The intelligence that needs verification is that the orcs are the subjects of Xia, and the others are...
Shui Liujing understood that the spirits Jiang Yunlan mentioned referred to nature. She immediately frowned, her tone becoming anxious, "What did you say? Another nature has disappeared?"
He glanced at Sveta instinctively, then quickly turned his gaze to the other elves. His expression changed several times in just a few seconds, until finally, an overwhelming sadness spilled over him.
If the ancient tower is gone, will the other spirits disappear along with it?
"Again? Have you heard of spirits disappearing elsewhere?" Jiang Yunlan sat up straight, her body slightly relaxed, and touched the paper on the table with her pen. "Where did the spirits go missing? Do you know what they are?"
Upon hearing the question, Shui Liujing rubbed his face haphazardly, secretly wiping away the tears welling in his eyes. He slowly took out his clan's record book and read aloud what Jiang Yunlan wanted to know, trying his best to keep his voice steady.
The moment he took out the record book, 022 flew to his side and began reading the past of the wise clan. This was an important record. 022 opened its round eyes wide and memorized every word of the record he opened.
Shui Liujing didn't mind satisfying 022's thirst for knowledge. While reciting the intelligence, she moved the animal-hide notebook strung together with thread towards 022.
He had many doubts and was puzzled as to why Jiang Yunlan would link the killing of the orc by the giant beast to the disappearance of the elves. However, Jiang Yunlan was an orc trusted by Sveta and many elves, so he would entrust his trust to Jiang Yunlan.
“Nature loves to travel. Apart from the two I just mentioned, our clan is unsure whether the remaining natures simply didn’t want to stay in their original places, or whether they have truly vanished,” Shui Liujing sighed.
Without hearing Jiang Yunlan's continued questioning, he indulged 022 to take the notebook and look through it, slowly recounting the confusion he had once had: "Before I went to the western end, I encountered many orc clans that feared nature. Some clans were quite averse to anything related to nature, and they drove us away as soon as we mentioned nature."
Their clan split in two after the ancient tower vanished. One half disappeared without a trace, while the rest remained in the place where the tower had vanished.
As the seasons changed, the last guardians of the ancient tower passed away one by one. Shui Liujing, who became the new clan leader, looked back at the clan of dwindling wise orcs, and at the habitat where no new items had appeared for a season. She belatedly realized that her clan was gradually becoming lifeless.
The clans, who had clung to their corner of the land, finally abandoned their habitat and embarked on a journey. Just as they had done when the ancient tower stood, they traveled to various parts of the continent to explore unknown regions and things, to seek new wise men, and to spread knowledge to help other orcs.
"I can't understand why any beastmen would reject nature," Shui Liujing said, as if she found it unbelievable and felt helpless.
He was born too late to have ever seen the ancient tower. All his knowledge of elves came from the teachings of the last guardian. Therefore, it was only when he stepped into the outside world that he realized that the attitudes of many orcs towards elves were completely different from what he knew.
Jiang Yunlan recalled the attitude of Maple Sugar and the others towards the elves when she first arrived in the Beast World, and didn't find it particularly strange. Nature's blessings had been distorted into something akin to a curse; it was perfectly normal for orcs to reject elves.
She lowered her head to look at the notes she had written on the paper, then waved for her tribesmen to explain the crimes of the Tianqi tribe to Shui Liujing. She also wanted them to tell her that the Natural Blessing might have been distorted by the Tianqi tribe.
There was some murmuring in a corner of the council hall. Jiang Yunlan ignored their conversation and started to sort out the information about the orcs, elves, and giant beasts.
The rustling sound flowed from the paper. She paused for a few seconds, then hesitantly added the word "beast".
The Apocalypse Orcs plundered elves to obtain the power of nature, so what was their purpose in painstakingly modifying beasts? Beasts are no match for the power of nature, and beasts without the power of nature are clearly less useful than giant beasts. She slowly wrote down two pieces of information that needed verification.
The purpose of the Apocalypse Tribe in modifying the beasts. Did the Apocalypse Tribe successfully modify the giant beasts?
The behemoths are the guardians of the elves, transformed from wild beasts. Jiang Yunlan wrote this line, adding "To be verified" after it.
If the behemoth is the guardian of the elves, it will hunt down the orcs who killed them after the elves' deaths. The behemoth will surely hunt down the wood-power orcs who are besieging Azurewood Crow.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to send her people out to search for the Wood-Powered Beastmen. If they did find the giant beasts, they could test whether they could become Xia's allies. Even better, they could ask the beasts where the spirits who gave them the power of nature were.
We also need to confirm with Xiong Guang and the other bear beastmen whether Duoguo has been attacked by the wooden beasts...
In the latter half of the meeting, Jiang Yunlan wrote down the questions that needed confirmation and checked the information with 022, who was watching the beastmen talk. After confirming that no information had been missed, she handed the tasks that the tribesmen could complete to them and ended the meeting.
Stepping out of the meeting room, she looked up at the sky. The sun was casting its last rays, and the somber darkness gradually obscured its light.
She felt a strange tightness in her chest, and her irritability intensified. She didn't frown, but her usual smile vanished.
A question she couldn't figure out was weighing on her mind, making her miserable. She felt she was getting close to the truth, but she couldn't find the key to it.
Why are there so many vanished Pokémon, yet not a single one left a message to warn the others? Did they not leave any messages, or were the messages they left erased?
