Volume 3: Artifacts Chapter 72: A Small Riot
Although the Emerald Forest is the kingdom of elves, when Qingkong appeared in Emerald Harbor, he still attracted a lot of attention. Not only because of Qingkong's appearance that would make elves jealous, but also because there are some differences between grassland elves and forest elves.
The easiest way to tell the two types of elves apart is to look at their ears. The ears of forest elves are more pointed, which reflects their elegant temperament; the ears of grassland elves have outward-curved tips, which enables them to better perceive the slightest movement on the grassland.
There were many other subtle differences, which led to Qingkong being quickly stopped by an elf patrolman.
"Beautiful grassland elf, first of all, welcome to the Emerald King's Court. I know that the long sea journey must have exhausted you and your human companions, but I still hope you can answer a few questions for me.
I mean no harm, it's just that few prairie elves visit the Emerald Forest.
Please show your entry documents.”
The elf patrol soldiers wore uniforms similar to those of the human army, but retained the hooded cloaks. They wore a delicate rapier on their waists, a horn bow embedded in the leather bow slot behind their waists, and more than a dozen feather arrows.
A spotted owl flew over and landed on the elf patrolman's shoulder, and a hound squatted at his feet.
Eagles and dogs are standard equipment for the elite patrolmen of the Emerald King's Court. In addition to protecting the King's Court, their main job is to search for stowaways in the forest.
Clear Sky looked at the rank badge on the left chest of the elf patrolman and said, “Sergeant, my name is Starry Sky, and as you can see, I am a grassland elf.
This is my entry document...
I can answer your questions, but please don't take too long, we have had a rough two weeks at sea and we need a rest."
"It won't take you too long." The elven patrolman took the entry documents and checked them carefully, and asked, "Are you and your followers from the western border of the Golden Shield Empire?"
"Yes, the Western Border Administrative Office, Fengcao City in the Harmutu Basin."
"I thought you were from the Prairie of the Ancients. There is too much news about the Prairie of the Ancients now. A powerful queen has appeared in your Prairie Elves , and she is from the Prairie of the Ancients. I heard that she revived the World Tree, defeated the evil demons, the despicable Shadow Clan killers, the powerful Holy Judgement Angels, and the Shining Gold Debt Collectors who only care about money. She is also an extremely wise scholar and an authority in many academic fields.
I often teach my daughter to learn from Her Majesty the Moonlight Queen, but she has no interest in learning. Elves are like this, they always feel that they have a lot of time..."
Qingkong listened patiently to the elf patrolman's chatter .
Everything about the Emerald Forest is good except the way the forest elves speak, which is hard to get used to. Maybe it’s because they have so much time.
Qingkong smiled and explained, "The grassland elves living in the grasslands of the ancestors are the Fierce War Song branch. The grassland elves are a nomadic group. Except for a few branches, most of them are constantly migrating."
"Oh! I have gained new knowledge. After the patrol, I can go to the tavern and drink while showing off my knowledge of grassland elves to other elves. The lantern flower beer at the Oak Tavern is very good. The hops have the scent of vanilla. I highly recommend you to try it.
There is no problem with your ID, please keep it. May I know the purpose of your visit to the Jade King's Court?"
Qingkong took the certificate returned by the elf patrol and replied, "Her Majesty the Moonlight Queen became powerful and knowledgeable because of her travels around the world, and finally saved the World Tree. Therefore, we grassland elves all want to emulate Her Majesty, go to further places, and understand Her Majesty's spirit through adventure.
I chose to come to the Emerald Forest to experience the life of the forest elves."
Hearing that the grassland elves in front of him came to the Emerald Forest for adventure, the elf patrol persuaded: "You came at a very bad time. Not long ago, the Emerald King's Court issued a ban, strictly prohibiting outsiders from entering the Emerald Forest."
"What happened?" Qingkong asked knowingly.
The Elf Patrolman replied: "I'm sorry, it's impossible for me to know too much at my level. Fortunately, the Emerald Court has not enforced the ban, so you are still free in the Emerald Court.
If you want to experience the forest, you can go to the old town, where the old life of the forest elves is still preserved. You can see the holy and beautiful unicorns, as well as the elegant and graceful high-headed swans. The forest elves are very hospitable, and you will feel as kind as returning to your own home. "
Qingkong said: "I believe that the Emerald King's Court will be able to solve the problems it encounters quickly. We can wait here for the Emerald Forest to open.
