Chapter 386

If Ji Ming were present, hearing the sea corps captain's heaven-defying answer, he would surely have burst out laughing.

With that reasoning ability, trying to study high school courses alongside Elinor would probably be tough; better to quickly sign up for Teacher Ji's high-EQ class to make up for the middle school part.

But if we start from the perspective of the Nine Sacred Surnames, arriving at such an utterly unrelated answer is actually normal.

Back then, the Deep Forest Army's charge into the Great Paulownia Forest was indeed the direct cause of the Sacred Tree Kingdom's fall, but that doesn't mean the neighboring Hui Guang Kingdom could be all that clean.

Although the Hui Guang Kingdom now bears considerable grudge against the Deep Forest, in the early days of its founding the First Sun King and the Lion Heart King were actually brothers-in-law behind the scenes.

It is precisely because of this familial tie that the two hegemons were willing to generously draw a diagonal line across the whole continent, divide and rule, and jointly eliminate all rival kings, rather than tearing each other apart like Liu Bang and Xiang Yu.

So even if the elves faced a critical moment of survival, they would not prioritize sending them back to the Shen Lin Wang Guo as a kind Hui Guang out of concern for their relations.

Therefore, if it weren't for the Holy Light Church caring more about the feelings from its early days with the elf tribe and the Juejiao Church, it would have actively protected and sheltered some refugees.

Probably, on the surface of the Yangyue Mainland, not even a single elf would be seen, and everywhere are half-elf chains appearing for various reasons.

So the question arises: the civilized world on the Mainland can no longer endure; where should these surviving elves go?

Some chose to venture into the wilds, forming what is more like a city-state than a country, a small kingdom that rose and fell amidst the turmoil of war.

Some chose to live deep in the old forests, becoming a legendary hermit wizard; if it weren't for Buluowa sniffing out the trail, they might have long become a 'person in history'.

Others chose revenge, hiding their names among human nations, acting for various purposes, and weaving power in the shadows.

But for the vast majority, while they were anxiously pacing, unaware of when their people's future would come, a letter from the Lingxi Kingdom was delivered into their hands.

The letter's meaning is simple——Dad, I'm the mistress, come, son will fulfill my filial duty!

At its peak, the Sacred Tree Kingdom, besides possessing a vast and resource-rich Mainland, also discovered via maritime trade a subcontinent located to the west of the Mainland.

At that time, the subcontinent also hosted an indigenous civilization, but compared to a mighty empire with abundant martial virtue, it was about as different as humans seeing Trisolarans.

Thus the elves, with the force of breaking bamboo, snapped all opposing forces, and with unmatched power easily became the new masters of this continent.

But as previously said, compared to the Mainland, the subcontinent is somewhat too 'poor', and this poverty is all-encompassing for the elves.

They love vast forests and grasslands where they can gallop freely, and they also favor majestic, expansive snow-capped mountains and tranquil, beautiful deep pools and lakes.

But as for the subcontinent, here one can hardly find even a patch of flat land; endless hills of tropical rainforest stretch out, and waterways cover the ground.

Moreover, besides these nauseating narrowness, high heat and humidity, there is also a death desert almost devoid of vegetation occupying a large tract of land.

So……

Elf King: "Which beloved official is willing to share my burdens, become governor of the new continent, and educate them to be civilized like us?"

Officials (bowing their heads): I can't see, I can't see me……

No choice, the elves had to settle for second best, returning power to the local earth kings, letting them be reborn on the spot as Sacred Tree nobility.

As long as they obediently listen, pay the taxes they owe in full, and every ten years when the king celebrates his birthday, they just need to respectfully offer a little tribute, and everyone can go about their business.

But such a appeasement policy during the heyday was certainly gratifying; the kingdom only needed to bear a small cost to gain high returns and another vast territory.

But when the kingdom declined and lost control, with warlords rising everywhere and local grandees taking the lead, a united kingdom named Lingxi was established.

Facing the former rulers, those who had not experienced war or natural disasters still had a relatively friendly attitude; they not only really sent ships to pick them up, but also specially allocated a plot of land for them to reside.

And as an exchange……

If one says the Shen Lin Wang Guo inherited the most fertile parcel of the Sacred Tree's land, the Hui Guang Kingdom inherited the Sacred Tree's artistic accomplishment.

