Chapter 160 - Underground Entrance

Gaven’s first thought was that if he took the liquor to the Gnolls of the Blackwell Tribe, especially the Gnolls of the Pitfall Tribe, it might aid their training—after drinking the Dragon Oak Honey Fruit Wine, the elements that congregated around them leaned towards Earth Elements, likely related to the attributes of the Dragon Scale Oak itself.The Dragon Oak Honey Fruit Wine had some alcohol content but wasn’t very high, just about ten to twenty degrees, after all, it wasn’t distilled.

A little for Nicole probably wouldn’t be a problem.

"I want to dance too, I want to dance too..." Aivensa, transformed into a young girl, clamored and leaped up, reverting to her original form, ascending into the sky, constantly flipping and weaving back and forth, beginning a dance, a rather unique Giant Dragon dance.

Stimulated by the Dragon Oak Honey Fruit Wine, Stelina couldn’t help but let go of her usual coldness and joined the dance floor.

What she danced, though, was clearly a war dance.

Her two Yaling Long Knives whirled fiercely, her body appearing and disappearing at times.

Although it was the end of spring, what enveloped her was the stern chill of autumn winds.

After her dance was done, the plants within a dozen meters of her all withered yellow, as if swept by autumn winds.

All the Pikespirits had already retreated dozens of meters away.

In Stelina’s eyes, there was clearly a hint of apology, but in the end, she said nothing, returning to her seat to continue drinking her sorrows away.

"Do you like me? Tell me... do you like me? ...Like me? Haha... I like you too... I like you too... You’re not allowed to not like me... Come... let’s continue drinking... and once we’re done... I’ll continue dancing for you... No... we’ll continue dancing together... later... I’ll teach you how to dance... and you can teach me spear techniques... The way you charge at enemies countless times stronger than yourself... It’s really so cool... makes one really like it... Haha..."

Gaven finally understood why Nicole’s father forbade her from drinking; it truly was a wise decision.

This Pikespirit girl had a terrible tolerance for liquor; just a pinkie’s worth of Dragon Oak Honey Fruit Wine and she started acting crazy drunk.

She kept pulling on Gaven’s ears, asking if he liked her, loved her, would marry her.

One moment she cried, the next she laughed, then caused a ruckus, then danced, then drank.

She could drive someone completely mad with her antics.

Atwood, the chief of Nectar Village, hurried over and lightly tapped her forehead. The highly excited Pikespirit girl immediately wilted and fell into a deep sleep.

Gaven quickly reached out to catch her.

"I apologize for making a spectacle, sir. Nicole has had a poor relationship with alcohol since she was young; I never dare let her touch it, but her curiosity is too strong. The moment I took my eyes off her, she caused trouble," said Atwood apologetically, "causing everyone to lose their cheer."

"I should be the one apologizing," Gaven reflected. "This incident was my fault. I did not anticipate that Miss Nicole would be so intolerant to alcohol. Next time, I’ll be sure to pay attention."

"No one should be blamed for things they don’t know," Atwood replied, taking Nicole from him. "I’ll take her home now. You carry on, sir."

"There’s been plenty of enjoyment already. If it’s convenient for you, chief, we should talk about important matters now," Gaven took the opportunity to say.

"Very well," Atwood gestured, summoning two Pikespirit girls to escort Nicole back.

Gaven joined Atwood and headed to Stelina, who despite having drunk quite a bit, had eyes that were even brighter than usual, showing no hint of drunkenness.

Atwood began, "The troops that went after the Carrier Bug Larvae have returned. A total of thirty-eight larvae have been killed, and eleven were captured alive. How do you think we should proceed?"

"Kill them here and now," Stelina declared decisively, showing no mercy towards these predators that posed a destructive threat to the natural environment.

"Wait," Gaven hastily intervened, "Could you hand them over for me to deal with?"

The terrifying strength and robust life force of the Carrier Bugs had left a deep impression on Gaven.

These creatures were not just ground-based heavy tanks; they also came with anti-air capabilities. If they could be tamed, they would undoubtedly be killers on the battlefield.

As soon as Gaven spoke up, Stelina knew what she intended, frowning, "You’re not the first to try taming a Carrier Bug, nor will you be the last, but so far, no one has succeeded. These monsters are born with a strong aggressive nature and are untamable. Those who tried to tame them often ended up as their food. Moreover, these creatures are extremely gluttonous. The meat required to feed them would be substantial, especially in large quantities."

"Of course, normal means won’t work, but maybe there’s hope if they are altered and adjusted with magic from a young age. Even chaotic and evil Red Dragons can be transformed into guardians of good through magic, let alone these magic beasts," Gaven thought of Demon Cultivation, dealing with such extraordinary creatures demanded unconventional methods.

"You’re referring to Seval Amass and his Red Dragon mount Ganaitorisa," Stelina interjected with a raised eyebrow. "Since you’ve heard their story, you should also be aware of the dire consequences it brought about. They released the three Nicoros Demon Lords, which led to the fall of Mystorno, the collapse of Kosoman, and thus, the massive retreat of the Felen Elves."

"Your cause-and-effect relationship is flawed," Gaven expressed his disagreement. "Nobody would have predicted that the Elves would set the destruction spell of the half-planar prison to be triggered by the flight of a Red Dragon over a Crownbearer’s throne, who had never harbored any resentment or greed. Although the possibility was slim, it should have been prevented."

