Chapter 304 - A Bunch of Troublesome Neighbors

Their aura also seemed off, not like living people, but more like two ghosts wearing human skins.As for those three obedient carrier bugs that looked like small dogs, they had already seen those before.

Without going into other details, just the two treants alone could flatten Grape Village.

Thinking about his previous tough stance, Duff’s heart couldn’t help but feel a bit shaky.

Fortunately, the Half-Elf named Gaven didn’t seem to pursue the matter. He had properly set up a banquet and another big barrel of black grape wine was brought up, along with dishes that mainly consisted of stews and roasts.

The Gnomes were not too fond of roast meat, but that stew had them dripping with grease, perfectly seasoned, smelling so appetizing that it greatly increased one’s hunger, and was tender and crumbly, melting as soon as it entered the mouth.

Gaven came to realize the Fae Race’s enthusiasm for banquets. Even after just concluding one in Grape Village, they were still as excited as ever. They partied from dusk till dawn, to the point that even the Gnomes who were left to watch over the vineyard were attracted to join in.

When Gaven realized that his presence as the master didn’t make any difference to them, he slipped away and went back to his room to rest and recuperate.

There were a million things to do with the reconstruction of Weizemay Manor; tomorrow, a pile of matters awaited him.

When he woke up, Lord Virginia had already returned to the manor with those twenty-four Gnomes.

As for the actual outcomes, there was no need to ask.

One only needed to look at the lively scene in the manor to know.

Those beaming Gnomes, chatting and gesticulating excitedly around him, were definitely sharing their experiences of the half-day trip to the Fairy Wilderness and the War Giant Tree of Dragon Oak with Lord Virginia.

As for what they were describing, one could guess without listening.

The repeatedly mentioned terms were Dragon Oak Mother Tree, Dragon Oak Dream Realm, the vast Life Energy, countless members of the Fae Race, and the paradise of the Fae Race, and so on.

Upon seeing Gaven again, the Gnomes from Grape Village looked at him with entirely different eyes than before.

Elder Dennis quickly approached him and said, "I knew the moment I first saw you that you were no ordinary man. We in Grape Village accept all your previous proposals. Not only will we help you rebuild the winery at Weizemay Manor, but we also want to help you make better grape wine, surpassing the former, surpassing the black grape wine. If there is anything you need in the future, Lord, just command us."

"Now we only have one core issue. In one more month, the grapes will enter the ripening period. This month will be critical for their growth. If we manage them carefully, I believe their ripeness rate will greatly increase. How much wine we can produce and the quality of the wine will depend on these grapes."

Gaven paused slightly and said frankly, "Elder, is it possible to expand the management area, to trim away as much of those useless watershoots as possible?"

"We will do our utmost," Elder Dennis nodded without hesitation. "But our manpower is limited; even if we do our best, the vineyard area we can manage will not exceed one-tenth. Hiring more hands is key."

"I know, for this matter, in the next few days, Lord Virginia will allocate a portion of the Fae Race to come here, but many of them are novices in this respect. I hope you can guide them as much as possible," Gaven evidently had a well-thought-out plan.

The Pikespirits, Flower Demons, Little Fairies, and such minor elves are the most suitable candidates to be employed.

With one teleportation, Lord Virginia can bring forty-eight of them, and can do it three times a day, managing to surpass a thousand in a tenday.

No, rather it should be said four times, for on the last trip back, the Dog Demons could be brought over, and they could assist with one trip.

Don’t be fooled by their small size; when it comes to this kind of tedious work, they are in no way inferior to adults. With their numbers added, the efficiency will be very high, especially with the aid of Druidic spells.

Elder Dennis thought about the clouds of Fae Race he saw within the Dragon Oak War Giant Tree. Even if only a very small portion of them came over to help manage the vineyard, it would be more than enough. He said, "We don’t need many, just a thousand or so other Fae Race members to come and help. Not only with management, but even the harvesting wouldn’t be a problem. The key is still in brewing wine, where our size becomes a significant disadvantage."

"I’ve already thought of a solution to this. First, I’ll hire more humans to come as soon as possible, and second, I’ll find a way to enlighten more Treants or trees to assist us in brewing wine."

Gaven laid out his thoughts plainly, "Elder, you are most familiar with the surroundings. Do you know if there are any large trees nearby, the more famous and unique, the better?"

He was now an Enlightened Treant, addicted to Enlightenment.

But it cannot be denied that this is an effective way to quickly boost strength.

Even if it’s just enlightening trees, with their huge size, they amount to ten times a single strong labor force, albeit slightly less efficient. However, their low cost and tirelessness make up for it.

If there were ten Enlightened Trees in the brewery, their efficiency could certainly match a hundred workers.

Of course, they could only do the rough manual labor. The more delicate tasks would still require the collaboration of the common races.

"Enlightened Treants? Can Treants even be enlightened? Are you, my Lord, a Druid? Do you understand the spell of Enlightenment?" Dennis looked at Gaven with surprise.

Although there was a natural aura about him, it was quite different from that of a Druid.

He had never heard that Treants could be enlightened before.

"My spell of Enlightenment was bestowed upon me by the Dragon Oak Mother Tree," Gaven directly attributed this matter to the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

Upon hearing this, Elder Dennis immediately showed an expression as if it all made sense. Having seen the Dragon Oak Mother Tree with his own eyes, he already linked it to the force that suppressed them the day before. This Half-Elf before him, although not a member of the Fae Race, had an unimaginable close connection to that ancient existence, comparable to the Tree of Life. It was not surprising that he was granted the spell of Enlightenment, or even more powerful Natural Forces.

