The rest of the group stayed alert as well. Due to the members being used to walking on the road, no one complained about walking in the valley. Everyone was checking the surroundings. No one seemed to be tired from doing so. If typical noble children had joined missions like this, they wouldn't have been able to handle it.
Clouds had completely filled the sky, and suddenly, the sound of thunder crackled. Khedira, who was leading the group, looked above.
"It's going to rain. We're very close to our destination. Stay alert, everyone," he spoke after he turned his head around.
"You two, please scout the surroundings. I'll track the murderer using my spell," Khedira said as he turned to the two wizards.
"Don't worry. You gave us the two items we wanted. We'll serve you well," the one in a black robe laughingly said. The white-robed wizard nodded his head but didn't say anything.
After walking for a while, they reached a pit. Its depth was about half a meter and looked like a huge bowl; its surface actually looked very smooth.
"We're here!" Khedira raised his hand, signaling the group to cease advancing.
"Get in your positions and stay alert. Make sure no one touches Khedira!" the black-robed man yelled. The apprentices nodded in response before they formed an encircling formation with the three wizards in the center.
Angele was standing inside the encirclement, holding his longbow. He utilized the sensory function of the chip to survey the area. He took a glance at Khedira. Khedira was holding his staff over his head and stood in the middle of the pit. Angele could see tiny tornados appearing under his feet, these wind gradually increasing in strength. The tornados ran into each other and surrounded Khedira. The grasses being uprooted and the branches being dragged from the ground began flying into the air. The sound of the wind howling gradually became louder as everything around was being drawn toward Khedira.
This strange scene lasted more than 10 seconds before the gray tornados started weakening. Finally, Angele could once again see Khedira, who still held his staff over his head but had an exhausted demeanor.
"You can't escape from me!" Khedira yelled with a cruel expression showing on his face.
"Everyone, there's a tunnel on our left side. Our friends are hiding in there. Let's welcome these f*ckers…" he continued.
From a tree close to the pit, a white-feathered arrow whistled toward Khedira after he finished speaking. A green silhouette jumped off the tree and ran into the forest after shooting the arrow. Before it could even reach Khedira's eye, the arrow ceased its movement in midair. An invisible barrier was protecting him.
"Come at me! You sons of bitches!" Khedira yelled with a frightening expression.
"Everyone, there are 18 males, 5 females, and 8 kids. Those disgusting green f*ckers. I'll put their souls on the colorless crosses. Kill all adults and do whatever you want to the kids! It's fine if you want yourselves some elf slaves," he continued.
Khedira grasped the arrow in the air and broke it into pieces. Angele saw a shining ring on Khedira's finger.
"Elves? Don't tell me they're wood elves," Andre, who was standing beside Angele, said.
"They're wood elves. Otherwise, they wouldn't murder Asan. Races other than them don't have the guts to do something like this," Griffia spoke in a low voice. They talked while following the wizards from behind, quickly walking toward the tunnel. They wouldn't bother too much with an average archer, but if the archer had superb skills, they would instantly change targets to the archer.
"Colorless crosses? Damn, that'll make their souls suffer. The stronger their faith, the more they'll suffer. Master Khedira is completely enraged right now," one of the male wizard apprentices murmured.
"There are elves living here?" Angele asked.
"In my country, they only exist in tales," he added.
"Really? Although there aren't many elves around, we catch several ones every year. I hope I can obtain some today. Elf slaves can be sold for a significant sum," Marylin excitedly said as she tightly gripped her wand. Others also had excited expressions. Angele made a conjecture about the wood elves having more worth than he had previously thought.
The group quickly discovered the entrance to the tunnel. It was covered with some branches and dried grasses. Khedira stood by the entrance and glanced at the white-robed wizard beside him. As if they already had something planned, the wizard nodded his head and stepped forward. He raised his hand and pointed toward the dark cave as he started to cast a spell.
Angele scrunched his eyebrows. He had never heard languages such as this. Only several languages could be used to cast spells, and Angele only knew two of the most common: Anmag and Advanced Elf Language. The wizard's incantations echoed in the valley. Fog began flowing out of his hand, spreading deep into the cave.
Khedira didn't merely stay there and watch, he was whispering something to the pigeon on his shoulder. After touching the feather of the pigeon, it flew into the darkness.
"Found them. They only have one knight and an enchanted item. They haven't eaten for days," Khedira said and laughed after.
