by Zhuang Bifan
At the borders of the forest, the group stopped again and looked at the dense and boundless forest. Although this forest was no different from the forests that they had seen before, and was much more beautiful than the Emerald Forest, they could not help but feel terrified.
The mages released the Warlock's Eyes, while the other members in other professions also used their own methods in a bid to observe the forest from the sky. Although they knew that there would be no escape for them if they were to be struck by the same arrow that had shot Lansdale regardless of how careful they were, they nonetheless did not stop.
The dense forest was full of greenery, full of grass and fallen leaves, together with some elegant wild flowers. Butterflies could even be seen flying among the flowers, with the melodious chirping of birds resounding in the forest. From time to time, there would be small birds circling in the forest, flying in and out to create a beautiful view of nature.
However, when they were observing the forest through various methods, Elder Randy said something.
"It's… the Sierra Leone Forest!"
There was a look of disbelief on Elder Randy's face. Although the forest in front of him was drastically different from what he remembered, he could match the characteristics of this forest with those of the Sierra Leone Forest.
Everyone was shocked to hear Elder Randy's words. They looked at the forest again carefully, after which horror was written all over their faces.
In the history of the Dark Age, the Sierra Leone Forest could be said to have existed throughout it all. It was an existence that had to be mentioned.
During the reign of the High Elves, the ruling policy that they imposed on various races made it such that any rebellion would be brutally suppressed. Although the most famous of them was the mighty Lord Osric who was known as the Butcher, the other High Elves were not much kinder than Osric.
To the countless rebels, death had been sometimes not the most fearful punishment, but a form of relief. To the High Elves, simply ending the life of the rebels would not vent the strong aversion in their hearts. As a result, the Sierra Leone Forest became a huge part of history.
The Sierra Leone Forest was a place of exile for the so-called sinners. Of course, as a place of exile, it definitely shouldn't be a place with beautiful surroundings and lush greenery, because that would make it seem like a vacation for the prisoners, and not a punishment.
The actual Sierra Leone Forest was not what Lin Li and others were looking at now. It was worlds apart from the beautiful forest in front of them. At that time, every inch of the Sierra Leone forest was full of the stench of decomposition. Green was a fresh and luxurious color, while withering was the eternal theme of the forest.
Once, there used to be deadly poisonous mist spread around the Sierra Leone Forest instead of the fragrance of wild flowers. There were no clear creeks and puddles, only swamps full of decomposition and floating skeletal remains. Of course, the miracle of life was ubiquitous. There were still signs of life even in such a harsh environment, though they were all brutal magical beasts which had been tempered by the harsh environment.
Dangers were rampant in the Sierra Leone Forest and threats lurked in every corner of the dangerous forest, making even a shoot of weed seem full of despair.
Throughout the Dark Age, the leaders of countless rebellion forces were exiled to the hellish Sierra Leone Forest after being condemned by High Elves. There were even some royals who had committed treachery and went against the High Elven Queen included among the exiles.
There were plenty of powerful and famous men from the Dark Age amongst the exiled prisoners. However, none of them managed to walk out of the Sierra Leone forest alive. Even if they did not surrender to the High Elven Queen, they didn't survive for long after being exiled to the Sierra Leone Forest, because they would soon go berserk out of despair.
Most of the people present had yet to experience the Dark Age; hence, they did not know how truly horrifying the Sierra Leone Forest could be. Even Elder Randy had probably never seen it in person.
However, in many historical books, there were various descriptions and condemnation of the Sierra Leone Forest. After all, plenty of outstanding leaders had been buried there, including countless famous powerhouses.
Hence, everyone including Lin Li were no strangers to the Sierra Leone Forest. Although the environment of this forest was very different from that of the real Sierra Leone, they could see through the Warlock's Eyes that there were some significant landforms that were similar to the Sierra Leone Forest described in historical data.
Without a doubt, it was definitely the once infamous Sierra Leone Forest. Everyone fell silent for a while. The fresh and natural beauty in front of them seemed to have turned dull. The last realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral turned out to be the Sierra Leone Forest that was used by the High Elves to exile prisoners. The dangers within were self-evident.
After a moment of silence, Elder Randy asked for Lin Li's opinion. The departure of the Dark Blade left the team with a huge deficit in strength. If the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family decided to back out at this juncture, there wouldn't really be a need for the elves to go any further.
However, Lin Li had no intention to give up halfway, since he had already made it this far. He definitely had to break through the Seven-Realm Spiral, be it for the sake of the debris of the stars Thunderbolt or for the Sky Castle.
As for Cheyenne, there was no way for him to leave alone. No one knew if the Dark Blade wouldn't put up another fight along the way. After the death of Lansdale, the power of the Dark Blade had been greatly reduced, but they were still stronger than the Malfa Family. Still, everyone could tell that the Malfa Family was getting closer to the Tower of Dusk.
Everything that'd just happened made it impossible for the conflict between the Dark Blade and the Tower of Dusk to be resolved. They would probably launch an attack on the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family in the future. Instead of facing two opponents, they would probably choose to first kill one when they had the chance to, as would anyone else.
