Fort Collin and the northern part of the Elven Forest were separated by a river.
Ever since the kingdom of the World Tree appeared, Fort Collin had many ferrymen, who relied on rowing boats to ferry ambitious adventurers to the other side of the river to earn some extra money.
After the warrior Atos decided to head to the Elven Forest, he and the orc Hercules followed the other adventurers onto a boat.
Compared to the wide lower reaches, the upper reaches of the Vimur River was much narrower, and the ferry could make a round trip in less than twenty minutes.
On this side of the river, there was a simple pier that seemed to have been built temporarily.
On the pier, there were even more adventurers.
These were people who were attracted by the ruins of the gods. There were people of various races, but most of them were humans.
The abilities of these adventurers were uneven, but the weakest was at the level of Dark Iron. There were also many Silver professionals that were rarely seen in the town.
It was obvious that the attraction of the ruins of the gods was quite strong for adventurers.
Not only that, these adventurers had even built a simple wooden stronghold on this side of the river. There were even tall walls and some patrolling mercenaries.
After the boat in front reached the shore, there were immediately arrogant mercenaries who walked forward and collected gold pounds from the people on the boat.
"That's the Werewolf Mercenaries. They built this stronghold for the convenience of those who want to enter the ruins of the gods. But … all adventurers who enter this stronghold have to pay five gold pounds each as a protection fee."
The boatman pulling the boat explained to his guests.
Many of the new adventurers were in an uproar.
"Five gold pounds, why don't they just rob?"
Someone could not help but ask.
Perhaps for experienced adventurers, five gold pounds was not enough for them to squander in the casino once, but this price was already equivalent to half a year's income for a commoner family in the empire.
"There's no choice, this is the rule of the Werewolf Mercenaries. Everyone who enters the stronghold has to obey. They are the largest mercenary group in the north of the empire, and there are quite a few gold-level mercenaries. Unless you can show enough ability, otherwise … you can only listen to them. "
The boatman shook his head.
"Then let's not get off from here, let's change places!"
Someone said angrily.
"That's right!"
The other adventurers echoed.
The boatman replied helplessly,
"Sirs, I advise everyone to obediently hand over the gold pounds. This is for everyone's own good."
The adventurers were even angrier.
"What? Could it be that the Werewolf Mercenaries had become so arrogant? Isn't it just related to the Northern Region's selection?! "
"If we don't enter the stronghold, will the Werewolf Mercenaries force us?"
"Exactly! Even if we don't enter their stronghold, we can still head to the God Relic! "
The adventurers were furious, while the boatman sighed and explained:
"It is possible, but without the protection of the Werewolf Mercenaries' stronghold, you might not be able to escape the pursuit of the elves …"
"The elves' … pursuit?"
The adventurers looked at each other.
"That's right. Since everyone is here for the god's relic, then everyone should know which god this relic belonged to … That was the main god that the elves once served. So … these elves will never show mercy to adventurers who come to this area … "
The boatman said.
"Are the elves of the Elven Forest … that scary?"
An adventurer asked in disbelief.
The boatman nodded.
"Of course, you may not know, but the adventurers who often go to the god's relic have reached a consensus. In the relic and the forest, it is not scary to meet demons or high-level magical beasts, but if you meet elves … you have to be careful."
"If you meet elves and cannot kill them all at once, then you can only wait for their crazy pursuit …"
"Everyone should have vaguely heard of the elves' origins, these fellows … When they hunt people down, they will not stop until they get their hands on them, they are very crazy."
"If you do not reach the stronghold in time, unless you have the strength of a Gold rank, you will definitely regret it …"
After hearing the boatman's words, the adventurers on the ship looked at each other, while the boatman pointed at the stronghold in front of them and continued:
"Hey, don't look at how well-built this stronghold is, in fact, this is the fifth stronghold of the Werewolf Mercenaries. The first four were originally in the forest near the god's relic, but they were all destroyed by the elves in the end."
