Chapter 006: Detection

“So, we thought that since there are problems in Flinda’s tribe, other tribes might also have issues. However, we are all elves, and we’re not sensitive to those elves with hidden dark potentials. That’s why we’d like to ask Elder Du Fan for help—to investigate our own elf tribe and see if there are any hidden dangers,” said Saito seriously.
“There’s no problem with that. But, Great Chief, as you know, I, Du Fan, am just one person. It’s quite difficult for me to handle such a large task alone. If you have enough magic stones, I could set up a magic array, which would make it much easier for me to detect such things,” Du Fan suggested after some thought.
“Then, Elder Du Fan, what do you need?” Saito immediately asked once he heard Du Fan agree.
The elves must have accumulated a lot over the years, right? Du Fan calculated quickly and came up with a level and quantity of magic stones that even he found a bit excessive. To his surprise, Saito agreed readily.
“A petty rich man!” Du Fan thought to himself, sighing as he looked at Saito’s face. If he had known the old guy would agree so easily, he should have asked for more.
“Elder Du Fan, are the materials not enough?” Saito asked softly, noticing Du Fan’s strange expression.
“Just to be safe, it’s best to prepare two extra copies of each raw material. Of course, if we don’t use them all, I’ll return them to you,” Du Fan said, taking the opportunity to ask for two more copies since Saito was already willing to provide more.
“It doesn’t matter. As long as we can detect which elves have been corrupted, having two extra copies isn’t a problem,” Saito replied quickly.
“That’s enough, exactly enough,” Du Fan said promptly. There was reason why he didn’t ask for more—if he had, Saito would have agreed out of face, but that would have made Du Fan’s actions suspicious.
The next day, as all the elves watched Moses fight another elf contestant, they noticed something unusual. Everyone entering the viewing barrier had to pass through a wide corridor, with Du Fan and Great Chief Saito standing there smiling on one side. Behind them stood a row of elves, each holding a fine gift.

Every elf that passed by these people was given a gift along with a blessing. “May the Goddess of Nature bless you, my child,” said Saito with a smile. “May the God of Light bless you, happy elf,” Du Fan also showed a radiant smile. Receiving blessings from both the Goddess of Nature and the God of Light, every blessed elf was extremely happy. Then, one elf handed over a beautiful gift. Occasionally, Elder Du Fan would personally give a gift as well! “One hundred and three.” “One hundred and four.” “One hundred and five.” Every time Du Fan gave a gift, Saito’s eyes would jump noticeably. When the last elf entered, Saito’s count stopped at one hundred and twenty-three. With a sense of burden, Saito let out a long sigh and said to Du Fan, “Elder Du Fan, are you really sure you haven’t made a mistake?” Seeing that over a hundred elves had been chosen by Du Fan, Saito seemed reluctant to believe it. “Your Excellency, the Great Clan Leader, I think there’s no mistake,” Du Fan said with a sigh as well. Watching Du Fan’s expression, Saito’s face gradually darkened. In that day’s competition, Moses emerged victorious after a fierce battle. After the match, some elves suddenly disappeared. Of course, with such a large number of elves in their race, the disappearance of over a hundred didn’t draw much attention. The elf race was a very free people; perhaps those elves had suddenly gone home, or maybe they went to Honey Lake to meet secretly. In a hidden place known as the Ancient Elf Tree Clan, those one hundred and twenty-three elves identified by Du Fan as having been darkened were imprisoned there. “Strange, really strange,” said a magic elder of the elf race, shaking his head. While using magic to examine the body of one of the darkened elves, he discovered a faint black gas swirling around the elf’s head. It was this black gas that caused the elves to darken! Every time the magician tried to drive away that gas, it became incredibly resilient! It was a strange feeling—although it seemed easy to eliminate, given its small size, it simply couldn’t be driven away. “It seems I’ll need to consult Elder Du Fan,” said the magician, unable to solve the problem. He quickly turned to look at Du Fan.

“Well, I’ve seen this kind of magic in books before. It’s a magic unique to the Dark faction—the caster implants a thread of his own will into the target, and once that thread grows, the target is completely transformed into a creature of darkness! To remove such magic, one must either kill the caster or have them undo it themselves,” Du Fan said after extending his mental power.

