Heart of the Castle

Chapter 595 The Ancient Gift of Peace
The elven kingdom of the Moon Whisper Forest did not build defensive buildings such as city walls or guard towers, because the ancient tree clan was their strongest and most reliable protective barrier.Even hundreds of years ago, when the Moon Language Forest had not closed its communication with the outside world, the ancient trees had never left the forest. Therefore, for this ancient intelligent race, the classics written by anthropologists mentioned Not many, the most mentioned are their appearance and tough, tenacious torso that are completely indistinguishable from trees, and the most iconic ability-the ability to transform between two forms.

These two forms are the “Marching Form” and the “Grounding Form”.

The rooted ancient trees are no different from ordinary trees. Their roots penetrate deep into the soil, and some can even reach a depth of 30 to [-] meters.The vitality of this form of ancient trees has become very tenacious, and the power drawn from the earth is continuous, which can quickly repair the wounds they have suffered.

The ancient tree in the marching form is relatively weaker. The root system of the ancient tree in this form cannot fully absorb the power of the earth, so it is inferior to the rooted form in terms of strength, and at the same time it loses the ability to quickly repair wounds.However, for the vast majority of opponents, the power of the ancient tree is still terrifyingly strong, and the height of more than 20 meters has a very terrifying sense of oppression. The giant dragon is also unwilling to start a hand-to-hand fight with a powerful ancient war tree on the ground.

However, according to Li Wei's current personal experience, the knowledge gained from reading classics does have its limitations, and the ancient tree clan should have a third form.

That's speech form.

The Griffin Lord finally realized the pain that still haunted the Marquis Osiris after more than 20 years. The long speech of the elder of the ancient tree, Mooni? Mooni? Gently, the tone is slow and procrastinating, it is like a small saw cutting the mind one by one.Moreover, the hypnotic effect was astonishing. Before speaking for more than 10 minutes, the chief of the wild bears in Moonwhisper Forest, Bill Big Bass, couldn't help snoring loudly.

This kind of behavior obviously made people feel quite disrespectful. Many high elves who pay attention to etiquette showed stiff expressions, and even the gentle smile of the elf queen became a little uncomfortable.But soon, the Kingdom Mission was disrespectful. The dwarf master blacksmith Brebe, the werewolf chief Wolf and the orc leader Strong Pig fell asleep almost at the same time, and the repeated snoring aroused everyone present deep sleepiness.

Li Wei tried his best to stay awake, but he still couldn't help yawning. He looked around, and it seemed that the high elves could bear it, but the eyes of other members of the royal court council had begun to be confused.Although the Emerald Dragon King is still barely supporting himself, the giant dragons have always been known for their long sleep. Zhan Qing? Augustus's originally sharp golden-green eyes have become much duller.

"Perhaps this is exactly what the Elf Queen wants?" Li Wei speculated maliciously, "Since the differences between the two parties are too great to make a decision, then let this negotiation end with everyone going back to catch up on sleep?"

Elder Mooni was looking back fondly on the long history of Moonwhisper Forest, praising the strong alliance formed by ancient elves, dwarves, and humans-although this alliance only existed after the end of the Dragon War.It sounds like his long speech is just the beginning, far from the main topic.Li Wei moved his stiff neck uneasily. In order to avoid falling asleep, he decided to do something more meaningful than listening to speeches.

Li Wei quietly used a probing technique on the elder of the ancient tree. Judging from the results of the feedback, the strength of the elder Moni is about between the high-level knight and the great knight. As Marquis Osiris said, among the ancient tree clan Still a kid.

Name: Mooney? Mooney? Mooney (Ancient Tree of War)
Race: Chestnut

Life: 400
Risk level: poor

Special Ability 1: Fruit Bomb, the ancient tree of war uses the fruit produced on its body as a long-range attack weapon, and its power varies according to the race of the ancient tree.The attack power of this ability of the chestnut tree tribe is stronger than that of other tribes, and the fruit bomb has the characteristics of piercing, blunt strike and explosion.

Special Ability 2: Change form, the ancient tree of war can change between the two forms of marching and rooting at will.In the rooted form, the ancient tree of war loses its ability to move, but it can additionally gain the ability of rapid self-healing, defense enhancement, and tree root entanglement. At the same time, the range and throwing accuracy of fruit bombs have also increased.

Special ability 3: Cutting planting, through this ability, the ancient war tree can temporarily wake up the tree as a dead wood guard.This skill can only be used in the woodland environment. The ancient tree of war must sacrifice a small part of its limbs, and the upper limit of vitality is temporarily reduced by 50.Since the awakened Witherbark Guardian will wither and die after an hour, the Ancient of War will not use this special ability unless the situation is extremely urgent.

Relationship: friendly

The friendly relationship shown in the end surprised Li Wei. He was convinced that he had never been to the Moon Whispering Forest, and he had no friendship with the Ancient Tree Clan.If Elder Moni's attitude was the same as those of the wild elf sword dancers, it would be right to be vigilant or indifferent. The friendly relationship really exceeded his expectations.

