Chapter 93: Kingdom of Elves
It wasn't until everyone had crossed the entire mountain that they suddenly realized the horrifying truth, the Elf Forest was completely gone.
Only a bottomless, massive pit remained where once the most vibrant forest in the world had stood.
Even the rocks and trees at the forest's edge had withered and twisted under that terrifying power, their forms grotesquely contorted. The soil at the pit's rim had turned entirely to sand, lifeless and desolate, stretching out like a wound in the earth itself.
"Sure enough," Olivia's voice trembled slightly as recognition dawned. "It's the God Strike of the Demon Race. Only a God Strike unleashed by the Demon Race can completely drain the vitality from an entire land, leaving it a dead zone
The Skywing Clan's God Strike was a combination of purification and destruction, not this terrifying magic that bestowed death even upon inorganic matter.
Serie's body swayed unsteadily, her golden eyes looking towards the pit with a mixture of disbelief and anguish.
That place should have been the most vibrant part of the entire forest, teeming with ancient magic and life, but now there was nothing left. The ancient heartwood where she'd first learned to channel mana, the grove where young elves took their naming ceremonies, all of it just... gone, as if it had never existed.
She clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palms until they drew blood.
At this moment, her hatred for the Demon Race reached its peak, consuming her thoughts completely.
One day, she would kill every single Demon she saw!
Until all Demons were completely driven out of this world!
"Who's there!"
A sharp cry suddenly came from the withered woods to the side, breaking the heavy silence.
Then several agile figures flashed out from their concealment, holding longbows unique to Elves, their cold arrowheads aimed directly at Kurtz and his group with practiced precision.
The Elf captain leading them still had a bandage wrapped around his head, evidence of recent battles. When he clearly saw Serie's face through his targeting sight, a surprised expression flickered across his features, and the bowstring in his hand unconsciously loosened.
"Sai... Serie!? You actually came back!"
"Karan?"
Serie recognized him immediately, memories flooding back. He was originally a scout for the Elf Forest, but he later went to the Elf Kingdom to serve in their military forces.
She hadn't seen him for over a hundred years, but she didn't expect to meet again under such tragic circumstances.
"Elf Forest..." Serie opened her mouth, trying to get a definite answer from him, though part of her already knew what he would say.
Hearing Serie's unspoken question hanging in the air, Karan's face instantly fell with the weight of terrible news.
He lowered his bow and said in a low voice, "The Elf Forest... is gone!"
"Not long ago, the Demon Race disguised themselves as the Skywing Clan, and our sentinels didn't detect the anomaly in time. Then these guys unleashed a God Strike right in front of us!"
Karan closed his eyes, reliving the horrible memory: "That attack completely swallowed the Elf Forest, leaving only this large pit in front of you."
"What about the Elder Council?" Serie asked anxiously, fearing the worst.
There was an organization similar to the Skywing Clan's Thirteen Council within the Elf Forest—ancient elves who had guided their people for millennia with wisdom earned through countless years.
Although the Elder Council rarely issued commands and wouldn't force Elves to obey their will, it was nominally the core of their Elf Forest's governance.
"At the time of the incident, some members of the Elder Council were on the front lines, while others remained in the Elf Forest, along with the Elves who had not yet come of age..."
Karan didn't finish his sentence, but Serie already knew the rest with a sinking heart.
The Elf Forest was the most important ancestral land of the Elf race in this world, their spiritual and cultural center. Apart from those small villages scattered across the continent, most Elves were born in the Elf Forest and considered it their true home.
And now, the ancestral land of the Elves was completely gone, erased as if by some cosmic eraser.
In the future, the Elf race was bound to face a decline that might never be reversed, their very culture threatened with extinction.
Across from her, Karan suppressed his emotions and looked at Serie with determined eyes that burned with desperate hope: "The allied forces have now retreated to the Elf Kingdom. That will be our last line of defense, Serie. We need you now."
Serie was a renowned genius magician of their Elf race, her reputation preceding her even in exile. Although still very young by elven standards, she could already use advanced Elf magic that took others centuries to master.
Even in the face of such a racial war, the power of a single magician could hardly determine victory against such overwhelming odds.