Can we go now, please?"
"Of course!" The elf patrolman made way and politely made an invitation gesture: "Welcome to the Emerald King's Court, beautiful Miss Starry Sky. Outside the dock, you can see taxis waiting to pick up guests. If your destination is the new city or the old city, I suggest you don't take the steam car. The deer car can allow you to travel freely in the Emerald King's Court.
I recommend the hotel..."
Just as the elf patrolman was chattering, a sudden commotion nearby diverted his attention.
A group of elves dressed in old-style clothes rushed into the port, shouting "Defend the Emerald Forest" and forming a human wall with their bodies to block the normal work of the port.
“Give the forest back clean air!”
"Our home is being destroyed by carbon dust!"
"Move the factories out of the Emerald Forest, and keep all the ships and cars away!"
"The punishment of the Elf God has come. Only by restoring everything can the anger of the God be appeased!"
…
The elf patrol blew the whistle to summon his companions nearby, and finally saluted gracefully to the clear sky: "Beautiful Miss Starry Sky, this is a small matter, we will solve it quickly, and I hope it has not affected your impression of the Emerald King's Court.
Be sure to visit the Oak Bar to try the Lantern Ale, and their grilled veggie wraps are also delicious.
I wish you a wonderful night and greet the rising sun tomorrow with the most vigorous spirit. "
The elf patrol ran to drive away the troublesome elves.
Qingkong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She had seen Shelley want to pull out his gun more than once. However, this was just the beginning. The forest elves with special chatting skills would definitely leave people with deep travel memories.
Just as he was about to leave, Qingkong discovered that the troublesome elves were not driven away by the elf patrols, but instead caused even greater chaos.
The Forest Protection Organization is a small group among the forest elves. They are extreme defenders of traditional life and are extremely opposed to the elves accepting the industrial civilization brought over by humans.
They believe that elves should live in the forest, live in tree houses, gather and hunt every day, and only obtain the necessities of survival from the forest. The pollution produced by industry is causing unnecessary damage to the forest, which is contrary to the spirit of the forest elves to follow nature and betrays the favor of the elf god to the forest elves.
Qingkong knew that there was such a forest protection organization in the Emerald Forest, and he also knew that this organization did not have much power except for occasionally causing trouble.
After all, the Emerald Court has found a balance between industrialization and elven traditions. The forests are strictly protected by laws, and the scale of industrial zones has been very well limited. Of course, there is pollution and destruction of the forests, but for the benefits brought by industrialization, most elves can accept this level of destruction.
Judging from the performance of the elf patrol just now, it should be common for forest protection organizations to come to the port to cause trouble. Logically, they should be able to skillfully expel them.
However, this group of elves who came to cause trouble were not only not driven away, but a panic was spreading.
A terrible news spreads as fast as a virus.
When Qingkong vaguely heard the word "headhunters", he said to Jennifer and Shelley, "Let's go, let's stay at the Three Car Inn first. The sheriff will go to get information, but don't get caught."
Jennifer opened her pocket and the black cat jumped out.
He bent his back and stretched his muscles: "Your Majesty... meow!"
After being kicked in the butt by Jennifer, the sheriff realized that he had said the wrong thing. Fortunately, everyone around was looking towards the commotion and did not hear what he said.
“Miss Starry Sky, you can leave everything to your loyal mount. I will be able to get the most authentic news soon and meet up with you at the inn.
Ah! The night is so beautiful today. I really want to sing a hymn for my daughter... for my lady."
After saying that, the sheriff turned into a puff of black smoke and dived into the panicked crowd.
Shelley pressed the gun and said fiercely: "If this cat lived in the Emerald Forest, it would definitely do very well."
Seeing that the elf patrolmen were gradually losing control of the commotion, Jennifer said, "We should leave here as soon as possible. It seems like something bad is about to happen."
"Let's go!"
Qingkong took Jennifer and Shelley away and rented a reindeer cart outside to go to the new city area of the Emerald Royal Court.
Not too far away, there was an explosion at the dock, followed by a series of explosions. The elf driving the reindeer was so frightened that he whipped the reindeer and drove faster.
Qingkong in the carriage was sorting out the information about the Emerald King's Court in his mind.
