Elandorr slammed his fist on the table inside his personal office after hearing the report of his subordinates that were stationed in the Northern Regions.
“Filthy Humans!” Elandorr roared in anger.
The messenger that had delivered the letter trembled in fright because this was the first time he had seen their Commander act in this manner.
Of course, the messenger understood that Elandorr’s reaction was quite normal because their Teleportation Gate had been destroyed and the Cavern had completely collapsed. He thought that their Commander was only acting like this because he grieved the loss of their Archamge and thousands of young Elven Elites.
What the messenger didn’t know was that Elandorr was still seething from his shameful defeat in the Southern Regions and was currently venting out his frustration and irritation. Still, as the Commander of the Elves, Elandorr reigned in his emotions as he took deep breaths to calm himself.
“Commander, Lord Eneru and Lord Drauum are still in the Northern Regions,” the messenger reported. “They are asking you to report to them before the sun sets. They have important matters to discuss.”
Elandorr nodded his head in acknowledgement. He might be the Commander of the Elves on this expedition, but he was nothing compared to the two Guardian Beasts that protected the Silvermoon Continent.
“I’ll be there shortly,” Elandorr replied. “There are still some minor things that I need to attend to. Please, send Lord Eneru and Lord Drauum my regards.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The messenger bowed respectfully before leaving the room. Elandorr watched him go with a cold expression on his face. He was still feeling bitter about the humiliation that he had suffered at William’s hands.
What was worse was that Princess Eowyn and the Prodigies that had accompanied him to the Sanctuary of the Minotaur Race had witnessed it all.
The prideful Elven Commander clenched his fists as his nails dug into his palms. It took him half an hour to fully regain his composure before he left the Royal Palace to meet with the two Guardian Beasts who were waiting for his arrival.
—–
The Ant Army traveled tirelessly until they reached their destination. One by one, they opened the wings behind their backs and took off to the sky. Half of the Ant Army, headed straight towards the Anaesha Dynasty, while the others remained behind to act as bait for anyone who might try to follow the tracks they had left behind.
Although they had triggered the collapse of the underground Cavern, and the tunnels they had dug many days ago, they were still dealing with two powerful beings.
Empress Sidonie had communicated with the Archmage that had accompanied the Ant Army in their operation, and told him about the escape route that she had devised after careful consideration.
The flying ants, that were carrying the unconscious Elves, traveled as quickly as they could while the remaining ants dug several tunnels headed in different directions. Their plan was to hoodwink the Ancient Golem and Qilin so they could not find their flying army.
Even if the Ancient Golem was strong, it couldn’t possibly find the right tunnel that would lead it to the bulk of the Ant Army that were carrying the Elves that they had captured.
Fortunately, it took Eneru and Drauum an hour to return to the location of the Teleportation Gate. At that same time, the Ant Army had already taken to the skies. They flew along the route that Empress Sidonie had carefully selected to prevent any pursuers from finding their tracks.
The two Guardian Beasts were unscathed from William’s destructive attack. The reason why they were delayed in their return was due to the fact that they debated whether they should pursue Jekyll and the red-headed boy or return to the location of the Teleportation Gate.
In the end, Eneru and Drauum half-heartedly tried to search for Jekyll and William’s whereabouts before returning to the Northern Regions.
When they arrived, the cavern had already collapsed. Drauum immediately used its power to lift the debris from the Teleportation Gate. Hundreds of Elven Corpses, Goblins, Beasts, and corpses of several teenage Humans were unearthed from the collapsed cavern.
Drauum unceremoniously tossed them aside as it looked at where the Teleportation Gate was, but found nothing.
It was then when it discovered the presence of several tunnels under the Earth and immediately went to investigate. There, it encountered several Ants, and killed them without mercy.
After several hours of following several dead ends, the Ancient Golem decided that there was no use in continuing its investigation. The Teleportation Gate had been destroyed and there was nothing it could do about it.
The only thing that it had discovered were the Ants and it was planning to ask the Commander of the Elves, Elandorr, if he knew anything about them. That way, they would be able to find out who the culprit was and punish them for their transgression.
—–
While all of this was taking place, Conner was inside his office inside the Royal Palace of the Hellan Kingdom, and waiting for the report of Floyd whom he had tasked to go talk to Celine.
He was hoping that Celine would be able to convince William to work with him temporarily until the threat of the Elves had been dealt with.
Several days had already passed, but no news returned to him. At first, he thought that Floyd had succeeded in his mission and was just working with Celine to find William. However, after waiting for many days, he still hadn’t received any report from the Sorcerer who was in charge of creating the super soldiers for their organization.
“Calum, has Floyd reported anything to you?” Conner asked his right hand man, who was currently stationed in their Main Headquarters. Calum was busy coordinating with everyone who was continuing the search for the whereabouts of the Undying Lands and filing the reports that they had made.
“Floyd? I haven’t heard from him since two weeks ago,” Calum replied. “Did he not report the result of his mission to you, Sir?”
“No. Do you know where he is right now? He is not answering his communication crystal.”
“Please give me a moment while I contact his subordinates in his laboratory.”
Conner nodded and cut his connection with Calum. After waiting for a few minutes, the crystal on his ring glowed brightly. He once again opened the connection and saw that Calum was frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Conner asked.
“Sir, Floyd is back in his laboratory,” Calum reported. “However, he asked his subordinate to tell you that he is currently busy and must not be disturbed at all cost. He added that the Super Soldiers are nearing completion and this was a very crucial moment. Only members of his inner staff were allowed to enter the inner level of his underground laboratory.”
Conner frowned after hearing Calum’s report. “Did he mention anything about the negotiation he had with Celine?”
Calum shook his head. “Sir. Should I go there to personally ask him some questions?”
“No.” Conner sighed. “I’m guessing that his talks with Celine didn’t turn out well, so he’s locked himself in his laboratory and refused to give us an explanation.”
Conner was starting to regret that he gave the important task to the eccentric scholar that idolized Celine. He thought that since Floyd wanted to meet Celine so badly, he would be the perfect messenger to meet with the Dark Sorceress and discuss his proposal.
‘I just hope he didn’t do anything stupid,’ Conner sighed internally. “Continue to monitor our agents that are looking for the Undying Lands. I will be leaving to meet with Celine shortly. Report to me if anything important arises. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” Calum bowed respectfully.
Conner then cut the connection as he made preparations to go to Lont. For some reason, he started to feel anxious. He hoped that Floyd didn’t annoy Celine too much that the latter would refuse to meet with him.
