Ellington Castle

Ellington Castle is located on the edge of the Malaga Jungle. As the expedition team walked along the mountain road between the mountains, they could already see the castle surrounded by mountains.

The trees on both sides almost completely blocked out the entire mountain road, and only occasionally could one see the blue sky through the gaps in the lush foliage.

It was a bit stuffy in the jungle, but fortunately the mountain path wasn't too difficult to walk.

Although the road has not been repaired for a long time, and a lot of weeds have grown from the cracks in the stone slabs, at least the road is not muddy and there is no need to cut down some thorny vines.

The academy allows newly enrolled students to undergo wilderness survival training in the Malaga Jungle, mainly because the area is lush with vegetation and wild berries can be found everywhere.

Even without any food, the elves can find many kinds of edible food in this jungle if they are willing to actively search.

After walking along the mountain path for a short distance, Roy and Klayr found a large tree by the roadside whose top was covered with berries. Clusters of blue-purple berries hung from the top of the tree like braids, looking very much like blueberries, but growing in clusters on braids, and were blue-purple in color.

Although Klayr could climb trees, this tree was at least twenty meters tall, with a bare trunk as smooth as a flagpole, without even any extra branches, making it impossible to climb.

Roy intended to cut the tree in half with his machete to get the berries at the top, but this action was immediately resisted by the other elves.

Unexpectedly, Klayr put on spiked shoes, tied a rope to the tree, easily climbed up the trunk to the top, cut a bunch of ripe berries with a dagger, and then, holding the trunk with both hands, slid down directly from the top of the tree.

Klayr's demonstration earned her widespread praise from the expedition team.

Klayr picked a whole branch of berries, Klayr shared some with each member of the team, then put the rest into a small saucepan.

Perhaps because they were a little overripe, these juicy berries had a unique chocolate and liqueur flavor, and the juice was very sweet.

After Roy ate a few pills, he felt that all the energy he had used up that morning was instantly replenished.

Actually, this kind of berry is also sold in Castleton City, but it is rarely seen in the Lower District. This is mainly because this berry is not cheap, and the Half-Elf in the Lower District prefer Breadfruit, which is more filling and tastes better.

Walking along this mountain path leading to Ellington Castle, we also saw several other expedition teams along the way.

Their first stop was Ellington Castle, located on the edge of the Malaga Jungle.

The castle is located at the end of the valley, and you can see the roof of the highest point of the castle from this mountain road.

However, it can only be seen from a high vantage point where there are no dense branches obstructing the view.

The previous jungle path was not easy to walk. Although it was a shortcut, everyone needed to concentrate, not only to watch their step, but also to observe the dense jungle on both sides of the path, and someone had to cut down the vines blocking the way. Therefore, the expedition team's progress was not fast.

Roy's expedition team didn't arrive at the main gate of Ellington Castle until noon. Looking up at the towering and magnificent castle gate, there was an exquisite relief of Silver Pegasus knight holding up Elf Long Sword, although at least half of the relief was covered by vines.

The walls on either side of the gate are built on the cliff and covered with vines, blending perfectly with the surrounding jungle.

A desolate and dilapidated ancient castle stands at the end of this mountain ridge. A long section of the high wall to the left of the gate has collapsed. After entering the castle gate, there is a stone bridge about ten meters long. On both sides of the stone bridge are deep valleys dozens of meters deep. On the other side is the ancient castle built on a solitary peak.

The castle is built of stone, and the mortar poured between the stones has been severely lost, forming deep cracks. In some places, weeds have grown in the cracks.

The buildings inside the castle no longer have doors or windows, and some parts have even collapsed.

Upon entering the castle, you can see small workshops and shops on both sides of the street, with their tattered signs rattling in the wind.

In front of the main building of the castle is a small square. Originally, there should have been a drinking pool in the center of the square, but this Stone Sculpture pool has been dry for who knows how long. It is filled with bird droppings and dead branches and may have become a temporary nest for some birds.

There happened to be an expedition team setting up tents in the small square. When they saw Roy and his group walk in, they greeted them very politely.

Seeing that the campsites in the square were all occupied by this expedition team, Edith led everyone around the square and a street, then pointed to the stone house built against the wall and said, "This used to be an armory for storing military supplies. The surrounding walls are built more solidly than other places, and the terrain is relatively high, so even if it rains heavily, this place will not be flooded. Let's camp here for the next few days!"

The girls in the expedition team were responsible for cleaning up the stone house, which had collapsed in one corner. They cleared away weeds and animal droppings.

A boy actually took out a silver cup from his Magic Pouch, placed it on a stone platform at the entrance of the stone house, and embedded a Magic Crystal Stone fragment into a magical groove in the silver cup.