Then, as the third child of the Sacred Family, the Lingxi Kingdom inherited the father's most precious legacy.

——Heavenly Hammer Martial Soul!

No, it's that although they've been lost for a long time, due to a hamster-like mentality they still hoard knowledge piled up like mountains, especially the oceanic part.

The value of this knowledge needs no elaboration; although successive Lion Heart Kings have considered whether to cross the sea westward, conquer the Lingxi Kingdom founded by barbarians, and establish a new Sacred Tree.

But when it comes to seafaring, their little sampans truly can't match the enemy's huge warships…… ballistae, and after paying a heavy price they could only give up.

Thus the sea corps captain would naturally assume the death knight might have been a Lingxi noble from back then, which is perfectly normal, given that the elves indeed once received their favor.

After hearing his account, Little Lion scratched his head.

"So that's the reason? I vaguely recall…… I seem to have indeed participated in the founding of a nation."

The sea corps captain spoke decisively.

"Then there's no problem—you are definitely a Lingxi person!"

Little Lion, however, hesitated and pondered for a moment.

"But if I am a Lingxi person, why would I have traces of having used Holy Light?"

Sea corps captain: Holy shit.

Originally full of confidence, the sea corps captain who was marveling, 'I'm really smart, I managed to crack the case so easily,' choked up.

After thinking for a while, he then ventured to say:

"Maybe…… maybe it's because some elves learned Holy Light and taught it to you; that's also quite normal, look, I'm an elf who knows Holy Light."

"Is that so……"

Although Little Lion had lost most of his memory, he instinctively felt this answer was wrong, yet he did not engage in a pointless rebuttal, instead brushing it aside.

After all, as a man bearing the aura of a hegemon, he must learn to control the duration of one-on-one interactions with others, or else he might easily, like those ordinary folks before, accidentally wipe out someone's intellect.

Based on Haikemedia's mental fortitude, wisdom score, and level, he could probably resist brainwashing for about half an hour.

Hmm, there are still twenty minutes left; that should be enough……

After that, the sea corps captain, looking bewildered, returned to the main topic and again asked the death knight about what happened in his life.

After obtaining an answer that, no matter how diluted, could not fill a single page,

"Try to recall as much as you can later; rest assured, we will objectively judge your merits and faults."

"Since they found nothing, after reluctantly departing and sending the preliminary investigation results to the Holy Court, the reply he received was——"

【Everything proceeds according to the original plan; as soon as possible, let the northward forces resume their march and send the criminals to the Holy Court for detailed examination】

"Understood."

"With over a hundred Pegasus knights as helpers, the people of Windshadow Territory also accelerated their progress against the Evil God cultists."

After spending three days putting the concept theory of the Chosen One into practice, they finally overturned the Shadow Church's overwhelming momentum in Wind Shadow Territory.

But with the matter settled, Tenisi and the others lost any reason to stay in Wind Shadow Territory; after spending a day preparing, they set off on the continued northward journey.

However, as they left Wind Shadow Territory amid the cheers of many knights, a gaze vanished unnoticed in the distant forest.

"Report, sir, they have set out again and are advancing toward the enemy country's interior!"

This naturally came from the Forest Church's informant, who, upon seeing the Princess finally leave the Count's domain, immediately went to a nearby outpost to report.

"Understood, notify all Wood-rank Envoys to hold a meeting; we'll discuss how to carry out a second assassination."

Even though, under Ji Ming's direction, Dushe could distract her subordinates with the presence of various Evil God Churches, she could not change the main mission of assassinating the Princess.

After using the three excuses—"They just suffered an assassination attempt, so they must be on high alert now," "The Chosen One faced an assassination attempt, leaving the entire Count's territory in turmoil," and "The Pegasus Knights have already arrived, so striking now would likely fail"—to delay for nearly two weeks.

Having been urged repeatedly by her superiors, she feared that if she did not act soon she would be suspected of disloyalty and likely meet disaster, so she could only choose to continue with the assassination.

But this time is different from last time; this time she has a military advisor whom she can absolutely trust and who will wholeheartedly help her.

"Sir, to be frank, I don't think a little dog can help us kill the Princess."

"Shut up, I call the shots here!"

One can only say she lives up to her title as a Flower-rank Envoy; although she's the craziest of the bunch, seated on that plant-made chair, looking down and issuing orders, she still has an imposing presence.

