Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 85 Chance Encounter
The appearance of Jade, this female druid, surprised him a little, but he quickly understood. She was a druid from the surrounding area and had been paying attention to various matters in this region, so her appearance here was not difficult to understand.

Now that he had seen her, Zhang Yuan prepared to go up and say hello. Actually, he quite liked some of Jadi's ideas. Unlike the group of Shadow Druids whose ideas were similar to those of the extreme environmentalists and small animal rights activists in his previous life, who were practically crazy in his eyes, Jadi's ideas seemed very objective and practical to him.

The coexistence of human social development and natural ecology, and the balance between development and protection, can be said to take into account the needs of most life forms. Moreover, since industrialization has not yet become widespread, this coexistence and balance is entirely feasible.

As for the Shadow Druids' argument that nature is supreme and that humans or civilized societies also have their own right to survival and development, Zhang Yuan could only say that this is no longer a matter of one's position determining one's thinking; it's that their thinking is completely out of place.

While inwardly ranting and raving, the person remained outwardly calm and greeted Jady without showing any emotion.

The female druid seemed happy and surprised to see Zhang Yuan. She waved to him, said something to a few men dressed as farmers, and then walked towards Zhang Yuan.

After a conversation, Zhang Yuan learned that Jie Di had just been teaching the farmers how to restore the fields damaged by the digging worms, how to prepare for next year's spring planting, and she even provided some plant seeds that could survive the winter, which was better than nothing and would try to make up for some of the losses.

"You know so much! You even know so much about farming, and you even know about plants that can be planted in winter. It's incredible!" Zhang Yuan exclaimed with genuine admiration.

"Lord Sylvanas's wisdom and compassion are always vast and profound; I have only received a little instruction from him." While saying this with humility, Jady's face was full of smiles, revealing the common smugness and pride of a young girl.
Upon learning that Zhang Yuan was on his way to the Arm of Friendship and was looking for a place to stay that night, he generously extended an invitation.

"If you haven't found a place to stay yet, why not come and stay at my house for the night?"

Looking at the smiling girl in front of him, it would be a lie to say that Zhang Yuan had no thoughts.

Although she doesn't dress up much, Jady's youthful energy and pretty face are already captivating. The form-fitting leather armor accentuates her curvaceous figure, and her slightly messy hair and the patterned tattoos on her face give her a wild beauty like a female leopard.

But it wouldn't be appropriate for a man and a woman to spend the night together like this, right? The two of them had indeed fought side by side and had developed a close relationship.

But this relationship... is it necessary to go any deeper? Hmmmm
Hesitant at first, but his words were decisive and clear.

"Okay, sorry for the trouble!"

So Zhang Yuan left the driver to stay at a farmhouse, while he went with Jie Di.

Feeling a little lightheaded, the man followed Jady out of the village. Not far away was a small wooden house, nestled against the forest; it must be the female druid's home.

Indeed, that was the case. Zhang Yuan followed Jadi into the cabin and looked around. Her demeanor was more like that of someone coming to see a wedding night than to visit a hotel.

The room wasn't very big, less than 30 square meters, but it was fully equipped with all sorts of tools. It was somewhat similar to the small suite I rented in my previous life, which combined a bedroom, study, and kitchen.

There's only one bed though.
"Ahem!" Clearing his throat, Zhang, trying his best to put on a gentlemanly expression, pointed to the small bed in front of him and said, "How about you sleep on the bed and I sleep on the floor?"

But in my mind, those melodramatic scenes from martial arts novels popped up: the kind of enviable, no, despicable plots where a chivalrous woman couldn't bear to see a young hero lying alone on the cold ground and invited him to sleep with her in the middle of the night.

“Oh, you’re worried about me? No need, I have a treehouse in the forest, I’ll just stay there for the night,” Jady explained with a smile.

Boom! This was like a bolt from the blue, shattering someone's little scheme into dust.

As if petrified by Medusa, Zhang Yuan stiffly turned his neck and squeezed out a "Okay".

"Hahaha~" Seeing Zhang Yuan's embarrassed state, the mischievous Jady burst out laughing. This laughter, which usually sounded like a nightingale's song, now sounded somewhat awkward. Fortunately, she was thick-skinned, and having spent some time with that female hooligan Nancy, she wasn't completely at a loss.

After chatting awkwardly with Jady for a while, they said goodnight to each other and then closed the door and left.

Alone, Zhang Yuan felt a complex mix of emotions and didn't know how he got through the night.

The next morning, Zhang Yuan, having composed himself, greeted Jie Di calmly as he prepared to set off again. Jie Di didn't seem to care about the matter at all.

On their way to the village, the two chatted and laughed. When Jady learned that Zhang Yuan was going to visit a mid-level mage, she was somewhat surprised and very envious.

Since leaving her home in the Druid Forest Ring to start a new life here, she had hoped to take care of an area on her own and win the favor of the will of nature and Sylvanas, only to find that things were far more complicated than she had imagined.

She was confident that calming and rescuing ordinary wild animals, or teaching farmers how to cultivate the land and protect the natural environment, would be no problem for her.

But before she could even realize her ambitions, a swarm of burrowing worms dealt her a heavy blow. Forget about ecology and farmland; she couldn't even protect her own home and had no choice but to flee to a treehouse in the forest to live.

Now, at least the power of the Flame Fist has suppressed the excessive growth of these insects, but for some reason, this area along the Chongza River never seems to have a moment of peace.

The presence of Shadow Druids emanating from the depths of the Sharptooth Forest greatly unsettled Jade.

Although druids all consider themselves protectors of nature, they are divided into various sects based on their respective ways of doing things and their beliefs, with the shadow druids being the most extreme and radical of them.

Given the irreconcilable differences between their own sect and the other sect, arguments and conflicts are inevitable once they meet. And if these differences escalate to the point where the only recourse is to seek arbitration from nature.

What is natural arbitration? That's a polite way of saying it. To put it bluntly, it's a duel, a life-or-death battle witnessed in the name of nature.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Jady had a pretty good idea of ​​what would happen if a newcomer like her fought against those lunatics.

Besides, I am outnumbered and outgunned, while the other side has a large number of people. It doesn't seem like I have any chance of winning.

Jady, who rarely has someone to confide in, poured out all her worries and troubles along the way.

Zhang Yuan didn't say much, just listened quietly, letting the other person vent their pent-up emotions. He found it somewhat amusing to see the other person's face suddenly turn from gritting their teeth to changing color.

Zhang knew about the Shadow Druids, of course. One of the characters in the game, Faldo, was one of them. These guys, who were always secretly entrenched in the forest, treated the forest as their own territory. It was common for them to fight with outsiders at the slightest disagreement.

Zhang Yuan wasn't sure about their strength, since the strength in the game couldn't be fully applied to reality, but as Jedi said, the number of them was indeed large.

This is going to be difficult. Even if the opponent is of a lower level, the combined power of a group of spellcasters should not be underestimated. At least, I am no match for them.

Having no other options, Zhang Yuan could only offer a few words of comfort. Fortunately, Jie Di simply needed someone to confide in and didn't expect him, Zhang Yuan, to solve the problem.

Get on the bus, say goodbye to the female druid, and continue your journey toward the Arm of Friendship.

(End of this chapter)