Chapter 524

Yet beneath her calm expression, her heart was certainly not at peace.

Watching the elves below chatter excitedly, Ophelia said nothing more, and left the flower meadow under the protection of two elf guards.

As queen, there must be some degree of preferential treatment.

Ophelia soon returned to the magnificent palace.

Not long after, an elf dressed in a plain long dress entered.

She was the Grand Elder of the Rocky Elf Empire.

"Your Majesty, I've only just heard about what happened at the Flower Square—unbelievable. Do you think it's real, Your Majesty?"

The Grand Elder of the Rocky Elf Empire asked.

Ophelia said: "Rebecca, what do you think? Maggie has already sent out invitations—whether it's true or not, we'll know in two weeks when we go and see for ourselves."

Grand Elder Rebecca hesitated, then finally said:

"Your Majesty, I'm not sure whether I should say this."

Ophelia said: "You're worried that the Night Elves were once manipulated by the Abyss Demon God, and that this is another trick by them to lure me out, right?"

Grand Elder Rebecca did not deny it, saying: "Exactly so, Your Majesty."

Ophelia shook her head slightly and said: "Since the Night Elves have returned to the surface, it means they've broken the curse and freed themselves from the Abyss Demon God's grasp. Rebecca, you shouldn't harbor malicious suspicions against your own kind."

As she spoke, Ophelia seemed to recall something, stood up, and sighed:

"If only I had trusted her more back then, things wouldn't have come to this. Rebecca, I've already decided to accept the invitation. Your worries are unnecessary. Once word spreads, some elves will be unable to resist their curiosity and will head to Sacred Flame Forest ahead of time. When they return with their reports, you'll know whether it's true or not."

She waved her hand and said: "I'm tired, Rebecca. The Night Elves must have received some extraordinary divine favor—otherwise such a miracle wouldn't exist. This is my god… I want to rest now, Rebecca."

Ophelia stopped mid-sentence, as if exhausted and unwilling to continue.

Seeing Ophelia's state, Grand Elder Rebecca felt a pang of guilt.

She felt guilty for stirring up Ophelia's memories.

Rebecca quietly slipped out and closed the door behind her.

Ophelia gently waved her hand, and all the lights in the palace extinguished—but the palace did not fall into darkness, for she became the only source of light!

In the darkness, she glowed like a star, illuminating everything around her.

Ophelia sat there, lost in thought, her expression shifting—sometimes complex, sometimes a faint smile, sometimes a trace of pain and self-reproach.

Clearly, Ophelia had recalled the "her" she mentioned to Grand Elder Rebecca!

"How are you faring in the darkness…"

A whisper, dreamlike, echoed through the palace.

"Su Fei, may I take a leaf?"

On the flower meadow, an elf asked Su Fei.

Because when Maggie left, she gave Su Fei a magic pouch, inside which were special leaves equivalent to ordinary invitations.

Su Fei said: "Of course you may, but since many sisters want them, could you please gather in groups first, then come together to collect the leaves?"

Yes, as Maggie's friend, Su Fei was very responsible.

If each elf took one leaf, there wouldn't be enough—there were only a few hundred leaves in the magic pouch.

And there were more than a few hundred elves on the flower meadow.

"Alright, I'm setting off for Sacred Flame Forest today. Though the celebration isn't until two weeks from now, early guests shouldn't be refused, right?"

After saying this, the elf raised her voice slightly:

"Does anyone want to join me in heading to Sacred Flame Forest today?"

To her surprise, her words immediately drew a strong response from many elves.

These elves had been stirred up by Maggie's words to the point of doubting reality—without seeing it with their own eyes, how could they sleep?

Soon, a large group of elves gathered on the flower meadow.

Elves had unique abilities; nearly all of them carried personal magic pouches, usually filled with their weapons, food, and water—everything they owned was inside, so they didn't need to pack anything special.

Quickly, the group set off.

Meanwhile, what happened on the flower meadow began spreading rapidly throughout the Rocky Forest.

In the forest, elves transmitted news quickly.

Some elves shared the news with their friends.

These friends, astonished, passed it on to their own friends.

Thus, the news spread wider and wider.

Around the Life Tree in the Rocky Forest lived roughly one hundred thousand elves.

The other nine hundred thousand elves lived scattered throughout the Rocky Forest.

Within just two or three days, more than half of the hundred thousand elves near the Life Tree decided to go see Sacred Flame Forest.

Especially those who had participated in the Rocky Forest's reclamation.

They had taken part in the reclamation and knew well the hardships of taming the Dark Forest.

Yet now they heard that Sacred Flame Forest had been reclaimed in only a few months.

How could elves who hadn't reached the flower meadow believe it!

But hearing that the Light Queen herself had accepted the invitation, each of them now longed to go and verify the truth.

So during these days, Su Fei did almost nothing else.

She just handed out leaves.

"No individual leaves will be given to groups smaller than five hundred—please understand, there aren't many leaves left."

Seeing how many elves wanted to go, Su Fei had no choice but to say this.

Then, after a few hours passed.

"No team under a thousand people will receive leaves anymore; everyone understand, let's all set out together."

Su Fei raised the standard.

Several more hours passed.

"No team under three thousand people will receive leaves anymore; gather more people before you set out!"

Su Fei raised the standard again.

So many elves were determined to explore the Sacred Flame Forest that, although Maggi had given her a large sack of leaves, there were only two or three hundred in total; many had already been wasted on small teams, and now she had only dozens left.

So she had no choice but to raise the standard again and again.

Over time, elves living in other regions of Loki Forest also began arriving at the City of Light.

Clearly, these elves also wanted to see the Sacred Flame Forest.

The elf race had not seen such a grand event in a long time.

Many elves saw it as a good chance to stretch their legs and travel far.

Of course, elf life was not dull; in the forest, they had many pleasures.

In fact, what they loved most was living in harmony with nature.

The idea that elf life in the forest was boring was merely a human misconception.

Humans would certainly find the forest dull.

Every life form tends to judge the feelings and behaviors of others by its own experiences and patterns—that is entirely normal.

So we cannot call humans foolish; other races also fail to understand many human behaviors.

This is one reason why the Yan Province in the Flame Empire remains relatively isolated.

Allowing two different ways of life and behavior to interfere with each other is never wise.

The same logic applies: even if, far in the future, the human nations south of the Loki Mountains come under the Glory of the Flame Lord, the pass through the Loki Mountains will never be opened.

The elves will continue living their quiet lives, undisturbed by humans.

This is the way of life they desire.

Opening the pass and forcing them to accept human ways would be the most foolish thing imaginable!

Before his transmigration, Lin Yan had read some stupid novels where the protagonists did exactly that—but he would not, never would.

"We're running out of leaves."

In the City of Light, Su Fei grew worried.

There were only twenty-some leaves left.

But elves wishing to go to the Sacred Flame Forest kept arriving in endless numbers.

The Queen of Light had not forbidden these elves from going, nor had she ordered them to go—they acted entirely of their own accord.

What could be done? The news about the Sacred Flame Forest was simply too astonishing!