Stone's Breath

Mountain's Blessing...

Upon hearing this greeting, Linsey had an idea in mind.

Then look at the other party's body made of earth and stone, and the friendly green color shown on the map.

"You're Elemental Creature? And an earth-type one at that?"

"As you can see," the Elemental Creature sitting in place admitted directly, "Since you enjoy this protection, I probably don't need to introduce my species again."

Now Linsey understood where the other party's goodwill came from.

[Mountain Blessing]

[Enhance the Earth element's perception ability and increase the initial affinity of Earth-type Elemental Lifeform.]

The blessing bestowed upon Sura Mo at his farewell is still in effect.

Moreover, unlike Glacier Elemental, which can only be perceived as having this effect.

The earth Elemental Creature standing in front of Linsey at this moment had its initial favorability directly increased by this effect.

This is also the real reason why the other side sent out the Root Elder and gave the prompt.

"..."

Linsey quietly put her middle and index fingers together and swung them left and right three times.

Hong, who was standing nearby, immediately understood what was going on.

This was the secret code agreed upon by the two.

After that unexpected encounter on the cliff, Linsey also realized the problems caused by information asymmetry.

Linsey admits she doesn't have the brainwashing techniques Yuri uses to change someone's personality in a short time.

So he took a simple approach.

Make an agreement with Hong and set a secret signal gesture in advance.

This action signifies that the person in front of you is safe and that you should not use force.

At this moment, the Elemental Creature in front of her spoke again, asking Linsey very politely:

"Human, may I ask where the blessings you receive come from?"

Linsey immediately replied:

"It was a gift from an elder named Sura Mo, who was also an Elemental Lifeform."

The existence of the Spirit of the Mountains is too ancient, and the current public opinion is not friendly to such beings, so Linsey only mentioned their names.

"..."

"Forgive my ignorance, but it must be a great thing."

As expected, this Elemental Lifeform from the Black Mountain World was unaware of Sura Mo, and after a moment's thought, it shook its head regretfully.

Linsey didn't dwell on this issue too much.

He immediately shifted the topic to the current situation everyone was in:

"So you specifically sent this Root Elder to warn of the danger because of the protection I receive?"

The Elemental Creature continued to shake its head:

Not entirely.

"This blessing from my fellow countrymen lets me know that you are a friend of the earth,"

"But aside from your safety, I really don't want anyone else to enter the forest."

Linsey raised an eyebrow. "What's the reason?"

"Please allow me to introduce myself," the Elemental Creature said in a drawn-out tone. "The surface world of the Great Forest is governed by the Tree Mother, and it has flourished for thousands of years. Moreover, under this development, the underground world has also changed."

"In a natural breath, the rocks, led by me, awakened their sentience. We stabilized the earth's veins and protected the growth of all living things in the forest..."

The Mountain Stone Elemental seem to be better suited to a slow pace of conversation, and it looks like they are about to fall into a long memory.

Hong couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted the other person's description, "Hey, tell me why we shouldn't have entered the forest first?"

The Mountain Stone Elemental paused, but still responded in accordance with Red's idea, "This is just my simple kindness."

"The Great Forest is under the control of the Tree Mother. Many plants that have awakened their spirituality will react when they encounter humans, thus being detected by the Tree Mother. Your rash entry is undoubtedly courting death."

Linsey, however, refuted this answer:

"Simply offering reminders is not enough; there are definitely more ways to do it."

"Instead of sending your men to observe us, or even inviting us to your presence in the end."

Linsey gazed at the Mountain Stone Elemental in front of her.

Although we don't know the physical condition of this Elemental Creature, we can infer its weakness from the fact that it was so weak that it could barely stand up.

"You must have had a reason to bring such a dangerous entity like us right in front of you!"

"..."

For a moment, the Mountain Stone Elemental fell silent.

The rapid pace at which the two humans in front of it moved the conversation made it somewhat uncomfortable.

However, it must be acknowledged that the other party's guess was correct.

The light at the Mountain Stone Elemental joint flickered for a few seconds, then instead of answering immediately, it posed a question, "Humans, what is your purpose? Is it the same as those humans before you, to escape this world?"

Linsey simply said one name:

"Dragon Beast."

The light within the Mountain Stone Elemental joints suddenly intensified:

"Humans!"

"The power of that ferocious beast is beyond your ability to resist!"

This time, Linsey didn't use the [Glorious Bullet] to persuade the Spirit of the Mountains, as she had done with it.

Once inside the Black Mountain World, this trump card sealed their fate.

It will only reappear in the world for the moment it is used.

Faced with the Mountain Stone Elemental before her, Linsey's approach was to confidently counter with a question:

"You are no match for Dragon Beast either, but didn't you still try to fight back?"

"..."

The Mountain Stone Elemental fell silent once again.

Linsey's guess was correct, or rather, it was the only possible conclusion.

The creatures bred in the Great Forest, the choice to flee their homeland, their weakened state, and the scarcity of manpower.

These conditions come together.

It will only be the remaining forces that once resisted the Dragon Beast, but failed and thus went into hiding.

After a long silence, the Mountain Stone Elemental spoke again, "Humans, not to mention Dragon Beast, you are no match for the Tree Mother."

Linsey replied earnestly and with a firm gaze, "That must be the reason you called us here."

"..."

"You humans have a really fast thinking speed."

The Mountain Stone Elemental sighed, then added a message: "What I've heard may not be accurate. But that beast's eagerness to advance might be because of the threat posed by you humans."

"Oh?" Linsey raised an eyebrow.

The threat to humanity? The Hidden Borderlands, almost driven to the brink of despair, could not possibly be the source of this threat.

If the news is true, it can only come from the other side of the world.

Just as Linsey was secretly speculating about the reliability of this news, the Mountain Stone Elemental continued to speak:

"My time is coming to an end, and I will be unable to offer you any further help."

"But this thing will definitely be useful on the road, so please take it."

As soon as he finished speaking, two azure-green stone tablets appeared from the hands of the Mountain Stone Elemental.

The Root Elder immediately stepped forward, picked up the two stone tablets, and solemnly brought them to the two humans.

Linsey accepted the small jade stone plaque.

[Strange Item: Stone's Breath]

[A special item imbued with earth- Essence. Possessing it alters the owner's outward aura.]

[A unique and unusual item, currently no one is interested in buying it.]

"Final advice."

Linsey frowned as she examined the strange object in her hand, while the Mountain Stone Elemental offered a final word of advice:

"The Tree Mother has gone mad."

"Bear my aura, and as long as you don't get close to her main body, you will be safe."

"Compared to that, you should pay more attention to the messengers of the Dragon Beast."