Chapter 95: The Target in the Darkness

Dealing with the dark elves was by no means an easy task.

When Jen entered the shadowy depths once more, he wore the same flamboyant mage guise as before. As for the order, Jen simply offered an excuse, claiming he needed to take his subordinates deep into the underdark to search for the secrets of the gray dwarves, then turned and departed with Elise and the others. Though Rox and Borson were somewhat worried by this, they could only acquiesce to his wishes. On one hand, they had witnessed Jen’s familiarity with the underdark; on the other, Jen’s departure eased tensions between the Temple of the God of War and the Valkyrie Principality. The temple was determined to protect Jen at any cost, but unless absolutely necessary, they did not wish to turn against the principality outright. Jen’s absence provided a convenient pretext.

Jen, however, knew that reconciliation between the Valkyrie Principality and the Temple of the God of War was impossible. If anyone on the continent of Crayne least desired the return of the war god, it was the Valkyrie Principality. They had been the first to abandon their deity, seeking new patrons. Casting aside a dead god was nothing unusual, but if he were to rise again, that would be a very different matter.

The Temple understood this well, which explained their uncompromising stance regarding Jen. After Jen slew two nobles and scores of principality soldiers, both sides had laid their cards on the table. A full-scale war between a temple and a state was something the Holy Church absolutely wished to avoid. It was foreseeable that both the principality and the temple would lodge complaints and appeals to the Holy Church, prompting investigations and much wrangling—well, Jen reckoned it would take at least a month to sort out.

But none of this concerned him anymore.

Now, Jen walked through the winding depths of the underdark, accompanied by Elise, Bix, Enoa, as well as Patilina and Verna. The latter was reluctant to join the venture, but as a dark elf, she possessed considerable advantages against her own kind.

As the most proficient assassins of the night, dark elves had mastered the art of concealing their tracks. They remained on the periphery, never venturing into Jen’s domain, making them impossible to locate through his maps. Fortunately, Jen had equally keen hounds at his disposal.

The xenomorphs crawled silently along the cavern ceilings, spreading out in all directions. Their movements were swift and soundless. Most importantly, as cold-blooded creatures, they emitted no heat, rendering the dark elves’ prized “infrared” vision useless against them. Even Verna was wary of these fearsome monsters. Previously, she had believed only the dark elves were the ultimate masters of assassination, but faced with the terrifying killing machines, she no longer dared boast.

“Are we to wait here for their response, master?”

Patilina, standing beside Jen, gazed at him with wide, expectant eyes. She had been like a cheerful squirrel the entire journey, chattering incessantly around him, a curious child whose presence brightened the otherwise somber trek. Besides her talkativeness, Patilina performed her duties admirably. As a machine, she required no rest and was perfect for guard duty.

“Yes. My hounds will locate the places those fellows might go. All we need to do is wait.”

Jen nodded at Patilina’s question, but his expression betrayed little ease. They had been tracking the patrols for some time. Judging from their movements, the dark elves were probing and keeping watch around the outskirts, their actions disciplined and well-trained—a troubling sign. Typically, dark elves avoided lingering outside; they completed their tasks quickly and retreated to their warm, wicked nests.

Jen grew increasingly curious about their objective. Clearly, they were searching for something and had devised a plan for it...

A sudden mental wave interrupted his thoughts. He looked up, peering into the deep, distant tunnels—it was one of the xenomorphs signaling, and it seemed to have found its target.

Jen raised his hands.

With his gesture, the dungeon’s system unfolded before him, transforming into a map of the underdark. Outside Jen’s own domain, the landscape was shrouded in mist, impossible to discern. But sensing the xenomorph’s location, Jen focused on the foggy area, reaching out to tap a spot.

