第四十一章 精灵朝圣之潮

Pilgrimage?

Li Ziran frowned slightly. He had heard the term before. It was said that the beastfolk had such a tradition: every year at the end of the year, they would collectively travel to Aigar Snow Mountain to offer sacrifices.

Aigar Snow Mountain was the birthplace of the beastfolk, a special racial faith.

The records also mentioned certain races with unique pilgrimages, but Elven Pilgrimage was rare—he had practically never heard of it.

Didn't the Elves keep themselves tightly curled up within the rainforest? Why would they suddenly hold a pilgrimage?

Besides, Elves were not some simple-minded race. From the perspective of profit, what benefit could possibly be bestowed upon a race already blessed with heaven-defying talent?

There had to be something fishy going on.

If he could uncover the secret behind this pilgrimage, perhaps he could fish some benefits out of it.

Nicole wore an expression that clearly said she was waiting for him to ask, yet she refused to say a word.

Li Ziran was speechless. He knew this girl's temperament best. She always treated a little secret like a treasure; if he ignored her, she would eventually rack her brains trying to tell him anyway.

Still, Li Ziran had his own methods for dealing with girls. Since he had seen through her thoughts, he might as well play along.

"All right, stop keeping us in suspense. Tell me. I'll give you a gift later," Li Ziran said with a smile.

"A gift? What gift?" Nicole's eyes widened with curiosity. "Flowers, or one of your charming kisses? Can I choose?"

"No!" Li Ziran rejected it outright. He had no desire to flirt at a time like this.

Though he was happy to see Nicole, his mind was currently filled with how to obtain a Corpse Witch and then transform his body. He was somewhat curious about the Elven Pilgrimage, but only curious.

Even if he learned its secret, a small fry like him would be no more than a tiny ant before the entire Elven race.

Seeing Li Ziran turn serious, Nicole understood that continuing to fool around might cross the line. She quickly stuck out her tongue. "Hmph, why are you so impossible to tease? Fine, I'll tell you. The Elven Pilgrimage happens once every fifty years. Almost every Elf comes out of the rainforest and heads for Despair Forest on the far side of the Wasteland."

Despair Forest?

Li Ziran murmured softly. That was quite a journey.

Viewed from high above, the Wasteland's territory resembled a gigantic rooster.

The rooster's feet connected to the vast Rhine Prairie, while south of the prairie lay the rainforest region the Elves depended on for survival.

But Despair Forest lay at the rooster's head. It was battered year-round by the frigid tides of the North Ice Sea, along with the Wasteland's uniquely scorching Elemental Tide. The two tidal forces converged in Despair Forest, creating an uninhabited zone even rarer than the Wasteland itself.

In particular, the environment where cold and heat mingled had given birth to a unique kind of Dream Ancient Tree. These ancient trees absorbed energy from the tides and produced a terrifying hallucinatory mist.

That was where Despair Forest got its name. Anyone tainted by that gas would fall endlessly into illusions and die without a sound.

To this day, only an extremely small number of races could adapt to such a brutal environment.

To ninety-nine percent of living beings, that hallucinatory gas was an utter nightmare.

Elves were not among the races adapted to such illusions.

Why would the Elves cross both the prairie and the Wasteland to reach the dreaded Despair Forest?

It was deeply baffling.

"You're not lying to me?"

"What would I gain from lying to you?" Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled strangely. "This is top-secret information. Every fifty years, the Elves hold a pilgrimage on this scale. Plenty of Slave-Catching Groups are hoping to make a fortune from it."

Make a fortune?

At first, Li Ziran did not understand, but he quickly came around.

If all Elves were undertaking such a migration, then to the Slave-Catching Groups of the Wasteland, it was undoubtedly a sumptuous feast.

Elves possessed not only numerous magical organs, especially Magical Meridians, but were also one of the few breathtakingly beautiful races on the Red Soil Continent.

The lowest price for an Elven female slave in the slave market was fifty silver coins. Depending on her appearance, the price could shoot up in a bizarre straight line. It was not uncommon for an Elven female slave to sell for five gold coins.

That was without factoring in her strength. If she was also an accomplished mage, the price would rise another notch.

If female slaves were valuable, then male slaves were worth an outright fortune.

Every Elven man was a peerless beauty. Years spent in the rainforest had nourished their skin until it was smooth and tender, while their outstanding height and physique made them especially popular with noblewomen.

Humans in particular held an inexplicable obsession with Elven men. Some nobles would always devise every possible means to get an Elven male slave for their daughters.

Of course, their value was not solely due to their looks. More importantly, the offspring of male Elves possessed advantages female Elves could not provide.

The Elven race was exceptionally peculiar. The quality of their offspring depended entirely on the male. Thus, Elven female slaves were merely playthings, while the offspring of male slaves had a chance to inherit the Elves' unique magical organs.

