Chapter 956 – Interrogating the Prisoners

With this in mind, Mo Lan quickly adjusted her approach.

She stopped pushing the idea of “proactively hunting down and eliminating future threats” and instead redirected the focus to the practical value of the prisoners right in front of them.

“Elder, you’re absolutely right—the forest is our foundation, and strengthening our defenses is paramount. But precisely because we need better defenses, we need to understand our enemy. Even if we have no intention of leaving the forest to raid their hideout, we can still extract from these prisoners the exact number of people in their organization, how their forces are distributed, the invasion routes they commonly use, their disguise techniques, even their internal methods and weaknesses… This intelligence would be invaluable for identifying, guarding against, and striking down similar intruders in the future!”

She pointed at the prisoners on the ground, already knocked unconscious:

“They’re all going to be returned to nature anyway. After we use truth serum to get what we need from them, it won’t be too late to kill them then. It’s like setting traps in the forest—you need to understand your prey’s habits first before you can lay the most effective trap, don’t you think?”

When Rhindor finished listening, a flicker of contemplation passed through his eyes.

The resistance on the other Elves’ faces eased as well, replaced by interest in “gathering intelligence for better defense.”

Lila also nodded slightly: “Moira makes a good point. If we know how the enemy comes, how many there are, and what methods they use, we can be much more targeted when setting up patrols and sentry points. Truth serum isn’t hard to brew, and we have enough gill sac potions left to bring them all back. There’s no harm in asking a few questions.”

Even Polly and Celine, though still worried, agreed that obtaining enemy intelligence was genuinely important for the tribe’s safety.

Rhindor finally made his decision: “Very well. Bring all the prisoners with us. Once we’re back within the forest’s boundaries, we begin the interrogation!”

The Elves were remarkably efficient, quickly organizing their formation.

The rangers were responsible for carrying the slave-catching party prisoners, who were bound in vines and still unconscious or paralyzed.

Polly, Celine, and the other rescued victims, supported and protected by Mo Lan and the other Elves, slipped back into the frigid waterway.

The return journey was even more cautious than the trip in, but the pace didn’t slacken.

When everyone climbed dripping wet from the lake beneath Stardrop Falls once more, crossed the rocky shoals, and re-entered the forest, the tension in their nerves finally eased slightly.

The thundering of the waterfall rumbled behind them, and before their eyes lay the familiar, vibrant woodland floor of the Emerald Forest.

Here, the nature Elves were in their element—senses sharp, terrain familiar. Even if pursuers came, they could handle them with ease.

The group quickly took a brief rest in the forest, further treating the rescued individuals and reinforcing the prisoners’ bindings with sturdier restraints and potent sleeping draughts.

Just then, Aiwendar came striding briskly through the trees, leading two temporarily tamed, sturdy forest deer.

The forest deer carried two human prisoners on their backs—bound with rough tree vines, bruised and battered, wearing clothing similar to the slavers from the cave.

Aiwendar spoke urgently the moment he drew near: “Lila! Prepare the truth serum! I caught these two stragglers near the end of that decoy trail to the northeast. They seemed to be waiting for backup or passing along a message. Use truth serum to interrogate them—find out where they were taking people, who their contact is, where their hideout is—”

His words cut off abruptly. He had noticed the dozen-plus unfamiliar human faces on the clearing floor, bound together in a line and slumped limply on the ground. He also saw Polly and Celine, whom Mo Lan was carefully feeding fresh water and calming herb juice while quietly asking them something.

Aiwendar froze for a moment, then a relieved smile spread across his face: “…They’ve already been rescued? Good! Wonderful!”

He strode over to Polly and Celine, examined their condition carefully, and only after confirming their lives were not in danger did he truly relax.

He turned to Rhindor. “Looks like my prisoners aren’t much use anymore? Since everyone’s been rescued, this scum…”

He glanced at the slavers on the ground, a flash of icy disgust in his eyes. “Why not just let them ‘return to nature’ and be done with it!”

Mo Lan was about to explain the prisoners’ usefulness to him when Rhindor spoke: “Since we’ve caught them, we might as well put them to full use. Kelly has already taken people to gather the auxiliary herbs needed for brewing the truth serum nearby. Once Lila finishes preparing the serum, we’ll conduct an interrogation—we might learn something useful for our future defenses.”

Rhindor dispatched Aiwendar and several rangers to patrol the perimeter and stand guard, preventing anyone from approaching.

The rescued victims of other races, once their wounds were treated, also departed with food and simple healing herbs gifted by the Elves.

Everything on the slavers had been confiscated, and they were tightly bound with vines soaked in magic-suppressing tree sap.

Once the truth serum was prepared, Rhindor personally conducted the interrogation while Lila took notes.

Mo Lan, on the grounds that she could “use a bard’s professional abilities to detect whether the prisoners were lying or exhibiting abnormal emotional fluctuations,” was permitted to assist from the side.

The reasoning was perfectly sound—bards were indeed skilled at discerning emotions and the truth behind words.

The interrogation began with the minor leader who seemed to have the weakest willpower.

Lila dripped a drop of truth serum into his mouth and waited for it to take effect.

Soon, the man’s eyes became unfocused and his expression went blank.

“What organization do you belong to? What is its name?” Lila asked in a steady voice.

“…’Ashen Claw’ mercenary company…” the prisoner answered woodenly.

“Where is its headquarters? Who is the leader?”

“Don’t know…”

“What was the objective of this operation? Who ordered it?”

“Capture Elves and other rare exotic races… sell them for money…”

“How long have you operated out of the Stardrop Falls base? How many more accomplices are there? Are there other bases?”

“Three years… We discovered and modified the waterway ourselves. There’s another squad from our base out making a delivery, about ten or so people. Other bases… I don’t know…”

The interrogation continued, moving on to another minor leader and several ordinary members. The information was somewhat supplemented and cross-verified.

But it all pertained only to personnel at this small Stardrop Falls outpost. These people had only ever operated at this base and knew nothing more about the Ashen Claw mercenary company.

Only the captured high-ranking mage and the high-ranking wanderer who had led another squad on the delivery run had any connection to the headquarters.

But when the interrogation reached the high-ranking mage, they hit a wall.

The mage’s psychic power was formidable, and the truth serum’s effect on him was noticeably diminished.

Though he would answer, his responses were often vague. When it came to certain key information, his mind would show obvious resistance, and he even tried to counter the serum’s effects with silence or nonsensical rambling.

Rhindor and Lila’s brows furrowed.

It was then that Mo Lan, who had been quietly observing from the side as though merely using her bard skills to sense emotional fluctuations, made her move without anyone noticing.

Under the pretext of forcing another vial of truth serum down the mage’s throat, she forcibly copied the mage’s memories and shattered his mental defenses.