Chapter 45 Chapter 45 The Song of the Elves

"Who are you?" The elf timidly poked its head out, and no one dared to approach for fear of scaring the other.

"My name is Gollum, and I'm the village elf. Bad guys have invaded our home, and many adults have returned to the embrace of the Tree of Life. Are you here to save us?" The elf Gollum's eyes fell expectantly on them, especially on Li Zi, who was also an elf.

"Of course. Do you know the elven goddess of magic, Solet? She is our lord." Li Zi took on the responsibility of communicating with the little guy.

"Master Soret?" Gulu emerged from behind the wall, his tone filled with surprise. "Of course I know. When Uncle Yeka was still around, he told us many stories about you."

The familiar elf name made Gollum relax his guard, and the little guy slowly approached them.

From his narration, everyone learned that this was an elf tribe that had been stranded during the war. In that chaotic era, such things happened frequently.

In order to survive better, the elves gathered together spontaneously. Of course, they would occasionally take in people from other races in distress. However, due to different reasons such as habits and lifespan, the village was mainly populated by elves.

The space in the tree is the work of an elf master in the village, in order to protect the elves in the village from being invaded by foreign enemies.

However, when the abyss monsters retreated underground, it was also the time when their counterattack was the most fierce, and the village was accidentally discovered by a group of monsters.

The appearance of monsters broke the tranquility of the village. In order to resist the invasion of these monsters, many adults in the village died after killing the monsters.

In order to protect the remaining villagers and wait for rescue that may or may not come, several big elves and the little ones rely on their familiarity with the space in the tree to hide in the dark and wait for the opportunity to act.

Relying on the talents of the elves, they avoided the pursuit of the black robes while filling their stomachs by planting the seeds left behind in a hurry.

Relying on guerrilla warfare, the great elves, at the cost of their lives, harvested the remaining powerful monsters among the severely injured monsters, but they were powerless against the black robes who were of low level but numerous.

The little ones who lost the protection of their elders have been hiding in the dark ever since, and they have been waiting for several years.

Gollum told them that as the black robes penetrated the space in the tree, if they didn't wait for someone to come, they probably wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

After hearing this, Tang Li instantly thought that according to the usual routine of the game, if they had not accidentally entered the dungeon early, by the time they entered at their normal level, the elf village might have become an elf ruin.

Looking at the elf's timid appearance, she couldn't help but secretly curse the officials for being inhumane.

"Would you like something to eat?" Food can heal the soul. I hope the delicious food can soothe the little guy's wounded heart a little.

I brought a lot of cooking food with me today, but after killing monsters all night, most of them have been eaten by everyone. Tang Li picked out the remaining ones on purpose, and considering that elves are mainly vegetarians, she finally chose a sun-baked wheat roll with not so obvious side effects.

Smelling the aroma of the Sunlight Wheat Steamed Buns in Tang Li's hand, Gulu couldn't help swallowing.

The elves are good at life magic. Even when they are hiding, they can use magic to obtain food. However, they have no mood to enjoy delicious food when they are hiding.

I don’t know if it was because he was finally rescued, but he felt a lot more relaxed, but Gulu actually felt the strong sunshine and the scent of harvest from this flower roll.

That feeling reminded him of the long-lost days when they could run freely in the sunshine.

"Thank you." In the end, he accepted the steamed bun.

Guru's expression is quite pitiful. If you think about it carefully, everyone can more or less understand his situation.

"This steamed bun has some side effects. You may fall when eating it, so it's best to sit down and eat it so that it won't hurt if you fall." Benming Mantou imparted his experience to the little guy. Although this guy is usually unreliable, his carefree personality that allows him to chat with anyone makes him quite suitable for this place.

Gulu, who was a little reserved at first, looked at the flower roll in his hand curiously after hearing what he said: "Will it really fall?"

"Of course, he fell heavily to the ground, feeling dizzy and dazed!" The little guy's expression was so funny that everyone couldn't help teasing him.

"I'm already in my 20s and have rich combat experience, so I won't fall so easily." Feeling everyone's kindness and closeness, Guru revealed his childish side.

To prove himself, Gulu didn't sit down obediently, but stood up and ate the steamed buns with a "woohoo": "See, I told you..."

"Plop!" According to the elves' adulthood, an elf in his 20s is definitely a cub among cubs. You don't have to guess to know that this is the sound of the little guy falling to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Seeing that the little guy fell to the ground and took a long time to get up, everyone immediately came forward to show concern.

