Chapter 18: Great Tragedy
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
Everyone was occupied. Moxinke, Cessacioun, and Steelberg buried the dead, and set up their tombstones, to show respect and also to make Miss Keeley feel better. Sunier was there trying her best to comfort Miss Keeley, and Han Jin was busy practicing his knowledge of anatomy.
There were about fifty to sixty bodies, and he had dissected all the bodies of those human-faced eagles to seek the magic crystals in them. The whole process only needed one sentence to explain, but it took him nearly two hours to practice. There were only seven blue water magic crystals found, and among them, the largest one was the size of an infant's fist. It was a beautiful crystal that looked translucent, and glittered. The other magic crystals were just the size of a pigeon egg, and even their total weight was less than that of the largest one.
After the dissection, Han Jin cut down piles of branches and threw one of the human-faced eagles into the bonfire. He was doing another important 'experiment'.
Human-faced eagles had very strange appearances. Other than their sharp beaks, they looked exactly the same as a human, especially their eyes and brows. Thus, their eyesight was the poorest among all the animals. Their necks were also the same as humans. If they were only judged by their necks, one could not tell whether they were human-faced eagles or humans. The eagle that had died together with the soldier had even had an Adam's apple. The largest magic crystal had also been found in its body. Han Jin had gotten goosebumps all over his body as he dissected it. In fact, their structures didn't conform to the theory of biological evolution. When flying in the high sky, the rate of heat loss would be accelerated due to the strong wind, which was why birds need feathers to protect themselves. However, the knowledge acquired by Han Jin might not fit in this world.
When roasting the human-faced eagle, Han Jin had felt like he was roasting a human being. He restrained the nauseated feeling, tore down a piece of meat from it, and chewed.
He was right! Using the same weight, the back-feathered lizard's meat provided more than ten times more energy compared to that from bread, while the energy provided by the meat of the human-faced eagles were dozens of times more than that provided by the back-feathered lizards! However, the meat was too unsavory and tough. Though Han Jin had his body reconstructed with unparalleled teeth, and his special way of cultivation had greatly increased his digesting ability, he still felt that it was difficult to chew it.
Then, he stared at the magic crystals. The six small ones contained the energy of one hundred Jia each, while the largest one contained nearly one thousand Jia's energy. If he swallowed all of them, his energy would even catch up with that of Moxinke. But he dared not do that, because his foundation didn't allow him to consume anything containing so much energy. He was also quite aware that they were not solely his property. The crystals belonged to the team. Han Jin was a clever man who would think twice under any circumstances. Thus, he put away all the magic crystals, regardless of how desperately he needed the energy.
"Raphael, come here!" Moxinke shouted.
Han Jin turned around and looked at Moxinke, stood up and walked towards him after stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth.
The work of burying and setting up the tombstones had finished. Moxinke and the others were sitting in a semicircle on the grass, discussing something.
"What's the matter?" Han Jin asked as he sat down.
"Miss Keeley has cried till she passed out several times, and we can't travel instantly. Unless... we leave her here alone," Cessacioun said.
"Then we shall stay here with her," Han Jin said. In fact, he didn't want to leave either. The bodies of the human-faced eagles were still here, and he didn't want to waste any of the energy. Since the excuse came timely, why shouldn't he use it? Therefore, he continued, "I am not in a hurry anyways. What about you, Moxinke?"
"Me neither."
Then Han Jin turned his eyes to Cessacioun. "I'm a bardlet and am used to a life of wandering. The choice to stay or leave is up to you; there's no need to ask me. If you choose to stay, then I will stay with you."
"How about you, Sunier?" Han Jin asked.
"At this time... staying in the forest is not a bad thing." Sunier smiled.
"At this time? Sunier, are you keeping something from us?" Han Jin said slowly. "But, of course, please forget my question if you don't want to answer it."
"The war is going to break out," Sunier whispered.
"The war? Don't we have wars all the time on this mainland?" Cessacioun laughed. "You're funny."
"This one is different." Her expression turned cold. "Lord Zaganide of Black Raven City has allied with Lord Malith of Depew City. They are going to attack Holy Crown City together. It won't take long till we become slaves of the force of darkness."
"Don't be too pessimistic, Sunier. Did you forget that Holy Crown City and Wild Willow City are also allies? If the elves from the Wild Willow City sends their relief troops, Zaganide and Malith will have no advantage at all."
"Here's where the problem lies. Wild Willow City has rejected the request of Lord Dismark," Sunier said coldly.
"How is that possible?" Moxinke was dumbfounded.
"How is it not possible? Zaganide and Malith have released all the Elfish slaves and prisoners of war. They have even signed a permanent non-aggression treaty with Wild Willow."
"What?! How could they believe such absurd things?" Moxinke jumped up with fury. "Lord Malith may be not that cruel, but Zaganide is a sheer butcher! If Holy Crown City is occupied, Wild Willow will be the next! Stupid elves!"
"In fact, the treaty has been passed by the Elders of the elves after referendum in Wild Willow." A wisp of sadness flashed in Sunier's eyes, and she turned her head away.
"They're silly and foolish." Moxinke still didn't believe the decision made by Wild Willow. This war would affect all of their normal lives. In the past, in order to expand their population and to strengthen their force, the owners of those territories dared not cross over. Under such confrontation, even Lord Zaganide, the most bloodthirsty owner of Black Raven City, was subjected to some restrictions. But if he won the war this time, then no one would be able to resist him anymore. Without any powerful enemies, he would expose all his cruel nature and turn this mainland into Hell on Earth!
"I've been to Wild Willow once, and I understand their thoughts more or less." Cessacioun said in a low voice, "The elves are a peace-loving race. They hate war. They fear war. Hundreds of years tangled in warfare has crushed their willpower and courage. So they would rather believe in some absurd treaty than get involved in a war again."
"Then why hasn't the Human race been crushed?" Han Jin asked.
"Elves have a very long life span - incomparable by human beings." Cessacioun let out a bitter smile. "When soldiers of human beings tire of war, they've already become old or have been killed in the battlefield. They can leave, and the younger soldiers with fresh burning blood will take up their positions. But an elf can live for nearly one thousand years. Can you imagine that? How tiring would it be, both mentally and physically, for an elf after they have fought a war for over two hundred years? I can even say that they've already been on the verge of collapse - the collapse of the entire race!"
Sunier suddenly bit down her lips hard, the expression in her eyes indicating that she was quite aware of what Cessacioun had said.
"Not to say the peace-loving elves, can we, human beings, remain our morale after fighting wars for over two hundred years? When you have seen your families, friends, and companions die in the battlefield one after another. When you have undergone countless vicissitudes of life, can you still keep your fighting spirit?" Cessacioun said in a grieved tone. "And in the past twenty decades, none of the elves have died naturally. They have all died in battlefields. Do you understand what this means for a race?"
Han Jin forced a smile. If it's true that the soldiers of Wild Willow City have been fighting on the battlefield for over two hundred years, then whatever decision they had made this time was irreproachable. Even he, himself, couldn't persist fighting for such a long time. Compared to the elves, humans had many more advantages. They had a faster rate of metabolism and always had new blood to be infused, which made their troops vigorous and energetic all the time.
Everyone fell into a deep silence. They were just some insignificant creatures in this world anyways. They couldn't resist their fates. No matter how dark or bright their future would be, they had to accept it.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone