The curtains were drawn, blocking even the winds of freedom that the Kingdom of Lucania had always pursued.
Veronika paced her office, clutching the intelligence report tightly.
"Are you saying…"
"You believe the Elven Kingdom discovered a new high-level Dungeon half a month ago, and then, using this Dungeon, achieved a magnificent counterattack and reversal within half a month?"
"And all those technologies, like magic golems and alchemy cannons, were discovered within that half-month? Captain Meluti, isn't that a bit too…"
Meluti was as calm as ever.
In fact, when she first analyzed this intelligence, she also found it incredible, but… she had just reviewed all the movements of the Elven Kingdom over the past five years.
Until half a month ago, the Elven Kingdom had been unchanging, but precisely in this half-month, its movements had been alarmingly significant.
So… "Eliminating all impossible deductions, even if the result is incredible, it is based on rigorous rational cognition."
Meluti pushed up her glasses, a faint reflection glinting on the lenses.
"Considering the actions of various countries on the Aetheram Continent when discovering high-level Dungeons, the changes in the Elven Kingdom fit this perfectly."
"So you believe the Elven Kingdom achieved all this within half a month, thanks to that high-level Dungeon?"
Veronika pointed to the war intelligence on the table.
Meluti also fell silent.
From her rigorous analytical perspective, this was indeed a fantasy, but… there truly seemed to be no other possibility.
"It's not ruled out that the Elven Kingdom had been researching magic alchemy technology beforehand, but even so, the appearance of that high-level Dungeon still had an impact."
"Lord Commander, the timing of half a month ago is simply too strange, I had no choice but to make this deduction."
Veronika's expression was somewhat complex.
Even though Meluti always made many bold judgments, which often proved to be correct later.
But this time… what kind of Dungeon could make the Elven Kingdom take off in half a month!
Could it be that Dungeon had some kind of time magic?
"Has there been a reply from the Elven Kingdom?"
"No reply yet, should I send it again?"
"…Forget it."
She knew that the entire Aetheram Continent was focused on the Elven Kingdom, and magic communications were probably pouring in like snowflakes.
The Elven Kingdom was very busy right now.
"Please rest assured, Lord Commander."
Meluti seemed to sense Veronika's melancholy, and her tone carried some comfort.
"From a rigorous perspective, I do not believe the Elven Kingdom will be detrimental to us."
"As a long-lived race, the Elven Kingdom has a profound civilized heritage, and is even inherently somewhat arrogant, with some Elves being very rigid and unwilling to accept new eras…"
Seeing Meluti about to launch into a lengthy discussion about the Elven Kingdom's flaws, Veronika awkwardly waved her hand.
"Meluti, don't talk about others behind their backs, it doesn't align with the Knightly Spirit."
"It's merely a rigorous and rational analysis…"
After a pause, Meluti continued:
"Even if the Elven Kingdom has the aforementioned issues, their Elf Race's relatively simple life characteristics make them uninterested in the continent outside the Verdan Eternal Forest."
"I do not believe a rising Elven Kingdom will do anything to us."
Veronika sighed.
"I understand that point; Elves are not an aggressive race by nature, it's just…"
"Is Lord Commander worried about Doragon?"
"Yes… Doragon is not a country that takes losses lightly. They may not be able to provoke the Elven Kingdom, but what they lost, they will always take back from somewhere else."
This time, Meluti was also at a loss.
She was very intelligent, Veronika's most capable assistant, and enjoyed the reputation of "the Knight Order's strongest brain."
But the absolute disparity in strength could not be compensated by wisdom.
Especially when facing a tyrannical and unreasonable bandit empire like Doragon.
The saying "a scholar meets a soldier, and reason is useless" also applied on the Aetheram Continent.
The Kingdom of Lucania was indeed in a very dangerous situation now; relying on the Rift Valley Corridor to the north to resist Doragon's invasion was not enough.
After all, the Kingdom of Lucania had become the only soft persimmon Doragon could squeeze in the short term.
A dead silence fell over the office.
After an unknown period, a verdant magic communication passed through the glass and flew to Veronika's side.
"Lord Commander."
"It's alright."
With its unique magical aura, Veronika recognized Hilulele's handiwork immediately.
The magic transformed into paper, and there was no Elven Kingdom seal to be seen.
This was a private communication.
It seemed that as a pen pal and close friend, Hilulele hadn't forgotten her… Meluti didn't know what Veronika had seen, only that she seemed relieved, and her beautiful brows relaxed.
After a long while, crushing the magic paper, Veronika looked at Meluti. She did not explain what the letter said.
"Meluti, arrange our work. Take gifts and come with me to the Elven Kingdom."
"Lord Commander, if it's a state visit, an official letter needs to be sent in advance."
"No, just you and me."
Veronika smiled faintly.
"This is a private visit by invitation."
"…Yes."
Watching Meluti leave, Veronika pulled open the curtains.
The letter didn't say much, just like before: catching up, discussing recent events and cultivation… Only at the end of the letter, Hilulele privately invited her to a gathering in the Elven Kingdom.
Everything was ordinary.
But at this critical juncture, an ordinary greeting and invitation, in itself, represented a great deal.
In any case, the Kingdom of Lucania seemed to be able to safely navigate this storm sweeping across the Aetheram Continent.
"Now, the ones who should truly be worried are Doragon and the other countries…"
Especially the Orc Empire and the Demi-human Alliance, who frequently brought the flames of war to the Verdan Eternal Forest.
Elves held grudges, after all… ———
Just as Veronika thought, the conference room of the Demi-human Alliance was also filled with gloom.
The war with the Orc Empire on the front lines had temporarily ceased fire, but they felt no joy whatsoever.
Every second after the war between the Elven Kingdom and Doragon ended, the Demi-human Alliance worried about the Elven Kingdom's reckoning later.
The so-called Demi-human Alliance was a group of beings with various animal features. In other worlds, they might simply be called Beastmen.
But the Beastmen of the Aetheram Continent were more pure: Minotaurs, Werewolves, Sphinxes… Simply put, the difference between Demi-humans and Beastmen was that Demi-humans were more human-like, while Beastmen were more beast-like.
The Beastmen felt the Demi-humans defiled their bloodline, and the Demi-humans felt the Beastmen were incomplete in their evolution. Thus, the two nations had been at war for a thousand years without cease.
It was a war of bloodline and faith in some sense.
Hmm… both sides felt they were fighting disobedient prodigal sons.
But these were not important.
The sudden rise of the Elven Kingdom taught all forces a harsh lesson. The Magic Dynasty and similar powers were fine, as they were far from the Elven Kingdom and had no conflicts with each other.
But the Demi-human Alliance and the Orc Empire were to the west of the Elven Kingdom, and over the years, continuous warfare had often spilled over into the Verdan Eternal Forest.
The Elven Kingdom had condemned them, but they never changed.
Now, this was good. With the Elven Kingdom's powerful rise, first forcing Doragon to cede land and pay reparations, would they be next for a reckoning?
Logically speaking, Doragon's magic alchemy technology was already absurd enough, and now the Elven Kingdom had overtaken them… If they were targeted for a reckoning, wouldn't it be a cheerful GG?
"Is there a reply?"
Sitting in the main seat, the tiger-type Demi-human with fiery, withered long hair asked with a grave expression.
"Not yet…"
As expected, the conference room fell into another dead silence.
After a long while, the tiger-type Demi-human sighed deeply.
"Let Middle take some treasures and go. Celebrate the Elven Kingdom's victory over Doragon, and offer sincere apologies to the Elven Kingdom. If the Elven Kingdom makes any other demands, try to agree."
"…Alliance Leader."
"Go. The Demi-human Alliance cannot continue to make enemies. Even if we cannot gain the Elven Kingdom's friendship, we must at least earn their forgiveness."
"Yes."
— — —
Beixi's great philosophy of healing magic was correct.
Peace and respect are fought for.
What cannot be obtained by force, certainly cannot be obtained by protest.
Destruction, too, was indeed for the better healing of the world.
The previously chaotic Aetheram Continent, after the Elven Kingdom delivered a powerful, crushing blow to Doragon, the entire world fell silent.
The high-ranking officials of various countries, each with their own ulterior motives, one by one became clear-eyed, successively expressing strong support for the Elven Kingdom's war, and setting a "just" tone.
But the undercurrents did not stop.
It wasn't until Chris's body was transported back to Doragon that the iron-blooded emperor furiously smashed everything in the palace, but ultimately, witnessed by Lop and others, he issued an apology letter to the entire continent, which could be called a "self-condemnation edict."
Afterward, a humiliating armistice treaty was signed.
The undercurrents on the Aetheram Continent grew even more turbulent, with various countries scrambling to send official state visit letters to the Elven Kingdom.
Even the arrogant Demon Lord Army temporarily halted its expansion, with its vanguard stationed in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, daring not to advance an inch.
At this moment, the world focused on the Verdan Eternal Forest.
From above, looking down, people from all over the world were moving towards the Verdan Eternal Forest.
The situation of the Elven Kingdom had scared the entire world. Until they understood how many trump cards they still had, and what exactly had happened.
The Aetheram Continent would be in a rare period of peace.
So, it could be said that the Elven Kingdom's victory in this war truly made an outstanding contribution to the peace of the Aetheram Continent.
And in the Elven Kingdom, at the eye of the storm, as expected, it was busy as a beehive. The only truly idle ones, besides Su Lin who had returned to the MC Dungeon, were Tashiniya's team remaining in the Elven Court.
Through the curtains, looking at the Elf parade celebrating the Elven Kingdom's great victory occasionally passing by outside.
Weini always felt that the Elven Court was a bit too fanatical now.
But… the Elven Kingdom, having restored its glory, indeed had the right to celebrate.
So now the problem came.
How should they, who had directly exposed themselves as explorers of the Elven Kingdom's secrets for Doragon, conduct themselves in the fervent Elven Court?
And, with Doragon having been beaten into submission, was their adventure mission still necessary?
"Mission? What mission?"
Weini's question didn't even cross Tashiniya's mind for more than a second.
"We just happened to be passing by from Doragon, and Doragon generously provided us with some travel funds."
Tashiniya proudly patted her chest.
"Weini, don't let guys like Doragon falsely claim a connection with us!"
"This angel has long been a true citizen of the Elven Kingdom!"