Chapter 842

【 RETURN TO THE ELVEN FOREST 】

The golden Arch Gate stood upon the sea, its magnificent frame bathed in a dazzling radiance. The Moonlight Queen Diana, accompanied by several thousand elves, passed through it amid the brilliant light.

The moment they passed through the gate, the scenery before them changed completely. The vast sea vanished from their sight, replaced by the familiar western coast of the Elven Forest.

Looking at the lush and beautiful forest before her, Diana’s eyes were filled with barely restrained excitement.

A radiant light shone from her violet-blue pupils, reflecting the emotions surging within her heart.

A thousand years…

It had been almost a thousand years…

She had finally returned to the place she had yearned for day and night, and she had finally seen this dreamlike land once more!

Looking at the bustling elven port along the coast and the ships coming and going through its harbor, Diana even thought for a moment that she was still dreaming.

Of course, the cool sea breeze, the cheerful and carefree cries of seabirds in the sky, and the faint sound of bells drifting from the city along the shore all told her that this was no dream.

If it truly were a dream, then… it was far too beautiful.

“Mirovia… This city is definitely Mirovia!”

Diana said, her voice trembling.

As the former queen of the Elven Kingdom, she remembered every corner of the Elven Forest and the appearance of every city.

However, the elven city before her was subtly different from the coastal city in her distant memories…

For instance, this harbor seemed far more prosperous than it had been a thousand years ago. Ship after ship, laden with goods and flying all kinds of flags, gave Mirovia an appearance it had never possessed in the past.

Not only that, the city itself seemed larger than she remembered. From afar, one white elven building after another rose from the ground. Alongside the structures Diana recognized, there were many that had clearly been built recently. In particular, along the coast, she could see rows of elegant and exquisite villas and estates.

On the embankment by the shore, countless elves could also be seen coming and going.

But unlike the members of the Azurefrost Clan in Diana’s memories, although the Frost Elves in the vicinity accounted for a considerable proportion of the crowd, there were also many elves with hair of various colors, hopping and skipping along the shore.

Hmm…

—Wait.

Hopping and skipping?

Looking at the elves strangely jumping about along the coastal embankment, Diana was slightly taken aback.

Then, in the next moment, several loud and majestic dragon roars came from the sky…

They were imposing dragons, each with an elf riding upon its back.

Not only that, apart from dragons, there were also all kinds of flying magical beasts. Carrying elves, they either descended into the city or took flight, spreading their wings and soaring into the distance…

This was a scene Diana had never witnessed before. Although the elves were Children of Nature and had formed contracts with many magical beasts throughout history, they had never possessed such a vast number of flying magical beasts as they did today.

Especially… dragons!

In the sky, upon the ground, and across the sea…

No matter how she looked at it, the prosperity of the elven city before her far surpassed that of the world in Diana’s memories!

“Could all of this… be the work of the Elven Chosen Ones summoned by Her Majesty, the Matriarch?”

Diana could not help but murmur.

She had already heard Four Seasons speak of the rapid development of the Elven Forest over the past few years.

However, she had never expected the changes to be so astonishing!

At this moment, Diana developed a strong favorable impression of the Chosen Ones, as well as immense curiosity about them…

“It isn’t just the Chosen Ones. The Frost Elves have also made tremendous contributions. The Elven Forest has long since been transformed into something entirely new.”

Four Seasons smiled.

“That’s right. In the current World of Seigües, no one dares to underestimate our elven race anymore. What’s more, various other races have already come to regard the Elven Forest as a beacon in the darkness.”

Kelez spoke with immense pride.

“A beacon in the darkness?”

Diana looked surprised and astonished.

“We have the Chosen Ones to thank for that.”

Beside them, the Silver Dragon Mercury said after taking on human form.

The Silver Dragon Venus also nodded.

“Indeed. Ever since the amount of mana began to recover in the World of Seigües, the elven Chosen Ones have become active across the land. They help the weak and eradicate evil, gradually earning a reputation across the continent comparable to that of knights and rangers. This has been especially apparent over the past six months.”

“Moreover, I heard that the Chosen Ones participated in the reforms of the Church of Life and helped spread the Goddess’s faith. Now, many regions across the continent have fallen into war or suffered other disasters, yet the territories under the influence of the Church of Life remain peaceful and prosperous…”

At this point, the Silver Dragon let out a soft sigh.

