Why can't humans do it too?

Looking at Riku's tired face, Sur asked in surprise.

Such a statement might not have been a problem in the previous life, but in this world it is simply the most stupid statement imaginable. It's like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Not to mention the weapons being developed using unactivated divine essence that I just mentioned, even the energy that those superior races casually smear during battles is drawing patterns on the ground at will.

Both its mobility and firepower far exceed the standard, and the greater its power, the more it likes to launch area-of-effect attacks, as if it's treating planets like playdough.

In this situation, hoping to just live a quiet, resigned life... to put it bluntly, is just waiting to die.

Enjoying the last beautiful moments before death.

“Who says otherwise?” Riku forced a smile. “So you understand now? I’m even hesitant about accepting covert aid so frequently, let alone seeking refuge under the protection of the Forest Elves.”

Chapter 176 A Brief Stay

“At first, everyone might be able to maintain an independent mindset, but what about later?” Riku tapped the table lightly and said, “Compared to long-lived races like the Forest Elves, their lifetimes might witness hundreds of generations of human change, right? How long can human independence be maintained under the influence of the Forest Elves?”

After all, compared to the power of the forest elves, humans can't even see the elves.

“Not to mention you, Sur,” Riku stared into Sur’s eyes and continued, “Are humans in this other world longer than humans in this world?”

“…No,” Su Er shook his head, “In the era before I transmigrated here, living to eighty was considered a long life.”

That was a time when material conditions were extremely high, and nutrition and medical conditions were advanced. As for the humans in this world... just look at how Riku and Suer are only teenagers but are already considered adults leading the settlement, and living to thirty years old is considered a long life.

Moreover, Suer knew that his lifespan had been greatly shortened...

“Perhaps there won’t be any problems with the Forest Elves while you, Suer, are still alive, but how can you entrust the survival of humanity to your connection with that Forest Elf? Maybe at the beginning it was just to survive, to live a better life, but once you really get used to living under the protection of the Forest Elves… it will be very difficult for humanity to stand up again…” Riku said somberly.

"By then, how much blood will we have to pay to regain our own will?"

Sull never forgot that the Forest Elves were even a race where slavery was prevalent.

"Agreeing to that forest elf's proposal means that the human race is directly exposed to other races. Have you forgotten what we have relied on to survive to this day?"

“Ah, it must not be discovered, it must not be perceived… it must not pose a danger,” Sue replied softly. He knew the reasoning that Riku was talking about, but what he needed was precisely this affirmation.

The irritability in my heart also disappeared.

“There’s only one way to retreat: once or countless times. At first, you might be able to do it under the guise of helping everyone survive, but the more you retreat, the more you’ll find there are things you can compromise on… Some things you can’t back down on, even if it means death.” Seeing the increasingly bright eyes of Sull sitting opposite him, Riku knew that his resolve had been strengthened.

Yes, Suer has made a decision, and even prepared to tell Xinke not to do anything more even after his death.

Once Liku spoke, Sur had already found evidence in his memory.

Just like drug addiction, there's only the difference between one time and countless times. Very few people can quit drugs by their own willpower. Once they get used to that rhythm, it's like being stuck in a quagmire, and it's hard to get out.

Perhaps at first, humans only sought help from the elves for what they needed—because there were so many things humans needed help with, and under Shinko's care, the elves naturally wouldn't refuse. But what about later? What if Suer grows old? What if a hundred years later?

The forest elves were a civilization built on slavery from the very beginning. Even though they were also creations of the forest gods, they had commoners who were not valued at the bottom. So what about humans, who were outsiders? Therefore, such a refusal was not arrogance or hypocrisy, but something that should be upheld.

There is no contradiction here: to believe in human nature, and not to believe in human nature.

"I understand, don't worry," Suer nodded vigorously, needing no further explanation, having made his decision.

"Pfft, so it seems you're not having an easy time either, Riku," Suer suddenly laughed, looking at Riku's troubled expression.

