Similar to human society, elves will also significantly modify their residential areas to improve safety and comfort. However, due to different concepts of civilization and the difference between long-lived and short-lived species, the settlements of elves are often not so obvious to mortals.
The elves, whose lifespans range from thousands to thousands of years depending on their ethnicity, generally have very low reproductive capabilities. A residence of a thousand people actually has a status equivalent to that of a city with a population of hundreds of thousands of humans. Although they generally have stronger magical abilities than humans, they can truly possess the ability to cast spells individually - which is called "advanced". The individual "elf" is also one in a million.
Although due to their long lives, they devote far more time to training than short-lived species and can possess more powerful martial arts, the sparse population still causes them to tend to avoid battles and defend.
Therefore, an elven settlement, even if it is the same size as a human city, will never be as visible from a distance as a human city, and it will not be proud of its grandeur and size.
A typical elven settlement always has a diverse and prosperous plant life, which is collected and cultivated by the elven natural druids from all over the world. They are part of the building and part of the defence.
Deliberately cultivated plant communities are combined with magic to cover the buildings and residents and mislead outsiders. If a mortal passed by an elven colony in its heyday, I'm afraid they would think it was a strange forest and not notice it at all. The man-made things in it.
It's just that in the land they are passing now, the magic has dissipated along with the residents, so it is easy to see those distinctive buildings.
But some things remain forever.
Just like those giant sequoia trees that are still full of vitality, as a peripheral defense line, there are tall grasses more than two meters high when there is no wind that are difficult for ghosts to see through. Even after the owner leaves, they are still on the foreign soil due to good cultivation. Thrive.
Many of Rigal's bizarre horror stories involve the tall grass.
Although this kind of vegetation style is rare on the land of Rigar, related stories are spread among people in various countries - and if you explore the mysteries and select similar parts to compare, you will always find them. They all contain elements of mysterious fairies and monsters and incredible events.
Our sage, who knows the mysteries of elves and druids, can tell that these stories are the result of people who accidentally entered the elves' territory and survived incoherently trying to sort out what happened to them. For others, this is just interesting and unique. folk tales.
Tall grass, restricted view. The wind blew across the ground, making a "rustling" sound that seemed to be caused by something other than myself and my companions moving through it. Ignorance of the strange environment and severely obstructed vision have jointly become a breeding ground for fear. The dead trees on the ground look more and more like human skeletons, and the whisper of the wind sounds more and more like the threatening roar of unknown beasts.
Even the mighty Ru Zhaoyue and a group of ghost warriors became wary.
"These grasses are magic plants and have hallucinogenic effects. Be careful not to get the broken grass liquid on your skin." Henry reminded that the tall grasses planted by the elves on the outside of the territory are not extraordinary objects. They hinder the movement of intruders. It also has a hallucinogenic and weakening effect.
Even if an army of ten thousand people attacked, after forcing their way through the tall grass, they would probably turn into fish on the chopping board due to the toxicity.
And this was just one of the dangers - Henry raised his hand and clenched it into a fist, signaling everyone to stop and prepare for battle.
"The Sword Comes"
After traveling for a short distance, a relatively large rock appeared in front of us. The huge and smaller carriage is made of gray mixed with reddish-brown spots. The surface of the carriage is rough, but there are a few corners on the sides about the height of a human thigh that have been polished into smooth black.
"Is there any creature rubbing on it to relieve the itch?" Ms. Doctor, who changed her position and sat at the front of the carriage, stuck her head out. With her knowledge of biology, she could tell the origin of this mark at a glance.
"More than that, look at this." There are also some white powdery traces on another rough slope, which also looks like it has been used for a long time because quite a few parts have even filled in the ravines.
"Crack, crack." Henry used the fire sickle to light the fire stick that had gone out for a long time, and then handed it over to iron it, and a slight smell of burning hair wafted away.
"It's horny." While others were fanning the air in disgust to let the smell dissipate, the doctor judged what it was.
"Something is scratching and sharpening its claws on this rock and has been doing so for many years."
"It's the elf hound. I don't know why they didn't take it with them when they evacuated, or at least they didn't take them all away. There shouldn't be many of them." The sage said while gesturing to the hunter girl, who trotted over and followed her. Together they searched the ground for footprints.
The weird and complicated footprints are hidden at the roots of the grass. They don't have fleshy pads like cats and dogs. Instead, the claws and toes are clearly visible, just like the footprints of birds.
"They are similar in size to wolves but are quite smart. They will only attack opponents who are weaker than themselves. The elves arrange them in tall grass and forests to clear out lone intruders, so that they can concentrate their combat power against the main force. "
"How did you tell that the number was small, sir?" Narumi asked, but as soon as the question came out and combined with what Henry had been explaining in Kazuto's language, he immediately reacted.
"Looking at the footprints, there are about 12 of them, some big and some small." Lulu, who is young but already an experienced hunter, sees endless information hidden in the seemingly uniform scenery around her: "The composition of the family group is the same as that of wolves? she asked, turning her head to the sage, who nodded.
