Chapter Fifty-Three: A Monster Is Devouring People

As evening fell, Linley entered Emerald City with Eve in tow.

"Your Highness, I have a question," Eve said as she followed him.

Linley had already guessed what was coming. "You want to know why we're entering Emerald City, don't you? Let me tell you: the most dangerous place is often the safest."

He was in a foul mood. That night elf starseer had sent an army to search for them outside the city, each spell stronger than the last. All afternoon, Linley had been forced to hide and run, only to be discovered no matter where he went—finally, he had no choice but to escape into the city.

"…No, that's not what I wanted to ask." Eve shook her head. "I knew you would come in here. My question is something else."

"What is it?"

"Why are we walking through the sewers?"

Pinching her nose, Eve posed her question, her face flushed from the stench. They were making their way through a filthy, foul-smelling sewer, and Eve had never before set foot in such a reeking place.

Linley wore a mask over his face. "Heroes always take the sewers when facing a boss."

"Are you uncomfortable?" He noticed her miserable expression and, taking pity, retrieved a mask from his earring and handed it to her. "Here, take this. Don’t say I mistreat my subordinates."

Eve was stunned. This was a special mask enchanted with an air purification spell—she’d never seen anything like it before. Clearly, Linley had planned to take the sewers from the start, but she hadn’t expected him to be so—"You had two of these and didn’t give me one earlier!"

"Haha, I forgot!"

Linley laughed heartily. Eve swore to herself never to trust him again. Huffily, she put on the mask, and the air instantly became fresh.

"Will your leopard be all right?" The clean air cleared Eve’s mind as well. "You left it alone up there—is it safe?"

"I’d rather not," Linley shrugged. "But it refuses to go down into the sewers."

"No sane creature would!"

At that very moment, in Emerald City, the leopard was prowling the streets, teeth clenched in frustration. What a joke—the sewer was so disgusting, and with its keen sense of smell, it would be unbearable!

It strutted down the street, passing night elves, but no one paid it any mind.

The seal on the leopard had already been lifted. Since its rebellion, the crown prince had never tried to bind it again. Still, it was accustomed to trailing Linley in leopard form and wasn’t ready to reveal its true nature, so it simply continued as it was.

Druids could stealth in their leopard form, hiding their presence as long as they avoided the guards. Relying on this ability, the leopard successfully met up with Linley and Eve after they emerged from the sewers into the back courtyard of a house whose owner was away.

"You really are impressive, finding such a good spot," Linley remarked as he searched for a cup of water, while Eve held a lantern. "That’s basic starseer skill, Your Highness. But the chief starseer, Hera, is much more powerful than I am—she’s likely already sensed that we’ve entered the city."

Linley scowled. "Hasn’t she tired of chasing us after all afternoon?"

"How long until she finds us?" the leopard interjected. It was growing ever more wary of the starseer profession.

"There are powerful defensive spells throughout Emerald City," Eve replied, her expression grave. "These magical fields will interfere with Hera’s divination. But the city guards are highly skilled at rooting out infiltrators. With their help, it should only be a few hours before Hera locates us."

Linley sat, drinking his water. "That won’t do. Eve, can you locate the Queen?"

"Well…" Eve didn’t know the Night Elf Queen and had no way to track her down directly. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t find her. The Queen would certainly be held in a place protected by powerful wards—if she narrowed down the possibilities one by one, she’d eventually succeed.

"Ten days," Eve finally said. "I’ll need ten days."

"Ten days is too long. How about one?" Linley asked.

"One day…" Eve shook her head. "That’s impossible if you want me to pinpoint the Queen’s location. But someone in Emerald City must know where she’s being held. If such a person appears before me, I can point them out for you."

"Then we’ll seek out someone in the know," Linley declared, getting to his feet. The leopard couldn’t help but pour cold water on the plan: "You need a whole day to find an informant, while the chief starseer only needs a few hours to find us."

"That’s simple!" Linley said, rummaging for paper and pen. "Didn’t Eve just say that Hera needs the guards’ help to pinpoint our location?" If that was the case, all he had to do was create some chaos in the city to disrupt the guards’ operations.

Linley began to write, while Eve and the leopard looked on, curious. "What scheme are you up to now?"

"Oh, nothing—just posting a little news."

Half an hour later, outside a tavern in Emerald City, a sheet of paper suddenly appeared.

"What’s this?" a passing night elf wondered, glancing at the page. Two large words at the top screamed: "Shocking!"

Shocking! Gran City Has Been Overrun by Monsters!

——
Urgent news: Yesterday, a monster appeared in Gran City—an immortal creature formed from the corpse of Lord Gran’s father. It attacks anyone it sees, and anyone bitten turns into a monster! All the night elves in Gran City are dead—not even the children and women survived. The city has been completely taken over by monsters!

Remember, I am the Queen’s messenger. Upon learning of this, the Queen immediately sent me to tell you all! The new king knows about this but refuses to inform you. As a night elf myself, I reveal this at the risk of my life! You are obligated to pass this on—if you don’t, you’re no true night elf!
——

Below the text was a picture of a monster devouring a night elf child.

A collective gasp swept through the night elves passing by, many of whom felt their knees go weak.

"This must be a lie!"

"There can’t be such a monster!"

"Gran City overrun by monsters? Impossible!"

Whispers spread like wildfire, every face turning pale. Instinctively, they didn’t want to believe it, yet this was unlike any rumor they’d ever seen—there was even a picture, making it hard to dismiss.

"Come to think of it, my uncle serves in the army, and he was sent to Gran City today!"

"There was a gathering of troops outside the city today, supposedly to hunt down forest elves…"

"Maybe it wasn’t forest elves at all!" one night elf suddenly exclaimed in fear. "Someone just told me there was a monster outside the city—could it be this monster?"

"What? A monster that bites has come to Emerald City?"

Panic broke out among the night elves, and the rumor swiftly spread.

"This is terrible—Gran City has been overrun by monsters!"

"The biting monster is coming to Emerald City!"

"There’s a monster eating people!"