She slightly used her magic, employing a vine to silence the one who liked to glare, who looked just as crazy as everyone else but was actually a bastard sent by the Holy See to spy on her.

As the vine wrapped around his jaw tightened slowly, leaving just enough force not to kill him, with a soft creak, Dushe looked at the werewolf standing before her.

"You don't know, but I'm well aware—do you really think I've been sitting idle this whole time? In fact, I've already developed an insider, planted right beside the Chosen One."

She lifted her chin.

"Cloi, please introduce yourself to everyone."

"Ah, is it my turn to appear?"

Looking around at this bunch of people who spoke in dramatic tones, made weird noises, occasionally screamed, and shouted hysterically—these nutcases—Cloi couldn't help but swallow.

Fortunately, although she had no experience dealing with nutcases, she was quite knowledgeable about how to play a dog.

So she immediately put on a timid act—though she was actually timid as well—and gave Dushe a deep bow.

"Lords and ladies of the Forest Church, I am……"

What she related was basically the truth from these past few days' perspective, except she had altered her own origin story a bit.

—She was actually a spy cultivated by Dushe.

Spy Cloi inadvertently made contact with the Chosen One named Ji Ming; recognizing this as an intelligence-gathering opportunity thanks to her professional training, she promptly established a rapport with him in advance.

After hearing that the Chosen One had left the main force and was operating alone, she voluntarily stepped forward to lend a hand, becoming his guard, and awaited Dushe's orders to act.

Who would have thought that after following the Chosen One undercover for several days, she would actually obtain a lot of useful information, including a proposed route for the Northward Squad's continued advance!

And along that route there happened to be a noble territory deeply controlled by the Forest Church, and within that territory lay a canyon that, with just a little preparation, would be ideal for an ambush.

If they struck there…… they would likely seize the opportunity amidst the chaos and successfully assassinate the Princess!

It's a pity the plan sounded wonderful, but a wonderful plan isn't necessarily feasible, and moreover, because of Du She's recent strange behavior, it's obvious everyone is no longer quite convinced by her.

Therefore, as soon as Du She finished explaining her plan, someone immediately voiced doubt.

First to speak up was——

"This is a matter of great importance, yet it's only hearsay! Lord Du She, how can we know whether the werewolf you've brought in is trustworthy?"

Then——

"Lord, are you intending to forcibly kill the princess? Hehe, I don't think we have that kind of ability, like defeating the archbishop of the heretics or something."

Finally——

"If we fail, we're likely to face punishment from the Church. To be frank, Lord, what guarantee do you have that we can succeed? I think this is a problem for all of us."

Faced with doubts from everyone, Du She, who should have flown into a rage, stayed silent; then, like an attacking Du She, she suddenly struck, slapping all the Wood-rank envoys present in the face.

However, those who didn't dare to speak up against her merely touched their masks.

Those who questioned her but had a point, meanwhile, grabbed at their masks.

As for those who questioned her with extremely fierce and arrogant words, they simply slapped their masks.

Finally, there are those who usually like to nitpick, jealous of her ability to be the leader and rise to power; this time they caused the most trouble behind the scenes, and even put their own spin on things with the Pope.

"Didn't I just say that? Here, what I say goes!"

Du She pressed that person to the ground, and like a berserk Orochi throwing punches left and right, she tore his mask to shreds.

No one dared to stop her, nor could anyone, because her intention was self-evident.

Even the simplest act of touching the mask would take about as much time as stabbing someone's neck with a poisonous spike.

In other words, they had just walked past the Death God's scythe, so what Lord Du She wanted to express was also quite simple.

"Either you unite beside me to kill the princess, and we'll all be fine, or I'll kill you all beforehand and then go personally to fight the princess!"

And, riding this frenzy to vent feelings, Du She, whose spirit was no longer as radiant as before, did not kill this traitor.

Instead, to avoid giving them ammunition and to leave room for maneuver, she threw the Wood-rank envoy, who was as useless as mud, back onto his seat.

"Alright, I think everyone should return to a state where we can seek consensus, right?"

The Wood-rank envoys hurriedly nodded.

"We've just reconsidered, and we think your plan is perfect, Lord; we'll continue to support you as always!"

Du She grinned until her mouth almost split.

"There's no need for that; everyone can speak freely."

"I d-dare not, I d-dare not, I d-dare not..."