Chapter 655 – Elf Queen
After studying the Voiceless Soundbird for a while, Zhao Hai found himself to have nothing else to study. He s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the scenery of the Elven Forest.
Beautiful, it was too beautiful. If you gaze at the forest, you would feel that you were in a magical world. The forest was just too dazzling for him.
This green landscape was completely different from the green lands of the Prairie. The Beastman Prairie was flat, as if there was a green carpet on the ground. But here, you will be subjected to a green world. There were all kinds of trees with leaves of all shapes and sizes. If the greenery in the Prairie was like a calm sea, then the greenery here was like a raging sea.
Although this kind of sea was static, it didn’t undermine its beauty at all. It wasn’t any worse than gazing at the endless sea. Zhao Hai was quickly absorbed into the scenery of the forest.
After Billy’s discomfort pa.s.sed, he was also attracted to the scene around him. His mouth opened from time to time as he expressed his admiration.
Then suddenly, a huge tree appeared in their line of sight. This was the biggest tree that Zhao Hai had ever seen. It was so huge that the Bread Trees back at Ape Island looked like saplings.
The only plant that Zhao Hai can compare to this tree would be Cai’er. The scene of Cai’er enveloping a city was completely similar to this tree, it was a shocking sight.
Zhao Hai and the others stared blankly at this tree. Then they could faintly spot a few black spots coming out of the forest. Before long, these black figures appeared in front of Zhao Hai. They were a group of Elves that were riding on top of Voiceless Soundbirds.
All of these Elves wore wearing long green robes. The robes were beautiful and looked very elegant, Zhao Hai couldn’t think of the material that these robes were made of.
The one on the lead was a female Elf. The people going along with this female Elf were all harp-bearers. On the other hand, the female Elf was actually holding a magic staff, evidently, she is a Mage.
Then the one who escorted Zhao Hai spoke to the female Elf. “My lord, Patriarch Billy and Mister Zhao Hai has arrived.”
The Elf woman nodded, then she turned her head to Billy and Zhao Hai before giving a small bow and said, “Gellar has seen Patriarch Billy and Patriarch Zhao Hai.”
Zhao Hai and Billy immediately returned the bow, they don’t dare to be arrogant in front of the Elves. The arrogance of these Elves were quite well known. It wouldn’t be good if Zhao Hai and the others were to be rude. At the end of the day, there was no need to offend the Elves.
Zhao Hai knew that even if these Elves have been quite hard-headed, their fighting power was still significant. It would be good if he had them as his allies.
Gellar nodded to the two men, “Please come with me, Her Majesty is already waiting for you.” Then she turned her mount around and flew towards the big tree.
To be honest, Zhao Hai wasn’t expecting this reception from the Elves. He knew that the Elves were already aware of him being a Dark Mage. For them to give him this welcome was something that was out of Zhao Hai’s imagination.
Before long, Zhao Hai and the others entered the forest and into the big tree. Compared to the tree, the Elves who were busying themselves looked as insignificant as an ant.
Then with a command from the leader, the Voiceless Soundbirds fell on top of a branch of the tree. The diameter of this branch alone was ten meters, and it definitely wasn’t the largest branch.
After Zhao Hai and the others came down from the birds, Gellar went to them and said, “Everyone, please come with me.” Then she waved her hand and turned around. Zhao Hai and the others immediately followed her to walk along the branch.
While walking along, Zhao Hai also took the time to look around. This tree was really too big, he didn’t know how high it was. The only thing that he knew was that when he was at the back of the Voiceless Soundbird, he wasn’t able to see the top of this tree. The tree seems to have broken through the sky.
The stems of the tree were also quite thick, Zhao Hai didn’t have the capacity to measure it. In any case, Zhao Hai can a.s.sure that the trunk of the tree was comparable to the size of Golden Island. And almost the entire Elven population was living on this tree.
Then Gellar led Zhao Hai and the others into the trunk of the tree. The inside of this tree looked just like the interior of Dwarf Mountain. There were densely packed caverns inside with each cavern occupied by an Elf household. The inside of the tree’s trunk was very s.p.a.cious, one couldn’t see the bottom of this s.p.a.ce. At the same time, Zhao Hai can also see that there were some Elves that rode some Voiceless Soundbirds to navigate the inside.
Gellar took Zhao Hai’s group to a cavern inside the tree. This cavern had an area of more than 50 meters. It had a living room as well as a smaller caverns for bedrooms. Gellar then turned to Billy and Zhao Hai and said, “Patriarch Billy, Patriarch Zhao Hai, please take a rest here while I go and inform Her Majesty the Queen.”
Billy and Zhao Hai simultaneously gave a salute to Gellar and said, “Thank you for the trouble.” Gellar returned the salute before turning around to leave.
After Gellar left, Zhao Hai and Billy sized up the room that they were in. The chairs and tables in the room were all made of rattan. Every single one of them were a work of art. It seems like the Elves had merged the pursuit of art with their own lives.
After Billy looked around, he went to the a chair and took a seat. He let out a long sigh and said, “This was the first time that I flew in my entire life. It actually feels very good.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “I actually ride a Hawk, but I really can’t feel anything special with them. On the other hand, the cries of these Voiceless Soundbirds are very pleasant to hear.”
Billy smiled and said, “I forgot that you have these flying Phantasmal Beasts. How about giving us some?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “That’s not a problem, I can give you as many as you want. However, those who ride these beasts need to have training. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fly even if you have them.”
Billy nodded and said, “That’s great. Give me some of them when we get back. Those Phantasmal Beasts would make Dwarf transportation much better.”
Zhao Hai nodded as well, then he looked at Billy and said, “Patriarch, why did you think the Queen called for us? I’m quite worried.”
