Chapter 1166 – Shrine of Wind

In the Holy Land of the Wind, there is a tall building that seems to reach the sky, reminiscent of the ‘World Tree’ in the story.

This was the conference room used to make important decisions in the Holy Land.
The sunlight penetrating the ceiling with entangled tree trunks was so sacred that it gave off a temple-like atmosphere.

Entering an unfamiliar place, I glanced at my surroundings.
All of the elves gathered in the conference room had serious expressions on their faces.
Aldia and Dimir were the only ones who didn’t panic and had calm faces.

“Why did Yuffie enter the dark forest…!!”
“They must have gone to destroy the nuke.”
“How could a child with the authority of design do such a reckless thing!!”
“Wasn’t access to the gateway strictly controlled? Even if it wasn’t so, the inside of the holy ground would have sensed anomalies with the wind spell. Does it make sense that no one knew until Yuffie-sama left?”
“That’s… The time Yuffie crossed the gate, strangely, the functions around the gate stopped all at once even for a moment… We’re looking for the cause.”

The buzzing Elder Elves couldn’t hide their anxiety.
Natural thing. A promising man who would lead the Holy Land, who was sure to become an elder in the future, crawled into limb.
It is said that he went with the high-ranking elves among the elves.

Some of the people gathered here were biting their lips, or even crying, probably the families of the elves who had walked into the dark forest.

“Quiet.”

Paa. Ah. The noise in the room died down like a lie at the sound of a rippled voice in the air.
Aldia looked the elders in silence with her solemn face. The elders bowed their heads in shame.

That voice. Did it work for intangibles too?
Aldia’s charisma will also work, but is it a skill unique to the High Elves?

“The children held hostage will not come back just because they are embarrassed. Ruid. Please explain the situation.”
“Yes. Chief Elder.”

The leader of the Midwind Knights, Louis, stepped forward and spread his hand.
Whoa! The wind blew, the wind spirit, and the light flashed, and the light spirit was summoned.

The wind spirit created a huge wind wall, and light poured from the light spirit’s eyes and projected a certain place on the wind wall.
It was a grotesque place, slimy like mud, shaped like a forest.
I was printing out the first person and the third person alternately, but that was probably not a scene from the scene, but a memory.

Elves dressed as hunters in the shape of prayers were aiming their bows at something in unison, a grotesque being that looked like a plant in human form.
It said

[The reaction is much faster than I thought. Elves.]
[The Demon Lord of the Forest. Dude..!! What did you do with those who entered the forest?]
[How do you do it? I ate it like usual.]

The elves were enraged and pulled their bowstrings tighter.
In a sense of urgency, as if an arrow would shoot at any moment, the tree called the Demon King of the Forest giggled.

[You. Why are you so brave This is my territory. You said you were caught breaking in? Can you come to the main body if you make a mistake?]
[We are not afraid of death.]
[Ah. Really? It’s the courage of a noble elf. But let me tell you. One shot at me will not save the lives of the young people you cherish.]

A moment of silence passed.
The elf asked.

[Are you alive?]
[Ah. I tried to catch and eat them, but it turned out that they must be very useful? There is even a nephew of that beautiful queen, what is it?]

Silence flowed among the elves.

[…What are the requirements?]
[I can understand now, haha.]

At first glance, the pleasant, quiet sound of laughter vibrates the black forest.
Black leaves fell in torrents, and the roots of the black trees on the ground wriggled as if they were alive.
Truly. The forest itself seemed to be smiling.
While the elves hardened their faces with tension, the demon king of the forest opened his mouth.

[Don’t worry. I’m not asking you for anything.]
[What?]
[All I want is an end to this damn mission. The only goal I want right now is to destroy the Holy Land. However, there is no way you guys would give up the Holy Land just because the lives of young people are precious, right?]
[…
[Even if you want to trap them with lies, old elves are good at detecting lies, so I’m telling you honestly. Especially since that queen would never lie… Whoa whoop whoop. Ah. Word leaked. Like I said before. I’m not asking for anything Instead, I promise in my name that I will keep those young people alive. I won’t let you go, but I will.]

A look of bewilderment appeared on the faces of the Knights of the Morning Wind.

[What do you want to do?]
[What are you doing? You elves, who are highly sensitive, can’t easily give up on their kind, right? I won’t kill young people So you guys keep putting in people. Try to find one somewhere.]

