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Chapter 447 - End Of The Road
"Young friend, stop pursuing my young master! Otherwise, I cannot guarantee the lives of these soldiers!" Elder Gustavo threatened desperately, sending out a few warning water shots that missed the soldiers.
Leon was forced to stop his pursuit and focus on Elder Gustavo.
"Quite the nerve you have to threaten me! Nevertheless, your loyalty is commendable. However, is it worth it? Your young master did not have a single concern for your life!" Leon said gloomily.
"Be that as it may, he is still the young master of the Cortez family, whom I am greatly indebted." Elder Gustavo smiled sadly as he struggled to get up.
Leon glanced at the person's broken arm that hung loosely on the side.
Evidently, the high-quality medicinal pills were not something the two foreign Transcendents had in abundance and could abuse. Otherwise, Elder Gustavo would have already mended his broken arm and healed his internal injuries.
At the same time, a figure quickly shot over and landed not far from them. After a moment, the person said with surprise, "So the lion-looking person was you. We meet again, young prince."
"Marquis Haldir? What are you doing here at the Great Wall?" Leon asked. However, he quickly frowned at the surrounding scene and added, "What happened here?"
"A lot has happened, actually."
"It's the post-Cataclysm." Elder Gustavo said with a slightly guarded expression, not expecting another Transcendent to appear, and someone familiar with the Crawford Kingdom's prince, nonetheless.
Whatever faint hopes Elder Gustavo still had of escaping was extinguished.
Leon glanced at Elder Gustavo and questioned, "You seem to know something. What do you mean by the post-Cataclysm? And for what reasons have you come here?
"I do know some things, but why should I tell you? Isn't it a bit late to be asking these things?" Elder Gustavo shook his head bitterly before asking, "Would you let me go if I do?"
"No."
Leon rejected without room for negotiation.
"Someone from the Geyser Kingdom is likely to have quite some useful information. Even if you don't talk, I have ways to make you talk after I capture you." Leon said.
Elder Gustavo smiled bitterly, expecting as much.
This was the result of the young master's impulsiveness. There was no way the prince would let go of the people who hurt his father, the king of Crawford.
Elder Gustavo summoned all the remaining blackwater from his gourd that revolved around him, forming a blackwater tornado.
Leon quickly entered a battle stance.
Supreme Elder Haldir also prepared to assist Leon. He did not know why the young prince was going after these people. But since the young prince wanted to capture this person, he had to help.
However, Elder Gustavo did not attack them.
The blackwater tornado shrunk and shredded Elder Gustavo's body apart, causing him to scream in immense pain.
"Arghhh!"
Shortly after, the person's body was torn to pieces.
Elder Gustavo had refused to be captured and humiliated. Thus, he ended his own life.
"Sh*t."
Leon frowned at the scattered mess.
"I didn't expect he would choose this option. I figured this person would still have some trump cards to help him escape at least, or perhaps I was simply overthinking." Leon said with a shake of his head.
Shortly after Leon recovered from his disappointment, he searched through the scattered mess. He retrieved a few items found on the person's original body, including the Interspatial Ring and gourd.
Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head expressionlessly.
He was not familiar with the person to feel any sympathy for the person's choice of taking his own life.
He made his way over to Leon and said, "It's good that you are here, young prince. We could use an additional helping hand. The situation is rather dire."
"What happened? Fill me in on the details." Leon stated.
Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.
"So, it's like this… the beasts—"
ROAR!
Supreme Elder Haldir was suddenly interrupted by an earthshaking beast roar.
Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir immediately exchanged glances before they nodded and rushed towards the top of the Great Wall.
…
A few dozen miles from the Western Frontier, a streak of lightning could be seen rushing westward at high speed.
However, the streak of lightning suddenly came to an abrupt stop, revealing Aria's figure. A white bone spear could be seen hurling over from the skies.
Boom!
The bone spear planted itself into the ground forcefully, almost burrowing itself entirely into the earth.
Aria retrieved the bone spear with furrowed brows before glancing back into the skies from whence the strange weapon came.
Her eyes shortly narrowed on a figure flying at low altitude with a deathly pale face while blood dripped from his pierced chest.
The person was Young Master Judas.
Connecting the dots, Aria immediately guessed who the bone spear belonged to—it belonged to Leon.
She quickly stored it in her Interspatial Ring before glaring at the person in the skies with a frown. She had yet to learn how to fly.
Young Master Judas flew at roughly 1000fts, but his altitude gradually decreased over time as lifeforce slowly slipped away from his body.
He searched his Interspatial Ring for effective medicine to treat his wound, unaware of Aria watching him from below.
Aria closed her eyes and browsed the sea of knowledge embedded in her mind—the knowledge that came from the other Aria.
After a moment, her eyes snapped open brightly.
A solid blue sword was condensed out of ice-lightning powers before Aria stepped on the blue sword and manipulated it to take her into the sky, heading straight for the fleeing person like a flash of lightning.
"Hm?"
Young Master Judas quickly noticed the danger, but it was still too late!
The blue sword shifted from the soles of Aria's feet to her hands before she slashed straight at the person!
"Ahhh!"
Young Master Judas exclaimed painfully, narrowly dodging Aria's sword slash but lost his arm in the process.
He retreated some distance after shooting a Water Blast at Aria; however, the attack was frozen after contacting Aria's ice-lightning sword and dropped from the sky like dead weight.
"Wait, you can't kill me! I am the son of Baron Beau Cortez! My father will not spare you and the Crawford Kingdom! We have many Transcendent-level experts!" Young Master Judas cried.
Aria immediately paused with a frown.
Seeing Aria stopped attacking, Young Master Judas got excited and said, "Yes, that is right! The Crawford Kingdom does not have the right resources to nurture you, but the Geyser Kingdom definitely does! Why don't you help me return to the Geyser Kingdom and become my concubine instead? I will request my father to write a recommendation letter to admit you into the Grand Ocean Academy—!"
Swoosh!
Before Young Master Judas could react, Aria blinked behind him and stabbed her sword straight through his heart. The power of ice-lightning immediately frosted his dying heart and destroyed his inner body.
Young Master Judas glanced at the sword sticking out of his chest and felt despair and coldness in his heart.
"Why…? With your talents, you should not limit yourself to the Crawford Kingdom. The Geyser Kingdom is far more powerful than you can imagine…"
"Those bearing ill-will against my loved one, no matter who or where you come from, shall bear the wrath of my sword!" Aria said coldly. At the same time, she felt disgusted by the person.
After a moment, Aria frowned and tore the mask off the person's face, revealing the true appearance under.
Her face was immediately colored with surprise.
"It's you?"
Although the face seemed to have suffered burns that disfigured the person, she was still able to recognize the person after matching the name and face.
However, Young Master Judas could no longer respond.. He drew his last breath and plunged towards the ground.
Chapter 448 - Long Live The Prince!
Divine Realm, Eastern Divine Region.
Divine Pill Kingdom.
This place was once destroyed in the raging tides of war against the Demon Race amongst many other kingdoms and regions destroyed during the period.
However, many years later, it was rebuilt under the Escladus family's leadership and later became the ruler of the kingdom.
The Demon Army was pushed back to the Northern Divine Region during the latter years of the Great War, also known as the Divine Demon Region.
Although the Demon Army was pushed back to their home ground, the war against the Demon Race never ceased.
When the myriad races of the three Divine Region thought they could eradicate the demons of the Northern Divine Region once and for all, the other Demon Emperors joined the war and gave them a rude awakening.
The Demon Emperors were much stronger than Divine Kings. They were existences considered to be the closest to Divinity.
There were only four Demon Emperors in the Northern Divine Region, and the Demon Empress was one such being amongst them.
No one knew much about the Demon Emperors.
Only the Demon Empress had been revealed to be a Dark Fae during the outbreak of war.
The most distinguishable traits of the Dark Fae Race were their black-feathered wings, twin horns, and pointed long ears.
Skin complexion varied among their race, but that is what the Demon Empress is—a Dark Fae. She was also considered a beauty among beauties within the Dark Fae Race with her lustrous fair skin.
Nevertheless, no one had the heart to admire her beauty, for her fearsome strength had terrorized the entire Eastern Divine Kingdom.
Many early-stage Divine Kings felled under her claws, while those below the Divine King Realm were slaughtered in far great numbers.
No one knew the exact numbers, but the Demon Empress alone was believed to have slaughtered at least 10-million Divine Practitioners within the first few years of the war.
At this moment, Judas Escladus was seated within a lustrous golden bedchamber with his eyes closed in meditation.
However, his eyes suddenly snapped open with a paled expression before spitting out an arrow of blood.
"Young Master Judas!"
Two palace maids immediately cried, startled by the sight. They immediately rushed over and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Young Master Judas? What happened?"
"Have you forgotten what I told you already? I am no longer a young master!" Judas Escladus wiped the trace of blood on the corner of his mouth and glared at the palace maids.
The two palace maids trembled with fear after realizing the error in their words. They quickly apologized, "We're terribly sorry, Your Highness Judas!"
"Never mind. Both of you, leave!" Judas Escladus shooed them outside his golden bedchamber.
After the two palace maids bowed and took their leave, closing the doors on their way out, Judas Escladus' eyes immediately glazed over with confusion.
He did not understand what grave mistake he had made in his Divine Cultivation to cause him to cough up blood.
The blood was very fresh and glistening with redness. Obviously, this was not bad blood but his blood vitality!
A sense of fatigue suddenly overwhelmed Judas Escladus' mind, making him feel weak, frail, and lethargic. However, after a moment, his eyes shortly sparkled with divine enlightenment.
He immediately popped a Spirit Replenishment Pill into his mouth and recover his seated meditative position, resuming his Divine Cultivation.
The boundless Spirit Energy in the world began to gather quickly towards the miniature universe within his glabella.
He had gained insights to advance his cultivation to a higher stage within the Divine Transformation Realm!
…
Some distance from the Western Frontier, Crawford Kingdom.
