The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

"I understand, child... Follow your heart and go see the world! Here, take this... Be careful on your journey!"

A large mass of life essence floated out from the tree trunk. Moran quickly took out a container to catch it, and then bowed deeply to the Tree of Life.

Afterwards, Moran went to say goodbye to his familiar elf friends.

Polly and Celine have recovered considerably from their initial shock and are ready to join the tribe's patrol team to protect the tribe alongside Dominic and the others.

Upon hearing the news that Moran was about to leave, their eyes welled up with tears.

"Be careful, Moran! Humans are very cunning!" Polly grabbed Moran's hand and stuffed a bunch of small sachets she had carefully made, each with various protective or calming effects, into Moran's bag.

“Take these herbs with you. I’ve dried them all. They’re for emergencies.” Celine quietly handed over a neatly arranged little herb bag.

Dominic gave Moran his best quiver of arrows and a well-maintained spare shortbow: "Take these! Be sure to come back safely!"

Ryandor gave Moran a map he had taken when he left the forest years ago: "I haven't been to many places, but the places that are friendly to elves are marked on this map, which should be useful for reference."

Lila gave him a set of sturdy leather armor and an illusion earring that could slightly change his hair color and hide his ears: "There are slave hunters around the forest. You'd better hide your ears as soon as you leave the forest."

……

When Moran returned to his treehouse, he was surrounded by gifts from his friends, all of which he would need after leaving the forest.

Thankfully, she had a small wicker pouch that her grandmother Mathilde had given her for storage, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to fit it all in.

She changed into a practical, grayish-brown travel outfit, braided her emerald hair into a neat braid, and put on illusion earrings.

Standing on the treehouse platform, Moran took one last look at the tribe that had lived there for hundreds of years.

She took a deep breath of the crisp forest air in the early morning, suppressed her reluctance and lingering feelings, turned around, and slid lightly down the wooden slide, leaving with firm steps.

We went to Star Tears Waterfall first.

In the entire Emerald Forest, there was no place more suitable for her to temporarily change her "identity" than the rocky beach near Star Tear Waterfall, where there were no plants other than moss.

After emerging from the rocky beach, the nature spirit Moran had transformed into the human mage Moran.

Although the Emerald Tribe is not lacking in high-level combat power, its numbers are too small, and she would find it hard to accept losing even one elf companion.

What she was about to do was somewhat dangerous and not suitable for someone in the guise of a nature spirit.

High-level transformation potions are more reliable than illusion earrings.

She quickly teleported the approximate locations of the other three forward outposts that Ash Claw had established around Emerald Forest into "Shadow Raven's" memory.

Unless these malignant tumors are eradicated, the tribe's defense pressure will always exist. Even with traps and hunting squads, it is difficult to guarantee that no fish will escape or new infiltrators will emerge.

"Before leaving, I need to clean the yard for everyone!"

Relying on the information in the "Shadow Raven's" memories and prophetic magic, she quickly found the location of the stronghold.

These outposts are not as secluded as those under Startears Falls, and most are located outside the forest. They have more garrison personnel than the Startears Falls outposts, but their overall strength is weaker.

They clearly hadn't received news of the destruction of the Startears Falls stronghold. Moran used mental magic to quickly control everyone, copy their memories, and then swiftly annihilated them.

Without dazzling magical light, without the sounds of fierce fighting, and without even physical contact, suddenly, all the Ash Claw members of an outpost lost their lives.

The scattered "goods" in the stronghold were also rescued and released by Moran. When they left, they would leave behind vague markings indicating that they were part of the Ash Claws' hostile forces, in order to confuse the situation. If any Ash Claws members came to investigate, the people she had rescued would expose her information, and would also draw attention to her, making them think that mages from a hostile force had come to attack.

In just a few days, all the forward outposts that Ash Claw had spent years building around Emerald Forest were uprooted, and all the garrison members were wiped out.

With the immediate threat around Emerald Forest temporarily eliminated, the Nature Elf tribe can gain a valuable and relatively safe buffer period to strengthen its defenses and recuperate.

Moran was finally relieved and headed to Black Iron City.

Thanks to the memories of those slave hunters at the outpost, her understanding of the Ash Claws is probably deeper than that of many high-ranking members.

Using spatial magic again, this time she teleported directly to the vicinity of an abandoned mine on the outskirts of Black Iron City.

This place is known as the "Weeping Mine" because the sound of the wind, which sounds like weeping, can be heard from deep within the mine all year round.

Long ago, the mines here were exhausted, and now it has become a paradise for wild beasts, refugees, and those in the dark.

One of Ash Claw's largest strongholds is hidden within it.

Moran appeared behind a pile of boulders on a slightly elevated spot outside the mine, overlooking the main mountain path.

The environment perfectly matched the scene she remembered from the slave hunters.

Ahead lay a winding, muddy path, worn smooth by wheels and footprints, leading into the mountains. To the left, in the distance, one could see the crooked wooden frame of the mine entrance, resembling the fangs of a giant beast. A faint smell of sulfur and metallic rust filled the air.

Further away, in the direction of Black Iron City, a hazy gray industrial dust can be faintly seen in the sky.

"arrive."

Moran walked into the mine.

This outpost, serving as the Ash Claws' most important transit, storage, and training ground for "goods," is far more fortified and better defended than the other forward outposts around Emerald Forest.

However, their leader, Bloodaxe Baron, was only a level 17 Dragonblood Warrior, and he was stationed at the mercenary headquarters in Black Iron City.

For Moran, whose magic power rank is equivalent to a level 20 professional in this world and whose magic level is equivalent to a level 18 professional in this world, there is no difficulty in killing him.

Moran's mind raced through the information he had gleaned from the slave hunters' memories about the place: the routes of the main passageways, the possible locations of secret doors, the approximate times of the changing of the guards, the general area of ​​the warehouses and cells, and the distribution of personnel in the stronghold...

Then, they launched a surprise attack on the stronghold at top speed.

Even a mage with strong mental power would find it difficult to resist her mental magic.

In less than ten minutes, she had brought all the combat personnel at the stronghold under her control and gathered them together.

Next, we will continue to extract memories.

A flood of messy, fragmented memories rushed into her mind.

She closed her eyes and focused intently, quickly filtering, organizing, and archiving.

Organize and save the useful content, and remove all the useless content.

After the memories have been extracted, the next step is to clean them up. (End of Chapter)