CA - Chapter 153
Chapter 153
The Purification Spell had no effect on the Tree of Life, and the Holy Water of Light could only slow its withering. The Elf Race’s situation was far more complicated than imagined. Although Tang Qiu sympathized with their plight, there was nothing more she could do by staying.
Tang Qiu told Delphine she was leaving, but was unexpectedly asked to stay.
“In three days, there will be a grand banquet in the clan. Please attend with Kama before you go.” After a period of recuperation, Delphine’s complexion had improved significantly. Perhaps she had come to terms with something, as the gloom between her brows had faded, and her expression had regained some of its ease. “Besides, I happen to need a witness.”
“A witness?”
Delphine smiled, her voice gentle. “I’m going to hold the Guardian Ceremony, and I need someone from an outside race to bear witness.”
“Normally, I should have invited Faye, but you will do just as well.”
Delphine blinked, her smile a little playful. “We’re friends, you wouldn’t refuse, would you?”
Tang Qiu’s lips curved into a light smile, her sky-blue eyes holding a faint gentleness. “It would be my honor.”
Staying a few more days was no trouble for her, and Kama hadn’t had her fill of playing here yet.
Delphine’s decision to hold the Guardian Ceremony was sudden. Although she gave them three days, it still sent the elves into a flurry of activity.
The Guardian Ceremony was a major ritual for the Elf Race, second only to the inauguration of a new Elf Queen and the birth of the next one.
The elves were the darlings of nature. Though few in number, they were incredibly united. The Elf Queen was the core of their race, the bond that connected all her people.
The importance of the Elf Queen to the Elf Race was self-evident. Unlike other races, the Elf Queen was irreplaceable. She was not elected; rather, each reigning queen, when the time was right, would choose a clan member to conceive the next Elf Queen with.
If the current Elf Queen died for some reason before the next one was born, the blow to the Elf Race would be no less devastating than the withering of the Tree of Life. A single misstep could lead to the extinction of the entire race.
Over a thousand years ago, the Elf Queen of that time despised the Holy See, but it was only after giving birth to the next Elf Queen that she joined forces with the Werewolf Race to launch a desperate counterattack against the Holy See.
Elves had long lifespans. If not for external factors, there was no rush to conceive the next Elf Queen. Delphine was just over two hundred years old. Her haste in holding the Guardian Ceremony stemmed from the unease in her heart.
The Statu Continent seemed calm, but this was merely an illusion. Delphine had no confidence she could protect the Elf Race before the situation descended further into chaos. Only by conceiving the next Elf Queen could she act without reservation.
She had to protect the Elf Race, no matter the cost.
The Elf Queen’s choice of a guardian held extraordinary significance within the clan. The elves threw themselves into the preparations with the utmost concentration. Even Kama was influenced by their serious attitude, secretly trailing behind a few young elves to help out.
The number of elves was dwindling each year. The Guardian Ceremony was momentous, but due to the declining population, it was difficult to replicate the grand spectacles of the past.
However, even if the grandeur was gone, the gathering of elves was still a lively and warm affair.
The elves cleared a space and surrounded it with freshly picked fruits and long-treasured wines. A bonfire burned in the center of the clearing. Young elves held hands and danced joyfully around the fire, while older elves sat on the branches above, playing music for them on homemade instruments.
Short, young elves ran about the clearing, and Kama quietly blended in with them. The orange firelight illuminated faces brimming with smiles.
Tang Qiu sat on a tree branch next to Delphine, watching the elves below with great interest. Since transmigrating to the Statu Continent, she had encountered almost every race, and the elves were by far the ones she had the best impression of.
Passionate and optimistic, simple and harmonious. They were truly the darlings of nature. If not for the actions of the Holy See, they would have lived in genuine peace with the world.
Tang Qiu hoped that such a beautiful race would not meet a tragic end.
“Have you chosen a guardian yet?” Tang Qiu leaned against the tree trunk, her gaze sweeping over several outstanding elves below as she asked Delphine curiously.
Watching the elves’ busy preparations over the past few days, she had come to understand the meaning of the Guardian Ceremony.
Delphine held a pale green branch in her hand. She wore a floral wreath, and the bright moonlight filtering through the leaves cast a silver veil over her, making her look ethereally beautiful. She was watching her people below. Hearing Tang Qiu’s question, she frowned slightly and shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Oh?” Tang Qiu blinked. “Shouldn’t it be decided in advance?” she asked, puzzled.
Although elves only needed to use blood essence to conceive offspring, since this concerned the next Elf Queen, shouldn’t the choice of guardian be carefully considered and decided beforehand?
“It’s alright.” Delphine turned to Tang Qiu and smiled. She waved the branch in her hand and said softly, “The Forest Goddess will choose a suitable candidate for me.”
The birth and reproduction of elves were directly related to the Forest Goddess, making her the object of their faith.
This branch was left on the Statu Continent by the Forest Goddess. Its main purpose was to inscribe an exclusive contract for the Elf Queen and her guardian. If a reigning queen had no preferred guardian, she could also use it to automatically select the most suitable elf.
