“What is that? A humanoid?”
The appearance was indeed human-like, but it moved too quickly for Xia Jin to get a clear look.
“We could try sending two zerglings to investigate,” Brain Bug No. 1 suggested.
“Fine.”
The zergling with an arrow through its head and the one that had recovered from the poison began sprinting deeper into the Glowing Forest.
The vast jungle was illuminated by a faint orange light, making it look exceptionally enchanting.
Their movements weren't loud, but in the quiet of the night, they still produced a distinct rustling sound.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, another slender arrow descended from above, opening a second hole in the head of the already injured zergling.
This time, the shared vision captured the archer. It was definitely a humanoid figure.
The graceful, curvy silhouette flickering in the moonlight immediately convinced Xia Jin that this was a woman.
“No, not necessarily... she could be a cross-dresser for all I know.”
Thinking of certain things from her past life, she couldn't help but mutter a sarcastic remark.
The two zerglings continued their mad dash, chasing the figure through the trees.
Arrows fell continuously, striking their bodies with precision. The two strange humanoids were likely wondering why the monsters on the ground refused to die no matter how many times they were hit.
After being struck by about five consecutive arrows, one zergling finally lost its combat effectiveness and collapsed to the ground.
But by then, the distance between them had closed significantly.
The remaining zergling suddenly lunged, grabbing a nearby trunk and leaping upward. In just two seconds, it had climbed to the top of a tree over twenty meters high.
Bathed in the silvery moonlight filtering through the leaves, it finally saw what one of the figures looked like.
It was a woman with long, emerald-green hair.
Long, pointed ears, skin as white as snow... and a figure that was impossibly perfect.
Even by Xia Jin's standards, her appearance was breathtaking.
“What is this... an elf?”
A beautiful woman with long ears—the only thing she could think of was the elven race.
Moreover, this elf didn't look like the strange, differently-colored versions from Western media; she was beautiful to the extreme. Few humans could ever hope to match such looks.
The zergling attempted to leap to another tree, but the elf on the other side raised a silver recurve bow and released a streak of blue light that struck the creature's body.
With a thunderous boom, the Tier 3 insect was sent hurtling toward the ground.
A one-shot kill!
The two elves landed lightly on a branch, looking down from their high vantage point.
Through the zergling's final lingering vision, Xia Jin saw this scene before the connection went dark.
She hopped out of the carriage and walked over to where Ellie was resting.
Hearing the noise, the young knight, who hadn't yet fallen into a deep sleep, opened her eyes. Seeing the princess, she immediately stood up. “Your Highness.”
“Let me ask you something. Is a beautiful creature with pointed ears and green hair an elf?”
“Eh?”
Ellie blinked, her eyes suddenly lighting up. “Did Your Highness encounter an elf?”
“The insects did. The weapons they use are bows and arrows, and they’re very powerful.”
“Then it must be an elf. Among the known pointed-eared creatures that use bows and possess such beauty, it has to be that race. Rumor has it they’ve always lived deep within the Border Forest, but I didn't expect you to actually find them.”
“So that's how it is?”
Xia Jin recalled the brief encounter.
They were very strong.
That final blow, in particular, definitely had the power of Tier 4.
And she couldn't rule out the possibility that they were even higher ranked.
In the princess's memories, elves were a classic superior race with average strength far exceeding that of humans.
Of course, in terms of total powerhouses, humanity far surpassed them—mostly because humans were so numerous, while elves were quite rare.
“Encountering such creatures to the west means exploration is blocked for now.”
She ordered the swarm to retreat and sent the newly evolved hydralisks to the front to establish a defensive line.
One hundred should be enough.
“For the time being, we’ll explore toward the north.”
Although the north led deeper into the forest, the area was so vast that the outer perimeter alone stretched over 2,000 kilometers. They wouldn't encounter major resistance that quickly.
Still, Xia Jin had to be careful and take a steady approach. If she just mindlessly pushed forward, she might run into something she couldn't handle.
The two thousand insects immediately changed direction and began their advance toward the depths of the forest.
...
The Glowing Forest.
After leaping through the trees for over fifty kilometers, the two green-haired elves landed softly on the ground.
Before them stood a cluster of exquisite plant-based huts.
“Vigaya, weren't you out on patrol? Why have you returned so suddenly?”
A blonde woman sitting in one of the huts sensed their approach and opened her eyes.
“We encountered a group of unknown magic beasts.”
Vigaya reported the details of the encounter.
“Are you sure they are creatures that don't belong in the outskirts?” the blonde elf asked uneasily.
“Yes. They felt completely insane, refusing to stop their attack even when heavily wounded. I've never seen such a brutal creature. Any other magic beast would have at least flinched from the pain.”
“I see. Notify the other elves and tell them to limit their outings. Especially the young elves. Our race's living space is already small enough. From humans to goblins, everyone is plotting against us. We must teach them a lesson.”
“Understood!”
The two elves took their leave.
A short while later, agile figures began moving throughout this part of the forest.
...
After shifting her offensive focus to the north, Xia Jin's attention didn't entirely leave the elves.
In many stories, they were a race with a small population.
They had long lifespans and terrifying magical prowess.
And their beautiful appearance gave her a slight favorable impression of them.
After all, who doesn't like a pretty girl?
Rate on N.U.
