Chapter 92: Accompany You
Time passed second by second. The atmosphere in the forest grew heavier with Romina’s silence.
Vivi and Little Donnie watched her nervously, uncertain what decision the Wood Elf captain would make. If she chose not to trust them, would another fierce battle break out?
Nolan, however, remained perfectly calm. He knew Romina had no other choice. To the Wood Elves, the Fountain of Life was everything. They would never abandon even the faintest hope of saving it. All he needed to do now was give her one final push, a reason she could not refuse.
“En-tarlus,” Nolan looked directly at Romina and spoke a phrase in slightly awkward yet remarkably accurate pronunciation.
The instant the words left his mouth, every Wood Elf present, including Romina, visibly trembled. They all snapped their heads up and stared at him as though they had just seen a ghost.
“Please believe me. I am a friend of the forest. I was in the past, I am now, and I always will be.”
Nolan slowly swept his gaze across the Wood Elves as he spoke openly and calmly.
“Wh-what… how do you know…” The male elf who had previously been the most hostile toward Nolan hesitated, exchanging stunned looks with the others.
Meanwhile, Vivi, Little Donnie, and Renee looked completely bewildered. Still, they could immediately sense that the Wood Elves’ hostility and vigilance had eased considerably.
Was that some kind of spell? But Lord Nolan couldn’t even use magic.
“What did he say?” Little Donnie whispered to Vivi.
“No idea. It sounded strange, not like the common tongue.” Vivi shrugged, while Renee shook her head just as cluelessly.
They did not understand. But the Wood Elves did. “En-tarlus” was an ancient Wood Elf phrase. Literally translated into the common tongue, it meant, “May the trees remain evergreen.” But it was far more than a simple greeting.
Long ago, the Wood Elves and their distant relatives in the Holy Osu Empire, the High Elves, had split apart. Over thousands of years, their languages, customs, and cultures had diverged drastically. Combined with the Wood Elves’ isolation from the outside world, there were almost no outsiders on the continent of Vaughn who understood their language.
And the phrase “En-tarlus” in particular was only used between close old friends within Wood Elf society when they reunited after a long separation. It represented not only a blessing, but also a sense of identity and emotional connection.
Hearing it now was like hearing a complete stranger suddenly greet you in a deeply familiar hometown dialect. Anyone without profound knowledge of Wood Elf culture would never know the phrase, much less understand its significance in a moment like this.
This human… who exactly was he?
Romina and the male elf beside her, Finley, vice-captain of the ranger patrol, exchanged glances and saw the same disbelief reflected in each other’s eyes.
This human truly seemed to understand them. And from beginning to end, his gaze had remained open and sincere, without the slightest trace of greed or deceit.
Perhaps… perhaps he really was different from other humans.
“I understand your customs, and I mean no harm. As your people say, only mutual benefit can endure.” Nolan watched the astonishment on Romina’s face and secretly smiled to himself.
Of course, he did not actually know the Wood Elf language. This single phrase practically represented the entirety of his knowledge. He had learned it in his previous life after becoming close with Romina, originally just because he thought it sounded interesting. He had never expected it to become so useful today.
The Level 4/5 【Local Knowledge】 on his status panel might not allow him to master foreign languages, but memorizing a few important phrases and pronunciations was no problem.
“We are not like those ignorant and arrogant humans,” Nolan said sincerely. “I respect the forest, and I respect your people. So please, give us a chance… and give yourselves one as well.”
Romina drew a deep breath, her chest rising and falling sharply several times. As she looked at Nolan, the cold caution in her eyes finally began to melt away, replaced by a complicated mixture of curiosity and scrutiny.
“You…” she said slowly, her tone far gentler than before, “are a very unusual human. My name is Romina Greenshadow, captain of the Forest Home ranger patrol.”
By voluntarily giving her name and status, she had already shown a preliminary acknowledgment of Nolan and was now willing to speak with him as an equal.
Success.
Joy flickered through Nolan’s heart, though his expression remained calm. He merely inclined his head slightly. “As I said before, I am Nolan. It’s an honor to meet you, Captain Romina.”
He pointed toward the black opening behind him, which had already begun to grow unstable.
“This entrance can only remain open for a limited time. At most, we have less than two hours left. We don’t have time to waste. If you don’t mind…” He gestured toward the opening with his thumb. “We’ll be heading in first. Of course,” Nolan added, his tone becoming more formal, “according to the ancient Crescent Moon Covenant, we can help you purify the Fountain of Life. But the Fountain of Potential is far too important to us. This won’t be free.”
The Crescent Moon Covenant was an ancient pact of mutual aid signed long ago by the first Elven King and human sages. Although time had rendered the alliance little more than a relic in name, for traditional races like the Wood Elves, it still carried symbolic meaning.
By invoking it, Nolan deliberately elevated this transaction into cooperation between allies rather than a simple mercenary arrangement.
“The Wood Elves are not an ungrateful people. You do not need to remind me of that.” As expected, Romina responded favorably. She nodded lightly. “You may enter. However, once you come back out, you must allow us to escort you the entire way until you leave the forest borders. You understand our customs well enough to know that this is both for our protection and yours.”
“No problem.” Nolan agreed readily.
This was hardly a condition at all. Once both sides established contact through this event, future dealings would become far easier.
Although there had been some unexpected complications, the overall outcome was undeniably good. Building a connection with the Wood Elves and earning a tremendous favor from them was worth even more than the Fountain of Potential itself.
These masters of forest warfare were legendary for a reason. Even if the Black Armored Legion could only learn a fraction of their skills, its ranged combat power would be enough to dominate an entire kingdom.
Nolan could not help imagining a future in which his army resembled the High Elves’ elite field force, the White Eagle Hunters, annihilating enemies from beyond sight through overwhelming mobility and range.
What Nolan did not expect, however, was that Romina’s next words would abruptly cut off his thoughts and genuinely catch him off guard.
“As part of our cooperation and agreement,” she said calmly, “I will accompany you inside.”