Chapter Fifty-Six: What Exactly Is He Planning to Do
Florence was in chaos—never since the founding of the Night Elven Kingdom had the city been so unruly. The new king’s martial law had failed; people took up arms against the guards, shouting to save their kin. Even some guards and nobles were swayed, joining the people, crying out to rescue the queen, for only she could save them now.
“Hurry, copy it! Quickly!”
At the same time, the Hall of Guardians in Twin Moon City was a hub of frantic activity.
“Did you get down the prince's last speech?”
“He spoke with such passion—it was incredible!”
“His acting is getting better every day!”
The royal mages scribbled down Linley’s recent speech, bloodshot eyes betraying a sleepless night spent transcribing his news bulletins.
“I always said he’s a menace—no need to worry about him. Wherever he goes, there’s trouble!”
“How does he come up with these terrifying news stories?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He must be bringing them from the multiverse.”
“The knowledge out there is truly terrifying.”
As they copied, the mages argued heatedly. The news stories from the night before had been more frightening than any novel.
The hall’s projection showed scenes from Florence, transmitted by the earring that followed Linley’s activities—unbeknownst to him.
The night before, Lin Wen had stormed into the Guardians’ Hall, seething with anger after finishing his work.
“Guardian, what is going on? Linley went to the Night Elven Kingdom—why didn’t you tell me?”
He confronted the light orb, furious that his brother had gone to such a dangerous place without his knowledge. If he hadn’t personally questioned the front-line officers that evening, he would never have known Linley had left for the Night Elven Kingdom.
“If I’d told you, you’d have made a scene,” the orb replied, well aware of Lin Wen’s obsessive protectiveness. Still, it reassured him, “Don’t worry, Linley isn’t in danger.”
The earring would issue a warning if Linley was ever in peril, but the orb had received none. It could no longer monitor Linley constantly: cultivation research was growing ever more complex, and the orb had its hands full with kingdom affairs, its computational power stretched to the limit.
Lin Wen forced down his anger. “Where is Linley now?”
“I’ll check.” The orb’s glow dimmed momentarily, then it cried out in surprise, “The little one is writing something!”
The royal mages all turned their heads.
“What? He’s writing?”
“Didn’t he always refuse to write novels? Why is he in the Night Elven Kingdom writing now?”
“Damn it, which one is it? ‘Shrouding the Heavens with One Hand’ or ‘A Commoner’s Journey in Cultivation’? He hasn’t finished any of them!”
The mages fumed. What a joke—he wouldn’t write at home, but he’d go elsewhere to do it.
“No… he’s not writing a novel,” the orb flickered. “He’s writing news.”
“News?”
“What kind of news?”
Lin Wen, too, was intrigued. He’d heard of news, but never seen Linley write it.
“Well… there’s too much to explain. I’ll just project it. See for yourselves!”
The orb relayed the earring’s vision, and the mages watched as Linley’s sensational headlines appeared—witnessing him post news bulletins all over Florence, inciting wild rumors and throwing the Night Elves into panic.
“This little tyrant is having the time of his life!”
Astonished, they forgot their work, glued to the scenes all night.
The footage reached a climax after Linley’s performance: the Night Elves rose in rebellion, and Florence greeted the new day amid tumult and upheaval.
When it was over, the royal mages sighed in unison—what a calamity he was!
“Thank goodness he’s a Forest Elf prince. If he were a Night Elf, we’d be doomed.”
“Those stories are so frightening. We need to keep them on file, so we’re not fooled in the future.”
“Don’t pretend you’re being so noble. You obviously plan to use them to wreak havoc in other countries.”
“…”
“Ahem, but how long do you think these reports will keep Florence in chaos?”
“A few days would be enough.”
“I think the unrest will last much longer. These stories could overturn the Night Elven regime.”
The orb spoke up suddenly, drawing the mages’ attention. “Impossible!”
“The new king has the Wheel of the Twin Moons!”
“How could the Night Elves truly rise against their new king?”
“No, it’s entirely possible now…” Lin Wen, sleepless, interjected. “Times have changed—the Night Elf Queen isn’t dead.”
The royal mages were stunned, then lapsed into grave contemplation.
It made sense. Each Night Elven king had either seized the Wheel of the Twin Moons by assassination or, having seized it, killed their predecessor at once—for as long as the former ruler lived, the Wheel could be reclaimed.
But this time, it was strange. Several days had passed since the new king took the Wheel, and yet the queen still lived. The chance that the new king was simply merciful was incredibly slim; could it be the queen still had a way to protect herself?
If so, the Wheel might truly change hands again.
“This chaos could drive other Night Elves to rescue the queen, but that’s impossible.”
“The Wheel’s control is absolute. It could kill any Night Elf but its master with ease. Who would risk so much to help the queen?”
The mages argued. After a long pause, the orb mused, “The monster is on the brink of annihilating them. Someone might really dare to take the risk.”
“But the monster is just a rumor!”
“Rumors never last long!”
“That’s not a rumor,” the orb said, shocking them. “That monster is a real threat. If it isn’t stopped, it will indeed drive the Night Elves to extinction.”
The hall fell silent, everyone stunned. “Is the monster really that powerful?”
“Yes… I gathered intelligence all last night. I can now confirm the monster wasn’t created for immortality—on the contrary, it was made to save the Night Elves. But the experiment failed. What was meant to save them became the source of their destruction, and the Night Elves have no resistance to it.”
The orb was surprised itself—it had underestimated the former lord of Grand City, thinking him selfish, only to find he was a great man. To save his people from the curse of the Wheel, he’d used himself as the subject of the experiment.
“The monster in Linley’s stories is real; the rest is fiction. But the real parts can be proven, while the false can hardly be disproven,” the orb said with a laugh. “The chaos in the Night Elven lands won’t end; it will likely continue to spread.”
It was certain that in less than a day, the Night Elves would realize the monster couldn’t be killed. Once that was proven, true panic would sweep their society.
As a ruler, the Night Elf King had been right to conceal the monster’s existence at first—to prevent panic and seek a swift solution. But Linley had taken advantage of this, and now the new king could no longer clear himself of suspicion.
Linley’s seemingly casual mischief now appeared to be a carefully calculated scheme.
“What exactly is the little one planning?” the orb wondered with intense curiosity.