Free Web NovelShe pressed it lightly against Isabelle’s throat. A smile hung on her face, but her words concealed killing intent.
“You wouldn’t want the maid you spent hundreds of millions of gold on to end up completely useless and get ruined here, would you?”
“You old thing... do you really think I care about gold?” the slime girl sneered coldly.
The next second, under the blessing of the Fourth Authority, Vieya erupted with astonishing speed. She flashed to Phoenix’s back and viciously lifted her leg to kick!
“Second—Ox God’s Might!”
A flicker of surprise had just crossed Phoenix’s eyes when a surging force suddenly slammed into her side. Her entire body was sent flying like she’d been hit by the front of a train, crashing into the wall with a thunderous boom!
Boom—!
The fragile wall couldn’t bear the impact. In the blink of an eye, Phoenix smashed a huge hole through it. Dust and debris billowed instantly.
The violent impact shook the entire elven sanatorium. Countless elves were alarmed. Even the Third Elder, who had been secretly tailing them from the shadows, couldn’t help his eyelids twitch. His expression turned strange as he muttered under his breath,
“This is bad! We have to invite Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Princess over! Otherwise the Shaman is going to get beaten to death...”
“She can still stand after tenfold amplification of strength?”
Vieya stood atop the broken wall, arms crossed over her chest. Watching the figure slowly rise from the dusty ruins, her gaze grew deep.
It seemed that neither evading her perception earlier nor slipping into the Elven Forest unnoticed to get her two hundred million gold had been coincidences.
“Since things have come to this, the enemy has already revealed herself and the damage has been done, then the only choice is to fight it through to the end... The opponent’s strength is unclear, but judging from the effect of that strike just now, she isn’t especially strong. And daring to use my own words to threaten me—looks like she even eavesdropped on my conversation with the Elven Queen.”
A chill flashed through Vieya’s emerald-green eyes.
Although she hadn’t used full strength in that kick just now, the other party couldn’t possibly be unscathed.
Still, the sensation from earlier felt like she’d kicked armor or some kind of defensive gear. And someone this insidious was usually extremely afraid of death—she had to be careful of the opponent’s hidden cards.
With that in mind, Vieya no longer delayed. She raised a finger, aimed at the shadow in the dust, and spoke softly,
“Twelfth—Pocket Cut.”
Authority surged. Light scattered at her fingertips as a pale-gold beam of magic suddenly shot out, slicing downward at extreme speed in a beam-cut!
But at that moment, Phoenix also dove out of the dust.
Her face was covered in flame-like scales. Fury burned in her crimson eyes as she said coldly,
“What a junior! This world truly has no shortage of outstanding talents. I misjudged you!”
Yet she didn’t attack Vieya. Instead, she wrapped herself in red flames, transforming into a blazing scarlet bird that beat its wings and soared into the sky. The massive shockwave stirred dust across the ground.
The beam missed.
Vieya wasn’t surprised. Nor did she pause because her attack failed. She was already preparing to combine her other Authorities and continue the pursuit.
You offend me and still think you can leave?
“In ancient times, Hou Yi shot down the suns. Today, I bend my bow to shoot a little chicken.”
Vieya gently exhaled, drew out the holy sword, and formed a bowstring of azure magic. Using the sword as an arrow, she aimed at the scarlet bird flying through the sky.
“Goodbye~”
At the instant her fingers released and the arrow left the string, the entire world fell silent for a heartbeat. Then power howled, violent winds surged! It was as if the whole world had been compressed onto the blade of the flying holy sword!
But in the next moment, a silver, diamond-shaped shield appeared between the two!
Boom—!!
A gale swept across the entire Elven Royal Capital. The collision and explosion high in the sky formed a small sun in that instant, lighting up the heavens.
Vieya froze—because she saw that it was the Elven Queen who had stepped in to save that red bird.
Immediately after, Aislin also ran toward the Elven Queen in a fluster, glancing in Vieya’s direction as she ran.
It was a meaningful look.
An ominous feeling surged up in the slime girl’s heart.
......
Night.
In the grand dining hall where the Elven Queen took her meals, the atmosphere was bizarre.
Phoenix had lost decades of cultivation to that arrow and was now standing beside the Elven Queen, sniffling as she pointed at the silent slime girl and complained about something.
“Wuwuwu, Ale, just look at the partner you picked for our daughter—she’s a complete brute! Rude, brainless! She called me an old thing the moment we met and even bullied you, wuwu... I can’t swallow this grievance.”
“No, I don’t approve of this marriage! Ah—Ale! You’re actually serving her food!! You even gave her the crucian carp tofu I like the most!”
With a slap, Phoenix flopped onto the ground and started throwing a tantrum, rolling around. “Waaah! None of you love me anymore! Waaah, I’m going to make a scene!”
The Elven Queen remained expressionless, eating in silence. But Vieya could faintly sense the temperature of the air dropping—her temper and patience were nearing their limit.
And sitting beside the slime girl, Aislin didn’t look good either. She bit her lip, not having touched a single bite of food from beginning to end. Having such a second mother seemed to be a serious blow to her as well.
After a long while, the Elven Queen finally couldn’t take it anymore. She lowered her gaze to the scarlet-haired girl still crying and rolling at her feet and said coldly,
“At your age, losing to a junior—how do you even have the face to keep embarrassing yourself here?”
“Who says I lost, wuwuwu, I’m kind-hearted,” Phoenix wiped her tears and wailed. “Who knew she wouldn’t ask anything and would just kick me the moment she came up, and even shoot away decades of my cultivation with one sword!”
“Who told you to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) stalk me earlier and then threaten my friend,” Vieya said flatly as she took a bite of the fish tofu. “Serves you right.”
“You rude junior!”
