Why can't humans do it too?

Although they differ from the elves in the fantasy stories of Suer's past life in many ways, they seem to share the same love for ornate and even flamboyant patterns and decorations. This preference is also reflected in the cold weapons they forge. Instead of patterns being painted on later, the texture of the steel is directly transformed into patterns during the forging process.

The useless technical capabilities are astonishing.

"How much longer are you going to be happily hugging your toys?" With just a turn of her head, Xin Ke could see Su Er gleefully swiping at the things around her with her newly acquired weapon, and she immediately urged her impatiently.

"Uh, calling it a toy is a bit of an exaggeration. This sharpness is not something a toy should have," Su'er chuckled awkwardly and quickened her pace to catch up.

"What is a weapon that even elves don't possess if it's not a toy?" Xin Ke scoffed dismissively. "Mr. Monkey, do you think that some forest elves will charge into battle with this kind of trash instead of using magic?"

That... seems to make sense too.

To these magical races, this short sword may indeed seem like just a toy, but even as a toy, it instantly reduced the weapons forged and collected by humans to dust. Sull estimated that his former dagger would shatter upon contact with this short sword.

Now my old friend can retire with honor.

The phrase "cutting iron like mud, severing hair with a breath"—words that only existed in Suer's memory—can now be used in reality. More than twenty years is enough time for nature to transform this abandoned city into something else entirely. The stone slabs and streetlights that once guided the way between the treehouses are now broken and dilapidated, with many newly grown saplings pushing them aside. Everything has become its most primitive form, and the traces of the forest elves are fading away.

Unfortunately, all of these saplings have now fallen victim to Suer's cruelty.

"...Isn't Mr. Monkey a little too energetic?" Xin Ke sighed subtly as she watched Su Er panting heavily as he trimmed the branches off the saplings, which were as thick as bowls, and carried them back to the 'sun' one by one.

"Huh? What?", sitting on a pile of logs, Su Er wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

"Are you really planning to build a house here... or settle down?" It was beyond complicated. Xin Ke's gaze kept shifting between Su Er and a row of logs that had been driven into the ground on the other side.

She rarely looked at others with the same eyes one would use to judge someone as mentally ill.

The flowers and grasses that originally grew there have been ruthlessly dug up, revealing the fertile soil.

"Why not?" Su'er said with a smile, patting the log under his bottom with great interest. "I'll live one more day as long as I can. Anyway, the agreement has been fulfilled, so of course it's better to live more comfortably."

“The proud and great Lord Nirbalen will surely be able to fulfill the other part of the agreement. Just thinking about it makes me feel so relieved... Lord Nirbalen shouldn’t go back on his word, right?” As he said this, Suer looked nervously at Xinke.

Facing such expectant, apprehensive, and slightly panicked gazes, Xin Ke wanted to say something negative but found that she could never bring herself to shatter her self-respect.

"...Heh," in the end, he could only let out a cold laugh.

However, that was enough; for Suer, such an answer could be considered an affirmative one.

“You can’t possibly understand how tempting such a small wooden house would be for a child growing up in a city built of steel and concrete… Just imagine it as the architectural style of goblins, only on the surface of the earth.” Feeling that he had rested enough, Suer rolled over and jumped down, then picked up a log and began to peel its bark.

“If you prefer this more natural style, then wouldn’t Melwall be better?”

"Merwall?"

"Ah~, located in the center of the entire city is a tall, lush tree that extends to the clouds. Its roots, like blood vessels, coil around the ground, expanding into the finest network of roads. Trees and vines growing from the earth intertwine densely, forming various houses and streetlights, filling the gaps between roads..." In the tone of a wandering poet, Xin Ke described the enchanting scene as if she were reciting a poem.

“Unlike the cramped layout here, those buildings constructed from wood and stone make full use of the forest elves’ best magical techniques, which can fully satisfy Mr. Monkey’s so-called…fantasy about another world,” Xin Ke tilted her head, “Don’t you want to take a look?”

Damn it, what she said was so tempting!

Just by following Xinke's description and roughly imagining that beautiful scene, Suer couldn't help but be captivated—wasn't it a bit too dreamy?

I really want to see it with my own eyes!

"...Let's forget it," Suer struggled to resist the temptation and finally shook his head vigorously, even speeding up his movements as he peeled the bark.

