Chapter 693: Blood Elf Secret Land

"Everyone, come over; no need to search."

Reslin sent a magical transmission to his teammates, calling everyone to gather.

"There's still half the area left; why stop searching?" Beilake, who was getting into the search, found several interesting items in the ruins, unrelated to the clues about the Naxas Fu Kong Cheng, but worth a good amount, earning a small fortune.

"We have a new target."

Reslin spoke to everyone with his back to the blood elves, but did not reveal the presence of the blood elf assassin, lest anyone react oddly and be noticed by the enemy.

He spoke while casting a group teleportation spell, departing under the blood elves' watch.

A few seconds later, the teleportation ended.

The teammates discovered that this teleport covered a very short distance, less than a li from the huge pit, merely changing direction, and they happened to be blocked by a broken wall.

Moreover, when Reslin said he had found a new target, everyone immediately caught on.

"Someone's spying on us?" Axi Na asked.

"A blood elf assassin," Reslin nodded. "She likely has no ill intent, just drawn by our activity. Her condition is fine, no signs of combat, and her weapons are clean, indicating she just left a camp or some outpost nearby. If we follow her to the blood elf camp, we might learn about the Fu Kong Cheng."

As they spoke, the All-Seeing Eye looked through the wall, seeing the blood elf pause for a few seconds before maintaining stealth and swiftly moving away.

Yizite's eyes glowed with a faint green light as he stuck his head out from the corner, looking in the direction of Reslin's gaze.

The Demonic Hunter's eyesight was extremely sharp; with a single glance, he spotted the blood elf.

And she was that far!

The dark elf was surprised.

He had previously wondered why he hadn't detected the stealthy assassin while Reslin had, only then realizing the blood elf was over a kilometer away.

At such a distance and in stealth, even a Saint Rank master would find it hard to notice.

Yizite glanced quickly twice; Reslin's observation of the blood elf was meticulous, and his own judgment matched it—this blood elf must have a camp nearby.

"She is leaving," the Demonic Hunter whispered.

Axi Na and Beilake also saw the blood elf assassin; one possessed the Thunder Eagle Eye, the other the True Eye, and their vision was no less than Yizite's.

Only Dao En Sosi saw nothing, a helpless expression on his face.

The blood elf was unaware that several legends and Saint Rank individuals were watching her every move; she was a high‑level assassin, moving swiftly in stealth, her steps light, trying to make no sound.

She did not take the shortest route, occasionally looping around or pausing in a corner, carefully avoiding areas where undead lay in ambush.

Clearly, the blood elf was very familiar with these ruins.

This made Reslin and the others even more certain that her camp was nearby, allowing her to operate in the Aibolaken region for a long time.

Every few minutes, Reslin teleported again to keep up.

Heading westward.

After more than half an hour, the blood elf assassin emerged from the ruins and reached the western riverbank of Shield Island. She revealed herself from stealth and leapt into the river without hesitation, light as a swallow, moving swiftly; she sprinted across the water's surface in under ten seconds, reached the opposite bank, and slipped back into stealth.

Opposite the western shore of Shield Island lay Aibolaken, the main city district of the splendid elf metropolis.

However, that was over three thousand years ago.

Today, Aibolaken is covered by a withered, twisted black forest, with hardly any trace of civilization; only by parting the vines and weeds beneath the trees can one find scattered architectural remnants.

The blood elf assassin entered the dark forest and vanished within.

Reslin and four others continued the pursuit for over ten li, reaching the central area of the Aibolaken peninsula, which was likewise forest and scrub, appearing unremarkable.

The blood elf lingered beneath a tree.

The base of the tree was entwined with a mass of thorny vines, forming natural cover; she cautiously circled the area twice before quietly approaching.

The vines writhed like living things, instantly yielding a narrow passage.

The blood elf swiftly passed through the passage; on the massive trunk appeared a faint silver‑glimmered magical gate, and she stepped straight in, as if passing through a veil, vanishing completely.

The magical gate immediately concealed itself, and the vines rejoined.

The entire process took less than three seconds, and the magical fluctuation was extremely subtle; without seeing it firsthand, one would find it hard to trace the blood elf.

This scene was observed crystal‑clear by Reslin and the four others, who were concealed on a tree hundreds of meters away.

