"Merlin Firestone, I've heard of that name. He was a very noble mage in legends, but I never expected him to have fallen so low. So, he's our real enemy?" Huoye asked with a sigh after listening to Natasha's initial explanation.
"No, they later had an internal conflict, and Merlin was assassinated by Gunsel."
As the saying goes, the student surpasses the teacher; Gunsel's vision was broader than his mentor's, and the two quickly made a breakthrough, discovering a way to restore a decaying body to its former vitality.
However, this method was not stable, so Merlin suggested that Gunsel test it on himself first. In fact, when he took in the Lich, he had this plan in mind—to find someone in a similar situation as his test subject.
This undoubtedly angered Gunsel. The furious apprentice pretended to agree, but during the spell, he pulled some tricks to counter Merlin. After a struggle, the apprentice defeated his mentor, and Merlin became the victim of the spell.
The Resurrection Spell did indeed have its flaws. Although Merlin's body did grow flesh and blood and return to its original form, he fell into a deep sleep from which he could not be awakened. So Gunsel locked him up, usurped the forest, and became the master of the Forest.
He then extended his study of life to all living things, including Poison Spiders in the Forest, ancient trees that have developed intelligence, and lizards in the Swamp.
For a long time during his seclusion in the Forest, Merlin faced harassment and attacks from various Poison Spiders. To completely solve this problem, decades ago he personally crossed the Great Sea to another continent to hunt down a so-called "Spider God"—the Shadra worshipped by the Haikesi Horde.
For Merlin, it was just a routine hunt: by exploiting the hatred between different Troll tribes, along with a mercenary group he hired and his old mage friends who came to help, he easily wiped out a medium-sized Troll Horde and captured the Spider God.
The existence of Shadra was a deterrent to all spiders. After obtaining this giant beast, Merlin imprisoned it underground in his dwelling. Afterward, the spiders in the Forest kept their distance from that place, gradually forming Merlin's own independent territory, and thus they were free from harassment.
Gunsel had long been interested in the Shadra, and after becoming its master, he immediately began to study the spider. He was not satisfied with merely using the Shadra as a deterrent; he wanted to use this deterrent to make the Giant Spiders submit.
By this time, Gunsel's ambition had grown even further; he not only wanted to be resurrected as a human, but also to become the most powerful man in the world.
Although Shadra can only be considered a false god, it has developed a trace of divinity due to the long-term sacrifices and worship of Trolls. It can be defeated and imprisoned, but it is almost impossible for it to submit to a mortal.
Gunsel found a very risky approach: he embedded his own Phylactery into Shadra's brain, essentially using a part of his own soul to suppress the Spider God's consciousness and barely manage to control it.
Using Shadra, he quickly amassed an obedient army of spiders, and a series of studies on Mutant Spiders began, with Rosebane Sunstrider being one of the test subjects.
Gunsel wanted to see what special effects would result from the forced union of a High Elf and a Sons of Shadra, but he didn't expect that Rosebayne would escape while he was out hunting dragon eggs and would run into a group of Paladin were going to the Swamp to collect Black Soil.
Compared to the mutations and modifications made to the spiders, it was the Giant Fir that Gunsel devoted the most effort to. His series of modifications to the Giant Fir were all for one purpose: to obtain the unparalleled vitality of the ancient trees.
Pure and powerful life force is not only a necessity for reincarnation spells, but it also grants him near-infinite lifespan and regenerative abilities after resurrection.
He wanted to become human again, but he was unwilling to give up immortality, so he devised a complicated method to generate the Essence of Life and placed his second Phylactery into the tree brain for easy control.
Later, he also made his clone reside permanently inside the Giant Fir, completely replacing the Giant Fir's self-awareness. Unfortunately, all of this was destroyed by Unas.
Gunsel's third Phylactery was hidden inside the Seven-Headed Lizard. He had long since lost interest in the lizards of the Swamp, but after returning from stealing the dragon eggs, he found himself being followed by two giant dragons and threatened by a human army in the Canyon. So he urgently subdued the Seven-Headed Lizard as a temporary fighting force.
In the battle at the Swamp, the Seven-Headed Lizard was severely injured and is now recuperating in Fairy Lake in the northeast of the Forest — Unas's earlier guess was correct.