The size of the Jade Royal Court is similar to that of the former Raging Waves City. The old city is in the forest on the edge of the city, and the new city was built by cutting down the forest, accounting for 90% of the entire Royal Court. About half of the new city is the port area, and the factories are distributed around the port.
The population size and industrial scale determine that the industry of the Jade Royal Court is very specialized.
Elves are naturally clever and their magical talent makes the ratio of elven magicians much higher than that of humans. Therefore, most of the industries in the Jade King's Court are related to alchemy, and high-end alchemy finished products and semi-finished products occupy a very large share in the international market.
The Golden Shield Empire and the Emerald Court have close business relations. With the rise of magic technology, the trade volume with the Emerald Court will become higher and higher in the future.
The problems brought about by industrialization have gradually emerged with prosperity and wealth.
The Emerald Forest population is urbanizing very quickly.
The abundance of food in the forest means that the forest elves do not have a strong sense of territory. They migrate at will and choose to form groups or live alone at will. In the past, the forest elves were scattered everywhere in the forest, and the elves of the Emerald King's Court accounted for less than one percent of the total population of the forest elves.
But when the Emerald Court chose to accept human civilization, as the only city in the Emerald Forest that allowed industrialization, it developed at a very fast pace.
The convenient living environment and rich material and spiritual enjoyment have attracted more and more forest elves to settle in the Emerald King's Court. It is estimated that the forest elves living in the Emerald King's Court now account for 30% or more of the total population.
And this proportion is still increasing rapidly.
Population growth inevitably leads to urban expansion. Although the Emerald Royal Court has concentrated all industries in the port area, the port area has expanded many times along with the expansion of the new urban area.
In addition, forest elves are concentrated in cities, which means that wild elves are scarce.
How many headhunter territories are there in the vast forest areas without elves?
How many lone elves have been hunted by the headhunters?
Thinking of the chaos happening at the dock, Qingkong realized that this trip to the Emerald Forest would not be as simple as he had imagined.
On the road, you can see several groups of elf patrols riding horses or elk galloping towards the dock, and the cries of griffins can be heard from time to time in the air.
The elven residents looked out of the windows, wondering in panic what had happened.
Patrol soldiers began to set up checkpoints to block the road.
After several inspections, Qingkong and his group finally arrived at their destination... the Three-Car Inn.
This is an intelligence point opened by the Golden Shield Empire in the Emerald Royal Court, which is affiliated with the Imperial Secret Intelligence Bureau. The main task is to collect some open intelligence with high concealment, so it is given the task of secretly protecting Princess Dale.
After checking into the Three-Car Inn, Qingkong immediately summoned the head of the intelligence station.
There was a sound of rapid hoofbeats passing by outside the window. Jennifer looked outside and closed the window after making sure it was safe.
Shelley stood at the door with her arms folded across her chest, her uncovered right eye staring at the man standing under the lamp like a venomous snake.
Qingkong sat on the chair and asked the man, "Are you Zoran Archer?"
Archer was sweating from the invisible pressure in the room, but the training he received and the character he had honed from lurking allowed him to remain calm.
"Yes, I am Zoran Archer, the head of the three-car intelligence station. Lord Starry Sky, you came here with the instructions written by the Prime Minister of Meteorite. Is there any important task for us to complete?"
Qingkong said, "Don't be nervous. Now answer my question... Is Princess Dale safe? Has anyone been arranged to protect her as she goes deep into the Emerald Forest?"
Archer looked at Shelley standing at the door. The feeling of being stared at made him feel uncomfortable. But in the face of the question, he quickly answered: "Princess Dale is currently in the Emerald Magic Academy. We have spies in the academy. Her Royal Highness is safe now.
It's just that Her Highness seems to know that we are protecting her in secret. In the academy, she doesn't know who our people are, so we can still fulfill our duty of protection. But after she leaves the academy, she will quickly find the people we arranged and get rid of them.
It was our fault that His Royal Highness was not protected after he entered the forest."
Given Dale's cleverness, it would be strange if the spy could follow her in the forest.
Qingkong did not pursue the spy's dereliction of duty, but said: "I came to the Emerald King's Court this time for my mission, and your mission is to prepare a channel to leave here at any time.
Go out, it's not urgent, don't disturb me."
"Yes, Master Starry Sky!"
