Occasional encounters with human hunters in the forest, avoiding them are not difficult for elves. This time, however, Sesyana soon realized that it was not the usual line of hunters, but more like an army.

Even if you slow down, there is no loud noise, and the movement of dozens of people acting together is very noisy in the forest at night. Sethyana quickly hid herself, frowning at what worthy targets she was around.

In the moonlight, the procession through the forest did not light torches, as if to prove that their identity and purpose were not very visible. Judging by the way they dress and walk, between a well-trained soldier and an ordinary hunter - there will always be deserters and homeless people who become robbers on the go.

The elf made his own judgment, hesitating to decide whether he should intervene or not.

What he knew for sure was that there was no way the humans would spot him, even if they were only a few steps away from each other recently.

But suddenly someone in the group stopped and turned his head to his hiding place.

Sesyana stood motionless, slightly surprised.

The man wore a cloak that covered his entire head, and at a cursory glance it was no different from the others, except for a slight thinner—but the moment he turned his head, the moonlight shone on the striking pointed ears under his cloak and the unusual light in his eyes.

It was an elf.

Aside from himself and Norvi, Sethyana had never heard of any other elves coming to this bitter cold land, let alone operating with many humans like this.

Curiosity is much stronger than the tension of "being able to be discovered". The Sword Dancer had no doubt that he would be able to get out of it easily—or finish everyone in front of him.

A moment later. The elf tugged at his cloak and walked on. The race's talent allowed him to notice something unusual, but he didn't really notice Sethana. That was even more proof of the sword dancer's calm judgment - he was not an opponent to be nervous about. The truly powerful warriors would probably have rushed over a long time ago, and would not suddenly stop there to expose themselves.

But it did pique Sesyana's curiosity. Without much hesitation, he quietly followed the strange team.

These people are familiar with the forest. They walked on the animal path in the forest, and every time they changed direction without hesitation, as if they had already walked the same road many times. They walked lightly, and occasionally someone whispered and laughed, more like they had returned from a hunt. Rather than preparing to perform some important task......

Before dawn, when a dark, dark building nestled in the trees appeared in Sesyana's sight, the elves could finally be sure. These people are "coming home".

The hideout they had chosen was an ancient ruin, dilapidated but still sturdy, rugged but thick in style, and it was almost immediately apparent which race it belonged to—a fortress built by the orcs who once occupied the forest.

Behind the fortress there is a gentle hillside. It seems to have been burned by a wildfire. Only some charred tree trunks that had lost their branches and leaves stood there, and the sword pointed straight into the sky, showing a bit of weirdness and poignancy in the night, so that the elf couldn't help but look at it a few more times.

He watched the group enter the fortress and did not follow. His curiosity wasn't enough to drive him to dive into it like a thief, and it wasn't worth exposing himself.

With a hint of doubt, he left silently, not far away. Then I heard a loud and dull noise coming from the direction of the fortress.

The elves were stunned for a moment—could it be that the group was actually going to attack that place?

His body reacted faster than his brain, and he turned around and ran towards the fortress.

The fortress did not collapse. The orc architecture looks crude. But it has the sturdiness of a dwarven building, though the dwarves would never admit it.

There was an uproar in the fortress, and the fire, much brighter than before, came through almost all the windows, and a man with a loud voice was asking in a panicked voice, "What's going on?" and then stopped as if someone had choked him by the throat.

When everything seemed to be calm again, another loud bang shook the entire building. Sethyana watched in amazement as a white light burst through the thick stone wall and then quickly vanished, a chaotic exclamation coming from the hole.

"Chains! Pull up the chains and tie it up!" someone shouted in exasperation, "Where's the mage?!"

Some of them escaped from the fortress, but they only stood a short distance and watched, and did not flee in all directions—so when one of them quietly retreated and disappeared into the darkness, it did not escape the sight of the elves standing on high places.

Although he quickly recognized that it was a human—a slow human—Sesyana couldn't help but follow.

But it was a desperate fugitive. Sethyana stopped his steps in time, and the voice that came to his ears was calm and low, but with a condescending arrogance:

"Do you think that when we allowed you to restore your ability to cast spells, we didn't expect you to take this rare opportunity to escape?"

"I've given you what you want. The man who answered him spoke in a calm tone, resigned to fate, and did not panic much.

