Chapter 415 - 399: Sneak Attack! Zor Elf

Chapter 415: Chapter 399: Sneak Attack! Zor Elf

As the first glimmer of dawn broke on the horizon, the silent Furnace Stone Castle gradually began to stir. From the distance came the sporadic clang of metal and the faint murmur of conversation.

Roland slowly opened his eyes, letting out a long breath.

A condensed white mist flowed from his lips, swirled for a moment in the chilly air, then slowly dissipated.

’I never thought that after condensing the [Primordial Core], even the [Nameless Breathing Technique] would undergo a new transformation...’

With a slight turn of his thoughts, he called out his Professional Panel.

He saw that the Nameless Breathing Technique, which had already reached Full Level yesterday, now showed a progress bar again.

’It seems the previous ’Full Level’ was just the limit of the Breathing Technique for tapping into my own potential.’

Roland mused.

’But now that the source of my power has shifted to the outside world, the Level cap for the Breathing Technique has also been raised.’

Having sorted out the mechanics, he stretched his body, carefully savoring the state of his transformation.

The condensation of the [Primordial Core] brought not only a leap in his energy level, but also a significant refinement of his physical body.

His Power and Agility had taken a qualitative leap, and on top of that, he had gained a twenty-point Spiritual Attribute Bonus from taking the [Spiritual Master] Profession...

To use a gaming analogy, he was currently a "well-rounded build" with no weaknesses. As for his actual strength, he should now be considered a "lesser Morne."

’If Galvis’s intelligence is accurate, my current physical condition alone is enough to handle things with ease in the Elf Territory.’

’Not to mention the assistance from my many Traits and Profession bonuses.’

At this thought, Roland felt full of confidence.

After taking a deep breath and suppressing a hint of arrogance, he gently nudged the sleeping Pikachu by his pillow.

Tress rubbed her drowsy eyes, groggily flapped her wings, and finally, obediently burrowed into the pocket on his chest.

He then reached for the still-snoring Squirrel Qiao, his fingertips pausing as they touched its increasingly plump belly.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the little guy’s fluffy tail seemed...

It looked like it had grown a bit longer.

Suppressing the doubt in his heart, he carefully tucked Qiao into the pouch at his waist, then pushed the door open and walked out.

The dawn was faint, and Furnace Stone Castle was already a hive of activity.

The Gray Dwarves were packing forging tools, ore samples, and living supplies into crates. Their rough shouts and the clang of metal intertwined into a unique morning symphony.

Perhaps because they were about to travel far on the Shell Ship, every face showed a mix of anticipation for the future and the haste of departure. Even the undercurrent of resentment in their eyes had faded considerably.

Roland passed through the noisy crowd, walking toward the behemoth docked in the center of the square.

At the edge of the shadow cast by the Shell Ship, he met Bronson, who was gazing up at the ship’s hull.

"Good morning, Mr. Bronson. Are you..."

Seeing Bronson’s weary face, Roland met the other man’s bright and piercing eyes.

"You didn’t sleep all night?"

"Good morning, Roland!"

Bronson snapped back to his senses, grabbed his arm excitedly, and then pointed to the ship behind him.

"This is a miracle of engineering and biomechanics! Look at the way these nerve bundles join with the carapace, and the distribution of the energy circuits..."

"I dare say this is a creation that transcends several levels of civilization! To think the Gray Dwarves can pilot something like this..."

He gestured incoherently, completely lost in the fervor of academic discovery.

Just then, a familiar shout came from behind him.

"Rudolph!"

Roland immediately recognized Duraga’s voice.

But this call carried a surprise and astonishment unlike any before.

He had just turned around, before he could even respond, when the Gray Dwarf leader’s heavy hand slapped down hard on his shoulder.

"Have you recovered your memories?"

Duraga’s voice held a rare urgency, his copper-bell-sized eyes fixed on him.

Seeing Roland shake his head in denial, Duraga finally let go, rubbing his thick fingers together a bit sheepishly.

"Sorry, old friend. It’s just that when I saw you standing there gazing into the distance just now..."

He gestured, as if searching for the right words.

"The feeling you give off... it’s exactly the same as the Rudolph from back then."

The Gray Dwarf spoke, his gaze a mixture of nostalgia and confusion.

In his eyes, Roland’s disposition was no longer that of a traveler who simply pursued Power, but of someone who truly possessed the Presence of a pioneer.

This created a strange overlap with the figure in Duraga’s memory.

"Let’s not talk about that..."

Duraga’s rough voice broke the delicate atmosphere.

"Are you ready, old friend?"

Roland nodded crisply.

Seeing this, the Gray Dwarf leader turned to face his gathered clansmen and let out a shout that echoed across the square.

"Board the ship!"

As his voice fell, hundreds of Gray Dwarves began to walk toward the Shell Ship in an orderly fashion.

Before this mountain-like biological ship, the figures of the entire tribe seemed somewhat small, like a colony of ants about to be swallowed by a giant beast.

Duraga took one last look around to confirm no one was left behind, then took a deep breath and pressed his right hand, clad in an Iron Glove, against the ship’s surface.

