Steel torrents pioneering a different world.

Chapter 239 The Battle of Five Armies? If all else fails, let's just put them all to work in the fields! (Please subscribe)

In another world, a specially modified deep-sea exploration engineering institute.

Two days have passed since the meeting about exploring the deep sea in another world and the possible war with the intelligent races of that other world, and all departments of the pioneering team are extremely busy.

The entire project was like an adrenaline rush, with the design and development engineers working day and night at high speed.

The ear-piercing sounds of welding, the rhythmic hum of the 3D printer, and the engineers' exchanges of technical jargon created a chaotic yet exhilarating symphony.

At this very moment, near the border, small groups of elves and dwarves are being spotted by humans more and more frequently.

To humans, these two races are like a flock of vultures that never leave, constantly reminding everyone in the pioneering team that there are tigers sharpening their claws and watching them from the sidelines.

That day, when Su Mingjin stepped into the production workshop, a wave of heat, a mixture of metallic smell, slight sweat smell, and various plastics, hit her.

In the very center, a uniquely shaped detector is suspended in mid-air by a robotic arm.

Its shell is made of dark gray composite material, and its surface is densely covered with spikes of varying lengths. It can withstand the flow of seawater while also having considerable defensive capabilities, making it look like a steel sea urchin.

"President Su is here! Look at our new baby! How does it look?"

Huang Shikai, the designer in charge of deep-sea engineering equipment, greeted Su Mingjin with a beaming smile.

Huang Shih-kai is 65 years old. Because he stayed up late these past two days, his gray hair was messy and his work clothes were covered in oil stains, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, just like a child who had just received a favorite toy.

"Mr. Huang, is this our prototype submarine?" Su Mingjin's gaze lingered on the "sea urchin." "It looks... quite unique."

"Unique?" Huang Shikai chuckled. "President Su, this isn't unique at all. This thing should be called violent aesthetics! Absolute pragmatism! Didn't you say last time that we wanted low cost, high survivability, and just the ability to charge? We thought about it, and the turtle shell of the submarine made of adamantite or something is too expensive, so we'll just be a hedgehog!"

He led Su Mingjin closer and pointed to the menacing spikes.

"It's made of polytetrafluoroethylene and carbon fiber, with a Hastelloy-doped ceramic inner lining and a titanium-nickel alloy skeleton inside, ensuring greater survivability under high pressure. The spikes on the outer shell are made from some scrap materials from before; they're very sturdy. We've tested them, and their hardness is enough to give those sea monsters a surprise."

Su Mingjin took the key and tapped one of the longest metal spikes; it felt cold and hard.

"Last time I saw those deep-sea leeches directly attaching to the hull of a submarine and attacking it by wrapping around it. Can these spikes completely prevent them from wrapping around it?"

"Stop them?" Huang Shikai chuckled, revealing a set of white teeth, his expression carrying a hint of crazy smugness. "President Su, even if we stop one, we can't stop more, so we never intended to stop them all in the first place."

He pointed to the spikes: "These spikes not only have special physical defenses, but each tip is also coated with a toxin specially formulated in our lab. I guarantee that anyone who dares to put their mouth near it will never forget that taste for the rest of their life."

He paused, then pointed to several tiny nodes at the base of the thorns.

"That's not all. See these nodes? These are connected to high-voltage capacitors. Once a large area of ​​living organism comes into contact with them, a high-voltage discharge occurs instantly. Internally, we call this the porcupine system."

Su Mingjin's eyes twitched slightly upon hearing this.

Good heavens, these old scholars, who have been constrained by funding and quotas for countless years, have become incredibly unconventional once they're given free rein.

This isn't a detector; it's clearly a scammer trying to extort money.

"Can the energy problem be solved?"

"Ahem, Mr. Su, the only advantage of this thing is its low cost. It can be mass-produced, with each unit costing only around ten thousand yuan. When producing five thousand sets, the price can be reduced to a few thousand yuan! So, regarding energy and other issues..."

Su Mingjin pursed her lips and nodded, indicating that she understood.