Moreover, the defeat of Kosoman wasn’t caused solely by external enemies; the most lethal was internal strife. The moment they strayed from the original idea of all races living together in peace, Kosoman was bound to collapse sooner or later, even without the invasion of the three Demon Lords.

Elves retreating from the Felen Continent had one fundamental reason: the call from the Eternal Gathering Island. Even I, as a Half-Elf, occasionally feel that call of destiny, let alone those of pure Elven blood. This, too, is an internal issue for Elves and cannot simply be attributed to the catastrophic outcome of Seval Amass using magic to change the allegiance of the Red Dragon."

The debate on this issue has continued for centuries in the Felen Continent.

Gaven never supported one-sided views, especially not when considering the fall of an empire; one cannot simply blame an isolated event,

Just as the fall of Shang cannot be completely blamed on Daji, nor can the decline of Tang be fully attributed to Noble Princess Consort Yang.

At most, they were the spark that set things off, often unintentionally.

"This issue is historical and not within the scope of our discussion today," Stelina didn’t want to get tangled up with Gaven on this, a true discussion of Kosoman’s demise and the Great Elven Retreat would take days and nights to complete, "this Carrier Bug Larva, are you really confident you can tame them?"

"No," Gaven answered without hesitation, "I didn’t even recognize these things before, how could I possibly know how to domesticate them? I just want to keep them and try, if I’m out of options, or if they really can’t be tamed, then slaughtered for their shells could still be worthwhile. They won’t consume much food when they’re young."

After thinking for a moment, Stelina said, "Let’s postpone this matter. For now, the execution of the Carrier Bug Larva is put on hold until I consult with the Lord. We’ll decide then."

"Alright," Gaven also knew not to push too hard on this matter. He was just casting his net widely, not really sure if he could domesticate the Carrier Bug Larvae.

Not to mention far-fetched ones; the Blackwell Tribe was still holding a Collapsing Beast captive with no clue how to make use of it.

Turning her head to Atwood, Stelina instructed, "This matter is not yet resolved. In the coming period, you need to dispatch all hands to carry out an extensive search of the nearby area; notify all tribes within, no, all tribes in Spring Bud Forest, to be on constant lookout for movements in the forest. Should there be any abnormal predation, they must begin a thorough search immediately to prevent a resurgence of these larvae."

"I have already sent people to do it," Atwood, capable of being the Nectar Village chief, was no slouch, "Once these larvae grow, we will be the first victims. We will spare no effort." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet

"As long as you understand this," Stelina nodded in approval, "If you can’t handle it yourselves, seek help from Spring Bud Fortress immediately."

"Thanks to Lord Virginia, and thanks for the General’s kindness," Atwood bowed again, "Also, the cave that the Carrier Bug emerged from earlier..."

"Leave that to us," Stelina cut in, her gaze shifting toward Gaven, "Next, we’ll need the Lord’s help to explore the cave with us to see where it actually leads."

"A cave? What cave?" The mention of cave exploration instantly energized Gaven.

He was good at this.

In his past life, he had poked around various caves plenty of times.

Ancient graveyards, Dragon’s Nests, lost Underground Cities, Dark Domain caverns, and so on.

These caves were often inseparably linked to wealth.

If it had been earlier, Gaven would certainly have hesitated to explore caves, having to consider the dangers that come with the promise of wealth.

But now, clad in Combat Armor and accompanied by several Transcendent Brolan of the Autumnbreeze, most monsters no longer intimidated him.

Stelina mentioned a cave.

Located beneath the main trunk of the Dragon Scale Oak, a root as thick as five or six people could hug was snapped in half, revealing a giant, seemingly bottomless Dark Cavern with no apparent destination— the Carrier Bug had crawled out from here.

"Carrier Bugs have digging abilities?" Gaven turned his head to Stelina, who was more familiar with Carrier Bugs.

Judging by the Carrier Bug’s form, its main feature was the cluster of larvae on its back. Its two giant pincers seemed handy for snipping trees but not for digging.

Of course, one couldn’t only consider its physical form; magic abilities must be taken into account too. Susie was thin and light, even lighter than a seven or eight-year-old child; she could dig a pit that killed dozens of people in less than three minutes.

"To my knowledge, they shouldn’t," Stelina shook her head.

"Then the existence of such a large hole here, which allows the Carrier Bug’s large body to move freely beneath, must have been there originally." Gaven let his imagination run wild, "What do you think, could this be the Dragon’s Nest of the ancient Giant Dragon that brought forth the Dragon Scale Oak?"

"A Dragon’s Nest? The ancestral Dragon’s Nest?" Upon hearing this, Aivensa instantly sobered up, eyes gleaming and saliva nearly dripping onto the ground. An ancient Giant Dragon’s Dragon’s Nest, how many treasures could it hold? Gold Coins piled into mountains, various ancient Magic Items, too many to count.

Young dragons had no concept of helping their kind guard a Dragon’s Nest. The contents of an ownerless Dragon’s Nest should be moved to their own nests.

"It’s not impossible," Atwood considered briefly before replying. "There indeed are legends here that the Giant Dragon Nest lies beneath the Dragon Oak, but no one has ever thought to verify this. After all, it’s a highly disrespectful act towards the Dragon Oak, and with such a large tree, there’s no precise location."

"It could also be the Dark Domain," Stelina wasn’t so optimistic, "Legend has it that beneath the Spring Bud Forest lies a vast Dark Domain that the Foul Giants in the north have always been searching for."