"Friends?" Regbatan asked hopefully.

Trist breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that this fight can be avoided. Still, there was a hint of doubt in the dark elves' hearts. The gnolls used to ask themselves exactly the same question, but in the end Trist had to kill them. What's more, the hill giant and the dog demon who killed the farmer's family are obviously related to some extent.

"What kind of friends?" Trist asked hesitantly, hoping to hear a different answer from the mouth of the hill giant.

"Friends who kill together." Regbatan replied, as if he had taken it for granted.

Trist couldn't hold back any longer, he roared, shook his head like crazy, and raised his gray hair. The scimitar at the waist came out of its sheath with rage. At that moment, the hill giant touched the trap.

"Kill you!" Reg Titan realized that the situation was not right, and raised his thick wooden stick to move forward. But at some point, the hill giant's ankle was tightly wrapped around a soft branch, and he couldn't take this step.

Trist tried to suppress the urge to do it himself. Not only because the trap has been launched, but also because the physical condition does not allow it.

The angry giant of the hill looked down at his ankles. Strictly speaking, the branches were not a good material for traps, and the knots formed were not very strong, and if Regbatan calmed down and bent down to solve the trap, he would be able to get out quickly. But the hill giants don't have that intelligence.

"Kill you!" Regbard roared, pulling the branches with his feet, trying to destroy the trap directly. However, behind the Hill Giant, the rock tied to the other end of the branch suddenly came under a strong pull, and it flew off the ground and hit the Hill Giant directly in the back.

Reg's threatening shouts suddenly turned into a wail of pain, and the thick wooden rod in his hand fell to the ground. The hill giant knelt weakly with one hand on his back.

Trist hesitated. Do you want to take the opportunity to escape, or simply kill the other party? With the injuries of the hill giants, it is unlikely that they will catch up in a short time. Although his own safety was assured, the dark elves could not forget the look on Regbatam's face when he said that he was going to kill together.

"If you leave it alone, how many families will be ruined in your hands?" Trist asked in the Dark Elves.

Regbatan didn't understand, just kept growling.

"How much?" Trist asked again. The dark elf gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes glaring.

The matter was over quickly.

???

When the team of Sandaba City (Doph?) The Falcon, the three warriors, and the dwarven scholar Freit) arrived in Madoba later, and Benson? Daymour finally breathed a sigh of relief. The village chief was enthusiastic about providing abundant food and comfortable resting places, and some curious villagers also gathered around to look around. But as soon as the ranger heard of the tragedy that had happened at Listerden's house, he immediately asked the village chief to take him to the scene of the tragedy.

However, upon arriving at the farm on the west side of the village, Dove immediately had a look of disappointment on his face. The messy footprints on the ground obscured important clues, and the contents of the house, even the corpses, had been turned over, and the whole scene was in chaos. Despite this, Ranger and her seasoned companions split up to conduct carpet searches, leaving no trace of what might be left behind.

"You fools!" When the investigation came to an end, Frieter scolded. "Look at the good things you've done, you're helping the enemy!"

The village chief and the villagers bowed their heads in embarrassment. But Roddy, with an angry face, rolled up his sleeves and tried to trouble the thin dwarf. Dove hurriedly stepped forward to mediate.

"You've ruined some clues," Dove explained to the villagers as he cautiously walked between Fred and the stout hunter. The Ranger had heard a lot of rumors about Roddy, most of them the impulsive and irascible deeds of the hunters.

"We didn't mean to," the village chief tried to argue.

"I know," replied Doph. "Anyone in this situation will do it."

"Any rookie," Frieter added to the fire.

"Shut your mouth!" Roddy yelled, and his dog followed suit.

"Sir, please calm down," said Dove. "Everyone is their own person, so don't worry about it. We still have a common enemy to deal with. ”

"Rookie?" Roddy yelled at the Ranger. "Countless people have died under my axe! It's just a dark elf, and the uncle doesn't care about it at all! ”

"Are you sure the dark elves did it?" Dove was skeptical.

Roddy nodded to a nearby farmer, who immediately pulled out the broken knife he found in the bedroom.

"Weapons of the Dark Elves," Roddy replied rudely. Then he pointed to the scar on his face. "I can see it very clearly!"

