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While Riku and Zhubi were on their way to the Forest Elf capital, somewhere else, a group of Forest Elves were cautiously making their way forward.
Unlike their usual elegant and noble demeanor, they looked completely wrecked. Most of them were pale and weak—it was obvious they were exhausted.
But that made sense. Ever since their capital was destroyed by the Skywing species' rogue individual, Jibril, they'd been on the run. Not only did they have to avoid attacks from other species, but they also had to stay hidden from Jibril, who was still hunting them. They couldn't even use their "spirit powers" freely.
To put it bluntly, they were in a total state of misery these past few days.
"Lady Shinku, everyone's totally worn out. We really need to take a break, or we're not gonna last much longer,"A male Forest Elf came up to a beautiful female Elf at the front, panting as he spoke.
On the run like this, they couldn't use spirits or magic freely. With their physical endurance, they weren't much better than humans. If they were Beastmen, this wouldn't even be a problem.
"Alright, thirty-minute break."Shinku ran her hands through her golden hair, turned to look at her weakened kin, and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She nodded helplessly.
Sure, they needed to regroup with the others fast, but if they kept pushing in this condition and ran into another race, they'd be wiped out in no time.
"Thank goodness!"The moment Shinku gave the order, the dozens of Forest Elves behind her all let out sighs of relief and dropped to the ground or nearby rocks without caring about appearances.
"Damn you, Jibril..."Watching them, Shinku clenched her teeth and cursed inwardly.
That direct hit from the Heaven's Strike wiped out half of their numbers in one go. The survivors scattered with their grimoires and fled for their lives. Now they were homeless and hunted. Shinku's hatred toward Jibril ran deep.
But as much as she hated her, deep down, she just felt powerless.The gap in strength was way too big.
Suddenly, Shinku's face changed like she noticed something. She stood up quickly."Everyone, on alert!"
All the Forest Elves looked confused and tense.
Then, from the caves and rocky crevices around them, hundreds of demon beasts began to emerge.
"Damn it! Get ready to fight! Forget about hiding your spirit powers—we take these bastards down first!"Shinku's face turned grim as spirit energy surged around her. She didn't hesitate to launch her magic.
As an Eight-Ring Mage, her power was terrifying. In a flash, blazing arrows of fire shot through the air, instantly incinerating several demon beasts.
The rest of the Forest Elves were only Two or Three-Ring Mages—nothing close to Shinku's level—so they could only barely hold the line.
And don't forget—they were still in a weakened state.
Even with tactics like rotating spellcasters—ten per team—casting in turns, and Shinku holding the front line, they still couldn't hold out for long. More and more people were getting hurt and had to be swapped out to the back for healing.
Seeing her kin suffer, Shinku's face twisted with anxiety and frustration.Why now of all times?They were already on the run, and now they'd been spotted by demon beasts too?
"Well, you guys are in a real mess, huh, Forest Elves?"Just then, a youthful voice rang out, freezing Shinku and the others in place.
She immediately turned toward the sound—and saw a figure standing on the slope above.
Leading the group was a blue-haired, fox-eared girl in a kimono. Behind her were over a dozen strong, muscular Beastmen.
"Beastmen?!"Shinku's expression darkened instantly.
This was the worst-case scenario—being surrounded.And hoping the Beastmen would help them? Yeah, right.When one race sees two others at war, they're usually just waiting to swoop in and take advantage.
Sure, some races might stop fighting if a third party shows up—but the enemies here were demon beasts. They only knew how to kill. There's no "pause" button with them.
"Heh... What brings the Beastmen here?"Shinku forced herself to stay calm and asked coldly.
"Do one thing for me, and I'll save you."Hatsuse Fia answered casually.
"What is it?"Shinku blinked and asked out of instinct.
Something felt off. Weren't they supposed to be kicking them while they're down?
"Do you think you're in any position to bargain with me?"Fia's voice turned cold and domineering.
"Not really, no. But you must want to use us for something, right? If we all die here, that'll ruin your plans too. So how about this—if it's not something that threatens our entire race, I'll agree to it. Anything else, we can discuss later."Shinku replied calmly, not backing down.
"You're smart. But sometimes being too smart isn't a good thing."Fia glanced at Shinku with a flat expression. "Still, I've got no intention of harming the Forest Elves, so I'll go along with that for now."
"But remember—if you go back on your word, your kind can't afford the price."Fia looked down at Shinku with regal pressure. "For the sake of my husband, I'll do whatever it takes to finish the task he gave me."
"H-Husband?"Shinku was stunned.
"....."