The Heartbeat of the Cruel Elves

"——I hope this way of handling the matter," she said, finally, her sonorous and fierce tone becoming slightly gentler, but still dignified and resolute, "can slightly comfort your disturbed heart."

"You are such a good official who is devoted to his duties." Cassia smiled and said amiably, "I don't know what the elders of the ruling council think, but I, Cassia Borgia, will remember your public-spiritedness and selfless care today. May I ask your name?"

The captain of the security team grinned, revealing a bright smile on his handsome and handsome face.

Chapter 121 New Mission

It had been about two weeks since the attack. On this day, Li Yin was training in the slave camp as usual when Chief Inspector Misella suddenly came in in a hurry. She announced the suspension of the training on the spot and gathered about half of the soldiers in the special training camp, and then led the newly assembled troops out.

Of course, Li Yin was also among the assembled soldiers. As usual, as Myrcella's most "favored" slave soldier, he was arranged to be beside Myrcella, along with several other ordinary dark elf instructors, and was used by Myrcella as her right-hand man.

"Bishop Myrcella," he asked curiously as he followed Myrcella, "What happened? Are there any new clues to the previous attacks?"

Myrcella shook her head. "Of course not."

Then, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, but nothing else happened.

Li Yin was slightly annoyed. This woman, no, the female elf was like this. She could have continued to extend the topic and given a real and substantive answer, but she refused to do so. She had to wait for him to take the initiative to ask questions bit by bit.

So Li Yin had no choice but to open his mouth again: "Then...?"

"It's time to get to work!" Mircella grinned and said cheerfully.

Li Yin was stunned - you don't need me to tell you, I know it's time to do the job. However, looking at Myrcella's happy expression, he realized that this "job" didn't seem to be simple, so his curiosity became more and more intense.

"What kind of work?" Then he spoke again.

Such persistence did not annoy Myrcella. Rather, this was the effect she wanted. Li Yin saw that when he said this, the curve of Myrcella's mouth became more and more obvious.

"Princess Cassia—"

Finally getting to the point... Li Yin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, at this moment, Myrcella's voice suddenly stopped. Li Yin subconsciously raised his head, but saw that the smile on her lips had instantly frozen. Then, she put her legs together, her whole body shrugged, and she stood still in an instant, as straight as a sword.

"Your Highness!" She looked straight ahead with a solemn expression and a sonorous tone.

Li Yin suddenly realized something. He moved his eyes away from Myrcella's profile and turned his gaze back to find that he had arrived at the gate of the slave camp. Outside the gate, Cassia was wearing silver armor and a white robe, with a sword at her waist. Behind her was a whole team of dark elf warriors in helmets and armor, looking at them with a smile.

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"What exactly happened?" After the two troops merged, Li Yin lowered his voice and asked Mircella impatiently again.

Cassia in front of him had her eyes flickering, as if she still noticed his little movements, but she just smiled knowingly and ignored it.

"It's a secret mission of the family," Myrcella said this time with unusual frankness. She understood the position of this humble little slave beside her in the heart of her mistress, so she wisely put away her contemptuous attitude in front of her. Before Lein could continue to ask, she continued to explain: "The family's expedition team discovered the ruins of an ancient city under the stratum more than a hundred miles away from Nevre."

"We were ordered to explore the site, find out as much as possible about the site, and bring back some valuable treasures."

Ruins... Li Yin's mind moved slightly: "Is there any specific information about the ruins? For example, which race built the city, and whether there is any danger inside?"

"For a slave," Myrcella smiled, "I never realized you had such a gift as an explorer."

"Not bad," she nodded in affirmation, "the questions you raised are very targeted."

"According to the reports of the soldiers who returned, the architecture of that city showed obvious characteristics of the dark elves. However, we did not find any records about the nearby dark elf cities in our family's archives. Therefore, we initially speculated that it was a city-state that had lost its activity before Nevre was established."

