Chapter 619: Bronze Leaf Tribe

The runecaster deliberately declared a completely different name from the one he had previously been known by, ensuring that no immediate connections could be drawn to his past exploits or his ties with the Nomrad household.

The elven leader questioned him with thinly veiled scepticism, "Very well, Arlo. If that is your name, then explain why you are wandering deep within the restricted boundaries of the Great Korlen Forest."

"I wish to travel to the Elven Empire’s capital," Axel answered curtly, showing no hesitation.

"And what reason could a foreign human possibly have for seeking out our capital?" questioned the elf, his guard remaining fully raised.

Axel swept his gaze around the immediate clearing for a moment, acutely noticing that there were roughly thirty fourth-phase elite elves concealed among the surrounding branches—likely the trusted retainers and warriors of the tribe leader—listening intently to every word of their conversation.

Haoran noticed the human’s subtle glance, made a sharp flick of his wrist, and dismissed his hidden tribe members with a silent hand signal.

Only after the surrounding presence faded did Axel reveal the core of his fabricated justification: "Because my Soul Sanctum is severely wounded, and I require specialised resources."

The elven powerhouse’s eyes flickered with sudden realisation. The man murmured thoughtfully, "Ah... so that explains why you were capable of withstanding and fending off my initial strikes despite operating merely as a third-phase entity. Are you a fallen seeker?"

Instead of confirming or denying the label, Axel shook his head and offered a measured assessment, "You merely utilised twenty per cent of your true strength to test my reactions; otherwise, I would have been flattened instantly. I must admit, compared to us humans, you elves possess terrifying martial might. There are likely only two or three fifth-phase seekers across all of humanity who could surpass you when you go all out."

There was a genuine ring of factual praise in his tone, and it happened to be the absolute truth. The fifth-phase elf before him possessed a foundation far denser and more dangerous than what initially met the eye.

Yet, the elf’s brow furrowed tightly upon hearing that estimation, his gaze sharpening. "You claim I only used 20% of my strength... that is a remarkably specific assumption for an unconscious interloper."

"I happen to possess exceptionally keen senses," Axel replied smoothly, completely unfazed by the powerful elf’s suspicious glare.

The tribe leader pressed on, unwilling to let the matter drop easily. "Even if I grant the possibility that you were once a formidable fallen seeker resting at the fifth phase in your prime, your current physical state should still render you completely incapable of standing against even my weakest probing attacks!"

"And frankly, I feel that there is something deeply, unnervingly unsettling about you, human... especially that destructive aura swirling around your skin. What on earth is it?" he queried, wearing an intensely cold look as an unprecedented, suffocating wave of world pressure descended directly upon Axel’s frame.

Yet the runecaster remained entirely unperturbed by the powerhouse’s terrifying display of dominance. To be precise, his current mental state rendered him nearly incapable of feeling ordinary fear or panic, which was precisely why the elven leader had instinctively sensed something deeply abnormal about Axel from the very beginning.

Because of the thick barrier of invisible destructive energy naturally cocooning his figure, the oppressive pressure of the fifth-phase elf could not truly make contact or crush Axel’s bones.

Remaining calm, the runecaster bypassed the difficult question entirely, choosing instead to elaborate on his broader stance to ease the tension. "With all due respect, I harbour no malicious intentions toward you, your people, your tribe, or the wider Elven Empire. My sole objective is to search for a specialised remedy that does not exist within my native human lands... nothing more, and nothing less."

Then, Axel added with pragmatic matter-of-factness, "Besides, even if my strange abilities appear somewhat eccentric or dangerous in your eyes, I would still be entirely at your mercy if you chose to unleash your full elven magical might against me."

That assessment carried heavy weight, because Haoran, from what Axel could accurately deduce, was a solid initial-phase fifth-phase seeker. Outside of exceptional anomalies like Alric Stragoy, there were scarcely a handful of individuals within the entirety of the Human Lands who could definitively overpower this single elf in single combat.

And that spoke volumes about the baseline strength commanded even by a small, relatively isolated elven tribe situated at the rugged edges of the expansive forest.

After a tense silence that stretched for several long seconds, the overwhelming pressure radiating from the tribe leader gradually receded. Haoran let out a visible, measured sigh, finally dropping his hostile posture as he introduced himself properly: "Well, Arlo... in that case, you may refer to me as Haoran. I am the leader of the Bronze Leaf Tribe."

He paused briefly, his bronze eyes studying the silent human before laying down his terms. "Very well. I will provisionally accept your explanation for now, but you will be required to remain under the guard of my tribe for one week. Next week, I will be journeying toward the capital myself to attend council affairs, and you may accompany my convoy."

"I shall keep a close, personal eye on you until I am entirely convinced that you harbour no hidden, treacherous agenda," he iterated firmly, leaving no room for negotiation or refusal.

Axel pretended to deliberate for a few moments, feigning a brief internal struggle with the condition before finally nodding with a trace of feigned reluctance, "I can accept those terms."

Beneath his placid exterior, however, Axel had already calculated that this arrangement was immensely beneficial to his true objectives. Travelling independently through the vast territories of the Elven Empire as an unaccompanied human would inevitably invite too much scrutiny, suspicion, and unnecessary conflict.

Securing official affiliation with a legitimate elven tribe and entering the heavily guarded capital under their protective banner would save him an immense amount of trouble.

Without wasting any time, he quietly fell in step behind Haoran, leaping agilely through the dense canopy of trees at an incredible velocity. However, Axel still struggled heavily with his lack of fine motor control over the volatile wave of destruction energy, which continued to leak out in erratic bursts without warning.

Several times during their sprint, the raw decay touched the sturdy tree branches just as Axel’s boots were about to land, causing the wood to instantly disintegrate and sending him awkwardly tumbling toward the forest floor like an amateur.

The clumsy spectacle amused the elven leader quite a bit, lightening the heavy atmosphere and easing the remaining tension between the two contrasting figures ever so slightly as they pushed deeper into the emerald wilderness.