Rushed Out Subconsciously

I am

Anders was about to respond, but upon seeing the curious looks of the elves around him, he abandoned the prepared set of words he had in mind.

Instead, he honestly stated, We are the vassals of a Count stationed at the Borderlands of the Holy Maniya Empire. This time, we were fortunate enough to be employed by Lord Black Dragon to help transport his livestock. We just didnt expect to encounter those mercenaries on our way back.

They found out about Lord Black Dragon and targeted him It really wasnt our idea!

Borderland Count?

Holy Maniya Empire?

The players exchanged puzzled looks.

However, the nearby Demacia player brightened up and quickly said, I knew this actually! I heard from the E

Cough, cough

Li Mu cleared his throat twice.

Demacia:

He refrained from using the term elves and chuckled, before continuing, I heard from an NPC who returned that its a human empire in the north, and the Borderland Counts domain is the closest human settlement to the Elven Forest.

I see!

A new map! This is definitely a future map!

Are we finally going to interact with the human faction!?

Excitement filled the players as they listened to Demacias explanation.

Anders, however, was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm showed by the elves around him.

Hmm?

They didnt know the empire?

The Holy Maniya Empire was the most powerful human nation on Saiges, and it is also where the headquarters of the Eternal Church is located. Its reputation stretched from the southern continent all the way to the far northern tundras, known mostly by all inhabitants living within this continent.

How could these elves not heard of it?

Not to mention that Holy Maniya Empire was the biggest proprietor of elven slaves!

While Anders felt puzzled, Li Mu asked another question,

How far is the Borderland Counts domain from here?

Anders reluctantly replied, Follow this road and head northeast for over fifty kilometers, and youll reach the empires border. If youre aiming for the nearest human city, then you might need to cover several tens of kilometers more.

Li Mu, upon hearing Anders words, checked the systems minimap.

If what the other party said is true, then the Borderland Counts domain is probably about four hundred kilometers away from the center of the map, and even the Black Dragon Castle, stationed on the edge of the elven territory, is still likely more than a hundred kilometers away!

That was nearly a hundred kilometers beyond the maps current maximum range of activity

Seeing this seemingly leader of the Elves fall into silence, Anders grew more anxious.

He cautiously asked, U-Um Lord Mu, do you have any more questions? If not, can you finally let us go? Were just some poor townsfolk.

Yet Li Mu remained silent, just standing there, pondering something to himself.

Anders became even more fearful.

After some thought, the butler said again, A-Are you worried that well reveal what happened here when we return? You can trust us! Well keep our mouths shut. If you dont believe us, then we can even swear upon the gods we believe in!

Just as Anders was feeling anxious, Li Mu asked another question.

How strong is the Borderland Count?

The Counts strength?

Anders was slightly taken aback.

Then, when he saw the expectant eyes of the elves around him, he suddenly felt a sinking feeling

Wait

These elves

They couldnt be planning to target the Counts domain, could they!?

Anders face turned ashen pale in an instant.

Thinking back to what the elves had done to the mercenaries earlier, it was entirely possible!

However, facing a life-or-death situation, Anders hesitated for a moment before responding with honesty,

The Count holds the esteemed title of a Golden-ranked Paladin and is among the seven princes of the Empire. His strength is formidable Furthermore, the Count commands his own Order of Knights, boasting a hundred knights who all hold the rank of Silver

These were actually not some classified secrets and just about everyone living within the Borderlands knows about this fact.

At leastanyone wouldnt have much difficulty finding out about this if someone wanted to inquire about it.

So, Anders gave a straightforward answer.

But the elves reaction was somewhat unexpected.

Well fuck!

Damn!!

Yeah well, we still cant mess with that

Golden rank? and over one hundred Silver knights? Isnt that too overpowered?

Huh?

Could it be these elves werent as powerful as he initially thought?

Anders felt a twinge of relief.

However, before he could entertain any further thoughts, the words of the elves that followed sent shivers down his spine.

Shouldnt we just kill these people? It wouldnt be good to attract retaliation, you know

Anders:

N-No! We promise not to say anything! I impore you, please spare us! We promise!

His heart sank.

But Li Mu simply waved his hand and said, Release them, let them go.

The rest of the players hesitated.

Seeing their reluctance, Li Mu quickly explained via the party chat,

This Counts domain is outside of the map, and since these human NPCs are from there, releasing them might actually trigger some potential storyline developments in the future, or even unlock a new playable map!

Killing them here would only yield a few hundred experience points, and keeping them captive serves no purpose. Its a waste of resources. Frankly I think its better to just let them all go.

As for the possibility of human retaliation wouldnt that outcome be even better for us? It would give us chance to gain EXP and equipment! Plus, If theres an enemy we cant handle, then we have a Godwarden and the Goddess herself to back us up!

Upon reading Li Mus explanation, the players were taken aback.

Right

That makes sense.

If they can win, then the players will handle it themselves.

