The joking between the young girls did not last long.
Neither of them forgot their current situation, and they quickly switched into a serious state.
The most urgent problem was how they were going to get out.
In an instant, Leah cast her gaze toward Winnidith.
The method used to send them in was a teleportation spell, and when it came to matters of magic, going to Winnidith was always the right choice.
“Don’t look at me like that. Even if I am a genius, it is impossible for me to memorize the entire formula of that magic array in such a short amount of time.”
Winnidith spread her hands.
She was still a human, after all.
How could she possibly memorize such a complex magic formula in mere seconds?
“Besides, even if we found the magic array to return, I would advise against using it. After all, we cannot be sure if those three assassins have left.”
Leah fell silent after hearing that.
Thanks to Winnidith increasing the light elements nearby, her wounds had completely recovered, but recovering her spent Douqi and mana would not be so easy.
Even if she could return at full strength, they would still be no match for three Ninth Tier powerhouses.
“Then what should we do? Walk forward?”
Leah pointed ahead.
Based on the space, they were currently in the middle of a corridor.
The paths in front and behind were shrouded in darkness, and they had no idea which way led to the exit.
“I do have a suggestion.”
Isabella spoke up.
“The fact that our breathing is not obstructed means there must be a path that leads directly to the surface. And the damp environment around us suggests that something like a river must be nearby.”
“Rivers cannot exist underground. Therefore, as long as we head in the direction where water elements are concentrated, we will definitely find a way out.”
This was indeed a good method.
According to Isabella’s hypothesis, this place should be the third basement level of the history museum they were looking for.
The elves imprisoned here would need drinking water to survive.
Therefore, walking toward the concentrated water elements would not only help them find an exit but also allow them to achieve their original goal.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
Isabella’s proposal was unanimously agreed upon by the group.
After activating her elemental vision, Winnidith easily identified which direction had more concentrated water elements and led everyone down the correct path.
While they were walking, Leah looked at Etheriel, who was standing there like a wooden puppet without saying a word, and couldn’t help but ask.
“Winnidith, is it possible for Uncle Etheriel to recover from this state?”
Even though she knew the truth, Leah realized that the reason Etheriel obeyed her so well was mostly because of her status as a Light Elf, which caused him to mistake her words for commands.
If the spiritual power within Etheriel dissipated, he would no longer follow her words, or worse, he might not even remember who she was.
In that case, the happy times of her childhood would turn into an incredibly vivid dream.
Beautiful enough, yet completely unreal.
But she still wanted to break the shackles on him.
‘After all, if he cannot even control his own self, isn’t Uncle Etheriel too pitiful?’
That was what Leah thought.
As for their relationship, even if Etheriel forgot her, as long as she took the initiative, they would certainly be able to return to how they were!
Leah was quite confident about that.
“It should be possible, I suppose? Though there might be some side effects.”
Winnidith recalled Evian and said earnestly.
“After the control is lifted, the emotions of the controlled will rebound. In other words, the more emotions that were absorbed over these 1000 years, the more severe the rebound will be when the control is lifted.”
“If the control on all the elves is lifted, the City of Emerald Shadows might become the most chaotic city in the world. Leah, can you really handle that?”
Re… rebound?
Leah imagined such a scene: tens of thousands of elves screaming, jumping, and crying emotionally on the streets of the City of Emerald Shadows.
Some might even shift through 5 different emotions in a matter of seconds.
She suddenly shivered, and her voice became much quieter.
“I will try my best.”
“Having hope for the future is a good thing, but don’t forget our current situation.”
Isabella’s voice pulled the two of them back to reality.
“Our enemy is a god about to awaken. Even setting aside the Sacred Tree, which is a powerhouse beyond categorization, our enemy has Elaril, who is in the Saint Realm, and the 5 Ninth Tier powerhouses under her command.”
“If the Elven King were still capable of fighting, we might have a chance, but we don’t even know what kind of abilities Elaril has, let alone how to defeat her.”
Isabella grew more agitated as she spoke.
Furthermore, the City of Emerald Shadows was not just contested by them and Elaril.
She had a premonition that the Alandin Kingdom and the Orcs would not sit idly by and might already be involved.
The chance of them winning was too slim.
She couldn’t help but ask.
“Leah, did your father really tell you nothing at all?”
That couldn’t be right.
Looking at Alvain’s reaction that night, he should have known long ago that Elaril was a Dark Elf.
How could he not have prepared any countermeasures?
“No. As long as I don’t cause trouble, Father generally doesn’t bother with me.”
Leah kicked a pebble at her feet and answered sulkily.
“Even Liam, the teacher who was responsible for teaching the Light Elves how to become qualified Elven Kings, was forced by my father to resign and go home. I haven’t even been able to see him once.”
