Real elves vs fake elves

Chapter 27: The Noble Knights of the Golden Bell Court

Aenarion takes the matters of the Bone Swamp very seriously, and he is well aware of its dangers and strangeness.

In comparison, the elves of the Phoenix Court pay more attention to matters related to the Bone Swamp. In the legends of the elves, the Bone Swamp is obviously more terrifying and weird.

Although they didn't know why their boss was able to obtain relevant information about the Bonebury Swamp and clearly mark a clear path in this den of ghosts, the elves all just thought about it in their minds without expressing it out loud.

All miracles can be explained by the descendants of light. As the former ruling class of the elves, although there are not many good legends about them, they must have been capable to have been at the top of the world for so many years. It is impossible that they were simply blessed by God.

Even if you are a pig on the cusp of the trend, there are still weight requirements!

In the mist, the elves stepped on the muddy and soft ground. Their delicate boots were completely covered with mud.

The road was paved with haystacks and wooden planks, and everyone's attention was focused on the dozen or so caravans, fearing that the heavily loaded carts would get stuck in the swamp if they were not careful.

At the front of the team, Aenarion was leading the horse, his vigilance at its highest point. Although he had passed this place countless times in the game and had gone through the three famous dungeons over and over again, seeing it through the screen and experiencing it in person were definitely two different things. The feeling of watching MJ dancing the zombie dance was completely different from that of real zombies dancing.

"Ordinary ghouls are citizens and should perform the Sky Eagle Salute. The ones riding dragon-headed bats are rangers and should perform the Long Sword Salute. The ones wearing human skins are nobles and should perform the Holy Tree Salute..."

He kept mumbling to himself, much like a poor student who was still memorizing formulas and texts before taking an exam. Although he kept mumbling, his lips hardly moved and there was almost no sound. Aenarion still knew that he had to maintain his image in front of his subordinates.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Aenarion stopped abruptly, his already highly tense spirit tensed to the maximum at this moment, his eyes fixed on the present.

There, two skeletons that looked like dragon head skulls emerged from the mist. As the two undead creatures moved forward, their skeletal bodies with festering skin appeared in front of the elves.

The dragon-headed bat, a dead creature, looks like a giant bat-like creature with a dragon head and degenerated wings. It is actually a ground dragon that has survived from ancient times. This terrifying creature was once domesticated on a large scale by the royal court, and eventually turned into a dead creature with its master when the dream of Lady Death changed.

Sure enough, the two giant undead creatures that gradually emerged from the mist had saddles on their backs. Although these saddles were rotten and dilapidated, their former luxury and magnificence could still be seen from their intricate and rusty patterns.

The ghouls that exuded a rotten smell were squatting and half-lying on the saddles. Their empty eyes, which glowed blue, stared at the outsiders, and out of their mouths came harsh, terrifying, blasphemous sounds, as if there was some bizarre magic. The mere sound was enough to make the elves feel extremely uncomfortable.

Although they had been warned by Aenarion for a long time, the elves still felt a little agitated when they faced the legendary fear and stood face to face with such blasphemous things.

If the current Lothern troops could not be regarded as a standard disciplined force, desertions would have already occurred by now.

"Calm down, leave it to me if you have anything to say."

Just a few simple words, as if with some magic power, the elves' team instantly quieted down, just as Aenarion said, as long as he took action, there would be nothing that could not be solved.

What the elves didn't know was that Aenarion was even more nervous than they were at this moment.

He first opened his arms to show that he had no weapons and no hostility, then slowly walked to a position about five meters in front of the two ghoul cavalrymen. Although this action looked extremely dangerous, as Aenarion expected, the two ghoul cavalrymen just looked at him quietly, and although they also took a vigilant and defensive posture, they did not take any further action.

One could even say that the two ghouls were curious about what Aenarion was doing.

Aenarion was certain that the ghouls of the Bone Marsh did possess normal human intelligence. Although there was no protein tissue left in their brains, they were still able to think effectively.

I can only sigh at this special fantasy and idealistic world.

