Early the next morning, Cedren came back with the Noldos.
"Lord Li Ang, your plan is very good. I think there should be no enemies around here."
Cedren's face is very good, and it seems that most of those Gatu people's haven't been able to escape.
"But I think you may not be able to rest. We should go to the weapons factory you mentioned right away. I hope there is no trouble there..."
Li Ang pointed to the east.
Cedren nodded. "Of course I have no problem, but don't you need to rest?"
"My troops had just slept, so I didn't clean up these corpses... The wounded are in a valley five miles to the south. Leave your soldiers here and let them clean up the battlefield and take care of the wounded. You and I will go to the east to have a look - if you are not there, I will not dare to get close to the settlements of your tribe..."
After the lord finished speaking, he began to assemble his army and planned to set off immediately.
Of course, Li Ang will not stay here for too long. He plans to meet the top management of the Fenway Family.
But if he appears near the settlement of Noldor with his army, he will probably be attacked, so he must let Cedren introduce him.
There are deep mountains and old forests for sixty miles to the east. Even with Cedren leading the way, it still took a whole day to walk.
It was already afternoon when we arrived near the settlement of the Fenway Family.
"We'll be there soon. Please wait here for a while while I go say hello to avoid any misunderstanding."
Cedren asked Leon to stop first, and then planned to go through the woods ahead alone.
Of course, this Twilight Knight also knew that if the human troops approached, it would definitely cause misunderstandings, so of course he had to report it first.
But Li Ang raised his head and looked ahead, frowned, and grabbed Cedren: "Wait!"
Then, he found a place with relatively sparse trees and looked at the sky.
"Cedren, wait! The Noldos should also use furnaces to make weapons..."
"Of course you need a furnace to smelt metal, Lord Li Ang... you mean..."
Cedren then looked at the sky, then looked back with a solemn expression.
"There is neither smoke nor birds in the sky...Cedren! There is a situation here, and it happened not long ago! Everyone, prepare to fight!"
Li Ang directed the soldiers to gather together and start putting on equipment on the spot - the troops did not wear armor when marching, otherwise they would not be able to operate in such deep mountains and forests.
"Who! Come out!"
At this moment, Cedren seemed to have discovered something, shouted into the forest, and then began to look around.
No one responded, but a few seconds later, there was a "swish" sound, and a light and shadow passed by the forest on the side and went straight to Li Ang's back.
"Dang!"
Risadiran held up his shield and stood behind Li Ang, blocking the light and shadow.
There is an arrow embedded in the shield.
"Over there!"
Risadiran stood motionless, and the arrow tail must be pointing to where the archer was hiding. Cedren took off the bow from his back and rushed into the dense forest in that direction with extremely fast movement.
Risadiran glanced at his shield and did not rush forward. Instead, he protected Li Ang and took a few steps back.
What is stuck on the shield is not Noldo arrows, but a wooden arrow with patterned fletching.
"Sir, this is the Xingar arrow... the feathers are made of ostrich feathers."
Risadiran whispered to the lord behind him.
"Xingar? How could they come here..."
Li Ang is quite unexpected. Xingar nominally belongs to Duchy of Dexia. It is located in the desert in the southwest of the mainland. It is separated from Noldo Forest by more than half of the continent, at least more than two thousand miles.
"Maybe it's the Xingar slave catching team..."
Risadiran carefully looked around, handed the shield to Li Ang, and took off the bow and arrow on his back.
Many years ago, this elf killer made his debut in Xingar. His first business was when he saw a murder contract posted publicly in the largest tavern in Xingar.
Yes, a publicly posted murder is like a reward, but it is not to pursue the guilty person, but to simply put a price on a human life.
Risadiran, who was in urgent need of making a living at that time, brought back one of the heads, and then just like that, he got his first income after entering human society on the bar of the pub...
Risadiran knows Xingar quite well, so he behaves very cautiously.
Ansen also seems to know it better - his hometown Aishikeman now also belongs to Duchy of Dexia. He must have heard about Xingar's situation, so his face is full of nervousness now.
Especially after hearing Risadiran talk about the 'Xingar Slave Catching Team'.
"Ah..."
A scream came from the direction of the dense forest where Cedren entered.
Ten seconds later, Cedren dragged a man whose leg had been shot through back to where Li Ang was.
"I only saw this one person... But there was only one person. Why did he attack the army?"
Cedren dragged the guy to Li Ang and stopped the man's screams with a slap on the head.
It was indeed Xingar, it looked like a rider, but he never spoke, he just lay on the ground and stared at Cedren with hateful eyes.
"I'll give you a minute to say something useful."
Li Ang looked at the soldiers who were still putting on their equipment, and patted the prisoner's face with his sword.
The guy didn't react at all.
"Sir, let me do this work..."
Andongjia lifted her Raven Territory long sword, scraped the blade with her fingers, and used the sword to chop the tree next to her - not even cutting through the bark of the tree, it looked like the blade on the side was quite blunt.
