Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Malfurion looked at Lankshear and did not say anything. He turned around and said to Lucien, Natasha and Atlant. “I’m very sorry about that. Ferragond has placed his personal attitude above the life and death of all elves. Also, I do not agree with his opinion. Human beings are undoubtedly part of nature.”
He did not criticize Nature’s Abhorrence, nor did he ignore the matter. Instead, he subtly expressed his opinion and his apology, letting them know that Ferragond could not represent all elves. On the contrary, he was among the minority. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked for the Congress of Magic’s help at all.
“I believe our investigation will be easier if there isn’t anyone stirring things up next to us.” Lucien accepted Malfurion’s apology and smiled back.
Lankshear, the Vengeful Hunter, had a pair of silver, deep eyes. He said, “Thank you for forgiving Ferragond’s lack of manners. I’ll bring you to Her Majesty the queen.”
He did not say anything about the conflict between Nature’s Abhorrence and Nature’s Balance which was represented by Malfurion.
Led by him, Lucien and his partners passed the lake that looked like a blue gem and flew towards the elvish tree whose one branch was enough to form a forest. In midair, the dense twigs were shaped into houses that were as delicate as artwork.
Yellow and white flowers blossomed on the houses, emitting refreshing fragrance.
“I do feel that my mind is cleansed here. My inspirations are surging…” Natasha complimented the natural view sincerely. “When the night comes, the silver moon will raise ripples of light when it shines above the lake. That will be the most vivid representation of your ‘Moonlight’.”
Lucien nodded with a smile. “My whole heart is calmed down in such an environment. If you like it here, we can live here in the future.”
Natasha chuckled drily, “If I live a couple of weeks here, my soul of musician will be gone, and my cheesy and knightly side will surface. This place is beautiful, but I’m not cut to live here for long.”
Lucien was merely joking. Allyn, which was full of discussions and disputes about arcana, was obviously more suitable for himself than Nature’s Residence.
Malfurion said next to them. “Although we tried to keep the incident a secret, the Kuo-toans in the ocean seemed to have sensed something and raised conflicts nonstop. Therefore, Yantis has gone to the Boundless Ocean to help with the defense with Jarde, and Selinda and Lodell are defending the abyssal gap on the other side of the forest.”
“Therefore, only the queen and the three of us are left here.”
Jarde was a legendary druid of the Sea Elves. Thanks to his longevity, he had reached level two of legendary. Yantis, on the other hand, was ‘Wind of Moonfall’, a legend among the Moon Elves. She had advanced with her talents like Lankshear did. She was still in level one right now.
Selinda and Lodell were the other two members of the Elder Council of the Druids. The former was a nymph and in level two of legendary, and the latter was a human being, known as ‘Hand of Balance’. He was in level one of legendary.
“Elder, it’s alright. After examining the elvish tree and the corrupted elves, we will go to the abyssal gap and ask Selinda and Lodell for updates as soon as possible.” Lucien said as he stepped into the tree house.
Natasha moved her right foot, sensing the status of the elvish tree carefully. Atlant also opened his eyes, observing the surroundings deep in thought.
Led by the Vengeful Hunter, Lucien, Natasha and Atlant went through the tree houses and entered the elvish tree through a natural gap.
The colors turned from brown green to dark green, and when the color became mostly dark, ivory and hallowed brilliance appeared. The purest power of life seemed to be contained inside.
Those spots of light surrounded a green object that looked like heart, bringing vigor and exuberance.
The heart was vague and fickle. Green tubes that looked like veins extended from it and connected the trunk around. Translucent liquids and light flowed in and out, but they were now mixed with blackness.
“Nature’s Heart…” Lucien and Natasha observed in the telepathic bond at the same time.
It was the most fundamental thing for the elves. As long as Nature’s Heart existed, they would be able to regrow the elvish tree after they were relocated.
There were five Nature’s Hearts at the beginning, but as the time went by, four of them had been wasted. Only the one in the Stroop forest still retained the glory of the elves.
Also, it was the most powerful ‘Nature’s Heart’. After melting into it, Aglaea, the elvish queen, broke the limits and became a top legend. That was the reason why the elves always had a top legend!
Of course, only the level-three legendary experts could reach the peak by melting with Nature’s Heart.
Inside Nature’s Heart stood a fuzzy, blond shadow, who was trying to eliminate the black spots. But for some reason, the progress was remarkably slow despite her strength.
“Thank you for your aid.” The shadow became clear. There was maturity and solemnity in her innocent beauty. She looked more like Iristine’s sister than her mother.
“How gorgeous…” It was not Lucien but Natasha who remarked, but she was soon back to herself and chuckled to Lucien. “Rest assured. This is only appreciation.”
Malfurion introduced them to Aglaea. She nodded softly. “Please investigate as soon as possible. Whatever the final result is, you will have the gratitude of the elves.”
