Chapter 128: Interlude

The end of summer was approaching. In the forest, a light breeze swept through, and the deep green that covered the mountains and plains had already begun to fade.

A white eagle soared through the lush canopy, landing on the ground to transform into the form of an elf. His companions had already prepared food in the woods: bread, water, and roast meat. This was all they had left, and the meat had been prepared just moments ago—after several days of adventuring, their roasting skills had improved significantly.

Yet, it was still terrible.

Sylvie tore into a piece of sparrow meat, her heart aching with longing for Lin Lei’s culinary skills. Compared to his craftsmanship, this meat might as well have been flour.

"Well, Borg? Did the dwarves catch the Demon King?" Sylvie’s other companions asked the young man who had just returned. He shook his head, looking somewhat dejected: "No. They are currently preoccupied with the Lord’s wife; the Demon King’s name has been cleared."

He had seen with his own eyes the dwarf cavalry abandoning the siege of the inn, and even those dwarf matrons no longer believed Lin Lei could be the culprit. The town was now buzzing with the love triangle involving the Lord’s wife, but that was of no concern to the druids.

"I didn't expect the Demon King to be wearing the Goddess's Tear," Borg said, sitting down to eat a piece of bread. "He’s still a virgin; no one can frame him for that."

Sylvie was not surprised by this news, but the others were astonished.

"That Demon King is actually a virgin?"

"Good heavens! Weren't they saying he was adored by every young girl in the world? To think he’s still a virgin!"

"Haha, then he’s just like us!"

The male elves were excited. They didn't like seeing an elf younger than themselves become famous, and today, they had finally found a point of balance. Only one male elf looked at the others with disdain: "So, you’re all virgins, then."

The other male elves turned their gazes toward him: "Aren't you?"

"No," the elf replied, puffing out his chest with pride. "I wasn't as of two days ago."

"What? Two days ago!" The druids were shocked.

The female elves looked at one another. Who could have been with this guy? They had spent these past few days mostly in the forest; it was impossible for him to have slipped away to find another woman. Sylvie was curious as well, but she noticed that all the female elves wore expressions of confusion. It seemed none of them had been with him. What was going on?

"Perhaps he snuck off to the dwarf town in the middle of the night," Sylvie mused to herself. She didn't want to get involved in any nonsense.

"What do we do now?" After the commotion died down, the druids began to discuss their next steps. Now that Lin Lei’s innocence had been proven, the demigod’s plan had failed completely.

"And the demigod was severely injured as well." The druids felt a collective sense of dread. They understood the significance of the Seed of Life to a demigod. When demigods walked the world, their wills were stored within these seeds; only when a seed shattered or the avatar returned to the dream realm would the demigod’s true form awaken. Now that the demigod’s seed had been stolen—though not destroyed—the demigod’s true self had fallen into a deep slumber.

Even more terrifying was that a mysterious force was absorbing the demigod’s life essence—this had made the other demigods extremely anxious, and the druids had been scolded by their masters.

"My mentor has already told me to return."

"Mine, too."

Many druids had received orders that they were free to go back. Sylvie knew that within a few days, everyone would receive the order to return; the demigods would not move against Lin Lei again for the time being.

The holy light that Lin Lei had suddenly erupted with had too great an impact. Holy light was the primary faith of human society, and this had earned him the respect and trust of humanity. Once the humans learned from him that it was a demigod who had framed him, the relationship between humanity and the demigods would inevitably be shaken. In the past, this might have been ignored, but now, with the werewolf invasion causing widespread panic, the Human Alliance needed the two elven races and hoped for their continued support.

For the demigods to choose this moment to strike at Lin Lei would surely provoke human fury. If they framed him again, the relationship between the demigods and humanity might reach a freezing point. Humanity was a vital force in maintaining world peace, so it was unlikely the demigods would target Lin Lei again, at least until the war ended.

With that, there was no longer a need for the druids to remain here. The druids themselves wanted to leave, too. While the outside world was fun, the werewolves had invaded the Dwarf Kingdom in the blink of an eye. Their advance was so rapid that the flames of war might soon engulf the entire continent; staying here was too dangerous. They discussed it, and more than half decided to return.

"Sylvie, are you going back?" a female elf asked. Since everyone else was leaving, the few who remained couldn't accomplish much.

Sylvie thought for a moment. "I’m going to stay for a while longer."

Although the Dwarf Kingdom was dangerous, Sylvie still intended to stay. Druids usually had no missions, so unless her mentor strongly demanded her return, Eve—Sylvie—did not want to go back; she feared that life in her homeland would cause her to lose her fighting spirit.

When Lin Lei awakened his new holy light energy last night, Sylvie had watched from afar. She was deeply shocked; her young master’s growth rate was truly terrifying. In truth, Lin Lei was a very lazy person. He was good at reform, but he rarely set goals for himself; most of the time, he was driven by changing circumstances.

Such constantly changing environments could not be found in Sylvie’s homeland. The society there had never changed, and a society without change could offer Sylvie no room to evolve. Sylvie finally understood why the civilization in Lin Lei’s dream had developed so quickly. In any world, the civilizations of short-lived races always rose rapidly. Their time in each generation was limited, and people fought for every day, pushing their civilization forward. The primitive elven society had not changed in five hundred years. In the eyes of the elders sitting high above, time was merely a number; stagnation was most beneficial to them.

"...I want to stay here," Sylvie said, her resolve firm as she repeated herself. The changes she had undergone in the past four years were profound; if she had been in the primitive elven society, that much time would have been nothing more than a few naps. The same amount of time, in a different environment, held an entirely different meaning.

"You all should go back," Sylvie said to the other female elf. She could not afford to let Lin Lei outpace her, and she even hoped to find an opportunity to return to his side.

This continent was shrouded in the dark clouds of a terrifying war. The war would inevitably bring many casualties, but it might also foster social progress. No one knew what the outcome of the war would be. However, Sylvie knew one thing: the war would end the dream-like existence of the primitive elves, and Lin Lei would grow through this conflict.

"War is the best growth serum for Lin Lei."

In the Twin Moon City, the King’s voice rang out, and all the lords and royal mages looked toward him: "A lion cannot be kept in a cradle forever; it is time to encourage him to grow up."

"We must throw Lin Lei into the war."

Winnie stood beside the King with a sweet smile: "Everyone, make good use of this opportunity. Put your heads together and ruin him... no, cultivate him!"