Chapter 68: Soul Army

“Leah has started moving toward the Holy Ground, King.”

Elaril opened her eyes, a smile on her face as she looked at Alvain beside her.

“It seems that question of yours was answered wrong.”

Alvain didn’t take her bait, instead asking back:

“Then why don’t you guess why Leah chose to move only today?”

“Given her personality, if she’d decided to come to the Holy Ground, she would have set out first thing in the morning. Why wait until today?”

“Are you saying that in these two short days, she found a plan to change the situation from the memories of the past Elven Kings?”

Elaril gave a sneering laugh, toying with Alvain’s golden hair.

“Let’s set aside the fact that I can wake Mother at any time. Even just to reach the Holy Ground, she has to deal with thousands of guards, two Nine-Order Mages, and one 9th-tier Warrior.”

“With the power she currently commands, she can’t even reach my presence.”

Alvain couldn’t refute that.

Before reaching the Saint Realm, team coordination mattered more than individual strength.

But as the Elven King who had ruled the Natural Forest for many years, Alvain’s perception of certain things far exceeded Elaril’s.

Take now, for example.

Beneath the City of Emerald Shadows, countless powers that had never been awakened were stirring.

‘Using the mana inside the Fountain of Memory to forge mana bodies for the souls? Leah, you really have grown up.’

Alvain smiled with relief.

That way, even if he disappeared, she could carry the future of the Elven race.

“I never thought our opponents this time would be our own kin.”

Pale blue mana rose from underground, then coalesced into warriors clad in armor, one after another.

They had already learned the truth of the matter.

Though they found it hard to believe, they still fell in line behind Leah in perfect formation.

There was not a single ordinary resident left in the City of Emerald Shadows.

To have room to move and to maximize the emotional turmoil, Isabella had long ago moved them to a position a hundred miles outside the city.

Perhaps because they lacked combat ability, or perhaps because the Sacred Tree still needed their emotions to heal its wounds, Elaril didn’t interfere.

She only gathered all the guards in advance, waiting for Leah to initiate the final battle.

“Stop with the sentimental talk, that doesn’t suit you.”

Someone nudged his shoulder.

Even though they were all just mana bodies now, without any sense of touch, the gesture still reminded him of the days a thousand years ago when they fought side by side.

The days when they fought as the Wind and Thunder Twins of the Elven race.

“Heh, true enough. The little Elven King has told us the full story. Since we agreed to appear, all we need to do is offer our strength.”

Wind Pride Weilan looked at Leah’s slender figure and shook his head.

“She’s only twenty-two. By our elven lifespans, she’s still just a child.”

“Enough, enough! Since when did you become so naggy? Did sleeping for a thousand years make you dumb?”

“Even if she’s still a child, she has the power to challenge an Evil God from another world! Gulitz’s (elven curse) ! Who in the world has the guts of our little Elven King?”

“Cough, cough…”

Weilan coughed twice, and Kailebo only then realized there were guests from other races nearby.

He laughed heartily:

“Hey, I forgot we still have a few human helpers here. No offense, you’re good guys too!”

“Th… thank you for the compliment.”

“By the way, your surname is Trenton?”

Kailebo suddenly asked, out of nowhere.

Not noticing anything wrong, Winnidith nodded.

That piqued Kailebo’s interest.

“Hey, do you know how we died?”

He pointed at himself, then at the helpless Weilan beside him, grinning widely.

“We, the Wind and Thunder Twins, were the two strongest Nine-Order Mages of the Elven race at the time. In the front lines, our lethality was even higher than that of the Saint Realm. In the end, we died in your empire… oh, in Saint-Vienburg of the Saint-Vienne Empire.”

Saint-Vienburg?

Winnidith’s face suddenly stiffened.

Having been cramming the history of the War of Divine Fire with Isabella recently, she had a bad feeling.

But soon, that bad feeling came true.

“The one who killed us also had the surname Trenton.”

