Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 185 The Lifesaving Earring
"boom--!"

The prolonged, trembling sound startled Cheng Lang and the others who were on their way, causing them to shudder in unison.

"The shell flew that way!"

Shenba, who was driving, shouted in fear. Thanks to the dark elf's excellent eyesight, he had just seen a bright red cannonball flash overhead.

"Why would it go in that direction?" Yun Lan frowned.

"Is there anything special about that direction?" Cheng Lang pressed.

“That’s the direction of the Principality of Rika,” Yun Lan said worriedly. “Could it be that Rika has also declared war on the Principality of the Elves?”

"How far are we from the Elf King's City?" Cheng Lang asked.

“We should be able to get there by dusk,” Yun Ji replied.

Looking up at the sky, Cheng Lang couldn't help but shake his head. They had escaped from Dawn City yesterday, and after a whole day of underground escape, they finally didn't see any pursuers after them.

But it was still dark. At this speed, they didn't know if they could even make it to the capital in time.

"Stop! Stop right now! Stop right now!"

Just then, Yavso suddenly stopped the speeding moose cart.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Lang and the other three asked in unison.

"It's a signal left by Grandpa Gerta! I saw the signal left by Grandpa Gerta!" Before Yavso could finish speaking, she had already jumped out of the car and hurriedly ran to the roadside.

Seeing this, Cheng Lang and Yun Ji immediately jumped out of the car and chased after them.

"look at this!"

Yafso pointed on tiptoe to a patch of moss growing on the trunk of a large tree by the roadside.

There was nothing special about this patch of moss, but several small insects emitting a pale blue light were gathered on it.

"What is this?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

"This is a moss mushroom."

Yavso explained, "These mushrooms usually grow in the shade of tree roots, and they would never grow on the trunk unless they have been soaked in my special nutrient solution!"

After observing for a while, Yavso even leaned in to smell it, and then said, "Moss mushrooms are very common. Although they are inedible because of their bitter taste, they are fatally attractive to these woodland fireflies. These fireflies, which appear all year round, like to gather around moss mushrooms and glow after eating them."

"So we just need to go along with it."

"Don't worry"

After Yavso finished speaking, he had already taken the oil lamp and walked around to the back of the tree. After searching for a while, he pointed to the symbol carved on the trunk and said, "This represents safety. We can find it as long as we follow the signs."

As she spoke, she pointed in a direction and said with great certainty, "Go that way."

Cheng Lang and Yun Ji glanced at the symbol on the tree trunk. Although they couldn't figure out which direction the seemingly random few cuts pointed, it didn't stop Cheng Lang from telling Shenba to put away the moose cart, nor did it stop Yun Ji from pulling out her dagger and scraping off the symbol on the tree and the palm-sized moss mushroom on the other side.

Soon, the group left the main road and followed Yafso as they began to traverse the dense forest.

Even Yun Ji hadn't expected that the usually gentle and weak Yafso would be so agile and nimble in the forest. In her darting and leaping movements, both the branches blocking her way and the tangled vines seemed to become tools for her to use.

However, Shenba, in order to keep up with the others, had to wield his large scythe from time to time to clear obstacles and pave the way.

Following Yafso through the forest until dawn, just as Yun Lan was panting and about to give up, Yafso finally stopped.

This is a small area in the woods. Not far away, behind a large tree, a hunting tent is hidden among the weeds and bushes, almost blending into the environment.

“Grandpa Gerta,” Yavso called softly, without even looking at the tent.

"Here, I'm right here!"

A voice came from the dense canopy of a large tree not far away, "Blessed Valkyrie, you have finally arrived."

I knew you weren't in the tent.

Yavso cheered and ran happily toward Gerta, who was sliding down a rope from the treetop.

“The spores you gave me are hidden in that hunting tent; I dare not go in and stay there.”

Gerta hugged Yavso affectionately, saying that the old man had quite a few odds and ends on him. There were six or seven flintlock pistols on his belt, and he also seemed to be carrying a gunpowder barrel on his back.

"Thanks a lot"

As Cheng Lang spoke, he handed the other person a belt that Vanhart had specially made for them, asking, "What are you doing here?"

I arrived about ten days ago.

