Chapter 129. Open the negotiating table (2)
“If you don’t like it, shoot it.”
“…!”
Chijijijik!
The flames flew.
The tip of the Ellencia root was sizzling.
The eyes of Muira, the elf woman, widened.
Lloyd’s lips curled.
“How much would you like to burn? Medium? Well done?”
“…Stop that!”
“I think the priority is to lower the bow that you are aiming bloodily at.”
“….”
Muira’s throat vibrates.
No more damage to the tree.
Even if his own body would rather be burned, that is not the case.
Eventually, she loosened the string she had pulled.
bowed down
“Okay, now that I’ve accepted your request, stop harassing the tree.”
“Sure.”
Lloyd pulled the torch lightly.
Peace has returned to the twisting roots.
‘Once the hostage is a success.’
Lloyd looked inside the burrow.
It was a freshly dug cramped burrow.
It was difficult for one person to pass through.
I was trapped at the end of such a narrow cave.
And in the direction of the exit, five elven women were armed and glaring at him.
‘I’m completely locked up.’
A bitter laugh came out.
In fact, it was predicted ahead of time that it would take them.
You can’t fool the senses of the elves in the elves’ forest.
‘So, from the beginning, I set up a plan based on this situation.’
Iron Blooded Knight.
I referred to the characteristics of the elves I saw there. studied I dug in and figured out a way.
So, I set up a few steps.
The first stage operation is to throw Xaviel bait.
The second step is accessing the root by tunnel.
The third step is to hold a hostage and threaten to burn the roots of Elencia with fire.
‘And step 4 is hostage exchange.’
One of Lloyd’s hands moved into his bosom.
I took out what I had been hiding in my inside pocket.
It was a wild flower that had been plucked and stored in advance, preserving the roots right before digging the burrow.
“…!”
As soon as this side took out a wild flower, the elves’ expressions shook again.
Seeing that, Lloyd pointed the torch at the wild flowers.
“Everyone step back. If you don’t want to see these flowers burn.”
“What a vile thing!”
“hurry.”
An earthquake occurred in the pupils of the elves.
When someone saw it, they wondered why they were there.
It’s just a single flower.
It’s not something precious or huge.
It’s just a common wild flower whose name I don’t know.
‘But the fact that it works is the secret of the elves.’
The corners of Lloyd’s mouth went up.
Yes.
Iron Blooded Knight.
The characteristics of the elves that appeared there.
That was the point of being a ‘maniac plant lover’.
‘It’s not just that. The point is to be fanatical.’
It was literally a race that loved plants madly.
The movie Misery showed obsession enough to say go away.
A race that gets depressed if you accidentally step on an acorn. A race of people who stumble while climbing a tree branch and tore off a leaf in the wind, crying out loud in disappointment all day long.
One such race was the Elves.
However, he threatened to burn wild flowers in front of them.
Of course, the reaction of the elves was obvious.
“….”
Grinding his teeth, he stepped back.
Lloyd widened his eyes even more.
“continue. more.”
“….”
The elves slowly retreat.
Lloyd came that close.
Muira, the elf woman, gritted her teeth and glared at Lloyd.
“You wouldn’t be able to get out of this forest with such a threat.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“….”
“More back. keep going Whoa.”
“…What if you don’t like it?”
“This flower is burning.”
“If that flower burns, you will die at our hands too, right?”
“Then you live only until today.”
“….”
“What is life?”
He stared into the eyes of the elf woman.
this is a fight
The pushed side dries.
So you have to plant the perception that you have nothing to lose.
Fortunately, such psychological warfare worked.
The elf woman bit her lip and backed away.
“Good idea.”
No matter how you look at it, this is a situation where this side is an eternal villain.
While enjoying the sense of shame (?), the elven women withdrew to the end of the cave.
Lloyd commanded with a chin.
“get out. outside.”
“….”
The elven women were driven out of the den.
But Lloyd did not go out.
‘of course. Is there any chance of getting an arrow stuck in the back of the head?’
Outside the burrow is an open space.