“It’s not a pleasant thing for a monkey to appear in a city full of elves. Compared to that oppressive feeling, I think this place is already quite good…” Suer said in a low voice, “And if I’m not mistaken, once you return to the elf kingdom, the corresponding research will have to begin, right?”

"Research on inactive nerve cells."

Suer's voice echoed in the warm open space, while Xinke remained silent.

“…Those gophers have already started, and I can’t stand falling behind those trash,” Xin Ke finally replied in a low voice after a long silence.

"Hey, why the expression?" After twirling the short sword in his hand, he threw it to the ground. Suer straightened up and stretched his back. The log had its brown bark removed, revealing the pure white heartwood, which was beautiful just to look at.

Unlike his busy schedule, Xin Ke immediately went back into the pool filled with herbs as soon as she returned to this place. For some reason, Su Er felt that the silent figure looked somewhat lonely.

“Isn’t this something we have to do?” Sull chuckled to himself at his own thoughts, and continued, “When the enemy has started developing a deadly weapon and they have a very high chance of succeeding, you’d better have a weapon that can match it… I know that kind of thing.”

Chapter 134 Refusal

Even if it's just to protect yourself.

Lies, Suer followed up with lies that even he himself wouldn't believe.

After all, the world this woman longed for had already been revealed to him in that cave with the campfire burning—she wanted a pure world, a world without the noisy and meaningless wars of today, and without other annoying races.

Xinke opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Suer spoke first.

“Although I know absolutely nothing about magic, anything involving gods is never simple. How many years do you think your competition with the goblins will last?” Sul shrugged casually. “Ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years? One hundred years?”

"Isn't it very possible that this process could continue for hundreds of years without yielding any research results?"

It cannot be denied.

Even though Xin Ke was arrogant and confident, she still dared not make a definitive statement about using a part of the divine species as a weapon.

If someone can make such boastful claims so casually, then it's more than just a sign of ignorance.

"The most likely scenario is that when you come out of the experimental workshop, you suddenly find that I have grown wrinkles, and the next time you leave the workshop, you find that I am so old that I can only stand up with the help of a cane... So, as for a partner... let's just forget about it."

"I have no regrets," Suer said calmly.

He had indeed seriously considered Xin Ke's invitation to him. He agreed to become her inexplicable and useless partner. If he could cling to such a powerful figure, life in this world would be much easier, right?

Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to completely abandon this idea.

Forest elves still have a lifespan limit.

To be honest, Suer didn't even think he was qualified to be friends with Xinke, even though their relationship had become much closer after such a difficult journey, and they could talk like ordinary friends... But would you really be friends with a bug that you just went to work for and then disappeared?

Compared to the long lifespan of the forest elves, these ten days or so are not even enough to cover a single step.

It was easy to come to this conclusion. Rather than following Xin Ke around and eventually turning into an ugly old skeleton, Su Er would rather simply and decisively deny the whole thing.

In this way, even if it's just out of consideration for the life-saving favor he owed her, Xin Ke would still continue the agreement between the two of them out of pride after she disappeared.

This could barely be considered one of Suer's despicable and insidious little schemes.

A chilling killing intent emanated from the woman soaking in the pool. The eyes of Liu Ling, which housed Liu Ling, were just as cruel and ruthless as when the two first met.

"...Do you dare refuse this invitation?"

Speaks slowly and deliberately, Xin Ke's voice freezes the space like a cold wind, yet Su Er is not as afraid as before; the man even chuckles inexplicably.

"What? This isn't the kind of thing I remember Nirbalian saying!" His body moved naturally, unfrozen by the killing intent. Suer struggled to lift the white log and placed it in the cave he had dug earlier. "...His tone and expression were quite fitting, though."

It was as if Xin Ke, who was glaring at him from behind, didn't exist.

"It's a little embarrassing to say, but to be honest, the first thing I thought when I woke up here was that it would be great if I could settle down here," Suer said slowly as he tamped down the soil. "The warm and bright light, the fragrance of the grass... I thought that it would be nice to die here and be buried on the spot."

"The so-called sun is roughly this ball of light, floating high in the sky. However, from a cosmic perspective, the sun is a star that is constantly exploding. The light and heat emitted from these explosions are transmitted to our planet, illuminating the entire world..."

Suer used the vines to tie the wooden posts together, while still talking non-stop.

"The atmosphere on the surface of a planet becomes translucent blue and crystal clear because of the sun's rays. As the position of the sun and the planet changes, it also gives rise to the corresponding seasons and the distinction between day and night, which in turn creates different species... Ah, at least that's how it is where we are."