"As for whether there is any danger inside..." Myrcella dragged out her tone and smiled meaningfully, "Before worrying about encountering danger, we should worry more about whether we can encounter danger."

"What do you mean?" Li Yin was confused by her roundabout words.

"The soldier discovered the ruins by chance, and then escaped with great difficulty."

"The reason why it is called 'lucky' and 'with great difficulty' is because the city itself is surrounded by a huge maze!"

"So, our first priority is to get through the maze and find the city. Only then can we worry about whether there is any danger in it."

Li Yin suddenly realized and nodded.

The lost ruins... He stopped talking, followed the overall rhythm of the team, continued to move forward, and thought silently in his heart. Since he was a child, he had imagined this scene, in a secret place, he found a relic left over from the ancient times, the ruins stored countless gold and silver jewels, powerful enough to slay dragons and subdue demons, and even the secrets and martial arts left by the heroes of the ancient times. As long as he absorbed them, he could become as powerful as the legendary heroes. It seemed that... as long as he walked into such a small cave and walked out, just like that, he could become a great hero who was rich and brave, a rich man, and a living legend...

Now, Li Yin certainly no longer had such naive ideas. He only felt that such unrealistic ideas were ridiculous. At this moment, he was more of a deep worry.

The general area of ​​the Underdark is dangerous enough, and what kind of dangers are lurking in those hidden corners? As a slave, Li Yin did not have the excitement of treasure hunting at all - even if there was any gain, it would not belong to him. He only felt a fear that his life would be threatened.

Especially... Li Yin's heart suddenly twitched, an abandoned city-state. Dark elves would not abandon their city for no reason. Why did the city become a ruin? Was it a natural factor, such as crustal movement, or was it migration caused by the discovery of a more habitable place nearby; or was it the intervention of some external force?

Li Yin hoped it was the former. If it was the latter, he could only pray that the terrifying power no longer existed in the ruins.

Chapter 1 Exploration ()

A few days later, the troops arrived at their destination.

Li Yin stood in front of a huge, dark cave, staring into the seemingly endless darkness.

The edges of the cave are jagged, like the gaping mouth of a ferocious beast, eager to devour its prey.

A chilly wind whistled out of the cave entrance, like the cruel breath of a ferocious beast, making people feel a bone-chilling chill and a fierce murderous intent.

Before arriving here, they walked more than a hundred miles and descended nearly three thousand feet along the steep cliffs of a huge rift valley, followed by several vertical deep pits connected together.

Now, they had finally reached the edge of the city, or to be more precise, according to the intelligence from the scouts, the edge of the huge maze surrounding the city.

Cassia stood beside Rein and also stared at the huge hole for a while. Then she made a gesture, and a dark elf drove several slaves to the front, followed by two teams with the same configuration.

This is in line with the Dark Elves' style on the battlefield. They usually use slaves as cannon fodder to absorb the enemy's firepower. At this time of exploration, it is also very reasonable to use their bodies to detect possible traps ahead.

Li Yin saw this and felt mixed emotions. He didn't know whether he should be angry at the plight of slaves of the same status as himself, or feel lucky that he didn't have to suffer the same treatment as them.

After three consecutive slave exploration teams entered, the regular army of the dark elves followed. They did not send all the slaves to the front. Turner had relevant experience in his memory, which revealed to Li Yin why they did so. Because the slaves' adaptability and overall quality were too poor, when a crisis occurred, they could not react in time like the dark elf soldiers. Therefore, when exploring, only a few slaves were sent to detect traps in front. Too many slaves would only cause unnecessary congestion and riots, making it impossible for the regular army of the dark elves to resolve the crisis in time, which would lead to excessive loss of these consumables.

The regular army of the dark elves was also divided into two sections. The main part followed the advance slave exploration team, and the other part was at the end of the entire army. In addition to the latter's usual role of guarding the rear and preventing danger from behind, it also had the function of preventing anyone in the main slave army between the two regular armies from taking the opportunity to escape.