Her last bit of hope was extinguished.

Since the energy problem cannot be solved in a short time, we can only adopt this simple and crude method: to detect and recover basic scientific information.

Simple and straightforward, but highly efficient!

Moreover, releasing more of these creatures has another benefit—it will cause some deep-sea monsters to develop PTSD syndrome.

Once bitten by a snake, twice shy.

Perhaps the words of our ancestors also apply to those deep-sea monsters?

Nobody knows; scientific testing is required to find out!

Huang Shikai watched as Niu Ma, a doctoral student, tightened screws on the equipment and sighed, "Producing these things used to be incredibly troublesome. I remember when we were working on unmanned submarines, we not only had to consider recovery, but also ensure absolute safety. Making something was like embroidery!"

"Things are looking good here now. The objective is clear, let's just get to it. Everyone's been working non-stop these past two days, thinking about how to provide more warmth for those sea monsters. Oh, and Mr. Su, we're also planning to add some explosives to some of the cheaper detectors, so that when these sea monsters come to entangle us, the nearby ones will be blown to bits!"

Su Mingjin nodded, listening to the sighs and lamentations of these veterans in the military industry.

Right now, the exploration team wants to find as many clues as possible, and they want equipment that is cost-effective, not something that can be recycled and reused multiple times.

When exploration becomes the top priority, all unnecessary rules and regulations must be compromised to complete the task.

"By the way, what about the bait?" she asked, touching on another crucial point. "Have you designed the bait again?"

"Hehe, this is our trump card!" Huang Shikai's expression instantly turned serious, and he gestured for Su Mingjin to come along.

"President Su, based on our previous detection and analysis, we've discovered that those strange creatures have a strong affinity for flesh-and-blood marine life! Besides that, these sea monsters seem to have a particular fondness for hallucinogenic substances!"

Huang Shikai pointed to a line of data at the bottom of the screen, his voice lowered.

"So, after much consideration, we decided to synthesize and produce some hallucinogens with extremely high concentrations that can dissolve and diffuse in water."

"Well, we also extracted effective biotin from the red poison ants and the cloud-riding snakes of the other world, as well as from modern highly toxic biological substances. The effect... how should I put it, we feel that once this stuff is released in the deep-sea restricted area, the other side will swim over like moths and go wild! They will probably fall into complete frenzy and out of control, hehe... At that time, with the addition of specially made fishing nets to cut them and make them kill each other, we can definitely reduce our ammunition consumption."

Seeing Su Mingjin's serious expression, he cautiously inquired, "President Su, how is this?"

"You said that releasing biological toxins into the Devil's Sea would only create chaos and wouldn't threaten many marine creatures or cause long-term harm to the marine ecosystem, right?"

Because that place was originally designed to be a fishing ground.

The Devil's Sea is rich in fish. Although some large fish contain toxic elements, many fish have practical uses.

The downside, of course, is that large fish are first slaughtered into rare animals, and then humans take over the food chain from the large predators!

Huang Shikai thought for a long time before nodding: "Seawater has a strong dilution effect. Even if we release tens of tons of special agents, it can only kill bloodthirsty creatures within a few kilometers at most, and the harm to the entire sea area is very low!"

Human-made things may seem extremely harmful, but to the oceans of an entire planet, they are probably like a mit on your body being killed by a needle. The needle that burns the soul cannot even pierce your skin.

To completely destroy a sea monster in an entire ocean area with human-made medicine, at least hundreds of millions of tons of specially made medicine would be needed.

For example, nuclear weapons, which humanity is so proud of, if tens of thousands of them were dropped on Earth, the Earth would be fine, but humanity would definitely be wiped out.

This is precisely the issue that Su Mingjin is worried about.

In normal sea areas, those sea monsters and the like, given the University of Tokyo's ability to create all sorts of interesting things even with ocean sunfish, would definitely not harm the marine ecosystem.

However, research has found that many creatures in the Devil's Sea have physical deformities, and many seafoods carry a number of toxic elements that are harmful to humans.

