Countermeasures

The two riders galloped like the wind, quickly arriving outside the Temple of the Moon.

Laria had already emerged from the temple. Despite the exhaustion of the night, her expression remained calm and composed, with the aura of moonlight still lingering about her.

Arenia was, as always, mounted on her Stag, her posture as straight as a pine, saying nothing.

Though Kalei could not see her expression clearly, the relaxed line of her shoulders and her steady breathing made it easy to tell that a night's rest had done her spirit a world of good. The faint, lingering scent of bloodlust about her only added to her heroic, spirited air.

Aside from the two of them and the four sentinels including Linda, Salomon, Lilin, and the old village chief of Bristlelimb Village, Bebo Gulag, had also arrived.

Kalei dismounted from his Saber and hurried forward to greet the group. After they returned his salutations, they moved straight to the point, discussing the source of the corruption.

Laria said, "After repeated sensing throughout the night, I have confirmed that the source of the corruption lies eleven kilometers to the northeast."

Salomon, Lilin, and the old village chief Bebo Gulag were all native-born residents of Bristlelimb Village. Upon hearing this, they exchanged glances and conferred in low voices.

Salomon spoke first: "Eleven kilometers to the northeast... that is an open plain, and at the end of that plain lies a great mountain. If there is any place to hide something, it is almost certainly in Bearclaw Valley, at the foot of the mountain behind the plain."

Laria said thoughtfully, "Bearclaw Valley? I have heard of that place. It is said that during the War of the Ancients, the Wild God Ursoc fought the demonic legion there. They say that valley was carved out by Ursoc's own claws."

The old village chief nodded, sighing with emotion: "You are correct, Priestess Laria. That place is indeed where Ursoc battled the demons."

"Long ago, the Furbolg of the Bristlelimb Tribe regarded it as a sacred site and strictly forbade anyone from entering. But later, these Furbolg gradually fell into corruption; they abandoned the place they were meant to guard and began to wander the forest for a living. I never expected that the place would now be tainted by corrupting power." As he spoke, he seemed to recall something, his tone filled with regret.

Arenia said, "Let us set aside the past for now and discuss the current situation. Has anyone from your village been there recently?"

The old village chief frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "That place is quite remote. Plus, the land there was tainted by fel energy and later occupied by Furbolg, so almost no one in the village is willing to go there."

"However, I remember that a few years ago, the Cenarion Circle sent several Druid to that area to look for something. I do not know what they were searching for, only that they recruited a guide from our village. This guide was a high-level rogue from our village, I believe her name was Se... na..."

Lilin smiled and added, "Grandpa Bebo, her name is Seyuna."

The old village chief patted his head and said, "Oh, right, that's it, Seyuna. If you want to ask about the situation there, you should go find her."

Lilin shook her head: "Grandpa Bebo, you've forgotten again. Seyuna went out to travel years ago and hasn't returned in a long time. We have no idea where she's run off to; how could we possibly find her?"

The old village chief sighed helplessly: "Oh, is that so? It seems my memory is getting worse. Sigh, that is what happens when one lives too long; the mind becomes cluttered, and it is easy to forget things."

"But Lilin, aren't you close with Seyuna? Did she ever mention to you what those Druid were looking for back then?"

Lilin thought for a moment and nodded: "I did hear her mention it. She said those Druid seemed to be looking for the seed of a magic tree."

"The seed of a magic tree?"

The group looked at one another in dismay. They were not entirely ignorant of magic trees.

During the era of the ancient Night Elf Empire, there was always a conflict between arcane faith and nature faith within Night Elf society.

To bridge this conflict, or perhaps for deeper military purposes, Queen Azshara once ordered powerful scholars proficient in both arcane and natural energies to create a type of magic tree that possessed both, based on the characteristics of the Ancient of War and the Ancient of Lore.

And indeed, after years of experimentation and the expenditure of vast amounts of arcane and natural energy, these powerful scholars truly succeeded in creating the seeds for several types of magic trees.

Unfortunately, before these miraculous magic tree seeds could be put to use in Night Elf society, the War of the Ancients broke out.

Later, with the end of the War of the Ancients, the fragmentation of the Ancient Kalimdor continent, and the collapse of the Night Elf Empire, the research data and seeds for these magic trees were lost to the winds.

For many years, numerous Druid had traveled everywhere collecting knowledge on how to create these trees, hoping that by studying this information, they could deepen their understanding of nature magic and simultaneously use it to replicate the technology to create magic trees, but they had never succeeded.

