Chapter 55 - The Elves ( 1 )

Silver and the others pulled out their weapons in case the Elves started to mindlessly attack them. Though it wasn't likely to happen, they are afraid that these creatures were already tired of them since they've been coming here almost every day.

'In order for them to appear, we have to provoke them by entering the forest… In case they decided to ignore us, we can probably try hunting their wild beasts here for our food.'

Cyril thought as looked at the gigantic trees in the forest. He didn't notice it too much when they were far but now that they have gotten closer, he realized that none of the trees here are small.

They were all thrice the norm when compared to the trees on Earth.

"Sir Cyril… In case you managed to have a conversation with the Elves, please consider letting us know of the current situation or your conversation so we can act properly." Silver said as he continue observing the dark and eerie forest…

Because of the big trees, there could hardly be sunlight passing through their canopy. They can only see a few rays of sunlight from their spot.

Nevertheless, it may be different once they managed to enter the inner circle of the forest.

"I understand. I will try my best." Cyril nodded to the leader of this group. They continued walking further inside the forest as they started noticing various beasts appearing and watching their movement.

There were mutated rabbits, squirrels, and various small mutated animals. As for the Elves, they seem to have decided to allow them to enter deeper… Well, based on Silver's words, there are cases that the elves aren't patrolling the outer circle of the forest.

It only rarely happens so they couldn't really find a pattern in their movements.

In the meantime, Cyril decided to speak with the demon inside him.

'Sir Xagan… There must be elves watching us right now… Are they all stronger than us?'

Cyril knowingly asked Xagan.

He heard many things about the elves before and he knows that they are sensitive to the life force. Especially the Arcane Explorers from Earth who are all brimming with life and power.

In short, they know how strong an Awakened is just by seeing them once.

As for him, even if he could see an elf standing in front of him, he has no ability to determine their strength. However, the demon might be capable of doing this.

As for paying the price, he knows that Xagan is not that stingy when rating the people near him like what happened in the Awakened Association.

'Kakaka… So you know that they have already surrounded you. Don't worry, I'm sure that you guys wouldn't even know how you died if they attacked, so you don't have to know their strength.' Xagan replied with a chuckle.

'What? Then doesn't it mean that they are a B-Class level or even higher?'

Cyril can already tell the Elves' strength based on the Demon's ambiguous remarks. Although he is an S-Rank Awakened, he has absolute control of his Aura and could hide his strength as B-Rank…

Even if they find something wrong with his Aura, they would only think that he's a B-Rank that is reaching the rank of an A-Rank.

'Are they allowing us to enter the deep inside the forest because of a trap? Tsk! We're in danger…'

"Let's stop…" Cyril said promptly.

Thud!

Everyone's steps stopped immediately as they listened to his words.

"Is there something wrong?"

Silver looked at him curiously. He noticed that Cyril has a serious face so he immediately looked around them.

This isn't the deepest area they've managed to explore before. There are only small animals here and wild magical beasts would rarely appear.

Nevertheless, since Cyril is keeping his silence, they decided to just wait for a while. It's not like they are in a hurry to complete the mission.

Time slowly passed in the eerie forest and when Silver was about to ask Cyril again, they heard something rubbing on the leaves not too far from them.

Someone's approaching…

It seems that the one coming is alone, however…

Sshh… Sshh…

'There's too many of them!' Silver exclaimed in his mind.

They thought that there's only one creature coming at them but they suddenly heard the rustling of leaves everywhere around them.

They could hardly feel their presence.

Everyone held unto their Artifacts as they seem to be ready to fight.

"Don't do anything stupid. We're not here to fight." Cyril whispered to them.

Since Xagan can confirm that these Elves can kill them instantly, there's no point holding their weapons.

Silver didn't like how Cyril is ordering him but he decided to follow him for now. Anyway, it wouldn't be too late to withdraw his Sword Artifact.

He then sheath his sword but touched the Escape Crystal inside his pocket. He'll immediately trigger it once he realized that they are truly in danger.

On the other hand, as soon as everyone decided to listen to him, he faced the black figures appearing around them…

'They're not attacking us immediately… It means that they aren't those crazy elves… I might be successful here.' Cyril thought as he immediately take the initiative.

"I'm Cyril Vermont. I'm here to negotiate with the honorable elves living in this forest. We are not here to cause any harm. Please, take down your weapons."

Of course, he used the Elven language and it sounded gibberish in front of Silver and the others.

However, the Elves that are listening were stunned after hearing him. This is most likely their first time to see someone from a different race use their language.

Soon, their group heard the Elves whispering. Silver nervously held the Escape Crystal and closely looked at the movements of the elves. He can't understand what they are talking about so he can only make a decision by judging their actions.

He didn't even want to glance at Cyril afraid that he'll miss the Elves' movements.

After a few more seconds, one of the Elves started approaching them. He's also covered with a cloak and holding a cane in his left hand.

Nevertheless, he couldn't hide his stature as a man…

"Cyril Vermont… We'll listen to what you want to say. Why did you come here?"

The man asked as he revealed his enchanting face.