Return to Bulwark Village

Back at camp, Roy found Instructor Gru sitting by the campfire. Having probably heard footsteps, Instructor Gru turned to Roy with a smile and asked, "Your two friends are gone?"

At night, the cold wind made the campfire crackle and pop.

The flames flickered incessantly, as if they might go out at any moment, and the embers in the fire emitted a soft orange glow.

Instructor Gru's words startled Roy.

I promised to keep it a secret, but the secret was exposed that very night.

"Instructor Gru, you... know them?"

Instructor Gru picked at his ear with his finger and said somewhat speechlessly, "You were talking so loudly outside the tent, and you even offered them fruit tea. I wasn't asleep, so what's so strange about hearing your conversation?"

Roy sat down in front of Instructor Gru with some difficulty.

Even if you're wrapped in a blanket, sitting here, it won't be long before your body is chilled to the bone by the cold wind.

Facing the campfire, you feel warm, but your back feels cold.

Roy whispered to Instructor Gru:

"They are both Half-Elf Beast Tamer. I promised them I wouldn't reveal their secret."

Seeing Roy's pleading look, Instructor Gru decided not to make things difficult for him any longer and smiled as he said to Roy:

"Alright, I'll keep this a secret for you."

He's used to being serious, so his smile isn't very attractive.

Roy glanced guiltily at the tent again, then casually asked Instructor Gru, "Instructor Gru, do you know why the Silver Moon Elf hate Beast Tamer?"

Instructor Gru's face returned to normal. He threw a piece of Pine Wood into the fire and then corrected Roy:

"First of all, not all Silver Moon Elf hate Elf Beast Tamer; at least I don't."

Firewood was thrown into the campfire, and the sparks that flew up were blown about by the wind and disappeared in an instant.

Roy was still reminiscing about the two griffins, which looked about the size of a bison, and they had obediently put on their saddles.

In fact, Roy had seen winged Silver Pegasus among the Silver Moon Elf, but since they were horses, even with angelic white wings, he wasn't too surprised.

But the griffin is different; apart from its fleshy wings and tail, it is exactly like a lion.

Now it's become a mount, and it can even fly...

At this moment, Roy heard Instructor Gru say, "Speaking of which, the profession of Beast Tamer was learned by a bard from the Lizardmen in the northern wilderness swamp of the Etia Alliance Kingdom when he was traveling around the Roland Continent of Roland. The Lizardmen could tame the magical beasts in the swamp and use them for their own purposes. The bard felt that the elves could also tame magical beasts instead of engaging in too much killing when expanding their territory, so he spent several years becoming a Beast Tamer and brought all his skills back to the Elf Continent."

"However, things are not as simple as he thought."

"On the Elf Continent, the Silver Moon Elf possess the ability to communicate telepathically. The purest hearts can win the favor of unicorns and become knights of the most powerful Unicorn Legion. Even those who are slightly less pure can gain the recognition of the Silver Pegasus and become Silver Pegasus Warrior. This is the most powerful legion in the Silver Moon Elf Kingdom and the pride of the Silver Moon Elf."

"Therefore, many Silver Moon Elf reject Beast Tamer, believing that Beast Tamer are not part of the Elven heritage, but rather a means for barbaric races to enslave magical beasts. The Silver Moon Elf do not accept the profession of Beast Tamer, but it spreads very well among Half-Elf. The existence of Beast Tamer has posed a threat to the Silver Pegasus Legion."

"After that, the Half-Elf was exiled to various planes, and later the Beast Tamer was ostracized and suppressed by various forces until he disappeared safely from everyone's sight."

"Even now, there are still two schools of thought in the Elf Academy that are arguing about this."

"..."

No wonder these Beast Tamer live in remote corners, leading a life like a paradise. It turns out they are ostracized by the mainstream society of the Elf Continent, and even discriminated against and oppressed by many Silver Moon Elf. They live a very difficult life on the Elf Continent.

After arriving in the Pattington Plane, there may also be a period of unpleasant experiences.

Now, they're hiding on the south side of the Bulwark Mountain Range...

It's clear that these two young Half-Elf have a lot of grievances against the Silver Moon Elf and are very wary of them.

As they talked, dawn broke.

Instructor Nora emerged from the tent, yawning, and put on her leather armor. Seeing that Gelu and Roy were still awake, she said to them:

"Why aren't you two asleep? You can catch up on some sleep while you still can."

"I plan to leave the Pine Forest before noon and take the South Wind Path to the last campsite to rest!"

Instructor Nora turned around and spoke to guide Majeri, who had just climbed out of the tent.

"Okay, then I'll sleep a little longer." Instructor Gru turned around and crawled into the tent.

Roy also ran back to his tent. Although he wasn't too sleepy, Roy decided to rest for a bit because he had to cross the South Wind Path at noon.

