Chapter 105: Shining Elves, Setting Sail (15,000 words

The words spoken by the Phoenix King Orivien were serious.

This Phoenix King, who truly emerged from the raging fire, resisted the flames of the gods with his own flesh and soul, and sits high upon the Throne to exert pressure over the entire High Elf circle, was serious.

Li Ang inquired about what was going on with this ideologically extreme Phoenix King after the fact, and then discovered that this Phoenix King was truly formidable. He wiped out all the opposition in the council by his own strength; it seemed as though there were no major problems, yet everyone trembled in his shadow.

He is called the Silent One Orivien because there is no sound whatsoever throughout all of Ulthuan. The collection of his power and prestige is the slaughterhouse known as the Forest of Silence. This place will serve as the final destination for all Elves returning to the heavenly kingdom. Every Elf who has reached the age will be exiled to the Forest of Silence, then gradually have their soul drained by the spells and energy within, eventually becoming nourishment for the Great Vortex and Ulthuan.

But conversely, under his leadership, the living standards and cultural development of the Elves of Ulthuan have also risen steadily; he could be said to be the most anthropomorphic of the Phoenix Kings in the last thousand years.

Li Ang is not in a position to evaluate the Elf race, but from his current personal perspective, Li Ang feels that Orivien might not have done much wrong.

The slave black ships, which would inevitably become notorious among the Elves if made public, arrived at the Golden Land not long after, and were then transferred to Sage Beach. There, Li Ang and the Star-Bearers would personally assess the state of these Elves and their remaining utility value.

According to Li Ang's initial thoughts, it should have been like the Norsca Daxianyi, bringing in a huge population along the way, then gradually converting them into usable Star-Bearer population. But Li Ang was wrong; he finally understood why the Phoenix King had such a pitiful expression when he saw him back then. Because these Elves were indeed a bunch of trash.

"The ones on the left, cleanse their souls completely; they are already unusable. Throw the souls into the Stonehenge."

"Yes, my lord."

"The ones on the right, remove their frontal lobes, then apply some spells and wait for slow self-healing. Tie them to the beds and give them nutrient injections, otherwise, they might go mad when their addiction kicks in."

"Yes, my lord."

"For these in the middle, apply the Star-Bearer Brand, then soak them in the Cleansing Pool for a period of time. Some of their memories are toxic; their memories, a portion of their flesh, and their instincts need to be removed... You had better not let me see them acting on their instincts and getting tangled up with you."

"Um... Yes, my lord."

"..."

That drawn-out voice was, to be honest, suspicious enough, but Li Ang really couldn't be bothered to manage these things anymore.

Looking at the Elves in front of him who were dressed like people, yet whose souls were not even worth a walnut, Li Ang felt infinite pity in his heart for that Elf King Orivien.

What a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates; what he said was truly not wrong at all. The Elves are indeed a rather insane race. In the first few decades, these Elves might adhere to their beliefs and act like people. But as the subsequent hundreds, or even thousands and tens of thousands of long years pass, there is not a single Elf who has not fallen.

Yes, not a single one. Their time is simply too long, to the extent that all stimulation, emotion, love, and hate have gradually faded and become numb in their lives. They crave some kind of stimulation, but have become bored because of their own long lives.

It is just like when you look at some books and entertainment products; if they are always similar, you will become weary and subsequently crave some different novels to read. These are all very normal demands.

However, what they see are all things they have already seen.

Decades can be very fresh, but what about hundreds of years? Thousands of years? There is nothing new under the sun; everything is something they have seen and witnessed before. Under the erosion of such time, the Elves began to gradually and systematically collapse and fall.

They began to pursue morbid stimulation, maintaining their happiness through potions and contempt for morality. The superficial nobility and elegance are merely a disguise and a mask; what is truly needed is the fallen pleasure pursued behind that nobility. There is actually a certain reason why Elf stories and even "Elf yards" often appear on the human side.

Decades or even hundreds of years of time are, for these long-lived beings, merely a journey of play and enjoyment.

Even if they are tortured until they are no longer human, kneeling on the ground licking the toes of those they look down upon, begging for the collision of dirty flesh, and even feeling lust for the stray dogs on the roadside, they will appear holy, beautiful, elegant, and noble the very next day.

Then, in front of many humans or other races who do not know the truth, they claim this is some kind of test that you failed, and so on. Then, they secretly gloat while watching the loss and torment of the short-lived species.

This is the daily life of the Elves; the things they pursue in boredom and loneliness have begun to gradually twist and deform.

The original fun gradually turned into vicious acts; the boredom originally brought by loneliness began to spread into unimaginable emptiness and desire. It even began to evolve into the pursuit of the Prince of Pleasure. Because only that supreme joy and pleasure can fill their permanently lonely hearts.

It looks very pitiful, but Li Ang has not a shred of pity for them. Because the Phoenix King Orivien has also spent such a long time, yet his will is as tough as steel.