Within the Invisibility Field.

Beilake's eyes brightened slightly as he whispered, "This magical gate must lead underground! I've been to Aibolaken twice before, and many adventurers have come, all trying to excavate the buried elf city, but never finding an entrance—so it's hidden here."

As the Elf Empire's economic hub on the New Continent, dubbed the "capital of the Empire," Aibolaken possessed countless riches, sinking underground during the Great Earthquake and drawing countless adventurers to explore.

Yet to this day, no one has uncovered Aibolaken's underground city.

Yizite mused, "This must be a magical gate built by the blood elves; I wonder how long they've known about Aibolaken's underground city?"

"At least a hundred years," Reslin said, glancing at the tree and making a judgment.

"That long!"

Beilake was greatly disappointed; a hundred plus years gave the blood elves ample time to explore Aibolaken's underground city countless times, scooping away most of its treasure.

Unless the blood elves only uncovered a portion of the underground ruins.

Axi Na examined the area beneath the tree carefully, vaguely discerning some clues. "This entrance has a caster‑set, highly sophisticated hidden formation that silently monitors anyone approaching the magical gate and can issue an alarm; there may be blood elf guards behind the gate. Should we go in?"

"Of course we should go in," Beilake immediately replied, his interest in the underground city obvious.

To be precise, he was interested in the treasure within the underground city.

Reslin shook his head, "Not yet; let's wait a bit and see the situation."

He had assumed it was merely a camp, but now it seemed far more than that; the underground likely concealed an important blood elf stronghold. Blood elves branched from the higher elves, their racial talents far surpassing humans; even though few remain on the New Continent and they rarely interact with humans, they are an undeniable powerful force, not to be provoked without cause.

This magical gate will probably see other blood elves coming and going; by observing them we can roughly gauge the blood elves' power underground.

Yizite also agreed with Reslin's view.

The five of them were either standing or sitting on the tree, with Reslin maintaining the Invisibility Field, waiting patiently.

Sure enough, after a little over two hours there was movement.

A blood elf squad entered the forest and approached the tree bearing the magical gate. From the class composition, this is a hunting team, centered on three bow‑backed sword‑wielding rangers, plus an assassin, a mage, a breaker, and two professions that Reslin couldn't immediately identify.

These two blood elves are not as slender as their kin; they are strong and muscular, wearing exquisite dark‑red armor, wielding two‑handed swords, clearly power‑type melee combatants.

Reslin was surprised.

The blood‑elf race's innate talent suits agile classes and spellcasters; they are fast and highly intelligent, but their strength is mediocre, and powerful warriors are rare.

He observed the two blood elves with his Soul Eye and was instantly even more astonished.

"Holy Light Power?"

Can blood elves also wield Holy Light Power?

Could they have converted to the Sun God? The eastern coast of the New Continent is so far from the Sun‑god‑ruled Lamon Empire that the two have nothing to do with each other.

Reslin racked his brain without finding an answer, then noticed a difference.

The Holy Light power within the two blood elves differs from that of Sun Knights and from the Minotaur Sun‑walker; the blood elves' Holy Light lacks any warmth, feeling rather cold, as if its nature has been altered—possessing a Holy‑like potency but with flaws.

In the depths of their eyes a thread of Holy Light shines, but its hue is off—crimson light like fresh blood.

The Soul Eye also saw the two blood elves' emotions unstable, as if long‑term mental torment makes their spirits flare and become uncontrollable.

This must be a twisted form of Holy Light power.

"Blood‑colored Holy Light?"

Reslin couldn't help glancing at the Holy Spear Ranger beside him.

For followers of the Sun God, blood elves not only meddle with the Sun God's supreme authority but also twist Holy Light power; this is an unforgivable desecration!

Beilake remained unmoved; evidently, he had not realized that the two blood elves wielded Holy Light power.

The blood elves bore marks of fierce combat, as if they had been away for a long time. Like the earlier female assassin, they used a magic talisman to become invisible far from the entrance, erased their footprints, and cautiously approached the tree, passed through the vine passage, and entered the magic gate.

Reslin and the others hid in the tree for a day and a night.

During that time, four waves of blood elves entered the magic gate, including a Legendary High‑rank ranger, but oddly the blood elves only went in and never came out.

