Chapter 248: A Headache-Inducing Matter (Part 1)

  As night fell, in the hollow of a giant ancient tree in the Whispering Woods, dozens of giant fireflies on the walls emitted a soft light, brightly illuminating the just-made conference hall. Except for Elder Lloyd, who was still far away in the royal capital of Ainfast, the elders of the elven race had all gathered here. In addition, there were three outsiders here as well: Ethan, Aimee, and Master Adelaide, who had come with Aimee on the pegasus.

  "On behalf of the Tower of Fangs, I apologize for the losses caused to the Whispering Woods by this misunderstanding and conflict." Master Adelaide bowed to the elders, led by Luya. Her water-blue mage robes covered her head as well. Under the soft light from the giant fireflies, her face, which usually held a captivating and alluring demeanor, was now full of seriousness and apology, and her curly red hair was scattered somewhat messily across her face.

  Beside her, although Aimee occasionally looked around curiously at the tables and chairs transformed by nature magic and the fireflies on the walls, she seemed somewhat unsettled and filled with anxiety. Yabin had not returned, and the elves who had gone on patrol had not found his body. Ethan knew he had likely been taken away by Knight Tamika and his group. With Talise there, his life was probably not in danger, but Aimee was worried sick.

  Although Master Adelaide was apologizing very respectfully, none of the elven elders, including Luya, had a pleasant expression, and many elves standing nearby had looks of anger and killing intent. In this battle, nearly half of the Whispering Woods had been razed to the ground by the mages. Hundreds of elves had been killed or injured, the losses of The Withered Wood Wardens were countless, the entire force of winged pegasi was wiped out, and even the three eggs of the War Mantis had been used. Even back in the Tulalion Forest, resisting an attack by the Nighon army was nothing more than this. This kind of matter could probably not be clarified with just the word "misunderstanding," nor resolved with a single apology.

  The mages had all left, leaving only a mess behind. They also had dozens of casualties, and all who died were elite Archmage-level experts. It was an unspeakably tragic situation for them as well. And the chief culprit, Master Aiden, couldn't even leave a whole corpse behind. Fortunately, it hadn't reached the point where there was no evidence for his crimes. The two air elements that later arrived from the Tower of Fangs brought the few mages who had been freed from the mind magic. After confronting them, all the mages were shocked, and could only slink away in disgrace. Only Master Adelaide remained behind to apologize to the elves and to discuss other matters.

  Although she was just a woman and didn't appear to be very old, no elven elder dared to underestimate this seemingly frail and powerless Archmage. When rescuing the dozens of mages on the ground, she had single-handedly created a circular wall of ice, so solid and sturdy that it could even withstand the charge of over a hundred The Withered Wood Wardens. This wall of ice was dozens of meters high, like a gigantic bucket, allowing the air mages in the sky above to summon air elements to fly inside and carry the mages below up.

  And to be able to stay here alone, her courage and demeanor were also truly admirable. The well water of the Sunwell had already recovered by more than half. But no matter how high her magical power was, if the elves really decided to make a move, she probably wouldn't have much chance to fight back.

  Although their expressions were grim, the elven elders ultimately accepted this apology. Luya did, after all, know about Master Aiden's identity as a Necromancer. And what was done was done; both sides had suffered casualties. Since the other party had now admitted their fault, it was impossible for them to still plan to lead their people to the Tower of Fangs for revenge. The nature of the elven race did not like needless battles and casualties.

  "Although all of this was orchestrated by that Necromancer, the responsibility of the Tower of Fangs is indeed undeniable. As an apology, I, in my capacity as the Tower Master of the Tower of Water of the Tower of Fangs, promise you that in the future, whenever the Whispering Woods needs any help, just ask, and our Tower of Fangs will certainly not refuse."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Hearing this promise, the expressions of Luya and the other elders eased a little. If they could truly have such allies, the security and strength of the Whispering Woods would no longer be a concern. The terrifying elemental magic they had witnessed during the battle had left a deep enough impression on them. The elders exchanged glances, and a few of them nodded slightly.

  "If the elven race is interested in elemental magic, we also welcome our elven friends to come to the Tower of Fangs to learn. We will impart all our knowledge without reservation."

  This sentence eased the expressions of the elven elders even more. Luya's eyes even lit up. Although according to the records of the elven canon, all magic actually originated from the ancient elves, after tens of thousands of years of inheritance, the elven race, which had distanced itself from battle and slaughter, had almost completely lost the use of elemental magic, with the exception of nature magic. Instead, it was humans who had carried it forward. And because of the lack of interaction between the races, the elves had no way to learn even if they wanted to. Master Adelaide's proposal was undoubtedly a good opportunity to break this deadlock.