"Well, I'm fine." The little guy raised his head with tears on his face, refused their support, and climbed up from the ground silently.

Everyone was shocked. Was the little one so overwhelmed? Why was he crying so hard after just being hit in the face?

"Well, it's really not that serious..." Everyone hurried to comfort the little guy.

Just as he was about to say that even a great magician from the main city would concede defeat to Tang Li's unreasonable debuff, and that it was normal for a child like him to be unable to resist, he saw the little guy crying, burying his head in his arms, and muttering, "I'm sorry, I just thought of something."

Without waiting for anyone to ask, he burst into tears as if his emotions had lost control: "Can we really defeat those abyss monsters? To avoid them, we can only come out to get some fresh air at night. Many children in the village have almost forgotten what sunlight feels like."

He didn't mean to cry. He just wanted to ask if he could bring some steamed buns back for his friends to eat, so that they could also feel the long-lost taste of sunshine. But maybe the steamed buns were so delicious that he couldn't help but think of the happy times of his childhood and couldn't control his emotions.

He doesn't understand why there must be war in the world. He just wants to run freely in the sunshine with his friends. He just wants everyone to live happily together. Why is this wish so difficult to achieve?

Everyone fell silent because they knew that any words would be useless at this moment.

To Tang Li and the others, this was just an NPC in the game, but to Guru and the others, it was a truly anxious and uneasy time.

The little guy was very kind. He didn't know that the players were leveling up very quickly. Even though he had long seen that their levels were not enough to defeat the black robes, he did not raise any objections at the beginning.

Only when his emotions were most out of control did it show up slightly.

Tang Li and others were speechless.

Of course they believed that they could clear this dungeon, but they couldn't guarantee whether they could protect all the little guys from being harmed in the process.

The atmosphere fell silent.

At this time, the disadvantages of entering the dungeon early became apparent. If they had entered the dungeon and it had become an elven ruin, they would not have been tortured by their conscience like they are now.

The only sound in the air was Gollum's uncontrollable sad crying.

However, Guru was a child who had lived in war for many years, so he was very good at controlling his emotions. After a brief loss of control, he quickly adjusted himself, wiped his tears and apologized to everyone: "I'm sorry."

"Why do you have to say sorry? This is not something you should have to endure at your age." Li Zi hugged the little guy with heartache and looked at everyone with a questioning look.

Although she didn't say anything, everyone understood what she meant.

Benming Mantou and Shenzhishou, a few other salaried professional players, have not revealed their attitudes for the time being. Tang Li and Hebi Duoyan also think the same as Li Zi - give up on clearing this dungeon and go back to report the situation here.

As for giving an example, there is no need to mention it. He never refuted whatever the chestnut wanted to do.

Some people may think that they are too emotionally invested and it is ridiculous to give up the dungeon because of the plot, but whether it is fighting monsters and leveling up, or immersing in the experience, isn’t the most important thing about playing games your own feelings?

At this moment, they felt that saving the little guy in front of them was more important than the copy reward, so they just followed their heart.

So everyone turned their attention to the gang leader, who was unable to express himself clearly.

"Let's do it this way." He nodded without expressing his feelings.

"Great!" Seeing this, Benming Mantou and God's Hand also smiled with relief.

Although they are professional players, the interaction in Magic Continent is really good. They don't consider themselves to be heartless people. Since the boss has no objection, they are of course more at ease.

"I'll try to go somewhere else tomorrow." God's Hand felt that if he tried hard, he should be able to find other copies, but he just hoped that by then, this incident wouldn't happen again.

At this time, the advantage of the Goblin Nest is revealed. It is full of ugly monsters, and everyone shows no mercy when attacking them.

"Don't worry, little one. We will bring you back safely." Looking at the little one's confused expression, Ju Zuzi smiled and touched his head, nodded to the others, and directly quit the team and left the dungeon.

"He, he, he teleported away?" Feeling the residual spatial fluctuations in the air, Gulu's eyes widened in shock. "He can actually leave?"

After the black-robed people completely occupied the space in the tree, Uncle Yeka closed the entrance and exit channels of the space in order to trap them.

This was also the reason why he had a mental breakdown just now. Not only did he feel that the hope of victory was slim, but he was also sad for these people. He was sad that even if they could survive, they would not be able to leave here.

