Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3117: Thalorien’s Plan A

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Lil’ Red Storm Realm

“You don’t give up easily, do you?” Dalia asked teasingly.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she sensed Thalorien attempting to activate his Demon Merchant Code. Even now, the Snow Elven Crown Prince was trying to find a way out.

Unfortunately for him, he had overlooked something. By the time Dalia’s roots had infiltrated his Unholy Core, Hive Spirit had already taken control of his devices. His communication channels, his Demon Codex , his ability to transmit information externally, everything were effectively being monitored and manipulated.

Thalorien had no idea. He continued trying to transmit the information he had gathered to his beloved wife, hoping she would understand the significance of what he had discovered and use it to summon reinforcements.

If his message reached the right people, he believed the situation could change completely. The existence of a Celestial-level World-Devouring Tree was not an ordinary piece of information.

It was something capable of mobilizing the forces of the Librarian. These days, most beings knew the Librarian primarily as the creator and master of the Infinity Library. But Thalorien knew of another Librarian. The Librarian of his youth.

Before becoming the figure who presided over the Infinity Library, the hub of all known knowledge in the known Myriad Realms, he had been a conqueror.

He had conquered vast portions of the Dark Realm and numerous advanced realms and races throughout the Myriad Realms, using their combined knowledge with his own as the foundational building blocks for the Infinity Library. His campaigns had left behind countless legends, but two accomplishments stood above most of the others.

He had hunted all the World-Devouring Trees to extinction and subjugated the Pixie tribes throughout the known Myriad Realms, turning them into slaves in his Infinity Library. Because of that history, the Librarian’s forces treated World-Devouring Trees as an extremely sensitive matter.

A Celestial-level World-Devouring Tree was even more extraordinary. If Thalorien could transmit proof of one to the proper authorities, the Demon Merchant Code would likely make an exception for ordinary territorial restrictions. The usual limitations surrounding the exploration rights of this region could be overridden, allowing the Librarian’s forces to descend directly upon the Lil’ Red Storm Realm. That would solve several problems at once.

They would destroy the abomination standing before him. He would recover his Froslings. He would reclaim his Half-Bloods. And perhaps, if he played his cards correctly, he could even earn the goodwill of the Librarian’s forces by being the one who uncovered such an unprecedented threat.

It was an excellent plan. At least, it would have been. If his messages were actually leaving the realm. Thalorien continued transmitting the information, completely unaware that every attempt disappeared into the silent control of Hive Spirit.

Dalia watched him for a moment, amusement slowly appearing in her eyes. She would never have given the details to Thalorien if she wasn’t confident in abilities to control the situation.

The Snow Elven Crown Prince was still fighting. Even now, while negotiating with her, he was secretly searching for another way to turn the situation around.

She almost admired his persistence. Almost.

Dalia also understood exactly what Thalorien was trying to accomplish. He had no intention of willingly accepting the Primordial Calamity Daughter Gem she had offered him. After all, if he truly accepted it, then the moment the Librarian’s forces arrived, assuming his message somehow reached his wife and she managed to summon them, they would not simply be coming to destroy Dalia. They would destroy him along with her.

Once he became a Calamity Daughter Gem, his fate would be tied to hers. Whatever enmity the Librarian’s forces held toward World-Devouring Trees would no longer matter to Thalorien’s intentions. He would be standing on the same side as the very existence he was attempting to expose. He didn’t know what exactly she was offering but he knew enough to know how exactly it worked.

Dalia found the situation rather amusing. Still, none of this changed Dalia’s plans. She had already brought nearly every aspect of the situation under her control. Thalorien’s body, his Frost Rule Stream, along with all his devices, the battlefield, and even his memories themselves were all within her grasp. The only thing she had yet to truly seize was his will. And Dalia was confident that it was only a matter of time.

She had no intention of forcefully recruiting him as a calamity daughter if she could recruit him as a bloodkin. With Sansa’s help, Dalia already knew where Thalorien’s deepest convictions lay.

The Snow Elven Crown Prince valued the prosperity of his race above everything else. Above his own safety. Above his dignity. Even above his family. He had been willing to sacrifice his own father when he believed doing so was necessary for the future of the Snow Elven race.

That told Dalia everything she needed to know. Thalorien was not the sort of person who would surrender simply because he was afraid of death. Threatening him with death would only make him more stubborn. But threaten the future of his entire race? Give him a choice where his own freedom stood between the Snow Elves and the future he had spent his entire life pursuing?

That was different. Dalia’s lips curled into a faint smile. If she pushed the right buttons, she might eventually make Thalorien reach the conclusion herself. He might willingly take the Primordial Calamity Daughter Gem, not because she had defeated him and forced it upon him, but because he believed accepting it was the best path toward achieving his dream for the Snow Elven race.

And if she could accomplish that, then she would satisfy the requirement for inheriting the Cursed Primordial Bloodline while gaining something far more valuable than another Calamity Daughter Gem. She would gain Thalorien as a Bloodkin. That was the outcome Dalia truly wanted. As such, she had made controlled every aspect of her younger brother well laid plan to achieve it.