After they stood still, Aenarion nodded to the two "cavalrymen" first, then clasped his hands together and performed the sword salute, which was also the ancient etiquette of the elves during the Empire of Light three thousand years ago.

As soon as this etiquette was performed, the two "cavalrymen" were obviously stunned, and then the bodies of the two zombies began to tremble obviously, as if they had epilepsy, and one of them suddenly opened his mouth and let out a shrill and terrifying scream.

This horrifying scream was no less than the "Banshee Scream" used by the wizard in the legend. Several elves in the caravan could not help but cover their ears and almost lost their balance. Although most of the remaining elves did not cover their ears to look miserable, they all had expressions of pain on their faces. Only a few of them looked normal.

The strength of the undead in the Boneswamp is obviously far behind that of the outside world. Even with the current quality of Lothern's troops, they are only mediocre here. The scream of a mere undead cavalry is enough to give the elves of the Phoenix Court a very uncomfortable debuff.

Faced with the unusual movements of the two ghouls, Aenarion's expression remained unchanged. He slowly lowered his hands, opened his mouth, his eyes were firm, and his back was straight.

"Lothern, Phoenix Court, Lightborn, Aenarion, now in the year 4303 of the Holy Tree Calendar, has made a formal diplomatic application to the Golden Bell Court!"

In a word, it is an ancient language that the Lothern elves cannot understand at all. The sound is high-pitched and beautiful, not like human speech. It is something that the ancient elven nobles created when they had nothing to do to distinguish themselves from the common people. It is similar to the elegant sound of the ball of shame and the crane sound.

It was this seemingly simple sentence that silenced the two "cavalrymen" instantly. They looked at each other in a very human way, as if they had been thinking for half a second. Then they jumped off the dragon-headed bats together, walked to Aenarion step by step, bowed slightly, crossed their hands, and also performed an ancient etiquette.

It was not the sword ceremony that Aenarion had performed before, but the Holy Tree Ceremony, a ceremony that belonged exclusively to the noble nobles of the Lightborn, a noble race bathed in the light of the holy tree.

Aenarion: "..."

It was a close call, the two "nobles" came out to patrol the border in person! It almost went wrong!

Chapter 28: The Fourth Young Lady of the Bailu Family

Now that the "misunderstanding" has been resolved, the atmosphere naturally becomes peaceful instantly.

In the eyes of the ghouls, Aenarion naturally became a "compatriot" with a strange appearance and a weird accent.

Without much effort, Aenarion was chatting and laughing with the ghouls, and his demeanor was much more elegant than that of the unfortunate people who had dared to enter the Bone Marsh before.

At the same time, Da Xi was escorting the prisoners on their way back.

The captives of the White Deer Royal Court and the warriors of the Phoenix Royal Court were divided into two distinct groups. They looked at each other curiously, but no one dared to go beyond the line and say hello first.

Although there was a battle, it was obvious that there was not much hostility between the two sides, after all, no one died.

Da Xi was at the end of the team, his eyes never leaving the group of prisoners, as if he was keeping the enemy at bay, but in fact he was doing something unknown but harmless.

"Miss Four, this is the first batch coming over. Next, the sisters will be divided into 16 batches and come over one after another. Each batch will be larger than the last. We have been preparing for a long time, and there will definitely be no problems."

The person who spoke was a prisoner from the White Deer Royal Court. Da Xi listened quietly, but his eyes were always looking straight ahead. It seemed that he did not make any contact or eye contact with the other party.

Da Xi: "Is there anyone causing trouble at home?"

Prisoner: "The young lady and her people are so happy that they can use the Phoenix Court to eliminate the faction they have always disliked. Why would they cause trouble?"

"The only thing they did was to call one of their own to come and look at us. The sisters were basically playing the role of the unlucky one."

Da Xi's face twitched slightly. She looked like she wanted to laugh, but she managed to hold it back with great difficulty: "No matter how much you calculate, no matter how much you think, you can never guess that a princess like me would be willing to become a pawn of a wild king!"

The prisoner lowered his head and said nothing. No one knew what he was thinking. Anyway, this sister didn't want to comment on her young lady's "clever" behavior.