Winnidith grew even more embarrassed.

She edged closer to Leah, afraid that this elf slain by her ancestor would try to settle the score with her.

“Hahahaha!!! Weilan, did you see her face? She’s worried I’ll take revenge on her! Hahahaha!”

Kailebo burst into laughter at her reaction.

“Tell me, if that Trenton who feared nothing and held off our thousands-strong army with one sword and one man knew his descendant was this cowardly, would he be so mad he’d come back to life? Hahaha!”

Winnidith almost covered her face.

Wasn’t her concern perfectly reasonable?

“Enough, Kailebo. She’s here to help us today. Don’t make fun of her. Besides, human lives are short. After a thousand years, Trenton’s bloodline has passed through who knows how many generations. Why do you have to bring up those embarrassing old memories?”

Weilan looked apologetically at Winnidith.

“Miss Winnidith, please forgive Kailebo’s rudeness. He just woke up after a thousand years and is desperately looking for some excitement.”

“Please rest assured, we bear no hatred toward your ancestor. All who fight for their homeland are heroes. Even we, who were the invaders back then, still admired his and General Robert’s bravery. Moreover, on the battlefield, your ancestor charged into our army openly and cut off our heads. We accept that defeat willingly.”

Winnidith had no idea how to respond.

Maybe Isabella would have come up with the perfect retort, but unfortunately, lacking combat ability, she had stayed in the rear, preparing for the Third Phase.

“Haha, Weilan, don’t blame me. Aren’t you also making things hard for the little girl? Telling her we were beheaded fair and square—how is she supposed to answer that?”

Kailebo voiced the words Winnidith was thinking.

Hearing that, Weilan realized the problem with his own words and lowered his head, thinking how to fix it.

Kailebo, on the other hand, didn’t overthink it.

He stared at the other human girl beside Leah and clicked his tongue in amazement.

“Alandin actually came to help us. Aren’t you guys the most afraid of death? You’d willingly walk into danger?”

“Alandin is not afraid of death. It simply sees further and can distinguish its interests more clearly.”

Olivier, who had been subtly insulted, didn’t get angry.

She spoke frankly.

“At that time, the imperial family of Saint-Vienne had all vanished without a trace. Hundreds of thousands of troops had no specific command and could only fight on their own. In contrast, the Allied Forces had three gods and countless blessed followers. If the Empire stubbornly resisted, the only result would be the extinction of the entire human race.”

“My ancestor saw that possibility. To protect the spark of humanity, he signed a non-aggression treaty with the Allied Forces.”

“Your current misunderstanding of the Kingdom is merely because Robert and Trenton managed to hold out under the blessing of another god. It’s just a difference in outcomes.”

“Just like back then—would you have ever thought that the Sacred Tree that saved you would become your greatest enemy?”

“Heh, quite the sharp-tongued little girl. I can’t outtalk you, but I can tell you one thing.”

Kailebo looked at Olivier and suddenly cracked a grin.

“I look down on you.”

“True wisdom is always met with criticism and misunderstanding.”

Olivier shrugged dismissively.

She looked at the elven guards standing like a wall before the Holy Ground and silently stopped.

“It seems Elaril also wants to have a direct confrontation with us.”

Olivier turned to the silent Leah and asked with a smile:

“Princess Leah, have you truly made your decision? If you take one more step forward, you’ll completely lose any chance of running away.”

“If I wanted to run, I wouldn’t have stood here in the first place.”

Leah wasn’t carrying her usual long spear.

Instead, she held a sword—a gift for her eighteenth birthday, the blade once wielded by the first Elven King.

This sword had saved countless elven lives.

Now, Leah would use it to save the very identity of all elves.

“Everyone, I’m counting on you,” she said softly.

But the wind had already memorized her words, carrying them to the ears of every soul.

“Then let’s begin.”

Elaril raised her wrist.

Countless fine threads suddenly tightened, and all the elven guards under her control received a new command.

Capture Leah.