Dove knew at a glance that the wound on the hunter's face was not caused by a sharp scimitar, but she did not puncture the other's hide.

"And the footprints of the dark elves," Roddy said. "These footprints are exactly the same as what we saw in the blueberry fields!"

Doff pointed to the barn and disagreed. "The man who broke the barn door must have had a lot of strength. Moreover, the younger dead man in the barn did not look like he had been killed by the dark elves. ”

Luo Qiu still insisted on his opinion. "The dark elves have pets, a big black panther, a big one!"

Dove felt that things were not simple. There were no footprints of a panther nearby, and the wounds of the young deceased in the barn did not resemble the work of any panther. However, she did not say these words. Dover knew that the rude and arrogant hunter would not allow others to question his conclusions.

"Hey, you've seen enough, let's get down to business," Rodi shouted. "Go after the dark elves, my dog can't wait!"

Dover cast a meaningful look at the village chief. Daymour turned in embarrassment, not daring to meet the ranger's gaze.

"Roddy is with you," the village chief muttered, his voice so low that he could barely hear it. Seeing the Ranger's calmness, and thinking about the hunter's recklessness, Daymour regretted that he had agreed to let the hunter go with him to capture the dark elves. If only the Ranger could handle it all. However, an agreement is an agreement after all, and it cannot be reversed.

"Roddy is the only one in the village who goes with you," explained the village chief. "He's an experienced hunter and knows the terrain nearby, so he should be able to help."

Dover relented again. Frett was so angry that he bit his beard.

"It's getting dark," the Ranger said. "We'll set off again tomorrow at dawn."

"The Dark Elves have been gone for so long!" Roddy protested. "You should catch up immediately."

"You think the dark elves are in a hurry to escape," Dove replied calmly, but this time there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "I don't think so. How do you know if the Dark Elves or Dark Elf troops are hiding nearby? Do you want to be ambushed, Megist? Do you want to fight the dark elves in the night? Roddy's face was flushed, and he couldn't answer.

With a wave of his hands, the hunter turned away in a daze. The dog followed him.

The village chief wants to entertain Dove and her companions to spend the night at his house, but the Ranger refuses, and she decides to stay at the Listden house. It wasn't long before the village chief left with the villagers, and Roddy began to camp nearby, apparently to spy on Doph's movements. The Ranger couldn't help but start to think seriously about why Meggster wanted to find the dark elves at such a cost, did he want to take revenge?

"Are you really going to let that beast follow?" As Fritt, Doph, and Gabriel sat down around the campfire, the dwarves couldn't help but ask. The elven archer and another warrior patrolled the area.

"Dear Fritt, we are in someone else's village," said Doph. "And Roddy's knowledge of the area can also be very helpful."

"But that guy is so dirty," the dwarf knew he couldn't argue with the ranger, so he grunted and spread out his sleeping bag and went to sleep with his back to the two of them. Dove and Gabriel looked at each other and smiled.

"What a quill," Gabriel chuckled. But the warrior noticed that the smile on the ranger's face suddenly disappeared and became serious.

"What's wrong, Lady Hawkhand?" Gabriel asked.

Dove shrugged. "It's a little strange what's going on here," she said.

"It wasn't the Panther who killed the woman in the barn," Gabriel noted.

"The one who killed the farmer wasn't the dark elves, I'm afraid," Dover said. "The strangulation marks on the neck of the deceased were so deep that they almost ripped off the entire head. Only giants have so much power. ”

"Magic?" Gabriel asked.

Dove shrugged again. "Our scholars say that the dark elves are much more delicate in their spell casting skills," she said, looking at Frete. The dwarf was already asleep, snoring regularly. "And the degree of completion is also high. Fred doesn't believe it was the dark elves who broke the barn door and killed the men. The murderer is afraid that there is someone else. ”

"The footprints have two pairs," Gabriel said. "And more than a day apart."

"It's not the same shade," Dove said. "The second pair of footprints is the weight of the Dark Elves. The first pair of footprints, that is, the footprints of the murderer, are relatively deep. ”

"Could it be a Dark Elf's men?" Gabriel speculated. "Summoned from another realm, perhaps. The Dark Elves come back to the farm the next day to see the results? This time, even Gabriel himself shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"We'll find out." Ranger replied. Gabriel lights his pipe, and Dover joins the dwarves.

