Deep into the dense forest, the group soon felt an eerie sensation as if they were being watched by some malign eyes around them.

However, neither the invisible banshee nor Medea and Nora's Mind Vision detected any living creatures lurking nearby.

"It's the tree shepherds," Aske said, tapping a nearby tree, "Don't worry, we mean no harm."

The expressions on the girls' faces turned strange because they clearly saw the tree... shudder.

Like a wild cat being stroked, the bark twitched uncomfortably.

A few minutes later, a squad of half-elves emerged from the depths of the forest. They wore dark green military camouflage and plastic grass on their bodies for disguise, looking like savages who had just emerged from deep within the mountain—yet the long-barreled shotguns in each person's hand indicated they were certainly not primitives from some tribal society.

Nora watched these half-elves in astonishment, a sense of disillusionment with her dreams involuntarily rising within her.

She used to love reading fantasy novels and had always thought that elves had pointed ears, slender figures, and handsome faces, with bows and arrows and magic wands as their signature equipment, ready to punish those who dared to trespass and harm nature.

What in the world were these country folk, clad in camouflage gear, carrying field packs, faces painted with green grease, and holding shotguns? Aside from pointed ears, there wasn't a single elf characteristic to be found!

"Don't be silly," Medea said disdainfully, sensing her subtle disappointment.

Thus, Nora came back to her senses once more. After all, fantasy novels were just that—novels. Elves weren't foolish, and if they had firearms, they wouldn't insist on using bows and arrows.

Moreover, she had previously thought that Enchanting Demons were very filthy, eternally lustful, and evil creatures who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. It was only after spending a long time with Medea that she realized: they're just ordinary girls with somewhat temperamental personalities.

Who said that Enchanting Demons and elves must be like the ones described in novels? With this thought, Nora couldn't help feeling deeply ashamed of her own racial stereotypes and prejudices.

"Outsiders, step back! State your purpose!" The half-elves across from them raised their shotguns, aiming cautiously at them, meaning that any rash actions and they would fire.

The members of The Azure Longsword were, of course, not afraid of firearms, but they had no intention of provoking the other side. Aske coughed, and Miel stepped forward, opening her hands to show she was unarmed, then spoke softly:

"Please wait, we mean no harm..."

She hadn't finished speaking when the half-elves exclaimed in surprise.

Because Miel's pink hair, emerald pupils, pointed ears, and delicate skin were all typical characteristics of a Wood Elf.

In fact, due to these traits of the Wood Elves being controlled by dominant genes compared to human traits, the children born to humans and elves had more than a fifty percent chance of inheriting these elfin features.

This led to half-elves being inevitably viewed as an alien race and discriminated against in human society, and even if they were loved for their beauty and exotic charm, it was usually not the kind of love that resulted in offspring based on a normal marriage.

Therefore, the majority of half-elves chose to live in seclusion within Lusitania Forest and rarely left to intermarry with humans outside. Seeing a half-elf from beyond the forest was certainly an extremely rare encounter for these native elves.

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