# Chapter 27: Chaos Erosion
"I don't know."
The mage shook his head, not saying anything more, as if wanting to remain silent.
But under Priest's persistent coaxing, combined with using his position as captain to threaten and entice, he still helplessly spoke his guess: "To be honest, Captain, you definitely didn't notice the genealogy these elves carved on the Mother Tree of Life. These elves already have over thirty generations of inheritance."
"Over thirty generations... Even if humans count twenty years as one generation, that's nearly six hundred years... Normal elves typically give birth to offspring at one to two hundred years old. The situation here is different, so let's calculate by eighty years. Thirty generations would still be two thousand four hundred years."
The mage stopped there, not continuing further. Clearly, he himself hadn't figured out what was going on... Moreover, the mage still had one sentence left unsaid.
These thirty-plus generations of elves were merely the genealogy of the 'Watcher' tribe... What if there was a period of inheritance before them that wasn't recorded in the genealogy? Would that be three thousand years, or even four thousand? Furthermore, even if geological movements were extremely frequent, there was absolutely no way one thousand three hundred years could transform the Aklafa Hub into a strangely shaped rocky mountain. This would require at least several thousand years of nature's masterful craftsmanship.
The timeline simply didn't match up, after all, from the birth of the first Sage to its end, the Era of Radiance didn't even last two thousand years.
Wrong time. Closed world. Elves who had lost their inheritance. Bizarre chaos erosion. The corpses of nine giant beasts in the sky.
More and more puzzling things emerged, giving the exploration team members tremendous headaches. And with the alchemist, clergy, and knight waking up, the already not very large cave became noisy and crowded.
"We should return to the vicinity of the Aklafa Hub as soon as possible!"
This was the clergy's opinion. He believed that the Aklafa Hub was the culprit that caused them to teleport to this world, and naturally, it was also the key to their return to the Mycroft World. Regardless of whether they could negotiate, they should go back and check the situation.
"At least we should thoroughly investigate the local situation. When we were looking from the sky before, we saw over a dozen Life Trees. The Watcher tribe is just one of them."
The alchemist leaned toward understanding the local situation and collecting as much information as possible first. After all, the primitiveness of the Watcher tribe didn't mean other elves were primitive. Perhaps there existed a group of elves who had preserved a certain level of civilization? If they could find a relatively detailed historical record, allowing everyone to know exactly where they were, then everything would be much easier to handle.
On the other side, the knight didn't dare express any opinion. He just sat in place, drinking water frantically as if in self-isolation.
Everyone had different opinions. Although Priest was the captain, he himself didn't have any ideas for the moment, making it difficult to decide the team's action strategy for the time being.
"Still not strong enough..."
Priest sighed inwardly: "If I had Ultimate-rank strength, then the Aklafa Hub might not be able to stop me. I would also have Level 5 authority, naturally able to access its database... If I were as strong as Teacher, then the closed barrier of this world could probably be easily shattered, allowing us to return to the normal multiverse."
With Legendary-rank strength, there would be no need to fear those eight-legged fungi. Even if they couldn't defeat the other group, at least a strategic retreat would be no problem.
With sufficient strength, why would one need to think so much? The simplest and most direct method could solve all problems.
"I'll go out first and check the situation."
For a moment, Priest felt his heart a bit unsettled. His originally clear train of thought was disrupted by the sudden, intense desire for strength. He immediately stood up, exhaled, and said, "I'll go to the elf tribe outside to check the situation and ask when these long-lived beings will finish their discussion."
"Do you need me to follow?"
The knight stood up, "To avoid being ambushed by those elves."
"No need. Even if their numbers were doubled, they couldn't kill me instantly. Besides, if these elves wanted to attack, they would have done so two days ago."
Priest shook his head, rejecting the other's suggestion: "But you can go check other places and gather information. We spent two days repairing the mana armor. It's time to truly understand this world."
With that, he didn't say anything more and directly walked out of the cave entrance, reaching the surface.
The cave where everyone was located was at the edge of the Watcher elf tribe, in a blue-black hill. In the distance, one could see an enormous tree, as massive as a small mountain. Seven-colored mana rainbow light swam at the tree's crown, dreamlike and magnificent.