"Of course, we can all come in, so of course we can go out." Everyone looked at Guru with amusement, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets in shock.

"Oh, yes." Gollum scratched his head embarrassedly. After all, he was an underage elf and had never thought about this question.

"That's great! Won't we be rescued soon?" Guru realized it belatedly and jumped up happily.

Before Uncle Yeka closed the space channel, he had hesitated whether to send the little ones out. However, after discussing with several adults, he felt that if a group of helpless elves were outside, they might die faster. In a familiar place, they could at least rely on the mechanism of the space in the tree to hide and wait for a glimmer of hope.

Sure enough, Uncle Yeka was right, they really waited for hope!

"Who are you? Gulu?" When the atmosphere was just right, another little head popped out from behind the wall.

"Kara, you're here?" Gulu immediately ran forward and hugged the little one excitedly. "These adventurers are here to save us. We can leave soon!"

"You haven't come back for a long time." Kara grabbed Gulu's sleeve aggrievedly, hiding timidly behind Gulu and observing Tang Li and others.

"Someone will be here soon." Noticing the little guy's nervous and frightened look, everyone didn't dare to approach rashly. They just tried their best to dispel the other party's anxiety with a friendly smile.

"Go back and tell everyone to gather." Gulu hugged the little guy again, and after letting go, he looked at Tang Li and the others inquiringly, "Someone will be here soon, right?"

"Of course," everyone said firmly, "but just tell everyone the situation. It's best not to come here until it's safe."

What if we all get caught in one fell swoop?

While waiting, no one could guarantee whether the black robes would be alarmed. Although they would definitely fight to protect the little ones, it was better not to take risks for the sake of safety.

"Well, then I'll take Kara back," Gulu nodded happily. He took a few steps and then hesitantly turned back, looking at Tang Li with a face full of anticipation and embarrassment. "Um, please, can you give me a few more of those delicious steamed buns? I want everyone to experience this happy feeling too."

He was so happy after eating the steamed buns, so he wanted to bring this happiness to his friends. He hadn't seen smiles on anyone's faces for a long time.

"Of course," Tang Li nodded and reached into her pocket. "How many people are there among you?"

"Twelve, but you don't need to give us so many, we can just share them." Gulu blushed, feeling very embarrassed.

"No, I still have plenty here," Tang Li handed the other party twelve flower rolls without hesitation, and also gave them twelve steamed buns. "Eating these will consume some magic power, but you can restore it by sitting down and meditating for a while. But you can keep these for now and eat them when you are safe."

"Thank you." Gulu left with a rosy and happy smile on his face, taking the somewhat shy Kara with him.

Not long after, he peeked out from behind the wall again.

Immediately afterwards, several more heads popped up behind him, all looking at the player curiously.

"Why are you all here? Didn't you say not to take any action for the time being?"

"After I told everyone the news, everyone was so excited that they couldn't help but want to come and take a look," Gulu walked out from behind the wall with light steps. In the face of everyone's worried gazes, he added, "Don't worry, if an accident really happens, everyone will run away immediately."

To be able to evade the pursuit of so many black-robed men for many years, these little guys must be quite capable.

After struggling in the darkness for so long, how could I not want to hold on to hope when I finally see it?

Although they were still not very reassured, they felt embarrassed to let them leave because of the anxious and longing eyes.

"The outside world... are you powerful? Can you really protect us?" A little girl with a stubborn look in her eyes hid most of her body against the wall, her hands tightly clinging to the door frame, and looked at everyone with determination. "We can do a lot, but we also know it's difficult to feed so many of us. If you feel it's difficult, you don't have to save us. We can stay here..."

Before she could finish, Guru interrupted her with an optimistic look on his face, "No, no, no, Mili, their lord is the God of Law, Lord Solet. The territory of such a great man must be very rich. As long as we work hard when we get there, we will definitely survive."

"God of Magic?" The little girl named Mi Li was stunned for a moment, then a smile slowly appeared on her face. "That's indeed..."

"Don't worry," Tang Li thought of her mentor Zoe. Perhaps these little creatures didn't know the war was over. Looking at these little creatures who were dragged into the darkness before dawn, she explained with gentle eyes, "The abyss monsters have been sealed. The outside world is peaceful now. Even if you don't have to work so hard, you can live a good life in the future."

"Is the war over?" The little ones were all shocked by the news. Tang Li even saw goose bumps on the arms of some of them.

