Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"You don't have to pretend to be close to me," Leslaufer said, moving his shoulders and arms. Cutting the vegetation here is much more difficult than tearing flesh. "By the way, this isn't the first time I've walked this way, otherwise I wouldn't have planned this route."

"Back then, it was relatively easy with Amantha and me. Besides, she's an elf. The size of our team now is slightly larger than... we expected."

"It's not a bad thing for everyone to get together," Vondar laughed. "At least you two can rest for a while. Bella and I will lead the way. If Barty is willing, she can also try."

"Speaking of this," Rufo couldn't help but look at Bella, "shouldn't you stop them?"

"I am not strong enough to clear a path, Rufo." The red-haired druid demonstrated to the elder dejectedly: she tried to communicate with the plants to let them separate to the sides on their own, but the green seemed unwilling to do so, and only retracted the leaves slightly, which had no effect at all.

"It seems you still have a long way to go," the Archdruid nodded and stood at the front of the group. "Come, I'll lead the way. We'll contact the other druids and head to the Temple of the Tranquil Ones. I hope that with my familiarity with the place, I can get there before the Returners."

Rufo reached out and touched the vegetation in front of him, and it immediately made way for him, a path nearly two meters wide, enough for everyone to advance five or six meters deeper. Even the herbs that originally grew in this area had to bend their stems and leaves to avoid it.

If the trees hadn't been so rigid, Rathlough had no doubt they would have given way just as well.

"...Maybe I'm wrong about you, Bella." Rufo led the others forward for a distance without any obstruction. Perhaps due to his age, the energy consumption made him a little breathless. "There's definitely something wrong here... It's like my communication with these plants is blocked by something, like there's a layer between us. I can't tell what it is, it's too vague."

"Maybe I should ask a 'local'."

The archdruid knocked on the trunk of a nearby tree that was so large that it took two people to hug it. Several spellcasters could feel the flow and transfer of magic power between the two, as if they were communicating. However, just when the flow of power reached its peak, it came to an abrupt stop and disappeared abruptly.

"Ok?"

Rufo straightened his back, relaxed his requirements, and tried to communicate again. This time, he no longer restricted it to dryads; any goblin or other creature within a few kilometers could respond to him. But there was no improvement at all; he failed again.

"That's impossible!" The old man rolled up his sleeves, puffed his beard and glared as if he was ready to fight the tree trunk in front of him. "You can't hang up on me!"

Unaware of who Rufo was competing against, the others could only stare at each other in bewilderment, awaiting the outcome. However, the news they finally received was not success. After more than ten minutes, Rufo had no choice but to give up and declare himself defeated.

"There's something wrong with the natural environment here," he frowned. "Could it be that green dragon? A green dragon does have the ability to make the surrounding vegetation bend to its will, but it's unlikely that he'd build his nest right here at the foot of this mountain, would it?"

The Kolin Otto Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, large enough to support two or three dozen young dragons or three or four adult dragons, without overlapping territories. Yet, to date, no evidence of a second dragon's existence within the Kolin Otto Mountains exists—even Esmir itself, having remained silent for centuries, has become a mere figure in a story.

He had no reason to stay at the foot of the mountain. Most known green dragons did not like to show up in public, and Esmir could have hidden deeper into the mountains.

Besides...if we run into the green dragon's lair right after entering the mountains, our luck would be too bad!

Seeing that the usual route became impossible, the Archdruid calmed himself and continued to guide everyone forward. While thinking about countermeasures to the current situation, he began to pay attention to every blade of grass and even every animal nearby - except the squirrel named Tiaotiao.

Normally, those who knew Druidic language would readily notice this kind of information in their surroundings. However, when an Archdruid focused on it, those traces would be as hard to ignore as towering trees in the desert. Rufo soon found several scraping marks on exposed tree roots, and not far away, a speck of blood.

"Mr. Rufo, what did you find?" Bella had previously demonstrated her skill at reading the Druid language, so Angelita was no stranger to it. "Were they the druids you sent ahead?"

"One of them, Ivan," Rufo took a deep breath of the air filled with the scent of grass and trees, "he left not much information, only one word -"

"run."

"Then I'm afraid we can't run away." Daisy slapped her forehead.