When Roy crawled out of his tent, only his and Instructor Gru's tents remained in the camp.

Fortunately, he didn't have much luggage. With Sabrina's help, he quickly dismantled the tent and put it into his Magic Pouch. He also ate some Elf Biscuit and drank a cup of hot water before setting off with the Adventure Group back to Bulwark Village.

This time, the South Wind Path was much easier to walk through.

Having learned from the experience of dealing with the Ghoul-faced Bat and made ample preparations, and also traveling with the wind at their backs, they were blown forward by the wind the whole way.

Instructor Nora decided to leave a safety rope on the South Wind Path, so the last members wouldn't need to pull out the Iron Awl and could walk much faster on the South Wind Path.

For some reason, the Ghoul-faced Bat didn't fly out this time either.

Apart from the strong winds that could blow people away, there were no other dangers encountered in the canyon.

The Adventure Group easily made their way out of South Wind Path.

After avoiding the wind, the cold wind suddenly disappeared. Roy couldn't help but look back at the South Wind Path. The mountain peak on the left side of the canyon seemed to tremble twice, and then countless Ghoul-faced Bat swarmed and danced in the wind.

However, no matter how these Ghoul-faced Bat fly, it has nothing to do with the Adventure Group.

Re-entering this rugged cliffside path, Roy felt a headache coming on. Standing on the stone path at the edge of the cliff, even turning around was extremely difficult. He had to hold onto the rope with one hand at all times, and he also had to be constantly wary of the griffins circling in the sky.

Roy now understood that the griffins wouldn't easily rush into the South Wind Path because the strong winds in the canyon would blow them away, and the griffins also wouldn't enter the Pine Forest at Aperture No.3 because a Black Jaw Spider was lurking there.

However, the Mountain Road on this side of the cliff is different; once the griffins discover it, things will become very troublesome.

So everyone continued to wear the Disguise Cloak given to them by their guide Majeri, and then carefully walked along the cliff face.

There's only one rest stop along each stretch of road, so once you reach a rest stop, even if it's not dark yet, everyone will set up camp and rest.

On the way back to Bulwark Village, the Adventure Group members were in high spirits. After all, the Adventure Group had successfully reached Aperture No.3. Although they had not been able to cross the Griffon Bulwark Mountain Range, they had at least seen the scenery on the other side of the mountain.

Beyond the mountains, there were no rolling hills, only a dense forest, and in the distance, a vast blue sea...

This rich experience is enough to add a beautiful line to each member's resume.

The return journey also took nearly a week.

When everyone emerged from the steep mountainside and stepped onto loose rocks that could slide down at any moment, all the members cheered.

Next, they had to rely on ropes to slide down a cliff over forty meters high, walk for most of the day on a hillside covered with weeds and shrubs, and then disappear into the sparse woodland before finally escaping the griffins' sight.

Those griffin hides are worthless on the market, and Instructor Nora doesn't want to mess with them unless absolutely necessary.

"Nora, on this way back, we can look for more Lapis Lazuli Beast. Maybe we'll get lucky and find one..."

Magician Scarlett walked in the group, constantly telling Instructor Nora about the benefits of hunting Lapis Lazuli Beast.

"Understood. Once we get back to Bulwark Village, I'll figure out how to get back to Padesto City. If we can enter the territory of the Lapis Lazuli Beast along the way, we'll give it a try!"

Instructor Nora granted Magician Scarlett's request.

When they arrived, the Adventure Group had to abandon many hunting plans in order to protect the Half-Elf hunters who were migrating south.

When we went back, we naturally wanted to revisit the places we missed.

Roy was also somewhat disappointed. He hadn't been able to find the Light Flower along the way, and he didn't even know if he had gone to check the source of the stream below the Bulwark Village...

Guide Majeri led the Adventure Group to the summit of the mountain ridge on the south side of the Bulwark Village, with the Bulwark Village hidden in the jungle below.

However, there seemed to be something unusual in the Bulwark Village at this time. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky from the village, as if something was being burned.

Many griffins still lingered in the sky...

"I see a lot of treehouses are on fire. Let's hurry back, maybe we can still help..."

Instructor Eleanor jumped down from a tall tree and shouted to Instructor Nora.

Instructor Nora quickly had guide Majeri lead the way, and the group hurriedly ran towards the Bulwark Village.

When they reached the edge of the village, they discovered that a legion of the Silver Moon Elf Legion had surrounded the Bulwark Village. These Elf Warrior were holding off hundreds of Half-Elf hunters and driving them toward the village square.

Many trees in the village were engulfed in flames, some of which were completely reduced to ashes.

Many of the Half-Elf hunters were wounded and unable to withstand the onslaught of the Elf Warrior. They were forced to gather in the square, and cries and screams filled the village...