Chapter 125: bl**d Offering
The Elven Blacksmith fell to the ground after speaking.
This startled the others, and Soren thought he had exhausted himself and died right there, but soon a chorus of snores filled the air. He waved to the apprentices nearby, signaling them to move the Elven Blacksmith to a bed, and then left about ten Gind by the furnace. After three days of work, these apprentices looked worn out, their eyes bloodshot and their expressions very tired. Soren was satisfied with the forging results and didn’t mind giving a small tip.
“Dragon Slayer.”
Soren lightly brushed the blade and said with a slight grimace, “That name is too ominous. Let’s call it ‘Rending’ instead.”
There are many pieces of equipment named Dragon Slayers in this world.
For example, there is a Dragon Slayer sword in White Horse City, but it seems that all equipment with that name that successfully slayed dragons are cursed in some way, as their owners often d*e at the hands of dragons. Soren didn’t have much enthusiasm for slaying dragons; he would only wield the slaughtering kn*fe when certain necessary tasks involved dragons. Rending was an extraordinary weapon he had obtained before; while it was not as good as the one before him, it had several similarities.
Although this curved blade was a First Tier extraordinary weapon, its attributes had already reached Second Tier levels!
It had no energy damage of its own, but its added sharpness and penetration were quite strong. Gloria had only increased it by 2 points with the ‘Magical Weapon’ spell, while this kn*fe already possessed 3 points of sharpness and penetration effects. In simple terms, this kn*fe could cut through natural armor with a defense level of +3, a hallmark trait of Earth Drakes.
The innate defense of an Earth Drake’s hide is +3 protection level.
The last two attributes are key; resilience is a characteristic of Elven-forged weapons. They are definitely not easy to break or damage. Armor breaking is generally an additional attribute of fine gold, very useful against dragons, demons, and liches. Weapons with armor breaking attributes can generally pierce dragon scales and are highly effective against heavily armored warriors. It’s likely difficult to break through full plate armor, but other scales and chainmail would be easy to cut through with a strike or two.
Since the weapon had already been forged, Soren naturally didn’t see any reason to stay here.
His injuries had mostly healed two days ago, and he had completed about 70% of his research on the ‘Charm Humans’ spell in the last two days, which was relatively challenging. Wanderers are individuals who come and go as they please. After checking out of the inn and giving a couple of Gind as a tip, Soren headed straight outside the village. His arrival didn’t alarm many, and neither did his departure attract any attention.
Adventurers are simply passersby who only stop when tired!
………………
In the dense, green forest.
Once Soren entered the wilderness, his alertness sharply increased. He now needed to head north through the Elven Forest, a distance that could reach a thousand kilometers where there is a frozen valley at the edge of the Frozen Kingdom. Crossing this valley leads into the Frozen Kingdom, a former battlefield filled with many submerged underground ruins. A long snow-capped mountain range stretches for hundreds of miles, separating the Northern Region from the Frozen Kingdom, transforming both into entirely different worlds due to their unique geography.
Soren moved quickly alone.
His extraordinary physique at 20 points ensured he could maintain a light jog without exceeding his energy limits, with his recovery speed approximately matching his energy consumption. In just one morning, Soren covered several dozen kilometers, and the surrounding scenery changed significantly. The trees before him were thick enough to require three people to wrap around. These trees had grown for at least a hundred years. Here, deep in the Elven territory, the further one ventures, the older the trees become, and there is a possibility of encountering legendary beautiful Treants.
That is the embodiment of nature’s spirit!
Soren suddenly stopped in his tracks, furrowing his brow as he pushed aside some grass, and then pinched a piece of torn fabric in his hand. The fabric felt very smooth and had traces of bl**d on it, indicating that a battle had occurred here and that it was recent, within the last three days. The footprints on the ground were already blurry, but he instinctively judged the direction of the battle.
He advanced for about a hundred to two hundred meters following the traces. He soon found clear signs of battle, with tree branches severed by swords and a plethora of footprints.
A fight had indeed taken place here!
Soren observed for a moment before preparing to leave. His concern lay in whether there might be an ambush ahead; he had no interest in random encounters, as battles were too frequent in this world.
In a fleeting moment!
Soren’s figure suddenly paused, then he turned around, circumventing a large tree. In that brief instant, he seemed to see something. Before him were marks on a towering tree, five one-inch deep claw marks, indicating the attacker had considerable strength, with a patch of dried bl**d on the trunk.