He can even transform into another person, yet his own soul essence has not changed in the slightest.

With such an "iron man" as a precedent, looking at those broken Elves, Li Ang naturally did not have many thoughts. Or rather, what existed in his mind were only words like "reaping what one sows."

The first batch of Elves sent over numbered a full thousand. Among them, nearly eight hundred had to be twisted into the Pale Army, becoming gray-white statues placed everywhere in the Landing Site, beginning to constantly relearn knowledge so as to gradually become newer Elves.

And among the remaining two hundred-plus, there were over one hundred and fifty whose souls required major modifications and had to continue receiving treatment.

Only about fifty Elves were considered mentally normal. After excising that sensitive heart prone to loneliness, the so-called pursuit of entertainment, and all that nonsense within the Elf race, these Elves also gradually began to appear in the Golden Land to maintain order and operations.

As for the first few teams of Lothern Sea Guard that came, their situation was actually not bad. Slaanesh Corrosion was only in about half of them; it looked like seeds intentionally left behind by Orivien.

After careful selection, Li Ang divided these Elves into several groups for comparison.

Of course, they were completely unaware of each other's existence and all thought they were the most unique ones. Although there was a possibility of exposing his experiments, Li Ang did not think there was any possibility of failure when he could accurately read the inner thoughts of individuals in every faction.

Moreover, after screening and soul surgery, the performance of the Elves was indeed quite good. Even the Elves who had been washed into being morons often displayed intelligence levels exceeding those of the Norscans.

Thus, the sinful trade between Li Ang and the Phoenix King Orivien continued.

Every once in a while, the Phoenix King would notify Li Ang to start receiving Elf slaves through signals or other means, and even a series of large-scale goods and items were also delivered to Li Ang. They claimed to the outside world that the Elves had reopened their desire for exploration and were forming an Abyssal Expeditionary Force.

As for whether the others believed it or not, neither of the two knew. At least Li Ang believed it, and Orivien believed it too. With both of them believing it, everyone basically believed it as well.

And the cooperation between the two did not stop there.

In fact, because of the Phoenix King's all-out assistance, Li Ang had decided to grant the Phoenix King a portion of the dividends from the Golden Land and give him the right to a certain commission.

Because Li Ang was also very clear that the Phoenix King's own faction was riddled with corruption, filled with all sorts of messy things that were hard to accept. So, for this Phoenix King who helped him, Li Ang also gave him special treatment, allowing his personal treasury to begin to swell.

And the Phoenix King's reaction to this was that he began to reasonably confiscate property, then sent it to the Lothern Sea Gate Elves, and specifically requested it be sent to the Golden Land for sale and exchange. He demanded that every single Star-Bearer item in the Golden Land be brought back.

Thus, a large amount of property confiscated from the Evermeet Elves was sent to the Golden Land, and then spread from the Golden Land to all directions.

Although people did not know how exquisite the Star-Bearer artworks were, Elf artworks indeed exploded in popularity. Although they only appeared in the Golden Land, merchants with keen noses had already pounced like wolves and tigers.

The capabilities brought by the Psionic Beacon and the Colossus allowed Li Ang's trade fleet to provide trade goods in various sea areas at three times, or even twice, the speed of ordinary fleets. Even when facing sea monsters and storms, they could fortify themselves through the Psychic Torch or make emergency evasions by sailing through the spirit realm.

Under such powerful trade support, coupled with the Phoenix King Orivien's unremitting treason, the Golden Land's expansion speed was as fast as if it had been inflated. I am afraid that before long, even the trade volume of the Elves' largest port, Lothern Sea Gate, would be half-occupied by the Golden Land. Everyone was initially greedy for the wealth within, but looking at those Elves holding weapons with cold expressions, and the group of High Elves who "knew what they knew," everyone calmed down and went home.

Only the players, those stubborn guys, would occasionally assault the Golden Land's fleet.

Of course, Li Ang did not indulge these fellow countrymen.

After catching the planners and the ringleaders—this was even a certain official member—he directly fed their souls to the Stonehenge.

What the specific results were, even the player forums didn't mention much. But after that, the shipping lanes around the Golden Land became veritable golden shipping lanes.

With the endorsement of the Elves, and even Dark Elves and High Elves selling living creatures here together, Bretonnia also shyly joined in, plus the Empire's Marienburg and Altdorf could also advance via water routes, the Golden Land expanded and evolved rapidly with a population of hundreds of people every day. Eventually, it formed a huge trade city larger than the Landing Site.

The dark and ugly shadows eventually gave birth to an incomparably brilliant prospect. People did not know that those Elves who looked like they had light gold patterns outlined on their bodies and had cold, somewhat stiff expressions had actually had their souls and memories modified; they only felt this was a symbol of the union between the Star-Bearers and the Elves.