What mission did the elves who granted the behemoth its power hope it would accomplish? If it was to eliminate the orcs who preyed on their own kind, why didn't they join the behemoth in killing the orcs? Why didn't they seek help from other elves?
"Why is that?" she blurted out the question that had been swirling in her mind, when she suddenly felt a light tap on her forehead.
"Lan, snap out of it, or we'll pass the second cafeteria," 022 reminded her.
She blinked and readily agreed, just as she was about to gather her scattered thoughts, when she saw Gracie waving at her in her field of vision.
My mother said my breathing seemed a little strange.
The words she had heard in the past suddenly struck Jiang Yunlan. She froze on the spot, her hair standing on end.
They clearly stated that the illustrations in the encyclopedia depicted giant beasts.
Did the Apocalypse Tribe successfully modify the behemoth?
The speculation from not long ago resurfaced in Jiang Yunlan's mind. She watched as the baby dragon led by Ilov walked toward her, her body tensed, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
The reason why the Leopard Orc clan was attacked by the behemoth has not yet been found. The behemoth attacked when it encountered two dragons on the sea surface, so it may not necessarily be due to a matter of aura.
...It's not necessarily a question of whether Greysien entered the laboratory.
She looked at the beaming Greysion and thought, "If that's really the case, those orcs from Apocalypse deserve to die."
"Lan?" Greysien tilted his head, his right paw being held by Azure Wood Crow.
He still preferred to use his animal form. For dragons, the animal form was the norm in daily life; the human form was merely a means to lower their imposing presence when interacting with other beastmen. Some dragons maintained their animal form from birth until the end of their lives.
Jiang Yunlan tried to relax her clenched fists, a smile as usual appearing on her face, her voice devoid of much variation, "You guys are having dinner in the cafeteria too? Want to sit together?"
Upon hearing this, 022 immediately leaned down to look at her, seemingly deep in thought.
"Great!" Gracie's happy voice rang out.
Jiang Yunlan's vision blurred, and she instinctively reached out to catch 022, who jumped into her arms. Her buzzing mind went blank for a moment. She realized that 022 was interrupting her bad mood, and her stunned expression turned into helplessness.
A genuine smile curved her lips as she strode into the cafeteria, discussing with Gracie what to have for dinner as they walked.
Thinking wildly won't solve anything; let's fill our stomachs first before trying to find out the truth.
Jiang Yunlan carried her food to an empty table and sat down. The orcs, including Heitu, who had activated their auto-follow function, also found empty seats nearby and quickly began eating their dinner.
"Cangmu. You haven't been able to go out during this time. Have you thought about what you're going to do recently?" Jiang Yunlan asked while eating her rice bowl.
“I want to go back and help Mo Rong manage the Mountains. I’ve been inquiring recently if any orcs have set off for the Mountains, and I plan to go with them,” Cang Mu Yu Ya said.
Gración suddenly looked up, extended his left hand that was supporting the bowl, and said to Lan, "Ilovian and I are also going to the mountains."
She had no objections, reminded them to be careful, and ended the conversation.
Summer is surrounded by lurking enemies, as well as newly migrated wild animals. The dangers of traveling between different habitats are much greater than before.
Fortunately, a roadside inn has been built between the grassland habitat and the other two habitats, with orc warriors and war beasts stationed there permanently. They regularly clear out dangerous creatures in the surrounding area and protect the safety of orcs traveling through the area.
Thinking that Sveta had gone to find Ilovian to play as soon as she left the council hall, Jiang Yunlan felt more at ease. Sveta would definitely accompany them to the mountains, so she didn't need to worry too much about their safety.
After finishing her last bite, she took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth clean and said to the Azure Wood Crow who had put down his chopsticks before her, "Don't forget to pick up the carrier bird from Iwata before you set off. One of the newly trained carrier birds sent to the mountains was missed."
Cangmu Yuya nodded solemnly. If anyone outside tried to secretly contact a certain tribe of orcs, he would immediately capture that orc and contact Lan at the same time.
Any savvy undercover agent knows that secretly passing messages within Xia's territory carries a much higher risk of being discovered. The best time to smuggle messages is while out and about, allowing them to summon teammates to attack the group and eliminate any orcs who suspect their identity. This way, they can also pretend to be survivors and continue their successful undercover work.
This is a brilliant plan that kills three birds with one stone. It delivers the message, eliminates some formidable enemies, and effectively conceals one's identity to dispel the Xia beastmen's suspicions.
A clever undercover agent was mentally calculating who among the orcs that Cangmu Yuya had found were on the outing.
Tomorrow is the day she'll head to the mountains with Cangmu Yuya and the other orcs. If the plan doesn't have a high success rate, she'll postpone it until another time.
"Clang, clang, clang."
A knock came into the room, and the Apocalypse Orc became alert, pressing down on the weapon hidden under his pillow.
"Ershui. It is I, Yan Ganguo."
Upon entering the Xia tribe, Yuan Bingsheng, who had named himself "Ershui," relaxed slightly upon hearing this, withdrew his hand, sat down next to the pillow, and said loudly, "Come in."
Yan Ganguo pushed open the door, walked into the house under the gaze of the sheep-beastman, turned around and closed the door, revealing his back and vulnerable neck, seemingly completely unprepared for her.
"Squeak."
The door closed.
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Author's Note: I'm feeling a bit better lately, so I can update every other day. I've decided to resume applying for rankings. I'll update according to the ranking list if there's one, and every other day if there isn't. Let's see if I can build up a backlog of chapters.
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