Soren’s expression turned cold, and his demeanor slightly twisted; the killing intent on his face was extremely fierce. He extended his hand and gestured at the five claw marks on the tree, then slowly pressed against the superficial red marks on his back. Even after a priest used healing spells, the shallow red scars from that brutal attack remained. Soren silently grasped the curved blade, and his figure began to blur, ultimately disappearing into the shadows.
Those predators!
They had not given up on their hunting ritual and had killed another target in the last three days.
Soren would never mistake those five claw marks; that pitch-black High-level Werewolf had almost killed him there. The thirst for bl**d surged within him. His injuries had now mostly healed, and all the special abilities imparted by the Shadow were back. Having just acquired an extraordinary weapon, Soren intended to use the bl**d of these hunters to offer to the blade!
Alone, Soren was not afraid of the enemies’ numbers because he was a Wanderer; shadows and forests were his best cover.
His figure vanished from its original spot, the power of shadows concealing his traces.
Only when he crossed a well-lit area could one see a vague, blurry shadow—this was because of insufficient skill level in stealth; he required over 200 points in stealth skills to become invisible in areas without shadows. However, this was not a major concern for Soren. Not investing the majority of his skill points in stealth meant he had enhanced other combat abilities. The Wizard’s Invisibility Spell could completely replace the effects of stealth when necessary.
“It looks like there are over twenty of them.”
Soren halted to observe the ground; the footprints were chaotic, but it was evident there was a circular surrounding form, not like it had resulted from an attack but rather resembling traces of a retreat surrounding someone. He pushed aside the grass in front of him and found a piece of torn cloth, probably left by thorns, which felt similar in texture to the previous fabric but had a pattern that seemed somewhat familiar. He muttered, “I feel like I’ve seen this pattern somewhere before.”
He determined the direction and continued tracking along the traces.
Wanderers are also good trackers, which is why professions of Bounty Hunters and Assassins evolved from them. Soren moved forward for about a kilometer before stopping in front of another large tree.
There were three claw marks on it, nearby broken branches, and he could hear the sound of a river ahead.
“It seems they fought here for a while.”
Soren bent down to pick up some of the dark red soil; the area looked sizable. Although the body was missing, someone had likely fallen here and died on the spot based on the bl**d stains. It was clear someone had used a sword to cleave through the obstructive shrubs, suggesting they surrounded a person who wasn’t skilled in combat, or was weak, necessitating protection to clear the path through the foliage.
“It appears they are as good as dead!”
Although Soren had only seen one sign of d*ath here, based on his estimation, their escape was unlikely.
Protecting such a burden, it was virtually impossible to escape from the hunters.
The trail was lost by the river.
There were no footprints on the opposite side, indicating the fugitive didn’t cross the river. Soren moved along the riverbank and soon discovered new clues.
He found a weapon along with a torn exquisite armor.
“Elven Stabbing Sword?”
Soren picked up the broken stabbing sword, glanced around to assess the situation, and muttered, “Could it be the Elven Noble I encountered that day? His guard seemed to wear this kind of gear. No wonder this looked so familiar; ordinary Elven Patrols can’t afford such expensive fabric. So this means that fellow encountered the hunters?”
The incident likely occurred three days ago.
Soren had met an Elven Noble in front of the life temple of the village, someone with a portion of the divine bl**d of the Elven Goddess, appearing to be a descendant of many generations of divine bl**d. They must have encountered the hunters and, for some unknown reason, were targeted anew. The result turned into a desperate battle; his guard surely wouldn’t stand a chance against a group of High-level hunters.
“If I’m to catch up, it should be ahead.”
Soren’s pupils constricted, and he re-entered the shadows, moving toward the foot of the mountain ahead.
The mountains here in the Elven Forest were plentiful but not very tall, with the terrain belonging to a hilly area. Based on Soren’s estimation, that group of Elven guards could at most cover to the foot of the mountain ahead before being overtaken by the hunters.
The distance gradually closed.
Soren suddenly stopped and drew his curved blade with a metallic clang, softening his steps considerably.
There were still traces ahead.
The signs looked distinct, indicating at least ten people had been active in this area, and these should have been left today. He vaguely heard some sounds, seemingly indicating more than two dozen people were up ahead.
………………
(PS: The second update will be a bit late.) (To be continued ~^~)