Aria shortly landed on the ground and stared at Young Master Judas' lifeless and familiar face with a frown. It was the face of someone she had seen before in the memory world.
Suddenly, her heart burned with frustration.
If she knew Young Master Judas shared such a similar appearance to that person in the memory world, she would not have given the person such an easy death.
She would have at least tried to annihilate his soul!
Having met Aria White, she subtly understood that there was a profound connection between the world she lived in and the world of the Divine Realm.
Nevertheless, it was too late to mull over her actions now.
What has been done, has been done.
Aria collected everything value on Young Master Judas' corpse before she frosted the body with ice-lightning power and shattered it into a million pieces.
Shortly after, she resumed her journey west to the Great Wall after storing everything in the Interspatial Ring that Leon forged for her.
…
Western Frontier, Great Wall.
Shortly after Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir made their way on top of the wall, they gazed into the distance to search for the source of the mighty beast roar.
An enormous grizzly bear of roughly 60fts in height was seen in the distant hill.
"A Transcendent-level beast!" Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir determined with their quick judgment.
Very shortly, Leon's gaze fell on the bloody battle between rats and wolves below the Great Wall. He immediately understood the reason for the Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear's appearance.
It was attracted over by the pungent stench of blood pervading into the air!
Seeing the enormous Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear charging over, Leon flicked his wrist and gripped onto his summoned black spear, readying to face it.
If such a strong beast slammed into the Great Wall, all the weak soldiers on the Great Wall would most likely be flung off by its sheer force.
"Careful, young prince. It seems like this Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear has also gone berserk!" Supreme Elder Haldir warned.
Leon quickly studied the rats and wolves carefully and noticed that they were also under the same berserk state.
He shortly wrinkled his brows.
According to the Cataclysm recorded in the Crawford Kingdom's history, the beast went crazy after the great solar flare eruption.
Such a grand event would have been easily noticed in the Human Domain, where the skies were clear, and the ring of debris in the void could be seen among the moons and stars.
Did the Cataclysm already commence while he was still in the Dark Continent?
"Did a great solar flare occur in the past couple of days?" Leon asked the elven supreme elder.
Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head, "No, young prince. If you are thinking about the Cataclysm, then it has not erupted yet. However, it should be coming soon."
"You're telling me it hasn't erupted when the beasts are already like this? What do you think will happen once the Cataclysm erupt then?"
"I'm not sure, but it will definitely be unprecedented, whether for better or worse." Supreme Elder Haldir said.
"General Marquis Hendrick knows more about the beasts' berserk condition, but unfortunately, he is currently busy underground in the sewage system."
Leon could not help but frown deeply.
Something was seriously wrong with this situation!
If the beasts were already berserk before the occurrence of the solar flare, then the great solar flare during the last Cataclysm was not the cause of the beasts going berserk but something else entirely!
He had a nagging feeling that this unknown variable was very important!
However, Leon did not have time to ponder further.
He immediately tightened his grip on the black spear and leaped off the Great Wall, shooting straight towards the incoming Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear!
ROAR—!
Penggggg!
Before the Grizzly Bear could complete its great roar, it was given a loud resounding slap across the cheeks by Leon's sweeping black spear!
The Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear was immediately swept off its feet and flew sideways, crashing into the earth some distance away with a boom!
The eyes of many soldiers on the Great Wall immediately bulged with shock. They could not believe their eyes!
Even if the Grizzly Bear was only a newly ascended Rank 1 Transcendent Beast, its weight must be in the tens of thousands of jins!
Yet such a heavy thing was thrown off its feet by the sweep of a spear using brute strength, a feat accomplished by a human, no less!
Can humans really achieve such ridiculous physical strengths with their bodies alone?!
"Long live the prince!" A solder began cheering after his initial shock.
"Long live the prince!"
A solder began cheering after his initial shock. Shortly after, it transformed into a boisterous cheer with more soldiers joining in.
"Long live the prince!"
"Long live the prince!"
Chapter 449 - Burn The Rats!
Underneath the military city, the underground sewage system's ceiling shook with mild tremors, causing loose dust and rock shards to fall into the sewage water with a plop.
General Marquis Hendrick led a team of elite soldiers and gather at the hole that connected the underground rat passageway to the sewage system.
The hole was not big. It was roughly the size of an adult human, just big enough for three fat rats stacked atop each other to pass through.
"Fortunately, the hole is not big. Otherwise, we would have huge trouble dealing with the rats pouring through this point." General Marquis Hendrick said with a cloth covering half his face.
The group of elite soldiers similarly covered half their faces with wet cloths. The foul stench of the sewage was not exactly something anyone of them wanted to endure in its entirety.
General Marquis Hendrick held a lit torch and illuminated parts of the rat passageway.
The light did not travel far, but the hollow billows of wind and endless corridors of darkness showed that the rat passageway runs deeply.
No one could fathom the depths of the underground passageway.
However, considering the endless tides of rats pouring the rathole outside the Great Wall, the underground space had to be of enormous proportions.
After checking the downward slope of the empty rat passageway, General Marquis Hendrick quickly ordered, "Bring the first oil barrel over!"
"Yes, General!"
Two soldiers immediately carried a heavy wooden barrel of oil over and unsealed the lid.
The big oil barrel was unable to fit through the small gap. Thus, the earth-users among the soldiers manipulated earthen ground and formed a mini canal before they dumped out the oil.
In a short while, they went through all five oil barrels they had on hand before proceeding to tossed down every burnable material brought with them that could create the smoke they needed.
Suddenly, an earthshaking roar shook the underground sewage terribly, causing few soldiers to lose their balance.
Nevertheless, it only took a moment before they regained their footing. Even so, they were alarmed by the mighty roar.
"What was that just now?! That beast roar was so loud!"
"I think a Transcendent-level beast just arrived outside the Great Wall!"
A few soldiers immediately gulped.
"Your orders, general?" A soldier asked.
General Marquis Hendrick immediately said, "Don't worry about what is happening on the surface and quickly complete the task at hand!"
"Yes, General!"
At the same time, they began to hear numerous squeaks from the deep passageway before it grew louder and closer at an alarming rate!
General Marquis Hendrick's expression immediately changed.
"We've run out of time! Quickly light it up! The rats are coming!" He barked.
"Yes, General!"
The closest soldier to the rat opening immediately took the torch and tossed it into the deep, dark passageway.
In a short instance, the oil caught fire and ignited into a fiery blaze, rushing down the sloped passageway wherever it was connecting by the soaking oil like a chain reaction.
For a moment, the soldier was able to see the depths of the passageway before the searing heat of the fire forced him to retreat!
The wailing screams of rats were quickly heard right after!
They burned in flames along with the wood scraps and blocks of firewood tossed into the passageway, generating greats fumes of black smoke.
"Move!"
General Marquis Hendrick immediately ordered the soldiers to make way for him before using his wind ability to fan the escaping black smoke down the rat passageway.
At the same time, he turned to the side and ordered a soldier, "Go alert the other team that it has started!"
"Yes, General!"
"Apart from you two, the rest of you can also return to the wall and assist the others." General Marquis Hendrick added.
"Yes, General!"
Shortly after, only two earth-users were left with General Marquis Hendrick to help him plug up the hole later.
Meanwhile, once the other soldiers left and made it to the top of the Great Wall, they were shocked by the sight before them.
"Oh, you guys are here? That means the fire has already been started underground, hm?" Supreme Elder Haldir casually asked for confirmation.
"Yes, Marquis Haldir!"
The soldiers quickly nodded before their gaze was drawn back to the scene beyond the Great Wall.
A tanned person with a lion-headed cloak was seen flinging a huge Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear around like a toy with his black spear!
At the same time, numerous rats tried to swarm the two, but the person's speed was incredible! None of the rats could keep up with him!
However, what was more incredible was the person's strength! With each swing of his black spear, a powerful force would be generated and sweep all the rats away!
Tyrannical! Overbearing! Domineering!
The soldiers could only think of these three words as they watch the person send rats and Transcendent-level beast alike, flying left and right with a swing of his spear!
A soldier gulped.
"Who's fighting out there? What kind of inhumane strength is that?" The soldier asked.
Another soldier answered with a reverent look, "That is His Highness, Prince Leon!"
The newcomer soldiers were immediately awed by the revelation, turning to watch the person dance on the battlefield with newfound respect and veneration.
Meanwhile, Leon continued to swing his black spear wildly, hacking countless Wingrats to pieces. Their guts and blood splattered everywhere, blown away by the force of Leon's spear swing.
Leon narrowed his eyes as he tried to briefly the contents of the rat blood in between his attacks. He wanted to understand the source of the beasts' berserk state.
Roar!
The Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear growled in pain.
Despite being flung left and right by Leon, it was surprisingly in good shape. Leon had not dealt it a lethal blow.
Furthermore, the Grizzly Bear's thick flesh acted as a good shock absorbent.
However!
At this moment, the Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear was currently being swarmed by Wingrats! The Wingrats did not just target Leon; they also targeted the Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear!
They quickly scaled the Grizzly Bear's large build, sticking to it like a colony of ants before gnawing into its thick flesh furiously like starving piranhas!
Surprisingly, these Wingrats had incredibly sharp teeth despite their physically weak bodies! With their alarming numbers, they make a fearsome force to behold!
They can terrorize the Crawford Empire if left unchecked.
Even so, the Grizzly Bear was not just a Rank 1 Transcendent for nothing. It put up fierce resistance, crushing tens of thousands of Wingrats beneath its heavy body!
Back on the Great Wall, Supreme Elder Haldir quickly said, "Alright, enough watching. Bring the barrels here. We will commence the next step of the plan."
"Yes, Marquis Haldir!"
The soldiers shortly answered after snapping out of their self-absorbed viewing.
Shortly After, Supreme Elder Haldir began hurling the large wooden barrels of oils over the Great Wall.
They landed in various parts of the battlefield, while a few landed inside the rathole.
"Light them up!" Supreme Elder Haldir ordered.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom!
The soldiers fired their firearms, and the patches of oil burst into flames!
