Chapter 413: The Green Sea Ruins (Part 6)

“Let’s set up a temporary camp here first,” someone suggested. “No need to rush in.”

Since there wasn’t much rainfall during the winter, there was no need to worry about sheltering from rain. The stones in the area could block moisture. If they spread some dry moss on top, laid out cloaks as padding, and lit a bonfire, it would make for a decent campsite.

He thoroughly scouted the area but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. No scattered soul fragments either.

The afternoon sun cast its light over the land from beyond the western mountains, bathing it in a peaceful beauty that felt completely at odds with the eerie forest surrounding them.

“There’s no problem cutting trees here,” Charlotte told him when he returned. “This area seems different from the rest of the forest.”

This discovery helped the dogfolk calm down a little. They gathered plenty of dry branches from the surroundings for firewood. But the bigger issue remained: they hadn’t found a water source or anything edible.

The forest was eerily quiet. Ever since they reached that cliffside, they hadn’t seen any animals larger than insects or snakes. And after entering this part of the forest, there was hardly any sign of life at all.

“There are no birds here,” Charlotte’s second-in-command said uneasily.

To beastkin, birds often served as natural alarms. When birds were absent, it usually meant danger was near.

“Our goal is exploration,” Charlotte said with a smile. “With Lord Tagraedi here, there’s nothing to fear.”

The dogfolk hadn’t seen what Wu Qingsong was capable of, so their confidence wavered. But Charlotte had personally witnessed how he slaughtered those fishmen on Gale Island, and how he emerged completely unscathed from an attack by harpy warriors. She had no doubts about his strength.

Maybe he couldn’t solve every problem, but among the people she knew, he was definitely one of the few who could handle most of them.

“I’m going to take a look inside the ruins,” Wu Qingsong said. “You all stay here and see if there are any edible plants nearby. But unless necessary, don’t go back into the forest for now.”

Charlotte nodded on behalf of everyone. The wolfman tried to follow Wu Qingsong, but a dogkin grabbed him.

“Didn’t you hear what he said? We stay here.”

Wu Qingsong didn’t plan to go far. He just wanted to confirm there was no hidden danger around the area they had chosen for camp. As he walked, he kept glancing back at the large boulder they had chosen as a base, all the while probing the surroundings with his spiritual power.

The ruins were far larger than he had imagined. He headed toward a cluster of tall, pillar-like stone remains and climbed up one. From there, he was startled to discover that the ruins stretched far beyond what he had seen. They were massive in scale.

He was most familiar with the city of Nagrand, and he often stood atop the city hall to survey the area. The scope of these ruins seemed to span two or three districts of Nagrand.

Was this forest truly the birthplace of the elves? 

Then what connection did these ruins have to them? 

And what kind of event had led to their destruction?

The structure he was standing on clearly hadn’t collapsed naturally. The massive columns gave him an idea of the former grandeur of this place, but judging by the clean breaks, they had been shattered by some immense force. The entire rooftop had been flung far away.

Off in the distance, he saw a circular lake, roughly several dozen meters in diameter.

Wu Qingsong had seen mines destroyed by elven mages before. He was sure this lake had been formed by a similar type of power.

Had a powerful battle between powerful transcendent beings taken place here?

He headed toward the lake. If there were fish, it might mean the water quality wasn’t too bad. It could serve as a potential water and food source.

The ruins were widely spaced. Judging by the layout, this place had likely been a temple complex. The carvings on the buildings bore a distinctly elven aesthetic, though they had weathered over time and become overgrown with moss and other plants. They were crumbling and decayed.

Most of the structures bore signs of having been destroyed by overwhelming force. But Wu Qingsong couldn’t deduce what exactly had caused the destruction.

It took him a long time to reach the lake’s edge. The water was so clear he could see straight to the bottom. Stones lay scattered across the lakebed, but not a single fish or aquatic plant in sight.

He once again released his spiritual energy to sense the area, but still, nothing.

The water here was probably undrinkable. Still, he recklessly drank his fill anyway before slowly heading back. By the time he returned to the temporary camp, the bonfire was already burning, and the dogfolk were roasting their rations on sticks over the flames.

“Did you find anything?” Charlotte asked.

“I took a general look,” Wu Qingsong replied. “There’s a lake, but not even a single strand of water grass. I think there’s something wrong with the water.”

The dogfolk sighed in disappointment. Charlotte handed him a peeled stem from a certain plant. “This has some moisture in it, enough to get by for now.”

“I’ll dig a pit near the edge of the forest and check if any water seeps up by morning,” Wu Qingsong said awkwardly, standing up and picking up a machete.

The dogfolk were exhausted. No one offered to help. In the end, Charlotte stood up, but she didn’t lend a hand. Instead, she walked beside him and struck up a conversation.

“Do you think you’ll find what you’re looking for?”

Wu Qingsong shook his head. “It’s still too early to tell.”

This place felt ruined, but not chaotic.

He had seen cities after being struck by sudden attacks. This place didn’t give him that impression. If he had to guess, it was more like the elves had won a great battle, but for some reason had to abandon the city afterward.

It wasn’t impossible that he might find skeletons among the ruins, but Wu Qingsong wasn’t holding out much hope. What he really wanted to find was an ancient cemetery, not the remains of those who fell in battle.

For a city that seemed to have once possessed considerable scale and civilization, it was more likely that the burials would have been concentrated in designated areas.

“Do you think we’ll be able to go into the ruins?” Charlotte asked.

“If it’s just the outer area, I don’t think there’s much of a problem.”