"Sorry, isn't that a weak and escapist thought?" Su'er gave Xin Ke an awkward smile, somewhat ashamed. "I don't know if it's because I once had it and then lost it, but every time I see this little sun, I can't help but feel sentimental. I'm really too useless... If Riku were here and had the same conditions as me, that guy could probably do even better..."

Suer's smile turned self-deprecating.

"Is that so?" Finally suppressing her murderous gaze, Xin Ke closed her eyes and let her body slowly slide into the pool.

“Of course!” Sur perked up immediately. “Compared to ordinary people like me, Riku is the real hero! I still have decades of life experience to draw upon, but that man undoubtedly shouldered the lives of everyone with his young body!”

"Not necessarily."

Following closely behind Suer's voice without any pause, Xinke interrupted nonchalantly, but Suer couldn't pretend not to hear her words!

"Although I don't know exactly what this Riku you mentioned did, I think Mr. Monkey is already pretty great, okay?"

Just as Suer was about to recount all of Riku's great deeds one by one, he heard Xinke's next words.

With one arm resting on the edge of the pool, supporting her cheek, Xin Ke lowered her head and watched the blades of grass floating on the surface of the pool, while her other hand idly fiddled with them.

"..."

Silence fell, and for a moment only the sound of Xin Ke splashing water filled the space.

Suer felt his face and neck skin burning slightly. It was just a simple compliment, but coming from this proud forest elf, it gave him the illusion that the praise was more than ten times stronger.

Ah~ Ah! This must be it! The difference between a good person occasionally doing a bad thing and a bad person occasionally doing a good thing—is it a contrast? It is a contrast, isn't it?

Standing on the verge of losing control of his facial expressions, Suer instinctively searched for reasons in his mind.

Chapter 135 Stealing Food

"Isn't that right?" As if she could see through Su'er's thoughts, Xin Ke suddenly turned her head and smiled at him. "She broke through the limits of her weak body and mind with her own will to carry me across such a long distance to get here, and even made such a promise with me, a genius... If such deeds cannot be called outstanding, then it doesn't matter if the so-called humanity is destroyed, right?"

“…Don’t say such cruel things,” Suer muttered, turning around to continue scraping the bark off the next log.

Let's get busy.

--------------

It turned out that the forest elves didn't value this long-abandoned city much; at least, they still hadn't arrived even after Sue had finished building his dream cabin.

After repeatedly confirming with Xin Ke that what she had previously triggered was indeed a connection with the major forest elf city of Merwall, Suer had ample evidence to suggest that the unusual trigger might have turned into a seemingly insignificant document placed on the administrator's desk—it might not have been a written document, but that was the gist of it.

The forest elves may still be in chaos after losing Xin Ke, the Flower Crown Lord, or they may still be obsessed with vying for power... Who knows?

According to Xin Ke's description of her people, those useless scoundrels actually have an amazing talent for vying for power and profit.

They might come to investigate after things settle down, but as for the timing... well, you know what I mean!

"Ah~, Mr. Monkey's toys didn't collapse today either?" Xin Ke said with a smile, sitting on the wooden bed that Su Er had built.

After that day, neither of them mentioned their partnership again, nor did they talk about researching the Divine Essence Weapon. Xin Ke also didn't show any eagerness. Come to think of it, research that takes decades to complete isn't something that can be rushed in just a few days.

The only thing that annoyed Suer was this woman repeating the same sentence every day: "Could the quality of the wooden house he made be that bad?!"

Even if it were going to collapse, it wouldn't happen in the first day or two after it was built!

Who do you think you are!

With a snort, Suer ignored the boring woman and went to the side of the clay stove to pick out two cooked tubers that looked somewhat like potatoes... Suer just called them potatoes.

Yes, not only the wooden house, but also a mud stove made of mud mixed with hay and pebbles was built inside the house to make food.

This abandoned city was amazing. In addition to the abundance of edible plants, on a whim, Sue set up some makeshift traps further away and then, on a lucky morning, found a few unfortunate rabbits. These adorable little creatures have now been cleaned and hung above the chimney of the clay oven, waiting to become smoked meat.

The availability of reserve food made Suer even happier. He even tirelessly renovated his wooden house, while Xinke watched him busy all day with a smile, occasionally lending a helping hand.