Chapter 261: A Brother's Ashes

  They had temporarily stopped the War Ancient Tree from drawing water from the Sunwell, and the anti-magic barrier was slowly recovering. However, it seemed this caution was now unnecessary. For the time being, there were indeed no more threats. Only the activation of the teleportation magic array startled the elves for a moment. But now, only the Tower of Fangs could obtain a teleportation scroll to Whispering Woods, so those who came were naturally from the Tower of Fangs.

  Aimee had not expected that she would receive news of her brother as soon as she arrived, and what she had not expected even more was that this news was of his death. She had just seen Yabin's ice-cold corpse and immediately fainted. After waking up, she fainted several more times from crying so hard.

  Many elves had personally seen Yabin and Talise following that gray-armored knight who wantonly slaughtered elves. Furthermore, Talise had appeared with Lancelot back in Tulalion, and her identity as a Temple Knight was well known. Fortunately, Luya had remained conscious within her ice prison and had seen everything. Coupled with Ethan's explanation, the elves did not swarm forward and tear the female knight to pieces, allowing her to remain in Whispering Woods.

  "It's all my fault." Talise said gloomily, looking at Aimee, who was crying her heart out while holding Yabin's body.

  In the past, vitality and emotions could be seen radiating from the female knight's face and expression—be it happiness, anger, or frustration and confusion. Any subtle change in mood could be perceived on her face. But now, it seemed these emotions had suddenly become too numerous and too heavy, instead condensing together and becoming invisible.

  "I knew very well what kind of person Knight Tamika was. But I still couldn't help but speak out to stop him, which led to all that followed... I should have guessed that my actions were truly meaningless. If only I had endured it..."

  "There are no 'if onlys'. You truly couldn't have endured it at that moment," Ethan said faintly.

  Talise's eyes glazed over for a moment, and she fell silent. In the treehouse, only Aimee's hoarse cries from her exhausted weeping could be heard. Ethan and Talise exited the treehouse. At this moment, it seemed right to let someone vent their feelings; the key was that they truly didn't know how to console her. After a long while, Talise spoke again: "Yabin... he had no reason to die here. None of this had anything to do with him..."

  "But he is dead," Ethan interrupted her again faintly. "What has happened can never be undone. And there is no reason to shirk responsibility, is there?"

  A strange and angry look swirled in Talise's eyes, but she could find no direction to unleash this bundle of grief and indignation. She instinctively wanted to lash out at Ethan, but it also seemed what he said wasn't wrong. Finally, she let out a long sigh and nodded resentfully: "Right, you're right. This is all my fault."

  No one is infallible. But only those who admit their mistakes will not make the same ones again. Only those who dare to face their mistakes are qualified to grow.

  After a moment of silence, Ethan also sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I was indeed a bit angry with you. You're not the only one who is saddened by Yabin's death."

  The look in Talise's eyes calmed down. It wasn't the kind of quietness where emotions had dissipated, but a composure where everything had been gathered and settled. After another long while, she sighed again and said, "He was previously forced to try to kill me, but in the end, he saved me... I now finally understand a little of what my teacher told me. Perhaps there really are no lofty, high-and-mighty concepts of justice and evil for us to distinguish reality. Everything requires one's own choice and grasp, one's own bearing of the consequences."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Ethan glanced sideways at the female knight. He could tell that she had indeed grown a lot. Although there were some coincidental reasons, being able to kill someone like Knight Tamika was truly evidence that her will and mind had matured.

  Ethan was taken aback and said: "Aren't you going to look after Aimee? Yabin was her only family."

  "I know. He entrusted her to me before he died. But how can I look after her? I am a person with nowhere to go for now..." Talise couldn't help but give a bitter smile. To have actually killed a confidant sent by His Majesty the Pope on a secret mission, regardless of whether the Pope would find out, she was no longer willing to return to Celeste. "Until I figure out what this is all about, I will never return to The Radiant Citadel. Besides, it seems more appropriate for her to stay at the Tower of Fangs. She has her classmates and teachers there."

  "Are you still going to follow me? Let me tell you, the road ahead may be even more difficult than this. This time you almost died. Next time, whether you'll be just a hair's breadth from death again, and whether there will be someone like Yabin to save you, I don't know."

  "I've already started walking, so I don't want to stop now. And I've only just understood a little bit. There are still many things I don't understand, so I will still follow you."