As he chanted a low, ancient Spell, the nerve-bundle patterns on the Shell Ship’s surface began to flow with a faint blue light, emitting a low hum.

"Depart!"

Following this deep-voiced declaration, just as before, a rift suddenly appeared in front of the Shell Ship.

The next moment, the ship slid into that sea of Void, which flowed with a silvery light.

Although it wasn’t his first time, the strange experience of losing gravity and his sense of time becoming blurry still made Roland feel slightly uncomfortable.

While fending off Bronson’s barrage of questions, he cast his gaze toward the eternally silent scenery outside the ship.

Just then, he frowned slightly.

He could clearly feel the [Primordial Core] inside him drawing Energy from the outside world.

But this Energy was completely different from what he had absorbed back in Furnace Stone Castle.

It was purer, denser, like the undiluted Power of Origin.

’It seems that the concentration of this unknown energy absorbed by the [Primordial Core], much like Magic Elements, varies between different regions...’

Realizing this, a thought rose in his mind.

’Doesn’t that mean if I can stay in a place with extremely high concentration for a long time, the speed of my power increase could be greatly accelerated?’

This discovery made his heart race with excitement.

However, a strange sensation that followed suppressed the fervor in his heart.

Perhaps it was because the Energy in the Star Realm was too dense.

Under the efficient absorption of the [Primordial Core], he actually began to feel a peculiar sense of "fullness."

As this feeling grew more distinct, a slight dizziness also washed over him.

This was exactly the same feeling he’d had when he was heading to the Wailing Gorge and passing the edge of the Land of Mist.

Realizing this, Roland immediately focused his mind and calmed his breath, proactively slowing the [Primordial Core]’s operation. Only then did the uncomfortable dizziness gradually fade.

Just as he was adjusting the energy circulation within his body, the silvery void in front of the Shell Ship was once again torn open by an invisible force.

Accompanied by the familiar, slight feeling of weightlessness, the ship’s hull slid gracefully out of the Star Realm and returned to the material plane.

"We’re here."

Duraga’s voice came from the direction of the control center.

"So quickly?"

Roland was a little surprised.

"In the Star Realm, distance is determined by perception and coordinates, not by footsteps."

Duraga explained, his thick fingers still pressed against the pulsating nerve bundles.

"As long as the anchor point is clear, where the mind points is the end of the journey."

After a slight nod, Roland looked out the window.

The Shell Ship was hovering under a deep night sky.

As far as the eye could see, countless plants emitting faint blue, sickly green, or pale violet light spread out like a carpet to the horizon, forming the only source of light in this region.

Their forms were twisted and bizarre; some resembled giant mushrooms, while others looked like gaunt trees draped with glowing moss.

The damp air was filled with a mixed scent of humus and a strange, slightly cloying fragrance.

In the depths of this strange, luminous jungle, the dark silhouettes of some buildings could be faintly seen.

Their outlines were sharp and their structures intricate, as if they were one with the Darkness. Only the occasional reflection of faint light sketched out their spiderweb-like spires and archways.

"Our Gray Dwarves’ history of dealing with these Black-skinned Spider worshipers is older than many mountains."

Duraga explained in his gruff voice as he maneuvered the Shell Ship to land slowly between two clumps of giant, glowing fungi.

"Long before we were enslaved by the Heartstealers, my ancestors fought them for ore veins in the deeper earth-veins, so I know a few of their abandoned..."

His words stopped abruptly.

An almost inaudible sound of something slicing through the air arrived at nearly the same instant as the attack.

It was not an Arrow, but a glint of sinister cold light that nearly blended into the Shadow.

A slender, poisoned Dagger shot with unerring precision toward Duraga’s unprotected throat.

It appeared so suddenly, as if condensed from the Shadow itself, its speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Just as the poisoned tip was about to plunge into Duraga’s throat...

A hand struck second but arrived first, as if it had been waiting there all along.

Roland had simply raised his right hand casually. His index and middle fingers shot forward in a seemingly nonchalant gesture, precisely pinching the deadly shadow.

PING!

Accompanied by an extremely crisp sound, like shattering crystal.

The moment the Dagger touched his fingertips, it was as if it had been struck by an irresistible, immense force. It shattered inch by inch, starting from the tip.

It turned into dozens of tiny metal fragments that scattered in all directions.

The whole process was as effortless as brushing dust from one’s shoulder.

Roland didn’t even change his stance, his eyes remaining calm.

A few glinting fragments of the Dagger spun and flew into the depths of the ship’s cabin.

On one of the shiniest fragments, the reflection of a pair of eyes, suddenly constricted with disbelief and horror, was clearly visible.

They were the eyes of the ambusher.

As the Dagger fragments clattered to the floor, a slender figure was also forced to appear from the shadows of the cabin.

And as the first ambusher was exposed, the surrounding shadows seemed to come to life.

One silhouette after another emerged silently from the cabin’s shadows.

They possessed the handsome features of Elves, but their skin was as pale as snow, and their hair was predominantly silver-white.

Roland slowly lowered his fingers, his calm gaze sweeping over the uninvited guests.

Without a doubt, these hunters lurking in the shadows were that feared branch of the Elven lineage...

The Zor Elves.