I mean, if you can.
The elves were enraged by the forest demon king’s sarcasm.

[Do you think you can’t do it?]
Haha. Really brave There’s no scary typhoon here to protect you. Ah. One last thing. I’ll leave the young people alive. That’s clear But… They don’t leave it intact?]

At the end of his words, the monster’s body felt like it was going to go numb, and then it poured onto the floor.
The elves hurriedly backed away, and on the floor, they sighed. Black smoke rose.

Beep.

Ruid stopped the video for a moment and said.

“After the Demon King of the Forest, he showed proof as if he were keeping his word.”
“What is evidence?”

Ruid hesitates at Aldia’s question.
When the queen, called the supreme elder, glanced at him, Ruid reluctantly changed the video and printed it out.
And the elders burst into rage.

“What!”
“Oh, no…! No!!”

Palryu, who was sitting next to me, was so angry that he gnashed his teeth.

“This… Reckless demon king dares…!”

What is reflected in the video is a skewer.
Arms, legs, ears, etc. Were threaded at the end of a tree root that looked like a crooked awl that rose from the dark forest to the sky.

There were even elf figures made of black clay, limbs severed and tree roots tumbling over their eyelids.
It looks like it’s not a real elf, it’s just a model, but next to it, black mud was drawing some kind of picture.
That’s an elf
I whispered to Palyu.

“What is written next to that clay doll?”
“…Some of the elves I’ve captured are in that state. It’s going to get worse in the future.”

Whoa. Palyu repeated deep breaths as if to appease his boiling stomach.
Aldia, on the other hand, was still agitated, and she asked with an expressionless face.

“As the Demon Lord of the Forest said, although our warriors are excellent, you found out very quickly that the Yufis entered the Dark Forest and were captured by the Demon Lord of the Forest?”
“It’s thanks to the princess.”

Louise looked at Lena, who sat to my right, and respectfully bowed her head.

“It seems that he attached the spirit to the yuffie lady and her companions heading into the dark forest.

Lena bowed her head awkwardly at Al Dia’s grateful gaze.
Despite being a young girl, the rainbow-colored dress and tiara she wore, combined with her beautiful appearance, gave off a noble atmosphere that could not be matched.
As the elves stared at her with admiring glances, she said in a voice that crawled.

“I’m sorry. I tried to stop the elves before they entered the dangerous place, but the spirits were so frightened that I couldn’t stop them.”

Lena said in a remorseful voice that she should have been attached to a spirit with high strength and mental strength from the beginning.

“Not at all. The princess gave her best.”

Aldia smiled gently and expressed her gratitude.
I thought there would be at least one person who would get angry at me for not stopping them from entering the forest in the dark, but everyone was satisfied with the atmosphere of sincere gratitude.

That moment.

“Sure. I’ll give up the hostages.”

Al Dia’s voice echoed through her room.
Most of them looked bewildered, but suddenly came to their senses.

Jump! The palm next to me rose and slammed her table with both hands.

“Aldia. What now…!!”
“For the fools who misjudged their abilities and went to limb with their youthful spirits, the Holy Land’s precious power cannot be lost.”
“Are you scared before you even start?”
“Yes.”

Aldia readily acknowledged it. Her limbs left her speechless.

“The demon lord Post of the forest in the dark forest has the ability to be called invincible. To save the hostages, you have to put in all the morning breeze knights to have a chance, but even that has a half chance of rescue.”

Even if the rescue is successful, how many elves will die?
She couldn’t make that kind of sacrifice, Aldia said bluntly.

Like Palyu, some elves got up halfway and were angry, but they couldn’t protest. Most of the elders were disgruntled but convincing.

“But… I can’t stay still like this…”
“Ummm…”
“…The Chief Elder’s judgment is correct…”

Aldia’s opinion is strong.

“You guys…! And yet you’re proud…! Ugh…!”

Even the most furious Palyu couldn’t speak.
It was because there was nothing wrong with Aldia’s words.
The highest elder, the woman called the Elf Queen, maintained a calm and composed face.

But, do you know what
I don’t have the power to know how a high elf feels, but I’m good at knowing other people’s ‘negative’ moods.

So. I know that she is overdoing it, spitting out her words that are not on her mind.
Yep

“I’m sorry for showing my inferiority to the distinguished guests and the heir. We’ll take care of this, so please don’t worry and enjoy sightseeing.”
“Yes, yes. Intangible.”

