The Duke straightened his spine, violet eyes igniting with a resolute flame befitting his identity: "Understood! I only want to become stronger, only want revenge!"

Hems nodded, his facial lines seeming to soften slightly: "Over there, the third tree hole is still empty. Though it’s a bit drafty, it’s dry enough. Go settle in. There will be a group training in the evening, don’t be late."

He pointed to a spacious tree hollow naturally formed at the roots of a colossal ancient tree on the edge of the camp.

The Duke thanked him and walked toward his temporary home.

The interior of the tree hole was more spacious than expected, covered with dry moss and a few old animal skins, with a faint woody fragrance.

He put down his luggage and did a simple arrangement.

Through the entrance of the tree hole, he could see the panorama of the camp, hear snippets of hushed conversations, and feel the swirling vortex of complex and genuine emotions.

He sat on the dry moss, leaning against the rough tree wall, slowly closing his eyes, as if resting from fatigue.

But inside, he was already memorizing and analyzing everything around: the layout of the camp, the composition and state of personnel, the rules revealed by Hems, the bits and pieces of words from other elves...

Being in enemy territory, every step must be carefully calculated, not a single mistake can be made, no detail can be overlooked.

The Duke knew this was the starting point of his infiltration mission, as well as a crucial base for intelligence gathering, establishing relationships, and waiting for opportunities.

He needed to integrate into this group as quickly as possible, earn basic trust while remaining low-key and not attracting too much attention.

In the evening, the assembly signal echoed, deep and distant, throughout the camp.

The Duke opened his eyes, the weariness fading away, reigniting the sharp gleam belonging to a warrior.

He stood up, adjusted his hunting attire, grasped the hilt of his blade at his waist, and stepped out of the tree hole, merging into the silent yet gradually determined-eyed elven crowd emerging from their respective shabby dwellings.

In the coming days, the Duke’s life was filled with a regular and intense rhythm.

This refugee camp served as both a temporary shelter and a training camp for screening and organizing combat personnel.

Every morning, as the first silvery glow of Sullen’s Moon pierced through the forest’s mist, a deep, powerful horn would sound.

All elves capable of combat, regardless of which tribe they previously belonged to, had to quickly assemble in the central clearing.

Besides the one-eyed Hems, the daily training was also led by one or two experienced instructors sent in rotation from the main branch of the Moon-Mark Tribe.

The training content was systematic and rigorous, distinctly imprinted with the Moon-Mark Tribe’s style.

Firstly, basic physical exercise and moonlight fighting spirit resonance practice were conducted.

Under the guidance of the instructors, all warriors needed to face the gradually rising Sullen’s Moon or other moons dominating the sky, assume specific meditation postures, and try to establish a deeper resonance with the moonlight energy through rhythmic breathing and internal energy circulation, refining and purifying their fighting spirit.

With the aura simulated by the Thousand-Faced Instrument on the outside, and the natural affinity to dark attribute energy from the Blood of the Dark on the inside, completing this exercise wasn’t difficult for the Duke. He could even appear more focused and efficient than most elves of the same level, earning a few approving nods from the instructors.

This even led him to learn a new breathing technique, the Moonlight Breathing Technique.

The Duke’s previous fighting spirit merely simulated the breath of moonlight fighting spirit; now, he truly mastered moonlight fighting spirit.

[Moonlight Breathing Technique: LV1 (45/100)]

The Moonlight Breathing Technique is clearly a high-tier breathing technique that allows one to reach the level of a Level 1 Peak Knight.

Next was jungle stealth and tracking countertracking, the signature skills of the Night Elves.

Training took place in a specific complex forest area around the camp.

The instructors explained how to maximize the use of shadows and the environment under different moonlight conditions, how to control footsteps, breathing, and even heartbeat, lowering one’s presence to a minimum, how to distinguish various subtle traces in the forest, and judge whether they were from animals, companions, or potential enemies.

The Duke’s strong spiritual power perception ability made him face no obstacles in theoretical learning.

In practical sessions, he skillfully controlled his performance, making himself appear to have a good talent for stealth and concealment, well-trained, yet not standing out enough to arouse suspicion.

During countertracking tests, he could always discover most of the traps and misleading traces set by the instructors, demonstrating the sharpness expected of elite warriors from the Flowing Wind Tribe.

The combat skills training was even more diversified.

Besides conventional sparring with elf scimitars, short spears, Moon Blades, and other melee weapons, there was training in using the moonlight longbow.

The Moon-Mark Tribe seemed to particularly emphasize medium-range moonlight archery, with instructors teaching how to infuse moonlight fighting spirit into arrows more efficiently, forming Moonlight Arrows, Silent Arrows, or Penetrating Arrows with different effects.

The Duke performed well in these trainings, showing promising potential for cultivation.

In close combat, he displayed a simple, efficient, slightly ferocious style, his knife skills fierce and precise, taking down evenly matched opponents cleanly and quickly in several sparring sessions, gradually earning a reputation in the camp as someone not to be trifled with.

Additionally, there were targeted small team coordination drills. The instructors would temporarily group elves from different tribes, simulating tactics like ambushes, blockades, and breakouts when encountering invader squads.

In these drills, the Duke typically took on roles as a scout or flanking assailant, remaining silent and reserved but executing orders precisely, with several critical judgments and actions gaining his team an advantage, gradually earning some temporary teammates’ trust.

When the moons of Elise Tree or Shar led, training content would shift to the use of shadows, nocturnal environmental perception, and survival techniques for dealing with various forest demons or eerie natural phenomena.

Sometimes, priests from his tribe would come to teach the basics of moonlight magic principles and the application of natural blessings, aiming to enhance warriors’ comprehensive survival and combat capabilities.

Training was grueling, but food supplies and basic healing ointment were not stingy.

Outstanding performers could even earn extra meat, fresh fruits, and even have the chance to apply for using better weapons provided by the tribe for training.

The atmosphere in the camp was subtly shifting, day by day through sweating together and training side by side.

The initial heaviness and estrangement were gradually being replaced by a cohesion born out of shared suffering and a yearning to grow stronger and seek revenge.

During breaks, elves began to exchange more of their tribal combat experiences, views on different invader forces and tactics, even sharing some stories from their hometowns.

The Duke, most of the time, was a quiet listener, only supplementing necessary information about the Flowing Wind Tribe and invaders under the guise of Ying Ye when needed.

He observed every elf, piecing together information about various defeated tribes from their words and actions, deepening his understanding of the Night Elves’ culture.