As expected, the armor all over Leslaufer's body made sounds as his muscles tensed, and Patrick and Vondar beside him also tightened their weapons.

A loud rumbling sound came from the left, and soon, two giant hands covered with gray-black hair and even darker skin parted the bushes one or two meters above everyone's heads, revealing the huge ape-like head of the original body.

There was more than one such creature. Just a dozen seconds later, the same giant beasts appeared behind, to the right and in front of the few people, and one of them had obviously just enjoyed a delicious meal not long ago.

When the pair of dark eyes stared at Leslough and others, the giant ape stretched out its right forearm, picked up a half-broken oak stick with its thumb and index finger and stretched it towards its mouth stained with dried blood.

Pick your teeth.

Chapter 136 A Siege

"That must be Ivan," Leslaufer raised his head and looked around at the four giant apes surrounding him. "For beasts, you're really too smart, aren't you?"

"Now let me see if your muscles are developing as well as your brains!"

"Rieslover, wait—" Seeing the warriors rushing forward immediately, Bella tried to persuade Rieslover to wait a moment, at least to let the two druids negotiate with the enemy. But soon, Bella got the answer after the unsuccessful communication with Rieslover.

"These guys are being manipulated. There's no way for them to communicate!"

"Then grab your weapons and attack!" the dwarf roared, dropping the cork shield in his left hand and pulling out another battle axe from his waist. "Leave the front to Old Lei. Let's deal with this guy from behind first, Patrick!"

The holy warrior who was planning to help Leslaufer turned around quickly, and he was immediately surprised to find that none of his temporary travel companions tried to withdraw to support the mercenary, but instead planned to concentrate on getting rid of the giant ape at the back!

"I think we at least..."

"It's not about what you feel, it's about what he feels!" Daisy drowned out the paladin's advice with the sound of her piano. The music, wrapped in magic, entwined everyone, making the power gained from music no longer just a metaphor. "You've been strengthened. Hurry up!"

The music that sounded like heavenly music to everyone's ears was just annoying noise to a few giant apes. The giant ape that tried to surround the enemy but ended up being surrounded became even more ferocious, swinging its arms and smashing towards the holy warrior in the front like a battering ram.

"Don't retreat!" A ball of golden, plasma-like energy burst from the tip of Patrick's tongue, coating him and his weapon with a layer of sacred armor. "Bati! Use your power! This is the time to get familiar with it!"

As the paladin and the giant ape faced off, Angelita, holding onto her will, responded with a long poem. However, when she tried to recreate the spell that had killed Mullive for the umpteenth time, nothing happened. Magic flowed smoothly from the sword, but the girl could only let it slip through her fingers, unable to retain a single drop, let alone transform it to her will.

"No, I still can't do it!" Unwilling to give up this opportunity to attack, Angelita had no choice but to slash her sword at the giant ape's arm. The two clashed with a loud sound, but no blood appeared. Under the giant ape's hair, it seemed as if scales were not flesh.

Since that day, Angelita, who thought she had truly awakened the power of spellcasting, has been trying all the time to communicate with the magic that is more omnipresent than the air. But to her dismay, she has never been able to successfully cast even half a spell, and all her efforts have been in vain.

If it weren't for Patrick and Lesloff's testimony, she would have almost thought that everything that happened that day was just a wishful dream. But even if it was real then, it seemed so far away to her now.

Maybe she wasn't cut out for this. She should have accepted her fate long ago. She should have...

"It's not yet time."

Rufo's voice came from the side. The archdruid controlled the plants around him, constantly interfering with and restricting the actions of the giant apes in front of him and even the other three. However, since the plants here seemed to be a little abnormal, it seemed that he was using the power of nature to deal with the beasts, but in fact he was fighting against the two attacks from both sides with all his strength.

"Don't give up your daily training. It will eventually pay off for you someday," the old man's words rang in Angritta's heart like a bell, dispelling the frustration that had unknowingly crept into her heart. "After all, you've already succeeded once. Sooner or later, there will be a second and third time."

Vondar rushed forward, brandishing his two axes. Angritta took the opportunity to step back to regulate her breathing and asked, "But I still don't understand why this happened?!"