Natasha's account contained a wealth of information, Unas slowly pieced together. It seemed the Troll had finally found the right place; his enemies and the gods were all in the Forest. Rosebayne also needed to find Gunsel to recover, and his decisive action in killing the Giant Fir had been a wise choice.
"They are truly heinous scoundrels. I think even the most vicious demons would pale in comparison to them," Huoye said angrily. "We must destroy them."
Unas thought for a moment and asked, "Does Gunsel only have three Phylactery?"
"According to my memory, yes." Natasha was still rubbing her Temples.
"That's good. After all, we have a third of his life in our hands. Destroying this Phylactery in my hand will definitely cause him great harm. I think he won't make any rash moves for the time being. By the way, how much do you know about the dragon egg?"
"Dragon eggs?" Natasha frowned and thought for a moment. "Five are inside the Giant Fir, and one is preserved in Cave at the bottom of a small lake in the forest—a lake the Lich calls Fairy Lake. Many prisoners are also imprisoned beneath the lake, mostly for human experimentation."
Huoye immediately asked, "How many people?"
"Around two or three hundred, with Elves being the most numerous?"
"Why?"
"The Lich is very interested in the Elves ' longevity and wants to study the reasons why."
"That beast!" Huoye rarely swore.
Unas patted him on the shoulder to offer some comfort, then asked Natasha, "The situation with the dragon eggs matches what Mati'gosa said. Where is the entrance to this place?"
"Also at the bottom of the lake, Gunsel has three residences, which he calls the Plant Research Institute, the Animal Research Institute, and the Poison Spider Research Institute, located in the Evil Woodland, the underwater Cave, and the Mutant Spider's stronghold, respectively. The Spider God Shadra is in the Poison Spider Research Institute, and the mage Merlin is also imprisoned there." Natasha tried to pour out all the information she knew.
With the collapse of the core Giant Fir, the Evil Woodland was essentially destroyed, leaving Gunsel with only two strongholds.
It would be better to make a move on Fairy Lake next, Unas thought to himself. However, everything depended on the Lich's movements, so he could react accordingly. The Lich might not even know that his secrets had been exposed, and he might be able to take advantage of the Lich's carelessness to eliminate him in one fell swoop.
Unas asked a few more questions about the details, and finally said, "We'll discuss this together tonight. Now you can all go and rest."
The small meeting between the three ended there; Natasha needed a good rest to organize more useful details.
The day passed quickly. Unas inspected the defensive line, and after dinner, he summoned the Elves and his core subordinates to a meeting at Dragon Mound.
The group entered the cave. The two dragons, having slept for a day, had regained some of their energy. The Little Red Dragon had also woken up, and her attitude towards the Paladin had softened considerably. Upon seeing Unas, she first thanked him, "Human, thank you for saving my five children."
Her tone was slightly stiff, but it was already quite an achievement for the Red Dragon. She had never looked down on insignificant humans, and even saying the word "thank you" required a struggle within her.
"It was nothing, Ms. Alice, no need for such formalities."
"But there's still one missing. Did you lose it?" The Little Red Dragon's true colors were quickly revealed, his eyes filled with hostility.
Unas's temper flared immediately, and he was about to explode when the Blue Dragon quickly said, "Knight Unas, please don't be angry. We don't suspect you. Alice was just saying it in anger."
It turns out that the five dragon eggs that Unas took back had all lost some of their vitality, and the embryos inside had become very weak, making it questionable whether they could even hatch. The Little Red Dragon discovered this situation as soon as it regained consciousness, and its anger had nowhere to go, so it had been bottled up until now.
It's important to know that while Dragonflight are prolific egg-layers, their hatching rate is consistently low. Under normal circumstances, it's considered good if half of ten dragon eggs hatch. The mortality rate of Whelp hatchlings is also high, and their survival ability during the long early stages is generally poor. Therefore, very few dragons actually grow to adulthood.
The Little Red Dragon's five dragon eggs had virtually no hope of reaching adulthood, and it was even difficult for them to hatch into Whelp. No wonder she was furious and placed her hopes on the last dragon egg.
"How could I be angry with a mother?" Unas said, feigning reluctance but remaining polite to the Blue Dragon. "I already know where the Red Dragon lady's last child is."
"What?! Where?" the Little Red Dragon roared, flapping its wings, and everyone felt a gust of hot wind sweep past.