"If the number is large, we have already been attacked." Henry looked up at the sky while answering Narumi's question. A series of sudden changes dragged on. It was almost dusk, although the brightness of the sun was still acceptable at this time in the south. , but visibility will drop rapidly within the next hour.
At that time, their situation may be even more difficult.
"Elven hounds are defensive creatures that have been improved to live in symbiosis with tall grass. Although they are called hounds and have very similar behavioral patterns in all aspects, they are actually closer to birds - or, a species of Rigar called griffons. Biology." In fact, most people except Miss Doctor and our Luoan girl could not understand what Henry said, but he must have realized this, so he briefly skipped these academic aspects. Something that, as always, throws out the key points.
"They will eat the tender shoots of tall grass when they are young, and their bodies will be filled with toxins that are more concentrated than the plants themselves. And they themselves are immune to it." The sage raised a finger, always emphasizing. Have this habit: "In other words, their claws and mouths are poisonous. Although it is not like poisonous snakes or scorpions with venom glands that can be pierced through the skin and injected into it to cause immediate effects, you will also feel a little bit of pain after being bitten. Became delirious, weak and vulnerable."
"How cunning." A Yong, a Japanese warrior who is too much a Japanese warrior, hates any method other than a head-on confrontation, even if it is against non-human creatures, this kind of behavior makes him angry.
"And it's more than that." But Henry didn't give him a chance to continue. He continued: "They also have quite high intelligence. Combined with the vast territory of tall grass planted by the elves, if the invaders cannot travel through it in one day, Having to camp in tall grass at midnight is the perfect time for them to attack.”
"They have night vision, and they will attack at the moment when the enemy is sitting around the campfire, enjoying the warmth and safety and relaxing their vigilance." The sage said, and he also learned things related to elves and druids from other people in the past. Bian learned that in fact, similar defense systems are rarely used by the declining elves, so this was the first time they met.
This is the remains of an extremely ancient settlement, originating from the era when the Pan-World Grand Magic and the Druid Council had not yet been formed, but hostility and opposition could be seen everywhere, and various races often fought against each other.
Both the serving master and the enemy no longer exist, but these plants and animals that were born to prevent invasion still faithfully carry out orders that no one cares about anymore.
And their group of people who accidentally entered were the foreign enemies who arrived for the first time in thousands of years.
The hounds must have set their sights on them, even though it might be their first time facing an enemy.
Hounds that lose the restraint and control of their elf owners will only become more dangerous. Although they are cunning and shrewd from the hunter's point of view, they are not objects that can be communicated with words.
Only the special magic and passwords of the Elf Nature Druid can have an effect on it. Unfortunately, these things have been lost in the past disasters and long time, and even exploiters like Henry Meyer cannot know it out of thin air.
If the owner is still there, communicate and explain that it is possible for them to pass without incident. But there was obviously no way to go. The sky was getting dark and the tall grass was endless. Walking through the dense tall grass at night was very likely to cause the horses and carriage passengers to be attacked. They had no choice but to make camp, and there wasn't much choice in setting up camp except next to the big rock that the hounds used to scratch themselves and sharpen their claws.
Because of the slight advantage of the high ground given by the stone, tall ghost warriors can stand on it and observe the distance as a sentry tower. Combined with the warriors and Lulu standing guard on the top of the huge carriage, it was possible to form a tight investigation to prevent the intrusion of hounds.
There was not enough space inside the carriage for everyone to sleep, so the weaker ones stayed inside tonight. They managed to do some blocking and sealing with objects such as sundries and storage boxes, while those with combat capabilities could only sleep in shifts on the outside.
At the last moment when the daylight dissipated, Henry asked a group of people to make strict protection on their palms, forearms, and mouths and noses, and then clear the surrounding tall grass into an open space with a radius of about 5 meters. In this way, once the hounds approached the camp, they would will be noticed.
However, the act of weeding also caused toxic grass liquid to permeate the air. Although the combatants were protected, they were still a little dizzy. The non-combatants fell asleep early in the carriage because of the impact.
Even the most vigilant unicorn, Medea, was drowsy. The other horses would even want to eat these sweet and juicy grass blades directly unless they intentionally blocked them and threw the cut grass far away. This was obviously another line of defense used by the elves here to consider that intruders would weed the grass. The poisonous grass liquid smelled very sweet, and even humans were aroused. If the intruder has a mount, he or she will tend to bite them to paralyze and stun them, giving hounds and elven warriors an opportunity to take advantage of them.
The vibrant elven settlement is a bright green hell for uninvited guests.
Henry lit two bonfires next to the rocks with the firewood they had collected in advance, using heat waves to speed up the evaporation of the surrounding grass liquid. Others climbed to the top of the carriage, the grass liquid was silent below, and the fresh air from the heights made their minds clearer.
If the hound walked through the 10-meter circle with the carriage as the center, it would only take a moment to reach them. However, the cunning characteristics of this creature may be used by oneself.
If you are wise, you will be misled by your wisdom. Elf hounds are cautious and cunning, so when they see that such an open space has lost the opportunity to sneak in quietly, they may give up the attack.
No matter what, they can only make adequate preparations and wait for the situation to develop.
