In the forest, though Lacey walked quickly, she was also very cautious.
Elves belong to the forest, and even though their numbers were large, they could remain undetected by the dragon with aerial vision.
Yes, for the elves, a dragon that continually breathes fire and burns the forest is indeed a villain!
Lacey moved through the forest, and soon she crossed a ridge along a small path.
“Lacey, are you back?”
As soon as she leaped over the ridge, a striking figure jumped down from a tree.
Lacey saw the figure and said, “Lisa, how are the tribe members? Have they not been discovered by the dragon?”
Lisa was a standard elf, not a half-elf. In this elven tribe, it seemed that Lacey was the only half-elf.
In fact, Lacey didn’t differ much from other elves in appearance. She was equally beautiful and of standard elf height. The differences were more internal.
Lisa, the elf, held a bow in her hand and, hearing Lacey’s question, said, “No, but the dragon has already burned the northern forest. The tribe from Green Creek Valley has had to relocate here. At this rate, the dragon will soon reach us. You came just in time. The tribe is currently discussing relocation plans.”
Lacey said, “Then I’ll go in first.”
Lisa replied, “Okay, you go ahead. I still need to stay here and keep watch.”
Lacey headed deeper into the forest.
Along the way, elves stationed in the trees occasionally greeted her.
Lacey responded to each one.
Thus, she quickly arrived at a particularly dense part of the forest.
There, many elves were discussing matters under the trees.
“Lacey is back.”
Seeing Lacey’s return, the elves all looked over.
Although Lacey was a half-elf, her status among the elves was still quite high.
Of course, the social structure of the elves was completely different from that of humans. For the elves, even if their status was different, there was no distinction of high or low among the tribe members.
“Lacey, you arrived just in time. We were discussing relocation plans. The dragon is almost here. If you had arrived any later, we would have had to move first and leave a few tribe members behind to wait for you.”
In the middle of the clearing, an exceptionally beautiful elf spoke.
If Richard were here, he would be surprised.
Because, in this elven tribe, all the elves were female. There was not a single male elf.
And the exceptionally beautiful elf was the leader of this elven group.
The elven leader didn’t look very old. She appeared to be only around twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
However, in reality, she was at least over a hundred years old.
The age of elves is different from that of humans.
Even if the elven leader lived for several hundred more years, her body would remain in the same condition without any signs of aging.
“Leader, have you chosen a relocation site?”
Lacey didn’t directly persuade but first asked.
The elven leader said, “It seems the dragon will destroy all the forests here. For now, we can only go to the Missilin Forest. But that forest is too small and has many underground caves, making it susceptible to underground creatures’ invasions. But it’s still better than staying here.”
At this point, another elf said, “Leader, the dark elves sent us an invitation a while ago. Perhaps we can consider taking refuge underground for a while.”
The elven leader shook her head and rejected the idea, “The dark elves went to the Cursed Land and had to hide underground to escape the curse. They have adapted to underground life. But if we were to live underground for a long time, our tribe would not be able to endure it.”
“Then we will have to go to Missilin Forest first and slowly search for other suitable places.” Another elf said.
“By the way, didn’t Lacey say that a human lord was willing to accept us last time?”
At this moment, an elf who had a good relationship with Lacey spoke up.
“If that human lord is as friendly as Lacey says, it wouldn’t be impossible to consider. However, his territory is quite small. Would you all be willing to live in a city filled with humans?” The elf beside her spoke.
The elf who had a good relationship with Lacey was at a loss for words.
Indeed, she didn’t want to live in a city full of humans.
In fact, if an elf lives in a human city for a long time, it can even affect their lifespan. In this regard, the half-elf Lacey seemed to be an exception.
Lacey actually liked Richard’s castle, and living there, she felt quite natural and comfortable. She wasn’t affected at all.
This might be because she was a half-elf.
Lacey spoke up at this time, “Leader, actually, Lord Richard’s territory has recently expanded. In his territory, there’s now a perfect forest that would be suitable for us to live in.”
“Expanded? Really, Lacey?”
The elf who was on good terms with Lacey asked.
Lacey had told her many details about Richard, so this elf was more curious about him than the others.
