Headhunters
"Where are they located right now?" Roy asked, looking at the Parchment Map.
Kaka glanced at the map, pointed to a canyon, and said to Roy:
"They're still fleeing east, but they probably won't get far. The group chasing them is riding argali sheep, and they're very good at tracking..."
"Take me to that battlefield."
Roy folded the map neatly and put it in his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he spoke to Kaka.
He hesitated, not really wanting to get involved.
The main reason is that I don't know much about those elves riding highland argali sheep. I'm thinking of going to check out the place where they fought. If the other side is strong, I should try to avoid them.
"Okay," Kaka replied.
Sabrina said from the side, "Roy, we don't really need to take the risk!"
Roy told Sabrina, "We're just going to check out where they fought. If they're really strong, we'll retreat immediately."
Seeing that Roy insisted on going to see the place where the fight had taken place, Sabrina didn't insist anymore...
Klayr, however, was full of fighting spirit and said, "Shall we go after those elves?"
"Just go and check the area where the battle took place."
Kaka led the way, guiding everyone through a jungle, along grassy slopes, over mountains, and to a Stream Valley. There was a small grove of trees there, which was where the elf children had previously hidden. There were many low-lying berry trees growing beside the grove, which was probably why they camped there.
The grove was now a scene of devastation, with broken branches and leaves everywhere, and some trees stained with blood.
Kaka, leading Roy Creek, was the first to enter the woods.
Two elves lay in pools of blood, one of them almost severed at the waist, the ground covered with congealed blackish-purple blood, indicating he was completely cold.
Another elf was stabbed in the chest with a longsword, his body pinned to a large tree, his head pressed against his chest, and the rough leather armor exuded a strong smell of blood.
There were some belongings scattered in the clearing in the woods, mostly rolls of linen and fur.
Roy crouched down beside the elf who had been cut in half at the waist, examining the wound. The weapon was extremely sharp, having almost severed him in two with a single strike, even cleanly cutting through his leather armor.
Moreover, the slain elf should have been completely defenseless...
Upon seeing the elf's corpse, Moira covered her mouth and ran away, with Miss Tiffany beside her, seemingly whispering words of comfort.
Sabrina walked over with a serious expression and said to Roy, "Roy, that one is still alive."
Roy quickly stood up, ran to the big tree, and placed his hand under the elf's nose for a short while. Sure enough, there was still a faint breath.
I never imagined that someone could survive with a long sword piercing their chest and bleeding so much...
Roy dared not draw his sword; he immediately cast ' Holy Light Art ' to heal the elf.
Holy light spread across the elf's chest, turning into tiny specks of light that disappeared onto the elf's body. The wound healed rapidly at a visible speed. Roy took the opportunity to pull the longsword out of the elf's chest and then cast the ' Holy Light Art again. Sure enough, the wound stopped bleeding profusely and continued to heal.
Holy Light Art is a divine spell that Roy learned after becoming Priest. It has a powerful healing effect on wounds, but it consumes a great deal of Holy Light Power...
The elf had lost too much blood; her face was deathly pale, and her breathing was extremely weak.
But since they're still alive, we can't just abandon them...
The leather he was wearing was even rougher Roy had imagined; it hadn't even been tanned, and it felt stiff against his skin. The seams were riddled with holes the size of a finger, and the leather armor was made of hemp rope twisted from tree vine bark.
This leather armor was barely able to withstand the bites of the Wind Fox, making Roy feel as if he had returned to the Stone Age.
Roy, Woods, Kaka took turns carrying the injured elf back to camp. Kaka then rode his griffin into the sky to search for the elves riding argali. Before nightfall, Kaka rode his griffin back to camp.
"They caught up with the group of elf children and captured them all. They are now heading west along the mountain ridge ahead, probably on their way back to the Pagisto Plateau."
Kaka brought back some terrible news.
Roy asked Kaka, "Will they pass through the place we just went through on their way back?"
"Probably not, we'll have to go around it!" Kaka said.
Roy was a little worried and decided to change campsites after thinking it over.