"The Sleeping Fog will make those wood elves fall into slumber quickly. This seems like an easy mission to me," the white-robed wizard said in a ridiculing tone.
"True. The only thing we…" The black-robed wizard looked relieved as well.
PONG!
Suddenly, the white wizard's head splattered into pieces like a watermelon and blood spilled everywhere. Everyone became stunned at that scene. After wiping off the blood on his face with his hands, Khedira still hadn't figured out what had happened. Then, a strange voice casting a spell resounded from nowhere.
"Kano! How dare you! You killed Kano!" The black-robed wizard finally realized what happened, which caused his eyes to be filled with anger. He patted his chest with his head, white light began coming out of his eyes.
"Calm down! It's an illusion!" Khedira struck the ground with his staff and cast a spell. Gray waves appeared under his feet and spread out, billowing across everyone. Angele, who stood in the middle of the formation, felt dizzy when the waves passed him. The scene ahead of them changed after they became clear-headed.
Not too far away, he saw the white-robed wizard who had had his back against the wall and been surrounded by a white barrier. A tiny, green girl who had wings similar to a fly's was in the air flying around him, slapping the barrier several with her claws and laughing with a high-pitched voice.
The girl was the size of a human head and wasn't wearing any clothes. She looked exactly like a human being but had a dark green skin. Her short hair was also green. Green liquid was dripping from her body, which had an irritating stench.
Angele saw the grass corroded within seconds after it fell onto the ground. Some had even turned into black ashes after making contact with the liquid. It looked like it had been burnt to ashes.
"It's the Green Spirit!" Someone yelled after being able to successfully recognize the identity of the flying girl.
The wizard apprentice then cast a spell toward the Green Spirit. Angele saw a white laser materializing out of the wizard apprentice's hand, hitting the Green Spirit's chest. However, Angele saw something that successfully blocked the attack. In front of the Green Spirit's chest, a piece of green ice had appeared before it fell to the ground after blocking the laser. Angele quickly shot an arrow right toward the Green Spirit, causing a hole to appear on her body. She kept laughing with her high-pitched voice, not caring about the injury in the slightest. The Green Spirit moved away from the wizard and flew toward the wizard apprentices. Seeing this, Angele knew they were in danger.
'Unknown particle approaching in high speed… Optimal plan: Step back and crouch,' Zero warned in time. Angele had no time to waste; he instantly stepped back and crouched.
'Unknown living being within range. Analyzing… Force field detected. Analysis failed. Danger. Please escape.' Zero kept reporting, but Angele had no time to listen to it. The wizard apprentices present in the scene were screaming in fear, including Andre.
Angele glanced around. About 7 of them were struck by her claws in the face, causing them to fall to the ground while screaming. Only one blocked the attack with some sort of spell. Similar reaction to that of the grasses occurred to them and they turned to black ashes in seconds.
"Anya! I know it's you!" Khedira yelled.
"HAHA!" The Green Spirit kept laughing. After the first attack, she stopped attacking and instead flew to the left and landed on someone's shoulder. A black-robed lady suddenly appeared behind them. She wore a silver headband and had an attractive face and long blonde hair. The lady looked like a forest goddess. The Green Spirit stopped releasing the green liquid and sat on the lady's shoulder.
"I knew it…" Khedira's expression was ice-cold. The other two wizards who were standing behind him looked at the lady in fear.
"You killed my brother?" Khedira asked.
"What do you think?" The lady laughed without a care.
The lady was a wizard, and similar to the other wizards, none of them cared about the dead wizard apprentices. Angele felt slightly uncomfortable as he looked at the ones who had survived the attack. Most of their faces were pale and they were hiding in the bush without making any movements.
"You guys can leave now." Khedira talked with the lady for a while before saying that to the wizard apprentices. The wizard apprentices stood up with relieved expressions. They retreated carefully while staring at the lady. Angele walked away with them.
The lady didn't even spare a glance at them, only talking with the three wizards. The wizard apprentices continued to retreat, only stopping when they could no longer see the four in their sights.
"That woman can control the Green Spirit. Holy…" One of them said with a low voice.
"What should we do? Go back?" Marylin held her wand tightly, clearly feeling scared.
"Let's wait for the master wizards," Angele said.
After this, not a single one of them talked because of the shock they just experienced. This was the most dangerous situation Angele had ever encountered since he began taking missions. A single drop of the green liquid could turn him into ashes.