The two individuals departed from the military base, walking alongside the snow elves. Lisa and Bell greeted the elves with friendly faces, yet their eyes harbored suspicion. Whether they liked it or not, these people dared to attack their personnel, despite the overwhelming odds against them. Bell couldn't fathom the reason behind their intense anger.
"Overlord, Wiseman, checking in, over," Lukas inquired about Bell's status after they had been walking away from the base for five minutes.
"Wiseman here, nothing unusual to report. We're approximately three hours away from the village. Overlord out," Bell responded, closing the communication.
As Bell and Lisa, codenamed Overlord and Amox, ventured deeper into the dense forest, the air grew colder, and their boots made a satisfying crunch on the snow-covered ground. The forest's silence felt almost eerie, occasionally interrupted by the distant calls of unidentified creatures. Snow-laden trees formed a natural archway, guiding them further into the heart of the elves' territory.
Lisa, constantly shifting her gaze, whispered to Bell, "This tension goes beyond the illness. There's something deeper, something they're not sharing."
Bell nodded. "I agree. Stay vigilant for any signs."
With each passing hour, the forest transformed. The trees grew taller, their trunks wider, and the snow appeared less disturbed. Lisa's attention was drawn to ancient runes carved into the bark of the trees. They seemed to convey a story, one of harmony and reverence for nature, yet also an underlying fear of something unknown. Bell surmised these markings signaled their entry into the snow elves' territory.
Suddenly, a rustling sound grabbed their attention. Lisa swiftly aimed her IPR-1 railgun in the direction of the rustling bushes but then lowered her weapon. A small group of elven children, concealed just off the path, observed them with a mix of fear and wonder in their wide eyes. Bell glanced at the elves in their group, and the tension escalated significantly. Lisa had removed her finger from the trigger, but the act of pointing the rifle at the bushes, mistakenly assuming the elven children were undead, could have seriously strained their relationship.
[Eldrin Aldranar: Angry, Suspicious | Hostile Relationship | -110]
"Right…" Bell muttered as he and Lisa made their way into the snow elf village. It was a captivating fusion of arctic elegance and elven craftsmanship. Wooden houses, designed to withstand the harsh climate, boasted steep roofs blanketed in snow, nestled among the trees. Despite the weight of their current concerns, the village center buzzed with activity.
In the heart of the village, an open space with a market thrived, the air filled with the subdued sounds of daily life. Elves, wrapped in warm, vibrant cloths, moved gracefully about. At the village's core stood an ancient, snow-covered tree, seemingly held in reverence by the elves, though Bell had little insight into its significance. Elves were typically known as forest dwellers, making their presence in the frozen taiga unusual. The tree itself was an oddity, adorned in glistening, sparkling ice-white.
"Do you catch that scent?" Lisa wrinkled her nose.
"What scent?" Bell inquired.
"Poo?" Lisa added.
Bell sniffed the air once more, detecting a faint odor of excrement. "Any idea why?"
"I have no clue, to be honest, Bell," Lisa replied. "But it smells like shit."
As they neared the village, Bell heard numerous sneezes. His first thought was the winter cold, but the notion of an entire village succumbing to it seemed unlikely. Such a coincidence would be too unfortunate to be true. Even more perplexing was the cause. These tribespeople had been living just fine, and suddenly, they were afflicted with a disease, blaming it on demons. It was truly baffling, yet it was the undeniable reality.
Upon reaching the village center, the elves greeted them with cold glances and angry expressions, likely stemming from the accusations leveled against them. Bell couldn't change the situation, but visiting their village was, at least, a goodwill gesture. Children continued to cast curious glances their way, but their parents swiftly ushered them indoors when Bell returned their gaze.
"Look, we don't have any accommodations for you, so I hope you don't mind sleeping outside," Eldrin informed them.
"That's perfectly fine," Bell replied nonchalantly.
"Now that we're here, can you bring one of your sick children to us?" Lisa demanded. "We didn't come here to sit idly, and if you want a solution to your problem, I assume you won't reject our assistance, will you?" Lisa's tone had shifted, now carrying more authority. Bell understood the frustration, and he had no intention of quashing it either.
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The decision to go to war with the snow elves would have two significant consequences. First, it would lead to a conflict involving not only the undead but also the native people of the taiga, potentially triggering a refugee crisis that they would be forced to manage. Second, engaging in warfare with allies in close proximity was generally more manageable than relying solely on sheer firepower. Bell also needed personnel from various sources, not just from his own system.
"To clarify Lisa's point, all we're asking is for you to bring us the children so we can determine the cause of the disease, alright?" Bell smiled and asked politely.
Eldrin sighed, "Fine, I'll gather the children, and if you do anything harmful to them, I swear!"
Lisa simply rolled her eyes, settling atop her bulging rucksack, which doubled as a makeshift stool. Bell stood beside her, rifle in hand. They both sat near the ancient frozen tree, an enigmatic source of warmth despite its icy appearance.