The nearby seas do not contain mutated octopus sea monsters that have value for industrial pharmaceuticals and some biochemical agents.

However, it's possible that the presence of that mutated giant octopus is the reason why those giant octopuses are not found in the area more than 20 nautical miles around the forbidden zone. Only in the deeper parts of the Devil's Sea can you find unmutated octopuses.

As long as the dosage of the medicine is controlled properly, and a biological disinfectant that can decompose quickly is used, the problem of too much toxic seafood in that sea area can be easily solved.

For the University of Tokyo, a sea monster that cannot be eaten, cannot be used to extract useful industrial raw materials, and is extremely aggressive is not a good sea monster!

With her worries gone, Su Mingjin spoke with the veteran military experts to ensure that they had considered most of the issues she had thought of and had solutions. Only then did she nod, thank them, inform them of the upcoming operation, and leave.

Once they left the equipment research lab, the fervent atmosphere of the researchers was finally left behind.

Assistant Liu Chang was already waiting outside. When she came out, he immediately came to greet her.

"General Su, Brigade Commander Man has decided to conduct another luring and hunting operation against the marine life in the Devil's Sea at 3 PM today, in an attempt to destroy the highly aggressive sea monster group. In addition, the second batch of elf and dwarf captives is also ready to be released."

Su Mingjin hummed in agreement, but didn't stop walking.

The passion that Zhong Lao had ignited in the research lab was quickly cooled down the moment it came into contact with the cold, damp air outside, leaving only reason running at high speed.

"Any new developments regarding the Scourge in the north? Any activity from the dwarves and elves in the south today?"

"Reporting to General Su, the Scourge has begun small-scale harassment, but there are no signs of a large-scale southward advance. An hour ago, we counted two hundred dwarf squads in the south, and we've also spotted over a hundred elves. The scouts from both races are extremely cautious, merely lingering near the border! They don't attack, don't engage in combat, and don't venture deep into our territory. At the slightest sign of trouble, they either hide or retreat. They seem to be excessively… cautious” towards us!

"They look harmless, but they're killer bees carrying deadly venom." Su Mingjin rubbed her throbbing temples. "These past two days, besides deep-sea exploration, our highest priority monitoring target has been the movements of these three groups!"

"Yes!" Liu Chang replied readily.

Su Mingjin stopped and looked up at the gloomy sky in the distance. The gray clouds hung low, as if they might collapse at any moment.

"Xiao Liu, do you think we might trigger a four-army war?" She paused, then changed the subject, "No... even a five-army war?"

"A battle of four armies? A battle of five armies?" Liu Chang paused for a moment, then started counting on his fingers. "President Su, the undead, the elves, the dwarves, plus us, isn't that only four sides?"

Su Mingjin didn't speak, but simply nodded with her chin towards the distant sea.

That place is located in the direction of the Devil's Sea to the east!

Liu Chang followed her gaze, thought for a moment, and then said, "President Su, in the deep-sea areas we have detected so far, we haven't found any signs of advanced intelligent life, only... wild beasts."

"I hope I'm overthinking it." Su Mingjin looked away and got into the commuter car.

As the car started, she leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, and her face revealed an undeniable weariness.

"How did the newly released prisoners react after seeing what we showed them?"

"Yes! The response is very strong!" Liu Chang reported immediately.

As the saying goes, the purpose of preparing for war is to stop it.

Humanity is incredibly experienced in preparing for war.

Although humanity has concealed many weapons, mass production capabilities, and key information such as time portals, the necessary deterrents still need to be exerted.

To maintain strategic deterrence, instill fear in both races so they dare not act rashly, and guard against the possibility that the Elven high command might use a series of means to conceal the purpose of the clues, the human side has certainly racked their brains.

To ensure that the two races could relay the information that humans wanted to take back, the troops arranged for the prisoners of war from both races to meet at the labor reform base before sending them away.

Several small-scale conflicts occurred between different races due to various strange questions and reasons, but prisoners of war from both races also communicated.

During their meal, the two races made initial contact due to the deliberate actions of the humans.