  The anti-magic barrier of the Whispering Woods did not affect elves. If the elves could really learn the powerful elemental magic, the Whispering Woods would be an absolutely impregnable fortress.

  Seeing that the expressions of the elven elders had improved greatly, Master Adelaide finally spoke, "It's just... there is a favor I need to ask of Elder Luya, I wonder if it's possible?"

  Luya nodded. "Alright. Since the Tower of Fangs can give us so much help, please just say what you need."

  "The Tower Master of the Tower of Earth, Graden, was severely injured by Aiden and his accomplice through some unknown means. Even I can only tell that it seems to be caused by a very unique curse, and he has now fallen into a deep coma... I wonder if Elder Luya could use the Leaves of the World Tree to treat him..."

  "No." All the elven elders stood up at the same time, the wary look in their eyes greatly increased.

  "Why? We are not demanding the Leaves of the World Tree. We only ask for Elder Luya to use the power of the Leaves of the World Tree to cast a spell." Master Adelaide looked puzzled. "I've heard that the restorative magic in nature spells is not at all inferior to white magic. I also heard about the spell Elder Luya used on that War Mantis. I feel that only this kind of life magic can save Tower Master Graden now."

  Two elders coughed, and the elven elders all sat back down. They also knew their reaction seemed a bit excessive, so they all looked at Luya. Luya nodded slightly: "Then please bring Tower Master Graden to the Whispering Woods. I will do my best to try."

  Adelaide quickly said, "But Tower Master Graden really cannot be moved now, otherwise his life will be in danger. I'm afraid this will require you, Elder Luya, to make a trip in person."

  Luya nodded immediately and said, "Alright."

  The elven elders all looked like they wanted to say something but stopped. Although they had reconciled with the Tower of Fangs and even had a relationship close to an alliance, letting the Leaves of the World Tree leave the Whispering Woods did seem somewhat dangerous.

  "Why don't you, Master Adelaide, stay here and enjoy the scenery of the Whispering Woods for a while..." Ethan, who had not spoken until now, suddenly said. "I'll accompany Elder Luya to go heal Tower Master Graden first, and we'll talk later."

  Master Adelaide seemed slightly surprised and couldn't help but glance at Ethan. A light flashed in her autumn-water-like pupils. Then she sighed and said, "If you are not at ease, I can stay here as a hostage. You can go and heal Master Graden, and I will go back after you return."

  "You are truly considerate." Ethan smiled and nodded.

  "Likewise." The female mage also gave Ethan a very charming smile, and even winked at him with one eye, the lively, energetic ripples in her eyes bouncing towards him.

  "There's no need. We elves don't have such a dirty habit as humans do." Luya, however, directly waved her hand. "I'll just go."

  "Elder Luya, your kindness and your trust in me are enough to win the respect of the Tower of Fangs." Master Adelaide turned to look at Luya. "There's no time to lose. Why don't we set off now? I have a few Teleportation Scrolls from the Tower of Fangs that I specifically set aside, enough for us to get there."

  "Why don't you go first, Tower Master Adelaide, and we'll follow shortly." Ethan said, before Luya could speak to agree. "Alright, I'll wait for you at the Tower of Fangs." Master Adelaide looked at Ethan with a slight smile and nodded. She took out two Teleportation Scrolls and placed them on the table.

  "It really is necessary to keep her here as a hostage."

  After Adelaide and Aimee had left together and the other elven elders had finished their discussion, Ethan frowned and said to Luya.

  "If we can truly resolve this misunderstanding with the Tower of Fangs and become friends, how could we do something like taking someone hostage?" Luya said.

  Ethan gave a wry smile and said, "Do you know that if it were a face-to-face battle at a distance, this woman might be even harder to deal with than that old ghost who was flying all over the place? Without her, I can guarantee your safety in the Tower of Fangs."

  "But she doesn't seem like a bad person, and Aimee is her personal disciple. If she really had malicious intent, she wouldn't have stopped that battle." Luya said, clenching her small fist as if she was very confident. "I believe she is a good person."

  "If you want someone to be a good person, you'd best not tempt them with an opportunity to do something bad. You should know that good people can do bad things..." Ethan sighed a long sigh. "But wait, before we go to the Tower of Fangs, I have something else to do. Come and help me."