Chapter 163: Beatings

"Who are you? Why have you broken into the restricted area? Get out of here right now!" shouted a strikingly handsome young elf who was leading the group.

"I'm here to look for someone." Ye Tian smiled and tossed two wild pheasants to the side. "By the way, could you return the roast meat you're holding to me?" Ye Tian asked, looking at a pretty female elf nearby.

"Why should I? I found this pet," the female elf protested, looking unhappy.

"Because he is not a pet, he is my companion," Ye Tian said. "And that eagle, and that black horse—they are all my companions."

The female elf curled her lips, glanced down at the roast meat in her arms, hesitated for a long time, and still felt too reluctant to return it to Ye Tian.

Seeing this, the male elf leading the group immediately spoke up, "Who are you looking for?"

"Don't change the subject. Give me back my roast meat first, and we can talk about everything else after," Ye Tian's expression darkened.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Instantly, a circle of longbows was aimed straight at Ye Tian.

"I just want my companion back. Is this really how you elves treat other people?" Ye Tian's face grew gloomier by the second.

"Give it back to him," the male elf hesitated, then issued the command.

"No, I won't! I found it," the female elf still couldn't bear to part with the adorable roast meat.

"What do you mean *you found it*? You clearly snatched it!" Alansa immediately shouted.

"What's going on here?" Ye Tian turned his head and asked.

"She was starting a fire in the forest!" the female elf pointed at Alansa and yelled.

"Is that so? Well, that really is a brilliant idea," Ye Tian laughed.

"See? I told you it would definitely work!" Alansa said, looking quite pleased with herself.

"Then take her out and chop her up, and then give me back my roast meat," Ye Tian said coldly.

"Gel!" Alansa's eyes instantly turned red, and crystal-clear teardrops began to fall like they were free.

"Awoo!" Suddenly, the sound of a horn echoed from nearby.

"Not good!" the leader thought to himself. "Let's go, reinforcement!" With a leap, he sprang onto a giant tree and flew away through the branches like an agile ape. The rest of the elves also leaped onto the trees and vanished in a split second!

"Gel!" Alansa grew anxious the moment she saw the female elf taking the roast meat away, and she turned to look at Ye Tian, only to find the latter wearing an evil smile.

"Gel, are you alright?" A wave of chill washed over Alansa's heart.

"I'm great, let's move!" Ye Tian swiftly hooked the carriage up to Old Black, helped Mina up into it, and then hoisted Rolora up as well. "Old Black, follow them!" As soon as Ye Tian gave the order, Old Black lifted its hooves and galloped off in the direction the elves had taken.

"Awoo!" In the distance, the sound of horns could be heard, mingling with the sounds of clashing swords and fighting. Shortly after, a carriage came hurtling toward them at breakneck speed, and a panicked-looking burly man yelled anxiously, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Ye Tian placed Rolora inside the carriage cabin, stepped out to the side of the vehicle, and took a deep breath. "Get lost!" A sudden wave of surging pressure swept across. The horses on the opposite side were instantly startled, turning sharply to veer off to the side. Because the turn was too violent, the carriage tipped over with a loud crash right by the roadside.

"Alansa, watch out for enemies!" Ye Tian leaped down, vaulted toward the carriage in two strides, and saw that the canvas cover of the compartment had been flipped open. Inside, several elves were tightly bound.

*Clatter!* Ye Tian kicked the cage apart with a single blow and helped one of the elves untie the ropes.

"Are you still alive?" Ye Tian asked coldly. Seeing that the elf seemed to have been knocked dizzy by the fall, he didn't even hesitate and slapped him across the face.

*Slap, slap, slap, slap!* The faces of the several elves swelled up on one side, but the method proved effective. One by one, they groggily regained consciousness. Upon seeing Ye Tian standing right beside them, they were startled and immediately put up their guards as if facing a formidable enemy.

"I saved you," Ye Tian said coldly. It was only then that the elves realized they had genuinely broken free, and they let out joyful shouts of relief. One of the elves pulled a short flute from his body, placed it to his lips, and blew into it. "Awoo, awoo!"