Da Xi: "Also, when the Phoenix Cult priest asks you to join the sect, don't just give up so easily. You need to at least hold out for as long as I do."

The captive humbly asked, "How long did you last, young lady?"

Da Xi said proudly: "Four days!"

captive:"……"

You haven't persisted for long!

Da Xi: "The main reason is that they won't send you boiled eggs after three days."

captive:"……"

Just because of your stuttering!

Da Xi: "Also, if you want to get along in Lothern, you need to adapt to the habit of eating meat as quickly as possible. Being a vegetarian has no future in the Phoenix Court."

The captive finally showed horror on his face: "This... eating meat?! This is not in line with our glorious tradition..."

Before he finished speaking, Da Xi interrupted him directly, quite impolitely: "We are elves. Isn't our glorious tradition to ally with nature?"

Prisoner: “…Yeah.”

Da Xi: "Then are plants our friends?"

The prisoner felt something was wrong: "... Yeah."

Da Xi's expression remained unchanged, but her tone was filled with grief and anguish: "How could you be so cruel as to eat your own friends! And you even used all kinds of cruel cooking methods to cruelly treat your friends!!!"

The captive was stunned.

Seeing the other person's shattered expression, Da Xi felt a wave of satisfaction. After all, she had also had her worldview shattered by Aenarion using the same words.

Strangely enough, the Moonborn elves never seemed to have thought about this aspect of the problem. If Aenarion had not pointed this out, the elves would not have realized that this matter was illogical.

After the captive's shattered worldview gradually reorganized, Da Xi spoke again: "Do you remember everything I said?"

The captive's expression became firm at this moment, as if his soul had been broken and rebuilt again: "Understood, from now on, we will only eat meat, not vegetables!"

Da Xi: “…”

You are going a bit extreme.

Prisoner: "Sir, do you have anything else to say?"

Da Xi: "It's still the same as before. We shouldn't contact each other openly, but communicate more secretly. After everyone comes to Lothern, we will put our forces on the table."

Prisoner: "Is it because of that Lightborn?"

Da Xi: "From now on, you should call him the king not only verbally, but also respect him as the king in your heart. It doesn't matter. Soon you will respect him as the king from the bottom of your heart."

"It's mainly to guard against that guy named Tai Li. I am willing to serve the Guangyi, but it doesn't mean I am willing to be inferior to a wild king."

Prisoner: "You mean... Wild King?"

Daxi sneered. "Who do you think this poor ruin belonged to before Lord Aenarion came to Lothern?"

"Guarding such a large piece of precious land, a group of wild elves ended up being so poor that they literally had to eat dirt. If Lord Aenarion hadn't come to Lothern and turned the place upside down, these wild elves would still be

Life is not much better than that of a goblin."

"Now that Lothern has developed, this guy has brought a bunch of wild elves into Lothern from somewhere. I think... this bastard might have some bad intentions."

At the end of his speech, Da Xi's expression finally changed significantly. It was unclear where the resentment came from, whether it was due to personal grudges or public hatred.

Meanwhile, in Boneswamp.

Looking at Aenarion standing and chatting and laughing with a group of ghouls, the elves in the back row were all full of admiration.

Look at our boss, how awesome!

That's really like slapping the cow's butt from behind - it's sticking up!

Miranda's expression was different from those of the illiterate people around her. Her expression was a little solemn.

"Is it the ancient Elvish language? Aenarion is speaking to them in the ancient Elvish language... but how can he understand the roars of the ghouls? Why can these ghouls understand the ancient language?"

"Why do the ghouls here seem to still be sane? Are they able to communicate?"

"Since these ghouls can communicate, and they don't attack humans as soon as they see them, then why... are the rumors about this place so dangerous?"

As a cultured half-elf, Miranda certainly would not be like those illiterate people who only knew how to shout "awesome" and attribute all the miracles to the noble bloodline of the Light People. As she was well-versed in history, she knew what kind of people the Light People in ancient times were. After looking at the strange situation in front of her and thinking for a long time, she decided to just wait and see what would happen for the time being.

