Chapter 623: Barren West

With lingering hesitation, the young Elf, Balran, climbed up to the treehouse and went inside. He swallowed nervously, and it couldn’t be helped.

Even though Arlo was a human, he was dangerous enough to warrant caution from his father, the Tribe Leader.

Axel offered the Elf a seat with a disarming smile. "Balran, take a seat."

Balran sat down and looked around; it was quite comical, actually. It was as if the Young Elf were the guest in some foreign place, not Axel.

Balran said tentatively, "If you don’t mind, can I say something?"

Axel nodded, "Yes, of course..."

Balran added in a low tone, "Your smile and facial expressions feel too fake; it makes you look creepy."

Axel’s mouth twitched involuntarily. He hadn’t expected that kind of statement, so he sighed, stopped trying to emulate facial expressions, and noted mentally, ’I guess I should have practised a bit in the mirror; it seems making faces without real emotions behind them makes it look unnatural, perhaps.’

The Runecaster asked, "So, what do you want to know?"

"Uh, right, I almost forgot," said Balran and brought out a tray full of food with a mental command.

A fresh scent of beautifully done Elven cuisine hit Axel. It involuntarily made his mouth water. Balran added, "Please eat; this is the best food of our tribe, freshly made this morning, with the natural ingredients picked in this very forest."

But Axel did not touch the food, so Balran hesitantly picked some up from the tray, put it in his mouth, and said, "Don’t worry, mister, it’s not poisoned or anything, I assure you."

Axel replied without contemplation, "It’s fine; you can eat it. I’m not hungry."

Balran seemed to want to insist, but when he looked at Arlo’s emotionless black eyes, he thought better of it and decided otherwise. As for the magnificent meal laid open in front of him.

The Boy couldn’t help himself and ate like a voracious boar.

Axel watched, and when the boy finally finished licking the plate clean, he asked, "It must be a rare dish, made on rare occasions, right?"

With a full stomach, Balran nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, the ingredients for this recipe are only available in this month of the year, and most of them are preserved so that the tribe can make this dish for everyone on bigger occasions."

"So, even I rarely get to eat this food, not more than 5 times a year. So, thank you so much. It’s so... so good," added Balran as if almost gloating that Axel missed the meal of his life.

Axel chuckled dryly at the young elf’s gesture and asked, "By the way, how big is your tribe?"

Balran said with a sigh, "We have a bit more than 200 people in the tribe. However, most of them are old and weak. So, our tribes strength is relatively weak, if I am being honest."

Axel could not help but surmise, ’In just a small tribe of 200 Elves, they have about 30 fourth phase seekers and one 5th phase seeker.’

’Compared to that, all of humanity doesn’t have more than 300-400 fourth phase seekers amongst its nearly 3 billion population, and as for 5th phase seekers? It’s probably not more than 70-80, combining all three great kingdoms and 6 minor kingdoms,’ added Axel mentally.

So, one could only imagine the sheer astronomical difference in the number of High-level powerhouses between the Elven race and humanity.

In fact, all the ruling races had an utterly overwhelming number of seekers compared to Humanity.

The insignificant number of Ghost race members temporarily stationed to fight from the minor kingdoms might as well be nothing compared to the real numbers of undead teeming on Ghost Island. The Elven race completely sealed this place.

And then there was the Demon Empire, which alone probably has enough powerhouses to wage war against every ruling race of the continent all at the same fucking time.

But the strongest Empire of the Eldarion has too much infighting and disorganisation for the Demons to present a complete, united front.

Especially with the disappearance of the Demon Emperor, no absolute, singular entity can take proper hold of that unfathomable number of demons and command the Demon race with irrefutable grace.

Balran’s words broke Axel’s train of thought: "So, mister Arlo, the Human Lands, the place we call Barren West."

"Is it true that place is really Barren? And humans die of hunger, suffering and poverty, and kill each other like wild animals?"

Axel waited for a moment to think of the right way to answer, then he stated, "It’s not exactly Barren in the way you’re thinking that it is Barren. Like a normally functioning collective society, some people live well in the economy, and some people don’t."

He continued,

"Some thrive due to power."

"Some thrive by inherited riches."

"Some even thrive by their ingenious mind, creating solutions to societal problems of the mundane people. Building through such means."

"But the real reason why your race calls the Human Lands the Barren West is mostly because of one thing and one thing only."

"Which is primarily the lack of density of the World Force," revealed Axel.

Then he threw in a question of his own to Balran, "But do you know why that is the case?"

Balran shook his head, not knowing the answer.

Axel answered straightforwardly, "That is because in all of the Human Lands there are only three Black Pillars. Significantly fewer than the Elven Empire has, which is probably more than 30, if I am not wrong. But I’m unaware of the exact number."

Balran’s eyes widened as he nodded like a child engrossed in a tale told by a mysterious adventurer.

Axel felt perplexed for a moment, so he asked, "By the way, kid, how old are you?"

Balran scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I’m quite young, only 25..."

Axel’s eyebrow twitched involuntarily; he’d forgotten that elves under 30 are considered children by their custom because of their long lifespan. Even a mundane Elf lives for more than 150 years. Seekers of the Elven race naturally live much longer.

It’s one of their countless racial advantages.

Axel was only 20 years old. However, his mental age was much higher, given his time spent on the Trial World.

Even so, it was truly a weird situation. He needed to make sure he didn’t reveal his young age by mistake, as that would raise even more suspicion.

Axel shifted the topic, "Balran, this forest should be teeming with powerful beasts, right? Where are the hunting grounds where I can hunt some good beasts?"

Balran sighed, "Well, there is one place nearby, but it is a bit of a complicated path. I don’t think you will be able to get there without a guide, properly."

Axel understood the kid wanted to go with him if he wanted to hunt some beasts, so he nodded. "Sure, lead the way."

With an excited expression, Balran led the way out of the Bronze Leaf Tribe’s living quarters.

Axel still felt the prying eyes following from a considerable distance. But he wasn’t very worried.

He kept walking through a complicated roadway of deep canopies, following behind Balran, staying cautious and spreading his senses in all directions.

Within a few minutes, they reached a certain location; in the distance, a small path of water flowed through the middle of the forest.

Because of the water flowing through that area, countless beasts could be felt there.

Axel noticed one particular creature: a six-legged, deer-like beast with beautiful, long, complicated antlers made of crystal.

Noticing his gaze towards the creature, Balran explained, "It’s a 4th-tier Beast, named Crystal Antler, and it’s extremely fast, very hard to catch, according to Uncle Raon. Also quite vicious in nature if you provoke it."

"Those antlers are extremely strong, nearly unbreakable, and have a terrifying sharpness to them that cuts steel blades quite easily..."

The Young Elf continued his explanation, but Axel had stepped forward. Unconcerned with hiding his presence or being subtle, he approached the creature.

The young elf cursed internally, "Mister Arlo, what the hell are you doing, uh... damn it."

Axel waved his hand, "Stay back, Balran..."

Balran had no choice but to swallow his words and stay back, watching with keen interest.

The Crystal Antler naturally noticed the approaching Axel, its crystalline eyes looking at him coldly. Even a hint of arrogance lingered in its gaze.

But Axel didn’t mind and continued forward. With a mental command, the Element of Oblivion appeared on his palms, moving erratically for a short second. Then Axel quickly wrapped it with a layer of carefully controlled killing intent.

Once the black particles settled down into complete stillness, he moved the Oblivion to wrap around his right hand properly.

The first thing he noticed was that, with his increased affinity for Oblivion, he needed much, much less mental power to control its energy.