Chapter: Chapter 143
“I… I’m sorry, but can you help me now?” Evangeline asked inwardly.
She knew her apology was weak, but time didn’t allow her to express her remorse more vividly.
She hoped this deity would understand her.
“Hmph, who do you think I am? You think a flimsy apology will make me forgive you?” The resentment in the voice had not subsided.
Just as Evangeline thought she was finished, the voice changed, “So, you’ll serve me well from now on, understood?”
“Huh?”
“What ‘huh’? Extend your hand and call my divine name,” the voice said impatiently. “My name is Qing, God of Nature and Life.”
This deity, residing in the scepter passed down through generations of the Elven Royal Family, seemed to have a strong compatibility with the elves.
Nature and life; elves considered themselves guardians of nature and life.
“Qing…”
“Divine name! Not my name!”
“Oh, God of Nature and Life…” Evangeline softly recited Qing’s divine name as Qing instructed, and then she felt her body burning.
“Mmph?”
A staff, entirely emerald green, broke through space and appeared before Evangeline. Enduring the pain, she grasped the staff, and the deity’s voice became clearer.
“Bear with it. The poison in your body was actually to prevent the Elven Emperor from misusing my powers. It’s just that because your bloodline isn’t pure enough, the effect of the poison is manageable.” Compared to Flora, Qing, having accompanied the elves for countless years, knew much more.
For example, the poison in Evangeline’s body wasn’t specifically targeted at her by the Elder Court; rather, every Elven Emperor had to be poisoned.
Only with the permission of the Elder Court could the Elven Emperor use Qing’s power. If an Elven Emperor tried to misuse the power of the divine artifact, the poison within them would be activated, making their lives worse than death and completely incapacitating them.
However, Evangeline was completely unaware of this.
But she didn’t have the extra energy to think about these things now. The most important thing at the moment was to deal with the wolf pack surrounding her.
With the power of a god, accomplishing this was very easy.
Evangeline merely swung the scepter, and the beasts that had surrounded them immediately fell. A stream of milky white aura surged from within them and converged at Evangeline’s staff.
“This is the power of life,” she murmured to herself, then she tossed the ball of life energy towards Xi Mengyao, who was stunned.
The white energy flowed into her body, and Xi Mengyao realized that her body, which had been exhausted, was inexplicably reviving. Her strength returned.
Slowly getting up from the ground, she felt that her condition might even be better than her usual self.
“Qingyu… Wait, what’s wrong with you?!” Xi Mengyao was about to ask about Lin Qingyu’s condition when she saw Evangeline clutching her chest and collapsing to the ground, pale.
Quickly rushing forward to embrace Evangeline, Xi Mengyao found that the Elven Empress’s complexion was terrible, like a patient on the verge of death.
“I’m fine, it’s just a punishment for illegally using power that doesn’t belong to me,” Evangeline coughed weakly. “Help me up, we still need to move forward.”
“There’s no need for that, Your Majesty Evangeline.” As soon as Evangeline finished speaking, a mature female voice came from not far away.
Xi Mengyao turned her head and saw a stylishly dressed black-haired older sister walking towards them with her arms crossed.
Was this reinforcements? Or an enemy?
Xi Mengyao didn’t know, but she knew she couldn’t hand Evangeline over to this woman.
“Who are you?”
“I am Iyeft, well, perhaps you are more familiar with this face of mine.” The older sister rubbed her face a few times, revealing the face that was famous in all worlds. “Recognize me?”
“One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Race?!” Xi Mengyao’s breathing almost stopped. Why did such a difficult opponent appear immediately after dealing with the wolf pack?
Shouldn’t these boss-level figures be waiting at the final level for the heroes to challenge them? What were they doing appearing before two little rookies like them?
“Since you know who I am, hand her over. I have no intention of harming you. I believe Your Majesty Evangeline understands me.”
“Mengyao, hand me over to her…” Evangeline said to Xi Mengyao.
It wasn’t that she wanted to sacrifice herself, but because she knew she was currently an ally of the Demon Race, and this Heavenly King was clearly sent by Leticia to pick her up.
But Xi Mengyao didn’t know any of this. In her eyes, Evangeline had just risked her life to protect her, so she had to protect Evangeline now.
The Demon Race had a much worse reputation among humans than the elves. Moreover, Xi Mengyao had heard that the Demon Race and the elves were enemies, and she wondered what torment Evangeline might suffer in the hands of the Demon Race.
