Reuniting with Dark Moon

On the beach, wave after wave pushed countless white foams toward the shoreline, while the cumulonimbus clouds piling up on the horizon resembled a majestic and insurmountable mountain...

Roy stood on the ramming prow of the Black Pearl, squinting as he enjoyed the fishy-smelling sea breeze.

The fishing rod in Roy's hand was suddenly pulled by a heavy object, and he instinctively lifted the rod up...

Then, a black sea fish, slightly larger than the palm of a hand, flew out of the water and thrashed about on the hook.

Roy deftly tossed it onto the deck, then put down his fishing rod and went over to remove the hook from the mouth of the Black Gold Valley.

Roy hasn't lived on this ship since it was renovated.

On his first day back from the Malaga Jungle, after nearly a month of Roy Roy like his body was a giant meat grinder, craving to be filled with countless foods. Although he ate his fill in the morning and at noon, Roy was particularly looking forward to dinner.

Grilled fish!

This is the fourth fish Roy has caught. According to the elves' custom, they only take as many fish as they want to eat.

Four fish were enough for Roy, Jasper, and Abbott, but Roy added a sandworm to the hook and cast it back into the sea...

Jasper and Abbott are starting a fire on the deck as Roy requested.

They put the chopped firewood into the half-cut iron barrel, lit it, and then left it there. At this point, the two men retrieved an iron mesh from the lower cabin, and the barbecue grill was ready. The wood needed to be thoroughly burned until it turned into charcoal so that the food wouldn't have a strong smoky taste.

Seeing Roy still fishing, Abbott reminded Roy, "These fish are enough for us to eat, Roy!"

"I also need to prepare one for the kitten!" Roy replied.

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled his arm up, and a bud immediately appeared on the fishhook.

Roy caught eight fish before stopping, scaling them, cutting them open from the back, removing the innards, marinating them briefly, and then tossing them onto the grill.

By this time, the charcoal fire from the firewood had cooled down considerably, making it perfect for grilling the fish without it burning.

As the fish slowly roasts over the charcoal fire, the oil inside is forced out and drips onto the fire, making the aroma extremely tempting.

The food that elves crave is sweet fruit, and a significant number of elves are completely vegetarian.

However, this does not include Half-Elf, because for a long period of time, they did not even have the right to choose what they could eat each day.

The grilled fish is cooked.

The three Novice Priest sat on the deck, enjoying their meal while watching the sunset.

Abbott also prepared a large pot of fruit tea.

When the conversation turned to Jasper's situation, Roy learned that Miss Tiffany had been rarely seen lately.

Jasper said she's currently studying Naga Magic with the priests of her tribe and is very busy, only able to meet once every two weeks and spend an afternoon together.

The three of them had almost finished eating the grilled fish, and they held their cups as the setting sun gradually sank into the sea in the distance.

"The first batch of the Holy War Army is said to have already entered the Dark Land," Jasper said softly, his tone filled with anticipation.

The headquarters of the Goddess of Freedom Temple on the Elf Continent is in Gorfito. Roy knew that Gorfito was currently gathering all the Priest of the Elf Continent there, but he did not expect that the first batch of the Holy War Army had already entered the Dark Land so quickly.

"How's it going?" Roy asked impatiently.

He hoped for a good outcome so that the Goddess of Freedom Temple across the mainland could finally see a better day.

"It's said that they've captured over thirty settlements in succession, charging deep into the Dark Land, extending their supply lines over two thousand kilometers," Jasper told Roy, his eyes brightening with a burning fighting spirit.

"So deep?" Roy exclaimed in surprise.

It's not that I'm worried about the Holy War Army's supply lines, because I have Magic Pouch and Elf Biscuit.

Roy was worried that the battle lines were stretched too thin and the military strength of the Holy War Army was too dispersed, which might lead to a backlash from the local native forces in the Dark Land.

Abbott then put down the grilled fish, took out a silk cloth to wipe the grease from the corners of his mouth, and said:

"The 800,000 Holy War Army are divided into three groups and are heading into the depths of the Dark Land. This Holy War Army operation plan is only to find clues about the Goddess. Once any clues are found, the second batch of 1.5 million Holy War Army will immediately enter the Dark Land through the Teleportation Portal and then focus on searching the area where the Goddess is trapped."

Roy asked with great curiosity, "So... are they certain that the Goddess is trapped in the Dark Land?"

Speaking of this, Jasper said angrily, "It is said that the higher-ups have known about it for a long time, but they have not made any decisions to deal with it."

"If waiting can be considered a decision, then that's exactly what they did..."

Abbott then chimed in with a sarcastic remark.

"Will they continue recruiting Priest in Gorfito?" Roy asked curiously.

