DARK-ELFS

"Move it! Hurry!"

"Out of the way!"

A man dashed through the crowd, pushing everyone aside as he rushed into a large house built inside an enormous tree. It wasn't just a house but a grand throne room. The villagers stared in shock and confusion, wondering why he was in such a hurry. The man had pointy ears and dark skin—clearly a dark elf. In fact, the entire population of the village were dark elves, for this was a dark-elf village.

In front of him, an older dark elf sat on a throne made of stone. Despite the wrinkles and dents on his face, which marked his age, he exuded an aura of authority and elegance that set him apart. He wore midnight-black leather armor, and two guards flanked him, one on each side.

"What's with the ruckus? Explain yourselves," the Chief commanded in a stern tone.

The man immediately knelt down and bowed his head. "It's a very urgent situation. Yesterday, the Lizard Village was defeated by the succubus sisters."

"What?!" the Chief exclaimed in disbelief.

Everyone in the throne room gasped, their faces reflecting their shock. Sweat appeared on their foreheads. The Lizard Village was the closest settlement to their elf village. If it had been defeated, then their village will be likely the next target, it wasn't an assumption but Fact!"

"Since they fought with the Lizard Village, there should be a reduction in their army's numbers, right?" the Chief questioned, trying to find some hope.

The man sighed in disappointment, still reeling from the news. "No! It's actually the opposite. Now they have over 300,000 soldiers."

Hearing this, everyone gasped again, this time in even greater fear and disbelief. Their already shocked hearts sank further, and their faces turned pale.

"Three hundred thousand?"

"No way, we're done for!"

"Who will save us now? Do we have to abandon the village?"

Panic spread through the room as the gravity of the situation settled in. The Chief clenched his fists, his mind racing for a solution. The village had never faced such a dire threat before. They needed a plan, and they needed it fast.

The chief stood up from his throne and turned towards a door on his right side. "Well then, our only option left is to make an alliance and try our luck in defeating an Army of that Calibre," he sighed deeply before calling out, "Son? My son, are you there?"

Just as he spoke, the door opened, and a young dark elf stepped out. He had been listening to the conversation from the start, waiting for his father, the chief, to call him. He moved elegantly and bowed before the chief. Despite his dark skin, his appearance was strikingly handsome.

"No need to explain, I already heard all of it. I, Serom, have heard that there's a village nearby, and I'll definitely—"

The chief interrupted him mid-sentence. "I wasn't talking about you. This is a very urgent situation, and I can't afford any mistakes. Go and call your elder brother; he'll handle it," he said with a commanding, authoritative tone.

"Tch..." Serom bit his lip, his face contorting with anger. "Why? Why always him? Can't anyone see that he's mentally unstable?"

"Serom, is this how you speak about your own elder brother? Even if he is a bit ruthless and lacks emotions, he always completes his missions without fail. This time, too, he'll get it done. Now go call him," the chief insisted firmly.

Serom's frustration was palpable, but he knew better than to argue further. He turned on his heel and walked away, muttering under his breath. The chief watched him go, his expression stern but tinged with concern. The fate of their village now rested on the shoulders of his other son, the one known for his cold efficiency.

...

Just as dawn broke, Scarlett took Xao and made their way back to the cave to cultivate. Since it was just the two of them, the journey to the cave took only a few minutes. Even though she had seen it once before, Scarlett couldn't help but marvel at its vastness.

Upon entering, they decided to explore a bit to ensure no monsters or demons lurked within. Cultivation required them to abandon all six senses and focus solely on their practice. The deeper they ventured into the cave, the brighter it became. Suddenly, Scarlett noticed a large pile of stones in one corner. "High-rank Ruin Stones?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, there's plenty here," Xao replied nonchalantly. In the demon realm, finding High-rank Ruin Stones was quite easy, as there was an abundant supply. However, for humans, these stones were very rare. Not impossibly rare, but compared to the demon realm, they were a precious commodity.

"Then do me a favor, take all these stones and distribute them among the villagers," Scarlett commanded. Xao nodded in agreement without a word.

