The dangerous monsters in the wilderness and the magic radiation in the wastelands of Gondor weren't the biggest problems that an Elven ranger had to face. What was more important was the constant loss of hair — Soldrin Frostleaf.
Well, Solderin didn't say this, but Gawain believed that this high-grade Elven ranger was speaking the most sincere words from the bottom of his heart.
Gawain Cecil knew Solderin, or rather, Gawain Cecil knew Solderin. It was during the Great Exploration 700 years ago. At that time, the Elven Ranger was still a nobody who had just left his homeland a few years ago and was traveling in the northern part of the continent. Although he had the strength of a high-grade ranger, he did not have the impressive title of "Golden-Haired Solderin" back then. Unfortunately, he was in the territory of the Gondor Empire at that time. After the Great Mana Tide, the Elven Ranger was trapped in the wasteland of the human empire and lost contact with his homeland.
The human army in the north rescued this lone Elven ranger in the midst of the chaos, and Gwen Cecil enlisted him under his command.
After that, the two fought side by side for many years. It was not until the last few years before Gwen Cecil's death that Solderin left the human army and began to travel in the northern part of the continent as a freelance mercenary.
Almost no one knew why Solderin left the Silver Empire alone, and no one knew why this high-grade ranger traveled in the continent. Today, seven hundred years later, no one knew why this powerful freelance mercenary never used more than seventy percent of his strength in battle. Only Gwen knew this secret. It was because Solderin wore a wig.
This unlucky kid ran away from home because he wanted to find a folk remedy to cure his hair loss.
To be honest, when these memories surfaced in his mind, Gwen almost had to tighten his facial muscles to prevent himself from laughing out loud. If he laughed out loud, his image would be ruined, and he would not be able to rebuild his friendship with Solderin. Not only would the boat of friendship capsize, but it would also spin more than twenty times on the spot before smashing into their faces. Then, they would start fighting on the spot.
So, he tried his best to remain calm. He recalled Gwen Cecil's attitude towards Solderin and slowly reminisced with the Elven ranger. "Do you remember how I found out about your secret?"
"How would I know that one of the top commanders of the human army would pull his hair when fighting?" Solderin still had some lingering anger in him. He rolled his eyes at Gwen and said, "Fortunately, there was no one around at that time. Otherwise, I would have killed you."
Gwen spread his hands and said, "You can't beat me."
"I couldn't beat you back then. What about now?" Solderin looked at Gwen from head to toe and said, "I can feel that your strength has declined a lot."
"You can't beat me now either." Gwen replied frankly, regardless of whether he was feeling guilty or not. "When I first woke up, you might have had a chance. But now, I've almost recovered."
Solderin quieted down and stared at Gwen without blinking. He stared at Gwen for a long time until Gwen started to suspect that there was something wrong with the elf's sexual orientation. Solderin broke the silence and said, "I still can't believe that you're alive again. I heard the news when I was in Typhon. At first, I thought it was a farce created by the royal family of Ansu for some purpose. I even cursed the bastard king for finally being shameless and using his country's founding hero as a political tool. I didn't expect you to be real."
After a pause, Solderin shook his head and continued, "At first, I wanted to confirm the situation directly, but I couldn't find the opportunity."
Gawain glanced at him. "So the reason you led the infiltration this time was to use this opportunity to verify my authenticity?"
"That's part of the purpose," Solderin replied frankly. "I received the order. The people in Typhon didn't know that I was your friend seven hundred years ago. They appointed me as the commander of the infiltration operation in the direction of the Gloom Mountain Range. So I came. I wanted to see if 'Gwen Cecil' was real. If not, I'll kill the imposter myself. To be honest, I'm almost 90% sure that you're a fake."
Gwen was stunned. "Why are you so sure?"
"I was there when you were buried." Solderin looked into Gawain's eyes. "When I was traveling around the Divine Spirit Plains, I heard that you had died at the front line of the Southern Territory. Then I went straight to your territory, just in time for the last moment before you were buried. Because you and I fought side by side, your wife allowed me to get close to your … body. I can confirm that you were really dead at that time, and your soul had left the body. I'm sure that my perception is not wrong. The elves' perception of life is far better than you humans'. "
Gwen's expression changed slightly, but his heart was in turmoil. He suddenly realized how significant the appearance of this elven "old friend" was to him. He realized that this elven "old friend" had witnessed Gwen Cecil's life and even his death. His words were more reliable than any history books of the future, and more accurate than any third party's account!
Although he had inherited most of Gwen Cecil's memories, he always thought that there were some flaws in his inherited memories. Would this elf be able to fill in the gaps?
