Unas immediately sent someone to invite Perella, but fortunately the ranger captain was at the base and arrived shortly afterward.
The Blood Elves have temporarily recovered from their Mana Addiction, and the dark cloud that had been hanging over Perella's heart has dissipated. She looks radiant, and her eyes are much brighter.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Unas instructed her about the Teleportation Array, "Select a few mages with some knowledge of spatial arts to assist Du'an and try to steal his Teleportation Array. That way, we won't have to ask him for help in the future."
Perella nodded, raising her chin, and said, "My lord, you need not doubt our Elf mages' sensitivity to magic and their ability to learn; they will certainly be able to do it."
"That's good. I trust you to handle things," Unas said, pleased with her confidence. He then asked, "How much Fire Crystal do you have left? Is it enough?"
"Thank you for your concern, sir. We can hold on for a while longer," Perella said, a headache creeping over the thought. "We've already started working on ways to cure the Mana Addiction, but progress has been slow. We hope everyone can truly recover before the crystals run out."
Poor Perella, she didn't know that Mana Addiction is incurable. To resist Mana Addiction, one either needs an energy source like the Sunwell or must rely on patience to gradually reduce the amount of magic one consumes, thus minimizing one's dependence on it. There is no other way.
Completely isolating an elf from magic or consuming large amounts of it will either weaken or drive the Elf mad.
Unas shared the treatments he knew, deliberately omitting the fact that Mana Addiction was incurable, so as not to dampen Perella's enthusiasm.
The female Elf listened with increasing astonishment, never expecting that this Paladin, who knew nothing about magic, would know so much about Mana Addiction.
Unas finally took out the Crimson Diamond. "Use this gem to recharge those depleted crystals. Given enough time, your Mana Addiction problem will surely be solved."
"Thank you, sir." Perella carefully took the gemstone, wrapped it tightly in a cloth, and held it close to her chest. She knew how precious the stone was.
"It will be needed when the Teleportation Array is built; you can hand it over to Du'an then."
Unas didn't want to offend Du'an too much. He gave him some sweetness first, and once Duan couldn't let go of the gem, he could use the second right to use it to tie this bald middle-aged man to his own chariot. Du'an was still quite useful.
Having resolved the matter, Unas rushed to the entrance of the stronghold, where several Night Elves were already impatiently waiting, and apart from Nightmoon, none of them had a pleasant expression.
Unas gave a wry smile, offered no further explanation, and spurred his horse forward, arriving at the front lines of the Red Stone Stele with the Elves.
The sturdy earthen walls beneath their feet grew higher and wider. The soldiers hadn't slacked off these past few days, and all sorts of defensive fortifications were gradually being completed.
The Giant Spiders seemed to have gradually accepted this new boundary. Several people stood on the earthen wall and looked outwards, but there was no sign of any large living creatures moving within their field of vision.
Unas tried to call Haikesi, but as before, there was no response. It must be because of the distance; he couldn't sense the location of the Undead Mage Skull at all.
There was no other way; Jiang couldn't stay here. They had to keep going. The horses were too noisy, so they left their mounts behind, made some preparations, and walked out of the earthen wall.
The two Druids transformed into a raven and a black panther, one in the sky and the other on the ground, scouting ahead. The three Watchers were all agile Warriors with exceptional senses, and with them scattered around, the team was virtually immune to surprise attacks.
After skillfully avoiding several groups of wandering Giant Spiders, the Watcher suddenly stopped and waited for a moment before Raven and Panther turned back as well.
The Raven Druid said, "There's a narrow mountain pass ahead, guarded by a large swarm of Giant Spiders. We can't avoid it."
Because Rosebayne and Haikesi's group roam around, specifically targeting lone Giant Spiders, the spiders in the Canyon have now learned to band together, forming colonies of various sizes.
The Canyon's terrain varies in width, but if it can completely block a section of the mountain pass, there must be a large spider swarm ahead.
Unas tried to contact Rosebayne again, but still received no response, which made him worried. Had something happened to them?
Probably not. Calming my mind, I sensed that although the spiritual connection with the Beautiful Spider was weak, it hadn't been severed, indicating that she was still alive and well, just still quite far away.
Another Druid then said, "Please, Knight, send troops to clear these obstacles as soon as possible, otherwise we cannot move at all."
"Rest assured, everyone, I am even more eager than you to destroy these spiders, for it is my duty as the Warden," Unas, looking at the anxious Elves. "But please be patient and wait a few days. I will concentrate my full strength to cripple these beasts in one fell swoop!"
He mentioned building the Teleportation Array, saying, "Then my troops in Blackrock Depths can easily teleport here, and we can even take over the entire Canyon in one fell swoop."
Unas painted a rosy picture, speaking with great enthusiasm, but the Night Elves remained indifferent. They had no interest in conquering the Canyon; they were only concerned with capturing the Purple-robed Person.
"What do we do now? Going back empty-handed isn't my style," said a silver-haired female Elf, who appeared to be a minor leader of the Watchers.
Nightmoon advised, "We'd better not cause any unnecessary trouble. Captain Silver Shadow, let's just follow Lord Unas's pace. Anyway, Masa and the others haven't arrived yet, and we'll have to wait for them for a few days no matter what."
The silver-haired female Elf remained noncommittal, seemingly quite unwilling. Unas chuckled, "Since Captain Silver Shadow is so restless, how about we go find a small spider swarm to test our skills? You haven't had a chance to fight any Giant Spiders yet; experience is essential."
Nightmoon still disagreed, "I'm afraid it will trigger a large-scale conflict..."
Silver Shadow said, "Don't worry about that, Nightmoon. Have you forgotten our silent combat training? As long as you're fast enough, any enemy can be killed silently."
"Alright," Unas clapped his hands, "I'm eager to witness the Watchers ' superb skills, let's get going."
The group turned back, and the Raven Druid chose a swarm of eight-headed Blade Spiders, which was the weakest swarm in the vicinity.
Unas had no chance to make a move and instead watched an assassination demonstration from a dense tree.
The Black Panther Druid, in a panic, pretended to be an ordinary wild beast that had accidentally wandered into the territory of the Blade Spiders. This easy prey immediately lured away half of the hungry Blade Spiders to give chase.
The remaining half were further provoked and divided by the raven. The three Watcher had been lying in ambush, attacked together. Silent battles are no joke. The first two Giant Spiders were killed without any time to react, and the remaining two naturally could not escape either.
The four Giant Spiders that were chasing the black panther were summoned back by the mournful cries of their fallen companion, but it was too late. The Night Elves were no longer afraid of them in a direct confrontation and were quickly annihilated.
The entire battle lasted only ten minutes. The Watchers coordinated flawlessly. Unas jumped down from the tree and clapped loudly, "That was truly amazing! The Watchers live up to their name!"