Coupled with the huge Galleon fleet that arrived at the Golden Land a while ago, those dozens of Giant Tree Warships with the aura of life and the Elves on them had also proven how close the contract between the two was.

However, at the same time, the Star-Bearers never forgot their primary duty.

Creating such massive wealth was not just for show.

On the port wharf, the final round of recruitment for the first expeditionary force was nearing its end. Although many players from outside the realm rushed over to join the fun, the distance was too far, and there was no real need.

As the reconnaissance fleet to explore this world, eleven thousand players had already been recruited. Basically, almost all the players in the entire region who could move had come. Led by twenty flagships, they would begin detection at the marked points provided by Orivien.

However, Li Ang clearly would not let go of this final opportunity to show off. Elves are certainly good, but the number of lurking players is more important.

Just like now, easily rounding up over a hundred thousand people to go to their deaths—this kind of thing is what Li Ang needs most.

He is too unfamiliar with this world and needs cannon fodder to see the world for him.

"Wow, such beautiful Elf ladies! Are these two Elf ladies our guards?"

"Not ours, mine."

Li Ang looked at the players before him, sparing no effort to display his privileges as a Star-Bearer.

Pretending to be very smug, he puffed out his chest and held his head high, smiling as he patted the shoulders of the Elf twins. Seeing that the two Elves had no thoughts of resistance and instead leaned in a little closer, this action made countless players grit their teeth, swearing to accomplish something big in this event.

This was, of course, a trap set by Li Ang.

He specifically found a pair of bizarre Elf sisters—referring to the fact that these two Elf sisters amazingly maintained their virginity because they believed in the God of War and not in pleasure—to serve as guards by his side.

Elves, who look almost flawless from their appearance, have always been an explosive topic on the forums; all players have an inexplicable fondness for Elves. After all, they look good, are very arrogant, and the attitude they display is so natural; people naturally pursue such mysterious and powerful individuals.

So when a pair of Elf sisters appeared by Li Ang's side, the reaction of the players was clearly obvious. This was clearly explosive in terms of stimulation for the players.

Everyone knows that Elves are rare things, but now Li Ang, just because he is a Star-Bearer and the person in charge of the players, has Elf guards.

Yes, a pair of beautiful Elf girl guards, looking majestic and imposing.

And they are twins! Two of them! And facing Li Ang's wandering hands, they didn't seem to be unhappy at all!

Can this kind of thing be tolerated? It certainly can't be tolerated; why not join the exploration fleet and just explode with Li Ang? If that doesn't work, why not beg him to teach them his hypnosis techniques? For the vast majority of players who are still in a state of entertainment, this dual stimulation of spirit and psychology is the source of their pleasure. And all of this can be achieved just by following the fleet.

Every fleet is arranged with at least ten Elves. Every Elf is a handsome man or a beautiful woman. As long as your performance is good and you truly find something, these handsome men and beautiful women will personally receive and accompany you. If you are truly silver-tongued, you might even gain the favor of an Elf.

This kind of thing, which would make a Dark Elf call the police because it is so obviously fake, is an incomparably real fact for the players.

As long as you work hard, you will get an Elf lady or handsome man.

As long as you work hard, you will have everything.

This kind of thinking began to spread throughout the entire player community.

After all, Li Ang is a shill, and the entire Star-Bearer faction is accompanying Li Ang to perform for the players.

The players also cannot distinguish the feedback spells Li Ang carefully designed on the Elves' minds and bodies. These guys with nothing but shells had their brains hollowed out by Li Ang long ago, and were repurposed to be fitted with built-in Subspace logic cores. Essentially, they are just puppets, and the inner self has been wiped out.

This cannot be blamed on Li Ang; after all, what he received were a bunch of rejects whose Souls were corroded beyond recognition. Some were even so far gone that throwing them directly into Stonehenge made his Path of Pleasure level up.

So, in order to ensure the morale of the players and secure a series of experiments, he could only use this method.

Fortunately, the vast majority of players think with their lower bodies, and a small portion of players think with profit.

And both of these, Li Ang can provide.

The final result is the sea of players in the square before him.

"Fellow players, I believe you also know why we are standing here, and I also believe you truly crave these things. Money, beauties, status—as long as you can achieve it, the Star-Bearers will give you everything."

With his arms around the slender waists of the two Elf sisters, Li Ang stood on the podium, looked at the players below who were showing expressions of envy, and smiled slightly.

"According to the rules, I should give a long speech at this time, but we all know that words are meaningless."

"Board the ships! Players! For our dreams and the cause we are bound to achieve!"

"Set off! Target, Antarctic Pioneering Territory!"

"Oh!!!"

Watching the fleet with its open decks and lowered gangplanks, the players roared and immediately rushed into the ships, wishing they could reach Antarctica the next instant to put those demons to death and win the beauties.

Sorry, I really can't hold on anymore. I will try to make up for this with 15,000 words tomorrow.

(End of chapter)