CHAPTER 378: ELDORIA

The very first destination of the Silvanus clan and the others, the dense forest of the Elves, was also known as Eldoria, the territory and homeland of the Elves.

Humans and Elves had long maintained a peaceful cooperative relationship. They never clashed and even supported one another. The Elves not only helped humans build their empire, but also passed down forms of magic suited for humans, as if the warlike figures from ancient battles had never been them at all.

Before setting out, Silvanus had read through countless pieces of knowledge about the Elves and the Merfolk, though their records were not too extensive.

Nicole glanced at the little fox draped across Silvanus’s shoulders, suddenly bursting into laughter. "That’s an adorable fox, but are you sure you want to bring it along? There could be a lot of danger out there."

Silvanus secretly thought that leaving Vivian at home would be the real danger, not danger for Vivian but danger for everyone else and even for himself.

He did not know how long they would be gone. He did not dare leave Vivian with anyone, afraid that everything would be exposed on the night of the full moon, because even now, Vivian still could not control herself to transform freely whenever she wanted.

Silvanus patted Vivian’s head and smiled at Nicole. "It’ll be fine, Elder Nicole."

Nicole widened her catlike eyes, suddenly lifting both hands to frame her face as she chirped, "Goodness, what a well-behaved child. Nana, look at the way Silvanus talks."

Nana truly had no idea why she was dragged into this. Still, since the one speaking was Nicole, she said nothing, merely glared at Silvanus in irritation.

Nicole fluttered between them like a small butterfly. She was undeniably tiny, yet she always floated at a height where she could look them in the eye. She smiled and said, "Don’t mind her attitude. She’s like that, but she softens easily."

Soften easily? Silvanus didn’t feel the word had anything to do with Nana. On the contrary, Nana’s constant anger and embarrassment made it seem like she would be easy to soften, but in reality, she was nothing of the sort.

Nicole had a filter when it came to Nana, which made sense. They both carried the blood of House Aurellan.

Nana gave a cold little laugh, thinking Nicole’s assumptions were truly ridiculous.

By now, they had already reached the teleportation area.

Nicole smiled and said, "Let’s head in. This will be an interesting journey."

Light quickly enveloped all of them.

Vivian squeezed her eyes shut, her four little paws clinging tightly to Silvanus as she burrowed into his neck like a frightened child.

However, everything happened very quickly. In just the blink of an eye, the light faded, the feeling of riding a roller coaster vanished, and Silvanus was no longer someone who would get dizzy from instantaneous teleportation.

He opened his eyes wide and immediately saw the sight before him.

Trees... an endless number of trees...

They stretched so far that one couldn’t see the end. It was an infinite forest, and even when looking toward the edges, all one could make out were silhouettes of greenery fading into the distance. It was hard to imagine where it actually ended.

The foliage was dense, with slightly pointed leaves like oversized needles. Every tree towered toward the sky, each trunk probably as wide as ten Silvanuses with their arms linked together.

Silvanus looked behind him. There was a massive ravine resembling an abyss. Ordinary people would never be able to cross such a place, nor would they have the courage to attempt it.

Looking even farther beyond, one could faintly see the blurred outlines of human houses.

This was Nana’s first time standing before Eldoria as well. A trace of amazement flashed across her face before she couldn’t help saying, "There’s not even a barrier. Are they truly that confident?"

Upon hearing that, Nicole covered her mouth and let out a laugh. "Nana, you should hold yourself back a little. Once you get inside, you’ll realize your arrogance is nothing more than that of a mosquito."

Elves—the powerful and prideful race, bearers of an ancient civilization with mysterious records and legends claiming they could glimpse the future of the world.

They were cold toward those outside their kind and proud of their long-standing, undying civilization.

Nana frowned at those words, while Silvanus looked toward the forest ahead. A powerful urge to step inside surged within him stronger than ever.

Vivian let out a soft chirp beside him, her little face full of excitement as if she were ready to dash off at any moment, appearing even more eager than Silvanus himself.

He feared she would suddenly leap forward. No matter what forest it was, finding what one sought would never be easy. All he could do was pat her head, as though reminding Vivian to calm down, and perhaps reminding himself as well.

At that moment, Nicole took the lead and fluttered forward. "Alright, let’s go. Stay close together. The outer edge of Eldoria can make people lose their way at any time. And if you do get lost..." Nicole smiled, her voice softening as she continued, "... all you can do is wait for a slow and painful rotting death."

At this moment, Nana also put on a serious expression. Silvanus stepped carefully as well.

Once they entered the forest, they realized that although the trees were enormous, their needle-like leaves still allowed light to pierce through in faint beams. Silvanus even felt that the light inside the forest was somehow brighter than outside.

Huge branches twisted beneath the ground, dry leaves crackled under their steps, and from time to time, they saw ordinary creatures hopping around for food. The little animals widened their eyes at Nicole’s group, showing no fear, and even a bit of curiosity.

Nicole smiled. "They won’t attack us, but we aren’t allowed to attack them either. The Elves wouldn’t be pleased."

Indeed, the books recorded that the Elves only consumed fruits and morning dew. They were practically creatures straight out of legend...

They walked for a very long time. No trails, no maps, and the forest seemed endless. They had been traveling for ages, yet still couldn’t see any kind of exit.

Gradually, a sense of helplessness and confusion would have swallowed anyone’s mind. But because Nicole was with them, they knew they were indeed on the right path...

Just then, Silvanus suddenly paused, simply because his leg was pulled back by something. He looked down and saw a snake with an outer layer resembling leaves. It blinked its innocent eyes at him, though its body—almost as thick as his arm—was tightly coiled around his leg.

Vivian immediately let out a loud hiss, her claws appearing as she leapt straight toward the foolish snake that dared touch Silvanus.

But her body was caught midair by Silvanus.

Vivian instinctively flailed her four legs, glaring at Silvanus in annoyance, whining nonstop as her little paws waved, clearly accusing him of stopping her.

Of course, Silvanus had to hold her back. With Vivian’s ridiculous strength, a single swipe would definitely end the snake’s life.

Elder Nicole had warned them not to attack the animals, and Silvanus didn’t want their visit to become awkward because of such a thing.