“I suppose… this is why the Church of Life is regarded by so many people as a beacon in the darkness.”

As she conversed with the Silver Dragons and Kelez, Diana led her people ashore. Once the elves had been brought to the continent, the “dolphins” all returned to the sea.

Upon setting foot on the land of the Elven Forest once more, Diana could not help but kneel and kiss the earth she remembered so well. She devoutly drew a tree-shaped symbol over her chest, but… after making only the first stroke, she suddenly realized something and changed it to the symbol of the Scepter of Life that she had learned from Four Seasons.

The arrival of so many elves naturally attracted the attention of the city’s residents, and both the locals and players looked on with curiosity.

In particular, when the elves noticed that many members of the returning group belonged to the Moonlight Clan, their curiosity quickly turned into respect.

The Moonlight Clan was considered the royalty of the elves. They had once played a crucial role in leading the elves to the height of the Silver Era, and for this reason, they had always held an extraordinary position among the elven race.

Of course, Diana, being the leader of the group who stood beside Kelez, became the center of attention.

This was especially true when some sharp-eyed elves noticed that Kelez, who had already become a demigod, seemed to treat Diana with considerable respect.

At this point, some elves familiar with the history of the church and their race had already vaguely guessed Diana’s identity.

However, before the elves could officially confirm it, her identity was shouted out by the players who had already heard the news.

“The Moonlight Queen! It’s really the Moonlight Queen!”

Their expressions were filled with excitement.

Hmm… It was the excitement of seeing yet another golden NPC whose favorability they could grind.

Countless pieces of evidence had already proven that the favorability system in Elven Kingdom was completely different from those in other games.

Just like in reality, one’s first meeting with an NPC was the most important. An NPC’s favorability often depended on how the first encounter went.

If one’s first impression was poor, then one might have to put in a hundred or even a thousand times the effort to change it later… and even that might not necessarily succeed.

Demacia, the vice president of Heart of Nature, was a living and rather classic example of this. As one of the extremely rare players from the game’s first closed beta, he still had a considerable number of elven NPCs whose favorability toward him remained negative. This was all related to the trouble he had caused in the past.

Nowadays, almost every video on the video sharing websites related to favorability guides would bring up his “glorious” exploits for ridicule. In a sense, he had certainly made a name for himself.

Of course, Diana knew nothing about any of this.

All she felt was the fiery enthusiasm contained within the Chosen Ones’ heated gazes.

At this moment, the Saintess of Life, Alice, accompanied by player representative Li Mu and several others, arrived before Diana and her companions.

“I, Alice Galewind, Saintess of Life. I pay my respects to Her Highness, the Moonlight Queen Diana. Your Highness, welcome home, you and your people.”

Alice respectfully bowed and said with a smile.

“Saintess…”

Diana slowly returned the greeting.

“Your Highness Diana, I am Li Mu, one of the Chosen Ones. The church has already made arrangements for your group. Please lead them and come with us.”

Li Mu also smiled.

He was neither servile nor overbearing, and his respectful demeanor, combined with the relatively understated Druidic robes he wore compared to those of other players, made him look almost nothing like a player.

“Thank you, Lord Li Mu.”

Diana gratefully returned his greeting.

Having gained experience in settling returning elves time and again, accommodating a mere few thousand elves was not difficult.

From morning until evening, nearly all of them had been settled.

Of course, before officially joining the Elven Forest, they still had to attend classes held by the Church of Life, study its holy codex, comprehend the Goddess’s teachings, and rediscover the faith they had lost.

This was not particularly difficult since the reason they had abandoned their faith in the first place was because they had all believed that the World Tree had fallen.

But now that the Goddess had returned, they were naturally willing, as Children of Nature, to return to the embrace of the reformed church.

The sun gradually sank into the west, and night descended.

After participating in the arrangements for her people and spending the entire day busy with their resettlement, Diana finally finished her work.

This had been her own request. Although she had returned to the Elven Forest and desperately wished to see the Matriarch, she would only be able to truly put her mind at ease after seeing that the people who had followed her all this way had been properly settled.

There was a reason she had been able to establish the Elven Kingdom in the past and earn the love of everyone.