Billy stared, then he comforted Zhao Hai, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Our trip this time is related to the whole continent. We’re only here to convince the Queen to join our cause.”
Zhao Hai sighed and then he said, “I really hope that the Elves would form an alliance with us. It would be best for the continent if all non-human races unite against both the Demons and the Divine Race. When that happens, I can then take the beast skin scroll to the Buddha Emperor, my Father-in-law, as well as Boris. As long as they agree to deal with the Divine Realm, then we would have nothing to fear.”
Billy looked at Zhao Hai, and then with a serious tone he said, “Rest a.s.sured, we can certainly deal with all of our enemies. Whether it be the Demons or the Divine Race, everyone who wants to enslave our races shall be eliminated.”
Zhao Hai replied, “I also believe that we can defeat them. I just hope that the Elves would be on our side. Otherwise, when the Divine Race comes, we couldn’t just accept them as allies. And with no point of retreat, the Elves would be placed in a dangerous position.”
Billy nodded, then said, “This time, whether we succeed or not, we should go and deal with the Dragon Race. Their reputation alone is causing huge problems. Moreover, their current arrangement divided the continent in half. This wouldn’t be a good thing for us when the Divine Race arrives.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “I’m aware of that. That is why I immediately thought of eliminating them. After I head back, I shall start to deal with the Dragons. We can’t afford to wait anymore lest more problems pop up.”
While the two were talking, a female Elf had come in from outside. She brought a bottle of wine as well as some fruits. After placing the food on the table, she looked at Billy and Zhao Hai and said, “Please have a taste. These fruits and wines are special products of our Elven Race.”
Naturally, Zhao Hai and Billy didn’t decline. After thanking the Elf, they immediately tasted the fruit and wine. There was no need to mention it, the fruit and wine were extremely good. This was especially true for the wine, it had a variety of fruit aroma as well as a very special taste.
When the two had drank a gla.s.s of liquor, Gellar can in. Upon entering, she gave a salute to the two and said, “Patriarch Billy, Patriarch Zhao Hai, Her Majesty has invited you in.” The two immediately stood up and followed Gellar out.
After walking round and round the tree for who knows how long, they finally came out from a hole in the trunk. Then they went on further outside and arrived in a thick branch. This branch was very large and had twigs that formed a platform with an area of about 10 thousand meter squared. And erected on this platform was a palace.
The palace wasn’t very big, its body was completely made out of wood branches. Moreover, these branches were still alive, as seen from the green leaves that can be seen here and there.
There were no guards in this palace. What can be seen on its huge entrance were Elves that were continuously going in and out. Before long, Gellar took the two into the palace. While walking along, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but look at the ground. The floor of the palace was made out of leaves that were carefully cut and arranged into very beautiful patterns.
Then Gellar led them towards a Great Hall that had ‘Life Temple’ written on it. It seems like this temple was named after the G.o.d that the Elves wors.h.i.+p, the G.o.d of Life.
When the three people entered the temple, Zhao Hai and Billy couldn’t help but stare. Inside the temple wasn’t only the Elf Queen. There were chairs inside the hall where Elves can be seen sitting. The hall was packed, it had an audience of no less than a hundred people.
In the innermost part of the hall were three chairs. The chair on the middle was more elevated from the other two and there was a female Elf sitting on it. This elf doesn’t look old, she wore a green robe and had a magic staff on her hand. She also had a crown made out of vines on top of her head, giving her a n.o.ble aura. It seems like this person was the Elf Queen. On the left side of the Queen was another female Elf, she looked quite old due to the wrinkles on her face. However, her eyes was s.h.i.+ning, and the seriousness on her face made people feel like she wasn’t a person that was easy to get along with.
On the left side of the Queen was a tall and handsome man. Even if one were to consider the other Elves around him, he still stood out. His figure was quite tall and he had a very symmetrical build. He had a neat small beard that didn’t make him look less attractive, instead, it actually made him exude a more manly charm. On his left hand was a sword while on his right hand was a harp. Unexpectedly, he was an Elf who was an expert in both sword and harp.
The Elves commonly studied either magic, swords, or the harp. There were almost no Elves who had both Martial and Magic cultivation. However, there were people who can actually study both the sword and the harp. However, these people were in the extreme minority. This was because studying both fields can cause a person to divide their attention, making their progress mediocre. But at the same time, there were still people among the Elven Race that were referred to as ‘Heavenly Gifted’ in their childhood. These people are extremely gifted in both sword and harp. When these people finish their study, they would be called Great Warriors. These Great Warriors are amongst the fewest of the few in the entire Elven Race.
Gellar brought Zhao Hai in front of the Queen before she stopped and bowed, “Reporting to Her Majesty, The Great Elder, and the Prince. Patriarch Billy and Patriarch Zhao Hai has arrived!”
This was a special characteristic of the Elves. Their ruling body not only comprises of the Queen, they also have the Elder’s a.s.sembly as well as the Prince’s Palace. This Elder’s a.s.sembly was composed of Elf Elders that were chosen, majority of them were women, the other men were part of the Queen’s courtier’s, men who follow by her side. The Prince’s palace was generally the hall of the Queen’s husband. The Prince’s men also held some sort of authority. These three group were the core body of the Elf community. Once something related to the whole race comes us, these three would convene and vote for it.
Zhao Hai and Billy quickly took a step forward and gave a bow to the Queen, Great Elder, and the Prince and said, “Zhao Hai(Billy) has seen the Queen, the Great Elder, and the Prince.”
The Queen nodded and said, “In behalf of my Elven Race, I welcome Patriarch Billy and Patriarch Zhao Hai. Please have a seat.” The Queen’s voice was very nice to hear, it had a certain magnetic charm to it. Although her voice wasn’t loud, one could still hear every single word very clearly.