"Yes!" Jasper replied affirmatively.

Abbott, however, showed no fighting spirit in his eyes, fiddling with the Iron Awl in his hand as he said:

"To be honest, I don't want to go to that cold, dark place. If the Conscription Order comes down, I'll leave the temple and start a new life."

Jasper, however, was full of fighting spirit and said with some longing, "I really want to take a look at the Dark Land, but I'm also a little reluctant to Miss Tiffany. Actually, I've been very conflicted lately. This period of calm has allowed me to properly examine myself and decide whether I love Miss Tiffany more or the Goddess of Freedom more..."

Roy and Abbott looked at Jasper speechlessly, wishing they could both throw her into the sea below the boat to sober her up.

"I've heard it's a place where the light doesn't reach, I don't want to go," Roy said.

He then pointed in the direction where the sun was setting and whispered, "I want to go to the other side of the sea and see that place called Roland Continent."

"That's good too," Jasper said.

Abbott immediately urged Roy, "Roy, you need to speed up your studies. We still need to go out to sea to find that pirate treasure!"

Roy turned to Abbott, who had been studying various nautical charts lately. "I know. By the way, any new discoveries lately?"

"No..." Abbott said, utterly dejected.

The three left the Black Pearl, with Jasper and Abbott returning to the temple.

Roy walked along Brown Street until he reached the street corner. It wasn't completely dark yet, but there were very few pedestrians on the street.

There were no more elves waiting for their Long Carriage; most vendors had already packed up and left. Only the Breadfruit vendor was still tending his stall, as the elves needed something to eat the latest.

Roy took out the four pieces of grilled fish he was carrying and squatted outside the low wall of the Potion Shop. Right there in the dense bushes, the Night Blade Leopard's head suddenly popped out, its sharp teeth almost touching the back of Roy's hand.

It let out a reluctant cry, seemingly annoyed that Roy had been gone for so long.

The whiskers on his mouth were a bit prickly, so Roy took a piece of grilled fish off the skewer and stuffed it into the Night Blade Leopard's mouth like a big biscuit...

It rolled its tongue twice and then swallowed it whole.

"You should chew it properly; it's good for your stomach," Roy muttered to himself. He thought the Night Blade Leopard was very smart; although it couldn't speak, it understood what he said most of the time.

Then, another grilled fish was handed over. As expected, the Night Blade Leopard didn't use its tongue to roll it up. It just twitched its throat twice, chewed it a couple of times, and then swallowed the grilled fish.

Roy stuffed the third grilled fish into its mouth, then waved the last one in his hand, reminding it, "This is the last one..."

Normally, the Night Blade Leopard would carry the food back to its den and lick it slowly, but this time it swallowed it whole and then used its front paws to scratch at the collar around its neck. Its sharp claws easily tore the collar open.

The Night Blade Leopard broke free and charged forward, tackling Roy was crouching by the roadside, to the ground and baring its teeth at him menacingly.

Then he nimbly jumped away.

He ran toward the bridge over the Da Nei River at the Cross Street Intersection, glancing back at Roy every few steps.

Roy was speechless, wondering what was wrong with this silly cat this time. The last time it did this, it took him to the rocky beach and dug out a few stinky fish from the sand.

This time, they even had to lead him towards the beach.

Roy thought it might not have eaten enough and wanted to catch two more.

"It's too late, I have to go home. I'll bring you some more tomorrow! Besides, you shed a lot if you eat too much salty food..."

Roy followed slowly behind the Night Blade Leopard, trying to persuade the silly cat who had run away on his own to go home obediently.

The Night Blade Leopard snarled and growled at him. When they reached the beach, the Night Blade Leopard did not run towards the sea reef, but instead ran directly to the mouth of the Da Nei River, where the outlets of other Dark Channel in the city were also gathered.

The Night Blade Leopard leaped across the massive sea reefs, arriving directly at the outlet of a Dark Channel.

It probably hasn't rained much these past few days, because only a little bit of sewage is flowing out of the drain here.

However, the area near the water outlet is always quite muddy. While the Night Blade Leopard can leap around on the boulders, it's more difficult for Roy to walk.

Having just left the Malaga Jungle, Roy was disgusted by the mud and stench.

It wasn't until Roy reached a crevice in the rocks next to the water outlet that he could clearly see that there was an elf lying inside wearing tight leather armor. His skin was somewhat grayish, and his silver hair was sticking messily to his forehead. There was a lot of blood deep inside the bandages around his waist, and he looked like he was about to die.

"Why is it you?"

Roy stood beside the Night Blade Leopard and muttered something under his breath, somewhat speechless.

The Dark Moon Elf slightly opened her eyes, saw Roy standing with the Night Blade Leopard, barely managed a forced smile before fainting again.