Seven Elders

Celestia was never a procrastinator. If she wanted to do something, she would do it straight away. For Celestia— delaying work was as good as botching it.

So, as soon as Ronan left after convincing her to investigate the elders, she set to work and strode out of her house towards the northern fringes of the Inner Sanctum where her prime suspect, Elder Greenwood, lived.

There were seven elders, including her, in the Elven Council. Elder Ronan was the oldest and the most influential among them. He was second in command of the Elven territory after Celestia.

No one could live peacefully in the WhisperMoon forest after offending Elder Ronan.

He was considered a hero by most of the elves since he safeguarded the Elven territory after the death of the previous High Priestess and his subsequent service to the community.

And Celestia, whom he taught, being chosen as the High Priestess was like a cherry on top.

The only setback he had ever had in his life was Vivian. If she hadn't sneaked into the Inner Sanctum and consequently caught red-handed, Ronan could be said to have lived a perfect life.

Then there were the rest of the elders from the previous generation — right after the generation of Ronan and the previous High Priestess.

Celestia never doubted Elder Snowfang and Elder Barhawk. The former was too squared to do anything underhanded while the latter one was simply an arrogant buffoon who couldn't scheme even if his life depended on it.

They both preferred a head-on approach and condemned any and all forms of politicking and scheming.

They were the last people who would be involved in creating Puppet Makers, along with Ronan of course.

That left only three elders whom she needed to subtly investigate without their knowledge.

The first one that came to her mind was Elder Greenwood. He had an affinity with Wood Element and the Puppet Makers thrived under the care of someone like that.

Elder Greenwood had a tendency to concoct potions and pills that were borderline illegal. Celestia wouldn't put it past him to try and create a Puppet Maker.

"Greetings, My Lady!"

"Have a nice day, My Lady!"

Celestia nodded and smiled warmly at her fellow elves who greeted her enthusiastically on the way.

She felt truly blessed to receive such love and care from her people. If only things could be the same with Lord Raymond. Celestia hoped they would be just as welcoming when he came.

It would probably remain her dream. Her people were averse to change and definitely wouldn't like a human leading them.

Maybe she could pass him off as some god and they would accept it? Food for thought, Celestia contemplated.

It seemed like her arrival had caused quite a commotion as the door to the Elder Greenwood's treehouse swung open and out stepped the man hurriedly.

Elder Greenwood was of a slim build with his gait as sharp as a war horse. His auburn hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail that went past his shoulders. His piercing green eyes shone with vigilance.

"Ahem. Greetings, My Lady!" Elder Greenwood cleared his throat and descended from the stairs while greeting Celestia. To her surprise, she heard footsteps coming from inside his house and soon, two more figures emerged outside.

They were Elder Clearmoon and Elder Slivershade. Both of them were slightly younger compared to Elder Greenwood who appeared to be in his late fifties.

Elder Clearmoon was a lady of noble birth, her clansmen were one of the founding families of the WindGod Tribe. She had an air of royalty around her which was further amplified by her golden blonde hair and honey brown eyes. Her hair was braided with an exquisite ornament embedded in each knot. Her royal blue cloak fluttered in the wind as she descended the stairs and greeted Celestia.

They were the only females in the Elven Council, as such, Celestia was a bit fond of Elder Clearmoon. It made her feel guilty to investigate her on the pretext of casual chatting.

Elder Silvershade was also from the noble clan of the WindGod Tribe and was the official instructor of Elven Soldiers. He was the human equivalent of a war commander. His discipline was clearly reflected in his bearings. His short, cropped, blue hair coupled with his unforgiving blue eyes made him appear like a stern and unapproachable person.

Now this was someone Celestia needed to be wary of, along with Elder Greenwood. Silvershade had the youngsters of their tribe under his control. Those who had trained under him treated his words as the law. If he decided to rebel one day, he could easily cause a considerable amount of damage to their community.

The only reason he wouldn't succeed is because of Celestia and Ronan's hidden cultivation levels. To everyone else, the Elven Council was made up of seven remarkably strong individuals who were in the realm of Martial Emperors.

But inside, only Celestia and Ronan knew that wasn't true since they were hiding their powers to avoid any scrutiny from the Lord Protector.

