This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Upon seeing Dick and the others intrude into its territory, the stag-headed demon let out a terrifying roar and charged straight at them. At the same time, numerous tentacle-like vines extended from its head and waved in the air, looking both frightening and extremely menacing.

Seeing this, Dick calmly tapped the ground with his staff, and a one-meter-high, sturdy magical earthen wall rose up, tripping the charging stag-headed demon and sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt.

Immediately afterward, the ground where the deer-headed spirit fell sank into a thick swamp, trapping it inside and preventing it from climbing out. It soon sank completely.

With just two mid-level spells, Dick easily subdued a stag-headed demon. Both spells were not only silently cast, but also activated simultaneously. However, Mud Spell, a trap spell that alters the terrain, is notoriously slow to take effect, so it appeared to be slightly slower than Earth Wall.

After trying out the combination technique, Dick nodded with considerable satisfaction.

Simultaneous casting of multiple spells is his specialty as a former programmer. He has figured out many feasible routines and can achieve amazing effects that even many high-level spells cannot achieve through smooth combos composed of several low- to mid-level spells.

After his brief trial, Dick could clearly feel that his spellcasting efficiency had increased by about 20%, which was a considerable improvement.

But just as Dick was preparing to harden the ground, release the stag that had sunk in, and then use it to test other powerful offensive spells, a roar from another stag and cries for help from humans suddenly came from the other side of the forest.

Chapter 069: The Elf and the Middle-Aged Man

Hearing someone calling for help in the forest, Dick thought to himself, "This is really interesting."

It's important to know that the Black Forest is located deep in the western mountains. It was originally inhabited by the Deer Head Gang, a group of cultists. There were no legitimate settlements nearby. After the bandit suppression operation at the end of winter, the surrounding area became almost a no-man's land. Therefore, anyone who would appear here crying for help is generally not an "ordinary person".

However, now that we've heard about it, we should act when the time is right, rescue the person first, and then deal with the rest.

So the group quickly ran toward the direction from which the sound came. When they crossed a stream, they saw several mangled corpses. Judging from their dead bodies, it was not hard to tell that they had been torn apart by the deer-headed demon.

To Dick's slight surprise, one of the corpses, which was only the upper body, had striking long elven ears. Unlike the upturned fleshy ears of his mixed-race counterpart, these were straight and hard sword ears, indicating a pure-blooded elf.

Judging from the many items left at the scene and the messy footprints on the ground, the group of intruders were attacked by the deer-headed spirit while fetching water by the stream, and were forced to scatter and flee.

However, it is precisely their panicked reaction after encountering the Deer-Headed Demon that shows there are no truly skilled fighters in this group.

"Take care of that deer-headed demon first."

"Leave it to me."

Rita immediately took over the task and followed the stag-headed spirit's footprints.

Dick, along with Joel and Lucoa, stayed behind to examine the abandoned belongings of the people. They weren't there to loot the corpses or their equipment, but rather to determine the identities of the victims by examining the items.

As a result, a casual rummaging around revealed an unexpected find: a dead phone and a wallet containing a photo of them together.

The photo shows a white man and woman in an intimate pose. The background is a bar, specifically the Earth Bar, which has electric lights and a television.

Based on the photo, Dick compared it with the other corpses on the ground and indeed found the white male in the photo. The man's death was truly gruesome; he lay face up in the stream, his chest crushed and completely flattened by the stag-headed demon's foot.

Having discovered both pure-blooded elves and Earthlings, Dick was momentarily confused about the origins of these people.

He initially thought they were survivors from the bandit suppression operation, forced to hide in the forbidden Black Forest to evade capture. If that were the case, Dick wouldn't mind playing the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole, and taking care of the deer-headed demon and the remaining bandits.

But now it seems more likely that this group of people were a group of "runaway slaves"!

Normally, the summoned Earthlings are bound by a slave contract the moment they step into this world, making them unable to disobey their summoner from the bottom of their hearts.

