Chapter: Chapter 534
“Well, I have a decent relationship with the dragon race. I can’t just watch their kinsmen’s remains displayed here, can I?” Laeticia spread her hands. Although her equipment contained some materials produced from dragons, those were from the past. Now that she had the ability, she might as well fulfill her duties as the acting Dragon God. It was just a dragon skeleton, how much could it cost?
“Since you said so, Laeticia, of course, I’ll sell it to you. However, I’m not sure about the exact price, so let’s discuss it later. For now, it would be better to find the book you’re looking for,” Evangeline wasn’t particularly displeased with Laeticia’s request. To her, the dragon skeleton was useless. Besides, how long had this thing been here? Other than taking up space, it seemed to have no other purpose. Even the Elder Court back then didn’t bother moving it, which could indicate its status in the elves’ hearts.
Walking past the massive dragon skeleton, the last area of the treasury finally appeared before Laeticia’s eyes. It was a section resembling a library, with bookshelves of various sizes neatly arranged, filled with ancient books that looked quite old.
“There used to be more books here, but a long time ago, the Elder Court took many ancient books from the treasury. I don’t know exactly how many were taken, but the remaining ones are still quite valuable,” Evangeline said as she led Laeticia into the small library, telling her she could browse freely and take anything she wanted.
Laeticia was not polite. She went straight to the bookshelves and quickly memorized the titles of the books one by one. Most of these books were written in ancient Elvish. Laeticia estimated that in the past, she wouldn’t have been able to read them at all. But now, it was different. With her true divine body, she could understand any meaningful text without barriers. Most of the books here were about elven magic or history, which were of great significance to the elves. Unfortunately, to Laeticia, they were nothing but waste paper.
After scanning the books in the library, Laeticia found a worn-out old book whose writing style was somewhat different from the other ancient texts. Surrounded by books written in ancient Elvish on all sides, this book stood out. It was almost as if it were explicitly signaling to anyone looking for a book, “I’m special.”
Reaching out to take the book from the shelf, Laeticia opened it and began to read carefully. Soon, she found a record that might be related to her goal. The book seemed to have been written during the early stages of the elves’ establishment, when the Elven King was merely the leader of a small tribe. This book recorded some events from that time. It detailed the Elven King’s campaigns across the land to conquer the great forest, as well as his complaints about certain matters. It appeared to be the Elven King’s diary. “A proper person who keeps a diary,” Laeticia muttered softly.
Towards the end of the book, the Elven King mentioned finding a very strange book in a tree hollow. That book emitted powerful magical fluctuations, and he became interested in it. After more than ten years of experimentation, just as the Elven King was about to pass away, his research on the mysterious book finally showed some progress. At that time, elven craftsmen successfully found a way to utilize the energy of that book.
“My heavens, what did the elves even do?” After finishing the book, Laeticia gasped. So, what did these elves do to the prophecy book? Burn it for firewood? That Elven King seemed to be preparing for some grand project, but what grand project did the elves have?
Casting a look of appeal towards Evangeline, Laeticia voiced her confusion, “Evangeline, this time, I really have to rely on you!” As the Empress of the elves, Evangeline might not be able to recite them all, but she certainly wasn’t ignorant of the ancient history of the elves. Don’t laugh at her; she genuinely couldn’t remember these trivial matters of the elves. With such a long history, she wasn’t a scholar specializing in history research. This Empress position was thrust upon her. Based on her previous life trajectory, she was supposed to be an ordinary half-elf, bossed around by her sister like a servant. Becoming Empress was truly an accident. Therefore, when faced with Laeticia’s question, Evangeline could only resort to a simple solution: summon scholars who researched elven history, especially ancient elven history, to answer Laeticia’s questions. Wisdom comes from inquiry, and expertise is specialized. It’s not shameful to ask others at such times.
When the scholars Evangeline summoned rushed to the palace, it was already close to dusk. Laeticia was engrossed in reading a book thicker than a brick. This was a history book from Evangeline’s side, focusing on quantity and comprehensiveness.
“Your Majesty!” The summoned old scholar respectfully bowed to Evangeline. Now, all elves knew that Her Majesty the Empress had won the war against the Elder Court and become the true ruler of the elves. “I’m truly sorry to have called you this late, but I really have something very important that requires your assistance.” Evangeline spoke politely to the white-haired old elf. “This young lady is researching a period of history from the elves’ nascent stage, but the records of this period are very incomplete…”
“Yes, many events are glossed over and vague. I can’t find any useful clues,” Laeticia closed the book, her expression weary. “A lot of the records are clearly false at first glance.”
“And what period of history does this young lady wish to understand?” The old elf dared not be negligent. He had heard some rumors and knew that Her Majesty the Empress was now supported by a deity, and this girl might be one of them.
“A grand project, a very grand project. That’s all I know.”
“A grand project?” The old scholar frowned, his expression somewhat troubled. After much thought, he finally spoke with considerable uncertainty, “I do know of something that fits your description, but compared to other matters, the credibility of this matter is too low. We scholars treat it as a mythical story.”
