Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 464 - 457: Scenery Within The Town

Chapter 464: Chapter 457: Scenery Within The Town

The elf maidens outside the carriage window, each of them, were older than the combined ages of everyone in the Advance Team. Even the babbling elf toddlers were older. This was what felt most off to them.

Because the buildings were made of green stone slabs and were under tree shade, they felt a sudden coolness, utterly lacking the stuffy heat of a primitive forest.

The whole of Divine Wood Town gave a sense of a peaceful paradise. Those who lived here were at peace with the world. Merely staying here for some time, it seemed, could make one forget about the troubles and conflicts of the outside world. If Ilanadale wasn’t so exclusionary, this would certainly be an ideal tourist destination.

However, it should be noted that people from Earth wouldn’t be able to vacation here. The air here is fresh, but the magical power is also very dense. The towering tree seems to have the ability to gather magical power. Tangmo could clearly feel that casting spells here would increase their strength by about ten percent. Because the magic power is too dense, even the rate at which magic is gathered could be significantly increased.

The Elf Race is naturally capable of coexisting with magic, and their magic resistance is generally below ten percent, while their affinity rating is as high as about eighty-five percent. That is to say, the excellent magic students the Northern Magic Academy is in desperate search for are practically everywhere here.

Although Nina has not shown her magic level, it can be clearly seen that her magic attainment is certainly not low. Keep in mind, though Tangmo is a magic prodigy, he has only been studying magic for over ten years. As for Nina, by human standards, she’s over two hundred years old, so her magic attainment must far surpass Tangmo’s.

Thinking about the fact that Luo’er’s mother is also highly skilled in magic, Tangmo could not help but have a newfound fondness for Nina. Sucking up to Nina would not only curry favor with Luo’er but also provide an opportunity to learn new knowledge about magic. Why not?

However, elf magic might slightly differ from human magic. The Elf Race regards magic as arcane, and treat it as a subject of study, unlike the humans who, for most part, use it as a tool.

There are not many lethal spells in the Elf Race, but their supportive spells are quite powerful. As magic is treated as a subject of study, they are more willing to explore the nature and principles of magic, rather than just use it as a tool.

Though there were many fallen leaves, the streets remained clean. The leaves were swept into heaps awaiting collection, to be used as fuel. The towering tree was similar to a banyan tree, with long vines hanging from the branches and wrapping around the stone buildings.

As they walked a little farther, they arrived at a place of worship: a pyramid, similar to those of the Mayans. A priest prayed at the top, while a group of people lay prostrate in prayer beneath it.

The political center of Divine Wood Town was located at the base of the giant tree. It took a while to reach there from the town gate. On the streets, they could see some tree seeds sprouting from the ground and growing into large trees, upon which the elves promptly built treehouses as residences. Of course, some treehouses were also used as watchtowers because of their high vantage point.

The entirety of Divine Wood Town had a strong air of petite bourgeoisie, serene and comfortable, devoid of the hustle and bustle of life. Cool river water flowed over the stony riverbed. The river water was clear enough to see the bottom, revealing only some rotting leaves, with no fish in sight.

The wood elves on the street were clad in simple and rustic flowing robes, but that did nothing to hide their exquisite faces. Were it not for their heads of light-colored hair, the people would feel as if they had stepped into the Jiangnan Water Township.

The beauty of the wood elves was well in line with the aesthetic tastes of the people of Earth, and also those of the Otherworld. Therefore, be it on Earth or in the Otherworld, wood elves were desirable but unattainable.

Night Elves were also beautiful, but they lacked the ethereal quality of the wood elves. Most of them didn’t have skin as fair as the wood elves. If wood elves were angels, then night elves would be fittingly regarded as enchantresses.

There were also snow elves, who lived deep in the extreme north of the continent, hence they did not interact much with other races. Snow Elves are a branch of the Wood Elves. Compared to the Wood Elves, the Snow Elves possess a superiority complex and a sense of lone haughtiness, lacking the approachability of the Wood Elves.

After walking through the inner city gate and along the street, the party finally arrived at the elite residential area of Divine Wood Town, a short distance beyond which lay the palace of Ilanadale.

By now, the queen was aware of Nina’s return and had sent a special envoy to greet her. Once everyone else was settled, Nina promptly left them and went to the palace to seek her mother’s help.

They were arranged to stay in a treehouse. The tree had several treehouses connected by walkways. However, it seemed more like they were being watched than accommodated. As soon as Nina left, a team of elf soldiers immediately surrounded the base of the tree, standing guard motionless.

Cheng Ziang noticed that the elf soldiers were mostly male, with females only accounting for about 20 percent, likely their elite royal guards. In their hands besides the common spears, short swords, and bows, they also held a kind of mechanical crossbow.

This mechanical crossbow had a rather complex design, resembling a repeating crossbow that could fire three bolts in a short time. As expected, the bolt heads were made of Kedal metal, capable of easily penetrating bulletproof vests like a child’s play.

So, in the face of these people, the advance team was very cautious. Despite their equipment being far more advanced than these elf soldiers’, the fact they could inflict damage onto the advance team deterred them from starting any conflict.

They were free to move around atop the treehouse, but were stopped by the elf soldiers any time they wanted to go down. The elf soldiers were never courteous towards foreigners. Should anything not go their way, they would draw their swords without giving a chance for a reasonable discussion.

Out of options, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke gave up on the idea of escaping, obediently returning to the treehouse to await Nina’s return.

Inside the treehouse, Tang Mo and Bai Yue stayed close by Luo’er’s side, cleaning the dirt off his body and moistening his lips regularly. After falling into suspended animation, Luo’er’s organ functions reduced to a minimum. Unlike vegetative humans on Earth who needed an intravenous drip for nutrition, Luo’er needed nothing except for being turned over from time to time to prevent blood stagnation.

"Oh my, this Divine Wood Town is cold and eerie, just like a ghost town, don’t you feel the same?" Hu Daoke rubbed his hands, stomping his feet while talking to Cheng Ziang.

"Indeed, it’s a bit cold. I guess it’s because of that tree." Cheng Ziang said, unable to resist looking up at it.

"Hey, I heard," Hu Daoke got closer and whispered, "that banyan trees gather the yin energy. Do you think this divine tree could be a banyan tree?"

"Stop talking nonsense, have faith in science. If those elves aren’t scared of living here, what’s there for you to worry about?" Cheng Ziang was dismissive.

"I always feel a bit creeped out," Hu Daoke shivered as he spoke.

"Isn’t that obvious, it’s winter, northern hemisphere winter. We have just moved south along the continent, not directly to the southern hemisphere." said Cheng Ziang.

After being scolded, Hu Daoke quieted down. After a while, he asked with a worried face, "Hey, do you think Aunt Nina can handle this? I always feel like she’s a bit of a failed princess, like nobody is taking her seriously."

"It’s common for people to feel a bit estranged after Aunt Nina’s been away for more than 30 years. She also mentioned she’s the queen’s only descendant, and unless something unexpected happens, she’s the only one to inherit the throne. Whether she, as the future queen, can persuade the present queen to save her son is the big question." Cheng Ziang also expressed his doubts about Nina’s abilities. After all, if she can easily persuade the queen, she would not have spent so many years with Luo’ya in the Ancient States.

Originally, Luo Chuan and Nina were supposed to meet in Ilanadale, but Nina chose not to return to Ilanadale because of Luo’ya. This clearly demonstrated her inability to persuade Ilanadale to accept Luo’ya and the later Luo’er. Although she was a princess of Ilanadale, she had to raise her own children, giving up the chance to return to Ilanadale.