The endless tides of Wingrats were immediately plunged into chaos! Even when they are berserk, they cannot overcome their basic fear over the flames!
At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir extended his hand outwards towards the direction of the rathole and clenched his hand into a fist.
Immediately, the lacerating thorny vines around the rathole weaved together and proliferated further, forming a dense net that trapped the Wingrats in their hole!
Squeak!
The cries of dying rats trapped in smothering flames made the soldiers wear unsettling expressions.
Even if the rats were pests to be slaughtered en masse, the rat extermination still made them uncomfortable.
God knows how many rats were still lurking in the rathole. Perhaps, in the millions or tens of millions!
Nevertheless, their dying squeaks were enough to give people nightmares.
"Is it considered a sin to reap so many lives, even if they are rats?" A soldier sighed.
"Don't think too deeply. This kind of thought is a type of luxury we; soldiers cannot afford on the battlefield. We are fighting for our survival. Remember that."
"That's right. It is either they die, or we die. If even the basic right to live is considered a sin, then everything we do is also considered a sin." Another soldier added.
His unsettled expression was the same as everyone else.
No one was born murderers into the world. However, the world conditioned them as such! That is the world they live in!
Compassion was cruelty to oneself!
The soldiers watched the scene solemnly with steeled hearts.
The ground could be felt rumbling from the numerous Wingrats beneath the surface, bashing into each other as they tried to squeeze their way through.
The earth slightly rose under the rat's united efforts, but the thorny vines were deeply rooted and sturdy like an inescapable net.
The rats were unable to breakthrough.
The only thing they could accomplish was to quicken their deaths by crushing their brethren against the net of thorny vines.
Time slowly past but not only did the fire down, but it also increased its intensity instead. The Wingrats were akin to oil themselves—highly flammable with their body of dry fur!
The fire plan worked better than they anticipated! The rats were seared to death before they were smothered by the smoke!
Eventually, the rat's resistance died down, and their wailing squeaks ceased.
Only the stragglers on the surface remained, but their numbers quickly reduced under Leon's black spear.
The Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear died under Leon's quick spear thrust through its head.
Leon had ended its misery after it was already half-eaten by the rats.
Chapter 450 - Mine To Bear!
Wildlands, Skysilver Tribe.
Like the Great Wall, a similar situation was occurring to the low-rank beast tribe.
Millions of Wingrats roamed the plains and swarmed the tribe suddenly after a section of the earth collapsed, exposing the underground world underneath.
Boom!
A powerful tail swept away hundreds of frenzied Wingrats before they could draw close to Skysilver, the Beast King of the Skysilver Tribe.
The Rank 1 Transcendent Iron-tailed Wolf stood proudly on the top of its hill, gazing into the distant west while tides of rats surrounded its tribe.
Skysilver simply paid no attention to the nearby rats attacking it.
Its three iron tails formed an impregnable line of defense that cannot be breached. No matter how hard the Wingrats try to cross the line, they were swept away all the same.
The Wingrats was incapable of harming the beast king.
Even so, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Skysilver Tribe.
The tribe's defensive line was easily breached with the Wingrats swarming in from the sky with a single great leap!
The weaker beasts were immediately drowned in the endless tide of rats, while the stronger beasts put up better resistance.
Nevertheless, it was a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by the endless tide of rats! The Wingrats continued pouring into the tribe like a plague of death, laying waste everywhere they went.
"My king, the vermin aren't strong, but their teeth are sharp, and their numbers are too overwhelming! At this rate, the tribe will not last! Please lead us, my king!" A Birdman arrived and cried after scouting the tribe's situation from above.
Perhaps the Birdman drew too close to the ground, but it immediately attracted hundreds of Wingrats that lunged at it!
In a short instance, it was pulled down from the sky and swarmed by the Wingrats!
"Arghhh! Save me, my king!" The Birdman wailed while get gnawed by countless Wingrats.
Awooo!
Skysilver issued an earthshaking howl, generating a powerful sound wave that shook the earth and blew away all the Wingrats!
"Thank you, my king!" The Birdman said, coughing up blood.
In a short instance, it had lost many bite-size chunks of its body, and its wings were both ruined with white feathers scattered everywhere.
Only a high-quality healing medicine would be able to save its life, but such thing was non-existent within the low-rank beast tribe.
In other words, it was doomed to die. Even if it managed to survive somehow, it was no longer able to fly.
Such a life was cruel to a creature of the sky.
Skysilver glanced at the Birdman indifferently while its three iron tails continue to sweep away all the attacking Wingrats in their surroundings.
"You should know your body's situation. Any last words you would like to say?" Skysilver asked.
The Birdman's expression immediately dimmed.
While laying weakly on the ground, it struggled to tilt its head and glance at its bloodied mess of a body.
"Please make it quick." The Birdman said sadly.
Skysilver nodded.
"Have a pleasant journey to the afterlife," Skysilver said before stomping the Birdman with its large paws.
Boom!
The earth shattered, flattening the Birdman to death in the process.
It was an instant kill.
Afterward, Skysilver turned its gaze to observe the state of its tribe. It was complete chaos without any chains of command.
It was every beast for themselves.
The swarming sea of rats simply gave them no chance to gather and unite their strength in resistance!
Any attempts to do so would leave openings in the beasts' defenses, causing them to be quickly overwhelmed and killed by the rats!
Roar!
Suddenly, a strong twin-tailed white fox howled in a frenzied manner! Its red eyes flashed with madness before it charged into the sea of rats and tore at the rats with its sharp claws and fangs!
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Shortly after, numerous strong beasts started exhibiting signs of madness, going berserk and tearing the rats to pieces in a similar fashion!
In fact, the beasts that used their mouths and fangs to slaughter the rats all quickly went berserk!
Skysilver observed everything happening and knew that it was the end of its tribe. Nothing can be done to salvage this situation.
"What are your orders, my king? What should we do?" Another Birdman asked loudly from high in the sky, too afraid to get close to the ground.
300 bird-type beasts and beastkins wore lost expressions as they also hovered high in the sky and overlooked the chaos within the tribe.
Skysilver glanced up and said, "The Skysilver Tribe is finished! All of you, leave this place! Go find another home to settle down!
"What about you, my king?!"
"I will stay behind!" Skysilver said determinedly.
The Transcendent Beast King's eyes glinted with cold killing intent. It will not leave until it slaughters every single rat!
Disaster had struck too suddenly.
A tribe with hundreds of thousands of beasts had been reduced to no more than a few thousand beasts. Even then, the surviving beasts were quickly losing their minds and going berserk like the rats!
What was a beast king without its citizens?
Awoooo!
The Transcendent Iron-tail Wolf gave a mighty howl before leaping high into the sky!
The wind whistled strongly in its ears as it soared through the air and break into the sky suppression zone in an instance!
Shortly after, its huge body began to plunge towards an area located outside the tribe with great speed before slamming into the sea of rats on the ground with a seismic boom!
The earth ruptured instantly with fissures and cracks quickly spreading outwards from the epicenter of the impact!
Thousands of rats were crushed under the Transcendent Iron-tail Wolf's huge body while hundreds of thousands more were swept off their feet and blown away by the impact force!
Roar!
Skysilver growled intimidatingly before it started slaughtering the endless tide of Wingrats left and right!
Back in the skies, the beast-type beasts and beastkin watched their beast king fight alone before a Birdman spoke, "Let us leave. This place is now a land of death."
No one voiced any objection.
At the same time, the Birdman was silently acknowledged as the new leader. They followed under his lead, flying westward towards the neighboring tribe in the adjacent region.
The endless tide of rats covered the fields and hills on the surface, rampaging in all directions. Millions was an understatement of their numbers.
"Look over there! That must be where the Wingrats are coming from!" A Birdman suddenly pointed.
The group shortly turned to look.
In the distance, a great fissure where numerous Wingrats pouring out could be seen along with a rising column of red mist, spreading faintly in all directions.
The group shortly flew overhead, inhaling the faint red mist obliviously before disappearing off into the distance.
…
Great Forest borders.
"Hold your position, men! Don't you dare let them vermin slip past our defense!" An elven general barked.
"Yes, sir!"
Two rows of elves stretched as far as the eyes could see within the Great Forest.
In front of them, a tall wall made of thorny vines was seen holding back the endless tide of rats while numerous more tried making the leap over.
However, they were quickly lacerated into pieces by countless other thorny vine whips and dropped out of the air!
Their carcass pieces quickly piled like mountains while their blood flowed like rivers, drowning the area in a pungent stench that caused elves to wince with disgust.
Nevertheless, they endured the discomfort with gritted teeth and continued doing their best to keep the rats at bay!
An elf shortly appeared beside the elf general and mentioned his concern, "There are too many rats, sir! The rats are quickly forming a staircase mountain out of their fallen brethren! It's just a matter of time before they scale our walls and overwhelm us!"
"I know that!" The elf general said with a frown.
He naturally knew the problem, but there was not much they could do to hold back the endless tide of rats that kept throwing themselves at the thorny vine wall without regard for their own life.
Bits of mashed flesh and blood oozed through the small gaps in the thorny vine walls and made the elven warriors nauseous.
The elf general glanced back at the piles of rat carcasses that littered the deeper parts of the Great Forest. Some were diced into dozens of pieces, while some were scorched black by flames.
Elvengarde was lucky enough to fend off the first wave of rats and quickly established a defensive line that held the second wave of rats back, but not for much longer!
The elf general's eye fell on the scorched carcasses of rats before silently coming to a firm decision.
"Heed my orders, the logistics team are to quickly head into the tribe and bring back all the oil the tribe has to offer!" The elf general barked.
"All the tribe's oil? Don't tell me we are going to…"
"That's right! We will light the forest on fire! These rats seem to fear the flames! It will keep them away!" The elf general affirmed the elven soldier's doubt.
The nearby elven soldiers were quickly shocked and dumbfounded.
"We cannot do that, sir! Burning the forest is a sacrilegious act punishable by death! The king will have us beheaded for it, sir!"
