Chapter 126: War, the Legend of the Elves

In this world, people who were highly skilled in one particular area often made some muddle-headed mistakes in their thinking. They were not arrogant, and did not think that what they knew was some great and profound learning. Quite the opposite, they were always too modest—so modest that they believed what they knew was nothing more than common knowledge. It was like when I first joined the army: I often marveled that some people could not even tell the vintage and origin of ordinary wine, and I treated this as a shocking tragedy, until I discovered that most people were just like that, and only then did I have to accept this hard-to-accept fact. Of course, pride also came from this.

In the art of smelting iron, Mr. Robert Wilance undoubtedly also had this problem. In his eyes, this small piece of stone could perhaps explain many obvious things; even his ignorant child—gods forgive me, the poor child was already dead—would understand what he meant.

Therefore, our reaction was very hard for him to accept.

“…This is high-purity iron ore. Its purity is over three-quarters. The color is reddish black, and it contains only a small amount of garnet, quartz, and feldspar…” As he told us these things, I felt that the way he looked was familiar, so I could not help glancing at Fred. At that moment he was also looking at me with a wry smile. We both clearly understood the meaning in each other’s eyes and smiles.

That short but sturdy man somehow looked very much like our noble faithful friend, Fred’s beloved, Millia Batesfield.

I knew they did not look alike at all, but there really were many similarities between these two people. For example, when he talked on and on about the composition of this stone, his expression and tone were very much like Millia’s when she calmly and professionally explained to us what the lymphatic system and the vagus nerve were.

“…This is a gift from the Supreme God, Your Majesty. I have never seen iron ore with such a high content. I spent several days surveying southeastward along that mountain. Your Majesty, this is an ore vein, a rich ore vein. One of the mountains around us is piled up with pure iron—Your Majesty, an entire iron mountain!” Robert’s voice grew louder and louder, and in the end he was so excited that he even forgot the difference between high and low rank. He grabbed Fred by both shoulders and shook him hard. It took him quite a while to realize what he was doing. He immediately pulled back his hands, timidly lowered his head, and did not dare to look at the young king he had just “offended.”

He pulled back his hands, but two other hands firmly seized his arms. He raised his head in surprise and saw his king looking at him excitedly.

“Are you sure, sir? Are you sure? Iron ore! Sir, you have no idea how amazing you are. You have truly done me a huge favor. My God, I don’t know what good luck I have had, that the Supreme God actually brought you to my side. I really wish I could repay you, but no matter what I do for you, it would be too insignificant compared with your contribution to us. My God, Jeff, did you hear that? There is actually iron ore near us…”

My friend was now cheering and jumping for joy. The problem that had been troubling him for the past few days—no, ever since the camp was built—had been solved. He had been worrying about our situation: we could grow our own grain, and cotton could also grow on this land. In matters of food and clothing, we could be self-sufficient. But until now, we could only rely on Hugh’s aid to maintain our military equipment. For an army, this was a fatal weakness. If our enemies were strong enough to completely cut off our contact with the outside world, then sooner or later we would become unarmed, and become meat targets waiting to be slaughtered.

But Robert’s news showed us the possibility of escaping this situation. It allowed us to live independently on this strange land, and even gave us enough ability to change it. Iron—that cheap, ugly metal—no one understood its preciousness better than we did. I remembered that a great historian had once said that iron made weak humans stronger. That was absolutely a great discovery that changed human history. Its true value to world civilization was far higher than flashy precious metals like gold and silver.

If the little “offense” just now had made Robert doubtful and fearful, then Fred’s extraordinary behavior at this moment really frightened him. The poor man stood there blankly, looking at the king who had lost his composure before him at a loss. He could not say a word, and could only carefully hold the reddish-black iron ore so that it would not fall to the ground as Fred shook him excitedly…

Now, Fred and Robert were sitting in the wooden cabin, waiting for our native friends. This was Robert’s first time appearing in such an occasion, and he looked very nervous. His hands kept fiddling with the legs of the chair, not knowing where to put them.

“Fred, my friend. You said you could get us plenty of weapons and armor. You truly are a gift from God Lumburi to us. Where are the things? Where? When can we see them? I can’t wait…” As soon as he entered, the impatient Chieftain Rotis hugged Fred and said to him with a loud laugh. The composed Eckdin stood behind him, also wearing a smile.

Robert stood up in a fluster, and stared in astonishment at the two big, burly men who had just squeezed through the door, affectionately patting the shoulders of his leader, as if they were patting their own brother or child. What surprised him even more was that Fred did not look displeased because of it. Instead, he welcomed our friends with the same enthusiasm:

“Chieftain Rotis, it is useless to keep urging me. Your weapons are not with me. When they arrive depends on this Mr. Robert Wilance.” Fred pointed a hand in Robert’s direction.

