“So, why are you coming along?”
“Ahaha, there are hundreds of guards inside the Imperial Palace, you know. Without my help, it wouldn’t be easy for just the four of you to break through, would it?”
Facing Winnidith’s question, Olivier simply replied with a smile.
“However, I am quite surprised that Princess Isabella didn’t come with you.”
“Hmm?”
Olivier suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the surrounding mana.
Focusing her perception, she directed her gaze towards Winnidith’s silver hair.
“Oh~ So it’s here.”
Through the smooth silver hair, she saw a crescent-shaped black object attached to Winnidith’s ear.
“What is this? A new Magic Tool invented by Miss Winnidith? I haven’t heard of such a tool appearing in the Empire during my time at Eternal Bright Fortress.”
Olivier’s interest was piqued: What was its function?
Placed next to the ear, was it related to sound?
Enhancing hearing?
Or perhaps, it could receive sounds from afar?
What was its principle?
Ah~
I really want to take it apart and see the Magic Array inside.
A shadow suddenly fell across Olivier’s line of sight.
She blinked, realizing that Etheriel had somehow appeared between her and Winnidith without her noticing.
“If you get any closer, I’ll attack you!”
Winnidith huffed from behind Etheriel.
Oops, lost control of my emotions.
Olivier smiled and took several steps back, raising her hands to show she meant no harm.
“I was merely captivated by the Magic Tool you created. Perhaps you won’t believe me, but as a Mage, I’ve actually always been your fan.”
“I believe with Miss Winnidith’s kindness and understanding, she certainly wouldn’t be stingy about explaining its wonders to her fan, right?”
‘I don’t believe a word of it, you crazy woman, you’re so bad.’
Winnidith complained internally from behind Etheriel.
Since when did she have labels like ‘kind’ and ‘understanding’?
Even if she did, they certainly weren’t meant for Olivier.
The tool on her ear was indeed a Magic Tool, but it wasn’t something she invented recently.
She had made a prototype sample a year ago and left it with the Royal Academy of Magic for observation.
However, because the internal space of its container was too small, and the mana amplification device took up a lot of space, the Magic Array inside could only be carved extremely tiny.
This raised the requirements for the Mage.
In the vast Royal Academy of Magic, only ten people could carve such a small array.
And those ten were all busy analyzing other Magic Tools and had no time for production.
Moreover, its function wasn’t particularly crucial, so it was never mass-produced and remained relatively unknown.
Winnidith had actually been using it as a noise-cancelling Earplug.
It wasn’t until last night when she was sleeping and bumped into something hard that she suddenly remembered this thing also had a voice transmission function.
This set of Magic Tools consisted of two pieces: one called a “Walkie-Talkie” and one called an “Earplug.”
When the user of the “Walkie-Talkie” activates the tool, the Wind Element within gathers around them, memorizing every word they say.
Then, these Wind Elements carry the information to the “Earplug.”
The advantage was long-distance communication.
The rest were all disadvantages.
First, during transmission, extra Wind Elements might get mixed in, causing the speech to sound choppy.
Then, there was significant delay.
Like now, they had been in a standoff for nearly half a minute before Isabella’s voice came through intermittently.
-“Wendy… be… careful… of… Oliv… ier…”
I really need to optimize this magic when I get back!
Winnidith covered her face in embarrassment.
“I’ve finished checking. There are about a hundred guards here, and the two Mages who were chasing me earlier are also here… What are you all doing?”
Since Leah was more familiar with this place, she volunteered to scout ahead.
But when she returned after investigating, she saw the two of them in a rather awkward atmosphere.
Winnidith definitely wouldn’t start trouble proactively, so the cause of this situation could only be Olivier.
Leah’s gaze immediately turned stern.
“Don’t tell me you intended to harm Winnidith?”
“No, how could that be?”
Olivier said sincerely.
Even if she had any ill intentions, she had to consider the presence of Etheriel by her side.
At least for now.
“It was merely an enthusiastic fan expressing her admiration for her shy idol. You needn’t worry.”
“More importantly, let’s discuss the situation at the Imperial Palace first.”