For example, how the elves were captured and how the dwarves were captured, although they didn't finish explaining, the captives of both races already had a basic understanding.

Burning Souls: Humanity selected four target prisoners and released them back to their headquarters.

Of course, before leaving, I also took them to visit several of our newly built industrial zones.

When Liu Chang mentioned this, he seemed to have thought of something, and a strange smile appeared on his face.

"Mr. Su, if you have time, you must see how those elf and dwarf captives reacted after seeing our goods!"

"Oh? What's wrong? Are you scared stiff?"

"Uh, no, but one of the dwarf prisoners, after seeing the enormous mining machine, kept saying it wasn't magical at all, and that only their god of forging could create such a miracle. The elven prisoners, while very impressed by our creations, were... quite good at hiding their true feelings!"

A slight smile finally appeared on Su Mingjin's lips: "That's good. I hope to see how our 'miracle' will have an indelible impact on them. I wonder if it will make their masters more sensible." Thinking of this, Su Mingjin sighed, "Little Liu, why do you think the 'Peaceful Must-Read' needs to be launched so early?"

"Perhaps both races are itching for a beating, acting like idiots?" Liu Chang nodded and replied with a smile.

Su Mingjin immediately smiled!

Is peace too precious?

Although it's hard to admit, the pioneering team that traveled here from the time portal has a fundamental conflict with the three races of the other world—a life-or-death struggle for survival and resources.

How could those proud races possibly submit genuinely before they are completely defeated, crippled, and forced to their knees begging for mercy?

War has always been a necessary means of resolving conflicts and problems.

It's just that everyone is verbally avoiding the topic of war!

Despite their yearning for peace and peaceful development, this is merely a lofty slogan used by the pioneering team to promote themselves.

The young soldiers yearned for glory.

The troops are all fiercely competitive, vying for all sorts of challenging missions.

While the pioneering team may have few other points of consensus, they certainly have a lot of consensus on matters of war.

If we beat other ethnic groups until they cry for their mothers, won't peace come on its own?

This is the path to lasting peace for the pioneering team!

If all else fails, just plant the other one in the field!

The pioneering team believes they have the strength and the ability to do so!

They are bound by the most basic modern world morality.

-

A dwarf outpost is located in a cave halfway up the mountain. It can be used to hide troops, move quickly, and also serve as a place to live.

At the cave entrance, a biting cold wind rushed in.

Bellergas squinted, taking a leisurely puff of his tobacco, the green smoke drifting from between his thick beard.

This tobacco is made from the tender shoots of tobacco picked by the finest young girls on a spring morning in the lush green lands of the south. The smoke has a sweet aroma, and taking a puff can relieve most of your fatigue.

Although many of his centaur companions called it "girly cigarettes," Bellergas has recently fallen in love with the taste.

Suddenly, he felt a warm sensation in his nasal cavity.

I reached up and wiped my nose; it was covered in sticky, sticky blood.

"Damn it!"

"Bellegas, you're bleeding from your nose again!" Lillers walked over carrying a steaming pot of stew and saw his companion's embarrassment.

"It's nothing, a minor problem!" Bellergas laughed heartily, pretending to be magnanimous as he wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve, then took a deep drag on his tobacco, as if that would suppress the feeling of weakness.

My body has been feeling increasingly unwell lately, but thankfully this tobacco can alleviate the excruciating pain.

Liers placed the food bowl on the stone table, and the aroma of stewed meat instantly filled the air. "You should go see Doctor Iron!"

"Forget it!" Bellegas picked up his monoculars, looked down into the forest, and muttered, "What can those iron doctors do besides cutting flesh and bleeding? They've even lost the head transplant technique passed down from our ancestors. I'm not going to look for them!"

"That's forbidden black magic!"

"Dark magic is better than the plague!" Bellergas chuckled, his tone nonchalant. "Maybe it won't be long before Gaizul comes to take me to the Hall of Glory of the Ancestors... and maybe I'll even see the great Grimnir then! My blacksmithing skills have deteriorated quite a bit; I wonder if he'll spank me."