Lacey nodded and said, “Yes, Lord Richard has risen from a baron to a count in the human kingdom, which makes him a high-ranking noble. He now owns a vast territory and has absolute autonomy over it. Lord Richard promised that if we go there, he would offer us protection and ensure that no humans will disturb us.”
Hearing Lacey’s words, a few elves were already slightly tempted, but most still showed hesitation.
After all, moving to a human territory, even though all the elves knew Lacey wouldn’t lie, still made them hesitant.
“Lacey, are you sure that Richard’s territory really has a forest suitable for us to live in?”
At this point, the elf leader spoke up.
Lacey nodded and said, “Yes, Leader. Oh, Lord Richard gave me something that will let you see the forest.”
Hearing these words, the surrounding elves all showed expressions of curiosity.
Under their curious gazes, Lacey carefully took out a tablet from her magical space pouch.
The tablet still had a good amount of battery left. When she was nearing the forest, Lacey had specifically checked the battery level.
As she pulled out the tablet, the elves all looked over, their eyes filled with curiosity.
“Lacey, what is that?”
One of the elves asked.
Lacey said, “This is something invented by Lord Richard, a very magical item. He calls it a ‘computer’.”
“Computer?”
Hearing these unfamiliar words, many elves found the composition of the term peculiar.
Under their watchful eyes, Lacey pressed the power button, and immediately, the tablet’s screen lit up.
The elves grew even more curious.
Then they watched as Lacey swiped her finger across the tablet. Soon, she navigated to the gallery and found the video Richard had taken.
“Leader, sisters, Lord Richard has already recorded the state of the forest in this video. I’ll play it for you now.”
After Lacey finished speaking, she opened the video.
Immediately, a static image of a waterfall appeared. Then the elves saw, as Lacey tapped the screen again, the waterfall began to move slowly.
Standing in front of all the elves, Lacey held the tablet so that everyone could see it clearly.
As the video started playing, each elf’s eyes were filled with amazement.
Such a magical item was naturally something the elves were seeing for the first time!
However, they were soon captivated by the video.
Below the waterfall, a beautiful valley gradually unfolded.
On both sides of the valley, small waterfalls occasionally cascaded down, infusing the entire valley with spiritual energy.
For humans, such a valley might feel too humid, causing discomfort to the skin. However, if elves live in places that are too dry, that’s when they truly suffer.
Their skin always appeared dewy and delicate precisely because they lived in relatively moist forests for long periods. For them, such a valley was an ideal dwelling.
The camera then zoomed out further.
They saw the entire layout of the valley.
This valley was relatively secluded, with only one path leading down, making it quite secure.
And on the mountain slopes on either side of the valley were vast expanses of forest.
On the mountainsides flanking the river valley, there were vast stretches of forest.
The moment the elves saw these forests, their eyes lit up.
Given their familiarity with forests, they could naturally tell that this one was incredibly beautiful and perfect.
Moreover, this forest wasn’t small in size; it extended westward for quite a long distance.
A river meandered through the forest, infusing the entire area with vitality.
This kind of forest was truly the ideal home for the elves!
Some elves were immediately tempted.
The video wasn’t short, even after being edited by Richard—it still lasted over ten minutes.
The elves watched quietly.
The more they watched, the more absorbed they became, their eyes growing brighter as they were gradually drawn in.
Lacey, meanwhile, was observing the expressions of the elves. Seeing that almost all of them were somewhat tempted, she felt a surge of confidence.
In fact, when she first saw that forest, she knew the elves would be drawn to it.
That forest wasn’t any less impressive than the one the elves currently lived in. The only concern for the elves was the presence of humans.
However, elves have a strong bond of trust with each other, and they never betray their kin. Furthermore, elves have a keen intuition about humans.
For Lacey, her intuition told her that Richard was reliable and trustworthy.
When Lacey shared her assessment, some elves began to change their views about Richard as well.
Ten minutes later, the video finally ended.
Yet, many elves were still lost in thought.
“Lacey, does Lord Richard’s territory really have a forest like this?” an elf asked.
Lacey nodded, “Yes, Andrea. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. In fact, Lord Richard is even building palaces for us in the valley.”