"This should be just an entrance."

Yizite whispered, "They have another exit, or they teleport out directly from the dungeon."

Everyone nodded slightly; a hidden stronghold cannot have only one entrance, and adding several exits reduces the risk of being discovered.

Reslin, by observing the blood elves, roughly gauged their overall strength.

The dungeon certainly contains legends, but not many; as long as there are fewer than ten, they pose no threat to him and his teammates.

Even a Saint Rank powerhouse, with him and Yizite present, would not be a big problem.

"We're ready to go in," Reslin said.

Beilake paused, then asked, "How do we get in?"

"Naturally, a bright and honorable visit," Reslin smiled. The All‑Seeing Eye had already seen through the rune formation around the tree trunk; behind the magic gate a few blood elves were guarding, the threat was minor, so they could simply appear.

He teleported his teammates to the ground, deactivated the Invisibility Field, and walked toward the great tree enshrouded by vines and thorns.

After only a few steps, the group sensed a faint magical ripple.

The rune formation's alarm was triggered.

Yet the magic gate on the trunk remained still; a few seconds later, Reslin sensed pairs of eyes watching him and his teammates from the shadows.

There was also a Legendary mage casting a spell, observing the area across the void.

He looked upward toward a direction, met the Legendary mage's gaze, and a friendly smile appeared on his face.

Soon, the group walked to the outer vines, looking at the trunk.

"Humans, halt!"

A clear voice rang around, followed by ripples in the void as figures teleported outward; a dozen blood elves surrounded the area. They possessed at least Mid‑stage strength; the rangers' bows aimed at targets, the assassin slipped into shadows, and the warrior wielding blood‑colored Holy Light raised his two‑handed sword, standing in front of his kin.

Leading them was a male blood elf with silver hair.

His appearance was strikingly handsome; he wore an ornate dark‑purple magical robe, his slender white eyebrows flared outward, adding a breezy elegance. His eyes contained Arcane light. He courteously saluted Reslin and the others, speaking in a unique elven tongue: "Baladash, Maranore."

Reslin knew it was blood‑elf language; he could only understand a few simple words.

The phrase meant "Greetings, traveler."

"Honored mage," Reslin said, opening his phone's translation dictionary, and replied in blood‑elf tongue: "I am Reslin, a wizard from Weizelan; they are all my friends. We mean no harm, merely seeking information."

As he spoke, he displayed the Weizelan badge.

"Weizelan Wizards?"

The blood‑elf mage's eyebrows rose, his eyes unable to hide surprise. He scanned Reslin's party, silently cast a True‑Knowledge technique on himself, and was then startled.

These humans are all Legendary High‑rank!

The most terrifying was the one exuding an evil aura, Zuo Er, apparently a Demonic Hunter, yet Reslin had never seen such a powerful Demonic Hunter; the demonic energy was as vast as an ocean, making it seem as if before him stood not Zuo Er but a Demon Lord.

Saint Rank Demonic Hunter!

The blood‑elf mage's spirit trembled, and he almost turned to flee.

He was only a Mid‑stage Legendary mage, just reached level fourteen; even against a Saint Rank powerhouse, let alone any of these humans, his strength was far inferior.

Fortunately, these people seemed, as they claimed, harmless.

Otherwise, neither he nor his kin would stand a chance of survival.

The surrounding blood elves also realized how terrifyingly strong these people were; their limbs trembled, the elven pride on their faces turned to fear, and several quietly retreated, trying to keep a greater distance.

"Esteemed guests, I am Oukule, chief Transmitter of the Santara residence," the blood‑elf mage introduced himself nervously in imperfect Imperial language, fully aware that his and his kin's dungeon could not be concealed from these strong ones and was likely already exposed.

Yet he did not proactively invite Reslin and his party inside, instead asking cautiously, "May I ask, Lord Reslin, what information you wish to inquire about?"

"Clues about the New Village Fu Kong Cheng," Reslin replied bluntly.

Oukule's expression shifted subtly at that.

"Is there a problem?" Reslin sensed his emotional fluctuation; when he mentioned being from Weizelan, the other seemed a bit off.

The blood‑elf mage paused a few breaths, then replied, "Please wait, I need to report to Countess Lifulin."

The day–night cycle is reversed—damn it!

(End of chapter)