But as long as the allied forces had one more powerful magician, there was one more possibility of winning, however slim.
Even if this possibility was small, Karan still had to strive for it with everything he had.
"Take us to the Elf Kingdom," Kurtz stepped forward and said with quiet authority.
Karan looked at this unfamiliar human and did not ask about his identity, understanding that questions could wait.
Since he could stand beside Serie with such confidence, he must be a companion with whom she had adventured, which also corresponded to her unannounced departure from the Elf Forest several years ago.
Looking at the others more carefully, he counted one... Dwarf? Two humans, and one... Skywing Clan member?
Upon seeing Olivia's distinctive wings, Karan silently raised his longbow once more, his military training taking over.
The Demon Race had disguised themselves as the Skywing Clan to get so close to the allied forces without suspicion. Karan couldn't guarantee whether the Skywing Clan member in front of him was genuine, even if she stood beside Serie as a trusted companion.
"You're injured? Please don't resist."
To address this suspicion, Olivia used a very simple method of proof. Her hands glowed with soft, golden light that pulsed with divine energy.
That was to release healing magic, easily mending the injury on Karan's head with gentle warmth.
Feeling his body return to normal, Karan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the Skywing Clan member in front of him was real, demons couldn't replicate that particular resonance of divine magic, its signature too pure to counterfeit.
So he no longer hesitated and turned toward the distant spires visible through the trees: "Follow me."
The Elf Kingdom loomed before them like something from an ancient dream.
It was situated within a vast natural city formed by countless ancient trees reaching toward the heavens, their massive trunks serving as living pillars for bridges and buildings that seemed to grow from the wood itself.
This ancient city was once a symbol of the Elf race's prosperity, where magic and nature existed in perfect harmony, creating beauty that took visitors' breath away.
In the entire world, only the Skywing Clan's Divine Kingdom and the now-extinct First Dwarf Kingdom could compare to it in grandeur and beauty.
However, the condition of this magnificent city was not very good now, bearing the scars of desperate warfare.
The pristine white walls were covered with scorched marks and huge impact craters, testament to recent battles. Below the city walls were countless monster corpses, their twisted forms creating a grotesque carpet, their blood seeping into the soil and causing it to emit an incredibly strong stench that made visitors gag.
Passing through the numb-faced Elves and Dwarf soldiers, men and women who stared into the distance with hollow eyes that had seen too much death, the group arrived at the Elf Kingdom's royal court.
The atmosphere here was even more solemn at this moment, heavy with the weight of impending doom.
The current Elf King sat slumped on the throne, his posture showing complete exhaustion. This king, once known for his elegance and wisdom, now looked incredibly haggard, his silver hair dishevelled and his robes wrinkled from days of sleepless planning and desperate strategising.
Not far from him was the Dwarf King, presenting a stark contrast in his method of dealing with stress.
Unlike the Elf King, who was slumped in his chair, the Dwarf King was pacing back and forth in the royal court with heavy, measured steps that echoed through the chamber.
His long beard was disheveled from days of neglect, his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion and rage, and the battle-axe most favored by the Dwarf Race leaned nearby, its bloodstains not even wiped clean from recent combat.
"Those damned bird people!!"
Duvalin suddenly stopped mid-stride, spat fiercely into the air, his voice filled with undisguised rage that had been building for days.
"What about under the witness of the gods!? What ancient covenant!? It's all nonsense!"
Things had gotten so bad, yet those bird people still hadn't returned to honor their alliance, and the Demon Race had even disguised themselves as the bird people's army to deceive him in the cruelest possible way.
Both the Dwarf King and the Elf King wanted to know the same thing that haunted their thoughts.
Where exactly was the Skywing Clan's army when they needed them most?
To the Dwarf King's roar, the Elves and Dwarves standing silently in the hall remained quiet, having grown accustomed to these outbursts. They'd heard these same furious questions for days now, with no answers forthcoming.
Just then, the heavy doors slowly opened with a deep groan.
Karan led Kurtz and his group in, and everyone's gaze instantly focused on them with a mixture of hope and wariness.
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