"In life-or-death situations, an unyielding will will overdraw your potential, unleashing a power that will only truly belong to you at some point in the future," Rufo smiled. "But that power is also yours—as long as you keep persevering."

Angrita nodded, half understanding, and charged forward again. The Archdruid shifted his gaze to the other side. He had been so busy trying to keep the others from being manipulated by some lurking, hidden hand, that he had overlooked one.

At this moment, Reslaufer was delivering a heavy elbow strike to the abdomen of the giant ape in front of him. Just as the beast on the right was about to launch a sneak attack, the pitch-black giant sword came down on its head, forcing it to raise its arms for defense. However, these two attacks were all feints by Doppler.

The giant ape on the left thought it had a plan, and opened its arms to grab Reslaufer. With its strength, even if the mercenary was wearing heavy armor, he would be unable to resist and would be crushed into a pulp. However, this action was exactly what Reslaufer wanted!

The black flame sword rebounded from the giant ape's arm on the right side, and suddenly accelerated in the opposite direction, speeding at a speed that no ape could match. The front half of the sword savagely tore through the flesh and skin, breaking the relatively fragile collarbone as well. Then it turned sharply downwards and reached the giant ape's pelvis before stopping, cutting out almost all of the giant beast's internal organs!

"It's just a beast!"

The mercenary roared and laughed wildly. The giant sword rolled up the intestines and other organs, turned around and threw the blood and other filth all over the other two giant apes. "Fear me! If you dare!"

The giant ape on the left who was not yet dead used up his last strength and punched Reslaufer in the back. The mercenary staggered, but used the momentum to kill his remaining enemies again!

…But now it’s too late. Rufo stared at the scene with his mouth open, and subconsciously glanced to the other side, at the giant ape that was teetering but not yet completely collapsed.

Unless Rufo gave up his control over the plants and cast his spell with all his strength, he could pull Reslaufer back from that abnormal influence. But at this moment, the Archdruid fell into deep self-doubt.

Did he really need to do this? Or rather... was this man really influenced by that manipulator?!

What kind of fool would one have to be to try to influence such an enemy warrior with rage or bloodlust and think that this would secure victory for himself!

The Archdruid gritted his teeth and said something he hadn't even thought of a few minutes ago:

"Mr. Leslough, please leave the body of that man-eating giant ape intact!"

Chapter 137 Passive and Active

"...There's nothing we can do. These beasts digest food far too quickly."

More than ten minutes later, the archdruid came over with his hands covered in blood, having given up the idea of fishing for another pool of flesh and blood.

Half of the giant ape's head fell to the ground like a melon, while the other half remained attached to its body. The other two giant apes were covered in scars, their eardrums stained with dark red, almost black blood, evidence of the damage done to them by the magic of music.

Reslaufer only dealt with the two on the left and right. The giant ape in front waited for Patrick and others. After the humiliating beating failed, it was met with an even more humiliating beating from the opposite direction, and eventually lost its life in it.

Reslaufer found an old tree root that protruded nearly a meter from the ground and sat down, leaning on his sword, closing his eyes and regulating his breathing, with a smile of satisfaction.

The mercenaries were already quite large, and larger opponents were hard to come by, especially after leaving Ampyri. The dwarf who had previously grown to giant size was considered a qualified opponent, but he was unarmed, not even armor, and the fight was quite frustrating. This time, he had a real slap in the face.

As for the giant ape on the right, if Reslaufer had been two-thirds as calm as he was now, he could have left a more complete corpse, but it was really difficult for him to hold back at that time - I believe the Archdruid would understand the difficulties of such a reckless man.

Rufo didn't dwell on this. His idea was simple: to see if there was still a chance of rescue, or at least to find a complete mouth of the deceased druid so that he could understand what had happened. But now it was obvious that neither of these possibilities existed, so the severity of Rufo's attack was irrelevant.

"Ah, eating people, ah, picking teeth," the bard said in a pretentious voice, stepping on the broken wooden stick that the giant ape had used as a toothpick. "Now I don't have to worry about my teeth, I can just pick my brain."

"Daisy, what nonsense are you talking about?" Bella quickly pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, "After all, these giant apes are part of nature. You can't make fun of them like that in front of the Archdruid."

