## Chapter 74 – 74. The Uninvited Guest
#74. The Uninvited Guest
Asilla Vanel headed towards the city gates along the dark night road.
It had already been 50 years since she was recognized for her skills at a relatively young age and became the leader of the 3rd Reconnaissance Squad of the Capital Defense Forces.
The main missions of her reconnaissance squad in charge of District 14 were to monitor the passersby in the area, investigate abnormal phenomena in the forest, and identify the number of monsters.
Asilla was busy with various preparations for the upcoming mission, but even amidst that, she was troubled by the rumor she had heard during the day.
The humans outside the Great Forest thought of the rangers of the reconnaissance squad as homicidal maniacs who would kill any human they saw.
With a little thought, one could see that it was a misunderstanding, but on the other hand, she couldn’t deny that the situation was such that such rumors could spread.
Currently, Peledia was on the verge of a great war.
It was a natural course of events that the international situation, which had been transformed by the declaration of war by the northern empire, a powerful nation dominating the continent, had a negative impact on the domestic situation, and that public sentiment, which was already not good, had become even more turbulent.
As a result, the guidelines within the Capital Defense Forces had no choice but to become harsher.
-Increase the level of surveillance of other races passing through the Great Forest to the highest level. If deemed suspicious, they may be arrested immediately.
Especially regarding humans, the degree was severe.
Originally, the northern empire was famous for having little interaction with other races. Rather, the perception of the northern empire among other races was close to the worst.
As a result, even as the war situation approached, surveillance and response to other races were not much different from usual, but humans were not.
If there were 10 humans passing through the Great Forest, the vague idea that all 10 of them might be spies from the northern empire naturally led to rough actions towards humans.
Therefore, Asilla sighed heavily at the current situation where anti-elf sentiment was stirring on the human side, and anti-human sentiment was stirring on the elf side.
So much had changed in just 200 years.
Starting with the fall of the Goddess Church, which regarded elves as one of the objects of faith, small and large incidents were darkening Peledia’s future.
And to make matters worse, now there was a war with the military powerhouse, the northern empire.
‘…World Tree, please watch over the future of us elves.’
Asilla quietly prayed, looking at the sacred tree of the World Tree, the largest in the Great Forest.
On a particularly bright night with a full moon, Asilla led her squad members to their assigned area for night reconnaissance, as she did every day.
Her eyes, stepping forward while stepping on branches, did not miss even the smallest animal movements.
Although she had not reached the level of Aura Expert, her speed as an Aura User and a Lower-level Spiritist who handled Lower-level Wind Spirits was precise and quick.
It was to the point where other squad members would have a hard time keeping up unless she intentionally slowed down.
Something strange caught her eye.
‘…A tent?’
It became clearer as she got closer.
The more she thought about it, the stranger it was.
District 14, which she was in charge of, was a dangerous area where strong monsters frequently appeared, so it was not suitable for camping.
Even if other races lacked knowledge of the Great Forest, they would have brought a guide when they decided to pass through here.
But the guide didn’t notice the traces of monster footprints, excrement, and territory markings scattered around here?
That couldn’t be.
Asilla’s eyes turned cold.
In such cases, most of them were either strong people who could handle monsters were included in the group, or those who had a reason to act secretly enough to spend the night in an area teeming with monsters.
Asilla immediately signaled to her squad members.
‘Pure and Brillit, flank to the left, the rest surround to the right.’
The most important front naturally became Asilla’s responsibility. The 3rd Reconnaissance Squad, which had quickly formed a formation, maintained tension with their hands on the hilts of their swords.
They even prepared emergency contact flares in case of an unforeseen situation.
“Those inside the tent, come out immediately with your weapons disarmed! You have currently trespassed into the controlled area of the Kingdom of Peledia!”
Of course, District 14 was not controlled.
This was a kind of bluff, and entering an area controlled by the state was a serious matter, so if they were ordinary merchants or adventurers, they would argue their innocence and ask for forgiveness for their ignorance rather than resist.
Asilla hoped they would cooperate willingly. There was no need to shed blood, and if they were taken to the city and proven innocent through interrogation, they would be quietly released.