  Talise's voice and expression no longer had the kind of outward determination that everyone could feel, but Ethan could sense the resolve beneath the calm. He also knew. She had probably truly decided that he would be her guide on the path of seeking truth.

  A "thump" sound came from the treehouse. Aimee had fainted from crying again.

  After waiting another day, the water in the Sunwell had finally recovered completely, and the War Ancient Tree had also finished growing. Aimee had finally recovered somewhat from her extreme grief. Ethan was preparing to set off.

  The War Ancient Tree, grown by the Sunwell, was tall and stout like a majestic mountain, even larger than it was in Tulalion. Its sprawling branches and leaves covered nearly a small part of Whispering Woods. Standing under this tree, one felt nothing but insignificance. Even Talise was shocked by this magical miracle left by the ancient elves. The size of this tree alone was almost comparable to the The Radiant Citadel, which the Church was so proud of.

  Pure and thick natural magic fluctuations permeated the entire forest. All the functions of the War Ancient Tree were now operational. Ethan had seen many launch devices similar to ballistae on its leaves, and he was certain that what they launched was far from as simple as ballista bolts. The anti-magic barrier was also functioning at the same time.

  A new scroll for the teleportation magic array had been sent to Oufu, so General Gru and the elite orcs could arrive in time if necessary. At this point, let alone a few mages or Temple Knights from the Tower of Fangs, even if Celeste mobilized its entire army, it would be absolutely impossible to break in.

  "Now we can finally rest assured. This final Leaves of the World Tree is considered safe. You just need to be more careful in the future, and there should be no problem. Elder Lloyd should be returning from the royal capital soon." The small pouch was already filled with water from the Sunwell, with another small pouch as a spare. Ethan, Talise, and Aimee had reached the edge of Whispering Woods and were about to depart.

  Aimee still looked very haggard. She planned to take Yabin's ashes back to Erathia for burial, setting off along the way with Ethan. "How long will you be gone this time?" Luya asked. She glanced at Talise and Aimee beside Ethan, her expression somewhat unnatural.

  "Perhaps soon, perhaps I don't know how long it will take," Ethan said with a wry smile.

  Luya was silent for a moment, then suddenly wrinkled her nose slightly, blinking her eyes. She said, a bit hesitantly and a bit urgently, "Actually, I really want to go out and travel to broaden my horizons..."

  Ethan smiled and said, "Don't be childish. You are an elder of Whispering Woods. The Leaves of the World Tree still needs you to protect it."

  Luya also gave a slightly awkward smile, revealing a childlike disappointment as she nodded and said, "Yes... I was just joking... But you... if you all finish this journey, you are welcome to be guests in Whispering Woods at any time."

  "Just not the fellows from the Church. The next time I see them, I won't be able to resist the urge to pull my bow and shoot an arrow at them." The female patrol guard holding a large black bow beside her glared at Talise.

  That very night, the strongest warrior among the elves was silently knocked unconscious in her sleep by Talise. Although they were injured and exhausted and thus slept soundly, and the female knight's stealth skills were absolutely top-notch, further guided by the Templar's Mana Divine Eye, such an outcome didn't seem surprising. But it was also a huge blow to her pride. During the past two days, if it weren't for Elder Luya's vigorous persuasion, she would have demanded a duel with the female knight several times.

  Talise just frowned slightly and glanced at the female elf. If it were before, she would have never let such an obvious provocation slide.

  Having walked out of the anti-magic barrier of Whispering Woods, Ethan took out a magic scroll from the Tower of Fangs and opened it. A small whirlwind jumped out of the scroll and landed on the grass. The surrounding air quickly gathered, and in an instant, this whirlwind became a tall, cloud-like giant.

  This high-level Elemental Summoning, a top-tier elemental scroll, was worth nearly a thousand gold coins on the market, but Ethan was now using it for transport. He and Talise, with Aimee, boarded the shoulders of the cloud giant. Amidst the swirling of massive air currents, the body of the air elemental rose into the sky and flew towards the west. In less than a minute, the vast Whispering Woods and the gigantic, sky-reaching War Ancient Tree became small behind them.

  The high-altitude air currents blew a head of blonde hair straight back, hitting Ethan in the face. Talise tried to gather her hair but couldn't tie it properly no matter what. It was Aimee who used a thin string to help her tie her hair into a thick, long braid coiled on her head, making her look even more heroic.