“I will never hand her over to you!” Xi Mengyao said loudly to Iyeft, suppressing her fear.
“Tsk.” The Heavenly King clicked her tongue in frustration. If Xue’er hadn’t emphasized that she couldn’t use force, she would have already snatched the person away. “I really have no ill intentions. Our Empress wants to meet Your Majesty Evangeline.”
“I understand, it’s all your Demon Race’s doing!” Xi Mengyao suddenly realized why this Heavenly King was waiting here, why she said their Empress wanted to meet Evangeline, and why the songstress always said she wouldn’t harm Evangeline’s life.
It was simple. This was all a plot by the Demon Race. They somehow found out Evangeline’s whereabouts and sent people to scheme behind the scenes to control the Empress.
She was lured to that place, which must have been the work of the Demon Race. Didn’t the Demon Race have magic to alter memories? She must have been affected at some point without her knowledge.
“What? No…” Iyeft was about to explain when a commotion came from the other side.
The dust-covered Captain, leading a group of people, charged over aggressively. When the Captain at the front saw Iyeft standing there and Evangeline and Xi Mengyao embracing on the ground, her mind couldn’t quite process it.
That, that must be the Heavenly King of the Demon Race, right?
And that, that seemed to be the Empress of the Elves?
“Uh, can someone explain the current situation to me?” The girl with the ability to predict the future also couldn’t understand the current situation this time.
…
“Damn, I think I slept funny.”
Early in the morning, under the cool night wind in the wilderness, Leticia opened her eyes and felt her neck was extremely sore.
Supporting her neck with one hand, she stood up and stretched.
“You didn’t sleep all night?” After stretching, she turned to Bai Ling and asked.
The white-haired girl, who had also stood up, nodded. “Yes, but it’s okay. It’s just one day without sleep, it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m not worried about you,” Leticia snorted. “That guy is quite honest.”
She was referring to Yi Yujun, who was sleeping soundly by a large rock not far away. It was a miracle that this girl could fall asleep.
Walking up to Yi Yujun, Leticia reached out and poked her face.
“Stop messing around, I’m not done sleeping,” the girl waved her hand vaguely.
She really treated this place like home.
“Wake up, Miss Yi!” Leticia shouted loudly in Yi Yujun’s ear.
The sudden loud noise made Yi Yujun scramble up from the ground. She dazedly looked at the sun in the sky and then at the two girls in front of her.
After a few seconds, her brain started to work.
Ah, she had fallen asleep.
“Hahaha…” She laughed awkwardly.
“Let’s go, time is pressing, we still need to find Xiao Yu,” Leticia pushed Yi Yujun. “You lead the way.”
“I don’t know where they are either,” Yi Yujun immediately stated that she was also clueless. “But if the songstress is with them, then their safety should be fine.”
“Hearing you say that, why does it sound so untrustworthy?” Leticia chuckled. It was too unbelievable for this culprit to say such things.
But Yi Yujun had her own reasons. She captured Lin Qingyu to recruit her, so she couldn’t possibly kill Lin Qingyu and have a dead person join them.
“Our goal is to recruit that half-elf, so we care a lot about her safety,” Yi Yujun explained. “Actually, after hearing that a half-elf had stolen a divine artifact from the elves and escaped, we have been looking for that half-elf.”
“How did you know?”
“We probably have helpers in the Elven Race. I can’t say for sure. The seniors haven’t told me about these things, I just know that there are quite a few people who agree with us in this world.” Yi Yujun frowned.
As she said this, she also glanced at Leticia. “You are also chosen by a deity, would you like to…”
“Uh, I’m on her side. Aren’t you afraid I’ll pretend to agree and be a spy?” Leticia pointed at Bai Ling walking beside her and asked a practical question.
From Yi Yujun’s perspective, she and this person surnamed Bai were a team. If she tried to poach Leticia in front of Bai Ling, putting aside Bai Ling’s feelings, if Leticia truly agreed, would she dare to let Leticia join their divine seat?
Impossible, right?
“Of course not. Although I don’t know how it works, everyone who joins us is sincere.” Yi Yujun said proudly, “Everyone has noble aspirations, and it is these that unite us firmly.”
“Do you mean poisoning an innocent girl to gain our trust? Or attacking a helpless girl?”
“The ideals are noble, but we can’t sacrifice our own people either,” Yi Yujun argued. “This is the least costly plan, and I only have so many resources. Would you have me charge that manor? I’m not stupid.”