But if they cant, then theyll just seek the Goddesss help!

After all, with the Goddess supporting them, she wouldnt permit anyone to seize their factions territory, wouldnt she?

Thinking of this, the rest of the players no longer opposed the idea of releasing these human NPCs.

Over the past few months playing the game, Li Mu had made almost no mistakes in predicting the NPCs behavior and story developments, which solidified his position as the leading figure in this field.

In this regard, no ones judgment was more convincing than his.

Following their discussion, the players finally released the dozen or so ordinary humans, much to their relief.

Go! Get out of here!

Anders was overjoyed, feeling as if he were a convict on the guillotine who had miraculously received a royal pardon at the very last moment. He hurriedly led his subordinates away, as if afraid the elves might suddenly change their minds.

Having let the humans go, the players continued to clean up the battlefield, even starting to draw an offering circle to offer to the Goddess some of the salvaged equipment they had found.

The Borderland Count?

Ev watched as Anders and the others fled in haste from the perspective of the players.

This time, Ev didnt seized the opportunity to steer the plot towards future map expansion, nor issue any new quests regarding the humans.

Since the players still need to deal with the impending religious war against the Orcs, expanding the playable map into human territory would be a distraction and should be temporarily put on hold for the time being.

After all, once they made contact with humans, it meant becoming entangled with more powerful divine forces. Considering the current strength of the players, Ev didnt believe they could contend with the human faction, which was significantly stronger than the Orcs.

Furthermore the deities that humanity worshiped are the most formidable enemies of the former World Tree!

Currently, Ev still wasnt prepared to confront them directly nor send any of her incarnations right into the territory controlled by the Gods of mankind

But of course, just as Li Mu had mentioned, if the humans were to indeed send an army to attack the Black Dragon and the elves, then Ev wouldnt be afraid to defend her territory.

In fact, she would even welcome it.

After all, Ev had not yet revealed herself to the general public, and if some impudent humans dared to come to her territory to defeat the Black Dragon and the elves, it was likely they had been lured by the treasures of the Black Dragon and the temptation of capturing the elves.

Small-scale incidents like this didnt necessarily indicate a full-blown war between the Elves and human factions.

Unlike taking the initiative to attack, Ev had no fear in a defensive battle right on her own territory.

If the players still couldnt handle it, then they could be lured into Eves Celestial domain, where any enemies without full divinity could be easily wiped out

So, Ev had no objections to letting these humans go.

While the majority of players were currently busy cleaning up the battlefield, Meryer on the other hand, decided to flew back to his Castle.

And as soon as he returned to his castle, he immediately saw Little Salty Cat, coming out from the teleportation circle after being resurrected.

Of course, by now, Little Salty Cat was no longer decked out in her usual golden gear but had transformed into an intermediate purple epic-class mage robe she used to wore beforehand.

Seeing the Black Dragon who just returned, Little Salty Cat smiled to him and said, Oh! Youre back so soon?

Meryer didnt say anything.

Instead, he simply widened his eyes and stared at her intently, motionless.

Little Salty Cat:

This made the pink-haired mage feel rather uneasy.

W-Whats wrong?

Nothing.

Meryer muttered and turned his head away, seemingly disinterested.

After hesitating for a moment, Meryer glanced at Little Salty once more and in a seemingly casual tone, he asked,

Your resurrection didnt have any side effects, did it?

Of course not! Were the Chosen Ones of the Goddess. I mean, just look at me! Im in great shape!

Little Salty Cat gracefully turned her body around on the spot before flashing a faint smile.

Subtly, she noticed that Meryer seemed to finally relax a bit.

Then, the Black Dragon reached into his body and pulled out a pile of golden legendary equipment, before tossing it to the elven girl.

Here, your equipment. I brought it back for you.

Salty Cats eyes immediately lit up, and she eagerly took the gear, while saying,

Wow! Thanks! Hehe, it seems that the days Ive spent raising you werent in vain!

Meryer:

Too bad it got stained with bloodNow Ill have to clean it first.

Holding the golden legendary mage robe that Meryer had brought back, Little Salty sighed with a hint of regret.

Then, she looked at the Black Dragon and impishly squinted her eyes before asking in a playful tone,

By the way I remember just before I died, I vaguely saw you charging over angrilyWas it because of me?

Meryer:

He turned his head away stiffly and said,

Hmph! How could I, the noble Meryer get angry over such a trivial matter? This lord knew you would resurrect! Youre just one of my servants! I only did it for the barbecue.

I seewell dont worry, therell definitely be lots of barbecue for you later on the party! I know youve worked hard this time!

Little Salty Cat laughed while comforting Meryer.

However, upon hearing her words, Meryers expression grew somewhat gloomy.

After a moment of silence, Meryer spoke in a low, muffled voice that startled Little Salty Cat.

Actually, it wasnt just for the barbecue alone. I knew you would come back to life, but for some reason, I couldnt stop myself from charging out subconsciously when I saw you get killed earlier