Levi struggles to remember if anything unusual happened to him in the past.As in some bedtime story or heroic epic, the good country lord, or the valiant and upright knight lord—depending on which version he heard, saved a stork as a child, Or a unicorn, a frog—depending on the level of exaggeration of the storyteller, and this animal will reward the protagonist of the story very handsomely in the future.

However, Li Wei found sadly that his life before he got the heart of the castle was too ordinary, and there was no room for legends.Since Li Wei was only five years old when the last catastrophe struck, his memory of his parents was even vague. He only vaguely remembered that his family should be an ordinary farmer, not a woodcutter living next to the forest—— If it's the latter, it's more likely to get acquainted with an ancient tree, but it's hard to be sure whether the relationship is friendly.

After the disaster devoured all his relatives, Li Wei was adopted by Knight Ston and spent ten years in Viscount Lane's castle.Although Knight Ston's swordsmanship is superb, his fighting spirit has never been awakened. Although he can easily defeat more than five regular knights in full armor, his title has always been an associate knight. Through the accumulation of achievements, he was granted the status of regular knight.When Li Wei recalled this life full of hardships and sweat, he often couldn't help showing a sincere smile at the corner of his mouth.

"If the elder of the Knights Association who has repeatedly prevented Lord Ston from obtaining the title of knight finds out that the famous and famous Sir Rodriguez is actually a former Squib knight, will he be so angry that he will tear out his own eyeballs? What? But if he is told that the Squib Knight's servant has become the head of the King of Arthur and the guardian of the whole territory, he will be even more horrified, right?"

A burst of cheers woke up Li Wei from his own thoughts, and the royal palace seemed to suddenly fall into a wave of madness filled with passion. The high elves clapped their hands, the wild elves waved their arms, and the centaur tribe Several chiefs raised their front hooves high, and the druids in green robes trimmed with leaves sang loudly.

Everyone's mouths were repeating the same ancient Elvish vocabulary rhythmically.

"Moy Bekoula Pakaaz!"

Unlike High Elvish, which focuses on gorgeous voices and graceful scales, Old Elvish pronunciation is relatively simple. Some words in Common Language are variants of Old Elvish. Many children of rich and noble families with a long history can speak with a strange accent. Proud of the strange Old Elvish tongue.However, Li Wei, who was born in a peasant family, obviously did not receive a similar education, and neither Mr. Dish nor the old red-robed scholar Master Sugard had time for him to learn this language that was obviously just for show.So he turned his head to the side, lowered his voice and asked the elf sky knight.

"Master Marquis Osiris, what did Elder Mooni say just now? What does the word these people keep repeating mean?"

The elf sky knight's face was a bit dignified, "Master Li Wei, this is actually a compound word. If the three words are directly translated into the common language, they mean peace, contest, and festival respectively, but when they are combined together, they have the same meaning. It's different." There was a bit of bitterness in his eyes, "This word in the ancient elf language is called the gift of peace, and the good method proposed by Elder Moni is to use the gift of peace to resolve disputes."

Li Wei frowned and pondered for a while, making sure that he had never heard of this custom, whether it was a human or an elf, so he repeated it in a questioning tone. "A gift of peace?"

"Master Li Wei, the gift of peace first existed among the high elves and nobles. It is a very ancient means of settling disputes. I am afraid it was a matter of the reign of the ancient elf kings." Mr. Dish's voice cut in, " But to explain it in a more popular way, it is a bloodless duel before the gods."

Marquis Osiris glanced at the old magician with a look of surprise, "Master Frederick, you know a lot about the ancient history of our elves."

"The ancient elf king once pushed alchemy to a peak. After reaching the level of a master, any alchemist must study the natural alchemy of elves before he can hope to go further." Mr. Dish explained with a smile Said, "So the alchemist is probably the person who knows the history of the elves best, and he is more familiar with it than many young people who are not studious among the elves."

Li Wei nodded, "So that's the case, Master Frederick, then can you explain in more detail, how does the gift of peace resolve disputes in a bloodless way?"

"Maybe it's better to let the Marquis of Osiris explain it." Mr. Dish shrugged and said, "After all, he is an elf royal family, and he should know more about the details of the gift of peace than an outsider like me."

"This...Of course, I know." There was a trace of suspicious embarrassment on the elf knight's face, and his voice became smaller. "Master Li Wei, the nature of the elves does not like disputes. In addition, the position of the high elves has fallen sideways. Many members of other races have been added to the council, and disputes have become even rarer. We need to use the gift of peace. The solution is even rarer. As far as I know, the famous speech of the dragon struggle by the Sunsinger Haldir during the Dragon War brought the last gift of peace to the Elven Court. For hundreds of years, there has never been such a situation in the Moon Whisper Forest."

