Chapter 631 - 629: The Primordial Elf

Leaving Watch City, Hilia continued onward.

When she arrived at the next city, she noticed something different about it.

Here, the pollution prevention decree from the Elf Royal Court had begun to be implemented.

The decree had three parts in total. The first part involved using arrays developed by the Royal Court, temporarily isolating the pollution to gradually remove it from the city.

This process was not short, as these arrays were newly developed and ’referenced’ the Holy Court’s method of confining pollution, but in reverse.

The method used by the Law Enforcement Knight Order was to confine pollution within a certain range, while they used it inversely to block the pollution outside.

The two methods were similar, but adapting it for reverse use was not so easy because most arrays work internally. Creating arrays that affect the outside was not simple.

The second part of the decree was to have a large number of holy faction mages from various places enter different areas to treat the numerous sick patients, dispelling the pollution from their bodies.

This was much simpler, just time-consuming, and not everyone was like Hilia, who could add a temporary ’vaccine’ to patients after purification.

Most mages could only watch helplessly as the pollution re-entered the patients’ bodies after purification.

However, the second entry would not be as sudden as the first. By now, the wave of pollution was no longer so fierce, gradually tending towards calmness.

But there was still a long way to go before it completely subsided.

Moreover, the pollution that permeated the entire Elf Forest and many areas outside it would not disappear just because the source of pollution stopped emitting. It would persist until it was purified and sent into the Abyss.

The final part of the decree, naturally, was to completely resolve the pollution. In this part, Hilia did not see any effective solution in the decree issued by the Elf Royal Court, only ambiguous official terminology.

"So, the Elf Royal Court still hasn’t found a way to cure the pollution."

Hilia looked at Elina beside her, who was wearing black sunglasses and a mage robe that only humans would wear.

"Why ask me? I’m just an ordinary human mage now," Elina pouted.

Elina naturally did not do nothing in Watch City.

While occasionally lending Hilia a hand or helping with some tasks, under the guise of pollution research, she secretly did many things. The purpose of these actions was to escape Candia and the control of the Elf Royal Court.

She succeeded, sneaking away during the chaos, and with Hilia’s (Rose’s) help, she slipped out of Candia’s view, even removing the mark placed on her by the Elf Royal Court.

Originally, Elina wasn’t keen on using the chaos to escape control. She was somewhat worried about Hilia’s situation until Hilia (Rose), as if nothing was wrong, helped her escape control while pursuing the withered woods. Only then did she feel at ease.

Now, after smoothly breaking away, she circled around and met Hilia in the next city.

Just as Hilia used to disguise herself as an elf, she disguised herself as a human.

Of course, her disguise merely covered her ears, with a touch of makeup to make her skin tone more human-like.

Wearing a human mage robe made her look even more convincing.

Now she no longer practiced nature magic, so as long as she didn’t encounter acquaintances or people from the Elf Royal Court, no one could recognize her.

Moreover, since Hilia was heading to two more cities outside the Elf Forest, she was even less concerned.

If worst came to worst, she’d run again.

"So, why did you give up the benefits at the Elf Royal Court and sneak out?" Hilia asked Elina curiously, puzzled by her thoughts.

Could it be because she felt freer in the Holy Court?

Hilia wondered.

Elina said, "I disagree with the current Elf King’s philosophy and don’t like the current Elf Royal Court."

"That’s all?" Hilia pondered.

"Of course not," Elina said dissatisfied, "Who knew there was an ancient tradition in the Elf Royal Family that required any elf blessed by the Elf God to become an Elf King at some point. The current Elf King, after taking that position, doesn’t want to step down at all. On the surface, Candia acts as my protector, but in reality, they monitor me, preventing me from developing my own power. When the time comes, I’ll be a leader in name only.

"If they keep ’protecting’ me like this, when I eventually become the Elf King, everything will have to follow their lead, as no one will listen to me."

"Being an elf chosen by the Gods, can’t you get some people to listen to you?"

"Even so, I need to break free from the current Elf King. Take this disaster for instance. I could have done better, but constrained by the orders and form of the Elf King, after the initial resistance, I was only able to stay in the Elf Royal City, separating the life elements from the pollution, while other areas were left to suffer, unable to act."

"Then why were they willing to let you come to Watch City to contact me?" Hilia asked curiously.

"They wanted someone to contact you, to find a way to quickly purify and heal the people through you. Plus, they believed I couldn’t escape Candia’s supervision, so they agreed to my departure when I suggested it."

Elina’s smile never left her face.

"I’ve been doing so well all along."

"Really?"

Hilia thought of Elina’s occasionally sarcastic demeanor.

"Of course I have. While I often mocked them verbally, all my actions have been in the interest of the Elf Race. I haven’t disobeyed the Elf King’s orders nor taken actions to leave the current Elf Royal Court. They’ve long since relaxed their vigilance."

"I didn’t realize you had such elaborate schemes?" Hilia was surprised.

Elina blushed slightly, "There were no schemes, it’s all true. Before your assassination incident, I never thought of truly leaving the current Elf Royal Court."

Hilia stopped in front of a large square, looking at the platform where a noble was proclaiming the decree from the Elf Royal Court.

Hilia chose not to reveal her identity. Upon learning that this city started enforcing the Elf Royal Court’s decree, she, like Elina, disguised herself and prepared to see what changes had occurred in the city.

"So, it’s still because of me?" Hilia blinked.

"Partly. A series of consecutive decisions led to this pollution disaster, which was supposed to be less severe, becoming a serious catastrophe with tens of thousands dead, leaving me very disappointed with the Elf Royal Court’s rule."

Hilia turned her head, intrigued, and asked, "So, you left the Elf Royal Court and elders, planning to hide and quietly develop your own power to oppose the Elf Royal Court?"

Elina rolled her eyes, "I’m not leadership material, just an adventurer. What I can do is leave the Elf Race, go in search of the Elf God’s relics, and if possible, call upon the Elf God."

"But that won’t change anything for the Elf Race."

"It will," Elina said seriously, "We are different from humans. We have only one God we believe in, the original elf—"

"Eva."