The Watcher tribe was divided into four major tribes and seven or eight scattered small tribes, totaling nearly two thousand three hundred people. The Deer Crown Elf was the leader of the largest tribe, and those he was discussing with were the Gold-rank leaders of the other three tribes.
According to information from the Watcher elves, Priest and the others were located in the northeastern part of the continent, close to the coast. Therefore, fishing was the main livelihood of these elves. This information matched what the exploration team had seen from the sky, proving that these elves weren't lying and were relatively sincere.
Priest stood at the top of the hill. He could see in the distance, beneath the Mother Tree of Life, scattered rock buildings—sparse at the edges and dense at the center.
These were the entrances to underground caves that had been finely decorated, with facilities to prevent rainwater from flowing in. In other words, this was the elves' tribal town. The mana at the top of the Mother Tree of Life was too concentrated; those without sufficient strength couldn't bear it at all. So contrary to what most people might think, the vast majority of elves actually lived around the tree roots where the mana was relatively mild.
Priest didn't consider entering the elf tribe, because unlike the elves of the Mycroft World, their tribal main body was mostly underground. These elves lived by hunting wild beasts, catching sea fish, and cultivating mushrooms. He knew that if he went, he would only see large patches of mushroom cultivation sheds.
"Strange elf tribe... But who knows if this is the lifestyle of ancient elves."
Murmuring softly, Priest walked down the hill. He followed the paths frequently used by the elves, strolling slowly through the forest.
On the paths, he often saw groups of three to five elves preparing to go out for work, walking past. They didn't seem to notice Priest, this round-eared stranger, but carried various tools and weapons, chatting and laughing as they left. After confirming that they weren't pretending not to care but genuinely hadn't noticed him, Priest couldn't help but sigh deeply.
To be honest, there were many strange things about this world. For instance, the vigilance of this elf tribe was incredibly, almost unbelievably low, and everyone seemed to live very easily, not at all matching their primitive appearance.
However, Priest could understand this to some extent... The location of the Watcher elf tribe was roughly equivalent to the tropical regions of the Mycroft World. Fruits ripened easily here, requiring only minimal cultivation to harvest abundant food. Moreover, the elves' hunting skills were very exquisite, and no wild beasts could threaten their lives.
Additionally, they could fish and cultivate mushrooms and other fungi. Apart from dealing with the occasional otherworldly monsters—that is, beasts eroded by chaos—the elves lived extremely easily. One could even say they could live prosperously without much effort at all.
It was almost like the 'Great Harmony Society' that Teacher and Master Nostradamus kept talking about—at least satisfying the condition of having no worries about food and clothing. No wonder these elves were so lacking in vigilance. After all, they had no need for competition and no external enemies. They only needed to occasionally hunt monsters to ensure long-term peace. Without pressure, they actually had little motivation for worship either.
He wondered how long this strange prosperity and peace could last, and whether it was good or bad.
"Hey, you there, round-ears!"
Suddenly, Priest heard a voice full of vitality from behind him.
He turned to look and found that the one calling him was a young elf girl carrying a heavy fishing net, who looked very young.
This elf girl wore a grass-leaf long dress and had emerald green hair tied into a high ponytail. Like all elves, her features were very delicate and elegant, enough to be called a beauty. However, in terms of temperament, Priest felt she was a bit too energetic, spoke too loudly, and wasn't elegant at all.
Moreover, no matter how elegant an elf might be, carrying a fishing net would never allow anyone to perceive 'nobility.'
Although she looked like a young girl, in terms of age, she might be old enough to be his grandmother—just as Priest was thinking this very rude thought, the elf girl quickly approached with her fishing net.
In response, Priest instinctively stepped back, subtly assuming a defensive posture. But the elf girl didn't seem to notice the human man's almost obvious gesture of rejection. She simply stood in front of Priest, raised her hand with great momentum, and said loudly, "Hello!"
"...Hello."
Completely unable to understand what this elf wanted, Priest was still guessing whether she might be a spy sent by the elf high-level to extract information. However, this absurd thought vanished into thin air a few seconds later.
