Free Web NovelChapter 9: Prophecy
CH 9: Prophecy
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"I saw a prophecy!" the Crown Princess said calmly, but the movements of her hands beneath the table suggested otherwise.
"What?!" Most of the advisors in the council shouted almost at the same time and stood up in shock as they stared at the Crown Princess.
If it had been anyone else in the council claiming to have seen a prophecy, they wouldn’t have believed a single word of it. But this was the Crown Princess, a member of the royal bloodline.
When those of the royal bloodline saw a prophecy, it was usually accurate.
Especially the Crown Princess.
Over the past ten years, the Crown Princess had seen three prophecies, and every single one had come true.
The first concerned the Royal Guard who were devoured by the Giants. The Crown Princess had predicted that event beforehand, but no one believed her. When the news of the Royal Guard’s demise arrived, everyone looked at that young girl with shock and disbelief.
The second time was when the dormant volcano erupted. Many council advisors once again refused to believe her, arguing that there were no signs whatsoever that a dormant volcano would suddenly erupt. However, the Queen and several advisors trusted her and made the necessary preparations.
Sure enough, a few weeks later, the volcano erupted.
At that moment, every advisor who had doubted the Crown Princess knelt and sincerely apologized, because due to their foolishness, at least half of the City of Light could have been destroyed by that eruption.
The third prophecy came a year ago.
She foresaw the Queen’s death and the Centaur race’s attack on the City of Light.
This time, no one dared doubt her.
The Queen died only days later, and thanks to the precautions they had taken, they had managed to survive until now without facing extinction.
In truth, the Crown Princess was not the eldest princess by age, nor was she even the direct daughter of the previous Queen. She was the eighth-generation granddaughter of the Queen’s brother.
However, thanks to those prophecies, she had accumulated enough achievements to be recognized as the Crown Princess.
Once this war ended, she would be crowned as the hundredth Queen of the Elves.
"Sit down, you fools. Let us hear what the Crown Princess has foreseen," Thandria, the purple-haired woman, said angrily as she ordered the fools who had lost their composure to calm down.
Strangely enough, not a single person objected to Thandria’s angry tone or blunt manner.
"You may speak now, Your Highness."
Thandria’s furious expression instantly turned gentle as she addressed the Crown Princess.
Thandria was not merely an ordinary advisor.
In fact, she was the youngest advisor present, only slightly older than the Crown Princess.
In addition to being one of the most talented Elves in the City of Light, she was also one of the Four Masters who had reached the third level.
Those Four Masters were...
Gao, the Wood Elf with green hair and a loud voice.
Etham, the Wind Elf with white hair who had argued with Gao earlier.
Thandria, the Lightning Elf with purple hair.
And of course, Crown Princess Elena, the Light Elf with golden hair.
These four formed the pillars of the Elf race within the City of Light and served as the strongest line of defense against the Centaur race.
"Thank you, Thandria."
The Crown Princess nodded gently toward Thandria before turning to the rest of the council members.
"I saw endless darkness, and within that darkness, I saw a great tree harvesting the heads of the Centaur race outside the walls like a dragon among a flock of chickens.
I saw it devour the eight third-level Centaur Masters as though a whale swallowing a school of fish.
And I saw it lead us toward the heavens just as the Tree of Cradle did in ancient times!"
The Crown Princess’s voice echoed throughout the hall like sacred hymns, leaving everyone present utterly astonished.
Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the Crown Princess.
Neither Gao, Etham, nor Thandria were exceptions.
In fact, the shock they felt was even greater than that of the others.
"Was... was that tree the Tree of Life?" Etham asked while looking at the Crown Princess, anticipation and excitement filling his eyes.
Outwardly, Etham had remained calm all this time, but no one knew just how worried he had been throughout these past months.
He had constantly prayed for a way out of this crisis.
He had always wished for someone to slaughter those damned Centaurs.
And it seemed his wish was finally about to come true.
"No," the Crown Princess replied.
"It wasn’t the Tree of Life."
"It was the Tree of Abyss!"
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"My Lord, there is a second-level beast ahead. It would be better if we went around it so it doesn’t delay us from reaching the City of Light."
Luna clung tightly to Rios’s branches as she informed him of what she had detected ahead.
Luna was a Dark Elf, and it was currently evening.
Within the darkness of the night, Luna’s perception was the sharpest among the three of them.
After Rios and the other two set off toward the City of Light, it quickly became clear that they were far slower than Rios himself.
This left them utterly stunned.
How could a tree—even a Sacred Tree—be faster than Elves, a race famous for its agility and tremendous speed?
Especially considering that Jansh and Luna were Wind Elf and Dark Elf respectively.
The City of Light possessed records regarding the Sacred Trees, including the Tree of Abyss itself. freewёbnoνel.com
However, none of those records ever mentioned Sacred Trees being capable of moving as swiftly as Rios.
Therefore, to reduce the time needed to reach the City of Light, Rios simply carried Jansh and Luna on his branches.
In truth, Rios wasn’t supposed to be this fast.
He was ultimately a tree. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Trees were known for their defense, healing abilities, and mental prowess—not speed.
However, thanks to the Legendary skill Flexibility, Rios had gained speed that surpassed even that of the Elves.
"No. We need to kill that beast!" Rios growled excitedly.
A second-level beast meant dozens of points.
And that meant getting one step closer to reaching the second level.
That was all Rios could think about.
"My Lord, forgive my curiosity, but why are you so eager to kill a mere second-level beast?"
