Chapter 1449: Self-Importance, or Hidden Secrets

At this time, the Northland had long since entered the late autumn season; on the vast Langas Plain, apart from a few evergreen plants, everything else was withered and yellow.

The area around this patch of open ground that Xia Duo had detected also had sparse, withered yellow wild grass, yet this small patch of open ground, less than two meters in diameter, revealed faint traces of green.

It seemed as though some wild grass was still struggling to hold onto the last bit of summer heat, refusing to let itself enter the golden autumn mode; if a large area were like this, it wouldn't be anything worth noting.

After all, even evergreen plants could exist, so why not some late-withering wild grass!

But here, in a clearly withered and yellow expanse, only a small circular patch of open ground had faint traces of green; even without the indication of a Scrying Spell, if Xia Duo were to see this directly, he would also think there was an anomaly here.

As for what kind of anomaly, Xia Duo barely needed to think before he considered the most likely situation—

An Elf had been here!

As a human who had used Projection on Elves many times and had a profound understanding of them, Xia Duo was very clear about certain characteristics of Elves.

For example, when they were in their own country, most Elves generally would not be too pretentious, but once they were outside, facing so-called "inferior races," they would immediately display a manner different from that of common beings, being self-important.

Among these, the one most known to the Netherese is, "Elves only eat freshly grown fruit," because when they are out and about, in front of humans, how could they possibly act the same as humans?

When Xia Duo first transmigrated, he had seen with his own eyes several Elves go to Lao Nier's inn to buy food; the first step they took after entering the door was to cast a large-area cleaning spell.

So, in the case of the Green Vine Tribe, it was not incomprehensible for an Elf, because they were in a scene where all things were withering, to deliberately reflect a bit of vitality under their feet.

As for why an Elf would appear on the territory of the Langasi, Xia Duo actually did not find this very strange.

In fact, almost all the large Langasi tribes had come into contact with Elves to some extent, because there were also Orcs on the Langas Plain, and every few years, a large number of Orcs would rush out from the western mountains.

That is, the Orc Tide.

If there were no Elves—primarily Eaerlann—supporting them from behind, the Langas Plain might have long since been occupied by Orcs.

In any case, Xia Duo was clear on one point: if there were no special circumstances, it was unlikely that the Netherese would take the initiative to rescue this place.

In the past, when Netheril and Eaerlann had a close relationship, they had once, at the invitation of Eaerlann, reinforced Langas together.

And the establishment of one of the most important strongholds of Netheril in the northern part of the Langas Plain—Zhenisi—was also related to this.

In short, it was not a rare thing for an Elf to appear in a Langas tribe, but at this critical node, having an Elf appear in the Green Vine Tribe could not help but make Xia Duo make associations.

Autumn had already arrived; if there were an Orc Tide this year, there should have been signs long ago, but Xia Duo had not heard anything related to this from Maka, the Patriarch of the Grey Eagle Tribe.

The Grey Eagle Tribe itself had not made any preparations related to an Orc Tide, which could only mean one thing: the Elf had come for something other than an Orc Tide.

Perhaps it was a bit far-fetched, but apart from targeting himself, Xia Duo could not think of any other possibility.

It couldn't be that the Elf went to the Green Vine Tribe to visit relatives, could it?

It was just, why would an Elf target him?

Xia Duo could basically confirm that the Elf should be an Eaerlann Elf, but he had no past grievances or present hatred with Eaerlann; to target him like this, unless some of his actions had touched the other party's sensitive nerves.

"Could it be because of the Grey Eagle Tribe?"

Xia Duo felt that he was getting closer and closer to the truth, but there was always a doubt in his heart: why did the Elves value the Langasi so much, or rather, why did they value the Grey Eagle Tribe so much?

Before, when he was gathering the Kewu Tribe, he didn't see those large tribes have any reaction; or was it that only when it involved large tribes would there be a reaction?

But that didn't make sense either; there were so many Langasi, losing a few large tribes didn't count for much, and even if Eaerlann needed the Langasi to share the pressure of the Orc Tide, there was no need to do this.

In fact, for Eaerlann, the Orc Tide was not a fatal crisis; it could only be considered a minor irritation, and even if Eaerlann had to deal with it all by themselves, it would not be a difficult task.

Xia Duo thought about it over and over, but he could not think of the reason why the Elves valued the Langasi.

But his Portal was already half-built, and the Grey Eagle Tribe could already be considered food in his mouth; was he supposed to spit it out?

If he let go in this situation, I am afraid the reputation of Daxia Territory on the Langas Plain would be swept away, and no other large tribe would ever want to lean toward his side again.

Especially if the Grey Eagle Tribe were to be destroyed because of this.

After thinking it over, Xia Duo still decided to make a trip to the Green Vine Tribe; on one hand, to observe the current situation of the Green Vine Tribe at close range, and on the other hand, to find the Elf behind them.

Of course, Xia Duo could also just sneakily bring the people of the Grey Eagle Tribe back, but from now on, as long as he wanted to continue recruiting people on the Langas Plain, he would still have to face today's scene.

The Elf could let him get away with it once, but could he get away with it every time? It might end up being a case of "stealing a chicken only to lose the rice"!

Instead of dragging the problem to the end, where it would only get worse, it was better to solve it in advance, and solve it openly and honestly!

Thus, early the next morning, Xia Duo called Maka and returned to the Grey Eagle Tribe together.

……

The Ancestral Spirit Hall, in front of the altar.

A dozen or so Hunting Leaders and Warrior Leaders of the Grey Eagle Tribe were whispering to each other with worried expressions—

"What do you think the Patriarch has to announce that is so important, more important than dealing with the siege of several large tribes, that he had to call us to the Ancestral Spirit Hall at such a tense time?"

"Yesterday, the Patriarch prayed to the Ancestral Spirit for a whole day; perhaps he got some result!"

"What result could there be? We have an Ancestral Spirit, and those few large tribes also have Ancestral Spirits, sigh!"

"Perhaps it's related to that Netheril Lord from yesterday; the Patriarch's attitude toward those Netherese Merchants before was very unusual. Could it really be like what those people said, that the Patriarch is going to take us to defect to the Netherese?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Ancestral Spirit Hall instantly became quiet, and for a long time, no one spoke.

Discussing this topic in the Ancestral Spirit Hall was somewhat sensitive; some people even nervously looked at the top of the hall, as if there were a pair of eyes staring at them at any moment.

Before long, a group of Shamans wearing feather ornaments, draped in beast robes, and holding Bone Staves walked in silently from outside; the arrival of these people made the atmosphere in the already very quiet hall even more heavy.

Subsequently, the Great Shaman and the Patriarch also walked in; the arrival of these two did ease the atmosphere a bit, but when Xia Duo's figure also appeared at the entrance of the hall, the atmosphere in the hall stiffened once again.