Chapter 2346: 1301: A Surprising Answer (Part 2)

Chapter 2346: Chapter 1301: A Surprising Answer (Part 2)

Konet’s face turned somewhat pale, and he summoned another Tier 6 alchemical golem from his storage ring.

As soon as Konet spoke, everyone became even more tense.

If things really were like this, not even our ancestors, who were in their glorious era and under the protection of the Deities, could resist the space distortion, leading to their complete disappearance, let alone our group.

“We can’t be sure yet, but I think the possibility is low.”

Leo Ray pondered briefly, then responded, “There are three reasons. First, most ancient relics are severely damaged, clearly having suffered from disaster or war, but there are no signs of battle here.”

“Second, not all of the Ten Thousand Clans disappeared back then; some remained, though they lost extremely important memories, yet here we find it entirely deserted.”

“Third, and most importantly, from what I know, only the strong of the Ten Thousand Clans disappeared back then; there wasn’t a widespread disappearance of ordinary demon beasts or even insects.”

After hearing Leo Ray’s analysis, the group’s tense emotions eased somewhat, and they all breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

“However, even if this isn’t directly linked to the Lost Relic Effect, we still haven’t figured out the root cause of the situation, nor have we prevented it from happening.”

Leo Ray gripped Rolanddel tightly and advised everyone, “You must not let your guard down. We have no way back now. As the strange distortion has just happened, we must resolve this matter quickly.”

Under Leo Ray’s command, our group quickly reorganized into exploration formation and continued investigating in the empty Elven village.

Soon after, Louise’s curious and clear voice rang out again, puzzled, “Lord, as you said, where exactly did the disappeared Elves go?”

However, before Louise’s words had fully left her mouth, an unexpected situation suddenly occurred.

Without any warning, the group felt a fierce spatial whirlwind descend from above, howling past their ears. Even though it was mitigated by Jasper Richardson’s space barrier, Leo Ray and the rest weren’t directly affected by the gale.

But as a gray strong light flashed by, the surrounding Elven village transformed completely, leaving our group dumbfounded.

The originally intact Elven village was nearly razed to the ground, leaving only roots and some remnants of houses, emitting thick black smoke and a nauseatingly fetid smell.

For a moment, everyone felt a sense of time travel, as though suddenly transported through time, and the desolate sight before them made them grip their weapons tightly.

Suppressing his inner astonishment, Leo Ray focused intently.

The source of the thick black smoke wasn’t fierce flames but a sort of black corrosive liquid, bubbling and popping among the ruins of the village, turning everything into black viscous matter flowing everywhere.

“Your Majesty, from the remaining magical traces, this is a highly potent corrosion spell.”

Yonir bent down to check for a moment, then looked at Leo Ray, “According to my analysis, the spell was cast roughly half a day ago.”

After Yonir finished speaking, Shuert, the currently strongest in the group, also nodded in agreement with the former’s view.

“Look over there.”

Leo Ray held Rolanddel across his chest and gestured to everyone with a look.

Following Leo Ray’s gaze, everyone was surprised to find.

Under a broken tree not far away, several small and delicate bodies lay sprawled, with signs of burning and dried blood around them.

Upon getting closer, Leo Ray noticed further.

These small corpses were all wearing tattered magic robes, with several broken wooden staffs scattered around, clearly soldiers.

Their prominent pointed ears protruded a bit longer than those of Half-Elves, yet shorter than those of the Elf Tribe, and the two sets of transparent wings on their backs were mostly shattered, revealing that they were the Elves we had been searching for!

“What exactly happened? They’ve been dead for at least half a day!”

Louise bent down for a closer look, then said incredulously to Leo Ray, “Lord, did we travel through time? Is this the past or the future?”

“Yes, why did the once intact village suddenly get completely destroyed in the blink of an eye?”

Scarlett’s fair face was full of confusion, her head almost smoking.

“Take a closer look, is this really still the Elven village from earlier?”

Leo Ray signaled for Taylor and the other strong members to spread out on guard while nodding to Louise and Scarlett.

With Leo Ray’s hint, the two finally noticed.

Although very similar to the previous Elven village, the layout of the buildings here was not identical, and it was only because everything was in ruins that it was difficult to distinguish at first glance.

“That means we’ve been unknowingly spatially transported?”

Louise slapped her smooth forehead, and with sudden realization, said, “And the sudden fierce spatial whirlwind just now was a sign of transportation?”

“While it didn’t have the usual lightness during transportation, that’s indeed the fact.”

Leo Ray affirmed Louise’s words, nodding, “If I’m not mistaken, those Elves who suddenly disappeared were probably transported here as well.”

“Even though Elves mainly move by flying and can’t be tracked by footprints, I also agree with the Human Majesty’s assessment.”

Shuert’s wooden staff rippled with intense mana, clearly ready to act, supporting, “It seems that the two questions the Human Majesty raised have been answered — this is where the disappeared Elves ended up, and the involuntary spatial transport will indeed happen again.”

“Then where exactly are we?”

Scarlett scratched her head, full of doubt.

“What’s certain is that this is not the Barrier Area.”

After receiving a nod from Leo Ray, Jasper Richardson first spoke, “The degree of space distortion here is the same as earlier, having reached an extreme level beyond human strength. If this happened in the Barrier Area, it would’ve collapsed entirely by now.”

“This also doesn’t seem to be the Peak Forest Mystery, nor does it belong to the domain of the Elves from the Peak Forest Mystery.”

Shuert, looking at the emblem on the magic robes of the Elven soldiers’ corpses, confidently stated, “This is completely different from the symbol of the Elves from the Peak Forest Mystery.”

“No wonder these soldiers have been dead for a while, and the space distortion occurred recently; the timeline doesn’t match, so these deceased Elves don’t belong to the Peak Forest Mystery?”

The Grey Elder gently stroked his white beard, musing, “But as far as I know, apart from the Peak Forest Mystery, there’s no other information about Elves appearing in any other part of the Outer Region.”

“That’s right, and that’s exactly what’s puzzling me.”

Shuert’s vine-like eyebrows almost twisted into a knot, his old face full of confusion, “Who exactly are these Elves who don’t belong to the Peak Forest Mystery? And as the Human woman wondered earlier, where exactly have we been transported to?”

While Shuert was speaking, everyone looked around. Thick smoke billowed everywhere, obscuring the distant scenery, and even more nerve-wracking were the faint sounds of battle cries seeming to ripple from afar.

“I think I know where this is.”

After a moment, Leo Ray’s solemn voice echoed, delivering a startling response, “This is probably not the familiar land we know. More precisely, it’s a distinctly unfamiliar territory, a different region we previously believed to be unreachable.”