Then she walked up to the Xingar without saying a word, just looking at him, then stepped on the prisoner's thigh that had been hit by an arrow, and started to cut the prisoner's calf with the sword blade.
'G... G...'
The scene of being cut with a dull knife was quite unbearable. The prisoner finally spoke, "Don't... don't do this! Give me a good time!"
Andongjia remained expressionless and didn't say a word. He just kept cutting his calf seriously.
The leather leggings have been cut to pieces, and a bloody groove has been cut on the calf. The bloody flesh is rubbing against the sword blade, making a "gruck" sound.
"I am a subordinate of Lord Fruz! I was hired here to capture Noldo Elves, but I was separated from the main force..."
Without asking anything, this guy started to explain himself...
It seems that Misty Mountains's torture method is very good.
"How many people are there in your army? Where did they enter the forest?"
Li Ang started asking questions.
"Fifteen hundred people, we came in from the south of Dengil Mountain, from a burned castle... Oh, Shield Wind Fortress! That used to be Shield Wind Fortress!"
It seems that this is the sequelae of burning Shield Wind Fortress. Such a large force passed south of the Dengjier Mountains without being discovered by any force.
"Where have your troops gone?"
Cedren asked.
"Returning to the south, we already succeeded the day before yesterday... I got separated, and when I heard the voice of Noldor, I thought I was discovered, so I shot an arrow..."
"What? Did you succeed?"
Li Ang and Cedren were both shocked.
If it was the day before yesterday, it would be one day earlier than the time when Gatu people and Misty Mountain people were encountered at the racecourse. This should also be the time when Isildur was marching this way.
After the attack, they returned south and probably met Isildur's army halfway, so Isildur was held back by this army of 1,500 people and could not come here.
"When we arrived here, the Noldor here seemed to be preparing to move, so we hid in the woods and ambush them. They had almost no defense... So we were easily defeated and captured more than twenty people, including three girl rangers... I only know so much, please, give me a break!"
The Xingar's calf bone had already begun to sharpen the sword's edge, making a "squeaking" friction sound. Andongjia's hands never stopped.
So Xingar spoke very fast, and now he was trembling all over and just wanted to die.
"Okay Andongjia, stop it and take him with you..."
After looking at the brothers who had finished outfitting, they quickly headed to the weapons factory with their troops.
Soon after, the lord came to the settlement of the Fenway Family.
Many treehouses were built on the outermost trees, but all of them were deserted.
Walking further inside, you will find a place that is more spacious than the racecourse, a large flat land surrounded by dense forests.
Several large workshops were built in the center, and not a single tree was left within two hundred meters around the workshops.
A group of people separately inspected all the houses and factories inside and outside, but found nothing in the end - all the people and weapons and equipment were gone, and only a dozen cleanly stripped corpses were left on the scene.
"How many people were supposed to be here?"
Li Ang asked Cedren with a frown.
"There are at least more than a hundred people. They are probably just like me at the racecourse, and they are also preparing to transport supplies to the city... It's probably like what you said, the enemy is hiding nearby and will suddenly attack when the combatants start to transport supplies..."
Cedren murmured, "I have to find the enemy!"
But now no one knows where the enemy is. The forest is so big that even a large army of thousands of people would be difficult to find in this forest.
And since the prisoner would be separated from the main force, he would naturally not be able to find his accomplices either.
Besides, Cedren hasn't slept for two days, and Li Ang's troops have been traveling all day, so they can only rest here temporarily.
Half a day later...
'Woo... Woo...'
A strange flute sound sounded.
"Our troops are coming!"
Cedren was sleeping. After hearing the sound of the flute, he immediately stood up, found a Noldo arrows without an arrow in his quiver, raised the bow in his hand and shot it into the sky.
It was a noisy arrow, or a whistle arrow, and it flew into the sky with a "wuwu" flute sound.
It seems that this is the way the Noldor troops send signals, and it should indicate the location of their own people.
Soon, a Noldor army arrived.
Cedren immediately lowered his head when he saw the leader, put his hand on his chest and saluted. "Your Majesty!"
"Cedren, why are you here? What's going on with these humans..."
The leader is a Noldo who looks to be middle-aged and old, wearing a crown in the shape of a wreath of branches and leaves. This is obviously Elf King Felgornsal of the Fenway Family.
In fact, it is difficult to tell the age of Noldo Elves because they live so long that they always look young.
In terms of Nuoduo's lifespan, if he looks like a middle-aged or elderly person, then he is probably really old.
"Your Majesty, this is Lord Li Ang from White Deer Fortress. He helped me kill more than five hundred enemies. Lord Li Ang, this is our king, Your Majesty Felgornsal."
Cedren starts the introduction.
In fact, the lord cannot be called 'Li Ang of White Deer Fortress' because his fief is still only Wheat Fragrance Territory.
But Li Ang did not correct this statement. All his thoughts were on Elf King.
This is his main purpose in coming to Noldo Forest - he wants to get the support of the elves.
"Li Ang..."
