Returning to the elf city, I looked around and saw that more than half of the city had been destroyed.

Sighing helplessly, we made our way to the Elf Queen. She was currently commanding the elves to clean up the debris on the ground. It seemed that many of the buildings that hadn't been destroyed were still intact, so there was no need for anyone to set up tents or anything like that.

"Fir, you're back?"

"Yeah, have the monsters retreated?"

"Yes, they suddenly withdrew..."

"It seems that the enemy didn't have any reserve forces. Instead, they relied on teleportation gates to transport their army."

"What? Teleportation gates?"

The Elf Queen's surprised exclamation caught the attention of Elder Dundorid who was standing nearby.

"Did you say teleportation gates?"

The old man walked over to me and stared at me, asking, "Where are they?"

"About 6354 meters in this direction."

I pointed in the direction we had come from.

"You... know it so precisely."

"Well... it's just a habit."

I wouldn't tell him that I had memorized it from the mini-map.

"So... since the enemy has retreated, did you close their teleportation gates?"

"Yes."

I said casually.

"We overloaded them and blew them up."

"Blew them up..."

Elder Dundorid's mouth twitched.

"Well, if we could get our hands on one of those teleportation gates, maybe we could find out where they brought so many monsters from. But since we've already stopped their attack, that's a good thing. Otherwise, this city would have been completely finished."

"Oh, by the way, is this the only elf city? Were the other cities attacked too?"

"Well..."

The elder was about to say something when the Elf Queen quickly intervened.

"This city is one of the outermost cities in the Elf dwelling network. As long as the outermost cities aren't breached, the cities inside will be fine."

"Well, that's good."

"Because the gaps between the cities are patrolled by the monsters, which reduces the burden on the elves."

Upon hearing this, Aliyah and I exchanged a glance and then looked sympathetically at the Elf Queen.

"About that... I think you may need to reconsider."

"Reconsider? What?"

The Elf Queen was still puzzled, but the elder next to her immediately furrowed his brow.

"Do you mean... the monsters have already rebelled?"

"Not exactly."

I shrugged.

"More like someone made them evolve into a level where they're no longer controlled by anyone."

"Not controlled... but... we've only used the monster flutes to communicate with them."

"Some people think so, but clearly not everyone. Don't believe me? Try using the monster flute and see how many monsters you can still control now."

"This..."

While the Elf Queen hesitated, the elder already took out the monster flute and blew into it.

Strange sounds came out of the flute, but I could still hear some voices.

The sound lasted for a long time, but after it ended, there was silence for a long time.

"..."

The elder waited for a while, then sighed helplessly.

"This matter is very important. I need to report it to the Elder Council immediately. Fir, the Elf race owes you a great favor this time. From now on, the Elf race will be your friend. Feel free to come to us if you need anything."

"Well...thank you. There's something you need to be aware of. These monsters have evolved through genetic manipulation, with the help of an organization called 'Snake Eye'. I just found out about this. We tried tracking them earlier, but they managed to shake us off halfway."

That's right, even though we installed trackers, we found broken trackers discarded on the road after our journey. They are still functioning, but they are useless now. When we went to find the few Basilisks that delivered the message, they were already long gone. This leads me to speculate two things: first, they have the ability to detect trackers, and second...they may have even discovered us but are unconcerned.

A cold sweat ran down my cheek. If the second speculation is correct, they might still be observing us.

"Snake Eye...I understand. I will report this together. Sylvie, Queen of the Elves, I leave this to you."

"Well, how do we go back then..."

"... "

The Elder smiled bitterly and pointed to the Elf Queen.

"Alright, alright. I will take you away from here. You can relax now."

"Take us away...what about the teleportation gate in the temple?"

"We plan to interfere with the magic elements there directly, making it unable to generate a portal. It's simpler than trying to shut it down."

"To avoid trouble, you mean destroy it directly? That's a good idea."

It seems that the Elves are already in a desperate situation. But when you think about it, if the human empire encountered such a situation, they would have gone into a frenzy long ago. The Elves are actually staying quite calm.

"So...do you need our help?"

"No, no, no. You've already helped us a lot. Chilia!"

Upon hearing the call from the Elf Queen, the young Elf who came earlier looking for a one-on-one confrontation quickly ran up to us. But compared to before, his eyes no longer held hostility.

"Chilia, take Fir and Aliyah and leave the Forest Sea."

"Alright!"

I looked at Aliyah, and she seemed resigned.

It seems that the Elves are about to make a big move, and they don't want us to see what they are doing. Otherwise, why would they make us leave even though it's almost evening? They could at least offer us accommodation.

"Sorry, it seems you can't rely on your Elven skills anymore."

I messaged Aliyah through the terminal.

"Don't worry about it, and...who says there's no hope?"

Aliyah smiled.

"Oh? Did you get a skill book?"

"Not yet, but...soon."

She glanced back at Chilia with a smile.

"We made a deal just now~"

I looked back at a nervous Chilia, then back at Aliyah.

"You're good at corrupting young kids, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about? He's about eight times my age. Who's the kid here?"

Alright, alright, your chest is small, so you have the final say.