Chapter 409: The Green Sea Ruins (Part 2)

Red Moon had brought along seven subordinates. Including Wu Qingsong and the young wolfman guide, they formed two five-person search teams.

Wu Qingsong was grouped with Red Moon, the wolfman, and two of Dark Moon’s dogfolk, heading east along the route marked on the map.

It was hard to imagine that so close to the heart of the Elven Empire, there still remained such an untouched, primitive forest. To improve their chances of finding their target, they had no choice but to travel along the steep ridgelines. This approach brought even harsher challenges.

“We’ll have to abandon the horses,” one of the dogfolk said. “They’re nothing but a burden on this kind of terrain.”

“But we can’t leave the supplies behind,” Wu Qingsong replied. “Here’s what we’ll do. Let’s mark several key points on the map. We’ll lead the horses to each point in turn, leave someone behind to watch over them and the supplies, and use those locations as search hubs. After searching the surrounding area, we’ll move to the next point.”

“Not a bad plan,” Red Moon agreed.

These Dark Moon agents didn’t seem very experienced with terrain like this—perhaps Red Moon had pulled them together from the capital in a hurry?

“How is Twilight Moon these days?” Red Moon asked out of nowhere, clearly just making conversation. 

It took Wu Qingsong a moment to realize she was referring to Xeila’s old code name in Dark Moon.

“I’m more used to calling her by her real name,” he said.

“No problem, but in exchange, call me by mine,” Red Moon said immediately.

“Charlotte? Is that your real name?”

“‘Tagraedi’ isn’t your real name either, but it’s still one of your aliases. So does it really matter?”

“Fine.” Wu Qingsong didn’t want to argue over something so pointless.

“So, how is Xeila? Is she happy?”

“I believe so,” Wu Qingsong said.

“And your child, he must be beautiful, right?” Charlotte asked. “He has to be, since he’s Xeila’s child.”

“I don’t think any parent sees their child as anything less than beautiful,” Wu Qingsong said.

Charlotte laughed. “True enough. But I’m sure he’s a handsome little boy.”

“What exactly are you trying to find out?” Wu Qingsong couldn’t help asking.

Charlotte gave him a wounded look. “Just idle chatter between friends. Is our relationship really so limited that we can only talk about missions and cooperation?”

Wu Qingsong couldn’t say they weren’t friends, but their relationship certainly wasn’t easy to define. In some ways, it went beyond normal friendship, but most of the time, he still had to keep his guard up around her.

“So, what’s your relationship with Mystic Moon?” he asked.

“What do you think?” Charlotte shot back.

“Judging by your ages, you’re not father and daughter, and you don’t seem like siblings either. And there’s no sign of romance between you. I’ve always found it strange.”

“He’s my mentor,” Charlotte said. “And also the one who saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve died long ago.”

Was it a story like Sertans’?

But Charlotte clearly didn’t want to elaborate, and perhaps there were memories she preferred not to revisit. Wu Qingsong chose not to push.

He glanced toward the wolfman up ahead, about twenty meters away, then asked quietly, “Just how many members does Dark Moon have? Are you allowed to say?”

“So you really couldn’t resist probing for intel,” Charlotte laughed, shaking her head. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I honestly don’t know the exact number. People join every day, and others, like Xeila, choose to leave. There are deaths, executions, and plenty going on I’m not even aware of. But from what I do know, there are around twenty thousand members.”

“So you and Mystic Moon are…?”

“Let’s just say we’re the managers of this particular branch of Dark Moon,” Charlotte replied. “Dark Moon’s like a trading house run by demihumans. The ones doing the legwork don’t necessarily hold the most power or resources. Still, we do have decision-making authority on most matters.”

A trading house?

The comparison struck Wu Qingsong as oddly mundane, but it also explained why Charlotte and Mystic Moon weren’t the strongest fighters.

Just like in Nagrand, Ram wasn’t a combat powerhouse. Some of the beastkin in the Knight Order that trained under Nina had already far surpassed her in strength. Yet in terms of daily operations, she was Wu Qingsong’s most reliable lieutenant.

“How strong is Dark Moon’s strongest member?”

“Now that’s cheating~” Charlotte raised a hand and wagged her finger at him.

“Alright then, let me ask this instead,” Wu Qingsong said. “What’s your ultimate goal? Is it to build a new, unified beastkin nation? Or to restore the fragmented kingdoms that existed before the Elven Empire? If you want me to join you, this seems like something I ought to know.”

“There are a lot of differing opinions within Dark Moon about that,” Charlotte admitted. “But rest assured, whatever path we take, we won’t let Ladeano fall back into savagery. And we won’t hand all the power to a single race or group. Most likely, we’ll form a council of elders representing each kingdom. A loose alliance under their supervision. Because if beastkin don’t unite their strength, no single kingdom could possibly resist the insectoids.”

“And what if the members of this alliance fight among themselves?” Wu Qingsong pressed. “Even elves clash all the time. You really think conflict can be avoided?”

“Maybe not,” Charlotte said. “But I believe the council will handle it. Those who harm others will be punished, and those who uphold virtue will be blessed.”

Wu Qingsong shook his head slightly.

The world he came from hadn’t solved that problem either. Some international organizations had done much for the good of humanity, but in many cases, they served only to empower strong nations and suppress the weak.

Without the checks and balances of nuclear deterrence or global power struggles, he truly couldn’t imagine what kind of world might emerge.

In this world—with its primitive productivity, crude civilization, and brutal rule of the strong—Charlotte’s dream was impossible.

“You don’t agree?” Charlotte quickly picked up on his thoughts. “Then what kind of world do you want to see? One built through the unifying faith of the Xuanyuan Church?”