"I fully understand the consequence of my decision, but we have no choice. It's do or die. You do not need to worry about your lives and carry out my order faithfully and quickly."
The elf general said calmly before his eyes flashed resolutely.
"This sin is mine to bear alone!"
Chapter 451 - Aria's Pleasant Arrival
Great Wall.
Amidst the burning flames and scattered carcasses on the ground, Leon continued to cut down every Wingrat before him, quickly shaving away their numbers.
Supreme Elder Haldir did not remain idle on the Great Wall and descended on a long vine, joining Leon in cleaning up the remnant vermin on the field.
At the same time, the elven supreme elder recollected his thorny vines blocking the rathole, which had become blackened by the fire.
However, after it was infused with Wood Energy, the thorny vines regained their green luster and liveliness once more.
Sometime later, Leon finished cutting down the last Wingrat.
Afterward, he waved his hand, summoning a large wave of scorching hot flames to clean up the battlefield littered carcasses and blood.
Everything was reduced to black ashes except for a few selected carcasses, including the Grizzly Bear's giant carcass for study purposes.
But before Leon could inspect the preserved carcasses, a thin figure fell from the sky, casting a shadow over the ground.
Leon turned his head and glanced up to look.
Aria had leaped off her ice-lightning sword upon arriving and was seen freefalling towards him, causing Leon to be immediately startled.
Leon quickly exerted some strength in the sole of his feet and lightly leaped into the air to catch Aria in his arms.
They spun a few times in midair as Leon dispelled the force of Aria's fall before they descended slowly and landed safely back on the ground.
Shortly after, Leon immediately nudged Aria on the heading with a gentle chiding tone, "What were you thinking, jumping down like that? Didn't you know it was dangerous?"
"I knew you would catch me." Aria softly giggled, laughing it off lightly, but it also showed her unreserved trust in Leon.
After wrapping her arms around Leon and enjoying his warmth for a moment, they separated.
"Don't be silly. I might not catch you next time." Leon smiled, giving her a light bump on the head before asking, "Why did you come here?"
"I wanted to follow you. Wherever you go, I want to be by your side. Is that not allowed?" Aria glanced up at Leon with watery eyes.
After being taken aback for a moment, Leon smiled warmly, "Of course, it's allowed! I'm sorry for leaving you behind."
"I got some things for you," Aria said.
Her Interspatial Ring shortly flickered, and a bunch of contents was emptied onto the ground, including Leon's Tier 4 Bone Spear.
Leon picked up the bone spear and flashed Aria a look of surprise.
"Where did you get these things?"
"I picked them up along the way after disposing of the person that hurt father-in-law, the king," Aria answered.
"Well done, Aria!"
Leon was pleasantly surprised.
He quickly pulled Aria back into his embrace and gave her a few pecks on the forehead. A woman like this, what more can he asked for?
He started to feel bad, leaving so suddenly upon returning—bringing back another woman, no less.
At the same time, a small blush appeared on Aria's cheeks.
"Ah, right. Congratulations on reaching Transcendence." Leon suddenly said after storing the items on the ground, intending to inspect them later.
He was quite surprised to find out Aria reached the Western Frontier so quickly. It seemed that the Transcendent Realm had granted her an impressive boost in movement speed.
"Mm."
"I don't mean to interrupt your moments, but what plans do you have now, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked, feeling slightly awkward at the side.
Seeing that the elven supreme elder appeared to be troubled by something, Leon asked, "What's the matter, Marquis Haldir?"
"If my service is no longer need here, I would like to resume my journey back to Elvengarde. I am rather worried about my people, considering the situation that transpired here." Supreme Elder Haldir said.
Leon was surprised.
He glanced at the remaining carcasses and contemplated for a moment before he said, "The General Marquis should be able to settle the matters here. On that note, you will not mind if I accompany you, right? Marquis Haldir?"
"Not at all! In fact, I will be overjoyed to have your company, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir said.
Leon nodded and asked, "Do we have an airship?"
"Yes, young prince. His Majesty and the Duke was kind enough to lend us one on our travels. Right now, it should be docked somewhere in the north…"
Supreme Elder Haldir slowly stopped talking, suddenly.
A figure was seen descending towards them from the Great Wall.
The person was immediately stunned after Leon turned to face the person. However, the person quickly recovered and saluted respectfully to Leon, "Greetings, Your Highness!"
"Greetings to you too, General Marquis." Leon nodded in return before adding, "I trust that I can leave things here to you?"
"Are you leaving, Your Highness?" General Marquis Hendrick quickly asked.
"We will be taking the airship and head for Elvengarde," Leon admitted while casually sending out his divine sense.
He swept the area underneath the surface and detected the large underground passageway used by the Wingrats.
Large numbers of charcoal-black carcasses could be seen buried underneath, densely packed together like coal towards the rathole.
Nevertheless, Leon could not see the subterranean world's depths with the full range of his divine sense.
Leon slightly furrowed his brows.
The subterranean world simply exists everywhere; it was concerning. Was it formed by something? Or did it already exist during the previous era?
Looking at the large ring of debris floating in the orbit of planet Gaia in the void, a large amount of Gaia's resources was definitely used to construct those remnant infrastructures.
"Is something wrong, Your Highness?" Asked General Marquis Hendrick, noticing Leon's subtle expression.
"It's nothing." Leon shook his head and said, "I trust you will make the right decisions, general. However, I do suggest you seal up the rathole quickly and abandon any thoughts of exploring it."
"Of course, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick patted his chest and said, "I always put the safety of the kingdom before anything else."
"That's good to hear."
Shortly after, the airship was called over.
After Supreme Elder Haldir boarded the airship, Leon stabbed the two rat carcasses on the ground with his black spear and carried them.
Aria shortly tugged on his cloak, causing him to turn around and glanced at her questioningly with a smile, "What's the matter? You don't want to come with me anymore?"
When Aria heard Leon, she quickly shook her head and stuck close to him.
Leon held her hand firmly before they boarded the airship together.
Chapter 452 - Did You See?
"Take care, Your highness." General Marquis Hendrick said from the ground.
"Un, look after the big carcass for me and don't eat it. I'll come back for it," Leon said jokingly.
General Marquis Hendrick glanced at the smelly body of the Grizzly Bear and twitched his mouth. Unless someone wanted to become berserk, no one would be willing to eat it.
"You jest, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick said stiffly.
"Loosen up a bit, general. You're too formal and upright all the time." Leon chuckled before turning his head to the top deck and barked, "Alright. Take us up, captain!"
"Aye, aye, Your Highness!"
Shortly after, the crew busily got to work under the captain's instruction before the airship steadily rose into the skies.
At the same time, Princess Faelyn made her way and curtsied, "We meet again, Your Highness."
"It's been some time, Princess Faelyn." Leon returned her greeting.
"You've changed quite a bit since we've last met, Your Highness," Faelyn said. Naturally, she was referring to his skin complexion and bizarre equipment.
Leon smiled wryly.
After exchanging a few words with Princess Faelyn, he excused himself and pulled Aria along with him into a private cabin.
Aria observed Leon curiously as he busied himself, taking out a few spirit herbs and pill cauldron from the Worldspace, and began concocting alchemy.
It did not take long for him to finish his refinement, revealing a pasty and creamy substance.
Shortly after, he began undressing his equipment. Aria quickly blushed with a crimson shade and made her way over to help him undress.
Leon smiled gently, appreciating her considerate gesture, but then he noticed her expression and gave her a light chop on the head.
"Ah!" Aria exclaimed, looking back at Leon confusedly.
He smiled amusingly and asked, "Just what are you thinking in that little head of yours, hm?"
"I… I thought you wanted to…" Aria stuttered with a flushed face.
"Wanted to what, hm? Your mind is totally in the gutter, my dear wifey." Leon chuckled, thinking he might have corrupted her.
He shortly shook his head and said, "I am dirty and reek of rat blood. We can do it later after I am cleansed."
"W-Who wants to do it? I didn't say anything!" Aria denied vehemently with a flushed face, deeply embarrassed.
"I'm joking. We don't have time."
Leon chuckled.
"Help me rub this on my back."
"Mm, okay."
Aria quickly accepted a portion of the white cream and began rubbing it on Leon's bareback with her hands. She was quickly surprised when the tanned skin faded, revealing Leon's original pale complexion.
Sometime later, Leon and Aria returned to the deck.
The distance between the Great Wall and the Great Forest was not far, but it was close either. It can be seen from a distance, but the exact situation was not clear.
After the airship reached the peak altitude of 600fts and began propelling forward, passing a few hills, the situation of the Great Forest became known to everyone.
Leon quickly realized the grey field surrounding the Great Forest was actually the endless tide of rats covering up the flat green grasslands!
The army of grey rats stretched as far as the eye could see, reaching deep into the Wildlands!
Even when Leon activated [Spirit Eyes], he could not see the end of the rat tide in sight. They were simply everywhere!
"There are so many rats!"
The crewmates were shocked after peeking into the distance. The thought of falling into such an enormous tide of rats made them tremble with fear.
They would be devoured down to the bones within seconds!
Supreme Elder Haldir gazed into the distance with a solemn look and said, "The situation does not look good. Even Transcendents can be exhausted fighting so many rats!"
"The Great Forest is on fire!" Faelyn suddenly exclaimed, covering her mouth with great shock.
The eruption of fire happened suddenly and quickly, running along the edges of the Great Forest like a chain reaction!
In mere moments, the flame completely enclosed the Great Forest and formed a ring of fire! The grey field of rats immediately drew their distance from the fire right after!
"This sort of coordination… this is not an accident, but a planned strategy!" Supreme Elder Haldir stated with a heavy expression.
No matter what, the Great Forest was still his home. Seeing the Great Forest burning pained his heart.
"Burning the forest to keep the rats away… the tribe would not have resort to this method unless they had no other choice… the situation must be dire."
"Then I guess we better hurry over," Leon said objectively, raising one hand up.
Swoosh!
The wind suddenly surged around the airship.
After Leon dropped his hand forwardly, the surge of wind immediately propelled the airship forward at more incredible speed.
