"Irina"s actions are completely unbefitting of her status, so she"s not fit to continue as the elven princess. I support her deposition!""I concur. Irina has obstructed our plan to bring traitors back to our Wind Forest on many occasions, and she has killed many of our brethren for no good reason. Her magic should be disabled as a punishment."
"I support her deposition. Her actions have made her an enemy of our elven race, and she must be punished!"
"I disagree. As the successor to Her Highness, she should be the one to pa.s.s judgment; we have no right to decide her fate."
…
The elders expressed their opinions one after another. Helena remained completely silent and expressionless throughout this process, making it impossible to decipher what she was thinking.
It was quite clear that support for Irina"s deposition far outweighed the opposition, and all of the elves on the plaza looked on in silence, knowing that the outcome had virtually already been decided. However, no one knew just what implications this outcome would have for the elven race.
Five days ago, Irina had slain three 10th-tier powerhouses out of a total of six who had attacked her in Rodu.
Immediately thereafter, Alex had appeared to kill the remaining three 10th-tier beings along with Benson, following which both of them had escaped relatively unscathed.
Borg and Helena were both present, and there were more than six 10th-tier elven beings at the scene, but everyone was still feeling a sense of unease.
Furthermore, Irina was the only elven princess, and she had always been viewed as the hope and pillar for the future of the elven race.
If she were to be killed or crippled, the elven race would essentially be shooting itself in the foot. Where would they go from there?
Irina wanted to abolish the family system and restore the social system of old, thereby pitting herself against all of the elven families.
No one knew how much longer the elven queen was going to be around for; if they were to lose Irina as well, what was going to become of them?
This was a serious problem that weighed on the hearts of all of the elves present.
What was even more unsettling to all of the high-ranking elves was the notion of revenge from an enraged Alex if they were to really kill or disable Irina.
Normal elves might not be aware of the extent of the relations.h.i.+p between Irina and Alex, but they knew that Irina had suddenly become so feeble after returning to the Wind Forest three years ago as she had given birth to Alex"s child.
It was exactly because of this that the a.s.sa.s.sination that shocked the entire continent had been arranged.
However, Alex had now been revealed to still be alive, and he had announced his return in the most emphatic fas.h.i.+on by killing four 10th-tier powerhouses.
He was a terrifyingly powerful man, and if he were to aim his blade at the elven race, disaster would surely follow.
All of the young elves looked on as Irina stood before the Spring of Life with her hands clasped behind her back. Her long dress fluttered around her, and she was still just as proud and powerful as well. She was like a s.h.i.+ning beacon of light in the hearts of many elves, and they couldn"t bring themselves to resent her no matter what.
In the past, they could only look up to her and exchange legendary stories about her in an awestruck manner, but now, they were beginning to understand what she had been doing all this time.
She had climbed to the pinnacle of the Magus Tower, and then departed from the Wind Forest to travel across the entire Norland Continent. She had slain countless demons and orcs, battled giant dragons, and freed countless elven "traitors"… All of these rebellious tales surrounding her were merely detailing her pursuit of freedom.
Her definition of freedom was not one that required justification.
In their hearts, the lowly slaves who they"d insulted with reckless abandon and taken for granted suddenly became a little different.
This was like a seed that had been sowed in everyone"s hearts.
The elder at the very center of the panel elders rose to his feet again, and loudly announced, "Eight elders have approved of deposing Irina as princess and punis.h.i.+ng her for her crimes, while only three have raised objections. As such, from now on, Irina will be stripped of her t.i.tle as the elven princess with immediate effect. On top of that, her mind realm will be destroyed, and she"ll be imprisoned in the Tower of Death for the rest of her life for killing Schubert and Cobil."
The entire plaza fell deathly silent. Even though they"d achieved their objective, everyone was feeling extremely tense as they appraised Irina with wary expressions on their faces.
Contrary to her appearance, she wasn"t some frail and vulnerable little girl. Instead, she was a monstrously powerful being who was not to be taken lightly.
Even more importantly, she had the support of the Tree of Life.
Irina appraised the panel of elders with a pair of eyes that were devoid of fear yet tinged with a hint of disappointment. "This is the most incompetent panel of elders I"ve ever seen."
The elder at the center of the panel, who was already over 900 years old, took a reflexive step backward. All of the other elders also averted Irina"s gaze, not daring to look her in the eye.
Irina turned away from the elders and cast her gaze toward the elves on the plaza. She then looked on toward a place that was even further away.
"My brethren, I hope you can all find the kindness and benevolence that have been buried deep in your hearts. I hope that one day, you can once again befriend the flora and fauna in the forest, and use your hearts to experience everything around you. Only then will you return to being true elves rather than demons wearing elven skin. I want this to be more than just a revolution from myself; I want all of you who are being oppressed to pick up your weapons, and unite to fight for your freedom!" Irina"s warm voice spread through the entire Wind Forest, and a burst of golden light radiated from her body as if a golden veil had been draped over her.
The Tree of Life lit up, and countless branches emerged from within the cave. Specks of green light rained down from the branches, fluttering around Irina"s body like spritely fireflies.
"What insolence! I"m going to avenge Schubert and Cobil today on behalf of the panel of elders!" Borg"s brows furrowed as a black wand appeared in his hand. He raised the wand, and a beam of black light shot forth toward Irina. The black light split up into three mid-flight, then into nine, and these nine streaks of black light transformed into nine black cheetahs. Each of these cheetahs was around three meters in length, and all of them pounced toward Irina in unison.
The cheetahs bared their sinister fangs and sharp claws as they hurtled toward Irina at a speed that was far too fast for the naked eye to follow, leaving trails of afterimages in their wake.
A staff also appeared in Irina"s hand, and she looked at the oncoming cheetahs in a calm manner as she chanted, "Holy light, cleanse."
Golden light flashed within the crystal at the tip of the staff, and a cylindrical pillar of golden light swept forth toward the oncoming cheetahs, all of which were instantly vanquished like shattered crystals.
The entire area was completely cleared with the exception of a few insubstantial wisps of black energy.
All of the specks of green light around Irina seemed to have come under some kind of stimulus, and all of them surged forth in an instant to destroy those remaining traces of black energy.
All of a sudden, Irina"s eyes narrowed slightly as a hint of confusion appeared on her face.
Is that what I think it is? A grave expression also appeared on Helena"s face.
Borg raised his wand high above his head, and his magician robes flapped around him in the wind as he roared, "All traitors must be punished regardless of their position and status!"
The sky instantly darkened as countless dark clouds surged forth, forming a gargantuan vortex overhead, creating a menacing doomsday-like scenario.