Chapter 456 – 450 Elsnerfell, the Tidal City
By the time the sky turns golden sunset.
=Wow.=
=Wow.=
As soon as they passed through the thick forest hill, Isilite and Anne, overwhelmed by the size of the transcendent tree that appeared in front of them, opened their mouths slightly and expressed surprise.
= How in the world is such a big tree…….=
= It’s really big…. I heard it’s big, but seeing it up close, it’s incredibly intimidating!
The road to Elsnerfell was attached to the forest, so I couldn’t realize it because it was hidden by the forest all the time as I moved along the road.
In the Jocheon city of Elsnerfell, the Join and Flavian tribes make up 90% of the population.
Jocheon, the modifier of the city, is attached in that sense. Fittingly, people with wings on their backs and arms are flying in the sky around Gogaksu, both adults and children.
Isilite looked at the clouds passing by the tree’s waist and the children happily flying nearby, then asked Anne.
=Can people really live in there?=
= Yes. Look at the sky That very thick branch.=
=…… People come and go.=
At the place where Anne points with her finger, a tree branch large enough to be stable even if a house is built on both sides of her road is used as a runway, and not a few people flying around come and go.
Not only the branch she pointed to, but the few branches as well. Some tree branches even have real houses built on them.
Smart.
=Yulie unni, come out for a moment. There is a huge tree.=
[Eh~? Wait a minute~.]
After a while, the sunroof of the wagon opens with a clicking sound, and Yurpa, Aziera, and Baekryeogang come out one after another.
= Oh my God! What kind of tree is that big?=
=You have arrived at Elsnerfell.=
=Oh, is that tree a high horn tree? Indeed…… It’s a size worthy of the name.=
“I’ve only seen it in books, but seeing it in person, the magnificence and intimidation are beyond my imagination…….”
Isilite, who was looking at the tree at a level where it was difficult to see the top of her even if she bent her gaze 90 degrees, she lowered her gaze to the ground and muttered in wonder.
=There are no other normal trees near Highhorn.=
As she said, as if someone had intentionally cut it down, the forest drew a circle around the highhorn tree, keeping it at a distance.
Baek Ryogang explains to Isilite, who is amazed at her.
“In the book, it was said that the trees disappeared because the high horn trees blocked the sun. In addition, they said that high horn trees suck up a lot of nutrients from the surrounding land, making farming difficult.”
= Is that so? If you can’t farm, how will you get food?=
“They say the staples are fruits from the parasitic tree orchard, mushrooms from the mushroom farm, and exotic meat from the underground labyrinth in the city. Merchants also come to sell food produced in the surrounding villages and villages.”
= Ah…….=
= Wow, it looks bigger from up close.=
In the meantime, I came down the hill and got closer to Elsnerfell, and now I really can’t even see the other side of the tree.
Anne tilted her head and looked up at a high horn tree that looked like a golden tree dyed in the golden sunset, and then tilted her head as Anne massaged the back of her neck.
=But how tall is that tree? Even if I turn my head back, I can’t see the end.
The width is also similar, so even if you turn your head left and right, you cannot see the other side. The roots growing up here and there on the ground are also enormous, to the extent that one root is comparable to a two-story house.
Aziera explains with a small smile.
=The Highhorn Tree is said to be the tallest tree in Nionebres. The height of the tree reaches 1,900m, and the width is 1,400m at the base and 900m at the top.=
= It’s really huge…….=
=If the weather is good, you can see Elsnerfel from Yeongdo.=
Isilite and Yurpa admired her explanation and set their sights on the highhorn tree again.
Isn’t this the point of saying that it’s a landscape that you don’t get tired of looking at?
The wagon moved along the road, avoiding the roots that rose above the ground like small hills.
The road led between the unusually large roots of the high horn trees, but surprisingly, a gate-like structure was wedged between them, and a small number of people waited to enter, being checked by soldiers.
Hwanin looked at the castle gate, which was less than 2km away, and caught the attention of his girlfriends, who were talking lightly and clapping their hands lightly.
“In Elsnerfell, we will supply only food and drinking water, and we will leave right away, so the disguise will not be removed.”