You never know where you might get hit.
Knowing that well, Lloyd cast a hold from inside the cave entrance.
And waited.
‘It’s about time for Xaviel to return.’
I told you when I sent it earlier.
Be sure to come back in 30 minutes.
So what if he comes back?
I will try to counterattack with him. That way, the elves will take advantage of the chaos and get out of this forest.
I was confident enough to succeed.
‘Because fighting the elves or occupying this forest is not the purpose. Because the purpose is just to bounce. At that level, if the sword master, Xaviel, joins us, it’s possible enough.’
night runaway.
That was the final step of the operation he had planned for today.
‘Anyway, elves are real elves.’
While waiting for Xaviel, Lloyd kept an eye on the elven women. Anyway, I was wary of them aiming their bows this way and shooting them in an instant.
As a result, I was able to observe them in detail.
‘Your skin is white. Ears are pointed. Besides, all the people who ran to catch the intruder were women. The Elves say that men do housework and women shoot arrows, so that’s true.’
Men do housework in the living quarters.
Women run through the forest and do vigilant activities.
That was the custom of the elves in the novel Iron Blooded Knight.
Actually, there was no great reason.
‘Because male elves are usually bigger and heavier than women. That’s why you hurt the grass you step on more when you walk in the forest.’
That’s why elven women even learn special steps to protect the grass. It is said that only when you learn the footwork perfectly can you be recognized as an adult and go out of town.
It was a little funny from a human point of view.
But given their maniacal love of plants?
I thought it might be a reasonable custom.
‘Well, anyway, that’s what it is. Why are they all so skinny?’
A long confrontation with the elven women.
Then I noticed another peculiar thing.
It was that the elven women were seriously skinny.
‘I didn’t see it wrong.’
It is a dark night.
The moonlight and the flickering light of torches are all there is.
Even so, it seemed so obvious.
‘It’s not just skinny. I was skinny.’
Lloyd’s gaze turned to the faces of the elven women.
Everyone had their cheekbones sticking out.
Come to think of it, everyone under the eyes also sunk deeply.
His complexion did not seem to be very bright, and his hand holding the bow was trembling slightly.
It was a bit odd.
‘for a moment. Is there something in this?’
The nib flashed.
It was from then.
Lloyd’s eyes moved busily.
I looked at the faces of the elves. I observed the forest around me.
Then, because of the tension just before the theft, things I couldn’t see well began to come into my eyes.
‘I can’t see these forest animals.’
It is a forest.
It is also a forest untouched by human hands.
It is an ideal forest full of spring days all year round.
However, there were few animals to be seen in such a forest.
There were no squirrels or squirrels to run between the branches. If I listened for a moment, I couldn’t hear the chirping of birds, which I should have heard.
That is why this forest was now enveloped in a very empty silence.
‘Is this possible?’
I was puzzled.
Then, again, his eyes landed on the elven women.
Elf women who love plants so much.
He looked emaciated as if he had starved for a long time.
Even the empty sight of a forest with no animals in sight.
‘I can’t believe this.’
Lloyd’s mind was busy.
visible information.
Emerging guesses and reasoning.
The puzzles are jumbled and put together.
Possibilities rise and shine.
Finally, a hypothesis was formulated.
Based on that hypothesis, Lloyd immediately came up with a new plan.
I shot the signal flare of the plan with my mouth.
“Hey, maybe…Do you like meat?”
“…!”
The eyes of the elven women shook.
hypothesis hit.
A smile of repentance appeared on Lloyd’s lips.
‘That’s right. You’ve been starving for a lot of meat.’
Elves who love plants.
The elves who love and care for each other madly.
So, the elves who keep plants from harming them.
Of course they would never eat plants.
Any fruit, seed, leaf, stem or root will be the same.
‘So all these people are hardcore carnivores.’
meat.
eats only meat
But what does it mean to look so dry and emaciated right now?
‘It means I didn’t eat meat. For quite some time.’
I wondered why.
The answer came surprisingly easily.
‘Monster Domino. That phenomenon has affected this far.’
