Chapter 327: Destruction

Numerous settlements of Edenelia were spread across the Forest of Eternity.

Yet, despite their number, they represented only a tiny portion of the forest.

The Forest of Eternity was so unimaginably vast that the majority of it remained unexplored even to this day.

’...’

Wisteria glanced at her contractor from time to time. As she noticed Elysia’s expression growing increasingly grim, a sense of unease crept into her heart.

’Is the situation really that bad...?’

She also made sure to observe Regis’s expression to make sure that he was comfortable at all times.

Meanwhile, Elysia did her best to remain calm despite the weight pressing upon her heart.

’Out of the 1,324 elven settlements, approximately 1,090 will have to be abandoned. Of those, 845 have already fallen, while another 245 are currently under siege and unlikely to hold out for long. Only 159 remain in relatively favorable circumstances.’

’The remaining 75 settlements are the only ones that have not yet been invaded—at least not openly. As for whether demonized elves already lurk within their borders, there is no way to tell.’’

’Even if we act immediately, there simply isn’t enough time to save them all...’

Elysia gritted her teeth as she continued assessing the situation in her mind, ’It had only been roughly two hours since the abomination tried to invade the Temple of Life and kill me.’

She had been continuously monitoring the overall situation since earlier, and it was because of those observations that she had felt the situation was under control.

But now, two hours had not even passed, and Edenelia was already on the verge of collapsing.

One must remember that Edenelia, despite being called a kingdom, was more akin to a loose blend of a monarchy and a union, where elves lived in harmony with the Forest of Eternity.

Military power and the maintenance of large armies had never been a priority for the elves.

Most of them, especially those who had never ventured beyond the Forest of Eternity, were inherently pacifistic and had little interest in warfare.

Of course, this was not to say that they were weak.

After all, they were one of the races with the most affinity to mana and had a long history of magic.

However, facing enemies with the faces of their loved ones— their very own kin, would render even the most capable elf helpless.

Elysia’s mind moved rapidly as she made a decision.

Through the Eternal Orb, she contacted the village chiefs, city lords, and other authorities overseeing the various settlements.

[Abandon everything and evacuate to Paradis immediately.]

The command was instantly relayed to the sub-orbs stationed within the town halls of each settlement.

Paradis was the capital of Edenelia.

While the majority of the kingdom consisted of rural villages due to the elves’ preference for simple lives lived in harmony with nature, Paradis was different.

It served as the heart of elven civilization, housing not only the kingdom’s academies and organizations but also the famed Library of Eternity.

Named after the Forest of Eternity itself, the Library of Eternity was the greatest repository of knowledge in all of Edenelia.

It preserved the entirety of elven history, from the smallest records of ages long past to the most significant events that had shaped their race.

Within its halls were countless grimoires containing magical knowledge, manuals documenting aura arts, and innumerable other works accumulated throughout the elves’ long history.

It was, in many ways, the collective memory of their civilization.

It was elven history in and of itself.

Paradis also housed countless other facilities essential to elven civilization and stood as the crystallization of the elves’ power, knowledge, and heritage.

Owing to the immense disparity between it and the vast majority of elven settlements, the capital had earned another title.

Paradis, the kingdom within a kingdom.

Elysia then issued the second command through the Eternal Orb.

This command targeted the settlements that had already completely fallen into the hands of the demonic worshippers.

Her dignified voice echoed within her consciousness as she issued a command through the Eternal Orb.

[Detonate.]

It was but a single word.

Yet across the Forest of Eternity, thunderous explosions erupted throughout the once-peaceful forest.

Just like that, the elven settlements that had existed for countless years were indiscriminately turned to dust.

Nevertheless, Elysia did not rest for a moment.

She did not even have time to mourn the loss of the settlements her people had lived in for generations, nor could she afford to consider whether there had been any survivors.

Her consciousness immediately got to work afterwards.

Elysia clenched her jaw so tightly that her gums began to bleed, ’Now that the settlements have been dealt with... let’s proceed to the situation within the Sacred Lands.’

***

Roughly two hours later...

"Ugh..."

Regis let out a pained groan as he tried to get up.

"Keep lying down for now."

Wisteria’s voice sounded beside him as her small figure stood on his forehead and pushed him back onto the pillow.

"What..."

Regis groggily spoke as he opened his eyes and tried to make sense of his current situation.

The first thing that greeted his sight was the Temple of Life’s ceiling, which was adorned with various paintings of nature.

He vividly felt the intentions of the painter to express his devotion to the Goddess of Life with every stroke of his paintbrush.

Regis’s blood-red eyes then darted to the side, seeing Elysia’s back as she concentrated her consciousness towards the majestic floating orb in front of her.

He fell silent for a moment before asking in a whisper, "What is she doing?"

"She’s assessing the situation of Edenelia..." Wisteria wanted to say more, but she controlled herself.

She glanced at the young man in the corner of her eyes, ’It’d be bad if he suddenly feels intense emotions the moment he wakes up.’

"!!!"

Just as Wisteria finished speaking, her purple eyes widened as she looked at the area where Regis was supposed to be lying down.

"Where is he—"

Before she could finish her words, Regis had already arrived beside Elysia, "I’m alright now. Where should we go next?"