In their previous conversation, he had already heard Liku recount the settlement's development over the past two years. With no worries about food and clothing, the settlement had seen thousands of newborn babies in just two years. These newborns had truly given him and Ke'er a headache, and the lively atmosphere in the settlement was partly due to these adorable little ones.

There are positives and negatives. The laxity that troubles Riku is also related to his current happy life, a happiness built on crisis, but one that makes it hard to even wake him up.

"Well, good luck anyway," Su'er said with a smile as he stood up and stretched. "I probably won't be able to go back to the settlement. I've given you all the knowledge and information I can remember. Make sure everyone survives, okay?"

Liku is now facing a situation that feels like the team has become too big to manage. This cold-faced but warm-hearted young man managed to lead everyone to survive in difficult circumstances, but now that conditions have improved, he has fallen into another kind of difficulty.

It was truly intriguing to Sur, but in any case, it was a problem that Riku would have to solve slowly in the future, and Sur believed that it wouldn't be too difficult for the man.

So let him be the one to find the future for humanity.

Sur only briefly mentioned what Okan had said, without going into details.

"...Aren't you finished yet?"

The wooden door creaked open and was slowly pushed open. Under the light, Ke'er, with half her head peeking out from the edge of the door, looked like a large feline, her eyes reflecting a frightening light.

This is to urge them to eat.

Actually, this wasn't the first time Cole had come. Although Riku had told her to take Shinco and Jibril to see the settlement, everyone knew that was just an excuse for the two men to talk alone.

The only thing I didn't expect was that we could talk for so long.

"Haha, sorry, I'm done talking, I'm coming right now," Su Er replied with a dry laugh, pulling back his half-stretched yawn.

It wasn't that he was a coward, it's just that Ke'er really looked a bit scary.

"Honestly, can't you talk things out slowly? It's really going too far to leave Xinke and Xiaoji out like this! You should at least be more mindful of what you're doing," Ke'er muttered, puffing out her cheeks as she squeezed out from behind the door, giving her sister a lecture.

"Okay, okay, I understand, I understand. Let's go quickly, they must be getting impatient." Seeing that Ke'er seemed to be unable to stop, Su'er quickly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender and begged for mercy.

As for Riku... this man had already wisely stood up and prepared to eat as soon as Ko'er came in.

It was a warm and friendly meal. Putting aside the strange atmosphere of this simple meal, Suer, Xinke, and Jibril did not stay in the settlement for long. After resting for about two days, they left the settlement again amidst Ke'er's tearful eyes.

Xinke was fine, but Jibril couldn't resist her curiosity and kept nagging to set off like an alarm clock. So even though Suer wanted to stay a few more days, she ended up embarking on her journey ahead of schedule.

There were a few times when Suer really felt like she was taking care of a child who was only a few years old, and Nona was even more well-behaved than this pink-haired winged creature.

The word "bear" is the most prominent feature.

Chapter 177 Jibril Feels Bored

The ocean!

An endless sea!

This was the first time Suer had faced the ocean of this world since arriving here. Well, he meant the real ocean; the small strait they had encountered when he escaped with Xinke before couldn't really be counted.

So this is definitely our first meeting, so—hello! Ocean!

You're so ugly!

Or to be more precise, you're so dark-skinned...

For a moment, Suer almost thought he was looking at a black expanse of oil, not the sea, but a surging, dark sea of ​​oil, which immediately shattered all his illusions.

It was nothing like the beautiful scenery that Suer had seen when he went to play at the beach before his transmigration. It was lifeless and gloomy. He even doubted whether the marine species, one of the sixteen races, really lived in this ocean. There was no sign of life at all.

Well, isn't it only natural that Suer included humans in the count?

There was indeed a beach, but under the blood-red sky, the sand turned completely red, looking not much different from a scene in a horror movie.