Rein followed Cassia, standing in the formation of the main dark elf force, and entered the cave following the footsteps of other dark elves.

Although there was no light in the cave, Li Yin could still see the surrounding environment clearly due to his dark vision.

The height of the cave is estimated to be thirty feet, and within the range visible to the naked eye, there is no obvious tendency to shrink, and the width is also similar.

Li Yin had to admit that as a maze covering the outskirts of the dark elf city, its size was beyond his imagination.

When he first heard about this maze, he thought it was a defensive facility deliberately built by the ancient dark elves who lived in it, but it was obvious that these tunnels were too large compared to the size of the dark elves, and as a defensive facility, they were completely unnecessary. The more open the space, the more difficult it was to defend.

For example, outside the city of Nevévere, there are also circles of network-like tunnels, but those tunnels are basically in line with the size of the dark elves, and can only accommodate one or two dark elves at a time.

He looked carefully, his eyes moving inch by inch on the smooth rock wall, and did not find any traces of axe or chisel, so he further concluded that this tunnel should be formed naturally, and not the defensive facility he had initially thought.

In this case... he heaved a sigh of relief, the situation would be much better. Because, if it was a "finely" made fortification, according to the racial habits of the dark elves, they would also set up many unexpected and vicious traps as supporting facilities.

After walking about 300 meters along this wide tunnel, the world in front of everyone suddenly opened up. They came to a more open oval cave, and at the other end of the cave were three holes that were almost the same size as the tunnel behind them.

It's started... Li Yin frowned slightly. This is a "maze", and since it is a maze, there are naturally countless forks in the road. How to find the right road to the ruins from these forks is the first problem they face. So, what will Cassia do?

He glanced at the dark elf princess beside him, but saw that Cassia did not express anything. She was just still looking ahead calmly with her usual subtle smile on her lips.

Just when he was feeling slightly confused, suddenly, he heard a shout from the dark elf instructor in front of him. He saw the leftmost of the three slave vanguards, driven by the dark elf in charge of supervising them, walked tremblingly into the cave in front of them.

Divide the troops into three groups? Li Yin was stunned. With sufficient manpower, this is indeed the simplest and most effective method.

However, something even more shocking happened next.

The remaining two of the three advance teams did not enter the caves in front of them separately. Instead, after the first team entered the cave on the far left, they followed it and entered the same cave one after another.

As for the other two tunnels, although the slaves looked at them curiously, the dark elf officer who commanded them simply ignored them, as if the two huge holes dozens of feet high did not exist at all.

Li Yin's heart was full of doubts, but following closely behind the slave vanguard was his own regular dark elf army, so he could only put aside his doubts temporarily and hurriedly catch up with the pace of the main force.

After walking a few hundred meters, a similar scene reappeared. It was another huge oval cave with three dark holes at the other end.

Li Yin was wondering what the dark elves should do this time, so he didn't look at Cassia this time, but looked directly at the three advance teams in front of him. He saw three dark elf officers each glanced at a cave entrance, and then one of the dark elves pointed at the middle cave entrance, and with a shout, the slave unit in the middle set out first, followed by the other two advance teams, and then the regular unit where Li Yin was.

Li Yin looked at Cassia in confusion, but saw that she still had a calm expression, as if she was not surprised at all.

Just when he was confused, he saw Cassia's mouth corners suddenly curled up slightly, and a playful smile appeared on her fair cheeks:

"It feels really wrong, doesn't it?"

"It's like we have a maze map in our hands and we already know how to get there."

Li Yin looked up at her in surprise and nodded involuntarily.

Cassia's joyful voice was mixed with a hint of teasing:

"Myrcella is just trying to scare you for fun."

She looked straight ahead, her eyes slightly tilted. Her outstanding tall stature allowed her to clearly see Mircella, who was currently the leader of the regular army and was responsible for the overall coordination of the three slave vanguards, without raising her head.