This is a physiological reaction of excessive excitement, which shows how explosive the news is to them.

"Really? Such a powerful abyss monster was actually sealed?"

“That’s great…”

Several little ones have started sobbing, and their cries contain a mixture of relief that the suffering is over and confusion about the future.

They originally thought that they would need to continue struggling after leaving here, but they were suddenly told that they no longer needed to fight the abyss, and they didn't know what to do next.

"Don't worry, we belong to the elves' faction. Lord Solet will treat you well."

Elves are known for their love and care for their cubs, and these little guys will have a wonderful life in the future.

As they were talking, there was a noise outside.

The little guys panicked and disappeared reflexively.

But soon, they realized that the sound outside seemed to be coming from more than just the man in black robe.

"Rescue is coming!" Tang Li and others listened carefully for a while and cheered happily.

Sure enough, as the sound got closer, everyone heard the sound of weapons clashing and the screams of the black-robed men.

From the sound of it, it seems that the rescuers have the upper hand.

If you think about it carefully, this is normal. This is just a level 20 copy. Not to mention the main city, the NPC guards in their town can easily deal with it.

Soon, Juerlizi reapplied to join the team, and with the information he provided, everyone's guess was confirmed.

After receiving the news, the mayor led the team personally, and now the main force is already outside.

To be honest, everyone really wants to follow the NPC to pick up some loot, but there are so many little guys here. Although in terms of strength, several of the little guys are higher in level than them, they are still children, right?

In order to prevent accidents, everyone finally resisted the temptation and stayed to protect the little ones.

They can still act as meat shields at critical moments.

"We can only count on Brother Ju." Everyone was jealous and made sarcastic remarks to Jugerizi in the team channel.

[Team Channel] For example: Hahahaha, just hide and wait for my good news!

So angry!

Fortunately, Ju Li Shi still has some conscience and will broadcast the situation on the scene to them from time to time.

After about half an hour, the noise outside gradually subsided.

System: [The dungeon boss was defeated by other forces, and the exploration of the Song of the Spirits dungeon failed!]

After a while, someone knocked gently on the entrance to the cellar.

Under the nervous and anxious gazes of the little ones, the Hand of God lightly stepped forward and opened the cellar.

"Come out," Ju Lizi said, smiling and waving to everyone outside, "It's safe now."

"That's great. I'm almost suffocating."

Tang Li and others walked out first. Gulu hesitated for a while, let go of Kara's hand, and followed closely behind everyone.

"Gulu!" Kara was a little nervous and tried to pull Gulu back.

Mi Li thought about it and followed.

"You wait here first, I'll be back soon." Gollum stopped them, turned around and quickly caught up with the players.

"Hmm, it's actually true." The elf had a good night vision. Gollum saw the black-robed leader lying at the feet of the mayor at a glance. In addition to the black-robed leader, there were many other black-robed people. They fell stiffly to the ground and would never get up to chase them again.

The nightmare that had been hovering over their heads ended just like that.

Gollum stared blankly for a long time, and even he himself didn't know what was going on in his mind at the moment.

"Everyone come out quickly, we are really saved!"

"It's true!" A group of little guys popped out of the cellar, looked around, rushed out and hugged Guru and cheered happily.

I don’t know which little guy started it, but a song with only melody but no lyrics came from the elves in the embrace.

This is the elves' hymn to life, used to praise the greatness of life.

Initially, there were only the childish voices of children, but soon, the voices of the mayor and other elves joined in.

Tang Li and the others didn't know that the origin of the [Song of the Elves] dungeon was:

They wrote a hymn with their lives, which was their final masterpiece.

The players didn't know this song, so they stood aside and listened silently.

After the song ended, the mayor warmly hugged the little ones and said, "Children, it's time to go home."

The elf guards who were ruthless to their enemies also showed their gentle side for once, touching the little guy's head from time to time.

The little ones, no longer cautious as before, cheered happily surrounded by adults and chattered about topics that interested them.

"What should we do with them next?" The players asked with concern as they watched the little ones reluctantly say goodbye to them and were taken away by the elf guards.

"Send them back to the Elf Forest, which is the home of all elves." The mayor looked at the backs of the little ones with a relieved smile, "Don't worry about them, they will be well taken care of there.

"Is that so? Then we can rest assured."

For elves, there is no place more suitable than the Elf Forest.