40: Twilight Forest! Angry Bashaka!

North of Greystone Keep, at the end of the vast Sunset Plain, lay a colossal forest that occupied a large territory. This was the last home of the Elf in the Adran World—the Twilight Forest.

Unlike the recently quelled war at Greystone Keep, a brutal battle was unfolding here.

Emerald vines intertwined with whistling arrows, and the energy of nature violently clashed with bloodthirsty frenzy.

“Roar!”

A giant Goblin, over three meters tall, brandished a massive stone club, smashing through a barrier hastily summoned from trees by an Elf warrior, sending splinters flying.

In the chaos, three arrows, glowing with a faint green light and shot from different angles, precisely pierced its eye sockets and throat.

The giant Goblin’s massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

However, more Goblins, Worg Riders, and various driven summoned creatures were surging like a tide, assaulting the Elf’s defensive line built upon ancient trees and terrain.

The Elf warriors moved with agile grace, their actions elegant yet deadly; each draw of a bow, each swing of a sword, carried a fatal intent.

But the sheer number of Goblins was overwhelming, and they charged forward fearlessly, one after another.

In front of the defensive line, a thick layer of corpses from both sides had piled up, and the air was filled with a strange mixture of rich blood and plant sap.

“Hold the line! We cannot let these filthy things defile our home!” An Elf elder with white hair and beard stood on the branch of a towering ancient tree, the tip of his staff glowing with a soft light, healing the wounded warriors below while calmly directing the battle.

Despite the Elf’s tenacious resistance, relying on their familiarity with the forest terrain and their exquisite skills, the front line was still slowly being pushed back.

The main force of the Goblin army, personally led by their king, Bashaka, displayed unprecedented power.

…

Deep within the Twilight Forest, the Elf Royal Court.

The atmosphere in the council hall, nestled among the branches of the Life Ancient Tree, was somewhat heavy.

A giant leaf emitted a soft light, illuminating the round table woven from vines, around which several Elf elders were now seated.

Their brows were furrowed, and an indelible worry lingered on their faces.

“The pressure on the front line is growing,” a military elder said gravely, “It seems Bashaka is determined to conquer us this time. We’ve already deployed the Royal Guard, but the Goblin offensive remains fierce, and casualty numbers are climbing daily.”

“No matter what, we must hold! The Twilight Forest is our last home, and it must not fall into the hands of those filthy Goblins,” another elder stated firmly.

“Liora’s news… what do you all think?” A relatively young female elder, Airella, suddenly spoke, breaking the somewhat somber atmosphere.

She looked at Liora, who stood nearby with a complex expression.

Liora stepped forward, bowing slightly: “Elders, I reiterate, the human city I saw in Nigu Forest possesses military strength far beyond our understanding. Their soldiers are well-trained, well-equipped, extremely effective in tactics, and even capable of easily crushing monster tides of equivalent rank. Their lord, Su Jin, though young, is unfathomable.”

As soon as she finished speaking, it immediately sparked a low murmur of discussion.

“Humans? Liora, are you sure you weren’t mistaken?” An old and steady elder questioned, “Humans have always been weak; even if powerful individuals occasionally appear, they are mostly lone wolves. When have they ever had such a powerful army?”

“Yes, could you have misjudged? Or was it just some kind of illusion?”

Liora felt a sense of powerlessness, knowing that her people’s ingrained impression of humans was hard to change.

She could only try her best to elaborate, attempting to make them believe this vital information.

“Elders, I swear by the honor of the Sindorei, every word I’ve spoken is true! That was absolutely not an illusion; those powerful armies are a force capable of changing the tide of war! Their leader can even unleash power far beyond an ordinary Silver-rank!”

“Enough, Liora.” The Chief Elder raised his hand to stop the argument. His gaze swept over everyone, finally resting on Liora. “Debating whether humans are real or fake is meaningless now. We don’t even know if they are friend or foe. The immediate priority is to respond to Bashaka’s offensive. As for that human city… I will send people to verify it again. But before that, we can only rely on ourselves.”

Liora opened her mouth but ultimately sat down in silence.

She watched as the elders once again fell into discussions about troop deployment and fortifying defenses, but her mind was preoccupied with the cold city walls and powerful soldiers of Infinite City.

She had a premonition that perhaps the elders’ decision would cause them to miss an important opportunity, or even… lead to irreparable consequences.

…

Meanwhile, at the front line of the Twilight Forest, the command center of the Goblin army.

Inside a massive tent, Bashaka, the Goblin King, exceptionally burly and covered in dark-colored armor, was looking at a sand table on the desk.

On the sand table, the markers representing the Elf’s defensive line remained stubbornly fixed at the edge of the Twilight Forest.

The Elf’s resistance was much more tenacious than he had anticipated, which made him somewhat irritable. He had initially thought that with his overwhelming army, he could quickly crush these self-proclaimed elegant pointy-ears.

Just then, the tent flap was violently thrown open, and a Goblin scout responsible for communications rushed in, his voice trembling uncontrollably: “Your Majesty! North… urgent report!”

Bashaka paused, his crimson eyes narrowed, and the air pressure in the tent seemed to drop instantly. “Speak!”

“Greystone Keep… Greystone Keep… has fallen!” The scout’s voice trembled, “U… Ugluk the warlord… fallen in battle!”

“What?!” Bashaka’s voice suddenly rose. He strode to the scout, his massive shadow completely engulfing him. “What did you say?! Ugluk is dead? Greystone Keep is lost?! Who did it?!”

Ugluk was one of his strongest warlord; his title of ‘Sword Saint’ was not for show, and Greystone Keep was a sturdy fortress guarding the northern passage. How could it be lost so easily?!

“It… it was humans! An unseen human army! They… they broke through Greystone Keep overnight! Ugluk the warlord… fought to the death!” The scout, terrified under Bashaka’s pressure, stammered.

“Humans?!” Bashaka was stunned, his face filled with an incredulous and absurd expression. “Mere humans?! How is that possible!”

Bashaka stared intently at the scout: “Are you sure it was humans? Not some Elf trick?”

The scout knelt on the ground, shaking his head desperately: “Absolutely humans! They wore armor I’ve never seen before, used strange weapons, and… and possessed great power!”

Bashaka fell silent. Humans were weak and cunning; while they sometimes caused him trouble, it was always minor. An human army capable of breaking through Greystone Keep… this completely defied his understanding, especially overnight…

“Damn humans, daring to ruin this King’s great plans!” Bashaka roared, slamming his fist onto a nearby stone table, which instantly shattered into pieces.

The other Goblin generals in the tent trembled in fear, not daring to breathe.

Bashaka took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart. He knew now was not the time for anger.

The fall of Greystone Keep meant his Royal City was now exposed to enemy threats. If he couldn’t quickly deal with the Elf in the Twilight Forest, he would be caught between two fires.

“Issue the order!” Bashaka’s voice was as cold as if it came from hell. “Order Grom, the commander of the Royal City Guard, to hold the Royal City. He must hold it for three months! Within three months, this King will flatten the Twilight Forest, then return to crush those damned humans into meat paste, leaving none alive!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The Goblin generals, as if pardoned, quickly responded.

Bashaka waved his hand, signaling them to withdraw. Silence returned to the tent, broken only by his heavy breathing.

He walked to the edge of the tent, pulled back the flap, and gazed at the Twilight Forest swaying in the distant warfire, his crimson eyes filled with bloodthirsty light.

“Humans… Elf… all of you wait for this King! The Adran World shall eventually grovel at the feet of the Goblin!”

…