As they ventured deeper, the mana pressure increased, although it didn't affect Scarlett. The light grew even brighter. Scarlett began to notice something unusual about the glowing stones and decided to ask Xao, "Hey, what are these stones for? Torches?"

"Those are megicules," Xao explained. "I think a long time ago, there was a massive battle in this cave. The monsters' mana and mana stones remained here, and over time, the mana in the environment became denser, turning the monsters' mana stones into megicules. Because of their high value, adventurers have attacked us many times, but we always defeated them. We even found clothes and recipe books from them, which helped Sister Reiza become a master chef."

"High value? How much?" Scarlett asked, Not really caring about it, just to improve her general knowledge.

"They said once that a single piece is worth ten thousand gold coins," Xao replied casually.

Scarlett's eyes widened in astonishment. Her mouth fell open, and her pupils seemed to transform into the shape of gold coins. "Ten thousand gold coins for a single piece?" she shouted in disbelief.

Her heart raced as she realized the fortune lying before them. She could barely contain her excitement at the potential wealth these stones represented. Mana stones were incredibly useful, serving as substitutes for electricity and being key ingredients in potions, wands, magic swords, and many other items. Their value was already high, and many adventurers risked their lives to kill monsters for these stones. But megicules were an even superior version of mana stones, rare among rare, with sky-high prices.

"F*ck the cultivation, Mine it all!" she yelled, letting out a pick-Axe out of thin air, her voice dripping with greed. She exhaled deeply, her hot breath visible in the cool cave air.

Scarlett charged towards the megicules, but before she could reach them, Xao grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "You can't do that. If you take the megicules, this cave will lose its magic and become just an ordinary cave again."

"At least let me take a few pieces," Scarlett pleaded, her eyes wide with desperation.

"No means no! And Can someone explain me, How the hell you took out a pic-Axe out of thin air?"" Xao replied, his voice tinged with anger.

Scarlett sighed deeply, her face showing regret and disappointment. "Huff...okay, okay... I'm not taking it," she muttered, reluctantly stepping back. Her shoulders slumped as she resigned herself to Xao's decision, the promise of wealth slipping away.

.....

In the dense, shadowed expanse of the demon realm's forest, a heavy silence hung in the air. Birds perched quietly on tree branches, and the river meandered through the underbrush with barely a whisper. This profound stillness was suddenly interrupted by the sound of large footsteps. A group of dark elves, mounted on earth wyverns, were making their way through the forest.

Leading the group was an extremely handsome dark elf, seemingly in his mid-twenties, with an indifferent expression. Despite his calm demeanor, his face conveyed a chilling killing intent. The others followed behind him but kept their distance, none daring to speak to him or let their wyverns get too close.

All eyes, however, were on another elf who looked like a younger version of the leader. This was Serom, the second child of the chief of the Dark Elf village. The leader, Augustus, was the first child of the chief.

"The chief said to visit the newly growing goblin village and form an alliance with them, but why didn't he give this opportunity to you, young master?" one of the elves close to Serom asked.

"Yeah, you're so strong and know many curse magics. You're already mature enough. You're way more perfect than your cold-hearted elder brother," another elf added, trying to encourage him.

Hearing these praises, Serom couldn't hide his excitement, and a proud smile spread across his face. "That's right. If those succubi have their charm magic, we have our black magic and curses. And let's not forget our main treasure, the 'Blindfold.' Once we make them wear it, hahaha..." He laughed, basking in his own praise.

Augustus seemed to be a long distance away from the others, but in reality, he was quietly listening to their conversation. From the day he was born, he had been cold-hearted. He always completed the missions given by the chief, no matter what they entailed. Whether it involved killing his own kind, children, or even delicate women, he never hesitated. Even the chief himself was shocked by the kind of child he had raised. Augustus often identified himself as someone else and spoke of things that others couldn't understand, no matter how hard they tried.

As a child, with no external knowledge, Augustus somehow knew everything about torture and how to extract information. Because of this, their village grew and became the fourth strongest in the forest.

He paid no attention to the others' conversation; he didn't care about their opinions. Only fools cared about how others saw them and sought popularity.