“Mr. Wilance?” It was only then that Rotis seemed to notice that there was still a strange face in the room. He stared at Robert in surprise, not knowing what he was thinking.

“Rotis… Chieftain… Lord… Sir, I am Robert Wilan…” Robert stiffly greeted the Chieftain. In his eyes, this foreign chieftain who could put his arm around his own king’s shoulder must also be a noble person. But what he did not expect was that his formal courtesy had no effect at all on the tall man in front of him. Rotis hesitated only for a moment, then laughed loudly, hugged him, and slapped his back hard.

“Mr. Wilance, can you bring us enough weapons? That’s wonderful! You really are our benefactor! When can I get…”

“Chieftain, if you keep slapping him like that, our Mr. Wilance will probably break a bone.” I reminded Rotis with good intentions, rescuing Robert from his embarrassment.

“Sorry, haha, sorry, I’m just too happy…” Rotis laughed honestly and openly, bowing to Robert to apologize. In his view, this was probably a very ordinary thing, but it gave Robert a fright. That stiff middle-aged man also kept bowing again and again, saying without stopping, “It’s nothing… it’s nothing…”

“It’s like this, my friends. Mr. Wilance has found rich iron ore veins on the Holy Fox Highlands. Ah, that’s the metal used to make weapons. If we can mine and smelt them, our weapons and equipment will have no problems. Not only that, with iron, we can deal with even more problems.” Fred explained from the side.

“Mr. Wilance, please explain it to us in detail.”

“Your Majesty, Chieftain, and Lieutenant Colonel, it’s like this…” Robert looked at us nervously. After bowing to each of us in turn, he cleared his throat and began his account.

“A few days ago, I found several pieces of very good iron ore in the valley to the southeast. I thought their appearance was not a coincidence, so I began surveying nearby. I found similar ore in several mountains here and there, but it did not form a deposit of a scale worth mining. All signs indicated that this would be a rich underground vein, and the quality was very good. If I am not mistaken, in some mountain to the southeast we will find a large iron deposit. According to my estimate, that mountain is not far away—probably in one of the mountains where our land meets Moonstream Forest…”

“Moonstream Forest?” Eckdin suddenly repeated in a low voice, his face turning grave, and a flinching expression appeared on his face. It was not just him; Rotis’s expression also became serious. He no longer expressed his joy as impulsively as just now. Instead, he slowly walked over to Eckdin and exchanged a meaningful glance with him.

“What is it, my friends? Is there some trouble here?” Seeing how nervous they looked, I could not help asking curiously.

“Moonstream… Forest. Our tribe has a tradition that forbids us from setting foot there…” Eckdin raised his head and sighed. Perhaps he was thinking about whether he should tell us this matter. Looking at our puzzled and sincere eyes, he finally could not hold it in and said it.

“When I was young, the old people said that about two hundred years ago, the entire Holy Fox Highlands, including a large part of the land of Moonstream Forest, belonged to humans. People of all groups could communicate with one another. Sometimes even two tribes of different races would live together. Unlike now, every tribe has its own land, but they are all divided by Moonstream Forest. Only the lands of two or three tribes are connected.

“At that time, our tribe was not as powerful as it is now. The most numerous were the Chaqink people. It was said that they were brave and kind people who worshiped the water god Chaqink and liked to live at the sources of streams deep in the jungle.

“But one time, for some unknown reason, the Elves in Moonstream Forest became angry. They hated humans and demanded that all humans leave Moonstream Forest. Naturally, their demand was refused by the Chaqink people and by us.

“Then a war broke out. It was probably the largest war that had ever happened on this land. Every tribe lost many of its strongest men there. The Elves drove away humans like madmen, and killed all who did not obey. The Chaqink people were unwilling to leave the sources of the streams to go live in the downstream areas. They bravely fought against the Elves, but in the end they still failed…” Eckdin stared blankly out the window. There, Evlinna and Roll had already walked out of the woods holding hands. Between them, I saw no distance.

“The Lumburi Tribe also took part in that struggle at that time. But according to the old people, our struggle was no match for the Elves. Without any effort, they drove hundreds of thousands of humans of all races out of Moonstream Forest, and forbade any human from setting foot there. We lost our homeland, but we did not want to go far away, so we settled down here on the Holy Fox Highlands. Because we feared the Elves’ power, every race had an order forbidding entry into Moonstream Forest, passed down from generation to generation. No one had ever disobeyed it.

