The early morning forest was filled with a thin layer of morning mist, causing the distant scenery to appear somewhat hazy. The overlapping canopies formed a crisscrossed green dome above the forest. From time to time, crisp and pleasant bird cries could be heard from the dense branches and leaves.

A ray of bright and warm sunlight penetrated through the cracks in the branches and leaves, shining on Qin Lun’s face, making him feel a tingling sensation in his sleep, as if someone had just scratched the itch.

Qin Lun slowly opened his eyes, stretched out his arm behind his head, blocked the sun with his palm, yawned and straightened his spine, and his bones emitted a crisp sound like firecrackers. When he regained his senses, the sound of flowing water that was like a zither tune could be heard in his ears.

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to look at the forest creek in the distance. The clear stream flowed eastward along the staircase-shaped stream path. A few small, colorful fish swarmed upstream. However, they had no choice but to hover in the stream due to the rapid flow of water. They were like crystal fossils that were translucent and translucent.

Qin Lun stood up from the thick branch and supported the tree trunk as he looked down. There was a small forest clearing under the tree. On the clearing was a sleeping bag in the shape of a capsule, as well as a pile of white smoke that seemed to have just been extinguished from the bonfire. The elven thief in charge of guarding the latter half of the night was nowhere to be found, so it was likely that he would be searching for firewood nearby.

For the past two days, he had been sleeping in a tree, but Longer was not used to it. He took a sleeping bag and lay under the tree. The two of them were well-water and did not offend the river.

“Qin Lun, you’re awake!” As he watched, Loner emerged from the bushes with a pile of firewood in his arms, and a string of creek fish hung on the branch in his right hand.

“En!” Qin Lun jumped down from the tree and brought over a large rock from the edge of the clearing. He used the dagger to dig a big pit in it and used it as a stone pot. He took out the clean water from his storage space and poured it into the “stone pot” to help Longer make a pot of delicious fish soup.

Seeing that the fish soup was boiling, the elven thief took out a bag of seasoning and poured it into the stone pot, stirring it with a barked branch. This bag of seasoning could also be considered a recovery item. Not only did it have a flavoring effect, it was also a simple universal antidote to prevent the apostles from eating dirty food in the wilderness of the mission world.

Qin Lun picked up a bowl of fish soup and blew the bubbles on it. He took a sip and let out a comfortable sigh.

In the past two days, not only had Loner gained a lot from him, but he had also begun to admire his analysis and judgement. Even he had a little respect for this elven thief. He had a lot of adventure experience and learned a lot about survival in the wilderness.

“Qin Lun, we should be close to the Fairy Court, right?” Long Er smacked his lips, shaved his teeth with Xiaodao, and asked with concern.

They stopped walking for two days. From the beginning, there were no clues, until they gradually discovered several abandoned elven tree houses in the depths of the forest. It could be judged that the two of them were approaching the Elven Royal Court.

“Yes, we should already be at the edge of a Demon Cup Royal Court. However, the Elven Royal Court may have concealed large-scale illusion magic. If we get close, we won’t be able to find it.” Qin Lun pondered for a moment and helplessly spread out his hands.

“Why? If your previous analysis is correct, we also belong to the Jondahl Fairy’s own people. Could it be that they won’t let us enter the city?” Loner asked in surprise.

“It’s not like this!” Qin Lun sighed and explained with a bitter smile, “The elves are the masters of the forest. We have been in Jondar Forest for two days. Perhaps some elven rangers have already discovered us, but because we are one of our own, they will ignore us!”

Long Er quickly understood that elves were a race that advocated freedom. Occasionally, there would be one or two elves hunting and cultivating in the forest. Patrolling elven rangers would not interfere at all.

If the ten apostles of the fortress team had entered Jondar Forest together, with both elves and humans, perhaps the elves’ sentries would have appeared long ago. But now, they were only two elves, so they were naturally treated as elven martial artists who tempered themselves.

This was something that Qin Lun slowly thought of after entering the forest. If he knew this was the case, he might as well ask one of the human apostles in the team to enter the forest with him.

“Then what should we do?” Hearing this, Long Er was a little anxious. “If we wander around for a long time, we will probably arouse suspicion, right?”

Qin Lun looked at Longer in surprise. The elven thief seemed to have made some progress when he thought of this. At least two days ago, he hadn’t thought of it. Those who could become professional apostles weren’t idiots. It was only because Loner had followed the fortress team for a long time that he was bound by the flow of tasks that he became a regular apostle.

Qin Lun lowered his head and pondered. Lingering here for a long time would naturally attract the attention of the Fairy Ranger. Although he didn’t think of them as enemies, once his credibility was affected, he wouldn’t be able to pick out some important plots in the later stages. This was something he couldn’t accept.

“Today is our third day in the forest. If we still can’t find any clues, we’ll take the initiative to attack tomorrow and find a way to attract the attention of the elven patrol.” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up and he said firmly.