"What are your expectations from these people?" Lisa inquired while retrieving a medical bag from her already-packed rucksack. She viewed this mission as quite risky, offering assistance to people who might not initially welcome it, in the midst of a potentially dangerous situation.
"Friends? Aid? Demonstrating to the elves that demons aren't the villains?" Bell shrugged.
"I just hope it doesn't backfire on us," Lisa sighed, donning gloves as she opened the medical bag.
"In what way?" Bell questioned. "Trust me, we're safe. We have eyes watching us from above," he gestured toward the trees surrounding them. To the untrained eye, the trees concealed nothing, but Bell could discern some soldiers overseeing them from a distance, even receiving a thumbs-up signal from one. "Can you spot them?" Bell referred to the SPEAR Team 1, the newly established unit complementing the mostly desk-bound SPEAR Team 0.
"The moment they charge into this village, our peace mission is compromised," Lisa added.
"I sincerely hope they won't," Bell added with resolve.
"I'm not entirely sure. Harris isn't here, which is a relief, but that doesn't mean our unpredictable miraculous system won't throw challenges our way. Look, Bell, it's not that I don't respect your judgment, it's just that I'm skeptical about forming friendships with these people so easily."
"Come on, have some faith. As long as they don't pose a threat to us, I'm content," Bell added optimistically.
The line of elven children, wrapped in thick, fur-lined cloaks, accompanied by their parents, extended across the village square. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to apprehension as they awaited their turn for examination. Bell and Lisa, stationed near the ancient tree, had already readied themselves for the queue of elven children lining up before them.
As the first child, a young girl with shimmering silver hair, approached, Lisa's gentle demeanor contrasted with her demonic appearance. She checked the girl's temperature and breathing, her demonic eyes scanning for any signs of illness beyond the common cold. "It's just a cold," she declared.
The examination of each child became a delicate dance, combining medical professionalism with cultural sensitivity. Most children displayed mild symptoms, but a few exhibited conditions of increasing concern, such as borderline pneumonia. Additionally, there were several cases of diarrhea with unknown origins. However, what troubled Lisa the most was that none of the children appeared to be in good health; all of them displayed some form of symptoms. Lisa provided medications for their various ailments, along with instructions on how to take them, in the hopes of dispelling any fears of poison.
"Well, that's all done for now, I hope," Lisa remarked, massaging her sore neck. Examining thirty children simultaneously was never an easy task, but she had done it for the sake of goodwill. "I've provided them with first-line medicines—amoxicillin, acetaminophen, oral rehydration salts, loperamide, the works," she added. "Anyway, it would be great if you could check their water supply."
"Snowmelt," Bell replied. "There's no river nearby."
"Okay... so their water supply is likely not contaminated..." Lisa pondered for a moment. "What about their food?"
"Their diet consists of animals hunted from the surrounding area, and I doubt they consume the meat of the undead," Bell explained.
"Well, if we conduct some tests, we might uncover the mystery," Lisa suggested.
[Trial #3: Off The Grid - Stage 1]
[Hold Off The Group of Drakes] [0/30]
The ancient tree is a source of energy in the middle of the forest, however, it also caught the attention of several snow drakes on your way. Drakes are not as strong as Wyverns, much less a dragon, but still as equally as deadly and resistant to basic small arms.
[Rewards: None]
Lisa rose from her rucksack, determination burning in her eyes. "Lord... I should've seen this coming," she muttered as her skilled hands inspected her rifle, ensuring its 30x200mm tungsten arrow ammunition was in order. "They always show up at the perfect moment, don't they?" she remarked, directing her words both to herself and to Bell.
Bell, immersed in contemplation, weighed their limited options. Drakes were infamous for their resilience against conventional firearms. A .45 caliber would be woefully inadequate, merely bouncing off their thick hides. Even a 5.56 steel core round might only crack their scales. However, their 5.56 tungsten rounds had a chance at penetrating, and the railgun? That was an entirely different story.
Finally, he spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of a plan. "I have an idea, and it's... unconventional."
"Inspired, is it?" Lisa raised an eyebrow, her tone a mixture of sarcasm and curiosity.
Bell nodded, laying out his strategy. "Eldrin clearly doesn't hold you in high regard, and your unconventional arsenal might just be our ace in the hole. How about you put that railgun to the test against the drakes?" His plan extended beyond mere tactics; it was a calculated move to shape public perception.
By positioning Lisa as the hero who turned the tide against the drake threat, they could downplay the efforts of the elves, Bell, and SPEAR Team 1. His hope was that this would ultimately win the people's trust in some way or another.
"Alright, put on your ear protection; things are about to get very loud very quickly," Lisa cautioned. She loaded the battery into her railgun, and a blue haze began to envelop the barrel, indicating that both the barrel and internal mechanism were ready. "And I mean it."