???

"Oh, master," Tephanis whispered as he found the dead Great Demon. The half-transformed Uguru lies in a ridiculous posture at the bottom of the cliff. While Tephanis doesn't really care about Uguru and Kenfana, the death of the Inudemon brothers means that the life of the leprechaun is about to change. Tefanis and Uguru were together to take advantage of each other. Before meeting the Inu, the goblins had to survive by stealing food from nearby villages. Although life is passable, life is lonely and lacks excitement.

Uguru's arrival changed all that. The Purple Dog Demon's men provide goblin protection and companionship, while the murderous and cunning Uguru can always be assigned to one important mission after another.

Now that Uguru and Kenfana are dead, the goblin can't change that fact and can only leave in disgrace.

"And Regbatam?" It occurred to Tefanis that the Hill Giant might be a good companion. The goblin quickly found Regbatan's tracks, and the hill giants left the neighborhood and ran deep into the mountains. Tephanis clapped his hands excitedly and disappeared in a puff of smoke as he began to search for a new companion.

???

Trist? Duchate stood alone on the top of the hill, looking out at the lights of Madoba for the last time. So much has happened since coming to the surface world, and the dark elves have found that the surface world is almost as bloody and barbaric as the dark lands. All the hopes that the farmer's family had given Trist were dashed, and in their place were never-ending guilt and lingering nightmares.

The Dark Elves' physical condition has recovered slightly. Although the muscles were sore all over, the wounds on the arms and legs were no longer bleeding and breathing was much easier, and the injuries should heal soon.

Trist stared at Madoba in the distance. After all, this place cannot be your own home. But, maybe that's a good thing, Trist couldn't help but think.

Chapter 9: The Chase

"What's that?" Fred ducked behind Duff's green cloak, curiously poking her head out.

Doph, and even Roddy, took a very cautious approach, slowly approaching the creature they had never seen before. The creature did not move, and seemed to be dead. It is very huge, with the upper body like a goblin and the lower half like a wolf, and it looks very weird.

After making sure that the strange creature was dead, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Dove bent down and tapped the dead creature on the arm with his knife.

"I think this thing may have been dead for more than a day," she said.

"But what the hell is this?" Frete asked again.

"Bastard," Roddy replied in a low voice.

Dover carefully examines the dead creatures, especially the junction of the upper and lower bodies. She found that the body had many claw scratches that appeared to have been caused by a large cat.

"Transfiguration spells," Gabriel guessed, keeping a high alert eye for movement around him.

Dove nodded in agreement. "That's right, I was killed when I was halfway through the transformation,"

"I've never heard of goblins casting spells," Rodi objected.

"Yes," Frett said, smoothing the wrinkles on the sleeves of his shirt with his hands. "Absolutely. Goblin Grubby, nicknamed Fool, pretends to be an archmage and ......"

At this moment, a whistle was heard from above, interrupting the dwarf's tirade. The elven archer, Kelindil, stood at the top of the cliff and waved his hands at the crowd. "Here," the archer shouted. "There are two dead goblins, and a strange dead giant,"

Dove looked at the cliff, and with her skills, it would not be a problem to climb up. However, the ranger's eye caught sight of the poor dwarf, and she sighed, and decided to turn around a mile more, and go up the hill on another road. "You stay here," Dove said to Gabriel. The poker-faced human warrior nodded, and walked over to a well-viewed, secluded spot in the woods to guard it. Others are starting to turn back.

Halfway through, Dove and the group meet the third member of the group, Darda. Short, skewed human warriors tugging at their beards, crouching on the ground to examine what looked like a plowshare.

"That's the Listden thing!" Roddy shouted. "I've seen it in the back of the farmstead, and Bassoremu was going to fix it!"

"Why are you here?" Dove asked.

"There's blood on it," said Darda, showing everyone the blood-stained side of the plowshare. The warriors had searched the neighborhood and finally returned to the spot where the plow had been found. "Some unfortunate guy has crashed into this thing," Dardar mused, looking down. "Then, you may fall under a cliff."

