Dark Eldar

"No one can know in advance what the price will be. It might just be a hair on your or my head (a metaphor for time), or it might be yours..." —Otherworldly Rules 18.13

An ancient, colossal portal (for combat use) stands majestically in the clouds, a stark contrast to the smaller (distributed) portal Yundar had used to enter! Dark, the Dark Messenger, encounters a new continent—Kevinia. Dark's senses confirm that this is indeed the legendary "Lost Empire."

After 480 Dark Knight soldiers teleported over, they quickly went into stealth mode (five teleports were lost). Dark awakened all the troops in front of him, fearing a surprise attack from an unknown force! If the enemy had a powerful control hero, they wouldn't even have the right to show themselves, so it was better to bluff first.

At this moment, the DK CEO strictly followed orders and dared not utter a word!

Dark's considerations proved useful. Outside the large combat portal, a large number of "monsters" had gathered... They were all menacing, metal/elemental creatures, mostly around level 30. The monsters weren't interested in Dark's DK legion; they were queuing orderly, eager to leave!

The suspicious Dark dared not let his guard down. He couldn't understand why these "neutral" monsters were so eager to leave.

"Ludal, go and find out what's going on?" Dak gestured.

He believed that there were some things that needed to be done by Ludar. It was a safer approach.

The astute rebel leader, Ludar, nodded knowingly. In truth, he was quite puzzled as well.

Ludar quietly approached, carrying some new copper ingots in his hand. (Medium purity)

"Hey, you! Do you know the Common Language?"

"ПЪЩЩМ, ГДЕЁЦЦфо?"

"tʃrdʒdʒ,ʊəeəɪəɔɪɜːi: i:?"

Ludar spoke three languages.

Beside the teleportation stairs stood an "elite monster" (humanoid monster) whose appearance wasn't too strange. Upon closer inspection, however, he was somewhat "ugly" (crooked nose, one eye larger than the other).

"I will. Are you the army of Essef? I haven't seen your insignia." The ugly elite monster replied fluently.

Ludall was very surprised; he hadn't expected that the monsters here could speak human language.

"Yes, that's right! We're on a very special mission," Ludall said, handing over the copper ingot. (Human relationships)

"Wow, you're so generous! In this era of metal scarcity, you're actually giving me copper! I can use it to make a short sword!" the ugly elite monster said greedily.

"You're welcome! It's like this, we've been gone for a long time. What, are the gold and silver all gone now?" Ludar, sensing something amiss, lied to him.

"Kevin Garnier's good days are over! Look, they absolutely refuse to stay here. They're the same as me; we've become 'forging materials.' Our poor children, born only to be used in 'metallurgy.' Forget gold and silver, even pig iron is exhausted! The ongoing battle with the Oni has depleted our world's resources. Now, the only way? Look! Leave here!! Sigh! I bet it's a grim story!" The ugly elite monster rattled off a long string of words. Perhaps he was a "wise man." (Also known as the Prophet, a special class; randomly generated)

**Top Secret:** King Joseph has issued a strict order! Kevin Garnier's "elite monsters" are not allowed to escape. This involves the drop of "Mystic Alchemy Blueprints" and "Artifact Forging Blueprints."

Ludar waved goodbye to the ugly elite monster, then felt a pang of regret. He hurried back to the party and quickly had the Barbarian King wrap the "Golden Staff" (taunt attribute) with strips of cloth. It was just too conspicuous!

"Reporting to Lord Dark! I've heard that they're fighting the so-called 'Demon Clan,' resulting in excessive losses. Metal resources, such as gold, silver, copper, and iron, appear to be depleted. I believe this is an empire on the verge of decline. Perhaps... we should return..." Ludar didn't dare say the last sentence aloud. He was merely suggesting it.

"Okay, I get it. That explains why the eyes of those anxiously waiting monsters were filled with despair, and why they all seemed unarmed," Dark said.

He then ordered: "All DK Legion soldiers are not allowed to expose their weapons. If a weapon is too large, wrap it in rags, just like the Barbarian King did..."