After checking the elves one by one, Du Fan said to Saito, “The good news is that these elves were all affected by the magic of a single caster. So, as long as we deal with that caster, all the elves can be restored to normal.”

“How do we find that caster?” Saito asked.

“With everything connected, I think that caster will appear soon,” Du Fan said with a smile.

“Then… could these elves suddenly turn into creatures of darkness?” Saito asked, frowning.

“I think the caster used this magic to control these elves. Although I can’t undo it, I can sever the connection between the caster and those implanted wills. But as a result, these elves will all fall into a temporary sleep state,” Du Fan explained.

“Even sleep is better than being turned into creatures of darkness,” Saito nodded, signaling for Du Fan to proceed.

As the sacred light around Du Fan grew brighter, the connection between each elf and those implanted wills was severed, leaving them in a coma.

“Huh,” said a man sitting in a chair, completely enveloped in darkness, from a corner of the Twilight Mountains in surprise.

“Master? What happened?” asked a woman’s voice.

The voice belonged to a white-haired female elf—Frida, who had been missing for a long time!

“Nothing much. Someone severed my connection to those pawns hidden among the elves. It seems we’ll need to adjust our plans slightly,” said the man hidden in darkness.

“Who? Who has the power to sever the master’s will?” Frida demanded angrily.

“If I’m not mistaken, it’s that human elf elder you mentioned. Only his sacred combat energy can sever my connection to those wills,” the man replied.

“Frida, go down. I need to rest,” said the man, whose entire body was hidden in darkness, softly.
“Yes, master.” Frida didn’t dare ask further and quickly left.
In Du Fan and Naixiu’s room, there was a pile of arrows in front of Du Fan. Picking up one arrow, he cast a spell of weak physical strength on it. One by one, these arrows were imbued with various spells of weak physical strength.
“Du Fan, will this work?” Naixiu asked.
“Although by tomorrow, these enchanted arrows will only be able to exert 70% of the spell’s original power, with so many spells added gradually, I believe even Moses, if he were a god, would be overwhelmed!” Du Fan said with confidence.
Temporarily enchanting weapons with magic didn’t require drawing magic circles or special magic scrolls. The only downside was that spells above level five couldn’t be used, and the enchanted spells only had 70% of their usual power. Another significant flaw was that weapons thus enchanted could only last 24 hours—just one day and one night!
“But with so many arrows, how long will it take you to enchant them all?” Naixiu asked worriedly.
“To be prepared for anything, I’ll enchant as many as I can,” Du Fan replied without looking up, fully focused on casting the spells.
“You go ahead and sleep. We still need to prepare for the match against Moses tomorrow. If you feel guilty, then win tomorrow’s match for me!” Du Fan said firmly.
“Du Fan, then you should rest early too,” Naixiu said thoughtfully. It was already past 10 p.m. For these elves who went to bed early and woke up early, it was time to rest.
Lying in bed, Naixiu suddenly shed a crystal tear.
For over a hundred years, no one had ever cared for her like this. Since returning to the Kayi tribe of the elves from human society, Naixiu had always presented herself as a strong woman!
Most of the time, it had been Naixiu who took care of her tribe members; she was rarely cared for by others. As a result, her personality had taken on a hint of aloofness.
Now, in a situation beyond her control, being taken care of actively by a man like Du Fan, Naixiu felt a strange emotion arise in her heart.
Perhaps this was the feeling of being loved!
Thinking of this, Naixiu gradually fell asleep.

Vague tree shadows, specks of starlight above the elf forest, and the faint chirping of insects.
On this gently breezy night, Du Fan worked hard, casting various spells of weakness on each arrow.
Du Fan, a man whose nature is hard to describe, was even working late nights for a woman—perhaps Nai Xiu meant a lot to him?
It’s unclear whether it’s Nai Xiu herself who matters, or her status as a powerful being in her realm.
Or maybe Nai Xiu represents the importance of the entire elf race.
In this elf world far removed from human society, Du Fan seemed to have found a sense of spiritual peace—a simple life without the heavy masks people wear. Everything appeared so natural and harmonious.
On this starlit night, Du Fan, the most devout charlatan in the world, was working hard for an elf woman’s competition.