Staring at the enormous, white wolf, the matriarch broke out in cold sweat. Perhaps ordinary dark elves wouldn’t know what that monster was, but as a mage, it went without saying that she knew what it meant.
“Elemental Spirit…”
She murmured under her breath. Her slender body couldn’t help but retreat in shivering fear. Elemental Spirit was a skill that only beings at the Commander level of elements could use. Almost all monsters materialized by them possessed equivalent power to an actual elemental lord, which was more than the dark elves could take! No matter how powerful the spell casters were, the source of energy for their spells was extracted from elemental powers. But it was also due to this reason that their powers were useless against an elemental lord. Mage could ‘borrow money’ to cast spells, but if the other party wasn’t willing to ‘lend’, the mage would be useless no matter how capable he or she was! Not only that, but Elemental Spirits were also elemental creatures. When dealing with such elemental creatures, physical attacks were basically ineffective. Unless one cast spells of the Peak Legendary Stage, one could hardly cause any damage to them. It could also be said that the moment Anne activated the Elemental Spirit, she had as though announced the thorough failure of the dark elves.
This was also why Rhode dared to bring along summoning spirits that didn’t belong to him and Anne, who wasn’t at the level of the deity wardens. Other than the fact that Anne loved sticking by his side, her strength shouldn’t be belittled. She was the strongest member in his group apart from the rest with those ‘cheating abilities’. This young lady might be carefree all day, but as a matter of fact, her strength had progressed rapidly. As the demonic beast in her bloodline unleashed its power, she was almost at level 75. In addition to being at the Commander level of elements, even though Anne might not be victorious after going all-out, she could stand a chance against Marlene and Gillian. Due to that reason, Rhode brought Anne along.
The Elemental Spirit was Anne’s ace in the hole. Through temporary eruptions of power, she could materialize her spirit using the wind element. In other words, that huge white wolf was basically the materialization of Anne’s spirit. In this situation, Anne’s power wasn’t too different from a wind elemental lord. It could also be said that as long as the wind elemental lord wasn’t here, Anne could grasp the wind element in this place entirely.
“Retreat! Retreat now!”
Sensing the wind elemental power gathering rapidly toward the white wolf, the matriarch flinched and her expression turned exceedingly ugly. As soon as the white wolf manipulated the wind elemental power of this place, the dark elves would undoubtedly turn into fish on the cutting board, ready to be slaughtered. The magical floating dishes in midair crumbled one by one. Even though dark elves mastered unique magical arts, they relied upon the power of nature, after all. And now, as the elemental power leaned toward the other side, their fate had been determined.
The matriarch leaped off the faltering floating dish desperately in the most embarrassing manner of her whole life. She didn’t even look back to witness the plight of the guards and slaves who were resisting the enemy. Because without the need of turning around, she knew that they wouldn’t be able to survive.
As a matter of fact, it was just as she expected.
The deep, heavy air expanded while the huge white wolf sauntered forward. Along with its movement, all the buildings lined up in its path were as though crushed into powder and flattened by an invisible bulldozer. Meanwhile, before the dark elf guards and slaves inflicted any damage to the white wolf, they held their throats with their hands and collapsed with ashen expressions. The surging wind element gradually coalesced toward the white wolf like courtiers having an audience with the sovereign king. The shimmering green brilliance metamorphosed into layers of bright barriers that enfolded the white wolf. At a glance from a distance, the phenomenon seemed just like a tornado that connected heaven and earth, leaving one shuddering in fear.
“Haa… Haa…”
The matriarch felt her steps getting heavier. The entrance was clearly less than 100 meters away and she would normally be able to complete the sprint in the blink of an eye. But now, she felt like her body was so heavy, as though her limbs were injected with lead. She widened her mouth and panted for air, but couldn’t feel any oxygen entering her body. The burning and stinging pain in her lungs magnified, spreading toward other parts of her body. Shortly after, the matriarch’s vision turned blurry. She lifted her head in a daze, trembling as she stretched out her arms. The exquisite and beautiful door engraved with a magnificent statue was right before her eyes.
Five more steps… Just five more steps and I can return to the safety of my home. Then, I will have the chance… the chance to… to…
Boom.
The matriarch’s consciousness came to an end. Before she reached her hand out for the heavy door, she plunged to the ground head-first and stopped breathing. But this was still the better outcome. At the very least, she didn’t need to witness the destruction of the family that she took great pains to build.
The white wolf continued to saunter forward, but its surroundings were dead silent. Most enemies ended up just like their matriarch. The lack of oxygen made them fall into a coma. It could also be said that as the wind element gathered to the white wolf, the air around it had become extremely thin. In such an environment, one couldn’t maintain their normal breathing, not to mention when one needed to take in more oxygen for attacks. In fact, the dark elves in the distance initially decided to shield the matriarch. However, they didn’t expect the enemy to have such strong control over the wind element that they couldn’t even chant their curse. Even if they could, their voices were so soft as though they were whispering. Before the curse was completed, they were already gasping for air. If it weren’t for the fact that they retreated in time, perhaps they would have followed the footsteps of their matriarch…
At that moment, the enormous white wolf arrived at the stalactite pillars. It narrowed its eyes to stare at them and lifted its head abruptly.
“Aowu———!”
Along with this howl, the air around the white wolf trembled. Air waves diffused in visible ripples with the white wolf in the center, erupting in the surroundings. In a string of explosions, the ground crumbled. The outer walls and door that should have been strong enough to withstand explosions crumbled like fragile pieces of tofu. The stalactite pillars that were the foundation of the family building rocked and trembled, while lines of spider web-like cracks spread across their surface. The white wolf extended its claw and slammed the stalactite pillars.
Everything ended.
Gazing at the fluttering sand and billowing smoke from a distance, the dark elves exchanged gazes with one another speechlessly. They were the only survivors who escaped in time. They were also fortunate to be serving as the support in the battle and placed by the rear. That was why the moment they realized that the situation was getting out of hand, they turned around and fled immediately, barely escaping disaster and didn’t end up like their pitiful matriarch. But even so, the dark elves couldn’t help but shudder in fear at the sight of their family’s crumbling honor. In Carlesodar City, even though it wasn’t news that dark elf families slaughtered and demolished one another, they were basically based on assassinations and ambushes. The dark elves disdained the method of confronting enemies like how Anne charged around like a violent cavalryman. However, they didn’t expect to fall to this battle style that they looked down upon.
Looking on helplessly at their collapsing home, the dark elves felt intense fear. For the first time, the absolute difference in strength made them suspect whether adhering to the dark elves’ creed was the right choice all along. Dark elves always looked down upon frontal attacks and thought that only slaves would deploy that strategy. Assassination, murder, and betrayal were the arts they insisted upon. But now, they started to doubt if relying upon them was able to strengthen them.
Boom!
Another stalactite pillar collapsed, crushing three to four other pillars in bursts of dust. Looking at this scene, the dark elves were entirely speechless. Of course, they knew that the other pillars didn’t belong to their family, but were owned by the 31st family instead. The 31st family had intended to sit this one out and reap the spoils later.
Bet they didn’t expect themselves to be implicated…
“What should we do?”
After a few moments, one of the dark elf mage asked helplessly. This was the first time she revealed fright and despair on her pretty face. Upon hearing her question, not only did the other dark elf not mock her timidity, which was uncharacteristic, but also displayed a face full of uncertainty.
“I think we should report the situation to Matriarch Verna right away…”
“…”
After hearing her answer, the other dark elves remained silent, exchanged looks with one another, and nodded. Shortly after, the dark elves vanished into the darkness.