Quietly sitting on his earth wyvern, he was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind. It was Serom, his younger brother, shouting, "Big brother, why do we have to make an alliance with them? We have an army of over fifty thousand and the 'Blindfold.' If we attack them at night and somehow make that succubus wear the Blindfold, won't everyone be released from their control and we'll win?" he asked, his voice filled with pride.

Augustus slightly turned, revealing one eye filled with malice and killing intent. "Are you an idiot? Never underestimate your opponent, Serom. Besides, there are two leaders among them, twin succubi. Can't you even analyze that you can't make both of them wear the same Blindfold?"

"Gulp..." Serom's body trembled uncontrollably. Everyone around started sweating profusely, not daring to even breathe after receiving Augustus's gaze.

"How can he make such an obvious mistake?" Augustus thought. "If war breaks out, I'll have no choice but to see Father enter the frontline as the king. Since I finally have a family, I can't afford to lose it. I'm ready to make an alliance to increase our chances of success and reduce the risk of my family dying. But what should I do to keep Serom out of the battlefield, to ensure his safety?"

Augustus's thoughts were heavy with concern, but his face remained cold and unreadable.

Meanwhile, Serom fumed inwardly. "Heartless as always. I'm always being suppressed by him. If this continues, he'll be the first to destroy our whole village before those succubi even get the chance. I have to take his role, so his authority doesn't grow any further," he thought.

"Big brother, let me handle this. I'll be the one to talk with them and make an alliance," Serom said, his words laced with enthusiasm and determination.

Augustus considered his brother's request. "Oh, he wants to? I suppose, as a big brother, I should let him gain some experience in negotiations," he thought. Turning his face toward Serom, Everyone started averting their gaze, even Serom, Started staring at the ground.

"Okay then, give it a try," Augustus responded slowly.

"Yes!" Serom shouted, not expecting his brother to actually agree. "Hehehe... with this, I'll start to gain Father's trust more and more and replace Augustus before he can do anything," he thought with determination.

"How long will it take to arrive at that village?" someone asked Serom.

He rolled his head, thinking for a few seconds before answering, "I guess three days."

......

Like a flowing river, three days passed without Scarlett even noticing. She was deep inside the cave, fully immersed in her cultivation. Cultivating required intense focus, making intangible mana more and more dense until it turned into liquid form. The dense mana environment of the cave greatly boosted this process. However, there was a catch: she had to focus solely on cultivation and abandon all her senses.

If someone decided to attack her, she wouldn't be able to notice until the attack hit. Although there was no one who could kill Scarlett with just one attack, she still took precautions. She placed a barrier around the cave so only villagers could enter. Not wanting to take any risks, she also cast a spell on herself to alert her if anyone entered by breaking the barrier or approached with malicious or lustful intent.

Because she had abandoned her senses, Scarlett didn't know that three days had passed and continued cultivating. Suddenly, an intense wave of lust hit her. Someone was there with extreme desire.

"Huh? The barrier didn't break, so how did someone get in?" she thought, slowly opening her eyes. She was shocked to see Reiza licking her neck.

"Ack!" Scarlett jumped back, startled by Reiza's sudden presence. Reiza's face turned bright red with embarrassment as she covered her face with her hands, her gaze darting to the ground.

Since Reiza was one of the villagers, the barrier hadn't restricted her. She had come to deliver a report but, seeing Scarlett sitting motionless, had called out to her. When Scarlett didn't respond, Reiza's intrusive thoughts took over. She first touched Scarlett's breast, and when there was still no reaction, she let her desires take over completely.

"It-it isn't what you think," Reiza stammered in embarrassment. "I didn't lick you because your body tastes sweet like cake, b-but there was a...umm, a mosquito, yeah, there was a mosquito on your neck," she said, her voice trembling as she made a lame excuse.

Scarlett's eyes narrowed. "She just told me the real reason, and what's with that lame excuse?" Scarlett thought, unable to help but smile at Reiza's nature.

"Do I really taste like cake?" she wondered, but quickly pushed the thought aside and focused on the main issue. "Since you came here, that means you have something to say, right?" she asked.

Reiza smacked her forehead in realization. "Yeah, I totally forgot. Some dark elves have arrived at the village for some important matter."