"That's true. Another agreed, "You've just proven that well...... Not including, of course, the hole in the wall. But I suppose the Sage never promised you that one day he would let you go?"

Silent.

"Abner Rhine. The high pursuer's tone softened slightly, "You know you have nowhere to run. And even if we let you go, where would you go? Here, at least we can keep you safe -- and we can even give you some freedom, as long as you don't try to escape so stupidly. ”

The man known as "Abner" laughed and said sarcastically: "I don't seem to have any choice but to return to the cage gratefully." ”

"At least it's a big enough cage. The other replied lightly, "Maybe you don't really need to be that big?"

There was another burst of silence.

Abner exhaled wearily and seemed to give up his resistance—but the ball of light that burst out answered the opposite.

Sethiana snapped her eyes shut. Wrap your arms over your head and quickly step back.

But no matter how fast it is, it can't match the light. The dazzling white light that suddenly lit up in the dark night left a hazy black shadow under his eyes, and it did more damage than that—it was not just light.

The light seems to have a physical body. The knife swept through his body as cold and sharp as a knife. The elf regretted that he had been too close, and though he wanted to know what the outcome would be, he did not hesitate to turn and flee.

The blood gushing out of the wound froze instantly, and he couldn't even judge the extent of his injury, and the burst of white light may have exposed him hiding in the shadows.

He is not afraid of any battle that he has to face...... But when he heard the man say the title "Sage-sama", he already realized that it was better not to let himself be involved.

He didn't know if the guy named Abner would be able to escape, but at least no one was chasing him. Most of the wounds on his body were just scratches. It didn't bother him more than the secret he stumbled upon that night. Elves are usually incomprehensible to the disputes that arise over human beliefs, but imprisoning a mage like that doesn't seem like a legitimate thing to do, no matter how you think about it.

There were only two Sages he knew...... And the man mentioned. Obviously it's not going to be the silly-looking Ed Singel.

Sesyana was a rather innocent elf at heart, and he couldn't hide all these doubts in his heart as if he didn't know anything. When he heard about a white dragon flying over Limestone Castle in a nearby village, he immediately sought it out - and then Rosa Latus cunningly gave Ed the "power to choose".

"I think I'd better figure out who that 'Abner Rhein' is. And you once told me. The old mage in the Valley of Yuanzhi knows almost everything. Ed wrenched his hands apprehensively, "If this matter has anything to do with the followers of Nesses...... I don't want any misunderstanding. ”

He didn't fully confess - he also hoped that the powerful old mage would control ...... "pacify" a thunderous ice dragon while Iss knew the truth.

At first, he really didn't plan to hide it, he just wanted to tell Iss more skillfully...... Unfortunately, it was self-defeating.

“...... If it was a necromancer, Scott wouldn't have had any problem imprisoning him. ”

Almost instinctively, Iss began to defend Scott, ignoring the fact that it was clearly not just captivity, but also "exploitation".

"It's not just that...... Ed whispered, "remember the 'white light' that broke through the stone walls and drilled out of the bottom of the fortress?...... That's not a spell. ”

In retrospect, again and again. Sesyana became more and more sure that it wasn't the "light" - he had seen the same thing...... That's more like an ice dragon's tail.

"At first he thought it was you. But from the conversations he heard, it seemed that the men were intending to tie up the dragon with chains...... He doesn't think they dare to do that to you. Then he thought it was probably another ice dragon......"

"I'm pretty sure I'm the last ice dragon in the world. Iss interrupted Ed in exasperation. "I didn't smash through the walls of a damn fortress either!"

"So you see," Ed sighed and began to snap his fingers, "a mage who may have become a necromancer, an ice dragon that shouldn't exist...... I really don't know how to tell you. ”

“...... You shouldn't have doubted Scott that way, either. There was a cold anger in Is's voice.

Ed froze for a moment, and suddenly became speechless with sadness.

He didn't want to do that either...... He also hopes to be able to change back to the simple Ed who can easily trust others, but he can't do it anymore.

He could see the bright sun, but he could no longer ignore the shadows under the sun.

"I do have doubts. "But I am more suspicious of those who have made him holy...... I'm more worried that he's not omniscient, that he's going to be deceived and taken advantage of just like me...... I fear he's in danger. ”.

(To be continued......)