Yi Yujun’s defense was very convincing, and even Leticia didn’t know how to refute it.
They were not on the same side as her, so they really didn’t need to consider their feelings.
The only thing that could point fingers at them was the poisoning of Xi Mengyao.
“Actually, I originally planned to have the songstress invite me to detoxify that girl. But you guys went directly to the Elven Race, which foiled my plan.”
Yi Yujun’s plan was quite thorough. At that time, the songstress was still highly trusted by Bai Ling, and Bai Ling would likely not suspect anyone she called.
Then Yi Yujun could stay in the manor under the guise of treating Xi Mengyao. As long as she could get close to Lin Qingyu, Yi Yujun would have more room for maneuver.
However, she didn’t expect Bai Ling to be so resourceful and call the main person directly, causing Yi Yujun’s plan to fail.
“Why did the songstress join you? Isn’t she a retired hero?” Bai Ling interjected.
She had been wondering why the songstress joined this organization after her retirement. Was it because the Hero Association had done something wrong?
Or did she have new ideas?
“She just continues to sing,” Yi Yujun said that the songstress’s wish was quite simple. “She likes to sing, especially battle songs, but after retiring, she couldn’t go to the battlefield anymore.”
“Coincidentally, I discovered at that time that she had the ability to be recognized by a deity, so I let her join us. Although she doesn’t do much normally, at least she has something to look forward to.”
“If you say so, you are still good people, aren’t you?” Leticia raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which, I remember an old man named Eagle Lao in the central city also had some connection with a deity. What’s your relationship with him?”
“That guy has nothing to do with us. He only thinks about profiting for himself. Even if he joined us, it would be of no use and would only cause us trouble.” Yi Yujun said, and moreover, the deity in Eagle Lao’s divine artifact had a bad temper.
So they had no relationship, but thinking about it, it was normal. Someone like that old man wouldn’t likely submit to others.
He was a big shot himself, so it was unlikely he would join other organizations as a subordinate.
Just as Leticia was thinking, Bai Ling poked Leticia.
“What? Do you want a beating?” Leticia retorted instinctively.
“No, look ahead.” Bai Ling pointed forward, squinting.
In the distant wilderness, there were two small black dots, and Leticia couldn’t see clearly.
So, she cast a strengthening vision spell on herself and looked over again. This time, she saw clearly.
“Is that Xi Mengyao? And the person she’s holding is Lin Qingyu?” Leticia’s eyes widened.
Yes, it was indeed Evangeline. The girl holding the closed-eyed Lin Qingyu in her arms was indeed Evangeline.
“Wait, Bai, think about what Lin Qingyu looks like.” Why did the Lin Qingyu in their memory look like Evangeline?
Bai Ling pressed her forehead, a confused expression on her face, indicating that she had also noticed something was wrong.
The Lin Qingyu in their memories seemed to have always looked like this, but they could guarantee that Lin Qingyu from a day ago definitely didn’t look like this.
“That’s Evangeline, isn’t it?” Bai Ling glanced at Leticia. “You knew it all along?”
She vaguely understood what Leticia meant by “secrets cannot be revealed.” Evangeline, the Elven Empress, her identity was indeed quite sensitive.
“I guessed.” Leticia shrugged. “It was only later, when we talked, that I fully confirmed she was Evangeline.”
“Is this the time to discuss this?” The calm and collected demeanor of these two made Yi Yujun standing beside them a bit stunned. “That half-elf looks in bad shape.”
Shouldn’t they rush to save her?
“No rush, they’re already in our sight, nothing will go wrong… Oh my god, why are there sand worms in this damned place?!” Leticia had just waved her hand indifferently, and the next moment, she saw the ground beneath the two girls begin to collapse.
A giant yellow sand worm opened its maw filled with sharp teeth, waiting for its desired prey to fall into its mouth.
“Bai!” Leticia immediately pulled out her magic sword and began to cast a spell, while shouting to Bai Ling.
Bai Ling had already turned into a beam of light and rushed out.
Xi Mengyao, who suddenly lost her footing, didn’t even have time to figure out what was happening when a scorching spear glowing with dazzling radiance whizzed past her, pointing directly at her feet.
—!!!
An ineffable, terrifying wail made Xi Mengyao frown. She wanted to look down to see what was happening but found herself being supported by a cloud, unable to see the scene below.