At once, the mist dispersed, revealing a clear section of the underdark. It was a cavern, where several figures lurked in the shadows, riding underground beasts and advancing in silence. Over twenty well-equipped dark elf warriors spread out in a defensive formation, while at their center were two robed female dark elves and a male in warrior’s armor. The women wore pitch-black robes embroidered with spider motifs, snake-head whips hanging from their waists.

Priestesses of the Spider Goddess!

Jen frowned at the sight. This mission must be of great importance for the dark elves to send two high-ranking priestesses so far from their city. Dark elf priestesses were powerful; compared to the roaming bishops of the Holy Church, a priestess of Rose could easily defeat ten of them alone.

The two priestesses were conversing rapidly in sign language, a skill unique to the dark elves for exchanging information silently and preventing eavesdropping—a true art among their kind.

But as a master of manipulating minds, Jen could glean much from their expressions even without understanding the words.

The older priestess on the left was clearly the leader, her arrogant, self-satisfied demeanor betraying her as she issued orders, urging her subordinates to carry them out swiftly. The younger priestess, seeming even younger than Verna, was visibly opposed to her decisions, repeatedly making the same gestures in hopes the elder would abandon the plan. The dark elf warrior beside her nodded frequently in agreement.

Yet the elder priestess paid them no heed. With a slap, she knocked the warrior from his mount, grabbed him by the neck before he hit the ground, stared him down, then gestured several times, saying something. The warrior eventually nodded in resignation, made a sign, and the soldiers closed in...

The vision ended there.

Damn!

Jen grunted in frustration, staring at his fingertips. They were outside the dungeon’s territory, and this use of the Evil Eye expended considerable magic. He no longer had enough mana to cast another long-duration Evil Eye. Unfortunately, he hadn’t fully understood their intentions—though that wouldn’t stop him.

“Verna, come here.”

The dark elf, previously wandering ahead, paused at Jen’s call. She glanced warily at Patilina beside Jen, whose lively, adorable smile gave her the appearance of a cheerful neighbor’s girl—at least on the surface. But Verna could not forget all that had happened before, and watched Patilina with caution. No matter how closely she scrutinized, Patilina remained unchanged, even responding curiously to Verna’s gaze, her innocent demeanor suggesting she was oblivious to any trouble.

That sly little rascal!

Seeing Patilina’s lack of reaction, Verna could only curse her inwardly before approaching Jen.

“What is it?”

“You’re a dark elf, so you must be familiar with their sign language, correct?”

“Of course.”

Verna answered Jen’s question with a hint of puzzlement.

“Every dark elf must learn it. I’m no exception.”

“Excellent.”

Jen nodded in satisfaction, then quickly reproduced a series of gestures before Verna—the very signs he had observed from the priestesses.

Verna’s eyes widened in astonishment at Jen’s performance. She hadn’t expected him to display such skillful dark elf signing. By the Stone, had she not known Jen’s true identity, she might have believed him to be a dark elf himself!

“That’s it.”

Jen ceased his gestures and looked to Verna.

“Can you tell me what it means?”

Verna was nearly amused to laughter by the request.

“You’re joking, male. You flawlessly performed dark elf sign language in front of me, then claim you don’t know its meaning?”

“In fact, I don’t.”

Jen shrugged at her vexed retort.

“I merely mimicked it. It’s easier to copy gestures than speech...”

Verna did not reply immediately, instead staring into Jen’s eyes in silence. After a moment, she shrugged and sighed.

“Well, it’s nothing serious. You should know that even in conversation, a dark elf never reveals any weakness. I don’t know what you saw, but they’re searching for something.”

“Something?”

Jen’s mind stirred.

“Yes. From your gestures, one of them wants to take a more aggressive approach—to seize it directly. The other two think it’s too risky and prefer caution. But their opposition will surely be ignored.”

“I understand.”

Jen nodded, pushing up his glasses.

Dark elves had come here so brazenly to search for an item?

For some reason, Jen recalled that elsewhere in the underdark, another faction was seeking their lost relic at any cost.

Could there be a connection between the two?