"Fortunately, the elves do not know the current location of this stronghold, and it is close to the river, so the Werewolf Mercenaries have many spare ships. If we are really besieged by the elves, it is convenient for us to retreat."
After hearing this, the adventurers' expressions became more and more serious.
"Are the elves very strong?"
Someone asked with a serious expression.
"It is not a matter of whether they are strong or not, but … how should I put it, if you really meet them, you will know, they are a group of lunatics …"
The boatman said.
"Alright, we have reached the shore, I wish you all success in obtaining the treasure in the god's relic!"
When the ship reached the shore, the mercenaries of the Werewolf Mercenaries walked up.
The adventurers were in an uproar for a while, but in the end, they obediently paid the gold pounds one by one.
They had no choice, they found that the mercenaries of the Werewolf Mercenaries who collected the gold pounds were all at the upper Silver rank, and on their ship, there was not even one at the middle Silver rank …
At least … that was what most of the adventurers on the ship thought.
The people on the ship disembarked one by one, and soon it was Atos and Hercules' turn.
When it was their turn to pay, the Orc Hercules sneered and flashed his aura.
The mercenary's expression changed.
Fortunately, Hercules only flashed his aura for a while before keeping it.
The mercenary stood respectfully at the side and didn't ask for payment. Instead, he allowed the two of them to disembark.
Hercules laughed coldly and accompanied Atos into the Stronghold.
The strong had special privileges wherever they went.
There were more adventurers in the Stronghold.
The two of them even saw many Merchant Associations selling various materials for exploring the God's relic.
The Merchant Associations came from all over the Empire, but there were also merchants from other races and factions.
Atos even saw a Dark Dwarf stall with the name Amway Trading Firm or something.
He didn't know why the Underworld creatures would travel so far to trade here.
Of course, the two of them only took a few glances and didn't pay attention to it. They were only passing by the Stronghold, and their final destination was the nearby Elven City, Winterfell.
Hercules had obtained the map drawn by the Adventurer's Guild from the Black Market, and the approximate location of Winterfell was marked on the map. The two of them only had to go there.
As the two of them passed through the Stronghold of the Werewolf Mercenaries, they were stopped by a hurried mercenary.
"Sir, please wait a moment. Are you going to the God's relic?"
It was a warrior clad in heavy armor. His strength had reached Upper Gold rank.
"What's the matter?"
Atos didn't reply directly.
The warrior hesitated for a while and performed a nonstandard imperial etiquette.
"I'm the deputy leader of the Werewolf Mercenaries, Hanses. Both of you should be Advanced professionals, right? How should I address you? "
"Atos."
Atos said.
"Hey."
Hercules laughed coldly and didn't reply.
Hanses wasn't bothered by Hercules' attitude …
In fact, the relationship between the Orcs and Humans wasn't good. He could tell that the two of them were led by this Human warrior.
When he heard the name Atos, he raised his brows slightly.
"Atos? Good name! You have the same name as the founding God of War of the Empire … "
When Atos heard the words "founding God of War of the Empire", the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and an imperceptible nostalgia flashed in his eyes.
That was his identity when he was still a mortal.
In the distant past, he used to be one of the founding fathers of the Holy Mania Empire, but because of a conflict of beliefs, he finally gave up everything he had.
Captain Hanses, who didn't know that his casual compliment had tickled Atos, paused and continued, "Mr. Atos, the Advanced Professionals can't enter the God's relic.
"Mr. Atos, high-level professionals are unable to enter the divine ruins. If they really want to enter, their strength will be suppressed to below the Gold level …"
"If the two of you plan to go to the God's relic, I hope you'll reconsider … In the God's relic, Advanced professionals are much more dangerous than middle and low-level professionals. Those crazy elves like to target Advanced professionals who enter the relic. Many Gold adventurers have died in the relic …"
Hearing his words, Atos looked a little surprised.
Hercules couldn't help but sneer.
