Chapter 016: Escape

With the departure of the Nature Goddess, a group of stunned elves was left behind.
“The tone in which the Goddess and Elder Du Fan spoke seemed quite different,” these elves recalled.
Everyone turned to look at Du Fan, the most devout charlatan in history, standing among the elves who were still kneeling, standing out brilliantly.
In the elves’ meeting hall, after a thousand-year ritual and such a bloody battle, all the elites of the elf race gathered there.
This incident made the elves feel a sense of crisis!
With the sudden attack by a god, the elf race lost nearly 1,500 elves today, most of whom were at level six or above.
As one of the main figures in today’s battle against the True God, Du Fan was also invited to the meeting and sat next to Nai Xiu and Lan Ling. The meeting didn’t hold much of Du Fan’s attention; instead, the two beautiful elf women beside him caught his interest even more.
Once the matters of the elf race were mostly settled, Du Fan immediately proposed leaving their territory.
“Elder Du Fan, are you really sure you’ll set off tomorrow?” Saito asked.
“Yes, I’ve been away for too long. As the chief chieftain, you know there are countless matters waiting for me to handle in the Siluo Province,” Du Fan said.
“In that case, I’ll arrange the 2,000 elves I promised you today,” Saito said.
“Thank you, chief chieftain,” Du Fan said with a smile.
“This time, we’ll also explore some divine ruins. As agreed earlier, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple, as well as Elders Moses and Lan Ling, have all agreed to join me on this expedition. I hope the chief chieftain will allow it as well,” Du Fan said with a smile.
“Elder Du Fan, these are the private affairs of those elders. As your leader, I have no right to interfere,” Saito said.
“Only when an Elf King emerges can such power be granted,” Saito said, gazing into the distance as if recalling a distant era.
“An Elf King? How can one become an Elf King?” Du Fan asked in confusion.
“Whenever the elf race faces a crisis, the Elf King’s Ring appears. At that time, the elf who possesses the ring will become the king of our race,” Saito replied, staring into the distance as if remembering a long-gone time.

“Elder Du Fan, I can’t go with you to the Divine Ruins,” Lan Ling suddenly stepped forward and said to Du Fan.
“Why not?” Du Fan asked in surprise. In his mind, he had intended to take Lan Ling along—just to keep him company during the journey; after all, that rarely seen bosom among the elves could be useful.
“As someone who can communicate directly with the Goddess of Nature, I must protect the elves,” Lan Ling said softly.
“Then stay and guard the elves,” Du Fan replied quickly. What Lan Ling said made sense—forcing her to join their group might make him seem insensitive to the elves.
“Do I really have to leave the elves and return to human society?” Nai Xiu sat sadly on a chair in the room, gazing at the stars in the night sky.
By this time, Du Fan was nowhere to be seen.
By the shores of Xiangmi Lake, any spot along the vast lake’s edge would be a perfect place for a secret meeting. In the night breeze, Lan Ling’s passionate moans could be heard continuously.
Amidst the tall grass reaching a person’s height, Du Fan’s figure moved up and down under the moonlight, seemingly in rhythm with Lan Ling’s moans.
On this last night with the elves, Du Fan came to meet her in secret.
With a long sigh from Du Fan, the movements in the grass finally ceased.
A moment later, Lan Ling said softly, “Du Fan, you should go accompany Nai Xiu. We’ll be leaving the elf realm tomorrow—she must be very lonely now.”
“Take care of yourself among the elves. One day, I’ll come back for you,” Du Fan said, standing up to leave.
“I’ll miss you, Du Fan. I’ll wait for you,” Lan Ling suddenly said.
Du Fan, who was about to leave, froze momentarily. Though Lan Ling had entrusted herself to him, she had never spoken such loving words before. Hearing her say this for the first time deeply moved him.
“One day, I’ll marry you,” Du Fan said before turning and leaving.
Lan Ling was left in shock, alone under the clear moonlight, its gentle glow illuminating her face.
When Du Fan returned to the room, Nai Xiu was already asleep on the table.

Holding Naixiu, Du Fan prepared to place her on the bed. Just as he gently laid her down and hadn’t withdrawn his hands yet, Naixiu suddenly opened her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Du Fan’s neck and pulled him toward her…

Early the next morning, Du Fan stepped out of the room with Naixiu in his arms. At a glance, a vast group of elves appeared before him.