Just when Aenarion was about to brag to the point of arm in arm with those ghouls, this guy finally seemed to have thought of something and waved at the elves.

This simple action made the elves startled at first, and then they reacted. Not long after, several large boxes were lifted up, and after they were opened in front of the ghouls, the monsters in human skins cried out in surprise.

It was the kind of scream that any mortal could understand, not the shrill banshee scream.

"You're welcome! I can't accept such an expensive gift!"

Trying his best to translate the noisy roars in his mind, Aenarion smiled politely and said it was nothing.

It's really just a small thing, just a few boxes of animal bones.

But in the eternal illusion of those zombies, these were actually several large boxes of gold, silver and jewelry.

Chapter 29: What is a straight man?

Because of the money that paved the way, the caravan led by Aenarion was warmly received in the Swamp of Bones, and on the surface everyone seemed very satisfied.

Of course, even if the elves were dissatisfied, they didn't dare to show it. Instead, they had to show their professional fake smiles, which looked like crying. The ghouls also showed their "dark and rotten" smiles, which were uglier than crying.

In comparison, Aenarion was much more awesome. Not only did he have a pleasant conversation with several ghouls, he even took the initiative to kiss the back of a ghoul "girl"'s hand, and then he sang a long hymn, successfully making her look obviously shy.

The elves seen later were all shocked. They could eat such a thing. You are not even at the level of Slaanesh's chosen one. Slaanesh must be your chosen one.

This round of diplomatic activities with the "Golden Bell Court" was basically handled by Aenarion alone. The elves accompanying him all looked like they were not relaxed and needed to be trained hard. As for Miranda, her ally, the look she gave Aenarion became strange, and even some small emotions were visible to the naked eye.

As a straight man, Aenarion was completely unaware of Miranda's emotions. He was now toasting with a few ghouls, and seemed to be chatting very happily. If you ignore the fact that the wine in the cup was filled with blood that smelled of rotten, and the place where they were drinking was a cave full of corpses, this was completely a normal exchange between elves, not even the most ordinary banquet.

"The royal court is in a financial crisis. We can only offer this little to entertain you. It's really embarrassing."

The giant ghoul called Baron Erlen said that this ghoul was more than four meters tall and looked quite strong. He was not an ordinary ghoul with skin and bones. He was a bodybuilding hunk with an inverted triangle shape who could hold a card.

Now this elf strongman weighing more than two tons has an expression of helplessness and embarrassment, which is really a different kind of contrast.

Taking a look at the table full of rotten meat and blood, the entrails of various animals and the dirty corpses, Aenarion fell into deep thought.

He suddenly felt that his vision should be bigger.

Since I can communicate with this group of Saya ghouls, is it possible to do business with them?

For the ghouls in the Bone Swamp, isn't meat the most valuable thing? They are trapped in a swamp with few resources, and naturally their lives become increasingly difficult. The only thing they can tame are horrible monsters that can get along with the undead. These monsters are good in every way except that they don't produce meat. The only way for the ghouls to obtain meat is to hunt, and it is only a matter of time before the animals in the swamp are completely hunted down by these monsters.

The resources inside the Bonebury Swamp are mainly alchemical herbs, and the environment is also suitable for the growth of some special herbs. Although most of the alchemical herbs are not valuable, they are in large quantities.

Just as Aenarion was considering whether to sign a contract with Baron Erlen,

At this time, the giant zombie spoke again.

"Well, has the outside world not recovered yet? We haven't sent warriors to explore the outside world for 200 years, and we don't know what it looks like now... The great destruction 1000 years ago was really terrible. Fortunately, the glory of our Lord covers the entire Golden Bell Royal Court, otherwise the last piece of pure land in the world would have disappeared."

As Baron Erlen spoke, he made a gesture of offering to the god of death.

"By the way, we are all very happy to see that there are some survivors from the outside world. Even the Queen has expressed her excitement. She has prepared generous gifts. The convoy is on the way now. Although you... no matter what you become, you are still our compatriots."