So, what was so strange about enlightening Treants?

Finding the perfect explanation, Elder Dennis thought for a moment and said, "Never mind famous trees, there aren’t even many large trees in the vicinity because this area is full of marshy lands, unstable, and often flooded. If my Lord wants to find suitable trees for enlightenment, you would have to go to Yewen Forest, but I hear that place is not particularly peaceful."

The Yewen Forest was once part of Comanso, but due to human logging and the frequent flooding of the rivers from the Three Rivers Region, it formed into a valley passage over a dozen kilometers wide and became isolated as a separate forest. Hence, it was called Yewen Forest, also known as the Forest of Many Names.

Yewen Forest is what the Elves call it, while the humans of Battle Valley prefer to refer to it as Battle Forest, named after the massive human campaigns organized to clear the dangerous monsters within the forest with military force. Thɪs chapter is updated by NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt

The likes of Half-Goat People are residents of Yewen Forest; their name for the forest originates from a Half-Goat Magician and the stream that runs through the forest where he lives.

Yewen Forest is an unavoidable presence in the Three Rivers Region.

Because it envelops most of the land in the Three Rivers Region, only leaving the Yewen Valley passageway.

Even if one does not seek the suitable Enlightened Tree in that location, once development here is on the right track, it will eventually head in that direction. Hearing that there was trouble there, Gaven hurriedly asked, "What exactly is going on? Tell me about it?"

"I’ve heard that a group of Aglarond Half-Elves has moved there and somewhere deep in the forest is a passage to the Dark Domain occupied by a group of Dwarves Elves, with both sides waging war over it. Besides, there are said to be a considerable number of Beastmen lurking around," Elder Dennis reported truthfully, using words like ’heard’ and ’said to be,’ which are relatively vague.

After all, Weizemay Manor is nearly a hundred kilometers from Yewen Forest; they neither have the ability nor the interest to get involved there; their knowledge is merely hearsay.

Aglarond Half-Elves?

Dwarves Elves?

Beastmen?

With every name he heard, Gaven’s brow furrowed further.

Because behind these names lay a heap of trouble.

There’s not much need to talk about Dwarves Elves; not to mention Felen, they’re notorious throughout the Multiverse, synonymous with betrayal, evil, and cruelty, just like their lady Rose.

There are good-hearted Dwarves Elves, but they are very few.

Half-Elves aren’t problematic, but if you add the prefix ’Aglarond,’ it becomes a synonym for trouble.

Aglarond is a nation situated on the eastern shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars, a land whose Yumu Forest contains the most abundant population of Aglarond Half-Green Elves.

The country is world-renowned because they have a powerful neighbor – Ser, ruled by the Red Robe Mages.

The two sides have fought each other to death countless times over the past century.

However, Ser hasn’t gained much advantage, and that is due to their new Queen – Symbul.

This ruler has a long list of titles.

Storm Queen, Witch Queen, one of the Seven Sisters, one of Mistela’s Chosen, and the current lover of Irminster.

Irminster may well be the most famous Mage in Felen.

But in terms of notorious reputation, Symbul ranks even higher.

Particularly among Mages, because of her fiery temper and cunning strategies, she’s like a spell storm, destroying all her enemies.

She has fought against the Mages of Ser single-handedly; defeated members of the Santarin Association, Dark Lords, Lords of the Undead; hailed as the best friend, and the deadliest enemy.

She is also famously protective, including of those who have left Aglarond – if they are treated unjustly elsewhere, the Storm Queen might just bring a storm in her wake to administer justice for her people.

In a nutshell, dealing with Aglarond Half-Elves requires extreme caution.

As for the Beastmen.

One simple name, and most know of its origin – Werewolves.

Beings capable of shifting between beast form and human form.

Werewolves are but one of the well-known types of Beastmen; in Felen, there are many kinds, including Were-Tigers, Were-Boars, Bearmen, Were-Foxes, Were-Cats, and so forth.

Their biggest issue is Lycanthropy.

Once bitten, an intelligent creature could contract this disease, and on the night of a full moon, uncontrollably shift into a beast form controlled by animal instincts and become a Beastman ourselves.

Not all Beastmen are evil; often, it depends on their faith.

Those that worship the Moon Goddess Sulun are usually good-hearted and try to control their hunting instincts; they stay away from populations and don’t spread Lycanthropy carelessly.

If they follow the God of the Hunt, Magla, these Beastmen are typically evil. They are an integral part of the People of the Black Blood, and they revel in unbridled hunting. They view all creatures, especially intelligent ones, as prey inherently meant to be hunted by them. The spread of Lycanthropy among them is unchecked and troublesome.

It’s just unclear which kind of Beastmen are roaming around in Yewen Forest.

"Thank you very much for the information, Elder; it’s very important to me. If I go to Yewen Forest, I’ll be careful," Gaven responded earnestly.

"It’s what I should do," said Elder Dennis, as if remembering something, and kindly reminded him, "There’s one more thing I think Lord needs to know. This ownerless grapevine of Weizemay Manor has become quite famous in the Three Rivers Region over the past two years.

When the grapes ripen, this place will turn into a feasting and picking sanctuary. By then, not only surrounding intelligent creatures but even those not endowed with intelligence will be attracted here. It will be very difficult for Lord to protect this grapevine," he added.