135 Building a Settlement
They all passed through the portal and were shocked the moment they saw what was beyond that portal.
The trees inside the Elven forest were as tall as buildings, and so thick that it needed 6 fully grown men to fully embrace it.
All the people from the other tribe were also shocked, but did not stay long where the portal was, as they left, following a road to the left.
It was their deal before going inside that place. Each group of people would go their own way, and Arthur did the same.
“Wisa, do you know anything about this place?” Arthur said.
She was the only person who had researched this place, but never went there in person.
“Elves aren’t that friendly with humans because of the war from ages ago. I’m not sure about their relationship in today’s age.”
Bill was also near Arthur and Wisa and entered the conversation, providing useful information.
“My Dragon Scale Empire has an alliance with the elves to fight against the dark races. Maybe I can somehow get us out of trouble if the situation requires it?” Bill said.
“That would be great.” Arthur said.
They were relieved after knowing that. It made them uneasy to walk inside an unknown territory, but they did not have any choice, as staying inside the desert was a lost cause.
Arthur had the plan to improve his strength a lot on that new continent, and then fight his way back to his old kingdom and find Nefion. A task that surely wouldn’t be easy, but he would do anything in his power to get it done.
“Where should we go?” Arthur said.
The number of people with them was not small, and it could be seen as the population of a small city. Where should they go?
“The elves are in a small number compared to a long time ago, but their territory remained the same size. If we are careful, and explore this place properly, then we can find a decent spot to build up a village.” Wisa said.
A long time ago, the elves were at war against the nearby humans, and ended up losing a lot of its habitants. Elves were creatures that couldn’t have babies that easily, and it would take them a long time to recover their population.
Centuries have passed since that war, yet they still needed thousands of years to get back to what they were in terms of population. Even with their small number, the humans couldn’t take their territory.
Inside the forest, the elves reigned, and if the humans wanted to conquer that piece of land, they would have to fight in the terrain the elves knew, and were stronger at.
The humans tried to fight in that situation, and ended up losing repeatedly, until they finally stopped and make a peace offer to the elves.
Although the war had ended, the hatred the elves had for the humans did not vanish, and it was still carved in their hearts. They only opted for an alliance with the humans because the dark races that were attacking also had the Elven forest as their target.
Bill had shared all of that with Arthur, and said he had learned all of that from his father, who was a general in the army.
They kept moving in the opposite direction from where the other humans went and eventually reached an area with a river. One thing that caught their attention was that the area was plain, and the vegetation wasn’t as dense as the other areas, and that meant it was a decent spot to build a village.
“Everyone. We will camp here for the night, and in fact, maybe we can build our village here if the area is safe.” Arthur said.
All the devotees were happy to hear that. They wanted some time to rest after walking through the desert, and now through the forest. Also, their food was running low, so it was the best if they rested and maybe hunted to feed up all those people.
Considering the amount of people there, the food would be a problem, so Arthur decided to quickly form lots of hunting parties, and made them explore different parts of their surroundings, looking for food.
“Sully, can you fly and look from above to see if there’re any buildings around this area? Buildings mean elves, and we should be careful if they are near.”
“All right.”
Arthur also flew towards the sky to look at the surrounding area. All he could see was nature, devoid of any type of building.
Wisa had told him that the elves liked to live inside trees, but they still built their houses inside those trees, which meant it wasn’t completely camouflaged.
And elves also needed food and water. It was known that they were one of the best for cultivating food, so if a settlement of elves was nearby, then surely it would have farms around it, and Arthur wasn’t seeing any of that.
It was a good sign, as they needed some time to settle, and who knows how the elves would react after seeing that many humans inside their territory? Maybe they would think they were trying to finally conquer it?
The thought of going in a war against the elves wasn’t something Arthur liked. They were strong and mysterious. No one knew exactly what the elves were capable of, but one thing was clear. Even with their smaller population, they held against lots of humans, and Arthur did not see how he could win against that.
After he made sure the surrounding area was clear, he also made his own hunting group and went looking for food.
Wisa and Jane stayed with the other devotees who were building improvised houses. Arthur told them to use the enormous trees just like the elves did, and they also thought it was a good idea, as it made them harder to spot in the forest.
Arthur went hunting with Kai, Theo, and Bill also went with them. He wanted to see how much Kai had improved, as he was already level 32.
“It’s been a long time, teacher. You’re too busy!!!” Kai said.
“Today I’ll see if you improved. Also, I want to share new techniques with you after we get back.”
“Really? Awesome!”
They left the river and went inside the dense forest, looking for food.