Chapter 8: The Approaching Battle (Part 1)

In the heart of Whispering Forest, next to the Sunwell, stood an enormous tree, so massive it was almost beyond belief.

Below the tree, several thick roots penetrated deep into the well. The well, once shimmering with radiant water, now held only a shallow layer at its bottom. The water and the boundless divine power it contained had all been absorbed as nutrients to fuel the growth of the colossal tree.

It was indeed growing. Each branch of this tree was slowly extending, thickening, and expanding, sprouting new leaves at a snail's pace. However, when such growth occurred on a tree of this scale, it could hardly be described as slow—or even fast. The only fitting word was eerie.

In just one day, the sapling of the ancient war tree, which had initially been no larger than an oversized treant, had grown to a trunk with a diameter of over half a mile. But this was not the end. It would take roughly another full day for the ancient tree to reach its complete form.

In a day's time, the divine power of the Sunwell would be restored, merging with the strength of the ancient war tree. At that point, the Whispering Forest could stand against any force on the continent without flinching, and the elves would gain the leverage they needed to negotiate with any faction.

The Whispering Forest had undergone a dramatic transformation. The elves had essentially relocated the entire Turaleone Forest here. Although the treehouses couldn't be moved, the elemental magic saturating this sacred ancestral land allowed elven mages to perform spells with nearly double the usual potency. Within a single day, they had recreated a massive settlement mirroring Turaleone Forest's layout within Whispering Forest.

These tasks were overseen by the other elven elders. From atop the ancient war tree, Ruya gazed at the bustling scene below, unable to suppress a smile. Her silver hair danced in the wind, and her star-like eyes curved into crescent moons. Her smile wasn't like a flower—no flower could capture even a fraction of her elegance and grace.

In the lineage of the Whispering Forest elves, which spanned tens of thousands of years, she was the only survivor. The ancient, rigid elven culture had been consumed by that devastating fire. The elves rising anew here were the strongest yet. Though they had lost the old, stagnant traditions, they had gained newfound vitality and hope.

Yes, it must be this way. Even Fahma would surely approve of such a transformation, Ruya thought with certainty.

Perhaps it was her time spent training in the mortal world that had shifted her mindset. She now focused on how to develop her people and strengthen her hold on power. During her time in the royal capital, she had learned that the human female prime minister—someone he had once yearned for deeply—was a woman of incredible capability. This was a story Ruya had heard during her travels: how he had braved an army of tens of thousands to rescue her, a tale now widely known.

The prime minister's sharp and capable demeanor had left a deep impression on Ruya, stirring a mix of admiration and jealousy. In comparison to such a remarkable human woman, her own naivety and simplicity seemed childlike.

"I must mature. I must be capable. I must be strong." She had repeated these words to herself ever since leaving the royal capital.

This was also why, after meeting Yabin and Ayime, she had sent two Pegasus Knights to visit the Tooth Tower. The elves, though inherently more gifted in magic than humans, had few who studied elemental magic, and they lacked the means to properly train in it. Establishing good relations with the Tooth Tower seemed advantageous.

"Elder Ruya, there's a strong elemental disturbance approaching from the south—very strong. The magical energy is even more intense than the three necromancers from last time," reported an elven scout from atop the tallest branch. Below him was a magical array used for reconnaissance.

"What?" Ruya was startled. She quickly asked, "Is the atmospheric detection array operational?"

"It is, but it can only be used once for now. Using it now might slow the tree's growth," another pair of elves answered. Although the ancient war tree was still incomplete, some of its specialized magical arrays and functions were already active.

"No matter, activate it now!"

The two elves began chanting incantations around a cluster of branches. A scene shrouded in mist appeared between the branches. At the outer edges of the image, over a hundred overlapping points of light were converging toward the center. Among them, more than a hundred were bright red, while several dozen were gray.

After identifying the lights, one elf shouted, "There are more than a hundred high-level mages, and around fifty… unclear whether they're constructs or elemental creatures…"

Over a hundred high-level mages coming from the south—could it be the people from the Tooth Tower? Had they responded so quickly? Ruya felt a vague sense of unease. A hundred high-level mages rushing in like this didn't seem like a gesture of goodwill.

"Stop the ancient war tree from drawing water from the Sunwell!" Ruya shouted, striding quickly toward the atmospheric detection array.

On the magical display, the red lights were rapidly approaching the boundary of Whispering Forest. The leading light was not only bright red but also massive, almost like a large droplet of boiling blood.

The Whispering Forest was now within sight. High in the sky, Master Aiden flew at great speed. His face remained cold as ice, but his bloodshot eyes betrayed the desire and murderous intent brewing within him, resembling two drops of boiling blood.

"That's the Whispering Forest. Master Aiden, will you go ahead to negotiate with them and request they hand over the artifact?" asked a grand mage beside him.

Aiden did not reply. Without stopping, he waved his hands, sending a white thunderball hurtling toward the forest.

With a thunderous explosion, two trees at the forest's edge were reduced to stumps and scattered fragments. Master Aiden chuckled, his eyes growing even redder. The Sunwell's barrier was indeed temporarily inactive.

"Everyone, follow me!" Aiden ordered coldly, ascending high above Whispering Forest.

Not all the mages followed; only a dozen or so air mages from the Tooth Tower joined Aiden. The rest halted outside the forest, sensing its peculiar magical aura. Aiden's actions had already struck them as odd.

"Tower Master Aiden, the magical fluctuations in this forest are strange. Shouldn't we ask them first…" began one of the grand mages behind him.

Instead of speaking, Aiden began chanting in an ancient magical language. His hands traced magical runes in the air, the dense magical energy swirling around him forming intricate symbols that quickly dissipated into the air.

The two grand mages behind him turned pale. They alone understood the extent of this air magic master's prowess. For someone who could casually cast top-tier spells like Thunderclap Bomb as if they were mere fireballs, what kind of spell would require such deliberate chanting?