Leah was skeptical of her words but strongly agreed with her suggestion.
“Since all the Dark Elves’ abilities originate from your Alandin, you should have no problem dealing with the guards in the palace, right?”
Leah’s thinking was simple: since everything about the Dark Elves came from Eternal Bright Fortress, then Olivier, as a member of the Alandin Royal Family, must have higher authority in this regard than Elaril.
But unfortunately, she guessed wrong.
“You think too highly of me, Princess Leah.”
Olivier spread her hands.
“The binding on the Elves originates from the Sacred Tree your people have served for generations. In terms of affinity with Him, how could we mere mortals compare to the Dark Elves, who are creations of the Sacred Tree?”
“It’s just that when Lady Elaril controls them, she also incorporates our Alandin Secret Arts. That’s why her authority surpasses that of the Elven King, allowing her to gain control over the Elves.”
“What I can do is essentially only disrupt the Alandin control on them, rendering them immobile.”
“But the Ninth Rank is different. Ninth Rank Elves are Elaril’s trump cards. They each carry a fragment of her soul. Even if I disrupt the operation of the Secret Arts, they will still faithfully carry out Elaril’s commands.”
“So.”
Olivier blinked, her tone sugary sweet.
“I can only help deal with the ordinary guards. The two Ninth Order Mages will have to be left to the three of you. I’m sure with Princess Leah and Miss Winnidith’s strength, there won’t be any problems, right?”
“What about you?”
Winnidith asked.
She really wasn’t comfortable leaving their backs to Olivier.
Moreover, an Eighth Rank Mage like her was also a significant combat asset.
How could they waste that?
“Me? Please understand, the Alandin Secret Arts are not without cost. And strictly speaking, my current body no longer possesses the bloodline of the Alandin Royal Family. Forcibly performing the Secret Arts is very taxing.”
Olivier shot over a resentful look.
“I’m no match for Elaril. Just disrupting the control on them will take all my effort. Please spare me from fighting and such.”
Whether what Olivier said was true or not, they didn’t know.
But since the other party was now adamant about not participating in combat, they really had no choice.
They could only keep an extra eye out to guard against her potential sneak attacks later.
“I hope Princess Isabella’s guess isn’t wrong.”
“I’m really scared of pain.”
Olivier attached mana to her finger, forming a dagger.
She carefully manipulated this mana dagger to prick her own body.
As soon as she extracted a drop of blood, she withdrew the mana blade and began healing.
Just as Leah was wondering if this was too exaggerated, Olivier suddenly flicked that drop of blood outward.
Simultaneously, the mana within her body flowed continuously, and she murmured some words under her breath.
“Let the blood of gathered spirits overflow the cup of joy, the land of bliss shall manifest within the cup.”
It sounded like some kind of high-level magic, but Winnidith had never heard of this two-part incantation before.
She activated her Elemental Vision and saw that the drop of blood she had flicked out suddenly transformed into countless crimson threads.
These threads entangled with the transparent threads above the Elves’ heads, tying them into knots that rendered the Elves unable to move.
Winnidith also saw a crimson thread sneakily trying to harass Etheriel, but it was destroyed with a frown before it could even get close.
“You two, please hurry.”
Olivier, having been seen through, showed no embarrassment.
Instead, she urged them righteously.
“Elaril will definitely sense the disturbance here. If she resists, I can only hold on for ten minutes.”
“If you two haven’t returned from the Imperial Palace within ten minutes, I’ll have no choice but to save my own skin, you know.”
“Understood!”
Leah shouted and charged straight towards Alvain’s bedchamber.
Seeing this, Winnidith could only follow with Etheriel in tow.
All the guards they saw along the way had lost their purpose, collapsing to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
But soon, the familiar figures of a man and a woman appeared before them.
“It’s you again! This time, this princess won’t hold back!”
Seeing their enemies again made their eyes red with fury.
Knowing time was short, Leah didn’t waste any words, brandishing her spear and unleashing a barrage of various magic and combat techniques.
Meanwhile, Winnidith provided magical support from the rear.