Chapter 117: Village

"Is there any difference between a High Elf and a regular elf?" Ethan asked.

"High Elves are elves chosen by the God of Harmony, they have much longer lifespans than regular elves, and they possess special powers," Elara explained.

"Special powers?"

"A power that maintains harmony, within a High Elf’s domain, no one can initiate a war," she said.

"Whenever important treaties need to be signed or critical talks need to be held, a High Elf is always invited to serve as a witness."

"A forced prohibition on combat? What an incredible ability." It was almost as miraculous as the river back in the Great Forest.

"If possible, I’d like to learn that kind of ability too," Ethan said, half-joking.

"With your immense strength, could it be you don’t like fighting?" Elara asked in surprise.

"I’m a farmer, not a warrior." Ethan smiled and shook his head.

"But your strength..." Elara wanted to say more, but seeing the look on his face, she sensibly closed her mouth.

The carriage fell quiet, only the sound of wheels rolling over the road and Pearl’s occasional meows broke the silence.

"Speaking of which, Marquis Karloitz shouldn’t send anyone else to hunt us down, right, meow?" Pearl asked.

"Probably not, we’ve already left the royal capital, even if he wanted to make a move, he wouldn’t choose to do it now," Leon said.

"What a pity. I wanted to collect a few more Chaos Fragment shards." Ethan felt a stab of regret, he had already obtained the World Fragment, now all he needed was a complete Fragment of Chaos, and its source was the Dark Elves.

"You’ve handed the Mana Grass to the royal family. Karloitz should have no reason to target you anymore," Leon pointed out.

"When it’s time for the next delivery, won’t he just try the same trick again, meow?" Pearl asked.

"The next delivery? Are you going to leave the Great Forest again?" Elara asked in surprise.

"Well, about that..." Ethan fell silent in thought, he couldn’t stay outside the Great Forest forever, he had only come out because winter was a relatively free season. Once spring arrived, he had to go back and plant the World Tree.

Although he was still short on Chaos Fragment shards, Ethan believed they must exist within the Great Forest as well. After all, it was a place that birthed many powerful monsters.

"I’ll leave this matter to you two. I’ll pay the compensation as promised — Mana Grass or porcelain, whichever works," Ethan said.

"We were planning on doing business with you anyway, there’s no need to mention such a small thing," Leon replied.

"What do you think, Miss Elara?"

"Oh hahaha, I certainly have no objections," Elara agreed with a smile.

And so, just like that, the task of collecting Chaos Fragment shards was entrusted to Leon and Elara.

As evening approached, the carriage rolled to a halt.

"Are we here?" Ethan asked.

"According to the markings on the map, it should be right around here..." Elara studied the map in her hand, her brows furrowing.

"This place looks incredibly desolate." Leon looked around, unable to hide his dismay.

As far as the eye could see, there was only an endless expanse of red wasteland, not a single trace of green. It looked completely devoid of life. It was hard to imagine that High Elves — beings who revered nature and harmony — would live in such a place.

"Could the information from the royal family be wrong?" Elara wondered.

Just then, a frail figure appeared in the distance, a young elf.

The child looked at Ethan’s group timidly and slowly walked closer.

"Who are you?" the little elf asked, wariness in the small voice.

"My name is Ethan, and this is Pearl." Ethan kept his tone gentle.

Seeing his friendly manner, the child’s guard dropped slightly. "If you are here for my village, please follow me, this is not a place you should be."

Without another word, the little elf turned and walked deeper into the wasteland, Ethan and the others exchanged glances and followed.

After about half an hour, the scenery began to change, the barren red earth was gradually replaced by scrubby grass, but this green wasn’t vibrant at all — it looked rather sickly and thin.

Ethan crouched down, pulled up a blade of grass, and found its roots had withered.

"Do they really live in a place like this, meow?" Pearl asked in disbelief.

The elven race relied on foraging and animal husbandry for a living, in an environment this degraded, survival was nearly impossible.

"Yes, but this is our home, we cannot leave," the little elf said.

Ethan looked at Leon, hoping for an explanation.

Leon smiled wryly. "Our elven race relies on nature to survive, if we migrate to other places, it inevitably leads to conflicts with the local inhabitants, that’s why we prefer to stand our ground in our own homes and live in harmony with the land."

"But if your home is destroyed—" Ethan wanted to say more, but the little elf interrupted.

"The Village Chief said that as long as we solve the problem with the land, we can continue living here, the Village Chief is working very hard toward that goal..."

"The Village Chief?" Ethan asked.

"Is your Village Chief a High Elf?"

"Yes." The child nodded.

"Could you take us to see him?"

The little elf hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed to the request.

Led onward, the group finally arrived at the elven village, it was a very small village, compared to the royal capital or the territories of Leon and Eric, it could only be described as crude.

The elves living there all looked gaunt and haggard, as if they hadn’t had a full meal in a long time.

"We have guests..."

"But we don’t have any extra food..."

The withering of the land made it impossible for the elves to forage enough, leaving them barely able to feed themselves, seeing them, Ethan felt a pang of sympathy.

"Your Village Chief is a High Elf, correct?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, how can we help you?" one elf responded.

"I want to see him."

Hearing this, the elves exchanged wary glances, Ethan ignored their looks and followed the little elf straight to a large tree at the center of the village.

A gaunt elf sat cross-legged beneath it, seemingly meditating. Hearing their footsteps, he opened his eyes.

"Are you guests?" His voice was deep and hoarse — very weak.

"Hello, my name is Ethan." Ethan bowed slightly.

"...A human? It has been a long time since I’ve seen a human." Magnus looked at Ethan, a complex expression flickering through his tired eyes.

"Hello. I am the High Elf, Magnus."

"Hello, Mr. Magnus." Ethan bowed again.

"I came this time to ask you some things regarding the World Tree."

"Heh... Mother Earth’s bounties are on the verge of withering, yet you still have the mind to care about the World Tree?" Magnus let out a dry, self-mocking laugh.

"Why has this land become like this?"

Magnus sighed. "It is all because of that dungeon."

"A dungeon?" Ethan remembered Zharok mentioning the term back in the Great Forest.