"Hey, round-ears, my name is Su Er!"
Wearing a fishing net, the energetic elf girl revealed a radiant smile, boldly pointing her right thumb at her chest, introducing herself crisply, and asking, "I want to know your name!"
...With this personality, she absolutely couldn't be any kind of spy. If she were... No, impossible.
Having studied under a certain lord, Priest didn't need to sense the heartbeat of the elf girl named Su Er. Just from the muscle movements on her face, he could directly determine that she wasn't lying and undoubtedly had no ulterior motives—she simply came over to introduce herself and then directly ask for his name.
In response, he originally wanted to give a fake name. After all, this was another world, for safety's sake. And as long as he discussed it with his teammates later, who would know it was fake? But Priest hesitated for some reason, then said seriously, "My name is Priest... May I ask, is there something you need from me?"
"Priest...st."
The elf girl nodded thoughtfully, then said confidently, "Such a strange name... But I've memorized it. You're called Priest!"
With that, Su Er didn't hesitate at all. She extended her left hand and grabbed Priest's right hand. The elf girl smiled and said, "Are you going to the seaside? Then we're going the same way. Let's go first. We can talk while walking!"
To be honest, Priest instinctively wanted to refuse. The Watcher elves' attitude toward them was still ambiguous. Although there was no hostility at the moment, who knew what would happen later? What if those elves thought he had designs on this elf girl? Many thoughts were brewing in his mind, but before he could open his mouth to refuse, Priest's body had already followed Su Er, who was humming a tune, striding forward.
Oh well, let's first hear what she wants to ask.
Priest was somewhat annoyed at himself for not directly refusing her. Refusing now would make his hostility too obvious. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask Su Er what she wanted, the elf girl spoke first, in a very mysterious tone: "Hey, Priest, I heard you came from very far away?"
"Indeed." Priest nodded. This was indeed what the elite squad had told the elf high-level: "From a distant place you've never been to."
"Really!"
Hearing this, Su Er became even more excited. She slightly narrowed her big emerald eyes, unable to suppress the corners of her mouth from rising. The elf girl suppressed her joy and said softly, "That means you must have seen many different sceneries, right?"
"Sort of." Priest somewhat understood what this girl was thinking. He smiled slightly and said, "Many sceneries, things that aren't here, completely different."
"Is that so... That's wonderful!" Hearing Priest's words, Su Er's eyes were practically shining. She seemed to want to ask something but didn't know how to start. The young warrior could even feel the hand holding his right hand occasionally tightening and loosening. All of this elf girl's thoughts seemed to be written on her face.
After a long while, Su Er, who had finally made up her mind, tightened her grip on Priest's hand. She bit her lower lip, slowly opened her mouth, and asked in a tone mixed with caution, expectation, excitement, and eagerness: "Then... Priest, can you tell me, what is the world outside this forest really like?"
The world outside the forest?
Priest was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected this elf girl to approach him so boldly and proactively... just to ask this question.
And from the looks of it, she really seemed to be looking forward to the answer to this question. Su Er genuinely wanted to know what 'outside' was like.
"The world outside the forest... Hmm."
Priest thought for a moment and felt that saying a little shouldn't be a problem. After all, he wasn't lying. "Outside the forest are hills and plains. There aren't many dense forests there, but there are many..."
Priest roughly explained the world's terrain to Su Er, describing the world structure he had seen from high altitude. He detailed lakes, great rivers, and canyons, explaining deserts, glaciers, and wilderness.
While listening, Su Er basically didn't interrupt. Instead, her eyes sparkled, and she very seriously and curiously memorized every word.
The elf girl didn't ask any sensitive questions, like what Priest's hometown was like or how far away it was. Su Er was simply purely curious about what kind of scenery existed far away that was completely different from the forest. She eagerly anticipated every explanation from Priest, as if this could allow this girl, who had always lived deep in the forest, to imagine sceneries different from her hometown.
Soon, time passed. The two had walked through the not-so-long path and arrived at the coast where the elves fished.
"Thank you so much for your kindness. Sorry for troubling you, satisfying my curiosity."