As the bright moon rose and the stars appeared, brilliant lights began to illuminate every corner of Mirovia. Along the roads, inside the houses, and throughout almost every part of the city, there was light to be seen.

The entire world seemed as bright as day, both dreamlike and dazzling.

Looking at the magnificent scene before her, Diana was stunned.

“This is…”

A trace of astonishment flashed through her eyes.

“These are the improved magical lamps we developed. They are already being tested in several cities, and Mirovia is one of them. If they prove successful, we plan to promote them throughout the Elven Forest and across the territories under the Church of Life.”

Li Mu explained.

“Magical lamps?”

Diana’s eyes brightened slightly.

A thousand years ago, the elves had also developed magical lamps. However, they had mostly been used as works of art and decorative items. Their extremely high cost had made widespread adoption difficult.

But judging from the scene before her… had that problem already been solved?

Diana voiced her doubts, and Li Mu smiled as he explained.

“Magitite stones!”

“The source of magic power for these magical lamps is magitite stones. They illuminate the lamps by consuming the magic power stored within them, while the magitite stones can replenish their own magic power by absorbing magical elements from the air.”

“We combined them with some technology from our homeland and improved the design. The cost has been greatly reduced, with the magitite stones being the primary expense.”

“Fortunately, the Frozen Valley has extremely abundant reserves of magitite stones, enough to support extensive mining and use. In addition… we have also discovered several magitite stone mines with considerable reserves in the Mindel Realm.”

“Our plan is to make sure that within two years, every elven city, town, and village in the Elven Forest can enjoy nights illuminated by brilliant lights!”

After hearing Li Mu’s explanation, Diana’s eyes also brightened slightly.

She seemed to have already glimpsed the magnificent scene he had described.

After observing everything carefully, Diana had to admit that there were far too many novel things in the Elven Forest: improved magical lamps, improved magical plants, and all kinds of strange and ingenious magical items…

And the vast majority of them came from the Chosen Ones!

This made Diana even more curious about the origins of the Chosen Ones.

She had a vague suspicion that perhaps… the Chosen Ones did not come from some hidden realm, as she had learned from her conversation with Alice earlier that day.

Perhaps… they did not belong to the Seigües Universe at all!

The thought startled Diana.

However, after carefully considering it, she felt that it was entirely possible.

She was not an ordinary demigod. As the former queen of the Elven Kingdom, the leader of the Eight Demigod Guardians of the elvenkind, and the Goddess’s right hand, Diana knew far more about the Seigües Universe and the True Gods than an ordinary demigod… and perhaps even more than some gods.

Especially a thousand years ago, when the Matriarch fell, Diana had been the final divine being to leave the shattered Pantheon.

She had witnessed many things…

“Your Highness Diana, we are also holding a bonfire celebration tonight to welcome everyone in your group home. It will be held on the beach by the sea. We would be honored by your presence.”

Li Mu warmly invited her.

However, after settling her people, Diana found it increasingly difficult to suppress her overwhelming desire to see the Goddess.

With a hint of apology, she said:

“My apologies, Lord Li Mu. I wish to first pay a visit to the Goddess’s true body, and then enter the Garden of Eden to pay my respects to Her Grace.”

Li Mu was slightly taken aback, then nodded understandingly.

“I understand.”

༺⟐༻

After bidding farewell to the Chosen Ones and her people, Diana promptly left Mirovia.

Following Kelez, she soon crossed the western region of the Elven Forest and arrived at its core region.

The moment she passed through the spatial barrier, she finally saw the towering and luxuriant World Tree once more.

Looking at the enormous tree brimming with vitality beneath the moonlight, Diana’s eyes were filled with excitement and fervor.

“Matriarch… No, praise be to Your Divine Grace!”

Diana knelt devoutly in the direction of the World Tree.

At the moment she knelt, the World Tree also scattered mottled rays of light that enveloped her body, seemingly welcoming her return.

At the same time, Diana sensed, somewhere beyond the reach of her perception, that she had connected to a certain sacred realm.

It was the Divine Kingdom of the World Tree.

She… had already received permission to enter the Garden of Eden amid the radiance!

Feeling the tremor deep within her heart, Diana’s gaze became even more fervent.

She did not hesitate any longer. Instead, she immediately connected with the authority that had manifested within her perception and disappeared from the spot amid a burst of radiance.

Thus, she had finally entered Eden.

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