It is said that Cardinal Valentine, who stayed behind in the Holy See in the southern part of the empire, although he is young, he is unusually decisive and capable. Considering the uncertainty of this expedition to the north, Dammasus gave Valentine some secrets that had been passed down from generation to generation by successive popes before leaving.

Ever since the young cardinal learned of these things, he has been preparing for an investigation.

According to Darmasus, the prophet Cyril traveled almost all of Bodie during his lifetime, and he not only made friends with humans, but may even have secretly connected with elven dwarves. The Guvenne Empire severely restricted inter-ethnic exchanges, and non-human races were considered inferior citizens.

There must be a reason why Cyril took a big risk to be friends with elven dwarves. Although Damasus did not say it explicitly, it meant that Valentine was to be in charge of the search.

The southern frontier of the Tambolance Empire is bordered by the elven Danse Forest. Straddling the eastern and western ends of the Bodie continent, the Danse Forest stretches from the Sea of Terror in the west to the ruins of the Orient Empire in the east.

Due to the very humid and humid climate in the south, coupled with the dense forests, it is difficult for human forces to penetrate into them, and the Danse Forest has become a natural haven and home for the elves. No one can calculate the exact size of the entire forest, as its southern end has never been an unknown mystery.

Valentine was a pragmatist polymath, and he was outwardly more suave than his other impatient cardinal, Lando, but when something did happen, he was often able to solve it in surprising ways, as in the case of the Cortex heresy.

What impresses the young Valentine is that he is not only decisive in dealing with current affairs, but also calmly analysing what will happen in the future. Sharp-witted and sharp-tongued, he was one of the brightest rising stars in the Holy See.

In Valentine's heart there was a dream to spread the teachings of the Enlightenment to all the other races, so that they too could understand and accept this great doctrine of perfection and bliss.

The achievements of the Prophet Cyril are the direction and motivation for Valentine's efforts to move forward. Considering that the elves were sparsely populated, and that if he wanted to deal with them, he needed a suitable guide, and after thinking about it, he had a clever move.

On this day, he gathered the few remaining monks and asked them to follow him to the edge of the forest to cut wood.

A sensible man asked, "Lord Bishop, those elves love trees as their own family. Wouldn't that invite conflict if we did so?"

Valentine said with a smile: "Since the departure of the Holy See, everyone's food has been worse day by day, although there are occasional game meat, but after all, it is not a long-term solution. Chop some wood and lure a few elves out so they can serve the food with their own hands. ”

"Your Excellency, aren't you joking?" the crowd was puzzled.

Valentine shook his head and said, "What's the joke?" You've all heard that a logging team recently sent by His Majesty the Emperor encountered stubborn resistance from the elves, and not only was all the machinery and equipment dismantled and destroyed, but even several workers were taken hostage. ”

"If the Bishop knows about this, why should he go to the tiger's mouth to extract the teeth?"

"What is the Emperor's risk cutting for?" asked Valentine deliberately.

"The war in the north is tight, and the empire is not at peace, and these timbers are urgently needed military supplies. ”

"It seems that everyone understands people, so what do you think I'm going to cut wood for?"

The crowd was silent, each with no direction.

Valentin waited for a long time, and when he saw that no one answered, he said with a smile: "The emperor does not hesitate to sacrifice some things for some more important interests. ”

Everyone was even more confused.

"The Danse Forest is so vast, and the elves are so scarce, and none of us know them, so how can we find them? ”

"The Bishop means to use the guise of logging to attract the attention of the elves?" said the clear-headed monk.

"Exactly. The Emperor's friends are our Church's friends, and the Emperor's enemies can also be our friends. The Pontifical See has gone to the north to crusade against the infidels, and we have been idle here for a long time, and we need to do something practical to echo the Holy See. ”

"My lord, if the elves can't understand what we mean, won't they add to their own troubles?"

"The elves who patrol the forest each have some psychic skills, and they can tell our true intentions. Valentine said confidently.

Although the east-west span of the Danse Forest is so huge, the elves only need a few rangers to control this boundary, relying on their extraordinary agility and the ability to telepathize with their minds. Mind Flayers can manipulate people's minds, and Elven Rangers can read people's minds.