"Elves? They only have the advantage of the level suppression in the God's relic. If I really see them in the forest, I'd like to see how powerful they are! "
Captain Hans glanced at him, chuckled, and shook his head.
"Don't underestimate those elves. Even if you meet them outside the relic, you have to be careful, let alone inside the relic!
"Do you know the legendary Sacred Swordsman, Sward? He's a Legendary! But even so, he was injured in a conflict with the elves a while ago, and it was a serious injury! His whole body was severely burned by magic!
"He didn't enter the relic, but had a conflict with the elves outside the relic.
"Unfortunately, someone later asked the legendary Sacred Swordsman, Lord Sward, how the elves injured him, but he never said anything. He just angrily scolded the evil elves for being despicable and blasphemous …
"But looking at his injuries, I suspect that there are also Legendary powerhouses among the elves, and they should be good at fire elemental magic or electric magic …
Hans spread his hands.
There are Legendary powerhouses among the elves?
Hearing this, Hercules' expression finally became a little more solemn.
However, it was soon replaced by fanaticism.
"That's even better. Hehe, I haven't fought an elf yet …"
He chuckled and touched the red axe on his back.
Hans was slightly taken aback.
However, when he glanced at the red battle axe on Hercules' back, a look of bewilderment flashed across his face.
Before he could think further, he heard Atos say, "Thanks for the reminder.
"Thank you for your reminder. We will pay attention to it."
Then, he waved at Hercules and continued forward.
Hans wanted to say something, but when he glanced at the red axe behind Hercules, he became more hesitant and finally gave up.
It was not until the two had gone far that he turned and returned to the stronghold.
As he walked, he muttered, "That axe … It's a little similar to the axe of Hercules, the legendary powerhouse of the Orc Alliance …"
"No, it shouldn't be. It's said that Hercules is very proud and arrogant, and he especially looks down on humans. How could he be a human's follower?"
"Unless …"
Halfway through his sentence, Captain Hans was slightly taken aback.
He suddenly turned and looked in the direction that the two had left with a look of surprise.
"Atos … God of War Atos? One of the eight Oracles of the God of War?
"Could it be … this … can't be?"
…
After leaving the adventurer's stronghold, Atos and Hercules quickly entered the hinterland of the Elven Forest according to the markings on the map.
As they moved forward, there were fewer and fewer adventurers around them. After entering the area marked in red on the map, there was no one to be seen.
The area marked in red referred to the area where the elves were active.
"I didn't expect the elves to become such a fearsome existence after not seeing them for a few hundred years."
Atos shook his head.
"Hey, I'm getting more and more curious. Elves with legendary strength? I'd really like to test it out. "
Hercules sneered.
Atos looked helpless.
But soon, he glanced at a certain spot beside him with a playful expression.
"There are no legendary elves, but there are many silver-level elves …"
"And they seem to have followed us after we left the stronghold. It seems … the stronghold of the Werewolf Mercenaries isn't as secretive as they thought."
Hercules looked in the same direction and sneered.
"They're really as cunning as humans, just like the legends say.
"It's a pity that, in front of absolute strength, all the schemes are nothing more than hilarious self-deceptions."
Then, he snorted coldly.
"Elves, stop hiding. We've already found you."
Having said that, Hercules took out the red axe from his back and slashed it at the ground.
Accompanied by a loud bang, a terrifying crack extended from the ground to somewhere in the distance, causing a commotion and cursing.
"F * ck, why is it exposed?"
"It's a tough one. I'm afraid it's a high-level elite monster!"
"That's great. There'll be many rewards!"
"Let's try it out first!"
"Don't forget to share the coordinates with the group …"
"Okay!"
As soon as they finished speaking, there was a burst of battle cries.
Under the surprised gazes of Atos and Hercules, more than ten elves in gorgeous armor suddenly emerged from the grass not far away, waving their weapons and yelling as they rushed toward them.
They were like bandits who robbed the road.
But the problem was that they were still weak.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