“I wonder how the guild is doing!” Long Er nodded and replied with a heavy heart.

The Fairy Thief did not ask Qin Lun how he would take the initiative to attack. In fact, it was easy to attract the attention of the Fairies on purpose. On their way into the forest, they passed through the nests of many high-grade magical beasts. These high-grade magical beasts weren’t low in intelligence. They wouldn’t take the initiative to attack the Jondahl elves. If the elves didn’t invade their territory, the two of them would be safe and sound.

As long as they fought high-level magical beasts, they would probably attract elven rangers. However, in this way, they would also be questioned. The caravan had been destroyed. They did not report back to the Elf Court, but instead provoked high-grade magical beasts here. How could they not be suspected?

“Don’t worry, if there’s no major problem with the team, Nicole and the others will be rescued by tonight at the latest.” Qin Lun smiled and comforted, “We just need to do our own thing!”

Two days ago, Stark and Philip brought the other three First Grade apostles to the south. If the problem wasn’t serious, they would only have two days to go back and forth. Today, they would definitely have returned to the vicinity of Elbard. However, it would take a day to scout Elbard Town and then launch a surprise attack at night to rescue Nicole and the others.

For this reason, Qin Lun also used a dirty trick. If the prison where Nicole and the others were imprisoned was easy to defend and difficult to attack, then let them execute a beheading tactic in Elbard and capture Elbard’s human lord in exchange for hostages.

If Elbard did not have a powerful figure to guard him, then it was inevitable that he would be able to save his three companions. He estimated that he would be able to escape from the pursuers and enter the forest tomorrow afternoon. However, no matter what, they would have to waste three to four days. If they were to save their companions and attract a large number of pursuers, they might still need to take a detour, then it was impossible to say how long they would have to waste.

“Qin Lun, which direction are we heading in today?” Long Er patted his cheek, lifted his spirits, and turned around to ask.

“We’re not leaving today, we’re right here!” Qin Lun smiled as he looked at the clear stream in the distance.

“You’re not leaving? Do you have an idea?” Loner’s eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked.

“Look, this stream should be the cleanest water source nearby. All the animals in the forest are drinking water here.” Qin Lun pointed at the stream ahead and said, “The elves are very close to the animals. As long as we keep an eye on these animals, we might be able to find traces of the elven patrol on them.”

Long Er followed Qin Lun’s fingers and saw that the clear stream was sparkling in the sunshine. Animals constantly passed through the bushes and buried their heads in the stream to drink.

Big horned deer with sharp horns, cute white long-haired wind rabbits, armored rhinoceroses, fire foxes with fiery red fluffy tails, fierce pterosaurs … Whether it was forest kings at the top of the food chain or herbivorous animals, they were all immersed in the water and didn’t even look at the other creatures around them.

By the stream in the morning, the law of the jungle seemed to have lost its original appearance. The weak and the strong now showed a peaceful feeling of coexistence.

“This is a safe area in the forest. No creature hunts when drinking water to avoid polluting clean water.” Longer sighed. “These animals with low intelligence know how to protect their environment better than humans.”

“Eh!” Qin Lun raised his long white eyebrows and stared at an animal by the stream.

“Did you find anything?” Long Er revealed a trace of surprise as he followed Qin Lun’s line of sight, “Gale Leopard? This is quite a rare wind-type magical beast!”

About three hundred meters in front of the two, a big cat with dark brown fur was drinking by the stream with its tongue sticking out. This big cat is very similar to an ordinary fanged leopard, but if you look carefully, you can see that it is different from others.

The Fanged Leopard had sharp fangs like a saber-toothed tiger, sharp claws, and could easily tear apart the armor of heavy cavalry. However, it was only a low-grade magical beast, and it did not possess innate magical abilities.

However, the Gale Leopard was completely different from the Fanged Leopard, which was a close relative and had a similar appearance. This was a high-grade wind-type magical beast. The biggest difference from the Fanged Leopard was that the Gale Leopard’s hooves were like snow, and there was a white mane under its neck that was like a white collar around its neck.

As its name suggested, the Gale Leopard Beast relied on its innate affinity with wind elements to move as fast as the wind. The adult Gale Leopard also possessed wind-type breath and was able to fire wind blades. Its combat strength was very strong, and it belonged to the King of the Jungle.

“Is something wrong?” Long Er approached Qin Lun and asked softly.

“Look at its hind legs!” Qin Lun smiled and pointed at the Gale Leopard’s hind legs.

Long Er’s eyes lit up as he stared. The Gale Leopard seemed to have just been injured, and its legs and feet were somewhat inconvenient, and its fur was stained with blood. Most intriguingly, its wound was bandaged, and although it was soaked in blood, it was still visible as a man-made bandage.

“It’s not easy to get close to the Gale Leopard and gain its trust.” Qin Lun smiled and gently waved his hand, “Get ready, let it take us to the kind-hearted elf!”