Having seven Martial Emperors already cemented their position as the strongest force in the Continent and the two remaining forces from the humans' side were far behind them in regards to military might.

The FireBorn Empire had three Martial Emperors before, but Celestia had seen one of them getting his head splattered by Lord Raymond while the other one blew up his magical core.

So, that only left Emperor Phoenix to hold the fort in case anyone invaded the empire.

He didn't need to worry about any invasion, Celestia snorted. Their long-time nemesis 'The HeavenMist Empire' was embroiled in a civil war that showed no signs of a clear winner even after a year of infighting.

As for the WindGod Tribe, they had no intention of invading anyone. They had everything they needed here in this vast forest region. The reason why they secluded themselves in his side of the Continent was because of the resources available.

No, their goal was something else. Something that had nothing to do with this mortal world.

Celestia sighed wistfully. That seemed like a faraway dream.

"My Lady, I am so honoured that you decided to visit my humble abode!" Elder Greenwood chirped happily.

"Yes, My Lady! You came at the right time. We were just about to start our tea ceremony. You must join us, My Lady. We will be over the moon if you oblige our request!" Elder Clearmoon literally took hold of Celestia's arm and led her towards the treehouse.

"Of course, Lady Clearmoon, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Celestia's tinkling laugh echoed out as they all entered the house and the door closed behind them.

None of them noticed the fog that lingered above the house. The fog moved as soon as the door shut behind them and enveloped the house entirely.

***

"Die!"

Elder Barhawk screamed with rage and sent a disc towards Raymond.

Raymond caught it easily and slipped it on his hand like a bangle.

"It's sharp, alright!" Raymond traced his finger along the edge and exclaimed. "Come on, don't waste my time. Send them all at once."

"You!" Elder Barhawk had enough. His mana surged as the remaining eight rings shone brilliantly and launched themselves towards Raymond at once, blocking his escape path.

-King's Domain-

The windy aura picked up around the area and started gathering towards them as the centre. The discs started to swerve erratically under the influence of Elder Barhawk's domain, their path became completely unpredictable.

"Bastard! Let's see how you catch them now!"

Raymond smirked and ran straight into the volley of metallic discs. His feet blurred as he weaved through the net of circular blades and appeared behind Elder Barhawk before he could blink.

"You see, I might damage them if I catch them hastily."

"Ack!" Elder Barhawk stumbled as he turned around to find Raymond behind him. He clenched his hand and thrust it at Raymond's flank without hesitation.

Raymond grabbed the approaching hand casually and chuckled.

"You're awfully slow for someone with a Wind affinity."

However, contrary to Raymond's expectation, Elder Barhawk snickered and released his clenched hand.

Something heavily thudded against Raymond's torso and fell to the ground, creating a dent on the grassy floor.

"Wh—How?" Elder Barhawk stared in horror as the invisible disc, his trump card, only managed to tear a horizontal slit in his robes and nothing else.

There was no blood and entrails spilling out like he expected.

"Sigh. There goes another robe," Raymond shook his head and punched Elder Barhawk in the chest which sent him flying between the area encircled by the erratically whizzing discs.

"Argh!" Elder Barhawk shrieked as the blades shredded his clothes and left behind a series of nasty gashes on his whole body before he took control of the discs.

Meanwhile, Raymond picked up the invisible disc and it flickered into visibility. Instantly, Raymond's eyes widened.

"Is-is this made of Darkmoon metal?" He asked no one. He was practically drooling as he traced the sharp edge of the mythical metal.

Ever since he had seen Lyla's sabre, he wanted one for himself. He couldn't possibly take her weapon from her and the damned metal was as rare as a virgin in a brothel.

Raymond wiped away his drool and promptly sent the disc into his pendant for safekeeping.

"Alright, I am very happy now. I will give you a quick death for giving me this gift!"

Raymond disappeared from his spot, leaving behind a sizable crater.

Elder Barhawk panicked and hastily conjured his strongest ability.

-Emperor's Predomin—

-Boom!

Before he could finish his conjuring, Elder Barhawk caught a glimpse of a fist homing in on his chin from below and then there was darkness— eternal, unchanging.

Elder Barhawk was on his way to reunite with his son.