Instantly, answering calls echoed through the surroundings. Not long after, a group of elves leaped down from the trees, and upon seeing their rescued companions, they rushed forward to embrace them with joy. Ye Tian looked on coldly without saying a word.

"Thank you," said the elf who had led the group earlier, speaking in the common tongue of the continent. Elves had their own language and script, but because they frequently interacted with humans from the Maginot Empire, they were quite fluent in the common language.

"Can you return my companion to me now?" Ye Tian asked coldly.

"Ah, about that... I'm really sorry, but Jigita has already gone to the Elf City. How about you wait here, and I'll go get it back for you?" the leader said with an embarrassed expression. "By the way, my name is Pagu. May I ask what Your Excellency's name is?"

"Take me back to the Elf City, and you'll find out who I am," Ye Tian said indifferently.

Pagu was momentarily stunned.

"I said before, I'm here to look for someone," Ye Tian continued. "To be precise, I'm here to see a friend of mine."

"I wonder who your friend might be?" Pagu asked with a strange expression. "We elves rarely have human friends."

"Is that so? Well, then that makes you one of them," Ye Tian retorted irritably. "My friend is Taya. Don't tell me you don't know her."

The expressions on the faces of the surrounding elves shifted instantly, and they all turned to stare at Pagu.

"This... Lady Taya cannot meet anyone right now," Pagu hesitated.

"Is that so? Then I need her to tell me that herself. As long as she says she doesn't want to see us, we will leave immediately," Ye Tian said casually.

"This..." Pagu hesitated further.

"Besides, my companion was forcibly abducted by your people. It's only right that I go get it back," Ye Tian said with a sinister undertone. "Could it be that elves are the kind of race who love to snatch other people's companions?"

***

Pagu's face instantly flushed red. This Jigita really knew how to stir up trouble for him. But dealing with Ye Tian's situation was even more troublesome—no human had ever set foot inside the Elf City, and on top of that, this human was here looking for someone whose situation was sensitive.

"So elves really are an ungrateful race, only capable of speaking nice words while slamming the door in the face of their saviors. You don't even have a tenth of the straightforward boldness of the dwarves," Ye Tian continued.

Pagu's face turned so red it was almost purple. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Since you are guests of our elven race, naturally we will host you. However, no human has ever stepped foot in the Elf City. I hope you will properly observe the etiquette of guests and not do anything out of line."

"Rest assured," Ye Tian smiled. "I'm just going to see a friend, it's as simple as that."

Looking at Ye Tian's brilliant smile, for some reason, Pagu suddenly felt a strong urge to regret his words. But since he had already spoken, it was too hard to take back. Gritting his teeth once more, he commanded, "Linka, lead the guests to the Elf City!"

"Understood," a pretty female elf nodded, then leaped up onto a tree branch.

"Old Black, let's go. Just follow her," Ye Tian said. Old Black pawned the ground twice with its hooves and chased after her.

"What an incredible horse!" The rest of the elves looked on with envy.

Pagu sighed, chanted a spell, and an owl appeared before him. Whispering a few soft words to it, he watched as the owl spread its wings and flew off into the distance.

"Gel." All along the way, Alansa looked at Ye Tian with a sense of apprehension. He was acting so strange today. Clearly, he was furious, yet he was desperately holding himself back. Even though she wasn't very smart, after spending so much time together, Alansa was confident she could at least tell that much.

"Gel," Rolora called out softly, while Mina gently wrapped her arm around Ye Tian's.

"I'm fine," Ye Tian turned around and smiled. "By the way, you girls need to be on your best behavior once we get in there. No matter what happens, don't act on impulse. I'll handle everything, understood?"

"But..."

"There are no *buts*. If we can't do that, we'll turn around and leave right now," Ye Tian stated with absolute resolve.

"Mn," the girls nodded. Since Ye Tian said he could handle it himself, he would definitely be able to pull it off.