I stood up and winked.

“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”

As if the intangible had waited, she loosened her shoulders.
Aldia blinked her eyes and asked in bewilderment.

“Where do you mean you’re going?”
“It’s a dark forest.”
“…! What…!!”

Aldia jumped to her feet and tried to say something to her, and I glared at her.

“Now. Are you vomiting at the heir’s words?”

Aldia stopped at my cold voice.

“Don’t protest and stay still. I’m doing it because it’s worth it.”

He spoke coldly and only smiled at the corner of his mouth.
It was as if a glimpse of her teardrops could be seen in Al Dia’s icy eyes.
It was just a moment, but those tears must have been her true intentions.
Abandons her beloved nephew
As a leader, it must have been an inevitable decision.
The lives of compatriots are precious, but those who go to save them are also compatriots.
Those elves also have families.

So. I have to go.

Aldia said with a cold face.

“It is true that the Heir’s ability is high enough to be called a miracle. The ferocity of the Dark Forest is also so frightful that it might be a curse from God.”

No matter how dangerous it is, I tried to use my logic and stopped her by shaking her hand.

“I also saw the Dark Forest from above the gate.
“Me too!!”

The loud voice is the morning breeze knight commander. It was from Louis.
He continued with an elated look on his face.

“I will go with you, Heir! Please help me to save my fellow countrymen and colleagues!”
“I’ll go too!”

One of the larger elders stood up and clenched his fists.

“Heir. He’s an old body, but he’ll still work on the battlefield. Again. He’s a guy who has no regrets when he dies.”

Starting with them, me too! I’ll go too! The elves got up one by one.
I nodded.

“Okay. But as I envisioned, it would be a bit difficult with more people, so I’ll only take five more.”

With serious faces, the elves started discussing that I shoot the bow better, that I have the most energy contracts, and that I don’t care if I die because I’m old.

Aldia was still stationary. I nailed it.

“Disa said. Supreme elder. Please do not meddle in the affairs of the successor.”

She stared at me for a while and then she laughed.
Then he closed her eyes and nodded her head.

“…If it’s the Heir-sama’s order, then there’s nothing we can do about it.”

At that moment, Palryu, who was looking at me with a hearty smile, exclaimed. She snorted, then she said.

“Then, of course, I will go with you.”
“No? You must stay.”
“? Why?!?!”

Among them, a black-haired elf with a strong presence despite being silent until now. Dimir got up slowly.
His presence was so strong that the elves who had been proclaiming that he was going in a fierce tone looked at him all at once.
Dimir opened his mouth, as he saw that attention had been drawn to him.

“I’d like to go to the woods too, but the situation is questionable.”

The people around him became quiet and listened to his remarks.
Considering that those in this position only had noble status, including the elders and senior officials of the Winte family, it was clear that his status was absurdly high.

Aldia asked.

“Suspicious. What?”
“No matter how arrogant the demon king of the forest is, even taking that into account, he is acting too laxly after taking hostages.

No one was cowardly or vomited at that word.
In the eyes of the elves, it must be what Dimir said. There was a belief that
Although not as much as the queen, he is also the spiritual support of the elves.
Husband of Supreme Elder Aldia. Dimir. In a way, he could be called the King of the Elves.
In his remarks, there was trust built up over time and achievements.

“Are you okay? Heir.”

Is that why? He was talking nonsense to me.
A few elves looked at me, but what? Does not matter.
Although I am the heir of Pryunar, he is much older than me and is in a position to be respected.
I approached him and held out his hand.

“Then, please protect the holy ground.”
“…”

He looked down at my hand.
Unwilling eyes.
Aldia stared at me, and he grasped my hand as if he couldn’t help it.

“Leave it to me.”
“Yes. I’ll leave it to you. But can I ask you a question?”
“What?”

I grinned.

“Why do you smell like the devil?”

Before he even answered anything. My hand flew to Dimir’s chest.
Pass s s!! Bugs that looked like beetles rose up and pushed my hands away like a raging current, then lodged in my arms and tried to burrow into my body.

But.

Woowook-!

“Turn off, suck!!”

Dimir pierced his chest from behind his back.
Through. The gifted assassin leaped out of thin air and giggled.

“Be careful on days when you feel like you’ve accomplished something. There are bastards like me.”
“Garruk…!!”