However, in order to avoid arousing Solderlin's suspicion, Gawain did not immediately reveal the fact that there was something wrong with his memory. Instead, he temporarily suppressed the waves in his heart and followed Solderlin's words to ask another, equally important question, "What was my situation at that time? I mean when I was lying in the coffin. "
It was a strange experience to discuss the body of a deceased person face to face. Even Solderin, who had traveled the continent for 700 years, could not help but twitch his mouth. However, he still answered seriously, "You died of exhaustion. Your guards risked their lives to retrieve your body, so you had almost no external injuries. The cause of death was the exhaustion of all your organs. Because I wasn't on the battlefield at the last moment, I don't know the details of your death. "
At the end of his words, Solderin's expression was a little sad and ashamed. It was obvious that he still held a grudge against himself for not being able to fight side by side with Gwen Cecil at the last moment. This faint guilt had probably accompanied him for seven centuries. As a long-lived elf, it was inevitable that he would be troubled by such feelings when dealing with short-lived humans. Seeing this, Gwen could only sigh in his heart. He put on a comforting smile and said, "Alright, you're already dead. Don't worry about it."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that something was wrong and quickly corrected himself. "You're already alive, so there's no need to worry about it."
Solderin's face twitched, but Gwen forced himself to continue the topic. "What about the other parts of the funeral?"
"Your funeral went smoothly. It was especially solemn and unforgettable. King Charlie personally hammered down the first and last steel nails. All the dukes and marquises of the kingdom were present. At the end of the funeral, the power of the elements appeared briefly. The avatars of the four elements stayed outside your tomb for a short time. Scholars believe that this is a sign that the contract between you and the elements has officially ended. "
Gwen finally grasped the key point. "You said that the avatars of the four elements appeared at that time?"
"Yes, at least I saw the wind element appear briefly with my own eyes. The wall outside the tomb was shrouded in clouds at that time." Solderin nodded. "But the avatars of the elements did not communicate with the humans. They only appeared for a short while, about a minute."
Gwen Cecil once made a contract with the four elements. This was not only a legend that had been passed down for 700 years in the Ansu Kingdom, but also a legend that the bards of various countries on the continent had always been talking about. And this' legend 'was not completely fabricated.
Gawain Cecil had indeed communicated with the elements, and the fact that he could grow into a Legendary powerhouse in just 35 years was also inextricably linked to the power of the elements. However, the contract was not as simple as most people thought. In fact, even Gawain himself could not figure out what agreement Gawain Cecil had made with the elements back then.
The avatars of the power of the elements had chaotic and elusive 'minds'. The human mental structure could hardly communicate with them. Even the shamans who claimed to be able to communicate with the elements dared not say that they could understand the language of the elements. For most mortals who studied the way of the elements, the so-called 'communication with the elements' was just a vague guess of the flow of the power of the elements. Anyone who said that he had established a rational and logical connection with the 'avatars of the elements' was either a liar, a lunatic, or just a poor wretch who had been deceived by the 'Elemental Monarch'.
The 'elemental creatures' that lived in various planes and the real 'power of the elements' were not the same thing. The former was essentially just a tangible creature formed by a single element with a very extreme inclination towards magic. The latter was actually more similar to a certain embodiment of the essence of the world.
It was said that Gawain Cecil had signed a contract with the Four Elements, and the target of the contract seemed to be the essence of those Elements, not a powerful Elemental Creature. This was the most shocking and unbelievable fact for Gawain.
But just like the memories of the 'Seas of Eternal Darkness' and the 'Secret Voyage', Gawain Cecil's inherited memories of how he made a contract with the Four Elements were also blank.
Now, even if he wanted to ask the Will of Elements for the truth, he had no idea where to start.
Gwen's mind was filled with all kinds of knowledge about the essence of the elements and elemental creatures. While thinking, he did not forget to remind himself that when he was analyzing the elemental creatures, he had to separate the group of deep-sea harmonies. Although Tyre said that sirens were also elemental creatures, Gwen always felt that he had to separate the group of salted fish from the group. They were too weird. If he really treated them as research samples, he might lose his mind.
"What have you thought of?" Seeing that Gwen did not speak for a long time and had an uncertain expression on his face, Solderlin could not help but ask.
"How much do you know about the way of the elements?" Gwen asked casually.
Solderlin thought for a moment and said, "I'm proficient in the four spellings of the 'way of the elements' in the human language and the elvish language. I also know who wrote the most famous book on the four elements, 'The Theory of Elements'."
"… Then I have nothing to say." Gwen's eyes twitched slightly. "Besides that, what happened at my funeral?"
Solderlin carefully recalled and finally shook his head. "No, you were lying there peacefully."
"… Let's change the topic."
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