The Elven Forest was truly massive. Ye Tian had seen the Magical Beast Forest, where the boundless expanse filled people with dread, and the Elven Forest was no different. Once you ventured deep inside, you would lose your bearings completely. For the most part, there were no roads on the ground at all; Old Black simply had to plow its way through by sheer force. It seemed it was no empty claim that no human had ever visited the Elf City before.

The female elf leading the way above had great stamina. Utilizing the rebound force of the tree branches, the group had been traveling for several hours, yet there was still no sign of the Elf City. Moreover, Ye Tian could sense that the female elf wasn't leading them in circles—they had been walking in a straight line the entire time. This meant the forest was genuinely unimaginably vast.

After traveling for yet another hour, Ye Tian was astonished to find that the group had stepped onto a paved stone road!

*Thud!* The carriage gave a sudden jolt as the female elf leaped down onto the roof of the carriage.

"Keep going straight ahead," the female elf said. "Just keep going straight, and we'll arrive."

"Haven't we arrived yet?" As the sky gradually grew dark, Alansa began to feel sleepy.

"You girls go to sleep, I'll handle the driving," Ye Tian said.

"How much further is it?" Ye Tian asked upwards.

"Another dozen hours or so. Just keep going straight ahead," the female elf replied from the roof.

"Come inside," Ye Tian said. "It's windy up there."

The female elf ignored Ye Tian, and the latter didn't invite her again, focusing solely on watching the road. The road through the Elven Forest was peculiar; it actually emitted a soft, glowing green light, allowing Ye Tian to see clearly ahead without needing any source of illumination.

"Old Black, it's up to you!" Ye Tian called out softly. Old Black snorted and continued galloping forward at a brisk pace.

And so, the group traveled through the night, finally catching sight of a towering city in the morning light—a city that looked as though it were carved out of a colossal giant tree!

"We've arrived. This is the Elf City," the female elf on top announced.

"Huh, we're here?" Alansa rubbed her sleepy eyes and poked her head out. "Mina, Rolora, look! Such a huge castle!"

"A castle?" Rolora poked her head out as well, and her eyes widened in shock. "That's a massive tree!"

Mina glanced out briefly, then pulled her head back inside.

"What a gigantic city," Ye Tian sighed.

"Halt!" Several elves drew their bows and aimed their arrows directly at the carriage.

"Old Black, stop," Ye Tian instructed. Old Black immediately slowed its pace and walked right up to the group in two steps.

"Linka, why did you bring humans inside?" Several elves glared as if facing a formidable enemy, pulling their longbows back to their full draw, with the sharp arrowheads all pointing straight at Ye Tian.

"Is this your idea of hospitality?" Ye Tian frowned.

"They are our saviors, otherwise Jiri and the others would have been captured," Linka hurriedly explained. "The captain already sent word ahead. Didn't you receive it?"

"This..." The several elves looked at each other, not knowing how to react for a moment. Right then, an unharmonious voice rang out beside them: "So they're the humans who saved Jiri? They don't look like much."

Ye Tian turned his head to see a handsome young elf carrying a gorgeous longbow walking over with an arrogant expression, accompanied by a few other archers. Looking them up and down, he sneered, "Did you guys make a mistake or something?"

Ye Tian smiled without speaking, turned to Alansa, and said, "Get down. You've slept long enough, aren't you tired?"

Seeing that Ye Tian completely ignored him, the newcomer grew furious. He stepped forward, intending to grab Ye Tian, but suddenly his body felt weightless as he was instantly sent flying through the air.

*Bang!* Amidst everyone's astonishment, the elf crashed heavily into a corner of the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?!" All the elves instantly grew tense, swiftly unhooking their longbows as sharp arrows pointed at Ye Tian once again.

***

"Humph!" Ye Tian showed a look of disgust. Ignoring the crowd, he reached out to help Alansa down, then carried Rolora down, and finally Mina. "Are you tired?" Ye Tian asked. Mina smiled and gently shook her head.

