Alchemy Master

Chapter 1087, The Entire Race on Alert

Translator: Silavin

The Elf Queen, without question, stood among the most supremely powerful beings on the continent of the Myriad Races.

Should an existence of this calibre choose to renege on her word, regardless of how strongly Qin Yichen objected, there was nothing whatsoever he could do about it.

As though reading the concern that had taken root, the Elf Queen gave a wry smile and said, “Once Avril’s baptism is complete, both of them may go to the Royal Palace to comprehend it together.”

“The Royal Palace?” The tension in Qin Yichen’s chest eased somewhat. If she was to study alongside Avril, then the Elf Queen clearly had no intention of concealing anything or offering a hollow alternative.

Still, it stirred a quiet curiosity in him. [Is the Life Scripture not meant to be comprehended at the Tree of Life? Why would they be going to the Royal Palace?]

“Go and rest for now. Wait until Avril’s baptism is finished.” The Elf Queen said nothing further. She set Little Ling’er down gently and said to Qin Yichen.

Seeing no opening to press further, Qin Yichen gave Avril a nod, then turned and followed behind the Elf Queen with Little Ling’er at his side, moving away from the base of the Tree of Life.

Actually, he did not resent Avril.

He knew she was not the sort to forget kindness. The reason she had not come to find him, he suspected, was because of the Elf Queen. She must have been worried about further incidents and had restricted her movements.

It was also possible that the Elf Queen had, at first, wondered whether Qin Yichen’s rescue had been yet another performance staged by the Blood Beastmen Race.

As it happened, perhaps owing to a certain sense of shared suffering, the Elf Queen held considerable goodwill toward the Human Race. Once she had discerned Qin Yichen’s identity, she had not allowed her suspicion to probe any deeper. She had simply chosen to believe him.

As they took their leave, Avril pressed her lips together briefly, set aside the tangle of emotions churning within her, and slowly lowered herself to sit.

Before long, Qin Yichen had followed the Elf Queen to the base of the Tree of Life.

In the distance beyond it stood a multitude of gathered figures. Scanning the crowd, one could see Royal Elves and Elf Elders alike, every face etched with worry as they peered toward this direction, clearly wanting to approach yet not daring to do so.

It was only when the Elf Queen appeared within their field of vision, Life Scepter in hand, that the tension in those assembled collectively eased up.

“Reinforce the perimeter. Emergency Alert is to be set to Orange.”

The Elf Queen’s gaze swept across those gathered in the distance. Her voice, authoritative and vast as divine law itself, resonated throughout the world.

“Orange Alert!?”

At those words, the expressions of the assembled Elves changed in an instant.

The Orange Alert was the Elf Race’s highest-tier warning signal.

Once this signal was issued, the Elf Race would implement a total lockdown. For the duration of the alert, no individual of any Race would be permitted to enter the boundaries of the Elf Forest. Not even the merchants who had long-standing dealings with the Elf Race.

During this period, the Elf Race would maintain a state of absolute vigilance. Even the outer perimeter of the Elf Forest, where no Elves resided, would be blanketed with guards.

Any intruder would be detected the instant they made their presence known.

In the entire recorded history of the Elf Race, the number of times the Orange Alert had been activated could be counted on one hand.

Most significantly, in all of Elf Race history, two instances of the highest grade alert had each begun as an Orange Alert before being escalated to the Red Alert.

The Red Alert had been activated on only two occasions.

The first was when the Elf Race had found itself at a moment of existential crisis. It had to unveil the full breadth of its strength to intimidate powerful enemies on all sides.

The second was recorded only in vague and partial terms in the ancient texts, alluding obscurely to some connection with a terrifying individual from the Human Race. Though the anticipated great war had ultimately never come. Several years later, the Elf Queen of that era had announced the cancellation of the alert.

Now, the Orange Alert, second only to the Red in severity, had been declared by the Elf Queen at this very moment.

This left many among the Elves deeply perplexed. By all appearances, the situation had resolved itself: the Blood Beastmen’s poison had been cured, the invaders and the traitors had been dealt with, and the Life Scepter had been reclaimed.

Everything seemed to be moving in a favourable direction. To activate an alert of this magnitude at such a time seemed, to many, excessive.

Yet no matter how puzzled they were, not a single Elf dared to question the Elf Queen’s command. In moments, silhouettes streaked outward in every direction, swift as arrows loosed from the string.

It would not be long before the signal reached every corner of the Elf Race, drawing the entire Race into a state of stringent and absolute readiness.

[How decisive.] Watching the Elf Queen’s unwavering resolve, a trace of admiration flickered briefly through Qin Yichen’s eyes.

The immediate dangers appeared to have been dealt with, yet the Elf Queen had not permitted herself even a moment’s relaxation. Instead, she had placed the entire Elf Race on full alert, which told him plainly that she, too, had recognised that this matter was far from as simple as what it looked like on the surface.

“Sir Qin, please rest here for the time being.” The Elf Queen did not leave. She inclined her head toward Qin Yichen in a gesture of acknowledgement.

Qin Yichen nodded in return and sat down beside Little Ling’er, his eyes heavy with worry.

He understood that the Elf Queen had no intention of deceiving him. Had she wished to, she would never have offered to let Little Ling’er study the Life Scripture alongside Avril.

Yet he could not help but go over her words in his mind. [Difficulty? What would be difficult? Difficult in comprehending the Life Scripture?]

Ever since they had entered the boundaries of the Elf Forest, Little Ling’er’s condition had been unstable. If she was unable to begin studying the Life Scripture, then Little Ling’er had a high risk of dying.

“I hope Avril’s baptism ends quickly.” Qin Yichen drew a long, slow breath, then pressed a smile onto his face and turned it gently upon Little Ling’er.

“Daddy, that tree is so tall…” As though she had sensed the worry concealed beneath Qin Yichen’s expression, Little Ling’er turned her small, guileless face toward him and pursed her lips in that innocent, melodious way of hers.

“Yes, it is really tall…” Qin Yichen gave a soft laugh and tilted his gaze upward along the trunk of the Tree of Life before him.

The trunk soared straight into the Heavens, and the dense canopy spread outward like a layer of cloud, making it impossible to gauge either its height or the full breadth of its reach.

“Hmm…” All at once, Qin Yichen’s eyes narrowed slightly. Under the focused attention of his gaze, he noticed that between the Tree of Life and the Elf Queen, there appeared to be a series of barely perceptible threads of light, weaving and winding between them.

When he concentrated and looked more carefully, he confirmed it. There were indeed several green threads of light, connecting the Tree of Life to the Life Scepter in the Elf Queen’s hand.

These green threads were the kind of thing that, had Qin Yichen not noticed something amiss by chance and directed his full mental focus upon them, would have been entirely invisible to the naked eye.

What puzzled him was that there were precisely nine of these threads in total. Three of them were relatively thick and robust, while the remaining six were a lot finer.

Most curious of all were the three thicker threads. Two of them radiated a sense of immense, surging vitality, but the third was dim and faded, and from it, not even the faintest trace of energy could be felt.