"It is true that we are now passing through a strange maze."

"But have you ever thought that our scouts have successfully entered and exited this maze?"

"Will a qualified dark elf explorer leave no traces wherever he passes?

Li Yin suddenly realized, looked up at Cassia, and asked:

"So, the dark elf has left marks at key locations, and now we just need to follow those marks to reach the true location of the ruins."

Cassia smiled and nodded.

Very good. Li Yin felt relieved. Another problem was solved. Not only did he not have to worry about the traps left by the ancient elves for the time being, but he also did not have to worry about wandering around in these tunnels and getting completely lost.

However... a question suddenly emerged in his mind, a question that he should have thought of long ago.

"Your Highness," he asked in surprise, "that scout, didn't he come with us this time?"

Cassia's smile faded.

"We have not been in direct contact with him."

Just as Li Yin was confused by Cassia's strange words, she continued: "We discovered this relic from his notes."

"His notes were found on his body by an explorer from another family."

"As for his body, it is located at the entrance of the maze we just passed through - to be precise, half of the body, and the other half is nowhere to be found."

"His upper body left a blood trail several dozen meters long on the ground. The scout who found him followed the trail into the cave, trying to find the other half of his body, but the trail disappeared a dozen meters away. He described it as, 'a straight and smooth line appeared where the trail disappeared, as if it had been brushed by an elf.' He had a strong sense of foreboding, so he wisely withdrew in time, reported the incident to the family, and requested a more well-prepared expedition."

"And now, I don't need to remind you, I think you have realized it."

Li Yin's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

"When we arrived, we did not find the remaining half of the body, nor did we find the bloodstain that was dozens of meters long."

"So, be careful," Cassia's tone was cold, but still accompanied by a hint of indifferent playfulness. "What I am going to say now is exactly the opposite of what Myrcella once told you - but it is definitely not meant to scare you: in the maze, knowing the path does not mean absolute safety."

"That just means you're closer to real danger."

Li Yin's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and looked around cautiously, as if some unknown creature was about to attack him. But there was nothing. The huge darkness was empty. All he could see were the hard rock walls and the mosses clinging to them.

"Is it possible," he followed the team and continued to move forward for a while. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, so he carefully expressed his guess, "that half of the body does not exist at all?"

Cassia smiled slightly, as if she was not surprised by his speculation.

"You mean, this expedition was actually a trick by an elf in my family to frame me?"

Li Yin nodded gently. After all, at present, apart from the explorer who found the body, no other dark elf had witnessed the so-called "scene". If there was no lost ruins at all, this was just a trap for Cassia...

"This situation is not impossible, but the possibility is extremely low." Cassia looked like she had everything under control.

"Why?" Li Yin asked in surprise.

"As a human, you are not familiar with our ways." She paused, then smiled, "Believe me, if this is really a trick set up by my sisters, they will never mind making this trick more realistic and putting a half-dead body outside - even if that requires a fresh material."

Li Yin understood and nodded in agreement.

Being so "frugal" in laying out conspiracies and intrigues is indeed not like the style of the Dark Elves.

"But, to be honest," Cassia opened her red lips and spoke in a leisurely tone again, "I hope this is just a trick."

"After all, the most terrifying enemy is never the one you are familiar with, but the unknown."

Her words made Li Yin stunned again. He raised his head again and looked around, carefully watching out for any unknown enemies attacking.

But it didn't. There was still chaotic darkness all around, and there was nothing in the darkness.

"Tick!"

At this moment, a clear voice suddenly rang out. It was not loud, even a little weak, but it was particularly clear due to the quiet environment.

Li Yin's brows twitched, and he almost immediately tensed all the muscles in his body.

With his keen hearing, he immediately identified the source of the sound and subconsciously turned his head to look.

On a protruding rock on the rock wall a few dozen feet in front of him on the right, there was a vivid reflection. It took Li Yin a while to realize that it was a reflection of water.