With that, Lacey pulled up the design renderings that Richard had stored in the tablet.
When the elves saw the renderings, their eyes lit up again.
Elves love forests, but they certainly don’t sleep on the ground.
In reality, all elves have their own little homes, and some even build stone houses surrounded by flowers, which are quite beautiful.
However, none of these homes could compare to the meticulously crafted palaces in the renderings.
These palaces, set against the backdrop of the valley’s scenery, captivated the elves.
Even the elf leader was moved.
“Lacey, this forest is indeed our perfect home. But what does Lord Richard want from us in return?” the elf leader finally asked.
The elves weren’t foolish.
Although they seldom interacted with humans, they understood that many humans are driven solely by profit.
In the past, some elves were captured and sold into human lands.
For profit, many humans are willing to do anything, no matter how risky.
That’s why elves are so wary of humans. Moreover, they’ve maintained their combat readiness; nearly every elf is an expert archer, with sharp arrows that could easily defeat several or even dozens of humans attacking them in the forest.
To the elf leader, it seemed unlikely that Richard would offer them such protection, grant them a vast forest to live in, and build such beautiful palaces purely out of kindness.
A human like that, even if they existed, wouldn’t last long in the human world.
Thus, the elf leader wanted to understand Richard’s intentions.
Hearing the question, the other elves also turned their gaze to Lacey.
Lacey explained, “Lord Richard hopes that when he faces war, we could send our archers to assist him in battle. He has also promised that he wouldn’t put us in dangerous situations. Oh, and Lord Richard has also gifted the leader a bow.”
As she spoke, Lacey took out the 100-pound heavy bow that Richard had given her.
The elf leader took the bow, held it in her hands, and gave it a strong pull.
The bow was drawn to its full length.
Despite her beautiful and delicate appearance, her arm strength was surprisingly formidable.
The combat prowess of the elves was actually quite strong.
Not only were they skilled archers, but they were also adept at hand-to-hand combat, with exceptional close-range fighting abilities.
Their physical strength was also considerable.
This was only natural.
Consider their height—each one was over 175 cm, with long legs, and years of rigorous training made it impossible for their combat skills to be weak.
As the elf leader drew the heavy bow, she appeared noticeably more fierce, exuding a heroic aura.
She didn’t release the bowstring abruptly but rather let it go slowly.
This was to avoid the noise of the string snapping back, which might alert the dragon.
Even though the dragon was still quite far away.
“This bow is excellent,” the elf leader remarked.
Such a bow wasn’t available in their elven tribe.
Their bows were all self-made and, compared to human bows, were far superior in quality and had decent range.
However, they couldn’t quite match the specialized heavy bow Richard had bought at great expense from the online store.
According to that store, the wood used for these bows was imported because it was not allowed to be sold domestically—it was a first-grade endangered protected species of wood, extremely rare.
Moreover, crafting such heavy bows was highly selective of the wood, often requiring an entire tree to produce a single bow.
Lacey nodded and said, “Leader, Lord Richard has many such extraordinary items.”
The elf leader set down the longbow, pondered for a moment, and then looked around at the surrounding elves. “What do you all think?”
“Leader, if Lord Richard only requires us to assist during times of war, that wouldn’t be a major issue,” said an elf who was quite close to Lacey.
“Leader, I think we should go and take a look. It’s rare to find such a perfect forest. As for Lord Richard, I trust Lacey’s judgment—she’s probably not wrong,” added another elf.
It was clear that more elves were becoming tempted.
The tablet that Richard had given to Lacey played a significant role.
After all, seeing is believing.
The tablet not only allowed the elves to see the condition of Moonlight Forest but also created a sense of mystery around Richard in the minds of the elves.
And sometimes, this sense of mystery makes people more inclined to trust others.
Because Richard was obviously different from other humans.
After the elves had all expressed their opinions, the elf leader finally spoke up: “In that case, let’s move first, and then I will personally discuss matters with Lord Richard. If everything goes well, we will settle in that forest.”
Hearing the leader’s decision, the elves all nodded in agreement.
Thus, the major decision regarding the relocation of the entire elven tribe was set.