Phoenix suddenly sat upright, biting a handkerchief and staring tearfully at Vieya. That look was murderous. “Are you trying to take everything from me?!”
“So what if I am?” Vieya glanced sideways at the scarlet-haired girl. “If you’ve got the ability, beat me and take it back.”
“You—you you!”
Choked speechless, Phoenix burst into tears again, clinging to the Elven Queen’s leg, snot and tears flowing together.
“Wuwu, Ale, you have to stand up for me!”
“Silence.”
Annoyed by the noise, the Elven Queen couldn’t even be bothered to give her a look. A silence spell directly robbed Phoenix of her ability to speak. Her mouth kept moving nonstop, but Vieya couldn’t hear a single sound.
The noisy dinner table finally quieted down.
The Elven Queen sighed and steered the topic back on track. “Miss Vieya, what happened today made a spectacle of you. However... have you thought about my proposal? Accept or refuse—I won’t force you.”
As if.
Vieya wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead, glanced at Aislin beside her with her head lowered and brows downcast, then took a deep breath, hesitating.
“Miss Vieya, you can say whatever you wish,” the Elven Queen said softly. “Whether it’s opinions about our elven race, or about me, or about my daughter—you may speak freely. No matter what your decision is, I will respect it.”
“Your Majesty, I think you’re too hasty.”
Vieya chewed on the fish tofu. “Whether it’s abdication, or that method you want to use to trade with me. In fact, stabilizing a soul anchor doesn’t necessarily require romantic love—familial love, friendship, or even a sense of responsibility can all work. And besides, about the real reason for abdication... are you truly not planning to tell your daughter?”
“You know?” The Elven Queen lifted her eyes to her and said calmly. “Did the head of the Azdoma family tell you?” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
“Azdoma?” Vieya paused, then shook her head. “No. It was a blond elf named Sul who told me.”
“Sul’s full name is Azdoma·Sul,” Aislin reminded softly.
Vieya was puzzled. “Isn’t she the chief of the Salt Clan?”
“Salt is a title. Azdoma is the true name,” Aislin explained.
“Oh, then I get it.” Vieya nodded thoughtfully. The elven race was really interesting—people even had to have two names.
The Elven Queen took a sip from her cup and continued, “The election of the next Elven Queen mainly relies on the votes of adult great elves, as well as the accumulated merits a candidate has earned within the clan over the years. But... the most important things are still one’s own strength and capacity for planning and leadership.”
“But what Aislin lacks the most right now is merit. Being away from the clan for more than ten years left her far behind. If you want to help her ascend the throne, you can start from this angle.”
“Merit?” Vieya was stunned. “Then what about the other aspects?”
“The other aspects Aislin can compete for herself. If she loses there, then she may as well not be the Elven Queen,” the Elven Queen said indifferently.
“Mother, I will definitely win,” Aislin promised seriously.
“Cheer up!” Vieya said happily as she patted Aislin’s shoulder hard, producing loud slapping sounds. “When you become queen someday, I can go out and brag that I was the one who put you on the throne!”
Aislin showed a helpless expression, but didn’t say anything. There was just a gentle smile in her eyes.
“Hehe. Actually, I think it wouldn’t be bad if you stayed here,” the Elven Queen smiled. “As for the World Tree matter, if you have free time these days, come find me in the palace—same place as last time.”
“Huh?”
Vieya looked up in surprise and met the Elven Queen’s calm, unfathomable eyes. “You’re not forcing me to marry in?”
“Hehe. There’s no rush on that. Once you’re sure your wish can be fulfilled beneath the World Tree, we can discuss conditions then,” the Elven Queen said. “Aislin.”
“I’m here...”
“Earning merit is also a good opportunity to level up. Miss Vieya’s current level isn’t high enough—she relies entirely on extremely draining abilities in combat. You should take her to grind levels more.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Huh? I still have to level... are you serious?” Vieya crossed her arms and asked. “Who could beat me?”
“You still need to train,” the Elven Queen said calmly. “When the time comes, let Aislin accompany you.”
“Fine then. I’ll take on this karma.”
Vieya’s thoughts shifted, and she suddenly remembered a certain beggar woman who was currently squatting in prison and would be released tomorrow. That one could immune most holy sword damage, and even her physical attributes could match one-third of Vieya’s hero-era self. A pure stat monster—absolutely disgusting. Sigh, leveling up a bit more wouldn’t hurt...
After matters were settled, the banquet officially ended.
......
The next day.
After dumping her daughter at the elven training grounds to practice magic, Vieya hurried nonstop to the agreed location.
The source of elven merits lay in how much you contributed to the elven race. Big things like purging monsters, developing new elven spell formulas, new alchemical recipes, academic research, quelling internal conflicts, or arresting elven traitors could all earn considerable merit.
Small things like returning lost money, or finding a lost kitten could also net one or two points of merit.
But under the current circumstances, the fastest way to gain merit was to hunt enough monsters—and monsters were the one thing the Elven Forest never lacked. freёwebnovel.com
Merit didn’t mean much to ordinary elves, but for elves who aspired to leadership, it was of paramount importance.
At the post station on the edge of the Elven Royal Court.
Aislin, having changed into a set of simple knight’s armor, was waiting there eagerly. She had tied her silver long hair into a neat ponytail, wore a slender elven sword at her waist, and beside her lay a docile white griffin.
This griffin was the same one that Vieya had vomited all over last time. Fortunately, its memory wasn’t very good. It wasn’t until Vieya walked up to it that it suddenly fluffed up all over, showing undisguised resistance toward the white-haired little figure in front of it!
Vieya also had lingering trauma about this griffin. Her voice carried an indescribable tone, as if she’d swallowed a fly.
“Aislin... do we really have to ride it? Has it been washed properly? Ugh, it feels so disgusting.”