Everyone was getting ready to rest, especially Miss Tiffany, who had just taken a bath, and Klayr, who had changed into her elegant pajamas and was hiding in her tent revising her sheet music.
When Roy called everyone out of their tents, they were all somewhat reluctant to change campsites.
After all, it was already dark, where could one go in the dark...?
Sabrina was very supportive of Roy's decision, so they changed campsites overnight.
The Adventure Group worked until dawn before finally setting up a few tents again on a hillside near the Bulwark Mountain Range.
The severely injured and unconscious elf miraculously woke up in the morning.
Although his breathing was weak, he was very conscious and could still make hoarse sounds intermittently.
The Half-Elf lay on a fur rug, his head resting on a piece of dead wood; his expression showed he was in great pain...
Roy came over and checked his injuries. It was quite unexpected that he could survive such serious injuries.
Roy guessed that the sword probably hadn't pierced his heart, otherwise the Holy Light Art wouldn't have been able to save him...
"We are an Adventure Group from the Padesto City. We rescued you while passing through a Stream Valley. Where are you from?"
Roy crouched down beside him and asked him.
The injured elf cautiously pointed towards the direction of the Pagisto Plateau without saying a word.
"Pagisto Plateau?"
The injured elf nodded slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Roy continued to ask.
The injured elf opened its mouth, like a fish out of water.
"Smuggling..."
Roy was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected the injured elf to say that.
He was just asking casually, not expecting the injured elf to reveal any secrets...
Hearing the injured elf say this piqued his interest.
After rummaging through his Magic Pouch for a while, he took out a bottle of Life Potion. Roy used his dagger to pry open the cork and poured the entire bottle of Healing Potion into his mouth.
Life Potion is considered a holy medicine for replenishing blood. After drinking a bottle of Life Potion, the injured elf's complexion became rosy.
After resting for a while, probably due to the Life Potion, the injured elf's complexion improved somewhat...
He took a moment to catch his breath before speaking:
"We received a request from the parents of those children on the plateau, and we planned to send the children to the Rampart Town."
Roy knew that some elf children had appeared in Rampart Town for no apparent reason, and he had been investigating their origins just a few days ago.
Unexpectedly, some of the elf children actually came from the Pagisto Plateau.
"Why would they do that?" Roy couldn't understand why those elf children, who were still so young, would leave their parents and come to Rampart Town to make a living.
The injured elf, his face contorted in pain, replied in a very low voice, "We just hope they won't have to live as hard a life as we did..."
Roy could guess what was going on from the tattered leather armor he was wearing, but he still asked curiously, "Are the elves on the Pagisto Plateau having a hard time?"
After giving the injured elf Life Potion, his spirits improved significantly. He told Roy, "Recently, some Elf Headhunters have been capturing miners all over the plateau. Once they catch us, we're thrown into dark, sunless mines to dig for ore until we die. Because there's a Silver Moon Elf garrison here, those Elf Headhunters don't dare come here, which is why we've tried to send the children here."
"Then why doesn't everyone move here?" Roy asked, puzzled.
"Only elven children will not be deported. The Elf Warrior in the army think we are a group of Slave Traders and have already captured many of our companions. Once captured, we will probably be imprisoned in the Parrham Island Prison," the wounded elf said.
"..."
As Roy left Rampart Town, he did indeed see the Elf Warrior capture several Slave Traders.
Roy sighed and casually asked, "Are those guys riding argali the headhunters from the Pagisto Plateau?"
The injured elf nodded with difficulty.
"Why did they take you down into the mine?" Roy asked.
The injured elf replied, "The mine owners are short of miners, so they need us to fill the gaps..."
"Has it always been like this?"
The injured elf shook his head and said, "It wasn't like that before. In the past, mine owners bought Elf Slaves from Slave Traders. In the last two years, not only can we not buy slaves, but we can't even find Slave Traders anymore. As a result, hundreds of headhunters suddenly appeared on the Pagisto Plateau. They specialize in capturing miners for the mine owners. Once they arrive at the mine, the mine owners will throw them into the mine shafts, which are more like prisons. They may never be able to get out of there in their lifetime."