"Ha, if anyone's going to be the guide, it has to be me first!" Liers laughed and scolded, then reached into the basin, grabbed a large piece of meat, and began to eat heartily.

This is a classic dish ingrained in the dwarves' bones: a stew of fresh cave mushrooms, potatoes, and mammoth meat.

They were once besieged by abyssal demons, corrupted beings, and an army of the undead. During the protracted holy war between the two sides, they survived for five years on mushrooms and moss in the cave, and finally received new reinforcements.

The tenderness of fresh mushrooms, the softness of potatoes, and the chewiness of mammoth meat create an intense meaty aroma that scalds Lillers, making him wince in pain, yet he can't bear to let go.

"Liers, stop eating!" Bellegas's voice suddenly turned serious.

"What's wrong?" Liers asked indistinctly, his mouth stuffed full.

Bellegas handed him the binoculars: "Look for yourself, those people from the north are here. Looks like they can't wait any longer! I guess after we delayed the negotiations for so many days, they've become wary of us!"

Lillers quickly wiped his hands on his trousers and took the binoculars.

A group of humans appeared at the edge of the forest in my field of vision.

They rode incredibly fast on two-wheeled iron contraptions that didn't require horses. Behind them followed magical iron chariots equipped with long musket barrels!

"Belegas, this is their third time here. How about we steal those two-wheeled magic chariots once they're inside the forest?" Lils licked his lips, his eyes gleaming.

"The humans in the north are not to be trifled with, and the regular army from the south has already arrived. Until then, we need to hide our fangs." Bellegas also liked those things, but he knew even better that the humans in the north were very dangerous, which is why he warned them with a serious expression.

After some consideration, the cave-dwelling semi-humans decided to send a force to confront the humans in the north.

They had learned from the dwarven prisoners how they had failed, and the defeat was so devastating that they thought they could give it another try.

If they can defeat the enemy, they will gain long-term peace.

If we can't beat them, we can only rely on their shamelessness to become slackers.

"Fine, I'll listen to you." Liers reluctantly put down the binoculars and then reached for a piece of meat.

But just then, Bellegas grabbed his hand.

"They stopped."

Liers raised his binoculars again and saw that the humans had indeed stopped at the edge of the forest. Instead of venturing in, they were fiddling with some metal objects?

The next second, those things emitted an incredibly loud sound.

"Dwarven emissaries, we need to meet with you. Don't delay any longer!"

Lils heard the humans speaking in Elvish and looked at Bellegas with a serious expression: "Bellegas...do they know we're going to beat them up?"

During the last meeting, they said they had communicated with the King and given him a one-month grace period.

But less than three days later, messengers from the human side returned.

Bellergas frowned, his thick beard trembling slightly, as he sensed something ominous.

"Let's go. Since those guys want to see us, let's see what they're up to!"

……

The mountain wind carried a chill, making people's beards almost freeze.

The leading human envoy, Bellegas, recognized him as Professor Yu Qiwen, the same person who had come to negotiate the first time.

This time, however, the politeness on that old face was gone, replaced by a gaze as cold as the winter iron of the North.

"Emissary of Belgas," Yu Qiwen's voice was devoid of warmth, "we have detected that your forces and the western elves are mobilizing troops towards the border. Are you trying to break the agreement and start a war?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bellergas's heart sank.

Damn it!

Such a secretive troop deployment was actually seen clearly by these northern scumbags!

And those long-eared ones in the west, who always boast that they are the darlings of the forest and masters of hiding their tracks, how come they are so unreliable in their work?

The fact that humans could even detect the troops they mobilized means there must have been a mistake on the Long Ears' side!

Bellergas cursed the elves in his mind, but his face remained impassive, his thick beard concealing his taut jaw.

His eyes darted around, and he said in a deep voice, "Humans, you are overthinking things. We half-humans are also a race that yearns for peace. We have only increased the number of scouts on the border to protect the peace of the kingdom. Our ancestors have foretold that our promise will always stand."