Although entering the Sierra Leone Forest would bring about unknown dangers, Cheyenne did not want to give the Dark Blade a chance to attack him. Hence, he decided to settle the scores in the future. Besides, he was rather confident in and reliant on his ally, Lin Li. Despite not knowing what kind of powers Lin Li was hiding, the more he interacted with the latter, the more mysterious Cheyenne found him to be.
Soon, the three forces reached a consensus, and chose a route to follow to enter the Sierra Leone Forest. Of course, in the current situation, the so-called route was only based on their understanding of the Sierra Leone Forest. They had no idea if they should stay away from some prohibited lands recorded in some historical sources.
Chapter 652 - Wind Elementals
They stepped into the Sierra Leone Forest, only to see that everything was harmonious and natural around them. However, they all seemed to be extremely careful and conscientious. Elder Randy carefully protected Princess Elune and kept her by his side. If another powerful arrow were to come their way, he definitely wouldn't hesitate to block it.
The arrow that had shot Lansdale was like a sword of Damocles that was hanging over everyone's head. No one knew when it would fall on them. Although they had not encountered such an attack again, that was also the reason for their worry and distress.
There would occasionally be squirrels climbing up tree branches in the Sierra Leone Forest and staring at the crowd while holding a nut. They would never figure out why such a beautiful haven would make them feel so nervous. The birds were still chirping melodiously, and there were also constant calls from young birds waiting to be fed in the nests. If it weren't for the fact that they knew that this was the Sierra Leone Forest of the Seven-Realm Spiral, everything would seem so intoxicating.
However, this was still not a vacation resort for intruders, after all. Not long after Lin Li and company entered the forest, the beautiful and harmonious sc
enery was suddenly disrupted by an abrupt change.
The strong magical wave suddenly exploded around them, followed by countless offensive spells which poured out from all directions towards Lin Li and company. The dense Wind Blades diced the thick trees into sawdust instantly, while lightning struck from the sky like heavy rain, causing a huge pit to be formed in the ground.
However, the sudden attack did not make everyone panic, but instead gave them a sense of relief. Offensive spells appeared instead of the second arrow. No matter what the reason might be, the other attacks would be far less terrifying than the arrow that had struck Lansdale.
Due to the fact that they had been tense and careful ever since they entered the forest, everyone reacted immediately after they were attacked. Cheyenne, in particular, immediately put up a defense magic which not only shielded himself but also Lin Li and the gang.
Prior to the treasure quest that they embarked on in the Haiga Mountain Range, the Malfa Family was not exactly an ally of the Tower of Dusk, and the two forces were more like business partners. Cheyenne had headed to the Tower of Dusk personally to invite Lin Li along on the treasure quest simply because he'd been hoping that Lin Li would provide some support and add on to the chances of success. In fact, he was also looking for a competent sacrificial pawn. Although the Malfa Family had respected Lin Li on the surface, they actually found him to be dispensable.
However, Lin Li had not fulfilled Cheyenne's wishes, for he only brought the vampire Norfeller along. The Dark Blade's appearance then left Cheyenne with no other choice but to forgo his plans and put in effort to curry favor with Lin Li in order to get closer to him. That was the only way Cheyenne who had left Aminya City could manage to stand up to the Dark Blade.
It was impossible for Cheyenne not to be disgusted with Lin Li's behavior along the way. If the Dark Blade had not been around, Cheyenne would have definitely berated Lin Li even if he hadn't fallen out with him. Later on, the elves appeared, making it even more necessary for Cheyenne to get closer to his ally, the Tower of Dusk. Right from the start, Cheyenne had been feeling like he had to submit to circ.u.mstances.
However, the power that Lin Li had shown just now while destroying the Soul-devouring Domain with a single blow made Cheyenne change his mindset greatly. Cheyenne knew that he could not let go of this ally who he once thought was insignificant. He was glad to have established a cooperative relationship with the Tower of Dusk long ago, and that he did not disrespect Lin Li in an any way throughout the journey. He then made up his mind to strengthen their alliance.
With Cheyenne's qualifications, status, and even age, it would naturally be impossible for him to stoop too low, especially since that was against the interests of the Malfa Family. The so-called alliance was a cooperation between the two parties on an equal basis. Hence, if he were to stoop too low, he wouldn't be an ally but a subordinate of Lin Li.
Hence, regardless of whether Lin Li needed it or not, Cheyenne decided to nonetheless express his goodwill through his actions like he had before with Borg and Baldela.
Lin Li was well aware of Cheyenne's intentions. After all, the Malfa Family had been thriving in the Breezy Plains for numerous years. Although the Tower of Dusk was developing at a very fast speed with their own effort, an additional ally like the Malfa Family would only do good and no harm. Hence, he smiled and accepted Cheyenne's good will.
However, after seeing Lin Li's reaction, Cheyenne began to notice the enemies who had been attacking them appear from the woods. He didn't have time to rejoice at all. After seeing the enemies, Lin Li's heart sank, and the joy within him seemed to have vanished completely.
Everyone began to understand why there was only wind and snow magic in the overwhelming offensive spells only after seeing the face of their enemies. It was because the enemies were the extremely rare life forms: the wind elementals.