If they didn’t cooperate and tried to escape, then they would have no choice but to use force.
And Asilla knew better than anyone that things didn’t always go as she wished.
20 seconds had passed since the tent was surrounded.
If they were really good people, they would be flustered and make a fuss, but the tent was so quiet as if no one was there.
‘…Sylphid, if someone attacks me and my friends, can you protect us?’
The Lower-level Wind Spirit, Sylphid, nodded at her question.
She had a bad feeling.
“…I’ll count to three! If you don’t come out by then, we’ll use force…”
Swoosh-
Before Asilla’s final warning could end, someone walked out of the tent.
Just in time, the clouds that had been covering the moon were blown away by the wind, and the soft moonlight brightly illuminated the forest.
“A human…?”
What came out of the tent was a human male with a build that was one and a half heads taller than her.
At that moment, Asilla’s eyes narrowed.
Nine out of ten humans who entered the Great Forest at this time were commoners who didn’t know anything about the international situation, but the remaining one was a spy sent by the northern empire.
The human in front of her was definitely not a commoner, judging by his build and the aura he exuded.
“…If you are surrendering, please put your hands forward. We will guarantee your safety as long as you do not resist in vain.”
This was closer to a recommendation than a warning.
In Asilla’s mind, Kang Hyun-woo was already confirmed to be a spy from the northern empire or someone similar.
“Six people, huh.”
But just by looking at the fighting spirit in his eyes, she could tell that the man had no intention of doing so.
A touch-and-go situation.
At the moment when the swords were half drawn from the squad members’ hilts, it was the human male who moved first.
A fierce wave of magic spread in all directions, centered on him.
The pressure that made their spines tingle weighed down on the 3rd Reconnaissance Squad, but Asilla and her squad members immediately drew their swords and ran.
They could be praised for being excellent just for not losing their strength in their legs and collapsing pathetically.
However.
[Extreme Speed]
“…Huh?”
Only 0.8 seconds.
If they had been given that much time, Asilla would have blocked Kang Hyun-woo from the front, while the other 4 squad members would have attacked him from the sides and rear, and the remaining one would have set off the emergency contact flare to prepare for any enemy reinforcements.
But Asilla couldn’t even block him, let alone set off the emergency contact flare.
At the moment when a flash of light shone under the full moon, only Asilla fell down, aware that she had been hit by something.
That was the last moment she remembered.
***
“Is this how you tie them up roughly?”
As night deepened, the elves who had surrounded the tent and threatened me and Iris, who were good citizens, became one with the trees.
At first, I just tied the six unconscious people to the tree trunks with rope a few times, but that didn’t seem enough, so I tied their wrists and ankles meticulously.
It was my first time doing it, but I was proud because it seemed to have turned out well.
“But they’re all women.”
It seemed that Peledia was severely lacking in men.
“Ranger talents are usually inherent in women.”
Iris, who had come out of the tent at some point, was rummaging through the women tied to the trees.
“Did you find out anything?”
“Yes, I think these people are reconnaissance squads belonging to the Capital Defense Forces.”
“Oh, did you find a unit mark or something?”
Iris shook her head at my question.
“Reconnaissance squads, in preparation for becoming prisoners of the enemy, are not allowed to carry items that could reveal their identity in principle. But the swords they carry on their waists are weapons only issued to the Capital Defense Forces.”
Iris handed me the sword.
It was an ordinary iron sword with no special features or patterns on the outside.
“It looks like an ordinary sword on the outside, but in fact, the entire sword is a cipher. It’s a top-secret, but it seems they still haven’t changed it.”
“Isn’t it because of the budget?”
“I wonder…”
Iris seemed to be pondering something for a while, as if something was bothering her.
To give her some time to think, I approached the elves tied to the trees.
I thought their voices and body lines seemed like women, but I never imagined that it would be a unit made up entirely of women.
‘I was careful not to hit them too hard, just in case, so that’s a relief.’
If I had been sure they were men, I would have killed them all except for one who would answer my questions.
