erguotou had been mixed with sugar, laundry detergent, and other ingredients, making the flames fierce and difficult to put out, a fire extinguisher could still handle them easily enough, to say nothing of Element Extraction.

As he put out the fire, Kang De recalled the fire-warding enchantment on the shield. It could effectively ward off flames and offered extremely strong resistance even against all kinds of fire magic.

That raised a question: if he enchanted a dry-powder fire extinguisher with Divine Fire-Warding Radiance, could he use it to put out a big fireball thrown by a mage?

It sounded promising.

There were so many possibilities for this cheat...

But he had only had it a short time and hadn't yet had time to study and consider the various uses of Element Extraction in enchantment. Moreover, the Element array diagram for the other world's enchanting craft suggested that, to use the power of Element Extraction more efficiently, he would apparently need to continue studying the other world's various enchanting techniques so he could apply what he learned across the board.

They threw the elves' bodies into a grave, buried them, and covered the spot up. They also scattered dirt over all the bloodstains on the road. The elves might smell something, but that didn't matter.

Kang De waved to the sky. "Go find some more seabirds and other birds. Small animals will do too. Have them take plenty of dumps around here to cover up the strange smell."

According to the knight, the elves were a noble race who considered themselves elegant and were quite fastidious about cleanliness. Sanitation aboard the ships of the various nations was a mess these days, but the pointy-ears' cabins were exceptionally well kept. Their long lives and powerful nation found expression in hedonism, which had caused some shortcomings too. For instance, many elven soldiers were rather picky about their food and surroundings. They could even be called pampered soldiers, far less capable of enduring extreme conditions than human soldiers.

In other words, if bird and animal droppings were everywhere, the elves would subconsciously avoid the area.

It was an arrangement suited to local conditions, and a very fitting one at that.

Without a doubt, this was Kang De's home turf.

He and the island's magical animals were the undisputed bosses of the animal kingdom, sitting at the top of the food chain. Those highly intelligent beasts had absolute command over almost every ordinary creature on the island. If they told them to poop, they pooped; if they told them to pee, they peed; if they told them to stand watch, they stood watch.

Kang De handed more than half the things he had brought back from Earth to Second Senior Brother's disciples and their descendants, letting them carry everything to the mysterious rift. Then they finished their preparations and got ready to set off.

Pigeon took to the sky again with the camera. The birds and beasts all over the island were Kang De's eyes and ears. Wherever elves passed, whichever route was safest, everything was under control.

As Kang De traveled, he considered the situation, putting himself in the elven commander's position and thinking about what actions the other side might take.

"...Wait."

He turned to ask the knight and the princess, "If the elves keep taking casualties but can't catch us, would they get so furious that they'd just set fire to the forest?"

The knight looked at the princess, apparently placing more faith in Tina's judgment.

Tina hesitated, then nodded. "Most likely... I think they would."

Fuck.

I was just asking. They fucking would?

What happened to being children of the forest? What happened to being messengers of nature?

Kang De was astonished. The princess replied, "Because they're soldiers... Almost all elves who enlist, let alone become high-ranking officers, are rebels among their people. Besides, they've been through many battles, so they think differently from ordinary members of their race. Even an elf's peaceful heart can be changed by killing and death."

Kang De nodded slowly. "That makes things difficult."

The magical animals naturally wouldn't burn to death, but the ordinary animals on the island couldn't sense and avoid danger so readily. These animals had joined the war at the behest of him and the magical beasts, and they had been helping all along. If possible, Kang De didn't want to see them perish in a sea of flames.

So they had to give the elves reason to hold back and make them afraid to set the forest on fire.

They needed to let them know about the ruins as soon as possible.

And...

Kang De thought of something else. "Speaking of which, elves call themselves children of the forest and are close to nature. Does that mean they have an affinity with animals and the like?"

The princess replied, "Yes. The druidic path originated with the elves. They heighten their senses, release the wildness in their hearts, and become one with nature, gaining the ability to communicate with living creatures. Although the soldiers who landed aren't druids, their elven nature still makes it easier for them to win animals' trust and obedience."

"That settles it." Kang De snapped his fingers and turned to the magical animals. "Anyone interested in being a traitor? Lure the enemy into our encirclement."

The parrot in midair heard the word "traitor" and flew like lightning onto Kang De's shoulder, shouting, "Beat up my teammates! Protect my enemies!"

It looked very interested.

Kang De hesitated, but he was rather tempted too.

The parrot and Pigeon were both very flashy and highly intelligent, and communicating with them was very smooth. The former could speak and often hit the nail on the head, while the latter had highly developed body language.

The difference was that although Pigeon was flashy, he had the dignity of a boss and could command the birds. The parrot was weaker in that respect, but it was more quick-witted and could guess what people were thinking. It was a diplomatic talent among birds.

The parrot was better suited to being a traitor.

Besides, the parrot's looks and abilities were both very appealing.

And for once, it wanted to go play too.

Kang De felt they really did need to plant an informant close to the elven commander.

"We need to be clear about this first. No talking. Remember, no speaking Chinese."

He gave the warning because, when he had talked with the knight about what had happened before, the knight had mentioned that he had deduced there was a Cathayan on the island from what the parrot had said. The elves could most likely understand it too.

The parrot hesitated.

"You absolutely can't talk while you're playing the traitor. You can speak during the final battle."

Kang De made a concession and offered that suggestion.

The parrot flapped its wings and squawked, "Fucking OK! Fucking OK!"

Kang De added, "Don't get carried away or stir up trouble. I'll have Pigeon keep in touch with you."

In any case, these animals had a way of communicating with one another and could exchange information precisely. Kang De couldn't explain why either... There were countless mysteries and wonders about these beasts.

The parrot patiently listened to his instructions, then flapped its wings and shot into the sky, heading for the other side of the island.

"That gives us a little better chance of winning."

Kang De watched it fly away, not particularly worried about its safety. Come on, its favorite food was all kinds of beehives, and it wouldn't eat until it had pecked every bee and hornet that flew out to death. It did so in very little time, moving extremely fast. He often saw it surrounded by a swarm of bees trying to sting it, yet not one could land a sting. Its movements were so nimble and swift that it was practically playing Ace Combat.

Leaving its combat ability aside, its skills at fleeing and dodging were maxed out.

"Next is this group..."

He took out the map and divided it into rough areas... the area where each group of elves operated.

"To be safe, let's not provoke the scouting parties led by high-ranking officers yet. We don't know what the other side is capable of, after all... Let's pick on the soft persimmons first."

He looked at the knight. "Miss Fulan, is that all right?"

Cleveland said helplessly, "Mr. Kang De, please don't call me by that name."

"Got it, Miss Fulan." Kang De took out a stun baton. "Want to try this? We have a limited number of firebombs and flashbangs, so we need to try other ways of fighting. This is easy to carry too. Although it looks black, thick, and hard, you can hide it under your skirt..."

"...Mr. Kang De!"

In the end, the knight accepted Kang De's kind offer.

"Don't worry, everything's under control," Kang De said. "You don't need to worry. I'm ready to back you up at any time. If anything unexpected happens, I'll step in and help."

"No."

Hearing this, the knight stopped and looked seriously at Kang De. "Please don't intervene. You can leave everything to me."

His tone, his gaze, and his expression were all serious.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Second update... Fuck, I suddenly found out today that "fuck" has become a sensitive word. Fuck, why? What's wrong with that word? Are they going to leave us sweet-talking writers any way to make a living?