"So, which island is it?" Sur muttered to himself, looking around blankly.

sloppy.

The God of Forging just pointed, and they arrived.

Then they were troubled by the sheer number of small islands. After all, once you sail eastward from the mainland, as long as you don't encounter another mainland, you'll basically be surrounded by small islands. Even if the islands look bare and empty, how could Suer and his companions dare to just wander around?

Because of the great war that lasted for countless years, the shattered fragments of the continent have now all become small islands, and those that didn't are on the seabed. But even so, there are just too many of them, and the only directional term is "east"... The east is just too big.

Suer even considered going back to ask Okan about his absurd idea, but considering that he probably wouldn't be able to come back up if he went down, he decided against it and could only search for him like looking for a needle in a haystack, constantly guessing.

Would that secret be placed in the most conspicuous place? From a common point of view, Suer and the other two did not think it would be that simple. The secret was more likely to look ordinary and be overlooked if one was not careful. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been discovered long ago?

The logic was sound, and it passed unanimously by all three.

"Ugh, this is so annoying!!"

Floating in the air, shouting loudly, Jibril's interest always came and went quickly. They had been searching here for months, but so far they had found nothing.

Jibril was indeed incredibly curious about the secret Okan had mentioned, but the prolonged lack of progress was making the pink-haired winged creature extremely bored. Although she wasn't fickle, Jibril was definitely tired of the tedious search.

If Sull had offered some words of comfort when Jibril first complained, now, months later, he seemed not to hear her at all, still examining his surroundings with the instrument Xinke had made to detect elven fluctuations.

Considering that the secret Okan mentioned might only react to his blood and soul, he had to search all the places that Xinke and Jibril had already covered himself in order to trigger something. Even with the help of the equipment made by Xinke, it was still a hard job for Sull.

Or perhaps he felt his eyes were about to blur, as every day was the same unchanging scene, with nothing but the sound of the ocean waves echoing in his ears, and occasionally a storm would sweep up in a matter of seconds due to the movement of the elves.

"Ah~, how about this! Let's just bomb them!" Suddenly flying backwards in front of Suer, as if afraid that the man wouldn't hear her, Jibril even waved her hand in front of Suer.

"If something survives the bombing, it must hold a secret; if it doesn't, it means there's nothing there! What do you think?"

Omitted for brevity, but today Jibril also wants to create a spectacular scene.

“…What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Sul put down the instruments and sighed deeply as he looked at the Skywing in front of him. “What if the secret the Forging God mentioned is from another divine species? Wouldn’t that be a provocative act?”

“But what if it’s just residual information? Wouldn’t it be destroyed on the spot? Bombing it directly would be too reckless. Nobody knows what kind of reaction it would cause, so be patient… Or why don’t you go back to Abant first? We’ll let you know when we find you,” Su’er tried to persuade this Skywing to stop causing trouble in secret.

"Absolutely not!" Jibril rejected the suggestion of returning to the city of the Skywing race without hesitation. To be honest, she'd rather stay here and just relax than go back in her childish form and be held and rubbed against by a certain guy.

"Putting aside the fact that such an intriguing secret must be recorded on the spot immediately, it would be a real shame not to witness it firsthand... You little brat, are you trying to get rid of me?" Jibril muttered, crossing her arms and glancing sideways at Sull.

"Huh?", Suer was momentarily confused.

What is the fan leader saying?

How did this train of thought switch?

"If I go back, won't it just be you and that weed left here?" Jibril sneered disdainfully. "What? So eager for some alone time?"

“…I’m telling you, don’t just learn a few words and start using them randomly, okay?” Suer didn’t know what expression to use to react. “Are all Skywings as boring as you? Always focusing on these kinds of things, and stop randomly pairing things up…”

What happened to the promise that it was just the God of War's weapon? Can we please stop being so gossipy?

"Huh? Still won't admit it?" Jibril's disdainful laughter grew even louder.