However, the slave contract attached to the summoning circle only has the effect of forcing obedience.

In other words, once the master dies, the slave will regain his freedom.

However, these are all just theoretical scenarios. After all, Earthlings are neither skilled in magic nor martial arts, so running away wouldn't be so easy.

As for elves, as a common second-class citizen in human society, their situation was not much better than that of the enslaved Earthlings.

If they were runaway slaves, then many things would become clear!

Soon, Rita returned carrying a shaken middle-aged man like a puppy.

"He was the only one left who was being chased all the way."

After placing the man in front of Dick, Rita turned back to search for other survivors. Dick sized up the trembling, unlucky fellow. He was about forty years old, with a typical Asian face, a slightly overweight build, but strong, powerful arms and rough, scarred hands.

Seeing these hands, Dick was reminded of his father in his previous life, the old mechanic who raised him alone, who also had a pair of rough, large hands like these.

"You're from Earth, right? What's your name?"

Upon realizing that his identity as an Earthling had been exposed, the middle-aged man, already shaken, became even more panicked.

Lucoa, who was standing to the side, reached out and pressed down on the top of the man's head, and simply said "Calm down," which quickly calmed the man down.

Are you feeling better?

"Much better, thank you."

Seeing that the man had calmed down, Dick asked him his name again and learned that his name was Tang Wenquan, and that he was a fellow Chinese from Dick's hometown.

Old Tang is forty-seven years old this year. He was a mechanic on Earth. Three years ago, he was summoned to this world. The person who summoned him was not a nobleman, but a wealthy businessman. The businessman saw that he was good at tinkering with machines and that his skills could be put to use here, so he was not mistreated.

As for why he was here, that's a story that can't be explained in just a few words.

As Dick was asking questions, Joel, who was on guard nearby, keenly heard a strange sound. Then, an arrow suddenly shot out from the forest, which Joel caught with his bare hands in the blink of an eye. The barbed arrow was aimed at the back of Dick's head!

Upon seeing this, Joel's expression immediately turned ferocious with anger.

"Who is it? Show yourself!"

Hearing Joel's angry shout, Dick finally saw the arrow shooting from behind him. Judging from the shape of the arrowhead and the magical fluctuations emanating from it, it was an elven anti-magic arrow specifically designed to break magical barriers.

Clearly, the archers who launched the sneak attack recognized him as a mage and considered him a high-threat target to be eliminated first. However, they did not expect that Joel, who showed no signs of power fluctuations, was a pure woman who had reached the level of a high-ranking warrior simply through physical strength, and actually caught the arrow shot by the elf with her bare hands!

Without a second thought, Dick immediately cast a spell, creating five layers of protection around the four people present, while Lucoa quickly buffed Joel.

Although she was a specially made incarnation of Quetzalcoatl to adapt to the laws of this world, she still used divine magic, even a degraded version, which was still quite powerful.

At that moment, he felt an incredible power coursing through his body.

"You've been enhanced, get going!"

After being patted on the shoulder by Lucoa, Joel shot off like a cannonball, disappearing from his spot as if by teleportation. Then, a loud crash came from the nearby forest, and a giant cedar tree dozens of meters away collapsed with a deafening roar.

Although Dick wasn't an archer, his elven blood gave him exceptional eyesight, and he clearly saw a figure leap down from the giant spruce trunk. The person had been almost invisible while standing in the tree, and the distance was beyond the range of his mental perception.

If it weren't for the exceptionally sharp intuition of Joel guarding his side, that arrow might have actually injured Dick, who was only protected by three layers of magical shield.

Three layers—for Dick, who was cautious to the core, this was already a rare moment of relaxation.

The attacker's identity seems to be quite obvious, given their superb archery skills and specially made anti-magic arrows.

Dick touched the back of his head, which was intact, and thought to himself that, just as the rumors said, most elves disliked half-elves like him and even gave him the derogatory name "the Bloodstained One".