When Roy curiously leaned over to take a look, a thin layer of clear water had already condensed inside the silver cup.

Although the water gathered very slowly, the water in the cup was very clear, and he also placed a small pot for brewing tea next to it.

When the clear water in the silver cup overflows, it flows through the slit in the silver cup into the small iron pot. The elves don't have the habit of cooking porridge, but they drink fruit tea or flower tea every day, and this small pot is also used to cook tea.

Roy and Klayr walked around the armory and found it to be a pretty good campsite, sheltered from the wind and rain and quite shady.

The girls pitched their tents inside the armory, while the boys pitched their tents at the entrance to the armory.

Roy and Klayr were still unable to eat with the expedition members; they needed to find something to eat around the castle.

However, Roy didn't see any bushes as he walked into the castle...

Edith walked slowly out of the armory with her hands behind her back.

She approached Roy, smiling, and said to Roy:

"Roy, can you do me a favor?"

"No problem! What do you need me to do?"

Roy casually agreed, and then asked Edith what it was about...

Edith blinked her crescent-shaped blue eyes as she smiled and pointed to a narrow path on the side of the armory. The path was close to the wall and led to the backyard of the castle, where a few stone steps could be vaguely seen.

"Go back from here, through the corridor behind the stone steps and through an archway, and you'll see the castle's back garden. There's a Breadfruit on a platform near the edge of the back garden. Could you pick three Breadfruit from that tree for me?"

Edith's smile almost burst out...

"I would be happy to do your service," Roy said excitedly.

After saying that, he called out to Klayr, who was standing on the wall looking around. The two of them walked along the path next to the wall to the back of the castle. Sure enough, after climbing a few stone steps, they entered a corridor that was almost collapsing, with several broken stone statues lying among the weeds.

Through the arched stone gate, you can see a Bread Tree growing on a platform built of stones.

This Bread Tree Bread Tree is less than three meters tall, but its trunk is extremely thick. It would probably take twenty young people holding hands to barely encircle it.

The Bread Tree has few branches at the top and very sparse leaves, but each branch bears a fruit.

The Bread Tree was half dead, its trunk covered with lifeless old bark.

The other half of the Bread Tree is still alive, with its branches covered in leaves and large and small Breadfruit hanging from its branches, showing that it has a very strong vitality.

"Bread Tree, Roy, it's Bread Tree! Our dinner is sorted..."

Klayr cheered excitedly!

Roy ran over and discovered that although the Bread Tree was very large, it was located on a platform. Although it was very close to the back garden, there was a high wall separating the back garden from the wall.

Moreover, the platform is much higher than the back garden; if you don't come from the corridor, the Breadfruit would be hidden by the castle's high walls.

If you don't look carefully, it will probably be hard to find...

Klayr climbed the Breadfruit and quickly cut down five Breadfruit.

Roy looked up at the high walls of the castle and felt that the abandoned ruins had a sinister feel to them.

The two brought the Breadfruit back, and Edith was setting the table with the other girls.

They disassembled the abandoned weapon rack and pieced it together to form a long dining table, which was covered with a white floral tablecloth. A kettle filled with water and a row of wooden cups were placed on the table, and a fruit basket next to it was filled with Zhu Fruit, blueberries, plums and green apples.

Seeing Roy bring back the Breadfruit, Edith smiled and said, "At least you won't go hungry during your three days in the castle..."

Roy placed Breadfruit on the table. This fruit is easy to store and can last a long time as long as the flesh is not cut out.

"Thank you, Edith ... You seem to know this place well?" Roy said softly.

Klayr nudged Roy with a look of disdain and said to him in a mocking tone, "You haven't forgotten her name, have you?"

"Edith Ellington... Ellington Castle, could this ruined castle be yours?"

Roy uttered the name Iris, only then realizing that her last name Ellington ...

The elven girls around Roy were all giving him strange looks, their eyes seemingly saying, 'It's been so long and you're only just realizing this?'

Edith glanced at the castle outside without a care, then sighed and said, "It used to be, but after it was abandoned, it no longer belonged to the Ellington Family. My father announced that he had given up his inheritance rights the year I was born. Now, the ruins of Ellington Castle belong to the Silver Moon Kingdom."

"..."

Although he couldn't understand why Edith's father would give up the inheritance of the castle, Roy said with some regret, "Actually, if it could be properly repaired, this castle would be quite nice."

After lunch and a short rest, the Sixteenth Group the expedition team began their on-site investigation of the ancient castle.

A group of people arrived at the castle gate and found that there were many students from the Elf Academy. Some expedition groups couldn't find a place to camp inside the castle, so they had already pitched their tents on the grass at the gate.