She did not specify what the gratitude would be.
Lucien had come mainly to maintain the alliance. Trade was only his personal purpose, and he certainly wouldn’t take the elves’ items without giving anything in return. So, he simply said to Aglaea, “Your Majesty, we will begin our investigation.”
“Alright. I can prevent the elvish tree from being further contaminated, but I fear that the Will of Abyss will arrive if the gap is expanded. That will be a disaster.” She was worried about the abyssal gap most.
Lucien walked to Nature’s Heart and chanted with a mysterious voice. “Mirror of Fate.”
The environment suddenly dimmed, but many firefly-like spots popped up from the dimness and gathered before Lucien into a mirror that was full of sophisticated patterns.
The Mirror of Fate that Maskelyne and McLeod crafted was exactly based on this legendary spell!
The mirror was hazy, but when Lucien tossed the crystal ball on his left hand into it, ripples spread out and manifested black spots everywhere. They were also getting larger and larger.
In the meantime, the black spots wriggled hideously, as if they contained all the chaos and slaughter in the world. With immense hatred, they wanted to destroy everything.
Crack. The mirror of light let out a noise as if it were a real mirror, dispersing into dancing butterflies again.
Frowning, Lucien seemed to have grasped something and continued his examination with other spells. Atlant also investigated with his own magic.
After a while, Lucien stopped and said to Natasha. “Attack the black spots with your sword. Don’t cut the life channel of Nature’s Heart.”
What he didn’t say was ‘this is an exercise on your ability of control’, or Aglaea and Malfurion wouldn’t look very good.
Natasha, on the other hand, understood Lucien’s meaning. She immediately narrowed her eyes and drew the Sword of Truth, melting her body and her heart into it.
She saw that Lucien held the Moon Timer in his right hand and knew that he would prevent her from harming Nature’s Heart if she made a mistake.
After a blink, Natasha reappeared, and a black spot on the green tube was suddenly chopped into half. It was not until one minute later that it was finally dissolved.
Lucien secretly raised his thumb for Natasha. Then he said seriously, “The nature of the power is close to the level of a demigod. Therefore, spells such as ‘Mirror of Fate’ can only offer ambiguous hints. I suspect that it is the air of the Will of Abyss, but I’m not certain, because other ways can also achieve the result, an example of which is to use the power of Nature’s Heart itself.”
“Yes, there are other possibilities!” Before Atlant, Aglaea, Malfurion and Lankshear talked, an angry voice echoed from their back.
His spiritual power spreading out, Lucien ‘saw’ a green-haired male elf walking into the room. He looked young, but he had a myriad of beautiful stripes on his neck and his hand. He glared at Lucien and the other strangers. “This is nature’s punishment!”
He shouted, “You human beings have set up alchemical workshops one after another, polluting the sky and the water and hurting nature. Your greed cannot be curbed, either. You destroyed forests and murdered animals. So, I sensed that nature became full of hate, and the hate was reflected in Nature’s Heart, hence the corruption and contamination!”
“This is all your fault!”
“Ferragond, shut up.” Malfurion spoke in a low voice.
This elf was exactly Ferragond, a grand druid and a Wood Elf, known as ‘Nature’s Avenger’.
Lucien believed that most of the alchemical workshops did not have terrible pollution. Although it was their instinct to make profits, none of the workshop owners wanted to pay an environmental tax for that. After he became a grand arcanist, the Affair Committee had paid special attention to that. The sorcerers also knew his tough attitude and were unwilling to piss off a grand arcanist on such trivia, or they would be dead for sure when the mandatory missions were issued to them.
They were perhaps unwilling to follow the regulations, but since most of the fees collected were given back to them through tax returns, few of the workshop owners had asked for trouble.
Faced with such a situation, Lucien could only say that power worked better than reasoning.
The only problem was the minor workshops that the nobles built themselves. Those in Holm were better thanks to Natasha’s pressure on the cabinet, but the workshops in the other three kingdoms had more pollution.
However, it was not the time to debate with Ferragond on the problem yet. Lucien turned around and looked at Aglaea, “Your Majesty, does this mean that we are not welcomed here?”
After a brief silence, Aglaea demanded, “Ferragond, get out!”
“Your Majesty…” Ferragond still wanted to say something, but he sensed the pressure of the top legend as Nature’s Heart beat faster. Therefore, he simply sniffed and left.
In the telepathic bond, Natasha asked in confusion, “I don’t think he can’t control his hate. Was he trying to piss off us and get us to leave? Or was he trying to sabotage the relationship between the Congress and the elves?”
They had come a long way to aid the elves, only to be accused of the cause of the problem. Normal people would’ve stormed off in fury.
Lucien said calmly, “I know. That’s why I didn’t argue with him and simply kicked the question to the queen to see their attitude.”
At this moment, Atlant said, “A very mature, rational and graceful approach…”