Data released by the human Ivory Tower five years ago showed that among the children born to human women and male Elves, thirty percent would possess one magical organ, while ten percent possessed two. Under favorable circumstances, a single human could even possess three magical organs at once.

That did not even include the magic glands evolved by humans themselves.

A friend of Li Ziran's had once resold a male Elf. He had cost seven gold coins in a Wasteland slave market, but after being transported to Storm City, his price had soared madly to fifteen gold coins.

For that reason, despite the Elves' formidable magical talent and magical offensive power, countless Slave-Catching Groups still infiltrated the tropical rainforest.

Catching even one of these high-end slaves meant a blood-soaked profit.

Such frenzied demand from humans had made their relationship with the Elves exceptionally poor. Some Elven tribes even forbade humans from approaching altogether, and the entire race dealt the harshest blows to Slave-Catching Groups.

No one would believe that this peace-loving race had killed the greatest number of invaders.

One had to be absolutely careful near the tropical rainforest, because one never knew when one might step onto Elven territory. What awaited was not a greeting, but only the sharp long arrows of Elven archers.

They were the darlings of the forest. With the forest's protection, the aid of treants, and the vigilance of their attendants, they could practically sweep every invader into a single net.

Their strikes were so intense that Elven slaves circulating on the market were pitifully scarce, and their prices had always remained high.

But without the forest's protection, the Elves would lose their most important barrier. Once they entered the Wasteland, they would be stepping completely into the domain of slave masters.

The slave masters knew the Wasteland far better than the Elves did. These passing Elves were nothing but fattened bighorn sheep.

Once every fifty years!

That was enough to fatten up many Slave-Catching Groups across the Wasteland.

No wonder he had never heard of it. He had only been in the Wasteland for four years.

"Why did you come to find me? Don't tell me you want me to make a fortune too." Li Ziran asked. Truthfully, he was quite stirred by the news. If he could obtain Elven corpses, he could completely take the initiative in negotiations with the necromancer.

But he understood the danger even better.

A pilgrimage of such enormous scale was like a terrifying flood. Without strong enough teeth, it would not be fat meat at all.

Li Ziran did not think his teeth were all that strong.

"Hehe, no. Look how frightened you are. I told you this in advance as payment." Nicole pressed herself against Li Ziran's side and said with a giggle, "Don't you always like to pay in advance?"

Li Ziran smiled bitterly to himself. This girl had grown up—she had learned how to whet people's appetite.

Still, merely telling him such an inconsequential piece of information felt a little too cheap.

Even high-level VIPs had to pay when they needed Li Ziran to provide a service.

"You gave me a scare. I thought you were going to forcibly recruit me into a Slave-Catching Group and take me to catch Elves. By the way, how is your heart? There haven't been any problems these past two years, right?" Li Ziran asked with concern.

Nicole, who had been brimming with excitement, suddenly fell quiet. Distracted, she said, "It's fine. I just can't use magic."

"Then this is a perfect opportunity. There are so many Elves—you could have your father catch you a High Elf Wind Elf, transplant a few organs, and match them with your heart. You'd basically become an incredible wind mage."

Elves were divided by bloodline into Common Elves, High Elves, and Ancient Elves. Depending on their bloodline, they developed magical organs of varying abilities.

Truthfully, Li Ziran longed for Elven slaves, but he knew what he was worth. Nicole, however, was different. With such a massive wave of Elven pilgrims, Bailando City, one of the Wasteland's three great slave cities, could not possibly remain idle.

High Elves were precious, but surely they could get their hands on one or two.

"My father and brother are competing fiercely. You know that already. My brother has human backing, and his power has gone through the roof these past two years. Both of them want to use this Elven tide to amass capital and seize control of Bailando City. Forget my brother—even my two younger brothers have been restless. He has no time to spare for me." Nicole sighed. "I know you dote on me the most. How about I marry you right now, and you find me a High Elf Wind Elf?"

"Bullshit!" Li Ziran rebuked her.

"It's not bullshit. I'm telling the truth. Why not let this Dwarf be our witness? You've seen my body already, anyway." Nicole directly called over the Horse Dwarf standing some distance away and tugged her collar downward.

Li Ziran rolled his eyes. This little girl was throwing a tantrum.

He admitted he had seen it, but that had been during the heart transplant. There had not been the slightest hint of sentiment involved. Besides, she had not even fully developed back then—how could it be the same now?

"All right, stop fooling around. Go back obediently now. So many Elves flooding into the Wasteland at once is absolutely not a good thing." Li Ziran was very serious. "You're a young lady, running around all day. Don't let yourself get caught. Slave traders won't care whether you're Bailando's daughter or not. I'll handle your matter. As for a High Elf, wait for now. Once this Elven tide is over, there will definitely be supply. I'll contact a few acquaintances for you, all right?"