Come to think of it, this Everglow Forest was also located within the Eastern Mountains.
It would not have been possible to be completely free from the monster domino phenomenon.
the result?
‘It’s obvious. Some of the monsters must have come all the way here and caused a commotion. Of course, they would have been repulsed by the elves. The problem must have been after that. All of the animals in the forest that used to live here must have suffered habitat disturbance due to a group of monsters they have never seen out of nowhere.’
Inaudible chirping of birds.
Invisible little animals.
Just looking at it, it was already obvious.
A large number of small animals must have felt insecure and moved their habitat. The larger animals that prey on it must have moved their habitats as well.
‘That’s why the animal population in this forest has drastically decreased. What about the elves? The number of prey has drastically decreased.’
There must have been difficulties in hunting for a certain period of time.
No matter how hard they ran and shot their bows, they would only get meat that was too small for everyone to eat.
Such Lloyd’s conjectures and hypotheses were true.
In fact, Muira and other elven women were in a state of starvation.
When was the last successful hunt?
What day was the last time you chewed neatly dried beef jerky?
I couldn’t even remember it now.
I was hungry.
I had no strength in my whole body.
It wasn’t just him.
Everyone in the tribe did.
Women, of course, men and children too.
It was a more serious and hopeless situation than I thought.
But there was no workaround.
Not only this Everglow forest, but also all nearby forests, the number of animals has drastically decreased. The prey itself became rare.
Of course, with time, this phenomenon will recover. Because nature hates gaps. In the distant future, the animals that left will return and the forest will regain its vitality as if it had never happened.
But how long should I wait for that to happen?
Can I survive starving until then?
That was the problem.
‘That’s why I’m already in trouble.’
In this way, even humans entered the forest recklessly.
Dare to damage the roots of the Elencia tree.
They have taken beautiful flowers as hostages and have not hesitated to threaten them.
My head was pounding.
“What the hell are you up to?”
As soon as I see a gap in the middle of the day, I will put an arrow in my forehead.
With that determination, Muira, the elf woman, asked in an argumentative manner.
Lloyd put an iron plate on his face.
“There is no ulterior motive. Just-”
“Just?”
“I want to negotiate.”
“Negotiation?”
“yes.”
“We do not negotiate with humans. You wouldn’t know that, would you?”
“Aren’t you negotiating?”
“….”
“Besides, you listened to my threat a while ago. If you come to know, threats are also a kind of negotiation.”
“Such coercion doesn’t work. Of course, I have no intention of negotiating.”
“Then if the torch goes out like this, will you kill me?”
“Are you afraid of dying?”
“You take it for granted.”
Contrary to what he said, Lloyd grinned.
And naturally, he spat out the devilish words.
“I can grill pork belly.”
“…what?”
“Sizzle. jiggle jaggle. Ah, the greasy and savory pork belly is golden brown on the grill. When one side is cooked through, flip it over and cook again. Then, if you think it’s ripe, you can cut it with scissors. And dip it in oil…Ugh.”
“….”
The eyes of the elven women became slightly hazy.
Lloyd’s tongue continued to move.
“If pork is not your taste, we also have chicken. because. Because chicken is truth and light. That’s why I’m going to give you a clean washed chicken with salt. Pour milk and keep for a day, then sizzle at 165 degrees for 7 minutes. 2nd round at 175 degrees for 3 minutes. Imagine. When you take a bite of such a deep-fried chicken leg, the gravy gracefully oozes out on your tongue. The fragrant scent that your plump breasts will spread open.”
“….”
“Oh, you say you like beef because your taste is high? After all, beef is not steak. First, drain the blood from the beef fillet. Season it with salt. What about after that? It’s simple. Choke the pork belly on an iron plate heated over high heat! Bake for 1 minute, and every time you turn it over, the oil just splashes and it’s ugly! When you lower the heat to medium and grill it to your liking, the gravy is juicy!
“….”
“So how are you?”
gulp.
The elven women responded with saliva instead of words.
It was the moment Lloyd wanted to open the negotiation table.