“I once asked my father what I should do after I become the Elven King, but he just patted my head and said that I would naturally know once I became the Elven King.”
“Wait… it’s right here.”
Isabella interrupted her.
She didn’t know Alvain well, but in the descriptions from the Empire, he was always called a responsible monarch.
Would such a king allow his daughter to take over the entire Natural Forest without knowing anything?
Of course not.
So why didn’t he tell Leah?
Was it because he was too confident in himself and felt he could handle everything?
Isabella didn’t think Alvain was that arrogant.
Slowly, a new idea appeared in her mind.
What if she didn’t need any teaching and would just know everything once she became the Elven King?
“Leah, what is required for you Light Elves to become the Elven King?”
Isabella felt she had grasped the key and asked urgently.
Leah was taken aback by her tone but still honestly told her the tradition of the Light Elves ascending the throne.
“After the previous Elven King returns to the Sacred Tree, their mana and Douqi turn into nutrients to promote the ripening of the Sacred Fruit. Afterward, the Light Elf, who serves as the crown prince, only needs to consume the Sacred Fruit to reach the dual Saint Realm of Douqi and mana. Then, they just need to put on the Elven Crown to announce that they have become the next Elven King.”
The Sacred Fruit and the crown.
Isabella captured these 2 key items.
The probability of them obtaining the Sacred Fruit was far too low, so they could only pin all their hopes on the crown.
“Leah, do you know where your father usually keeps the crown?”
Isabella remembered that Alvain was not wearing the crown at the banquet that day, which meant he usually hid it in some corner of the palace.
“Of course I do. The crown is kept in a cabinet in my father’s room. However, there seems to be a seal on it. I tried to sneak a wear once, but I was shocked unconscious as soon as I picked it up.”
Leah’s face turned red.
Talking about her dark history in front of others still made her shy.
But Isabella was in no mood to care about her dark history; after hearing that, she was even more certain of her guess.
The possibility that the crown contained information was increasing.
“After we get out, we will try to sneak into the palace to steal the crown. I have a premonition that it might hold the information we need.”
“Oh.”
Leah nodded blankly.
She didn’t understand why Isabella reached such a conclusion, but during their time together, she realized that Winnidith and Arns both listened to Isabella.
So, she would just listen to Isabella as well.
After this matter settled, the entire party fell into a quiet atmosphere.
They kept walking forward and forward.
They did not know how long they had walked or how far they had gone when they finally heard some vague sounds.
“Slaa…. nesh… sh…”
It was the sound of someone talking!
Everyone’s spirits were lifted.
Hearing voices meant they weren’t far from the exit, and at worst, they could ask how to leave this place.
The group began to run quickly.
At the end of the path, they saw a patch of light.
As their speed increased, the light grew larger and larger.
Finally!
After they stepped into that patch of light, they saw the structure of the area.
This was a wide area containing many glowing fluorites.
The yellow light they had seen earlier emanated from the largest piece of fluorite here.
Around these stones, 3 or 5 elves with messy hair and beards were muttering something dazedly and numbly.
Beside their feet were 2 ceramic bowls, one containing fresh food and the other containing clean water.
These were the elves they were looking for, the ones imprisoned on the third level!
Winnidith and Isabella exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.
However, the things these elves were saying were simply too quiet.
The group moved quite a bit closer before they finally heard clearly that they seemed to be repeating a name.
“Slaanesh… Slaanesh… Slaanesh…”
But…
“Who is Slaanesh?”
Isabella had a headache.
She didn’t expect that even after reaching this point, a new problem would arise.
Moreover, looking at the state of these elves, they didn’t look like they could communicate at all.
“Wendy, can you check if they are being controlled?”
Isabella asked.
If they were suffering from mental confusion because they tried to resist the Sacred Tree’s control, that would be easy to handle.
If the spiritual power within Winnidith could resolve Evian’s control, then it likely wouldn’t be difficult to solve the control on them now that her power had grown stronger.
But if they weren’t being controlled and had simply gone mad, it would be difficult.
They weren’t psychologists; they couldn’t turn them from insane people back into normal ones.
“Mm.”
Winnidith activated her elemental vision, and spiritual power gradually covered her eyes.
But when she looked over, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her eyes.
“Ah!!!!!!!!!!”
The ones who shrieked were not Winnidith, but these elderly elves with messy beards.
They acted as if they had seen something terrifying, crawling backward rapidly.
Their legs shattered the ceramic bowls, but they did not care in the slightest as the food and water stained their bodies.
They huddled together like prey about to be devoured, using their trembling and crowding to offset their instinctive fear.
Their eyes looked at Winnidith in unison.
Their mouths, opened wide due to terror, shouted in perfect unison:
“SLAANESH!!!”