"Gel, these people have no manners at all," Alansa's voice drifted into the ears of every elf present. Instantly, all of them grew furious; how dare this little human girl say they had no manners? It was simply too infuriating!

"Enough! Go call Captain Maru," Karin said angrily.

Everyone looked at each other. Just as someone was about to speak, *swish*—the elf in the corner bounced back to his feet and charged angrily toward Ye Tian.

"Want to be thrown again?" Ye Tian glanced at him sideways out of the corner of his eye. The elf froze for a moment, then took a deep breath, drew an arrow, and shot it with a *swish* right at Ye Tian's feet. "Human, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Are you sure?" Ye Tian smiled wickedly. "I'm just here to see a friend, not to fight. But if you really want to fight, I'll accompany you. However, you're no match for me; we'll need someone a bit stronger."

"Hmph, we won't know until we fight!" the elf said angrily. "What, are you a coward afraid of dueling me?"

"Fine then. Since you're so eager for a beating, it would be a terrible injustice if I didn't oblige," the corners of Ye Tian's mouth curved upward. "Shall we begin?"

"Step aside, everyone!" the elf roared at those around him.

"Shuta, you should reconsider. This guy is weird!" a neighboring elf advised.

"You think I'm no match for him?" The elf glared angrily at the one who warned him. "Everyone back off! I'm going to show you all what I'm truly capable of!"

With no other choice, the crowd cleared out a large circle. Ye Tian patted Alansa on the shoulder, signaling for them to step back.

"Human, I am the elven archer Shuta. State your name, and I'll make you regret provoking me!" Shuta wore a sinister smile.

"You're not worthy. Let's begin." As soon as Ye Tian finished speaking, an arrow came whistling toward his face. Taken aback, Ye Tian quickly executed a graceful back-bending dodge to evade the skull-piercing strike.

"Not bad, I didn't expect you to dodge that!" Shuta released his grip, sending another arrow straight at Ye Tian's chest. The latter gave a light leap, executing a backflip to avoid the attack once more.

"Hehe." Ye Tian suddenly raised his head. Shuta's heart skipped a beat; Ye Tian's smile was far too wretched, carrying some indescribable, ominous feeling. "Hehe, you asked for this, don't blame me."

*Swish!* Ye Tian's figure suddenly vanished and reappeared directly behind Shuta. Startled, Shuta whipped his bow around to redirect his aim—*slap!* A fierce backhand strike landed squarely across his face, sending Shuta flying through the air.

*Thud!* Jaws dropped to the ground all around.

"I really have to thank you. Just when I was getting bored, you jumped out. You're truly a good guy. Don't worry, I'll let you slowly enjoy this," Ye Tian rubbed his hands. "Get up, unless you want to keep embarrassing yourself."

"I'm going to kill you!" Shuta lunged forward furiously, drawing a long sword from his waist.

"Ha, ha, ha! I'm so grateful! If you didn't get back up, how boring would this be!" Ye Tian's expression turned frosty. With a single whip-kick, he sent Shuta flying again, then moved instantly to catch up to the retreating elf, slamming him down onto the ground with one palm.

*Boom!* Dust billowed into the air as Ye Tian wore an evil grin, hauled Shuta up by his collar, and said, "Don't play dead, I haven't had enough fun yet!" With that, another resounding slap landed across Shuta's face.

"Stop right there!" someone suddenly shouted nearby.

Ignoring the voice entirely, Ye Tian delivered yet another slap to Shuta's swollen face.

"You've gone too far!" An arrow shot toward Ye Tian's face. The latter immediately hoisted Shuta up as a human shield. The attacker was startled, hurriedly loosed a second arrow, and chased after the first—*clang!* The two arrows collided in mid-air and dropped uselessly to the ground.

"Impressive," Ye Tian glanced sideways at the male elf nearby. "Do you elves all have a habit of launching sneak attacks without saying hello first?"

Instantly, the male elf's face flushed red.

"Captain Maru," Karin called out.