Liers listened with sweaty palms, his hands unconsciously tightening around the three-eyed magic musket at his waist.

"I hope so." Yu Qiwen's gaze swept over Liers's tightly gripping weapon, his tone carrying an undisguised warning. "But please remember our words: if your soldiers dare to cross the red line, we cannot guarantee their safety!"

"To show our goodwill, we can return some more prisoners!"

After he finished speaking, he waved to the back of his hand.

Four people stepped off a human-made iron vehicle.

Two dwarves and two elves.

These were dwarven brethren from other clans who had been captured in the previous conflict!

Bellergas's pupils contracted, and Lillers beside him was also shaken.

The two captured dwarf compatriots seemed to be in relatively good spirits, though they were somewhat dejected.

The same was true for the two released elven captives.

The four of them standing together seemed to fill the air with a sense of despondency.

The dwarf captives only regained some composure after seeing their companions.

Bellegas and Lillers exchanged a glance, their expressions a mixture of confusion and wariness.

What does this mean, human?

"We humans are a peace-loving race." Yu Qiwen suddenly forced a smile, a smile that made Bellegas feel very uncomfortable. "Releasing them is just to show our goodwill, you don't need to think too much about it."

He changed the subject and his tone became gentler!

"Furthermore, we've observed that the road infrastructure of both ethnic groups is in a truly appalling state. We are currently planning highway and inland waterway projects. If our two groups can reach a friendly agreement, we can provide technical support and assistance with construction. We guarantee high quality at reasonable prices, fair and honest service, which will greatly help improve people's livelihoods!"

Highway lane?

Inland waterways?

Bellergas and Lillers were dumbfounded. What on earth was all this?

Magical means that can alter terrain?

"Alright, envoys, we've finished our conversation. Farewell."

Yu Qiwen didn't give them a chance to ask questions. With a wave of his hand, he and his men and iron cart quickly disappeared into the snowy forest, leaving behind only bewildered dwarves and the four newly released prisoners.

The scene was quite awkward amidst the wind and snow.

"Pah! What nonsense!" Liers spat in the direction the humans had left, then quickly walked up to the two dwarf brethren, took out a small, compass-like object, and scanned them and the two elves.

The gem on the compass remained perfectly still.

"Belegas, there's no trace of black magic or plague." Lills breathed a sigh of relief.

Bellergas's furrowed brow did not relax. He stared at his two dwarf brethren with complex expressions, then glanced at the uneasy elf beside him.

What are these humans up to?

He took a deep breath of the cold air, and the dry, stinging sensation in his nasal cavity made him even more alert.

"Come on, you're coming back with us!"

Bellergas's tone left no room for argument.

"I want to hear exactly what kind of bewitching potion humans have given them these past few days!"

Inside the large war and reception room that the dwarves had dug out of the cave, the flames of the stove crackled and burned, dissipating into the outside through a sophisticated smoke extraction system.

It's warm here, but it can't dispel the heavy chill in the air.

Two newly released dwarf brethren and the two elves were sitting on one side of a long table, with hot soup and roasted meat in front of them. The returning dwarf captives were eating happily.

However, the two elves beside them had empty eyes and looked completely lost.

Bellergas sat in the main seat, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of the mammoth cup, while Lillers stood behind him like a stone statue, his hand never leaving the musket at his waist.

"Have you eaten and drunk your fill, Bolin?" Bellegas's voice echoed in the stone hall, sounding particularly muffled. "Speak, from beginning to end, don't leave out a single word. What have humans done to you?"

The dwarf named Bolin, with his scraggly beard, looked up, his eyes still filled with lingering horror.

"...They didn't torture us. In the early stages...they fed us well and even treated our injuries."

Liers couldn't help but scoff, "That's just a hypocritical charade!"

Bolin shook his head, then nodded.

He then said, "Belegas, when we arrived, they showed us some strange things... They took us to the iron bird..."

"Iron birds?" Liers frowned. "You just let your magical creations ride on them so openly?"