"Kyahhh!"
Faelyn exclaimed after her skirts were blown upward by the wind. She quickly held it down before flashing Leon a deadly glare.
"Did you see?"
Leon was taken aback for a moment before he immediately raised his hands up in surrender, "I swear it was not on purpose."
"Did you see?" Faelyn stressed again with a pouted expression.
Leon shortly averted his eyes while scratching his cheeks, "Well… I might have seen a little bit."
Princess Faelyn's face quickly turned scarlet after hearing his answer and lowered her head down in silence, too embarrassed to press further.
At the same time, Aria stood beside Leon, humming a low tune with an indecipherable expression, "Hmm…"
Leon rubbed his forehead with distress, thinking things had taken a strange turn. Like, why was he singled out when others might have also seen it too.
"Ahem." Supreme Elder Haldir coughed, dispelling the awkward atmosphere before stressing, "Now is not the time for this. We have a serious problem on our hand here."
"Young Prince, the airship is not flying high enough. We will not be able to enter the Great Forest like this. What do you think we should do?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked for Leon's opinion, seeing they were quickly approaching the Great Forest.
"Hmm…"
Leon began rubbing his chin thoughtfully with a deep look.
Chapter 453 - Leon's Work Of Art
The airship quickly closed in on the Great Forest, flying overhead of the grey field of Wingrats.
The loud propellers immediately drew the attention of the rat tide, causing them to glance into the skies.
Shortly after, waves after waves of rats to leap into the sky, attempting to attack and destroy the airship that was the source of their irritation.
The Wingrats were great leapers, but the best height amongst their large numbers did not exceed 180fts, causing them to fall short by 120fts from the airship.
Nevertheless, it still made the entire crew apprehensive.
The leaping rat tide moved like the ocean waves, except it was not the salty seawater battering against the sandy shores but a sea of death.
The crew gulped nervously while the airship flew past the endless rat tide. It was not only a terrifying sight to behold, but the rats' incessant squeaks were grating to the ears.
Leon had no time to inspect the two rat carcasses he brought with him and could only leave them for later. After pondering for a moment, he recalled something.
"What is this?" Asked Supreme Elder Haldir after Leon pulled out two strange pendants from his interspatial storage space.
"This?" Leon inspected the two enchanted pendants in his hands for a moment before he said, "Probably something that can help the airship fly over the Great Forest."
The enchanted pendants could shield people from the gravitational pressure of the sky, allowing Transcendents to fly freely without restraint within the sky suppression zone.
It was up to Leon to figure out how to increase the enchanted pendants' output coverage to encompass the entire airship.
If the gravitational pressure of the sky were removed, the flight altitude of all airships equipped with levitation devices would definitely not be limited to 600fts!
When Supreme Elder Haldir recalled the two Transcendents flying deep in the sky suppression zone previously, he quickly guessed the enchanted pendants belonged to them.
"How?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked curiously with great interest.
"Hmm…"
Leon pondered for a moment before coming up with a solution in his mind.
"I got it."
He quickly dispelled the wind current driving the airship forward and ordered the captain to reduce its flight speed.
"Give me a moment to tinker with these things," Leon said.
He took a seat on the flat deck and took out his special scribing pen and a few fat spirit stones. Before he started tinkering, he scanned the pendants with his divine sense and engraved everything into his mind.
Going a step further, he requested Maya to scan and record the pendant's diagram in the Archive in case he screwed up and destroy both enchanted pendants.
Once he finished his preparations, he began tinkering immediately.
Aria, Princess Faelyn, and Supreme Elder Haldir gathered around Leon, observing his handiwork with curious gazes.
The red crystals embedded in the pendants were scraped off with the special scribing pen, Ravenous Black. These red crystals were artificial-Spirit Energy in their crystallized form.
Although Leon was curious where the Geyser Kingdom procured them, he could only ponder about it later.
He shortly altered both pendant's socket sizes to refit the fat, round supreme-grade spirit stone.
Of course, the fist-size spirit stones were too big to entirely fit inside the pendants' empty sockets. Only a fraction of its side fitted, but that was all Leon needed to get it working.
Once he achieved that, he used a rope and bind the two objects together firmly, removing the possibility of the spirit stones falling out of the pendant's sockets.
In a short while, the alterations were completed.
"It's done," Leon exclaimed, appearing satisfied with his improvised work.
The three people glanced over at the object expectantly with curiosity. However, their expression quickly turned dubious with suspicions.
"Are you sure this… thing… will work, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked doubtfully while staring at the two enchanted pendants and jade-like rocks tied together messily with a flimsy rope.
It looked like something they would find at a roadside antique store after it was scrapped together by the owner in the hopes of increasing its artistic value to sell at a higher price.
Not only was it unpresentable, but its functions were also questionable—At least, that was the impression they were getting from looking at it.
"What do you mean? This is a masterpiece… Ahem, never mind." Leon slowly coughed and said, "We'll know once we test it."
The improvised tool was shortly activated after Leon drove the Spirit Energy inside the spirit stones with his Divine Will.
An invisible barrier immediately expanded from the improvised tool, sweeping past everyone and enveloped the entire airship in an instance.
Swoosh~!
Everyone's hair fluttered like a gust of wind had just blown past them before the airship shook and surged upwards, rising in altitude at a steady pace.
"Hahaha, so it's working after all." Leon chuckled lightly.
Everyone was shortly floored, having understood that Leon had no confidence whether it was genuinely going to work or not.
Nevertheless, it worked out in the end.
They quickly recovered and glanced ahead with anticipation amidst the rising dense smoke coming from the Great Forest's outskirts.
Princess Faelyn shook her head and watched the burning forest with deep emotion and worry. Once the fire dies, the rats will sweep the place once more.
Her people will have no choice but to face the endless rat tide with nowhere else to go. It was a long trek to the Great Wall by foot.
The rat tide would not leave them be if they tried to evacuate everyone towards the Human Domain.
Princess Faelyn sighed silently.
It did not take long before the airship rose above the Great Forest.
Once the airship reached roughly 1000fts altitude, Leon commanded, "Lower the levitation device's power outage, captain!"
"Yes, Your highness!"
Shortly after the captain relayed orders to the crew, the airship rise came to a halt.
Leon did not doubt that the airship would rise to an incredible height if they continue to let the levitation device run at full power after the gravitational pressure had been removed from the airship.
"Where to now, Marquis Haldir?" Leon asked.
Supreme Elder Haldir glanced at the burning forest with great billowing black smoke for a moment, thinking that the forest will continue burning for a long while.
Thus, the defensive line did not need their immediate assistance.
"Please take us straight to Elvengarde, young prince. I need to need to make a report to the council and plan for the tribe's evacuation. You have seen the rat tide for yourself. Their numbers are unending. My people will not survive if they continue to stay here."
"Sure, no problem."
Leon nodded in agreement.
Even he was not sure if the Great Wall would be able to hold out against such a large rat tide. Their numbers were simply too huge!
That being said, the Great Wall was still equipped with a better defense than the Great Forest had to offer.
"You heard the Marquis, captain. Take us straight to the big Elder Tree at the Great Forest's center."
"Aye, aye, Your Highness!" The captain answered.
Shortly after, the airship made headway for the elves' home under the big Elder Tree at the center of the Great Forest, Elvengarde.
Chapter 454 - Arriving In Elvengarde
"General, look! There is something loud coming from the skies above!" An elven warrior alerted.
Vroom~!
The airship flew overhead with loud running steam engines and spinning propellers, causing many elven warriors within the Great Forest to turn their heads up and look.
However, none of the elven warriors near the outskirts could see anything. The towering billows of black smoke obscured their visions from seeing the sky beyond the treetop.
The elf general narrowed his eyes into slits and spoke, "Follow me to take a look. The rest of you continue to hold your ground and contain the spread of fire!"
"Yes, general!"
Shortly after, the elf general and another elf warrior hopped between branches and quickly climbed to the top of the trees to look.
The trees of the Great Forest were very tall, averaging 600fts. Some fell short, while others also exceeded the mark and extended into the sky suppression zone.
The tougher trees remained standing upright, but the weaker ones slightly curved under the gravitational pressure.
"Ugh, I can never get used to this feeling, general." The elf warrior commented with an uncomfortable feeling. The heavy feeling was not bad compared to the pressure weighing down on his organs.
"Get used to it. Enduring the gravitational pressure is a good way of tempering the body." The elf general casually said while staring up at the passing airship.
"This… should be the so-called airship…" The elf general said after some thought.
The elf warrior immediately displayed a confused expression and asked, "What's an airship?"
"In short, an airship is a type of transportation created by humans for traveling. Do not ask any further. I do not know much about it, alright? I've only heard a bit about it when we had human visitors last time." The elf general explained before narrowing his eyes.
"It's heading for our tribe…"
Hearing the general's soft muttering, the elf warrior's eyes suddenly lit up and said excitedly, "Maybe the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn have returned from the Human Domain with reinforcements!"
"Perhaps, but it is no longer our concern. If the Supreme Elder had indeed returned, then we should be getting news from the tribe soon. For now, we just need to focus on containing the spread of fire. Let us head back!" The elf general said with a shake of his head.
If only they had a way to see the other side of the fire and observe the movements of the rat tide. It would give them clear understandings of the situation and decide whether to keep the fire burning or extinguish it.
The elf general had to plan carefully.
It would not be easy starting another great forest fire to repel the rat tide should they decide to extinguish it.
After returning to the ground level, the elf warrior whispered, "General, the royal guards are here."
A group of elves in golden leather armor could be seen actively looking around the defensive line, clearly searching for someone.
After they spotted the elf general, they quickly made their way over and coldly stated, "The king summons your presence, general. It would be in your best interest to follow us back willingly. Resistance will only increase the severity of your crimes."
The elven royal guards had all achieved 9-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, the same cultivation as the elf general.
"Understood."
The elf general sighed with furrowed brows.
Considering the royal guards' attitude towards him, the king will most likely behead him after questioning his decision on burning the forest, regardless of his reasons.