“Since I was little, my father forbade me from taking one step into that mysterious Elf Forest. Rotis also received this lesson when he was young. Some children, out of curiosity, approached that forest. Once their parents heard about it, they would beat them half to death. Sometimes we could also see those Elves on the highlands. Although they did not hurt or kill us, they were indeed very unfriendly toward us.” Finally, Eckdin turned around and said to us, “My friends, I do not want you to take this risk.”

“Yes, Fred,” Rotis also came closer to advise us. “This rule has been passed down since our grandfathers’ grandfathers. Its existence must mean something. If that is the case, I hope you won’t take this risk. There are many ways to get weapons. For example, we can trade with merchants, or simply take them from enemies. This is no joking matter.”

Eckdin’s words surprised us greatly. Based on our experience with Elves, Elves were indeed arrogant and stubborn fellows who did not like to interact with humans (our friend Red Flame was an exception), but they were by no means a brutal, bloodthirsty race. Only when a major upheaval happened in their tribe, or when they were greatly provoked, would they fiercely strike back at the outside world. This was very different from the Elves described by the native people.

After hearing Eckdin’s words, Fred did not speak. He lowered his head in thought and did not make up his mind for a long time.

“Your Majesty,” Robert said urgently, “this is a great opportunity. I cannot just let it pass. If you don’t agree to send someone with me to look for the iron ore, I will go alone!” He looked at Fred pleadingly, afraid that Fred would refuse his request.

“…All right, I agree, Mr. Wilance. We really do need that mine, no matter what price we have to pay. You have to try everything, don’t you?”

“Fred, think it over carefully!” Eckdin said worriedly.

“I have thought it over very clearly, my friend. Thank you for your kindness.” Fred answered helplessly. “We must take this risk. Who knows when our enemies will return in force. If by that time we are still as unable to protect ourselves as we are now, then we will not be far from disaster…”

“Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I will go pack my things right away, await your orders, and be ready to set out at any time.” Seeing his wish come true, Robert was wild with joy.

“Set out? Where to? Fred, who is this gentleman? Why is he here?” At that moment, Evlinna’s clear voice came from the doorway. She shyly took Roll’s arm and almost dragged him into the room. The five finger marks on Roll’s face had not completely disappeared yet. Perhaps he felt a little embarrassed by our stares, so he tried hard to turn his head away. His body was stiff. Especially his right arm, which was being pulled, was stretched straight, like a piece of unbending wood.

Eckdin told Evlinna in detail what we had just said, and the young High Priest frowned. Whenever she was thinking, it was as if she had turned into a different person, appearing composed and noble. Roll quietly looked at her profile and said nothing.

No one knew what had happened between them, but I believed something truly had happened. These two were quietly changing: Roll no longer looked so cold, and Evlinna had become more confident than before. This change was heartening, especially when it happened to our two good friends.

“I agree with what Fred said!” Evlinna said, nodding. Her words took the two chieftains completely by surprise.

“Evlinna…” “High Priest…” The two of them stepped forward at the same time, trying to persuade the young and brave girl to change her mind.

“I know what you want to say, Uncle Eckdin, Uncle Rotis. But have you thought about it? Fred is very right. If more and stronger enemies come, how will we face them? Are we going to use these rags and sticks? How is that different from going to our deaths?”

“If we go to survey the iron ore, even if that legend is true, at worst the people who go will be killed. But if we don’t go, everyone here will face the danger of being slaughtered and enslaved. I think you should know how to choose.”

“Not only must someone go—it must be me!” In the end, Evlinna added these words. They immediately drew objections from everyone.

“No!” Fred was the first to reject this demand. “You are the High Priest. You cannot take such a risk.”

“It is precisely because I am the High Priest that I must go, Fred. I must prove the truth with my life, otherwise I cannot convince my people. The ban on entering Moonstream Forest is a very old tradition. It must be broken by the High Priest herself!”

“Besides…” Evlinna lowered her head again and said in a low voice, “This is my decision. I don’t want my people to be in danger because of it. This is my responsibility.”

Evlinna spoke earnestly and reasonably. No one could refute her decision. The two noble chieftains lowered their heads in worry, not knowing how to handle this unexpected development.

Fred thought with distress. Undoubtedly, he did not want our friend from another race to risk her life, but the truth was exactly as Evlinna had said—she really did need to go there.

“Then… all right.” In the end, Fred gave in. He said to Evlinna with both helplessness and admiration, “But you must have someone protect you…”

“I’ll go too!” Just as Fred was considering who should protect Evlinna, Roll stepped forward and answered. His eyes were filled with eager longing, carrying a power that people could not refuse. Evlinna looked at Roll, and her eyes immediately lit up. A sweet smile rose at the corners of her mouth.

Roll did not return her smile. His gaze never left Fred’s face. Seeing that Fred did not respond, he again said firmly and loudly:

“I will protect Evlinna and never let her suffer any harm!”