What was happening?
Before Xi Mengyao could react, Bai Ling appeared in front of her, snatched Evangeline with one hand, slung her over her shoulder, and then freed up one hand to grab Xi Mengyao.
With a whoosh, the scene in front of Xi Mengyao changed rapidly. In almost the blink of an eye, Xi Mengyao found herself in a different place.
Before her were the familiar Miss Su and another beautiful girl she didn’t know, and the person holding her was Miss Bai.
Now they were completely safe.
Xi Mengyao didn’t know why she had such a thought upon seeing Miss Bai, but with Miss Bai here, she felt an infinite sense of security.
“Xiao Yu…” Xi Mengyao was about to explain the situation when Leticia had already stepped forward to Evangeline’s side.
“Severe energy depletion, coupled with the outbreak of internal toxins, the situation is rather dangerous.” Leticia took one look and had a good grasp of Evangeline’s current condition.
This girl couldn’t be considered healthy right now; she was in a precarious state.
On the other side, Xi Mengyao recounted their experiences to Bai Ling in fragments.
When Bai Ling heard about the Heavenly King of the Demon Race appearing there, she subtly glanced at Leticia.
The Heavenly King appearing there was hardly a coincidence. Combining that with what Xi Mengyao had just said, Bai Ling felt that this was likely a ploy orchestrated by Leticia.
“Why are you looking at me?” Leticia felt Bai Ling’s gaze and glared back unceremoniously. “I have to take her back to the Demon Race. She can’t be treated well here among humans.”
This reason was half true and half false. The true part was that humans indeed couldn’t treat Evangeline well, and the false part was that the Demon Race couldn’t treat her well either.
However, Evangeline currently only looked scary. In reality, her life was still salvageable.
“Really?”
“You suspect I’m lying to you?”
“Yes.” Bai Ling nodded. “Xiao Xi said she saw Iyeft.”
Ah, this…
“Then how did they get out?” Leticia was a bit confused. It couldn’t be that Iyeft specifically let them go, right?
Her order was to find Evangeline and take her away. Iyeft, this unfortunate soul, couldn’t possibly ignore her orders, could she?
Bai Ling of course knew the answer to this question, but before she could explain, another girl appeared.
“Iyeft was blocked by Miss Xia and her people. Aina disappeared after separating from us, she’s probably lost again.” Xue’er walked up to Leticia, her brow slightly furrowed. “My clothes are a bit dirty.”
“After staying in this place for a day, there’s no way the clothes wouldn’t be dirty,” Leticia felt Xue’er’s focus was a bit off. “But she was held up by the Captain? She must be slacking off, definitely!”
Iyeft was the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings. How could she be held back by the Captain, an A-class hero, with her people?
“So, it was all your plan?” Bai Ling stared at Leticia, needing her explicit confirmation.
Thinking about it, the teleportation magic array didn’t seem to be of a high level. Leticia, the strongest mage in the world, could have destroyed it before it activated.
But she didn’t do so. Instead, she brought Bai Ling along and was teleported here.
If the Captain didn’t have precognition and precisely predicted the landing spot of the teleportation magic, Leticia would have profited immensely this time.
The Heavenly King of the Demon Race arrived here late last night, the speed was undeniably fast. If they didn’t know the exact location, Bai Ling felt they might as well go buy lottery tickets.
It couldn’t be that they just randomly picked a direction and found them, right?
“Is that not allowed?” Leticia gathered her courage and replied to Bai Ling with her hands akimbo. “I directly asked you to give her to me, but you refused, so I had to find a way to snatch her.”
“Then last night…”
“To stall you and buy time for Iyeft and the others, understand?” Leticia snorted, “And now it’s like it was at the beginning. I want to take her away. Do you agree?”
“Huh? The Demon Race is Miss Su…” Xi Mengyao felt a bit dizzy. Was that Demon Race Heavenly King Miss Su’s person?
“You’re lying again.” After saying this, Bai Ling averted her gaze. “Give me a reason.”
“She has a feud with the Elven Race. If she goes back, she can cause chaos in the Elven Race.” Leticia pouted unhappily, thinking she could make Bai Ling angry, but all she got was a simple “You’re lying.”
It was incredibly annoying.
“If the Elven Race is in chaos, your human race will also benefit. And you can’t keep her here forever, otherwise, if the elves are desperate and enthrone her sister, she’ll become useless, won’t she?”