That’s how great the sin of disturbing my happy time with Iris was. In fact, I wanted to wake them up right now and ask them all sorts of questions, but I forcibly restrained myself for Iris’s sake.
She wouldn’t like the sight of me handling her fellow tribesmen and former people recklessly.
The ones tied to the trees were all wearing dark clothes and masks to hide themselves, befitting the title of rangers, to the point where they looked like assassins.
I took off the mask of the woman who had reacted to my attack the most among them. This woman must be the highest ranking.
Beyond the mask, as expected of an elf, was a woman with a beauty that was hard to come by.
“…A dark elf?”
However, unlike Iris, her skin was dark.
“Hyun-woo, is something wrong…? A dark elf…?”
Iris’s reaction to the masked woman was strange.
She was more flustered than I was, who was seeing a dark elf for the first time.
“Why? Is there something strange about it?”
“…Originally, dark elves are a minority who live in tribal communities throughout the Great Forest. They wouldn’t join the kingdom’s army because of the law.”
Iris frowned, her head complicated by the growing number of questions.
“…Iris, I have something to tell you, do you have a moment?”
Seeing her like that, I had no choice but to explain the current situation in Peledia and the various circumstances I had heard from the World Tree.
Now that I had escaped from the underground community, there was no reason to hide it anymore.
Of course, I didn’t know much, but Iris turned pale just hearing the northern empire’s declaration of war, but her expression brightened a little as she regained some energy at the news that we were heading to the Santala Kingdom to undo the seal.
Still, she seemed to have a lot to think about, so Iris left for a while.
Now that things had come to this, I decided to wake up this sleeping dark elf first.
Since I couldn’t show Iris’s face to these people anyway, it was right for me to do the interrogation alone.
I lightly tapped the cheek of the dark elf, who was fast asleep, unaware of the world.
“Ugh, ugh…”
But are they really a reconnaissance squad?
She’s still not waking up after this?
But I couldn’t hit her hard because I was conscious of Iris, so I had no choice but to pour a cup of water over her head.
Splash-
“Hiyak?!”
Suddenly, cold water fell on her head, and the dark elf finally woke up in horror.
“Did you sleep well?”
As soon as the dark elf woman made eye contact with me, she immediately looked around, then looked at herself and her comrades tied up, and glared at me with fierce eyes.
It won’t come undone even if you do that.
“If you just answer my questions, I won’t do anything harsh…”
“Kill him!”
“…?”
What is it.
“If you’re hoping for the kingdom’s secrets, which is what a lowly imperial spy would want, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
The dark elf woman raised one corner of her mouth and gave a smile that didn’t suit her.
“…Then what, are you going to commit suicide or something?”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
At the sight of her suddenly opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue, I immediately put a piece of cloth in her mouth and blocked it with the remaining rope.
This is a complete madwoman.
Of course, biting off her tongue won’t kill her. It’ll just hurt like hell, and it’ll take quite a while to die from excessive bleeding.
But that’s only true for ordinary people.
If she had magic, she could reverse the flow of magic and cause it to run wild just by biting and swallowing her tongue.
It was an easy way to commit suicide in a state where the use of magic was restricted.
Judging by her expression, she’s planning to commit suicide as soon as I take out the cloth.
She doesn’t seem to want to hear my explanation either.
Looking at the dark elf woman glaring at me with a spirited look, I was once again furious.
Looking at the situation objectively, I was the victim.
I came to my place to have a happy time with my girlfriend, but suddenly the police barged in and treated me like a criminal and even tried to arrest me.
My head was pounding, and curses were rising to the tip of my throat, but I let it go for now.
They must have their own work to do.
But I gave them a chance, and they kicked it away and glared at me?
I wanted to interrogate her in a gentlemanly manner, but this woman was the one who refused first.
There was only one place where my angry hands would go.
“…Eup?! Uuuup!! Eup eup!!!”
The dark elf woman, who seemed like she wouldn’t even blink an eye no matter what I did, began to thrash her body violently at my touch that grabbed her chest.
“From now on, I’ll treat you like a gentleman.”