An elemental was not a magical beast, but was an entity composed entirely of pure magical elements. However, there had never been a clear explanation for the lack of consciousness, and it could only be attributed to the magic of creation. In fact, most Legendary-mages would have a way of attacking after obtaining their own Magical Domains. The Angels of Light and Dark created by Lin Li were a perfect example.
However, elemental bodies that had been created through the Magical Domain did not have an autonomous consciousness; hence, they couldn't be deemed living beings. Like a puppet, they had to obey their creator's instructions, and were just tools and weapons. In the world of nature, elementals had their own consciousness like magical beasts, even though they were extremely rare.
The wind elementals were essentially Wind Genies which on the surface looked like fumes of smoke that would condense into a humanoid form. However, their lower bodies were all tornados that spun continuously. Although they did not have an actual physical body, they were not to be belittled, because they were composed of the purest wind magical element. The high concentration of magical element in the wind system would make the life form get surrounded by countless thunderous electric snakes.
The magical power of wind elementals was more than just talent because it was just part of their bodies. Using the wind and thunder elemental magic was akin to holding something in one's hands—it was a natural instinct and ability. The kind of power that they possessed would allow them to manipulate the corresponding level of magic without the help of any curses or spells. All it took was a single thought.
Countless wind and thunder magic exploded above their defensive layer, causing ripples. All of the magic spells were level-18 and above.
If it were another level-18 Archmage, they would be insignificant to Lin Li's team, since even if it were a level-18 Archmage, he might not be able to use level-18 magic consecutively.
However, the elementals experienced no difficulty in casting these spells at all, because it was even easier for them than using level-1 magic was for Archmages. When faced with the endless level-18 wind and thunder magic, even a Legendary powerhouse couldn't disregard it. No one dared to expose themselves.
The wind elementals moved at rapid speed and surrounded the crowd in no time. At the same time, the powerful magic did not stop at all, and the attacks were launched continuously at the magical defense field that seemed to be collapsing. Their speed was also the reason that they ought not to be underestimated. Magical locks basically had little effect on them, and it would not be easy to strike them with magic.
Among the many types of magic of each element, wind magic was the fastest. However, the wind elementals that everyone was facing now were basically immune to the damage done by the magic. In order to tackle a wind elemental, one would have to use a greater offensive spell that was beyond the wind and thunder elements.
Looking at the dozens of wind elementals that were flying towards them, Elder Randy could not help but start frowning. Although he was the strongest of them all, he could not do much about the wind elementals, which also had a very high immunity to physical attacks.
Apart from Elder Randy, Elune and Gildor were also masters of physical attacks. The only one who could effectively kill the wind elementals was Culofen, who specialized in fire magic. In this case, Elder Randy had no choice but to ask Lin Li for his opinion again. He was no longer prideful and haughty. Instead, he treated Lin Li like a person of the same status as himself.
Elder Randy knew clearly that he couldn't work alone like before. Be it facing the hordes of wind elementals or the unknown dangers ahead, forging a cooperation was the only way out. If it were the Dark Blade, Elder Randy would probably just patronize them and assign tasks to everyone. However, the respect shown by Elder Randy to Lin Li was genuine.
Lin Li did not stand on ceremony at all, and succinctly stated his plan to deal with the wind elementals. The Dark Blade and Cheyenne would have probably felt flattered and shocked by Elder Randy's attitude. However, Lin Li knew very well that he had earned this respect through his own abilities and strength. Hence, he did not feel shy
at all.
Elder Randy and Cheyenne added some ideas to Lin Li's plans, mainly regarding some aspects of their strength that others did not know.
After all, it was a team composed of Legendary powerhouses. Even though the enemy was a group of level-18 and above, there were limits to the damage that they could cause to Lin Li and the rest. The main thing the humans and elves wanted to do was to take precautions and prepare for future dangers. It was truly a cooperative exercise this time.
Outside the magic defense field, a group of wind elementals tirelessly bombarded them with powerful magic. Although they had autonomous consciousness, they were not that much smarter than magical beasts. When faced with intruders, all they knew to do was to use their full power to destroy them all. Devising strategies was too complicated for their knowledge.
In this battlefield, all the trees had been swept away by all kinds of magic, and had in fact been turned into debris. The lightning and thunder left flames everywhere and destroyed the beautiful scene in the blink of an eye.
The dark clouds rolled around in the sky while thunder struck down on their magical defense field. On the ground, a huge Wind Blade plowed a deep ditch on the ground, blasting everyone from all directions.
The magical defense field supported by Cheyenne was suddenly shut down, and the Legendary figures began launching attacks again. However, they decided to work together this time instead of attacking individually. They seemed to have become fully integrated, each performing a unique role. Although Elder Randy was the strongest and had a high status amongst the elves, he also had to strictly perform his role.
The cooperation between the Legendary powerhouses was not as seamless as that of the Double Death Dragons, but they were not fools, so they could work well with each other.
The wind elementals only knew that the detestable defensive layer had vanished, and immediately swarmed towards the exposed crowd. Like Elemental Wyrms, the elementals needed not worry about the lack of mana; hence, they could give it their all when attacking their enemies with the strongest means available.