Gerta took the belt and examined it. As Yavso explained the belt, he said, "I tried to enter the royal city, but who knows what happened? Although it's very easy to leave the elven royal city now, the checks to enter are very strict."

As he spoke, the old man walked to the foot of a big tree, lifted a piece of turf, pulled out a boat bottle from underneath, and handed it to Cheng Lang. "Those pointy-eared ones will not only try to lift up their faces to check if they are using a mask of hypocrisy, but they will also search their bodies."

I was worried they'd find the boat and the bottle, so I had no choice but to hide here and wait for you.

At this point, Gerta walked to the foot of another large tree, drew the dagger from his waist, dug into the soil, and then took out the box containing the moose cart and handed it to Shenba.

Immediately afterwards, he changed to another tree, dug out the key to the Void Dock under the tree, and handed it to Cheng Lang.

"What's the situation in the dock?"

Yun Lan asked, her mind filled with worry that Vanhart might do something after leaving without saying goodbye, even though she knew that Vanhart was with them when Gerta walked back.

“She’s become a bit strange,” Gerta said with a strange expression. “I mean, the Thorn. She’s become a bit strange.”

"What's wrong with her?" Yun Lan immediately asked, and Cheng Lang, Yun Ji, and the others also looked over immediately.

Let me think about how to describe it.

After pondering for a while, Gerta said uncertainly, "Flourishing? It seems to be flourishing. The Thorn has become very flourishing."

"Very lush?"

Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Gerta added, "Do you remember the ghost ship we encountered on Windmill Island? Yavso even helped the captain of that ghost ship graft fruit."

Yavso was the first to react, her eyes widening in surprise as she exclaimed, "You mean back then?"

"That's right"

Gerta nodded. "All the fruit trees you grafted onto the Thorn survived and are growing exceptionally well. Most importantly, the Thorn's sails are now covered in fruit, just like that ghost ship."

"So my Thornship"

Yun Lan took a deep breath, shook her head and said, "No, now is not the time to discuss these things, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get back to the main topic: what exactly is going on with the Elf King's City?"

"Since martial law was declared at least ten days ago, then..."

Yun Ji thought for a moment, "It seems that it must have started after the siege in Funeral Valley."

"Are you worried about orcish retaliation?" Gerta asked.

"Maybe"

Yun Lan sighed, "The war against the elves now seems perfectly justified." "Yes."

Cheng Lang continued, "The elves stormed into the Beast Corpse Territory and slaughtered everyone in Funeral Valley. In retaliation, the orcs launched a surprise attack on Sweet Spring Village."

"And there was that cannon fire just now."

Yun Ji reminded her, "Li Ka can find plenty of reasons to help the Frost Duchy attack the Elf Duchy."

“Because this would cause the elves to lose their most important ally,” Yun Lan sighed. “I’m pretty sure it was all planned.”

"Looks like we need to hurry."

Cheng Lang took out the boat bottle and looked at it. Seeing that it was full of fish oil, he immediately said, "Let's rest on the way. Let's get to the Elf King City as soon as possible."

No one objected to this suggestion, and everyone immediately helped Gerta pack up the hunting tent that had been used as a trap, and quickly returned to the main road to release the moose cart again.

As Shenba and Gerta took turns driving, the sky gradually brightened, and the towering, verdant sacred tree directly in front of them became clearer and clearer. They also gradually realized that the Elf King's City was built on a hill.

The hill is surrounded by a series of house trees that serve as the city wall. However, these towering house trees do not have canopies. Instead, a layer of branches grows at the waist level. On the top of the canopy that forms the city wall, there are cannons placed side by side.

These cannons can be distinguished by their size alone; some are the iconic Green Cannons, while others, though a few sizes smaller than the Green Cannons, are still exceptionally exaggerated.

"boom--!"

Just as Cheng Lang and the others subconsciously raised their monoculars to look over, two of the cannons suddenly opened fire without warning.

“This time it’s…” Yun Ji paused for a moment, “it’s in the direction of the Duchy of Boran!”

“It seems the pointy-eared ones are really under siege,” Yun Lan sighed. “Captain, we should try a different approach.”

"Hopefully those emerald cannons won't attack the ground," Cheng Lang said, as Gerta had already stopped the moose cart.