Valentine was the only one who watched, so he didn't say anything more, and immediately prepared some necessary tools, and ran with the young cardinal to the edge of the forest.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the sun is getting stronger outside. The trees on the edge of the Danse Forest, though sparse, provide a touch of coolness.

Valentine did not hesitate, gave an order, and let everyone start working. Only by doing a fake show can the elven rangers be attracted.

As the trees fell, the hearts of the people gradually hung in their throats, and they were afraid to shoot an arrow from some unknown place in the shadows as a punishment.

The two things of elves are the most famous in human society, one is their druids who are good at seventy-two changes, and the other is their amazing archers.

Legend has it that one of the emperors of the Gruvenne Empire was killed by elven arrows. No matter what kind of war, as long as there are elves involved, the most talked about afterwards must be some important person or some unlucky ghost who was injured by a dark arrow and died.

Valentine is the only one who has a firm heart. He knew everyone's thoughts, and he told jokes and encouraged everyone. But even if he is as good as he is, it is difficult to let go of everyone's hanging hearts.

The words Elven Ranger were like a spell that made everyone but Valentine feel uneasy.

Suddenly, there was a strange howl in the forest, and the people of the Holy See, who were already highly nervous, were suddenly frightened, and they all stopped what they were doing, holding their breath and waiting for some bad luck to come.

The sound came from far to near and from near to far, intermittently, several times.

Valentine did not expect this, and he told everyone to retreat, and he himself went deeper into the forest, where someone tried to dissuade him, but was pushed away by the young bishop.

Valentine didn't take a few steps before he noticed that the sky was getting darker, and he didn't know if it was due to the dense trees. He looked behind him, only to find that the papacy had disappeared.

The howl came out again in an instant, and seemed to be drawing closer to the cardinal.

Valentine was not flustered, he set up his posture and quietly waited for his moment.

The strange and terrifying voice seemed to hesitate, and in the darkness not far from the cardinal, it suddenly fell silent.

The forest was dimly lit and windy, creating a great contrast with the outside.

Valentine knew in his heart that this must not be some ranger, but some evil creature must be at work.

The forest was densely wooded, and fire attacks would certainly not work, and the young cardinal had already made up his mind to use his best weapon of mass destruction, the icicle. When dealing with the heretical provocation of Cortés, it was also this magic that showed its might.

The creature had long since stopped howling, and instead let out a low snort, apparently watching to see if the prey in front of it was palatable.

Finally, after a stalemate, it couldn't help but take the lead in attacking.

In the dim light, Valentine only felt a cold wind behind him, and he knew that it was impossible to turn back and avoid it, so he used the stone skin technique he had prepared to resist.

The monster's sharp claws slammed against the hard texture of the obsidian, leaving several deep marks in their wake. The young cardinal took advantage of the situation and threw the monster from behind his back, and when he looked closely, he saw a humanoid creature in wolf's clothing, its eyes shining yellow, and a beam of light shining through the branches, just in front of its two bloody fangs protruding from its mouth.

Valentine couldn't help but be secretly surprised, this was clearly a werewolf!

One of the most famous parts of the Elven lore is the depiction of werewolves. These terrifying creatures live deep in the forest, barely moving during the day, and at night they come out in groups to feed.

The young cardinal knew these allusions, and he wondered why such a thing would be encountered in broad daylight, and why it was just one, and not a group.

Of course, the main thing at the moment is not to look into these details, but to find a way to break with it.

The werewolf couldn't pounce, and after a slight adjustment, he raised his two large front paws and pounced again. Valentine was one step ahead and used the icicle technique with all his might.

But the young bishop had miscalculated this time, for werewolves were creatures of the most yin and cold, and the Icepick technique could not do anything to it, but on the contrary, it only angered its wildness even more.

Although Valentine's stone skin technique still existed, it couldn't resist the werewolf's repeated attacks. The sword will break, but the werewolf's claws are both strong and soft, and they will not break when they hit the obsidian. Stone skin has both time and physical constraints, and it is impossible to protect young bishops endlessly.

Valentine is certainly not a general, and defending is not his style. Since the icicle technique was ineffective, he was ready to decisively sacrifice a large fireball that could eat all of us. In the dense and gloomy forest, it seemed that a bloody battle was about to begin.

Find out what happens next, and listen to the next breakdown.