= Eh…… Aren’t you going to see Elsnerfel?=
Could it be because the tribe is friendly to forests and nature? He brought up the story as if to soothe Anne, who was a little disappointed at the story of leaving that big tree and leaving immediately, with a gentle expression.
“I want to stay for about two days for you guys, but according to Baek Joong-gang and Leawen’s contact, the news of the disappearance of Alsop has already spread to the neighboring countries Hethrond and Beltical.
The eyes of the women become serious at once.
“We are being talked about as the only survivors of that extinction event. An investigation team was dispatched from the capital, but if Adneville still remains in the ruins of Althof, and if the investigation team and Adneville collide, the severity of the incident will grow exponentially. Then, the capital’s palace will naturally focus on us. I will try to call you.”
= Uh…….=
“I think going to Yeongdo quickly and waiting for the turmoil to subside is the best option for now. Alsop’s disappearance is Cadram Alsop’s karma, but he died and we survived.”
In particular, Alsop was a strategic point geographically linked to the Yeongdo pilgrimage route and was a city that managed the road through the jungle.
The fact that such a city has disappeared is equivalent to saying that the road to Yeongdo has become farther and more difficult in the future.
Who will the resentment that arises from it pour out? You might get caught up in yourself.
=People’s eyes will be on us, in a good or bad way.=
Yurpa muttered something similar to him, and Hwanin gave a small nod of his head.
It is unknown whether that interest will be poison or medicine, but for now, Hwanin thinks that the possibility of Germany is high.
For example…….
“The possibility that the person who becomes the lord of Elsnerfell will hold us in the name of invitation with great interest. After the news is known, there is a possibility that those who have enemies in Alsof will come to hear the situation. There is a possibility that a friendly relationship will arise between those who come and that resentment based on people’s resentment will spill over to us.”
=…….=
=…….=
“…….”
After looking back at the quiet women, Hwanin evoked a heavy atmosphere.
“These are just my imaginations. But I don’t think it’s an impossible dream. That’s why I’m just going to quickly reorganize in Elsnerfell and go straight to Yeongdo.”
= No. It’s a hypothesis that has a very high chance of being realized. Elsnerfel is also an important strategic point on the way to Yeongdo from Alsof, where many relatives of the lord of Alsof live, and the wife of the previous lord was also a direct blood relative of Alsop. If the story of the arrival of the Hwanin saint is known, the current lord will definitely want to attend the Hwanin saint. After that…….=
Agiera didn’t finish her words, but no one in her party would fail to notice what she had left out.
When that happened, Anne became her jittery, fidgeting like she was sitting on a needle cushion, and then she shook her hand slightly.
= That, it’s just a little, really a little regretful that she didn’t take a break, it’s not like she was trying to embarrass her daughter or something like that…….=
“Know. Since you’re a Fleur, you must feel like you can’t stay still when you see a huge tree like that. I understand, so I don’t have to act like I’m so guilty.”
=But isn’t that what the lord could do to harm us by grabbing us? Wouldn’t it be better to just skip it?=
Did you interpret her blurry words like that?
Hwanin said while holding Anne’s hand, which was gathered between her legs.
“This is the Saint and the Spirit Inquisitor. To harm us is the same as saying to make enemies of the entire continent and the territorial island. It will end with just holding on, hearing the circumstances, and trying to convince them to help them take the place where Alsop used to be. In the meantime, confinement under the pretext of serving with sincerity would be the worst thing we can worry about.”
Relieved only then by her Hwanin’s answer, Anne smiled shyly as she patted her hair.
=Then, according to the will of Holy Son Hwanin, I will wait in the carriage.=
“Yes. It won’t be long since Isilite and Anne will be bringing food. And…… Sernen.”
Ajiera and Baek Ryogang reenter the carriage, and her ghost, who called the squirrel eared knight among the spirit knights following her carriage, gave her five common-colored hooded cloaks prepared for her disguise and an aura concealment mask. I lent you five tools.
Hwanin also knows that an aura is one’s own pride and pride for a professional, and that a gray hooded cloak is a sign of a spirit knight.
But what does that mean?
Ajiera, the Spirit Inquisitor, is a Hwanin who thinks that she does not need to be so considerate even to the Spirit Knights.