Felgornsal looked at the lord and seemed to have remembered something, but did not show it. He just nodded kindly. "Thank you for your help, kid. I hope my family will have the opportunity to repay you in the future... But now, Cedren, we have to rescue the captured tribesmen!"
It seems that many Noldor escaped two days ago and immediately reported the situation to the elves' castle - this was the right choice. Whether it was to save their lives or for the safety of other tribesmen, they could only run to where Elf King was.
If they had fled to the racecourse at that time, they would have attracted the enemy to the racecourse.
"Your Majesty, you actually want to personally lead the army to pursue the enemy?"
Cedren looked surprised.
"No, Your Majesty is just here to rebuild the factory... I will be responsible for leading the troops to pursue them. Those children who were captured are my students."
A female ranger stepped forward, looked at Li Ang indifferently, turned to Cedren and said, "You shouldn't trust humans..."
This is a mature woman with a beautiful face, but for some reason, Li Ang always feels that the word "tough" should be used to describe her.
Risadiran shrank his head after seeing this female ranger, seeming to be quite afraid of her.
Cedren shook his head. "Vendathir, Lord Li Ang has proven his goodwill. You can't treat your friends so rudely."
"Friends?"
Vendathir smiled contemptuously and walked directly to Li Ang: "Okay friend, why did you come to Noldo Forest?"
"Just to find myself a reliable ally..."
The Lord Lord shook his head. "However, looking at your appearance now, it seems that you are not qualified to be my ally! I originally thought that an ancient ethnic group like the Noldor meant profound wisdom, but what I saw along the way was not like that... It was more like a group of incompetent people who would only turn around and bully weak civilians after being bullied."
Of course, the lord said this on purpose. This is his usual approach, to first arouse the other party's interest in conversation - it is actually better to be dissatisfied or angry.
Li Ang's words sounded like a provocation. Vendathir was obviously irritated. There was a fierce light in his eyes, as if he was about to draw his sword.
But Felgornsal came over and took a deep look at Li Ang: "A human said this decades ago... My child, tell me why you think Noldor has lost his wisdom..."
"Millions of years ago, your civilization was ten thousand times better than humans, but you never thought of using knowledge and culture to capture the hearts of humans and make humans one of you. Instead, you treated humans as wild animals... Now, humans have created a civilization that is not inferior to yours in any way, but you are still like this..."
"You originally had countless advantages, such as strength, longevity, and advanced technological inheritance. In fact, at the beginning, all you had to do was lower your noble heads and treat humans as equal intelligent beings. Not only could you coexist peacefully with them, but you could even make humans worship you..."
"Three hundred years ago, after you defeated the human army that invaded the forest, you already had the greatest deterrent power. However, you did not make reasonable use of this deterrent power. Instead, you killed all the people around the forest who originally wanted to maintain good relations with you. You lost your trade routes and communication channels with humans. Since then, you have personally destroyed your hope of rising again!"
Li Ang shook his head and smiled, but he did not finish his words: "The long lifespan coupled with the fate of being a slave of Sindar Elves has made you lose your creativity, and you do not have the ability to learn quickly. You must have no new inventions in these thousands of years, right? You have probably lost a lot of your original ancient inheritance, right?"
"But now, you have turned all your advantages into weaknesses. It is your own arrogance that has caused mankind's love for you to become a reason to capture you, but you regard it as hatred - you should hate yourself. With your lifespan, you should have participated in the war three hundred years ago, right? At that time, as long as you had a little bit of brains, you should negotiate with humans and agree on a place where the two races can live together, and require your tribe to treat humans as equals and live in harmony..."
"Now you are just an armed tribe with no creativity, no ability to learn quickly, and no development prospects. You have been resting on your laurels and have not changed your ways..."
"To say that you are an armed tribe is looking down upon you - you don't even have a target. You only know how to wait, wait and see, or kill civilians in revenge after being invaded..."
Li Ang finally ended his complaint and spread his hands. "I don't understand, what is the meaning of your life like this? Is this kind of life called wisdom?"
"Lord Li Ang..."
Cedren didn't expect that Li Ang would say this in front of the Fenway Family's Elf King, and he couldn't accept it.
But Vendathir, who originally had no good impression of humans, frowned and began to think.
But Felgornsal smiled, "You are right, kid, but you don't understand that the longer the ethnic group is, the harder it is to be changed... I know what you said is right, but it is difficult to change people's ideas..."
"It's not difficult, it just requires some sacrifices - unfortunately, you don't have the courage to sacrifice."
Li Ang shook his head again, he was ready to brainwash Elf King.
Felgornsal was stunned for a while and nodded. "Maybe you are right, but we cannot afford to sacrifice..."
"The sacrifice I am talking about is not a dead person..."
Li Ang grinned. "I mean, you should let some of your people try to integrate into the human beings who are kind to you. Sacrifice your arrogant character, sacrifice your so-called tradition, sacrifice those things passed down from The inheritance of Sindar Elves's so-called pure blood and civilization is not inherited through servitude and blood, but by connecting the interests of humans and elves. In this way, humans will not only protect Noldo Elves, but also naturally help you pass on the elves' civilization."