Kalei asked curiously, "Did those Druid find the magic tree seed?"

Lilin shook her head: "I don't know about that. I only heard Seyuna mention it in passing; I didn't ask about the outcome."

Laria said, "No need to ask. They certainly didn't find it. Otherwise, such a significant discovery would not have been kept secret by the Cenarion Circle; we would have heard the news by now."

Everyone nodded. Laria's reasoning was sound; if any Druid had truly found a magic tree seed, it would have spread throughout Night Elf society long ago.

Luna chimed in with a smile: "I suspect the Cenarion Circle was likely deceived by false information. We don't need to dwell on this; let's talk about the valley instead."

The group prepared to return to the main topic.

The old village chief suddenly slapped his thigh, as if remembering something, and said, "Wait, I remember now! Back when Queen Azshara was still in power, the Highborne did indeed build a magic tower there to study magic trees."

"However, during the War of the Ancients, that tower was occupied by demons. Fearing that the demons would use the magic tower to gather energy and build a portal, Ursoc used the power of the earth to bury both the tower and the demons deep underground."

Kalei's eyes lit up, and he seized the key point: "If that is the case, the tower was driven underground, and the items inside might still be intact. Perhaps there really is a magic tree seed in there."

Laria's brow furrowed, her tone grave: "If there truly is a magic tree seed, and those Druid didn't find it, then there is only one possibility..."

Arenia also realized the implication and said with some surprise, "Priestess Laria, do you mean that the seed was found by the Satyr?"

Laria nodded: "Indeed. We should all be aware that many Satyr were once Highborne. It is not surprising that they are more familiar with Highborne affairs than we are and would know the secrets of the magic trees."

She sighed and continued: "Furthermore, when I sensed the source of the corruption last night, I detected a powerful natural energy entwined within it. At the time, I couldn't understand why, but hearing the old village chief now, I understand—it is a corrupted magic tree."

"It is likely that the Satyr found the magic tree seed in advance and used corrupting power to taint it, turning it into a source for spreading darkness."

After hearing Laria's analysis, everyone agreed that her speculation was likely correct, and they all felt a sense of regret—the magic trees were an important legacy of the Night Elf, and it was unexpected that one would fall into the hands of demons.

However, the group quickly adjusted their mindset and discussed how to purify the magic tree.

Considering the many unknowns at the destination and the current shortage of manpower, they finally decided to send an elite squad to carry out the mission, while the others would remain to guard the village against potential attacks.

Since the creation and growth of magic trees were related to nature magic, purifying the magic tree would naturally require Kalei, the Druid.

Laria and Lilin, as Priestesses of the Moon, could use powerful divine arts, but they were mostly responsible for spiritual and medical work and lacked rigorous combat training. It would be too dangerous for them to venture out, and they were also needed to treat the wounded, so they could not go.

Although the old village chief Bebo Gulag had once been a formal mage, he had not used his magic since the War of the Ancients, and given his advanced age, the others could not bear to let him take the risk.

Thus, the only available personnel left were Arenia, Salomon, and the four sentinels including Linda.

Arenia pondered the situation from every angle, ultimately deciding that Salomon would remain in the village to organize the combatants and guard against potential attacks, while she would personally lead Linda and the others to escort Kalei to Bearclaw Valley.

Kalei had not expected to become the protagonist of this adventure, and for a moment, he felt somewhat uneasy.

Watching the others gradually disperse until only Arenia's group remained, he couldn't help but ask, "Captain Arenia, I am not questioning your judgment, but the place we are heading might be the enemy's lair. Are we... aren't there too few of us?"

Arenia glanced at him and said calmly, "What, are you afraid to go?"

Kalei replied with a guilty conscience, "Well... it's not that I'm afraid, I just think..."

Arenia waved her hand to cut him off. "For this mission, you only need to be responsible for purifying the magic tree. We will handle the rest. As long as we haven't fallen, no one can harm you."

Sensing that her tone might have been too harsh, she continued in a relatively softer voice, "As for your concern about insufficient manpower, I have already contacted Jinli. I believe she will return soon to join us. Any other questions?"

Jinli was coming back? That was excellent. Having a powerful ranger like Jinli by his side put his mind much more at ease.

He nodded quickly, "No more questions."

Arenia said, "Very well. Go and prepare. Stop by the village chief's house to get something to eat, and bring some food and pure Moonwell water when you leave. We will meet at the village entrance in one hour."