“Elder Du Fan, these are the 2,000 elf archers dispatched by the chief clan leader, all at level seven,” said a tall male elf stepping forward from the group.

“Are you their leader?” Du Fan asked.

“Yes, Elder Du Fan,” the elf replied respectfully.

“What’s your name?” Du Fan asked.

“My name is Chris, Elder Du Fan. I’m also an archer at level seven,” Chris said.

“Haha, not bad. Not even a single one above level seven was assigned to me,” Du Fan said with a laugh.

“Who said there aren’t any above level seven?” It seemed to be Moses speaking.

Dressed in combat gear, Moses was followed by those in red, yellow, blue, green, and purple.

Seeing Moses arrive, Du Fan laughed as well.

At that moment, three mage practitioners from the elf race came over from the side.

“Du Fan, I only brought three mage practitioners at the sacred realm level. You don’t object, do you?” Naixiu said gently.

Among the more than 300 experts ordered by the Nature Goddesses to obey her, Naixiu had chosen only three mage practitioners at the sacred realm level. However, she had her reasons for selecting these three.

These three mages had grown up among the dark elves since childhood. Besides mastering natural magic of the elf race, they had even reached the sacred realm level in dark magic! In other words, they were all dual-elemental mages at the sacred realm level!

Although Du Fan was envious of those over 300 experts, Naixiu must have had her own reasons for doing this. Besides, most of those experts had been subdued by the True Gods, and having them in her own team also posed a hidden threat.

2,000 elf archers at level seven, along with Moses the demon warrior, plus the five experts in red, yellow, blue, green, and purple, Du Fan, Naixiu, and three dual-elemental sacred realm mages—such a combination was already astonishing!

There were many experts among the elf race, but actually, there weren’t many divine archers above level seven among them.

Compared to the elite members of the elf race that Du Fan had seen these past few days, level seven was indeed a bit low. But almost everyone Du Fan had seen these days were elites of the elf race!
“Elder Du Fan, this is a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it,” said Saito suddenly, running out carrying a sealed large bucket of water.
“Is the Great Chief giving me water from the Spring of Life?” Looking at the large bucket, Du Fan naturally guessed what was inside.
“Elder Du Fan is truly clever. This bucket indeed contains water from the Spring of Life. Although it’s not something rare for our Elven Ancient Tree clan, I think as a commander of a province who leads troops into battle, you’ll surely find it useful often,” said Saito with a smile.
“The Great Chief is really thoughtful!” Du Fan said with a laugh as he took the water from the Spring of Life.
“We’ll set off now. If the Great Chief ever needs anything from me, Du Fan, just come to the capital of Siluo Province on the continent!” Du Fan said loudly.
“Elder Du Fan, don’t rush to leave yet. There’s one more thing I haven’t mentioned,” said Saito with a mysterious smile.
“What else?” Du Fan asked in confusion.
“When Elder Du Fan came to our Elven Ancient Tree clan from the Kayi tribe, did you use a teleportation array?” Saito asked with a smile.
“Could it be that you also have teleportation arrays that can take you directly to the Dusk Mountains?” Du Fan thought to himself and then asked.
“There are no direct teleportations to the Dusk Mountains, but our elf territory is right next to them. So, some of our elf tribes are very close to the Dusk Mountains. By using our Elven Ancient Tree’s teleportation array, Elder Du Fan can be teleported directly to those tribes, saving a lot of travel time,” explained Saito.
“In that case, thank you very much, Great Chief!” Du Fan said happily upon hearing this news.
Passing through the elves’ camps, with the End of the Thousand-Year Sacrifice behind them, the elves began preparing to return to their tribes. Everywhere, there were busy elves. Some tribes, having finished their preparations just like Du Fan—having packed their belongings and weapons—set off on their way back.
With a huge teleportation array, Du Fan led two thousand elf archers into it. Waves of magical energy rippled, and Du Fan and the elves were continuously teleported away.

Of course, those who were teleported together with Du Fan were also from the elf tribe near the Dusk Mountains. A group of seven elders was a noble guest to any elf tribe! Under the guidance of the chieftain of this elf tribe near the Dusk Mountains, Du Fan and his party set off on a journey to explore the divine ruins in the Dusk Mountains. Heading east from the elf territories led to the Dusk Mountains. Starting from the edge of the elf territories, near the tribe adjacent to the Dusk Mountains, Du Fan’s group traveled all day and finally reached the foot of the Dusk Mountains at noon the next day.