Not long after, Joel returned carrying a female elf who had fallen into a coma.

The other person was very thin, about the size of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old human child, but for pure-blooded elves with long lifespans and slow development, this guy must be at least two hundred years old.

Dick used his telekinesis to lift the other's head and remove the semi-transparent veil. The female elf's face was beautiful beyond human comprehension, but around her right eye was a black tattoo extending to her forehead, the pattern resembling a charred, withered tree.

Upon seeing the tattoo design, Dick's brow furrowed immediately.

"How could it be these guys!"

"Young master, do you know who she is?"

"They are Elven Restorationists; the Empire calls them the Dead Tree Party."

Dick, who was well-versed in the history of this world, knew that more than 1,800 years ago, when the human race first began to record history with writing and declared the end of the ignorant primitive society of the entire race, the elves had already established an incomparably powerful empire and dominated this continent for ten thousand years.

They proudly and unequivocally declared that all land under the sun belonged to the elves, showing equal discrimination against all other races. In their eyes, humans were nothing more than a bunch of wild monkeys who had just learned to speak. The elves at that time simply could not believe that their great empire would be replaced by the powerfully rising human race in less than a thousand years.

While the human race was one of the main instigators and the biggest beneficiary of the destruction of the Elven Empire, the root cause was ultimately the Elven race's own self-destructive actions.

Like many feudal dynasties that followed the laws of history and entered their final stages, the arrogance, corruption, and decadence of the top rulers ultimately led the entire nation into utter ruin.

However, it is undeniable that the Elven Empire's past glory and achievements, and its absolute dominance on the continent, are unmatched even by the Black Forest Empire, which is now considered the strongest human race.

In addition, the elves are a long-lived race, so there are inevitably some old and young people who were born at the end of the Elven Empire and still miss the empire dearly, wanting to rebuild its former glory.

Thus, "Elf Restorationism" came into being. The withered tree tattooed on their faces symbolizes the Tree of Life that was burned down more than 800 years ago, and that giant tree is also their spiritual totem.

To be fair, although Dick also had elven blood, he felt absolutely no sense of belonging to the elven race. This wasn't just because of his inner soul as a transmigrator; the key reason was that the pure-blooded elves didn't recognize him, a half-elf, as an elf, and he really didn't want to waste his time trying to win them over.

At this moment, Tang Wenquan came over, and Dick pointed to the female elf on the ground and asked him.

Do you know her?

"Should, should recognize."

"should?"

"I don't know her name. The elves who captured us were all masked, but judging from her clothes, she must have been one of the ones who went out to scout ahead."

Tang Wenquan looked utterly aggrieved. He had never considered running away while working for the wealthy businessman before. After three years in this world, he had long since come to understand the situation. But one day, these elves stormed into the businessman's manor, killing the entire family and all the bodyguards. They then forced him and another summoned Earthling to go with them.

Tang Wenquan was timid and knew that the wealthy merchant's family had been wiped out, so even if he stayed, he would not escape death. Therefore, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go with these ruthless killers.

To be honest, Tang Wenquan did not have a good impression of these elves; in fact, he could say it was very bad.

They presented themselves as "saviors" to Tang Wenquan and several other Earthlings, demanding that everyone serve their elven race in the future. Although these elves wore masks, preventing Tang Wenquan from seeing their expressions, their words revealed an undisguised arrogance.

During his escape with them, Tang Wenquan suffered greatly. If he hadn't witnessed the elves' terrifying archery skills and ruthless methods, he would have run away long ago!

After a brief moment of hesitation, Dick assigned Rita to look after the unknown female elf. Once he confirmed there were no other survivors, Dick used his telekinesis to move the mangled corpses, burying the deceased Earthlings and elves separately before leaving the Black Forest before sunset.

After bringing Tang Wenquan back to town, Dick arranged for him to receive treatment at a clinic. The old man's health was very poor; he looked fat, but in reality, he had morbid edema.