Most previous Elf Queens had used it to automatically select a suitable guardian, as this was the only way to conceive a more outstanding heir.
The night was still long, and the Elf Race hadn’t been this lively in a long time. Unwilling to interrupt them, Delphine simply raised the branch and softly chanted a few incantations. Pinpricks of pale green light sprinkled down from the treetops, like a sky full of falling stars.
While the elven territory was brightly lit with song and dance, in a remote valley several hundred miles from the forest, dozens of Dark Elves had each found a dark corner to rest in the cool night, their eyes closed in a light sleep.
Patricia went alone to the deepest part of the valley. With her hands behind her head, she leaned against the rock wall, staring blankly at the night sky through a narrow gap above. Her long, silver-gray hair was scattered on the ground, dotted with a few withered leaves. Her ink-black longbow lay quietly by her side, as lonely as its master.
The valley was narrow; no matter how beautiful the night, those within it could not appreciate it. Just as Patricia thought the night would pass in the same dull and tedious way, specks of green light suddenly began to sprinkle down from above.
The specks of light landed on the ground. The cracked earth slowly grew moist, and the withered wild grass was revitalized. The barren valley was instantly draped in a layer of green, with vines twining around dead tree trunks and colorful little flowers adding a splash of color.
Patricia sat up, frowning at the changes around her. She raised a hand to catch a floating green speck of light. Her other hand, hanging at her side, slowly clenched into a fist, her nails nearly piercing her palm.
The resting Dark Elves also noticed the strange happenings in the valley. They gathered around Patricia, their expressions complex and conflicted as they looked at the green lights. A few of the older Dark Elves huddled together, discussing in low voices.
“Is this a summons from the Elf Queen?”
“Has something major happened in the clan?”
“…This summons seems to be for the Guardian Ceremony.”
“The Queen wants to conceive an heir?”
Although the Dark Elves had been driven from their territory, their identity as elves had not been stripped away. Not even Delphine had expected that the Elf Queen’s summons would still be effective on the Dark Elves.
Due to the great distance, the Dark Elves couldn’t clearly discern the information contained within the green lights and could only guess based on common knowledge.
As the Dark Elves whispered among themselves, Patricia, who had been looking down in silence, suddenly grabbed her black longbow, stood up, and strode past the others, leaving the valley.
The Dark Elves paused for a moment, exchanging glances. Two-thirds of them chose to follow Patricia.
The Dark Elves who remained in the valley were older. They knew more of the inside story than the younger ones, so they held no resentment toward Delphine for driving them out. Instead, they were filled with worry.
It didn’t take long to travel from the valley to the forest where the elves lived. The Dark Elves entered the forest and leaped to the treetops, looking expressionlessly toward the place that faintly glowed with pale green light. That place had once belonged to them, too.
Every Dark Elf had grown up in the territory. In their youth, they, like other elves, had enjoyed the Elf Queen’s affection. But that tolerance only lasted until adulthood. After coming of age… they were mercilessly driven out.
They had done nothing wrong. They were abandoned simply because they were Dark Elves.
The closer they got to the territory, the more complicated the Dark Elves’ feelings became. Unwillingness and bitterness tinged their perpetually cold eyes with anger. This anger reached its peak when they saw the elves gathered together, singing and dancing joyfully.
Rage ignited in Patricia’s heart as well, but unlike the other Dark Elves, her furious gaze was fixed on Delphine, who was sitting on a tree branch, talking and laughing intimately with the golden-haired bishop beside her.
She had seen the golden-haired bishop a few times. Because Delphine was on good terms with her, Patricia had paid attention to this person.
Undeniably, the golden-haired bishop was exceptionally beautiful. Even among the beautiful Elf Race, she was a dazzling presence. Coupled with the aura of light emanating from her, she seemed kind and wonderful. Setting aside her identity from the Holy See, she was the type of person elves most enjoyed associating with.
It wasn’t unheard of for an Elf Queen to sign a guardian contract with an outsider.
But that was a long time ago. Could it be that Delphine had taken a fancy to this golden-haired bishop?
Patricia’s gaze locked onto Delphine’s face. Seeing the tenderness she showed toward the golden-haired bishop, her eyes darkened bit by bit. She pursed her lips and took the longbow from her back. She drew the bowstring to its limit, and a black arrow slowly materialized.
The moment the Dark Elves appeared, Delphine and Tang Qiu sensed them. Both turned to look in their direction just as the sound of something cutting through the air rang out. A black arrow, carrying an endless killing intent, shot through space toward Tang Qiu.
This killing intent was aimed at her. Tang Qiu frowned. Just as she was about to raise her staff and chant a spell to intercept the arrow, a water shield suddenly appeared before her, protecting her.
However, the arrow pierced the water shield with almost no resistance and continued toward Tang Qiu. Delphine’s expression changed slightly, as if she hadn’t expected Patricia to use her full strength in this attack.
Just before the arrow could pierce her chest, Tang Qiu raised a hand and snatched it from the air. Her golden hair had turned snow-white. She toyed with the now-powerless arrow between her long fingers and said with a peculiar expression, “Do these clerical robes of mine really attract this much hatred?”
The killing intent had been practically tangible.
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