He had anticipated this outcome.
He committed sacrilege against the Great Forest, the home of all elves. It was a crime punishable by death.
Even so, he cannot help but feel disappointed.
…
Elvengarde.
The airship arrived at the heart of the elven tribe and hovered in the skies right under shades of the Elder Tree's crown.
Many elves could be seen exiting their trunk homes at the bottom of the Elder Tree and gathering towards the tribe's square before they observed the foreign airship above curiously.
On the airship, Leon stored away the altered pendant contraption seeing as it was no longer needed—at least while the airship remained under cover of the Elder Tree.
At the same time, a line of royal guards lined up on the edges of the Elder Tree's crown with bows and nocked arrows aimed at Leon and the rest of the people on board the airship.
"Hmph! Withdraw your bows! Or have you forgotten who I am?!" Supreme Elder Haldir roared at them with displeasure.
Some royal guards were immediately startled and withdrew their bows, while other royal guards continued to aim their nocked arrows—not at the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn, but the humans onboard.
"Hey, didn't you hear the Supreme Elder's order? Pull away your bow!" The royal guards began urging the other stubborn royal guards.
However, the stubborn royal guards asked with indifference, "Are you the Supreme Elder's personal guards, or are you the king's royal guard?"
The question immediately stunned all the royal guards that withdrawn their bows upon the Supreme Elder's words, too speechless to retort.
The Elven King was disappointed that more than half his royal guards followed the Supreme Elder's orders. It showed where their loyalty lies.
Nevertheless, he quickly hid his true emotions.
Shortly after, the Elven King spoke in a clear and firm voice, "Lower your bows!"
The remaining royal guards quickly withdrew their bows and nocked arrows away immediately before retreating a few steps and making way for their king.
"Welcome back, Supreme Elder." The Elven King greeted with a warm expression. "You too, my daughter. It's been hard on you."
"Not at all, father. I had fun on this trip." Princess Faelyn said.
Supreme Elder Haldir furrowed his brows slightly but nodded shortly after, hopping off the airship with Princess Faelyn.
Leon could not help but frown in his heart after noticing the slight tension between the Elven King and Supreme Elder.
This was not a good sign.
Was someone like the Elven King really willing to live under humans' rule in the Human Domain? He was unsure, but he vaguely sensed the brewing of trouble.
Chapter 455 - King Erendriel's Attitude
"How did negotiations with the Human Domain go, Supreme Elder?" The Elven King asked after Supreme Elder Haldir and Princess Faelyn stepped onto the large treetop branch using vine manipulation.
Supreme Elder Haldir glanced around before he said, "We can talk about that during the council meeting. For now, there is someone you should meet."
"Oh? Who?"
The Elven King glanced down at the airship hovering not far below and inspected the humans on board, one by one.
"Is it that person?" The Elven King asked while pointing to Leon. "Who is he?"
While Leon did not have the appearance of someone who would like the most important person on board the airship, he did have the most unusual look of the lot.
Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before cautioning Leon.
After Leon received the signal, he held Aria's hand and flew up onto the same treetop branches the elven group was standing on top of.
As soon as he landed, the royal elven guards quickly aimed their bows at him once more. However, the Elf King raised his hand, gesturing for them to lower their weapons immediately.
"Put away your bows! You're being rude to our human guests!" The Elf King commanded with a chiding tone while appearing proud and dignified in front of Leon.
His head was held high.
However, the Elf King was only slightly taller than Leon, causing the grandeur presence he was trying to display to diminish by half.
"Allow me to do the introductions." Supreme Elder Haldir frowned slightly before he gestured towards Leon and said with respect, "Hailing from the Crawford Kingdom—Oh no, I should say Crawford Empire now, this is Prince Leon. By his side is Miss Aria."
"And here, we have the Elven King of Elvengarde, Erendriel Elafaran." Supreme Elder Haldir introduced.
"Well met, Your Majesty, King Erendriel." Leon shortly extended his hand, offering a handshake with the Elf King.
However, King Erendriel simply gave Leon's hand a slight glance before nodding to Aria with a subtle flicker in his eyes.
"Well met, Prince Leon and Miss Aria."
Shortly after, King Erendriel returned his attention to the Supreme Elder Haldir and said with solemness, "I will summon the Elders to the council. Let us convene in the Great Hall. I believe everyone would like to know the gains of your trip to the Human Domain."
Leon smiled stiffly, retracting his extended hand in silence.
His impression of the Elf King plummeted after the blatant disregard. The Elf King did not seem to look favorably upon humans, and he only showed his recognition to Aria due to her Transcendental strength.
Apparently, the Elven Tribe was not united in their opinions as he had anticipated. This trip to the Elven Tribe was bound to be anything but peaceful.
At the same time, Aria's eyes flickered with a cold glint that quickly disappeared like nothing had happened. Only she knew what she was thinking.
"Lyn, why don't you show our guests around the tribe while I am discussing with the Supreme Elder and the other Elders?" King Erendriel suggested shortly after.
His intention was clear.
Leon and Aria were not welcomed to their high council meeting. Hiddenly, he did not want them on the treetop, which was considered the High Elves' residence and holy land either.
"Yes, father." Princess Faelyn answered obediently despite feeling discomforted and uneasy inside her heart.
"Apologies for not being able to entertain you, Prince Leon and Miss Aria. There are urgent matters that require my attention." King Erendriel said coolly before leaving with the royal elven guards following shortly after.
Supreme Elder Haldir looked at Leon apologetically before following King Erendriel to the Great Hall, located in the heart of the Elder Tree's crown.
Sometime later, Supreme Elder Haldir and King Erendriel were gone from sight.
Princess Faelyn approached Leon and said with guilt, "I apologize for the cold reception my father has shown you, Leon. My father… is someone that likes to be obsessively clean and does not like being touched by others."
Leon immediately smiled wryly.
Was that not implying that he was unclean?
Leon knew Princess Faelyn did not actually mean this. Thus, he shook his head ruefully and said, "Don't worry about it."
"Then… I'll show you around the tribe?" Princess Faelyn asked hesitantly, considering it was not really the time for that.
The tribe was under the threat of the rat tide, and the outskirts of the Great Forest was currently on fire, producing vast volumes of smoke.
Even the oblivious citizens will notice something wrong once they spot the conspicuous black smoke blowing past their tribe in the open skies that can be viewed from the center of the tribe.
"We should probably find out the situation on the front lines instead," Leon suggested objectively.
"Mm, Mm. You're totally right, Leon."
Princess Faelyn nodded fervently.
After Leon gave orders for the captain and the rest of the airship's crew to remain on standby, he headed down the spiral vine staircase around the Elder Tree's trunk with Aria and Princess Faelyn, leading to the tribe that lies at the bottom.
…
Elvengarde, ground level.
The elves continued to observe the wonders of the airship floating in their airspace as more tribesmen slowly joined them, gathering into a huge mass.
Suddenly, an elf noticed a glimpse of the black smoke peeking out from over the treetops on the edges of the tribe's central region where the Elder Tree's roots end.
"Everyone, look! There's smoke coming from the distance! The Great Forest is on fire!" The elf exclaimed in alarm.
"What? How can there be a fire in the Great Forest? There's had never been any cases of a forest fire before!"
"I remember the warriors came to collect all the cooking oil in the tribe earlier. The fire must have been deliberately started!" Another elf shouted in realization.
"What! Why would they do that?! Wait, I suddenly remembered the tribe's warriors were all mobilized much earlier as well! What exactly is happening outside the tribe?!"
"Yes! Why hasn't anyone told us what is going on?!"
The elven commoners were confused and began panicking with growing unease, ignorant of the unknown disaster that their tribe could be facing.
However, it was not long before they discovered a group of royal guards escorting the elf general back to the tribe.
'Why was the general being treated like a prisoner?'
All sorts of wild thoughts began running through their elven commoners' minds.
Chapter 456 - Third Princess Thessalia
The group of royal guards continued to escort the elf general towards the center of the tribe. Many elf commoners made way for them, afraid of obstructing their path and getting in trouble.
However, a tall, beautiful yet valiant figure in golden-green armor stepped forward and blocked their path, causing the royal guards to pause their steps in response.
"Third Princess Thessalia." The royal guards all greeted, not minding that the third princess had obstructed their path.
Thessalia Elafaran nodded.
Shortly after, she gazed at the elf general and said, "Do you know what you have done wrong?"
"I don't know whether what I did is really wrong. I only know what I needed to do for the survival of the tribe." The elf general said impassively.
Third Princess Thessalia Elafaran smiled lightly for a brief moment before reverting to indifference.
"Well, it does not matter what opinions I have on this matter. It is up to my father, the king, to decide how to punish you. I pray that you will at least be able to keep your head. I will be taking over command of the front-line defense." She said.
"Please."
The elf general gestured.
Someone was needed to take command after his absence.
Thessalia Elafaran nodded and said to the royal guards, "You may continue on with your task of escorting the general to see my father, the king."
"Yes, Third Princess Thessalia." The royal guards acknowledged.
Shortly after, the group of royal guards left with the elf general, Thessalia Elafaran glanced back.
Behind her stood four dozen warriors, mainly composing of beautiful females. However, there were also a few male warriors within the mix.
They were all her personal guards.
"We shall go see the exact situation of the fire on the Great Forest outskirts. Let us move now!" Thessalia Elafaran commanded.
"Yes, Princess Thessalia!"
…
Elvengarde, central region.
Leon, Aria, and Princess Faelyn shortly finished heading down the vine staircase and arrived in the heart of the tribe.
At the same time, they saw the group of royal guards approaching.
"Fifth Princess Faelyn."
After the elf general and royal guards finished their greeting, they continued to brush past them and take the vine staircase up to the Elder Tree's crown after receiving Princess Faelyn's acknowledgment.
Nevertheless, Princess Faelyn frowned.
Seeing Faelyn had stopped moving to watch the group of elves leaving, Leon curiously asked, "What's the matter? Who are those people?"