Wearing her fishing net, Su Er showed Priest a big smile. This unusually energetic elf girl was just as decisive in saying goodbye: "Next time, I'll treat you to 'Bright Light Clams' as thanks. But for now, I need to go to work!"
"Go ahead."
For some reason, Priest was also in a good mood. He stood at the coast and waved goodbye to Su Er as well.
Then, Priest looked around at the elf fishermen who were driving small boats back and forth around a simple long pier. This was a very classical inshore fishing dock. It seemed that even though these elves had lost almost all high-end technology, they had no worries about survival.
After confirming that this was the Watcher elf tribe's fishing base, Priest couldn't help but shift his gaze to Su Er, who was jogging toward the pier with her fishing net. He murmured softly, "I didn't expect that no matter where you go, there are people curious about the outside world... I thought elves could only stay in the forest their whole lives, never able to leave..."
His self-talk suddenly stopped midway.
Priest narrowed his eyes seriously, staring at the elf girl's back, where large areas of fair skin were exposed.
This wasn't because of any lustful thoughts or the desires of a young man... As someone who had undergone countless hellish trainings, Priest had long learned to control all the desires in his body. The reason he stared at Su Er's back was simple.
There was a long, slanted black wound—or rather, a terrifying scar—that split the girl's spine in two.
It writhed like a shadow, releasing an aura of destruction and the smell of death... This was chaos erosion, what the local natives called 'Otherworldly Sickness.'
Because the local residents all carried varying degrees of chaos aura, Priest hadn't been sensitive to it at first. But he never expected that the chaos erosion on Su Er was so severe!
"Even for an elf... she probably can't live much longer."
Priest silently reached this conclusion, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
No wonder... No wonder Su Er was so eager, so eager for all information related to the outside world... Because with her body, she probably couldn't even walk out of this forest.
And chaos erosion... in the vast majority of cases, was irreversible.
At least, he was powerless to do anything about it now.
Just as Priest was silently staring at the sea, the aura of a Gold-rank Druid gradually emerged behind him.
Priest turned around. Sure enough, the figure of the Deer Crown Elf was gradually emerging from the forest. He looked at the human before him and said in a low voice, "Human, after deliberation, our Watcher tribe has decided to agree to cooperate with you."
The Deer Crown Elf's words were direct, without any fancy extra words. He said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "We have already notified your companions. We agree to assist you in meeting with other elf tribes and allow you to browse the records within the tribe... But in return, you must teach us how to forge... metal craftsmanship."
"Deal."
Priest nodded without any hesitation. He knew that this agreement had no written constraints, being purely an oral transaction. But neither side had any reason or confidence to deceive the other. The price to be paid was extremely small for both sides, while the gains were exceptionally huge. So their promise was more reliable than any contract.
(I must return as soon as possible.)
Priest thought to himself: (Only the absolute high-level of the Church of the Seven Gods and Teacher possess the true power to purify chaos... Only they can drive away the chaos erosion from the entire elf tribe.)
Both sides were very satisfied with this cooperation agreement. Soon, Priest decided to follow the Deer Crown Elf to discuss some details, and the other naturally agreed.
However, just as the two were preparing to exchange specific cooperation procedures on a relatively flat seaside rock formation...
Suddenly, from the sky, at the highest point of the heavens, came a thunderous rumbling sound.
Priest and the Deer Crown Elf looked up at the sky with shocked and bewildered expressions.
The sky trembled, as if struck by something. Behind that azure distant height, there seemed to be an unimaginably huge shadow continuously aiming at the outer layer of the world, striking with full force.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Just like a beaver striking a shell, or a human trying to smash a lobster's carapace, the existence outside exerted all its strength, heavily pounding against the world barrier.
Of course, the world's barrier remained intact, without even the slightest damage. Even the trembling sky was more like a hallucination-like phenomenon. That circle of shadow was even blurrier, only a silhouette visible. If not for the obvious rumbling sound coming from the sky, probably none of the working elves would have noticed at all.
But both Priest and the Deer Crown Elf immediately understood what kind of existence that huge shadow pounding on the world's shell was.
It was the shape of a crab claw.