=It’s for Agiera’s safety.=
Hwan-in slightly stimulated their pride as soul knights and made them wear an aura-concealing magic tool around their necks, and while doing so, the carriage reached the gates of Elsnerfell.
A soldier with brown feathered wings and ears blocking the carriage.
As her carriage came to a halt, the woman soldier, with the blood of her blood on her face, approached the coachman’s seat where her ghost was sitting and spoke to her in a very formal tone.
=What business did you come to Elsnerfel?=
A voice with an expressionless expression and a slight annoyance.
Hwanin got off her carriage, approached the female soldier, and pulled back her hood, revealing her face only to her.
Flinch.
As soon as I saw his face, my eyes widened slightly, his shoulders twitched, and his tired face turned slightly red.
“If you reveal your identity, you are on your way to Yeongdo with someone in trouble. At Elsnerfel, I only intend to supplement the ingredients…….”
A female soldier who kindly caressed her hand and gave her ten silver coins, and her fingertips trembled.
The female soldier flinched once more at Hwanin’s deep gaze and put on a worried expression for a moment.
=…… Personnel outside the wagon must undergo a criminal background check.=
“Of course.”
Hwanin, who had collected the adventurer identification tags and traveler identification tags of the spirit knights and girlfriends in advance, followed the female soldier with her face flushed to the troop post next to the castle gate and finished the process of checking whether there were any violations.
In the process, there was a subtle temptation from the female soldier, but Hwanin returned to the coachman’s seat after rejecting the female soldier’s lust, half threatening and half teasing, without spitting on his lips.
“Let’s go.”
As the carriage passed through the castle gate and passed through a wooden tunnel that was several meters long, Anne, who was sandwiched between Isilite and the Hwanin, murmured in a low voice.
=The gate entrance inspection seemed very strict…… Something just passed.=
“I just saw that soldier as the most senior at the checkpoint. Thanks to him, he passed with ease.”
He was a hwanin who watched closely the inspection process from the time the castle gate was visible from afar.
Hwanin, who was examining who was the most vocal among the seven soldiers and the inspection method, noticed that the southern gate of Elsnerfell also worked well with bribes.
When they received a bribe, they sent them in after a rough crime inspection without much reaction, but the one who did not pay the bribe was really picky about their faces and identification tags, checking their belongings as well as their luggage in the luggage compartment one by one, displaying nervousness and behavior close to hysteria.
On top of that, she looks tired from working for a long time and looks like an old maid who is more annoyed with women and a little less annoyed with men.
‘Since she used a bribe together with the beauty world, she has no choice but to be effective.’
Eventually, when the tree tunnel ended, the panoramic view of the first floor of Elsnerfell poured into my field of vision with light that did not hurt my eyes.
High ceilings nearly 30 meters high. Thick and large wooden poles are erected here and there to support the ceiling.
The ceiling, walls and floor are all light tan wood.
If you look down, you can see many buildings. Most of them are made of wood, but occasionally you can see some stone ones.
The difference from other cities is that no soil is used in the buildings.
Buildings began to line up from a place about 30m away from the wall, and a unique culture bloomed on the wall of such an empty lot.
Street vendors are lined up all the way along the wall, and countless people are looking at the street vendors or walking on the street.
Turning his gaze toward the city center, Hwanin could see a unique but ordinary street with a light tan tone and wooden buildings all over it.
= The atmosphere is nice. It feels like a city in a peaceful tree.=
It was as Isilite said.
Hwanin thought that it would be noisy, somewhat dark, and smelly because it was a closed space, but all such expectations were wrong.
You can hear the noise, but it’s white noise at the level of a normal city.
There are no unpleasant darkness or shadows cast on the walls and ceiling, as if some magic had been hung there.
If you see a breeze blowing from somewhere, it means that ventilation is going well.
Maybe that’s why there are many people coming and going on the streets and it is lively.
= Because the inside is big, the feeling is so different. =
=Is the house tree similar to this one?=
Isilite asked back as she looked at the clean floors and buildings, not even stains on the footprints, not even burrs, even though countless people and carriages must have come and gone on the streets in the city made of wood.