Li Wei was still frowning and thinking about the meaning of Marquis Osiris's words, when suddenly the sound of flapping wings came from his ears, and then his shoulders sank slightly, and the weird scream of the big crow sounded, "Forget, forget, Didn't learn well, didn't learn well!"

"Smart mouth, this is too rude." Li Wei hurriedly warned, and at the same time flicked the sharp beak of the big crow as punishment, "The Marquis Osiris is just telling us the historical origin of the gift of peace."

"No, I'm sorry, Lord Li Wei." Marquis Osiris raised his eyes with a wry smile, and the hesitation that just surfaced in his eyes has turned into a frank guilt, "This clever bird is right. I'm afraid I don't know as much as Master Frederick. I really didn't study hard at the beginning, not only the boring history and etiquette courses, but actually I didn't pay too much attention to the two-sword sword fighting technique taught by Sharafi. Lots of energy."

"But... Didn't Master Uniken say that you are his best disciple?" Li Wei asked a little puzzled.

"Yes, the best, but far from the hardest." Marquis Osiris sighed deeply, "The five high-level dragons can reach the legendary realm as long as they are adults, and the talents of the high-level elf royal family are also excellent. The royal family does not need to work hard at all to stimulate the blood power called Emerald Dou Qi. If the Dou Qi power is not included, many human knights have sword skills and actual combat experience far surpassing mine. "

"Battle energy itself is an inseparable part of strength." Sir Rodriguez's steady voice sounded from the other side, "Whether it is pure strength or pure skill has its limit, only a proper balance between the two can be achieved." In order to give full play to one's own strength, I may have a deeper impression than you on this point."

"Squib, huh, Squib!" said Brightmouth loudly, bobbing his head up and down in what seemed to be a mocking tone, but the Crow always spoke in much the same tone. "Dark wings, full of dead silence, with the help of squibs, fly higher!"

"Shut up!" Levi and Sir Rodriguez warned the bird with low growls at the same time.But none of it worked as well as what Mr. Disch said. "Birds that are too clever will soon be with turnips and potatoes, and they will be delicious in the soup pot." The old magician threatened with a smile, making the big crow close its mouth immediately, and with two The wings are tightly covered on top.

After successfully shutting up the clever mouth, Mr. Dish stroked his white beard in satisfaction, and then began to describe this ancient tradition belonging to elves in detail.

"I see. No wonder it is said that the gift of peace is an extremely fair way to resolve disputes for both parties. However, the obviously stronger party will be a little unwilling to lose, right?" After listening to Mr. Disch's narration, Li Wei made a long speech. tone.

"Of course there will be resentment." Mr. Dish smiled strangely, "So this tradition, even among the elves, is about to become a legend."

"Your Excellency the Regent of the Human Kingdom." The elf queen's gentle and sweet voice rang out, like the warm summer wind blowing through the poplar forest, "The elder of the ancient tree, Moni? Mani? Moni proposed a solution to the problem , Moi? Pak Ola? He nodded slightly, indicating that he really meant it.

So the elf queen turned her gaze back to Li Wei, "...then are you willing to accept it?"

Li Wei raised his head, his eyes were calm and firm, without any influence, as if the roars that filled the royal palace, the eyes of the Elf Queen and the Emerald Dragon King watching him did not exist.

The griffin lord was silent for a few seconds, and when he answered, his voice pierced through all the noise, as if he were holding a sharp knife to slice through lumps of cheese. "The gift of peace is a traditional way for the ancient elves to resolve internal disputes, and it is also a benevolent way to avoid bloodshed and sacrifice. As the guardian of the entire Kingdom of Arthur, I accept this proposal from the elves. According to the rules of the gift of peace, As the party accepting the proposal, we have the right to propose the content of the first contest, right?"

"Of course, this is your right." The elf queen showed a little surprise on her face, but she quickly agreed, and then her majesty sighed softly, and added with some emotion, "I am surprised by your erudition, Your Excellency the regent of the human kingdom, the ancient tradition of the gift of peace has not appeared for hundreds of years, and even many elves only know about it."

There seemed to be a groan from the Marquis Osiris's mouth, and Li Wei could guess without turning his head that the fair and handsome elf knight's face must be showing a shameful expression, and he was probably already flushed.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty the Elven Queen." Li Wei tapped his breastplate with his fist, then turned his body halfway, and said loudly in a sonorous tone, "The fourth branch leader of the Griffin Knights, the sniper archer Grace ? Sir Tully!"

"At your command, Your Excellency the Guardian of the Realm!" Sir Grace replied blankly, and then took a step forward, holding the silver fir longbow on his shoulder with his right hand, and knelt down on one knee towards Li Wei.

"For the first match of the Gift of Peace, I chose bow and arrow shooting, Sir Grace Tully, this task of supporting the glory of the Kingdom of Arthur is entrusted to you, because your archery skills are second to none among the Griffon Knights !"

"As I wish!" Sir Grace replied loudly without hesitation, his voice was cold and decisive, echoing under the majestic dome of the royal palace.

(End of this chapter)