It's worth mentioning that Tang Wenquan, who is nearly fifty years old, still only knows the classic Calabash Brothers when it comes to anime. He doesn't recognize any of the beautiful anime girls around Dick, which saves Dick a lot of unnecessary trouble.

After settling Old Tang in, Dick left Rita at the clinic.

Besides asking her to take good care of Lao Tang, it was also to protect Shizuka Marikawa.

On his way back, Dick learned about Old Tang's experiences in detail and realized that the spirits of the Dead Tree Party were intentionally searching for Earthlings, especially those with technical skills like Old Tang.

These guys didn't choose to summon themselves, since the materials for the summoning circle were quite valuable, and the summoning process itself was a "poison pool" with no guarantee of success. So they chose to take a shortcut and directly steal the Earthlings summoned by others, specifically targeting those with the ability to do so.

Following this line of thought, "Dr. Shizuka," who is already somewhat famous in Laguge, is very likely to become one of their targets.

In contrast, Natasha successfully disguised herself as an alchemist, unlike Shizuka Marikawa who exuded an undisguised "earthly" aura.

Back at the castle, Dick immediately interrogated the female elf.

The other person had actually woken up once on the way back, and then because she insulted Dick, she was hit by Joel's "physical hypnosis". She is now hanging in the dungeon, and the spy is next to her.

Dick deliberately spared this guy's life so that he could use his "undying soul lamp" to disgust a certain count who was meddling in other people's affairs.

Upon seeing the unknown female elf again, she was noticeably more docile, merely glaring angrily at Dick in front of her, no longer daring to spew insults at him with her not-so-clean little mouth.

After Dick sat down in front of her, he smiled and looked at her for a moment before speaking slowly and deliberately.

"You're probably looking for those pirates in the northern fjords, am I right?"

Chapter 071: The Legendary Assassin

As soon as Dick finished speaking, the female elf's expression shifted slightly, and her eyes instinctively darted away. This reaction proved that Dick's guess was correct.

These withered tree elves most likely want to take the Earthlings they've kidnapped to the fjord region further north of Lagug, where many pirates reside. The withered tree party can then board pirate ships and sail back safely to the southern part of the mainland.

As for why the pirates in the Northern Fjords helped the elves of the Deadwood Party, it's probably because the two sides reached some kind of dirty deal.

However, according to Tang Wenquan, their group consisted of five elves and eleven humans, but when Dick counted the number of corpses at the scene, he only found three elves and ten humans. Including Tang Wenquan and the captured female elf, one elf seemed to have escaped by chance.

Dick hoped to get two things out of the female elf: first, whether the Dead Tree Party still had members operating in secret within Lagug, and second, how they contacted the pirates.

Realizing belatedly that Dick had just tricked her, the female elf glared at him angrily and growled through gritted teeth.

"Gulp... Kill me!"

"Haha! Do you think you're a female knight? Relax, I won't do anything to you since we're all elves."

As soon as Dick uttered those words, the already furious female elf flew into a rage.

It's important to know that most elves have racist tendencies, and the Dead Tree Party is the most extreme of the extremes. Therefore, Dick's statement that he is an elf like her is the ultimate insult to the female elf!

Despite the elf's tirade, Dick remained unmoved, smiling as he spoke, then deliberately used a concerned tone to utter words that would provoke her.

We are all elves, without distinction of rank or status... I may only have a quarter bloodline, but that doesn't stop me from being an elf just like you... A spiritual elf is still an elf!

Every word he uttered hit a nerve, making the female elf tremble with rage.

Finally, Dick simply spread his cheeky little hand and said...

"What's the use of saying all that? You're in my hands now, whatever I say goes. Do you think your compatriots will come to your rescue? If there really are reinforcements, where are they?"

"Don't be so smug, you filthy bloodstain. Just wait until Captain Hammuradi arrives, and you'll..."