Dove pulled the hair back from his face, his slender hand resting on his chin, lost in thought. She wanted to connect all the findings and sort them out into one thing. However, there are too few clues. Everyone was silent. Soon, an exasperated Dove folded his hands and surrendered, and they began to advance up the cliff again. After a few turns, the group reached the top of the cliff. Dove walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down for Gabriel. When the poker-faced warrior saw her, he immediately made a gesture to indicate that everything was normal below.

"Here," Kelindil beckoned, leading the group into the cavern. When Dover walked through the curtain to the second room, it became clear what had happened.

"Inu-demon cub!" When Fred saw the corpse of the red giant, he exclaimed.

"Inudemon?" Roddy was confused.

"That's right," Frett said. "That explains the half-goblin, half-wolf corpse under the cliff."

"Halfway through the transformation, he was attacked," Darda then speculated. "Before the transformation was completed, the original wounds on his body, coupled with the impact of landing, killed him."

"Inudemon?" Roddy yelled angrily when he realized that no one was paying attention to him. The hunter didn't understand the other people's discussions, and he didn't like the feeling of being left out at all.

"Creatures of another realm," Fret explained. "I heard that it was the Burning Realm. The dog demon will send his young beasts to other realms, where they will prey and grow. He paused and thought for a moment. Predator ......"

"The girl in the barn!" Dove said.

Everyone suddenly brightened up and kept nodding their heads. Only Roddy still stubbornly adheres to his original theory. "The farmer was killed by the dark elves!" He yelled.

"Do you have the broken knife found in the farmstead with you?" Dove asked. Roddy looked down and rummaged through the pockets of his leather coat for a moment, then took it out.

Dove took the broken knife and bent down to examine the canindemon's corpse. She found that the multiple wounds on the dog demon's body, especially the fatal wound on the throat, matched the blade of the broken knife.

"You said the dark elves have two scimitars," Dove asked, fiddling with the broken knives.

"That's what the village chief told you," Roddy corrected her. Actually, it was said by the eldest son of the Listden family. When I met the Dark Elves...... the hunter explained, and asked for the broken knife back. “…… He was holding only a scimitar. It's the one that killed the farmer's family! "Luo Di deliberately concealed the fact that when he fought with the dark elves, the other party had two scabbards around his waist.

Dove shook his head, not believing the hunter's claims. "The Dark Elves killed the Dog Demon," she said. "The wound and the blade match. I think the Dark Elves should have the same cutlass as well. I'm willing to bet if you look at the corpses of the goblins at the door, you'll find that the scars on their throats match the blades of the broken knives. ”

"It is also in line with the wounds on the whole family of Listtden," replied Roddy angrily.

Dove thought. It's best to stop there, and the unreasonable hunter will not accept other people's opinions. However, the dwarf, who hated Roddy, spoke up at this point and spoke the thoughts of everyone present. "The farmer was killed by the dog demon," Frett remembered that there were two pairs of footprints in the farmstead. "It's the hand of a dog demon who has transformed into a dark elf!"

Roddy's face turned ugly. Dove quickly winked at the dwarf and told him to shut up. However, the dwarf misunderstood what Dove meant, and thought that the Ranger was impressed by his reasoning, so he spoke louder and louder. "That's right, that would explain why there are two pairs of footprints. The earlier and deeper pair of footprints are the ...... of the dog."

"So, what should the corpse under the cliff say?" Dardar understood Doph's intentions and interrupted the dwarf's tirade. "Does his wound match the blade of a broken knife?"

Dove nodded to Darda, thanking him for his help, and began to ponder. "There are some that may be in line," she said. "However, the dog demon under the cliff should have been killed by the Panther......" Dove looked at Roddy. …… It's the pet you mentioned earlier, the Dark Elves. ”

Roddy kicked the dog demon corpse hard. "Farmer, it was the dark elves who killed you!" He yelled. The last time the hunter faced the Dark Elves, he lost a dog and an ear, and he wanted to find an excuse to take revenge, rather than lose the opportunity to take two thousand gold coins alone.

At this time, the voice of Kailindil was heard outside the cave, and the discussion between the two sides had to come to an end. In fact, neither Doph nor Roddy were very willing to continue arguing over this issue. After the elven archers took the ranger to the cave, they searched elsewhere. Apparently, he had discovered new clues.