Due to poor communication, the elves did not inform some of the elven captives that they had also traveled on human helicopters on their return journey.

"Yes!" Bolin's voice suddenly rose, as if recalling that fear. "That thing was really strange, such heavy steel! Yet it flew up so easily! Rising straight into the sky! It was terrifying!"

The cave hall was deathly silent, save for the sound of burning flames.

Bellegas's finger stopped. He stared at Bolin and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Are you sure you saw it clearly? Those iron birds weren't powered by magic?"

"It's true! We went straight into the belly of that iron bird!" another dwarf spoke up, his voice trembling. "We saw our camp from the sky; it was as small as a model on a sand table! I must say, the human construction of flying machines is truly amazing, far more advanced than ours."

Bellegas and Lillers exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.

Bolin swallowed hard and continued, "Then, they took us to that place between the Milk River and the Ring River... They said they wanted to connect the two rivers."

"Nonsense!" Lils blurted out. "There are many mountains separating the Milk River and the Ring River, the shortest of which is a league apart. Even if we gathered the strongest rune craftsmen and earth masters of the entire tribe, it would take them hundreds of years to dig through it! They can't complete those massive projects."

"But when we observed them from the air using iron birds, and when we went to the site, the waterways of their two rivers were almost completely connected." Bolin's voice was so low it sounded like he was talking in his sleep. "Those humans definitely possessed incredibly powerful forbidden weapons. Those weapons... they're simply unbelievable... Oh, and they also said they used some weapons! Very dangerous, but very efficient weapons."

He struggled to organize his thoughts, speaking almost incoherently.

To this day, they still cannot comprehend what they witnessed: "When I and the rest of the group arrived nearby in the iron bird, almost that entire mountain range was gone."

"Almost all gone?" Bellergas leaned forward slightly, his thick beard barely concealing his taut face.

"Yes, almost all of them are gone." Bolin nodded firmly, his eyes filled with the fear of surviving a catastrophe. "It's like being bitten by an invisible giant. Huge gaps, a terrifying black scene, even the stones are burning. Even using dragonfire magic couldn't destroy so many mountains."

"Bellegas, I swear on my beard, it won't be long before their waterways are paved, allowing boats on two unrelated rivers to sail between them!"

The elven captive, who had been silent until now, spoke, her voice carrying the elegance unique to elves, yet trembling uncontrollably: "That wasn't magic, nor divine power. It was a... a power we couldn't comprehend. A cold, pure, destructive power. They used those trials when we unleashed the Nightmare of Return!"

"Bang!"

Liers slammed his fist into a nearby stone pillar, sending dust flying. His face was extremely pale.

"This is a demonstration, they're not letting you tour it... they're flexing their muscles!" Lils gritted his teeth, forcing out the words, "They're telling us that they can break our mountains like bread whenever they want!"

Although Bellegas's heart was in turmoil, he deliberately maintained a calm demeanor on his face.

He picked up the mammoth cup and drank the wine in one gulp.

"Long-eared," he said, looking at the two elves, "we will send people to escort you back to the Forest Kingdom. We will tell your governors, chieftains, prophets, and elders everything you have seen, exactly as it was."

The lead elf stood up and bowed solemnly: "Thank you for the friendship of the halflings."

Bellergas waved his hand, and immediately guards came in to arrange the escort.

Once the elf was taken away, the cave hall returned to silence.

Lillis walked over to Bellegas and whispered, "What...what do we do? Should we stick to the original plan..."

"A plan?" Bellergas chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It's not something you or I can decide!"

He stood up, walked to the map, and looked at a map drawn by his tribe, then at the territorial information on the map.

In his eyes, it seemed as if it were an insurmountable chasm burning with destructive flames.

He reached into his bag and took out a small, blank sheet of paper.

"Liers, write a letter," Bellegas's voice was hoarse and heavy. "Report everything that's happening here back to our rear again."

Lills nodded, picked up his pen and began to write. Thinking of the words of the dwarf prisoner who had just been released, his eyes were filled with complex emotions.

(End of this chapter)