The Elven Princess: I Think This is a Personal Vendetta!

The Elven Princess pondered for a moment before putting away her bow and arrows. If it was indeed an undead dragon under the command of that human lord, things might be easier to handle.

Ella, standing nearby, seemed to realize something and said, "No wonder Charles' mark appeared and then suddenly disappeared before. It must have been slain by Lord Haotian."

"But how did he manage to turn Charles' corpse into an undead?"

"Could there be a necromancer hiding in the Golden Oasis?"

"That's possible!" the Elven Lord remarked. "The Crystal Merchant Guild has been helping the Golden Oasis purchase dragon corpses for a while now. It seems they intend to convert them into undead dragons!"

Ella shook her head and said, "I can't see through that human lord at all!"

"Logically, his followers include Golden Gryphon Knights, elves, and treants. Even if he isn't aligned with the good faction, he should be with the lawful one."

"Yet, he chose to summon undead creatures. Doesn't he worry about conflicts between his undead dragon and other races?"

Faction conflicts have significant impacts on a force, primarily affecting unity. Making undead creatures coexist peacefully with elves and treants is nearly impossible, especially since the Golden Oasis has been blessed by their Elven Goddess, who despises the undead.

Ella found Lord Haotian's decision to summon an undead dragon quite perplexing.

"Let's not dwell on this," said the Elven Lord. "Since it's an undead dragon from the Golden Oasis, we can let it go. However, we must rescue the humans being slaughtered."

Ella and the Elven Princess nodded in agreement. The Forest of Life was the domain of the nature elves, and this area fell under the jurisdiction of the City of Forests. They had an obligation to stop the undead dragon from continuing its massacre of the human adventurers in the outpost. Failure to do so could damage the reputation of the Elven Kingdom.

Without further delay, the three elves, each mounted on a unicorn, charged into the battlefield. They quickly subdued the undead dragon, Charles, preventing it from causing further destruction.

"Elves, this matter has nothing to do with you!" Charles the undead dragon growled. Despite being restrained, it showed no fear, not even of death. Should it perish, its soul would join its brothers in serving their great master, potentially reviving in the master's divine realm.

The Elven Lord spoke firmly, "I am the Lord of the City of Forests. Your massacre of humans in my jurisdiction is very much my concern!"

Charles retorted, "These human adventurers belong to the Flamingo Merchant Guild, a guild blinded by greed that hunts Miss Sophia. They have been marked as enemies of the Golden Oasis and must face the consequences of their actions. This is my master's command!"

The Elven Lord was taken aback by this revelation. The massacre was not senseless slaughter but a direct order from the human lord targeting the enemies of the Golden Oasis. This complicated matters. Intervening might put the nature elves on the Golden Oasis' blacklist, considering they were about to save its enemies.

Faced with this dilemma, the Elven Lord looked towards the Elven Princess for guidance. After a long silence, the Elven Princess said, "Lord Monica, I believe this is a personal vendetta, and since the battle did not occur within the City of Forests, what do you think?"

Understanding dawned on the Elven Lord. If it was a personal vendetta, it should be settled by the involved parties themselves. As the Lord of the City of Forests, she had no obligation or right to interfere in the conflicts between other factions.

With this in mind, the Elven Lord addressed Charles, "This slaughter cannot continue within the City of Forests."

Charles responded, "We assure you, no unrelated individuals will be harmed. We are only targeting the Flamingo Merchant Guild."

"You?" The Elven Lord raised an eyebrow.

Charles candidly revealed, "My brothers are responsible for eliminating the Flamingo Merchant Guild members in the City of Forests, while I handle those in their outposts outside the city."

The Elven Lord couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic toward the Flamingo Merchant Guild. They had foolishly provoked the Golden Oasis, a force with a demigod-level powerhouse. It was a reckless act.

Seeing no reason to further intervene, she quickly departed the area with the Elven Princess and Ella, disappearing into the forest. 

With their departure, the remaining human adventurers in the outpost were filled with despair. Moments ago, they felt saved, but now they faced doom once again. They scattered, attempting to flee, but none could escape Charles' reach. Despite their efforts, they were all hunted down, as no one below a transcendent level could outrun a saint-level dragon.

After the slaughter, Charles swiftly moved to the next outpost. The brothers had already agreed to completely eliminate the Flamingo Merchant Guild, a plan even Haotian was unaware of. Haotian had only commanded them to severely punish the guild, but the brothers interpreted it as annihilating every member.

...

"Lord Monica," the Elven Princess addressed the Elven Lord. "I believe you need to return to the City of Forests to handle any potential unrest."

"I understand, Your Highness," Lord Monica nodded. Knowing that another undead dragon was operating within her city, she needed to return immediately. Even if she chose not to interfere directly, she had to ensure that the Flamingo Merchant Guild's demise caused as little disturbance as possible.

"Ella, I entrust you with escorting the Princess back to the kingdom," she added.

"Understood," Ella replied.

As the Elven Princess and Ella departed, Lord Monica hurried back to the City of Forests.