= Yes. All the furniture inside the tree is made by the tree itself. So the color is the same as the inside of the house.=
=Like here?=
=Like here.=
All over again.
As Isilite and Anne were talking while looking around the wooden city, Sernen drove her horse closer and called out the Hwanin.
= Hwaninseong…… Hwanin. May I ask what you are going to do now?=
“I plan to park the wagon in a place like a post office and find a market to shop.”
=Ayesha can tell you about the mayor. And rather than a busy and noisy place like a post office, why don’t we go to the hotel where we stay when we visit Elsnerfell? The stable is also large, so it would be nice to rest in front of the wagon.=
“Looks like a place you can trust.”
=Yes. It’s a hotel run by a person who was greatly favored by Mrs. Agiera.=
“…….”
Hwanin had a lot of things that bothered him, so he didn’t answer right away. Then Sernen puts his squirrel ears back and looks at him wondering if he made a mistake.
“Did you stay there when you headed to Alsof?”
=Yes. I always stayed here whenever I had to go to Radsea.=
“…… It means that you always used that hotel without staying anywhere else.”
=Yes.=
Even though she gave hints up to this point, neither Sernen nor the other women noticed anything strange about her face.
Hwanin starts her explanation by gently turning her senses to check her surroundings and tapping her inside pocket to give her a signal to sense her surroundings.
“Agiera-sama is famous as a Spirit Inquisitor.”
=Yes. When an important external situation arises, Agiera is the first to depart.=
“You used that hotel like a habit for a long time.”
= Yes…….=
“There are many people you are familiar with.”
=…… !=
Sernen then realized her own mistake and her expression became aww.
It should have been known that she used it when she headed to Al Sof.
“If Agiera’s use of that hotel is a kind of rule, then she knows it, not just the lord of Elsnerfel, but everyone else. That means there’s a good chance someone is lurking in the hotel, whether sent by the lord or not. Waiting for you guys to come back.”
They gave them concealment magic tools and made them wear ordinary brown hooded capes just in case, but the knights didn’t focus on covering their faces.
Maybe someone looked up from below and noticed the faces of the spirit knights on horseback. It might be that the report is being uploaded to the lord in the middle of the day.
Sernen lowered her head to her pale face.
= I’m sorry……. She should have told you beforehand…….=
“No. It was my mistake for not assuming that assumption.”
Turning his gaze away from Sernen, who bowed his head as if he had committed a mortal sin, Hwanin found a greengrocer and a butcher shop and pointed it to Isilite, instructing him to go and replenish it quickly.
Issilite, too, noticing that things have become a little rushed, silently jumps out and sweeps up whatever fresh, good quality meat and fruit she can find.
= Ugh. Castle…… Hwa, Hwanin-nim and Era-nim didn’t do anything wrong, so why should they act like they’re running away…… ?=
= Shut up. You’ve seen enough of how smart Hwanin is.
= Right~. It was to the extent that even the King of Heaven treated Hwanin-nim~. There must be a reason why he is like that~.=
= Oh, that… Run?=
While the exorcists muttered in low voices, Isilite, who had filled her preservation bag, almost swept it away and returned. Hwanin asked the spirit knights and headed straight to the eastern gate.
= Huh? Hwanin-nim, you have to go that way to get to the northern gate?=
“There is a high possibility that someone is guarding the north. If I had thought, I would have blocked all the gates, but I’m aiming for a place that is not guarded.”
Excluding the southern gate you came in because it may have been reported, and excluding the northern one because it is close to Yeongdo.
= Ah…….=
Although it was said to be a probability, Hwanin already guessed that the entrance was blocked by figures sent by someone, whether it be the lord or the lower clan.
It reminded me of seeing people with suspicious behavior when entering.
‘At that time, I thought that a disturbing atmosphere was created with the disappearance of Alsop.’
Hwanin sighed quietly and touched the light spear in his bosom, thinking that he had no choice but to believe in the magic tool that conceals the aura.
「Hwanin. One 5th grade job, two 4th grade job, five 2nd grade jobber and 30 elite knights are waiting for you on the side of the castle gate you are heading to now.”
That’s why I wasn’t surprised when Hwanyeon told me the results of the surrounding investigation.
Just hold the light spear a little harder.