"Those were the royal guards… and they were escorting the elf general." Princess Faelyn said with furrowed brows.
"Oh?"
Leon softly exclaimed.
"The elf general should have been the one in command of the defenses, starting the great fire to ward off the rat tide, right?" He asked.
Faelyn nodded.
Her brows tightly knitted before she said, "However, considering the general is being taken back to the crown, I'm afraid that he has been summoned by my father to answer for his crimes…"
"The crimes of burning the forest—burning the forest to save the tribe from being flooded by the overwhelming rat tide?"
Leon shook his head with a satirical look before he said, "That is no crime. That is a feat. The elf general is a hero."
"I also think so."
Faelyn nodded.
"However, not everyone thinks that way. Everyone treats the Great Forest as the holy land and the Guardian Spirit as our deity. It would be difficult for the general to escape punishment, although I do pray, nothing bad will happen to him."
Perhaps, if Faelyn had not seen the endless rat tide, she would have thought differently—but she had seen the terror of the rat tide. Thus, the burning forest felt inconsequential to the survival of the tribe.
Still, most of the tribe was oblivious to the fact.
The burning of the forest would incite the tribe, and the Elf King might sacrifice the general to appease the angry mob, even if it meant keeping them in the dark of the outside dangers.
Informing the tribe would only incite panic, and nothing was more chaotic than a panicking mob.
"Marquis Haldir is with your father, King Erendriel. I highly doubt the Marquis would allow any misfortune to befall the general in his presence." Leon said.
A war hero should not be criminalized.
Aria tugged on Leon's hand, drawing his attention over while she gazed at the numerous elves in the tribe.
"However, the fire is only a temporary solution. Once the fire dies out, the rat tide would be swarming this place. How are we supposed to get all these people away from here?" Aria asked.
"Right."
Faelyn nodded.
It was also what she had been concerned about.
Leon pondered for a moment before he said, "If there's a will, there's a way."
That being said, he also did not have a good solution on hand at the moment. The rat tide was simply too large in numbers; it was fearsome. As expected from one of the fastest breeding species.
Even so, rats' natural predators would not have allowed them to breed to such an uncontrollable state. Where on earth had they been hiding—?
Leon suddenly recalled the rathole and frowned.
It was the underground again. Deep secrets were always found there.
If there is a chance, he would like to explore the subterranean world once more. He vaguely remembers something calling for him that he had previously overlooked last time—something that felt like a fire source.
Nevertheless, it was something he could only worry about later.
While the three made their way out of the tribe, Leon spread out his divine sense and made contact with the Guardian Spirit of the Elder Tree through its roots.
The Guardian Spirit was much younger than the World Tree. Its form was no different from an infant, but it was very sentient—having heard the elves' countless prayers.
While they could not exchange words, it was still possible to communicate through their thoughts.
Aria and Faelyn noticed the Elder Tree's roots squirming from time to time. The sight only aroused Aria's curiosity, but it came as a great surprise for Faelyn.
All year round, elves would sing their prayers to the Guardian Spirit. But rarely does it ever respond to their wishes or reveal its spiritual form and show its existence to the elves.
However, at this moment, it was moving actively—even if it was just the tree roots.
Faelyn immediately glanced towards Leon, vaguely believing it had something to do with him.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Me?"
Leon glanced back at Faelyn while casually taking out a supreme-grade spirit stone. The roots of the Elder Tree quickly moved and accepted the gift from him before shriveling in delight.
"I'm making some preparations." He said.
"Preparations?"
Faelyn was immediately confused by his lack of explanation. However, she did not have time to ask as their path was shortly obstructed by the elven commoners.
In a short instance, they were surrounded by numerous elves. Various expressions could be seen on their faces, but it was mainly anger and doubt.
"Fifth Princess Faelyn, you're back! Please tell us what is happening! Why did the general burn the forest?! What kind of madness possessed him to burn our sacred home?!"
The angry mob demanded answers.
Chapter 457 - Gathering Of Elders
Faced with the countless questions thrown at her, Princess Faelyn was at a loss for words. She did not know how to answer the tribesmen's questions without inciting panic.
At the same time, Leon quietly observed the surrounding elves.
King Erendriel was a Preliminary Accession-level Transcendent, and the royal guards were all 9-Star Ranked Awakeners.
This was a strong lineup.
However, even amongst the Elven Tribe, there were strong elves, and there were weak elves. He had seen the strong.
As for the weak, they were before him.
Every elf in Elvengarde had some achievement in their Awakening Cultivation, no matter how big or small. Even so, none of the elves before him were above the 9th step of the Awakener Realm.
He could see the disparity between the common elves and the high elves.
"Quiet! Can't you see that you are all making it difficult for the Fifth Princess?! We should be asking this human here instead!" Said a hot-headed male elf, who was a fervent admirer of Princess Faelyn.
Once the words were spoken, the male elf quickly gained supporters.
Amongst the four princesses and crown prince, the fifth princess, Princess Faelyn was the most favored by the commoners within Elvengarde.
"He's right, guys! Let us not make it difficult for Fifth Princess Faelyn!"
"Sorry, Fifth Princess! Human, please tell us what is going!"
"What is happening outside? Why hasn't the king told us anything?"
The elves shouted one after the other.
They gathered dangerously close, causing Leon to frown slightly. In response, the infant Guardian Spirit used its tree roots to ward off the elves.
"Uwahh!"
The elves exclaimed.
As they retreated in alarm, one of them asked with surprise, "Why is the Guardian Spirit shielding this person?"
"Right? I believe this is the first time this person had visited our tribe. How did this person earn the Guardian Spirit's favor so quickly?"
The elvish tribesmen were all puzzled.
It was not like they were going to attack the human or anything. But even then, why was the Guardian Spirit so protective of this person?
"Human, what did you do to our Guardian Spirit!" A female elf interrogated.
The female elf felt envious that the Guardian Spirit favored a human so heavily upon their first meeting, while she had been faithfully praying to the Elder Tree every day without any gains.
Leon patted the tree root calmingly before casually answering, "Nothing much. I just befriended it, is all."
"How can you befriend the Guardian Spirit so quickly? What secret method did you use?"
"Mind your manners." Princess Faelyn warned with creased brows, displeased by the female elf's inquisitiveness.
Even she was curious about Leon's method, but what right did they have to ask? It was simply rude to dig into people's personal secrets.
She did feel it had something to do with the green stone, but she did not ask.
"This person here is the Crown Prince of the Crawford Empire from within the Human Domain, Prince Leon. Please show him the proper respect." Faelyn said with a soured expression.
The female elf had overstepped her boundaries.
When the male elves saw their idol princess like this, they all threw deadly stares at the rude female elf, causing the female elf to be startled.
"I'm terribly sorry, Fifth Princess Faelyn." The female elf quickly apologized.
At the same time, the crowd slightly calmed down by Princess Faelyn's royal aura—or perhaps it was her personal charisma that calmed them down slightly.
"I know you are all anxious regarding the fire in the forest. However, I request you all to be a little more patient. My father, the king, will surely make an announcement soon enough regarding this matter." Faelyn said solemnly.
Some of the elves were slightly surprised.
Their Fifth Princess appeared to have become more mature after her trip from the Human Domain.
"We understand, Fifth Princess Faelyn."
"Thank you for understanding. Please make way now. I am going to head to the outskirts to check on the situation with Prince Leon and Miss Maria here." Princess Faelyn said to the crowd.
The group of elves shortly made a clear path for them to leave.
…
Elder Tree Crown, Great Hall.
An elderly elf in a luxurious golden-white robe pushed opened the doors made of hardened vines and entered the building.
At the back of the Great Hall, there was a vine staircase leading up to another room. After making his way over and pushing open the second set of doors, he gazed into the room.
Inside sat King Erendriel, Supreme Elder Haldir, and five other Elders of the High Council.
He was the sixth elder to enter.
"Where are the other six elders?" The Sixth Elder asked.
"Still on the outskirts of the Great Forest. I have already sent out my royal guards to fetch them. They should be here soon." King Erendriel answered calmly.
"I see."
The Sixth Elder nodded and took his seat by the round table.
Shortly after, there was a knock on the door to the council meeting room, which everyone was seated inside.
"Come in." King Erendriel's voice rang out clear and audibly.
A royal guard quickly came in and reported, "Your Majesty, the general has been brought into the Great Hall for questioning."
"Understood. Wait outside for me." King Erendriel nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The royal guard saluted before exiting the council meeting room as the king directed him.
One of the Elders shortly turned his head over to King Erendriel questioningly and asked, "What is this about?"
"We will put the discussion of the Supreme Elder's gains in the Human Domain on hold for now. Let us head outside and see the general, Elders. You will all know very shortly." King Erendriel said calmly, standing up from his seat before walking out shortly.
"Alright."
Two Elders followed shortly.
Supreme Elder Haldir wrinkled his brows slightly in question, feeling something was off. Nevertheless, he stood up and headed out after some delay.
At the same time, the remaining four Elders of the council stood up and followed only after the Supreme Elder had done so.
It was clear whose side they leaned towards.
Chapter 458 - Elf King's Rage
In the Great Hall's main area, King Erendriel gazed down at the elf general from the second floor's edge at the end of the vine staircase.
"General Paeris, do you know what grave sins you have committed?" King Erendriel questioned with solemnity.
'Grave sins?'
The two elders were puzzled.
The High Elves were not so rigid and pedantic that they would punish someone according to the old laws for bringing harm to the Great Forest if it were done in the best interest of the tribe's survival.
Of course, they were them, and the Elf King was the Elf King. They could not be sure that their thoughts aligned with the Elf King.
Even so, after a short moment, they vaguely understood what King Erendriel intended to do and chose to remain silent.
Supreme Elder Haldir and the rest of the Elders exited the council meeting room shortly after.
The elf general, Paeris Gilvalur, had some misgivings meeting King Erendriel. But after seeing Supreme Elder Haldir, his heart became calm and steady like still water.
"No, I do not, Your Majesty." General Paeris answered calmly.