"Every morning and evening, a foreman delivers meals to the mine entrance. Only miners who find ore get to eat; those who don't go hungry..."
The injured elf described the miners' lives to Roy, making Roy feel that these mines were more like alternative Elf Prison.
Four Elf Headhunters hid in the trees, keeping a close eye on the camp where seven marching tents had been pitched.
They followed the trail and, upon discovering Roy's Adventure Group, hid in a tree and quietly observed them...
Everyone's face was smeared with green sap from trees, and their bodies smelled strongly of tree oil.
The Elf Headhunters, carrying hunting bows, whispered among themselves, "The members of this Adventure Group are a group of young elves who don't seem to have much experience in wilderness survival. There are no warning traps set up around them."
"Wasn't it said that the Teleportation Portal to Padesto City had been closed?"
"Perhaps they are just a group of young elves from the Padesto City who came here simply to gain experience."
"There's another human in the team. What do you think? Should we bring them back to the Pagisto Plateau as well?"
"It doesn't matter whether I take these young elves with me or not. What I really care about are their horses. Riding argali all day doesn't suit my style at all. If I take those horses to the plateau, perhaps in the near future, we'll have our own herd..."
"Boss, you've really thought things through long-term."
"Phil, you deal with that human. Sam, you take care of those two Half-Elf girls in the tent. Proda, take care of that Silver Moon Elf. I'll deal with that burly Half-Elf boy. Don't waste any more time. If they resist, take them down decisively. We need to end this battle quickly. Our target is those horses they brought!"
"OK..."
"Clear!"
"Understood, boss."
"Boss, should we call everyone over before we start?"
"If you eat a strawberry, will you spit it out and share half with me?"
"Boss, if you really want to do that, I will!"
"You're such an idiot..."
"Alright everyone, listen to my command and follow me..."
The branches swayed slightly, and several Elf Headhunters quickly blended into the bushes, slowly making their way towards the Adventure Group's camp...
They discovered last night that an elf's body was missing from the camp. After some investigation, they found out that the elf had actually been rescued by an Adventure Group.
Four hunters spent the entire day observing and discovered that, apart from one very experienced elf Beast Tamer riding a griffin, the other elves had almost no experience in wilderness survival. Moreover, they were so young, which gave the four hunters some bold ideas.
Moira suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed the Thrust Sabre hanging on the tent frame, and crouched inside the tent like a cheetah. She then woke up Sabrina was sleeping next to her.
When Sabrina woke up, she saw Moira press her hand to her lips and silently point to the tent entrance.
Sabrina quickly grabbed the Serugi Longsword lying under the mattress and swiftly put on the Dwarf Chain Mail. Moira also put on the Hedgehog Crystal Lion leather armor. They then noticed a figure silently approaching the tent entrance.
A sharp longsword ripped open the tent flap, Moira pressed her body tightly against the tarpaulin.
The instant the curtain was lifted, Sabrina raised her Serugi Longsword and slashed at the elf standing at the door. The elf standing at the tent entrance reacted quickly, blocking Sabrina's slash with his longsword, which then swiftly flicked towards Sabrina's wrist like a serpent.
Sabrina didn't even try to dodge; Serugi Longsword swept towards the elf's chest...
Sabrina's arm made a clanging sound as the longsword caught on her black iron bracers. The Dwarf Chain Mail was sturdy enough that even the bracers were made of chainmail with metal bracers underneath.
When headhunter Sam failed to sever Sabrina's hand with his sword, a chill ran down his spine.
He dared not go any further into the tent and retreated rapidly towards the outside...
Sabrina cleaved a hole in the marching tent with her sword, Sabrina an Elf Sword Dancer wielding Dual Swords appeared behind her. Sabrina then merged with Sabrina, who held a Serugi Longsword in each hand Dual Swords simultaneously slashed at the headhunter Sam's neck.
Sam parried with his sword again, but the Elf Long Sword in his hand bounced off.
Just as he raised his leg to kick Sabrina in the abdomen, he felt a slight chill on his calf. A sharp military dagger was stuck in his tall leather boot, and the Wind Fox fur boot was as fragile as a piece of paper.
Sam let out a scream, "Ah!"