Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 739: Chapter 538: The Sorrowful Elf Crusade

Lynn had packed up his gear and, along with his cousins, boarded the ship, as Agleya appeared in midair, softly chanting a blessing.

A statue of a maiden in a sky-long dress stood at the bow, her hands holding an exquisite sphere.

Although Agleya controlled few Wind Element Laws, sufficient only to slightly alter the ship’s speed, for Lynn, defense was more essential.

Clouds that formed around the magic ship enveloped the feet of the maiden statue, gathered in the cloak of her dress like clouds.

At least, these layers of cloud water ensured the ship couldn’t be shattered in midair.

Hill watched as the magic ship sailed away, his hands clenched tightly, softly wishing for Lynn’s safe return.

He couldn’t say anything else; the fate of Mis Zhunuo had long been sealed—they could only hope to save the survivors.

Lynn had already received his message; by the time they reached Mis Zhunuo, they probably would only be able to deal with the aftermath and, incidentally, fight with the minions of the Great Archmages who had survived.

The Great Archmages surely wouldn’t die in great numbers, but the surviving ones’ first reaction would definitely be to rush for the Nyscroll in the Sorcerer Tower.

For this, even Shade Soul City, which had guarded them for a thousand years, was sacrificed, and they surely wouldn’t give up on the Nyscroll.

When the Harpist relayed the message again, Hill estimated that Lynn had just flown halfway.

The messenger of the Harpist stood at the entrance of a building, his face flushed with excitement, one hand waving vigorously in the air.

This was entirely different from those who had died of the plague.

In Ferun Great Land, there were rarely wars that killed so many high-level professionals at once.

The Great Archmages of Shade Soul City had tried to control the Puzzle Lock of Mis Zhunuo and, in the frenzied battle, Shade Soul City crashed into Mis Zhunuo, flattening both cities.

No one knew how many Great Archmages had died, but Queen Ysiviel seemed to have survived, taking some survivors back to their original settlement in Seberholm.

Hill didn’t ask for news about Lynn; how could he possibly turn back!

There were still two Devil Legions in the ruins beneath Mis Zhunuo; even if only corpses remained, they had to find all those elves.

The Elf Crusade didn’t have many members, but if they continued living in the forests as before, perhaps more could have survived.

Hill specifically confirmed with the Harpist again that the Fey Demons had retreated to their original settlements.

They had not taken the elves with them.

It might have been a sudden misfortune that made them hastily flee, but directly abandoning their allies was a decision most couldn’t accept.

Hill watched the indignant members of the Harpist; compared to the fairies, who seldom interacted with these great forces, the Harpists always had elves, even the human members, who would stand from the elves’ perspective at such times.

But for those Fey Demons, they were just temporary allies, not the elves they were betraying; how could they consider saving them over their own kind at such a time?

Hill sighed.

By rights, these members of the Elf Crusade died in a foreign land for the glory of elves, but Eternity Island might not necessarily take them back.

Races that have lived too long always have more rules than emotions.

Hill hesitated for a moment but still flew to the vast forest on the northern side of the town.

He had always been reluctant to expand his territory into the forest because these areas might be harboring elves or tree demons who disliked interacting with humans.

Hill looked back towards the southeast, and based on his understanding of Lynn, he probably would choose to bring those elves here.

Hill’s port could accommodate the elves’ giant ships, to take back those possibly demoralized members of the crusade.

And for those who couldn’t return,

Hill found a clearing in the forest and spoke softly, ”Some brothers and sisters from Eternity Island, who sacrificed themselves in Mis Zhunuo for honor and passion,

died in a foreign land and couldn’t return, nor is it known if their souls have a place to go.

I hope to establish a resting place for them here, and may Coron’s gaze watch over their souls.”

The surrounding large trees suddenly receded slightly, leaving only pines and oaks, with sunlight filtering through the branches, filling the area with a warm ambiance.

Hill bowed slightly.

As expected, there were some Elf Druids deep in the forest.

Hill guessed this was the reason why Priest Melike once intended to come and preach but gave up on coming to Agleya Town.

In such a vast forest, the fact that no Green Dragons resided here meant that some powerful beings were deterring these giant dragons.

Hill had once suspected it was powerful Treants and Tree Spirits, but with his town becoming more prosperous and those observing eyes appearing, he began to ensure it must be Druids.

These reclusive Druids worried Hill as he wondered if they were followers of an ancient sect that even forbids cultivating farmland.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have outright refused the town residents’ requests for farmland.

