Chapter 416: Real and Fake Old Elves

“Who’s there?!”

The Half-Elf was startled, subconsciously swinging the tower shield in her hand behind her. But she only heard a loud BANG as an invisible Mana Shield materialized between her and the uninvited guest.

An aged Old Elf, whose face bore a fifty or sixty percent resemblance to the Spider Elf across from them, stood trembling, leaning on an oaken staff. He was beside Jilannis and behind Aive. Almost no one knew when he had arrived, but from the looks of him, it seemed a single puff of breath from Sera could blow the old man right out of the cave.

“Careful, child. I can’t withstand your ‘pushing’ and ‘knocking’.” The Old Elf, who looked more like a person than the other one, smiled and nodded at Aive. He tremblingly raised a finger and dispelled the Shield Magic before him.

“This… is also your teacher?” Ron frowned and looked at Jilannis, quickly receiving an affirmative reply.

“Yes. He’s the one I visited before.”

“Hmm… two old men?” Delaford tugged at his own pointed ears, looking troubled. He looked up, seeking Sera’s opinion. “Sera, which one do you think is the real one?”

“Do you even have to ask?” The barbarian crossed her arms and shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious at a glance?”

“Teacher, why have you come?” Jilannis didn’t treat the two Old Elves any differently despite her recent experiences, addressing them both as Teacher. “As your student, I will of course resolve this issue. Your body…”

“This is no time to be concerned about my body,” this Old Elf said with a kindly smile. “This foolish creature is almost identical to me. I was worried that if I waited any longer, you’d be convinced by him to come to my home and kill me—just kidding.”

Jilannis’s lips seemed to quirk up slightly, but few noticed that to the side, Victoria, who was still maintaining the Domain of Honesty, looked a little grim.

“Ah, you old bastard! I thought you’d only ever hide sneakily behind the scenes!” Seeing his other “self,” the Spider Elf roared as if seeing a mortal enemy. “You came at the perfect time! Get over here and die!”

“The situation is already clear. Only one of us can remain—the one and only genuine article—and that person is me!”

“You?” the Old Elf snorted. “Jian, do you really think this creature, who has caused the Red Mould to mutate and multiply to the point where it’s about to consume the entire Delusional Land, is your real teacher?!”

“He isn’t me at all. He isn’t even an Elf—he’s just a powerful and cunning Transformed Creature!”

“I was ambushed by him before, and he stripped me of my memories and power, which is why I cannot defeat him. Thankfully, you are here now. Join me in defeating this creature!”

“My own death would be a small price to pay, but we absolutely cannot allow this evil to continue plaguing the world!”

As he spoke, the Old Elf summoned several Magic Missiles, which spread out and bombarded the enemy from different directions.

The Magic struck the exoskeleton, causing not the slightest ripple. It seemed just as he’d said: if it were just the two of them in a one-on-one fight, they could probably fight until they died of old age with no result.

“‘Plaguing the world’? You really have a way with words!” The Spider Elf immediately counterattacked. Aive tactfully moved to the side. As everyone expected, this attack was also ineffective. A protective Magic Force Field surrounded the Old Elf, and the Spider Elf was equally unable to harm his opponent in the slightest.

“Jian, don’t listen to his nonsense! He once had a full one hundred modified Strong Acid Tiger People—I bet he never told you about that! He went through hell and back to capture them, and they nearly wiped out the Red Mould and Spore People I was cultivating!”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” the two Old Elves fought on, their magical duel matched by a verbal battle that didn’t cease for a moment. “I have nothing to hide from my student!”

This frail-looking Old Elf, who at first glance seemed like he couldn’t even take on a single one of the Spider Elf’s limbs, was actually gaining a slight advantage now that they were fighting! After the first few probing attacks, their battle escalated rapidly. The Spider Elf became a living shadow, flashing and weaving through the cave, occasionally striking out with its javelin-like limbs. The Old Elf, on the other hand, was like a turret at full blast, baptizing every inch of ground with his Arcane Magic.

Under this saturation attack, the Spider Elf actually started to bleed!

Although the Red Mould parasitizing his body tried desperately to mend his wounds, he was still injured. With that, the difference in their strength was clear!

“Jian, this is all your fault! Hurry up and dispel the Magic on him too, only then will it be fair!” the Spider Elf roared at Jilannis. His tirade was interspersed with a few dialectal versions of Elf Language swear words, which made Jilannis and Anastina frown. The curses must have been quite foul.

“Jian, can you still not make up your mind at a time like this?” The Old Elf also appealed to Jilannis for help, trying to win her, Ron, and the others over to his side. “And the rest of you, the situation is already so obvious! What are you still hesitating for?”

“I understand, Teacher!” Jilannis gritted her teeth. She raised her hand, and a tide of Arcane Energy, far surpassing the limits of what either Old Elf could handle, gathered in her palm. “Teacher, stand aside! Teacher, I’m sorry!”

“You foolish girl!”

The Spider Elf watched helplessly as that terrifying Magic was aimed at him, and nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. “You don’t understand at all—”

The other Old Elf, however, revealed a gratified smile. A sharp glint seemed to flash for an instant in his murky eyes. The moment Jilannis was about to finish her chant and release the Magic, the Old Elf vanished in a silvery afterimage, suddenly teleporting behind her!

Within a second, the staff in his hand transformed into a sharp shortsword, which he thrust from behind the Moon Elf toward the gap between her ribs!

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Jian,” the Old Elf’s voice was gentle yet lethal. “But your existence is a mistake.”

“So, please… go and die.”

The shortsword in the Old Elf’s hand shimmered with countless dazzling runes, breaking through the protective Magic fixed upon Jilannis one by one. One could only imagine how long he had prepared for this fatal strike!

But Jilannis had not suspected him, much less put up any defense!

As long as this sword pierced her heart, everything she was would turn to ash. Unless a Deity descended, no one could save her! Such was his confidence!

Because this sword was the very one she had given him!

In that fleeting instant, however, the Old Elf’s expression changed again and again. As the shortsword plunged into the body, he was stunned to find: why was there a layer of exoskeleton on the outside of this body?!

He looked up and met his own eyes. The Spider Elf spat a mouthful of black blood, thick with Red Mould, onto the Old Elf’s face, causing him to let out a horrified scream!

“Didn’t see that coming, did you? The one you stabbed was me!”