“Let’s hurry over. The situation for Evangeline isn’t good. If we’re any later, I fear she might not be able to hold on. If she falls into the hands of the Elder Court, I’ll have to be more careful when I make my move later.” Leticia nodded, indicating she understood the current situation.
The immediate objective was to rush to the City of Spirits and help Evangeline defeat the elders. As for the matter of the Book of Prophecies, that could be resolved along the way. Once Evangeline, free from opposition, became the true Elf Queen, finding a book wouldn’t be difficult.
It was estimated that the Book of Prophecies would be found while clearing out the spoils of war.
…
“It seems your little empress is almost at her breaking point. Do you have any thoughts to share on this outcome?” Ashes asked Flora, her arms crossed, looking at the besieged imperial palace with a mocking expression.
“Heh, the gap in strength is too great. She’s done her best,” Flora sighed. After the initial surprise attack failed, the outcome of this operation was essentially predetermined.
From any perspective, the strength in Evangeline’s hands was insufficient to contend with the Elder Court. Her time was too short, and the forces she could mobilize were far inferior to those of the Elder Court. Being confined to the imperial palace now was a relatively good outcome.
At least the elder’s army had been besieging the palace for such a long time and still hadn’t managed to take it down.
“Heh, a cornered beast, trapped within that small imperial palace. Do you actually expect a miracle to descend?” Ashes sneered. Evangeline’s biggest trump card was Flora, and now that trump card had been sealed by her. Evangeline wouldn’t be able to think of a way to break the stalemate, no matter how hard she tried.
It’s not like a few exceptionally powerful reinforcements would suddenly drop from the sky to change the current situation, right?
Ashes believed that she could at least stall two gods in a one-on-two situation. This meant that any supporting force would need at least two gods to change the current situation.
Heh, two gods. Besides herself and Flora, it was uncertain if there were even two gods who had broken free from their seals in this world!
Even if two gods suddenly appeared, why would those two gods side with Evangeline?
Wasn’t she, Ashes, worth cooperating with? It would be more profitable to act together to eliminate Flora, then divide the elf tribe and take this great forest for themselves.
Why would they help Evangeline?
There was no reason for that.
“A miracle? Perhaps.” Flora didn’t argue. She really couldn’t come up with anything to refute.
The current situation didn’t allow her to be stubborn. Evangeline’s supporters were trapped inside the imperial palace and couldn’t break out. Even with the scepter, a divine artifact, in hand, it couldn’t help the situation.
The numerical disadvantage was too great, and the Elder Court also possessed divine artifacts. At best, they would exchange artifacts, and Evangeline would still be at a significant disadvantage.
If the imperial palace were really breached, perhaps Flora would have to take Evangeline and leave the elf tribe. Although she couldn’t defeat her old adversary in front of her, she could still manage to escape with Evangeline.
After all, if she were to act, the City of Spirits would surely not be preserved, and more than half of the elders would likely die. Compared to such consequences, letting the loser Evangeline go was probably the best option.
“Roar, such siege weapons. The elves truly show no mercy when fighting their own people. I thought they would have tried to negotiate and persuade them to surrender first.” Ashes watched with keen interest as the elf army on the ground assembled massive siege ballistae. The arrows, imbued with magical radiance, were aimed at the magical barrier of the elven imperial palace. It was evident that these armies paid no attention to where they were aiming.
In their eyes, the empress was probably not as useful as the elders.
After a brief moment of aiming, the siege ballista unleashed a deep roar. Steel arrows as thick as a person, enchanted and imbued with magic, shot towards the magical barrier of the palace at extreme speed.
At the same time, the spellcasters within the elf army began their actions, chanting incantations and launching attacks at the barrier.
Bang!
Boom!
Continuous explosions erupted. The seemingly indestructible magical barrier began to falter under the concentrated attack of this magnitude. Cracks continuously appeared and quickly disappeared on the barrier. The empress’s supporters trapped within the imperial palace still showed no signs of surrender.
But how long could their desperate resistance last? Probably not for long.
And the offensive from the elf army outside wouldn’t be short-lived either.
“It’s over. I bet your little empress will be captured alive within an hour. You’ve failed again, you fickle, wicked woman.” Ashes revealed a mocking smile. She found immense joy in seeing Flora in a bind.
However, her smile had barely appeared on her face for a few seconds before a terrifying aura emanating from a distant location immediately changed her expression.
One, two, three… three?
Three presences, not weaker than hers, and even faintly surpassing hers, were rapidly approaching!
“What’s going on? Is this your contingency plan?” Ashes looked at Flora in shock, trying to discern something from her expression.
But from Flora’s face, she saw a similar surprise. Although this surprise was quickly hidden behind a calm expression by Flora.
However, having been rivals for so many years, Ashes had long since learned Flora’s habits. The fact that such a composed divine being could show such an expression indicated that what was happening now truly exceeded her expectations.
Those three gods with clear targets were not Flora’s people?
Then what were they here for? To seize territory?
“If I said I arranged this, would you believe me?” Flora shrugged, her expression nonchalant.
If Ashes hadn’t seen the fleeting surprise on Flora’s face just moments ago, she might have believed her.
Shaking her head decisively, Ashes unabashedly pointed out Flora’s momentary loss of composure. “I just saw the surprise on your face, and those three gods… they are definitely not native gods of the elf race.”
The Elf Empress and the Elder Court had gone through immense trouble to unseal Flora and Ashes. Now, with three more gods appearing at once, Ashes wasn’t foolish enough not to guess that these guests were not local deities.
“I think we might need to cooperate in a moment.”
“Cooperate with you? I might as well hope the newcomers are benevolent,” Flora chuckled. She didn’t trust Ashes, just as Ashes didn’t trust her.
