At dawn, as the first light spread, this should have been the most ordinary day in Hippo Ancient City. Yet this ancient city-state was in an uproar—not because a massive batch of slaves had arrived, nor because top-grade slaves had come into stock, but because an unprecedented explosion had erupted in the rainforest, home to the most famous Elves on the Red Soil Continent.
The tremors caused by the explosion's aftershocks traveled from the southernmost edge of the rainforest, crossed the vast Grasslands, and reached Hippo Ancient City, making many slave owners believe an earthquake had struck the city.
Its power was terrifying, but its deterrent effect was even more terrifying.
The Elves—though this ancient race had long declined—still possessed a history so profound that no one could afford to ignore its foundations.
This race had once played a crucial role in both World War I and World War II. They had led the living beings of the Red Soil Continent in resisting wave after wave of Demon invasions.
Although the Elves had suffered grievous losses during the latter stages of World War II, retreating into the rainforest and sealing it off completely, no one believed this race could be bullied at will. Even the rapidly rising Human Race treated the Elves with relative goodwill.
No one had expected a massive explosion to occur in the heartland guarded by the Elves. It was said that the blast's lingering force swept through the rainforest's vegetation and spread onto the Grasslands, outright destroying one quarter of the rainforest. As many as hundreds of thousands of Elves had fallen in the explosion.
This was undoubtedly the most horrifying loss the Elves had suffered since World War II.
"I heard it was Fire God's Wrath, a forbidden spell that had completely vanished!"
"That is