He always had the authority to develop the wasteland near the town, a right inherent to every recognized territory.

However, from today’s response, these Elf Druids, though withdrawn, seemed to follow more closely the path of the Goddess of the Earth, protecting the way of the Earth with their own bodies, allowing for harvesting and planting, and even building some necessary structures in the clearings of the forest but not harming the naturally growing plants.

They still identified with their elf identity and were willing to accept those pitiful yet respectable brothers and sisters.

Hill did not look up, putting away his curiosity, he did not intend to observe which branch these elves belonged to.

Even the Wood Elves, who disliked humans, extended their goodwill.

Hill was willing to respect their traditions.

His fingers trembled slightly, then he stopped, some matters should be left to those sorrowful survivors.

Hill simply transplanted a wind chime tree at the very center of the graveyard.

The tree, full of silver bells, began to sing in the wind, like a long-lost hometown tenderly singing a lullaby.

When Hill returned to the town, he found those few elves who had settled here had unusually come out and gathered excitable around the harpist to inquire about the news.

Although many elves disagreed with the Crusaders’ actions, no one had expected Myst Zono to be destroyed so quickly.

Therefore, a portion of the elves who adventured in the Ferun Great Land had traveled to that city, after all, it was the city of splendor in the memories of elven heritage, curiosity was inevitable.

It seemed these few elves, although they had honestly hidden themselves away, still had family and friends who had gone to Myst Zono.

And unlike the powerful Elf Crusade, typically over level 15, these ordinary elves would find it difficult to survive such a big impact.

Hill, feeling helpless, turned away, only hoping that some who were alerted, upon noticing any activities from Shade Soul City, would leave Myst Zono.

But while humans and other races might manage to do so, elves might completely choose to stay and fight because of their pride and kinship feelings.

This act of Shade Soul City was the real beginning of them becoming enemies of all elves.

It was probably from this time that the elves became deeply involved in the pursuit of the Nyscrolls.

Only, they were likelier wanting to destroy it.

No matter how stubbornly conservative the nobles of Eternity Island were, this incident indeed was one of the reasons many elves chose to return to the mainland.

Seeking revenge against these Shade Souls was the only thing they wished to do.

Although Hill had prepared for the worst, he still hoped that these elves would eventually be able to return to their families on Eternity Island.

However, when he saw the returning magic ship half a month later, he knew that hope was shattered.

The numerous elves standing on the deck all bore expressions of despair.

In front of them were laid several dozen pristine white wooden coffins.

From the obvious divine power fluctuations emanating from those coffins, it was clear that these elves had chosen to dismantle the dilapidated outer walls of the elven temple in Myst Zono.

For elves, indeed, this was the best resting place, to sleep peacefully in the embrace of their beloved deities.

The considerably long lifespans of elves meant that they did not fear death and could smile while wishing their friends eternal rest. Ordinarily, these elves would only be filled with a vengeful fury, not such despair.

Eternity Island surely denied their request to bring these deceased elves back.

Hill flew to the bow of the ship and said softly, ”Come with me! There’s a place here very suitable for eternal rest.”

The magic ship followed Hill, circling past the town and directly landing on that empty plot.

Watching the warm green field under the sunlight, listening to the crisp sound of the wind chimes, the elves suddenly burst into painful cries.

Hill stood quietly under an oak tree on the perimeter, silently watching them painfully dig graves on their own.

The elves no longer followed ancient traditions of separating their comrades by families but arranged each team’s place by their squad numbers.

Then they buried their squad mates in their designated spots.

It seemed these Elf Crusaders had given up the idea of returning to Eternity Island; they planned to return here to accompany their comrades when it was their time to rest permanently.

Lynn accompanied his cousins to bury their friends, his expression sorrowful yet complex.

He glanced at Hill and walked over.

”Hill... I...”

”Elves can certainly choose to stay here with me,” Hill raised his hand to stop his incoherent words, ”otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen this graveyard. But I had hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.”

”I didn’t expect it either,” Lynn replied softly, ”there are many children of the Great Nobility here. Although they were not good children and used to bully me...

But I still don’t want to see this happen.

The news of Eternity Island refusing their return broke everyone.”

”The Queen...” Hill ventured.

”The Queen would have agreed, but she was stopped by the Noble Council,” Lynn said indifferently, ”To prevent the Queen from bringing those children who died abroad back to Eternity Island for burial, they’re even disregarding their own biological children.”

Hill fell silent, understanding that this was a political struggle, devoid of any humanity.