Unas began his story from the beginning, recounting the general outline of events. Of course, he didn't say that Natasha had dug up the memories, but instead shifted the blame to Huoye, claiming that he possessed a unique mental observation technique. The Blood Elf could only suppress a bitter smile and nod in agreement.
The cave fell silent as everyone silently processed this shocking information.
Blue Dragon broke the silence first, "You said you obtained the Lich's Phylactery, can I take a look?"
Without hesitation, Unas took out the black box and handed it to the Blue-haired Female Elf that Mati'gosa had transformed into.
The Blue Dragon stroked the box for a short while, seemingly casting some kind of detection spell, and quickly came to a conclusion, "I think it is indeed a Phylactery."
"Let me see it too!"
As the Little Red Dragon was about to extend its claws, Unas quickly stopped it, snatching the Phylactery first, saying, "Ms. Alice's claws are too strong. I'm afraid you might accidentally break them. You should wait until you learn Polymorph."
The Little Red Dragon was furious, but she didn't try to take it by force. She had witnessed the Paladin's ability to instantly store and retrieve items, and knew she wouldn't gain any advantage.
Mati'gosa quickly interrupted, "Now that you know so much, can you tell me who ambushed Alice and me in the Forest with the Alice?"
Unas genuinely didn't know this. He looked at Natasha, and the Priest calmly replied, "Gunsel hired a mercenary team specializing in dragon hunting to follow him and steal dragon eggs, but they didn't prove useful. So he bought two dragon-hunting crossbows just in case. He only had two bolts left, which he used up last night, so you don't need to worry anymore."
"It seems you really know him very well." Seeing that Natasha's words were reasonable and well-founded, the Blue Dragon immediately believed most of them.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to that Fairy Lake. I must save the last child, no matter what."
Night Elf representative Nightmoon said, "Our purpose in crossing the ocean to come here was to save our compatriots. Now that we know they are there, of course we will not back down. We will not only save them, but also avenge them!"
The Argent Dawn's side all followed the Warden's lead and did not rush to express their opinions. The Troll and Rosebayne looked at Unas with eager eyes, wishing they could shout out the battle order for him.
Unas shrugged and said, "Since everyone is so eager for battle, I am too. But I will still adhere to my previous principle—only send small groups of troops for surprise attacks. I can't afford to suffer too many losses."
"But there are two or three hundred prisoners at the bottom of the lake. Without a large escort, even if we can rescue them, they won't be able to come back. We must hold off the enemy's spider swarm on the front lines."
"That makes a lot of sense. So how do we lure the Mutant Spider swarm out of the Forest? Destroying the Giant Fir will definitely put the Lich on high alert. If he stays holed up, we won't be able to rescue them."
"If you ask me, we should first capture the kingpin. How about we lure the Lich out through negotiation? His Phylactery is in our hands; he'll definitely be willing to negotiate with us. Then we can take care of him."
"What a joke! You can't handle him. Don't forget he has two Phylactery; he can be resurrected even after death. What an idiot."
"You!"
The group immediately began a heated discussion about tactics. Unas sighed, realizing that fighting in the Forest was too disadvantageous for the main force. The Forest, teeming with Poison Spiders, was like a giant beast that could devour any number of soldiers. He couldn't let everyone die in vain.
After arguing back and forth without coming up with a brilliant plan, Unas raised his hand to signal for quiet and ordered, "Everyone's energy hasn't recovered from last night's battle. I think we should call it a day. Everyone go back and get some rest, and while you're at it, think of a solution. Meeting adjourned!"
Once everyone had dispersed, he asked the Blue Dragon in a low voice, "How long will it take for you two to recover your fighting strength?"
Mati'gosa replied, "I only need one day; Alice may need a few more days of rest."
"I'm fine," the Little Red Dragon said defiantly, "My injuries are completely healed!"
"Let's talk about it when you can fly on your own." The Blue Dragon bluntly exposed the truth. The wounds on the Red Dragon's skin had indeed scabbed over and looked almost healed, but the toxins in its body had not yet dissipated, and it couldn't even take off smoothly.
"Alright, I understand. You are our strongest fighting force, and you must be restored to your peak condition. I will think of a tactic in the next few days and I will definitely help you retrieve the dragon egg."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Knight Unas."
Emerging from the cave, Unas gazed at the full moon in the sky, and the trusting smile of Mati'gosa resurfaced in his mind. If she weren't a dragon, she must be a gentle woman.