"Why, you can't do it in front of me, but you can?" Rufo turned his head with a smile, he summoned a cloud of water mist, and slowly passed through it. The mist washed away all the blood and filth on his body.

"But you're right: these giant apes are part of nature. While a significant number of them are either ill-tempered or mischievous, their primary food source is fruits, roots, young leaves, and some insects. They rarely hunt animals for food, and targeting humans is even rarer."

"Not to mention he was a druid," Patrick sighed, "It's a pity we arrived too late and couldn't save him."

"This isn't your fault, nor is it any of ours," the Archdruid waved his hand. "As I said, these giant apes' actions aren't in their nature. They're being manipulated, just like the plants around them."

"If we had really gone with Ivan earlier, the situation might have been even worse. Bella, put that piece of wood away for now. If we can't get our brother home safely, we should at least bring back his relics."

In the future, the Quiet Creek Society will have an oak tree named "Ivan" growing on the land where its former owner lived. After several more years, another druid will get a branch from it and continue on the journey of his predecessors.

Some societies call it "reincarnation" or "cycle," while members of the Quiet Creek Society prefer the broader concept of "nature."

"Is it the Returners who are causing this?" the dwarf asked. "It seems they came prepared, and are more than happy to prey on unsuspecting latecomers like us."

"…I can't draw any conclusions on this, my skilled friend. Unfortunately, I can't identify a second group of possible suspects at this time."

Rufo's way of addressing Vondar Halfhill pleased the dwarf greatly. If he accidentally called him "dwarf" or something else, the dwarf would probably remember it for the rest of his life, and he would definitely find a way to get back at him - even if that might take centuries.

Of course, such unintentional acts would not initially lead to harsh retaliation, merely veiled criticism. However, if the offender were equally intolerant and unaware of their own faults, the conflict would escalate. Even in the East Sea, where the dwarves were numerous, such avoidable incidents still occurred every year.

In contrast to the issue of height, a dwarf's craftsmanship held no grudge, regardless of how others viewed it—though a low evaluation could still lead to an immediate conflict. Rufo had carefully avoided the dwarves' sore spots.

"Where should we go now?" Reslaufer finally stood up again. His opening words immediately captured everyone's attention, even disregarding the specific content of his speech. "Don't you druids communicate in Druidic language? Can we use this to deduce the locations of those who have returned?"

The source of the problem is people. If you solve the problem, the problem will naturally be solved. This is the fastest and easiest way.

"I'm sorry, but as much as I wish, it's impossible," Rufo replied regretfully. "I don't know how much you know about druids or other spellcasters, but let me use mages as an example: these sages who hone their knowledge and delve deeply into magic often have a set of special symbols or characters to record their achievements. This not only identifies the owner of the achievement but also prevents others from plagiarizing."

"Druids don't have such precious and private spiritual treasures. Druidic language, in a broad sense, is something all druids can decipher and understand, but there are still some differences between different orders, and these differences can cause our signs to differ slightly, even if they are intentional."

"Cults like the Returners do more... more work in this area. And based on this premise, even if we find a sign that indicates the Returners' location that we can understand, we need to think twice before acting."

The archdruid glanced anxiously away from the corpses of the giant apes. "So my suggestion might be more conservative: we should seek the help of the priests of the Temple of Eldath. Those who have returned haven't made the pilgrimage I have, so they can only cast a wide net in the mountains and forests. If we act this way, whether they are completely unaware or try to track us, the initiative will return to our side."

Chapter 138 Not a Fawn

"But won't this cause trouble for the temple?" This time, it was Bella who questioned this. The young druid said worriedly, "If the enemy is in the dark and we're in the light, we'll never truly seize the initiative. Daisy once said something that I think fits the current situation perfectly:..."

"There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there's no such thing as a thousand-day defense against thieves," Daisy nodded. "But 'a thousand-day defense against thieves' isn't that difficult for you, right? I wonder if you have a similar ritual to the one I heard about, that can seal off the entire forest so that no outsider can ever find it again."

"Bella, it seems I was right to expel you from the society," the Archdruid nodded approvingly to Daisy. "Look, she knows even more about druids than you do. You should learn from her."