"Oh?"
King Erendriel wrinkled his brows slightly.
With General Paeris' character, King Erendriel was sure that the general would accept all consequences for burning the forest.
"I did not expect you of all people have forgotten the tribe's laws? Do you need me to reiterate it for you to remember?" King Erendriel asked.
Supreme Elder Haldir frowned, not understanding what King Erendriel was planning. The old law was a joke in comparison to the tribe's survival.
What was this person trying to do?
"No need, Your Majesty. He, who willfully harms the forest, sacred home of the elves, in any way, shall be punishable by death." General Paeris said calmly.
King Erendriel nodded.
"Since you know, then you do not need me to tell you what is going to happen to you, right? Can you hear it? The angry cries of the tribesmen below? We need to appease them before it gets out of control."
"This is getting ridiculous! You want to put to death one of our tribe's finest warriors over such a stupid reason? There are more important things at stake here!" Supreme Elder Haldir growled, unable to watch the farce any longer.
King Erendriel glanced back at Supreme Elder Haldir calmly and said, "What do you mean stupid reason? I am just enforcing the law."
"To hell with the law! Can the law be more important than the tribe's survival? Have you not seen what lies outside the Great Forest?!" Supreme Elder Haldir snarled.
By now, the six Elders within the Great Hall seemed to have understood what was really happening.
General Paeris was one of the Supreme Elder's staunchest supporters!
The Elf King was trying to weaken the Supreme Elder's influence within the tribe by removing the Supreme Elder's supporters!
But why would King Erendriel try to do this now? Was he crazy?! Has he forgotten the Supreme Elder was a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent?!
However, King Erendriel should be that stupid.
He must have something up his sleeve to have the courage to challenge the Supreme Elder's authority.
The Elders pondered silently, not in a hurry to choose sides.
At the same time, the six remaining Elders returned from the frontlines, entering the Great Hall, and stumbled upon the scene before them.
"What is going on here?" One of the Elders asked with a frown.
"Ah, the remaining Elders have all arrived at the right time. Since we are all here, let just commence with the meeting right here and now." King Erendriel stated after seeing the six Elders arrived.
Shortly after, King Erendriel calmly said, "Does Supreme Elder Haldir care to explain why you were so respectful to a human prince, who is not even a Transcendent when you, yourself is a respectable Seeking Insight-level Transcendent? Exactly what did you negotiate with the humans?"
The twelve Elders wore surprised looks and turned towards Supreme Elder Haldir questioningly.
"If you understand Prince Leon's strength and talents, you will also show him the same respect I do. For our people to have a place within the Human Domain, I have pledged our tribe's allegiance to the Crawford Empire." Supreme Elder Haldir said calmly.
The twelve Elders immediately frowned.
"Hmph! As I suspected. You submitted to the human's ruling! I did not agree with this decision! You were supposed to negotiate an alliance of equals for the tribe! What absurd negotiation is this?!" King Erendriel barked furiously.
At the same time, the twelve Elders frowned.
They were all High Elves, who enjoyed lavishly high statuses within the tribe. What would also become of them once they move to the Human Domain to live under the ruling of humans?
"How is the strength of the Human Domain, Supreme—" An Elder inquired, only to be interrupted by King Erendriel's rage.
"I am a king! How can I live under the rule of humans? What would become of my status in the Human Domain? This is preposterous to the extreme!"
Supreme Elder Haldir frowned and said solemnly, "You are a king, but don't forget who put you on that throne! Since I can make you king, I can also strip that status away from you!"
"Do you think I am still the same I was years ago? I refuse to live in your shadows further!" King Erendriel roared.
King Erendriel snapped his fingers, shattering the green jewel found on the ring of his index finger before launching a sneak attack on the Supreme Elder!
Boom!
Caught unprepared, Supreme Elder Haldir was immediately sent flying back into the council meeting room by the force of King Erendriel's powerful punch!
At the same time, King Erendriel stamped his feet and lunged forward, chasing after the Supreme Elder, not intending to give the Supreme Elder any chance to recover and retaliate!
"Supreme Elder!"
General Paeris shot to his feet in alarm.
"Have you gone mad, King Erendriel?! How dare you launch a sneak attack on the Supreme Elder!" One of the Elders barked, intending to pursue after the enraged Elf King.
However, he was stopped by another Elder, who patted his shoulders.
"Why are you stopping me? We need to stop them! This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!"
"Can't you sense it? King Erendriel's cultivation is rising at an alarming rate!"
The Elder frowned.
Chapter 459 - Wood Transmogrification
Shortly after Supreme Elder Haldir slammed into the council meeting room's back walls, King Erendriel smashed into him with a powerful body slam!
Boom!
The wooden back walls shattered, and the two flew outside the Great Hall!
King Erendriel's overwhelming display of brute strength greatly surprised Supreme Elder Haldir as he spat out a mouthful of blood from the damage incurred.
The Supreme Elder's body shortly slammed into the home of another High Elf, causing cracks along the surface of the building.
"Ugh."
Supreme Elder Haldir grunted in pain for the impacts before he glared at King Erendriel in the distance with a cold glint.
The Supreme Elder's organs were damaged, and bones were broken, but a gentle green light shortly suffused his body, healing the Supreme Elder's injuries back to a perfect state.
"What kind of power is this? This isn't the sort of brute strength a Wood-type Transcendent should have."
Supreme Elder Haldir frowned.
He could sense King Erendriel's cultivation rising rapidly, surpassing the Preliminary Accession-level Transcendent, and entering the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent Realm.
At the same time, King Erendriel was undergoing a startling transformation.
A dense amount of Wood Energy burst out from King Erendriel's body and enveloped him. Twin branches of wood protruded from his forehead, elbows, and knees, with few green leaves sticking from the tips.
His forearms and fists enlarged with rigidity and rough wooden textures while his pupils glowed with intense green light.
"What kind of diabolic change is this?!"
The High Elves living in the area gathered in the surrounding due to the commotion and became shocked by King Erendriel's transformation.
They never knew Wood Energy could be used like this; to transform Wood Energy into raw physical power, significantly boosting the body's defense at the same time.
On the other hand, King Erendriel was turning himself into a plant.
"Do you think now is the time for us to be fighting? Is this what a king should be doing?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked with a frown while making his own battle preparations, infusing Wood Energy into his vine seeds.
The vine seeds quickly germinated and proliferated, weaving around the Supreme Elder to form a set of green Vine Armor.
Another set of vines intertwining to form a long lance for the Supreme Elder to use as his weapon.
It was a rare form for the Supreme Elder to take on, but it was needed to cope with King Erendriel's fearsome physical strength.
"Are you surprised by my strength, Supreme Elder Haldir?" King Erendriel grinned while his green eyes flashed with an ominous glint of battle intent.
"It seems talk is useless."
Supreme Elder Haldir was quite surprised by King Erendriel's behavior, but he shortly understood the Elf King had let his jealousy got the better of him.
After all, the Elf King did not have the same influence befitting of one. This is all due to the Elf King's cultivation being lacking compared to the Supreme Elder, who was the strongest elf in Elvengarde.
Supreme Elder Haldir was sorely disappointed by King Erendriel's action in prioritizing his own self-interest over the tribe, especially when disaster was right outside their doorstep.
'Battle was inevitable.'
In a short moment, King Erendriel exposed his grim killing intent and lunged towards Supreme Elder Haldir aggressively, initiating the battle between them.
Back inside the Great Hall, the Elder shortly followed the battle to the hole in the back wall and watched the fight outside.
"Can everyone feel it? King Erendriel's cultivation has reached the threshold of the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm." An Elder said.
"I can." Another Elder nodded before his brows furrowed in doubts. "But what kind of ability is this? Since when did King Erendriel possess the ability to promote his cultivation base to the next stage directly?"
"Maybe King Erendriel has been hiding his true cultivation from us all this time, but why would he need to do this?"
"I don't think that is the case. There is something strange about this ability and that form. It feels rather ominous."
"Although it feels like King Erendriel entered the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm, his wood laws have not improved at all. Rather, only his physical attributes have been given a huge boost."
"It's rare, but this could be King Erendriel's bloodline ability. It might have been awakened very recently. It is impossible for King Erendriel to breakthrough to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm without anyone noticing, otherwise."
The Elder's words quickly received nods of agreement from the other Elders present. Bloodline ability was the most plausible explanation for King Erendriel's transformation.
"I'm not happy with Supreme Elder Haldir's decision, but King Erendriel's behavior is also unseemly as Elvengarde's king. Who will you all support?" The Sixth Elder asked.
The other eleven Elders became quiet before the First Elder spoke, "Supreme Elder Haldir never makes unwise decisions. There must be a reason to submit to the humans. Perhaps, the Human Domain is far more powerful than we could have imagined?"
"Unfortunately, we did not get to hear the details from the Supreme Elder before King Erendriel started the fight." The Third Elder sighed.
"We need to stop this fight!" General Paeris stated objectively with concern.
Although he did not like what King Erendriel had become, Elvengarde could not afford to lose any of these two Transcendental figures.
"Stop the fight?" An Elder glanced back at the general casually and said, "If you have the ability, then you can try and stop them. This isn't the sort of battle we can intervene in."
The Elders might also be Transcendents, but they were only at the Preliminary Accession stage.
A casual hit from King Erendriel or Supreme Elder Haldir might just send them into oblivion before they could heal themselves.
Boom!
King Erendriel and Supreme Elder Haldir clashed explosively before the Supreme Elder Haldir was sent crashing into another distant home, shaking the treetop slightly.
However, the Vine Armor protected Supreme Elder Haldir and allowed him to get out unscathed from the impact. Not his organs were slightly shaken.
General Paeris frowned.
Suddenly his eyes flickered, shortly darting his eyes around in search of someone. Elf Queen would be able to stop the fight without intervening directly.
"Where is Queen Radelia?" General Paeris asked after failing to find the Elf Queen.
The twelve Elders gave each other glances before one of them asked, "Has anyone heard from Elf Queen in the past few days?"