The group ventured back into the roadside forest. Cheng Lang immediately retrieved the burrowing beetle, and after everyone had entered, Yun Lan piloted it, burrowing underground amidst the increasingly faint sounds of artillery fire.

However, Yun Lan soon said, "We're still too late."

"What's wrong?" Cheng Lang immediately asked.

"The roots of the ancient sacred tree blocked our way."

Yun Lan said, "We have no way to move forward, nor can we go down."

"boom!"

Just then, a particularly muffled explosion came from overhead, and the ground began to tremble.

"It's the Emerald Cannon!"

Yun Lan cried out in terror, "The Emerald Cannon is firing at us!"

"Move! Move!"

Cheng Lang immediately shouted, "Backwards! No! Forwards! Run towards the royal city!"

"Why?!"

As Yun Lan asked the question, she also suddenly pressed down on the control lever, controlling the burrowing beetle to run underground towards the direction of the Elf King's City.

"Blind spot!" Yun Ji blurted out the answer to the question.

“That’s right!” Cheng Lang agreed loudly.

"But we'll still get caught if we rush in."

"boom!"

A second explosion followed immediately overhead, and amidst the earth-shaking tremors, even the burrowing beetles jumped up from the ground.

"Keep going! Keep going forward!" Cheng Lang shouted fiercely. "Don't stop!"

"The undead of the burrowing beetle have been suppressed!"

As Yun Lan shouted, she switched to the fish oil that had been pre-filled in her headlamp to provide power.

"I knew the undead were unreliable!" Cheng Lang and the others cursed in unison.

In this futile tacit agreement, the digging beetle, despite its enormous consumption of fish oil, began its advance once again.

However, amidst the tremors brought by the repeated shelling, the burrowing beetle's progress slowed down, and even its thick metal elytra were burrowed into by its roots!

"We can't go any further!"

Yun Lan cried out in horror, "The roots of the Verdant Sacred Tree are trying to push us out of the ground!"

"Prophecy! Prophecy poem!"

At this critical moment, Shenba suddenly shouted, "Captain! Prophecy!"

"What?!" Cheng Lang was completely taken aback.

"The web of fate has been woven, but the weaver has become trapped in his own cocoon, while the black termites have drunk their fill of sweet dew!"

Shenba shouted, "Captain! Bug! The black bug in your ear!"

“Moth-eaten earrings!” Yun Ji shouted almost simultaneously.

"Damn it!"

Cheng Lang finally realized what was happening, quickly pulled off the earring stuck in his ear, then grabbed the root that had burrowed in and pressed the earring back in.

"boom!"

Almost simultaneously, another shell fired by the Emerald Cannon struck the location of the burrowing beetle.

Amidst the massive tremors, those who had dug inside the beetle felt as if their ears were about to go deaf.

Whether it was the earring or the shelling just now, the tree roots that had burrowed into the beetle withered instantly amidst the violent tremors, and even the tree roots that had imprisoned the beetle began to loosen.

"Drill! Drill down!"

Cheng Lang, ignoring the blood flowing from his ears and his dazed mind, shouted and frantically gestured to Yun Lan.

At this moment, Yun Lan also became fierce. After forcefully pushing the control lever all the way back to the bottom, she pushed three more mine shafts in succession.

As the digging beetle trembled, its withering roots in the soil outside were broken apart one by one.

Finally, just before another shell hit, the burrowing beetle carried Cheng Lang and the others through the obstructing root system and into a deeper layer of soil.

However, although they were lucky enough to escape being killed by the shells that crashed into the previous crater, the huge shockwave still caused blood to gush from the ears, nostrils, corners of the eyes, and mouths of the people who had dug into the beetle, and then they all went black and lost consciousness.

The fatal thing was that although they were stunned, the digging beetle was not affected at all. Instead, it put in all its strength and burrowed deeper into the ground, spewing out a large amount of foam to block the tunnel it had dug behind it. The subsequent bombardment from the shells completely compacted the tunnel, leaving no gaps.

Unaware that the unconscious group was unaware that the earring Cheng Lang had shoved into the roots of the Verdant Sacred Tree was now like a miniature digging beetle, greedily sucking up sap from the tree along its roots, leaving behind an ever-thickening, withered root system.

(End of this chapter)