"The ritual you're talking about does exist, and it's not difficult to perform. For a druid, being isolated from the outside world is already the greatest price they pay," Rufo said. "The Returners also know this, so..."

"So the returnees must come out to stop us," Patrick nodded slightly. "Force them into the sunlight, and they will be reduced to ashes like vampires."

"Then I'll still lead the way." Rufo walked to the front, waving his hand to clear a new path. He turned and smiled at Leslaufer. "Originally, I was going to take a break and let you lead the way, but now it seems that it's better for me, a 'useless old fellow,' to do what I can."

"Humility is a virtue, but excessive modesty is not." Leslaufer plucked a handful of leaves from the nearby vegetation and casually wiped the blood off his sword. "If I were you, I would say: In the warband, it is only natural for someone like me to lie down and be served by others."

"The sharper the claws, the deeper they're hidden—like a sword in its sheath," the old man laughed nonchalantly, turning and continuing forward. "Come on, everyone. I haven't been back to the Kolin Otto Mountains in years. If I get lost, please be patient with me, my old bones."

Despite Rufo's words, seasoned warriors like Reslaufer and Vondar could see at a glance that the archdruid showed no hesitation or confusion about his direction; he knew exactly where he was going. To exaggerate, the vegetation and ravines before him were merely obstacles. Rufo could see the temple's original location directly without the aid of a map or other means, as if he were already there.

But in reality, this was impossible, as they were still at the edge of the Golinoto Mountains, and there was almost no water along the way except for a few small streams that could be crossed with a stride. As everyone knew, one of Eldath's titles was "Mother of Water." She was the goddess of waterfalls, springs, pools, tranquility, peace, and secluded glades. Naturally, the area surrounding her temple, and even the temple itself, should possess similar elements, at least a clearing.

Instead of the deep and dense forest where even finding a place to stay requires druids to control the plants.

This level of trekking was far more difficult than navigating the open wilderness. Since Rufo couldn't precisely control every obstacle, large and small, each step required twice as much stamina. The bard Daisy had always had the least stamina among the group, even less than Princess Angelita, who grew up in the palace. After a long day of such intense walking, she finally gave up.

"Um... can we take a break for a while, just a little while..." The poet had already distributed his zither and luggage to others, but his strength had finally reached its limit. "I'm sorry, but I'm really not a sports student, nor an art student who served in the military. This is still too difficult for me."

"Rufo, let's take a break first." Bella helped Daisy find a place to sit down. Unless they were racing against their own death, having a companion who was too weak was not a bad thing: it was not easy for a person with strong physical fitness to calculate the limits of other companions, and the latter often did not want to appear to be too far behind, so forcing them to catch up was not conducive to action.

The fact that the bard could bring it up without any scruples could help others catch their breath.

"Actually, I don't recommend stopping to rest now. It'll be completely dark soon," Rufo paused. The old man's face was covered in sweat, but he looked in good spirits. "If we rest for too long, we might as well set up camp. We'll have to get up early tomorrow to continue our journey."

"No, no, just a few minutes, just a few minutes," Daisy said hurriedly, uncorking her water bag. "You know I can give music magic, so it's just a short break."

As she spoke, the poet took the harp from Angritta. After a thank you, the soft, melodious sound of the harp soon echoed through the dense forest. No one except the performer knew the name of the piece, but as Daisy's fingertips plucked the strings, Angritta couldn't help but close her eyes, lost in the heavenly music and magic.

Since that day, Angelita has become much more sensitive to magic. Although she cannot use it, perhaps this progress is just as Rufo said. As long as she persists, she will get what she wants sooner or later.

However, before the girl could pursue the mystery any further, Reslaufer roughly pressed his big hands on the strings and turned to look in one direction: "Who is it?!"

There was a rustling sound among the bushes, and a young deer, which didn't even have horns yet, came out in a panic and ran away screaming into the distance.

"It's just a 'Bambi'. Old Lei, you are too cautious..." Daisy breathed a sigh of relief.

"A fawn... that's not a fawn!" Rufo was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and pointed in the direction the creature disappeared. "That's a 'dwarf horned swamp deer'. Adults are similar in size and fur color to other fawns. Most importantly, this deer's habitat isn't in the Golinoto Mountains, but in the swamps further south!"