“Any clue is good. Tell me about it!” Hearing that there was indeed a clue, Laeticia’s eyes lit up. Myths were fine; any clue was good! “Legend has it that during the elves’ nascent period, the Elven King at that time obtained a miraculous item. He then summoned the skilled artisans of the tribe and, using that item as a foundation, created a treasure to protect the elves. But this is just a story, and we have never found any ancient artifacts that fit this description.” The old scholar stroked his beard, his tone deep and slow. If that treasure had ever served a purpose or had more explicit records, then contemporary elven historians wouldn’t consider it merely a story. Unfortunately, there was no evidence to prove its existence.
A treasure to protect the elves? Laeticia mused, tapping her chin. Something even the old scholar didn’t know, how could she, an outsider demon, figure it out? The only thing that might be related to this matter was the protective shield that the guardian tiger lady had mentioned before. In the tiger lady’s description, that protective shield carried an aura of divinity, and its creator must have been extremely powerful. She retreated voluntarily because she saw that protective shield; otherwise, having been thoroughly angered, she would have at least given the elves a fierce blow. However, on the way to the elves, Laeticia hadn’t seen or sensed this protective shield. Could the guardian god have lied to her? Perhaps the thing supporting the protective shield had run out of energy.
“If that’s the case, I might know a place…” After hearing Laeticia’s guess, Evangeline thought for a long time before recalling something her sister had mentioned. “I don’t remember it clearly; I’ll have to go ask that brat.” Her sister was the intended heir painstakingly trained by their mother. Their mother told important things only to her sister, not to her. Fate, however, played a trick, and in the end, Evangeline became the Empress of the elves. But Evangeline didn’t know if her sister actually knew those things. After all, when the previous Elven Empress was sent to paradise by a nameless benefactor, this little princess couldn’t even speak clearly. Expecting her to remember these things so clearly was quite difficult. However, she had to ask.
After seeing off the old scholar and sending someone to summon her sister, another half-hour passed in the process. When the little elf princess walked into the study with an unhappy expression, Evangeline and Laeticia were each holding a fruit and nibbling on it. A miniature map of the entire elf territory was spread on the floor. Laeticia held a black wooden stick in her hand, and while chewing the fruit, she scanned the map, looking for any suspicious locations. This scene made the little princess’s eyelids twitch. She was a very traditional elf and naturally couldn’t stand such an ungraceful scene. Seeing Evangeline indulging in the same ungraceful behavior as Laeticia made her expression even more uncontrollable.
“Evangeline! Did you call me here just to make me angry?”
“Ah! Rose, you’re here.” Hearing her sister’s voice, Evangeline withdrew from her state of contemplation and introduced Laeticia to the little elf princess. “This is Laeticia, Laeticia Infino, Empress of the Demon Race, Goddess of Dreams, Custodian of the Dragon Race, Savior of the World…” A string of titles completely stunned the displeased little princess. It took her a while to digest the meaning of these terms, and then her expression became complicated. The Empress of the Demon Race appeared here, and her sister was having a pleasant conversation with the Empress of the Demon Race. Could the previous rumors be true? Had her sister really sold the elves to the demons? She used to trust her sister so much, but in the end, she had deceived her like this!
“Cough, cough, let’s set these things aside for now. The point is we need to find that secret. If we can’t find it, the elves will be doomed!” Laeticia quickly coughed twice to interrupt Evangeline’s introduction. The identity of the Empress of the Demon Race was still a bit awkward among the elves. Couldn’t she see how much her little princess’s expression had worsened?
“The elves will be doomed? What do you mean?” Hearing Laeticia’s words, Rose’s anger paused for a moment, and then confusion arose in her heart. Apart from the events of a few days ago, nothing major had happened to the elves recently. How could they be doomed? She couldn’t be lying to me, could she?
“It’s a long story. I came to the elves this time for the elves’ prophecy book. Originally, this book was held by the elders, but then…” After explaining a lot, Laeticia finished detailing the general process. Then, she said to the completely dazed Rose, “So, the safety of the elves is now entrusted to you, Princess Rose!”
“Ah, ah?” Rose, who had received so much information at once, nodded dizzily. “But I don’t remember things from that long ago very well either.”
“It’s okay, you just need to be here. Relax, relax, yes, just like that, very good.” Laeticia didn’t expect Rose to answer verbally. She planned to use a faster method. “Help your sister to that chair over there.” Handing the already limp Rose to Evangeline, Laeticia revealed a triumphant smile. Such a pure and kind little sheep had no power to resist in front of the Dream God’s abilities.
“I’ll go check her dream and be right back.” Her form gradually faded. Before disappearing, Laeticia said to Evangeline. Unlike before, she no longer needed to leave her physical body behind when entering someone’s dream; she could bring it into the spiritual world together. As for the principle, Laeticia didn’t know; she could only guess that it was a small favor from that great deity. Rose’s dream was easy to find. Laeticia entered the elf princess’s dream without any obstruction. However, contrary to her expectations, she did not see Rose in this dream but encountered a very unfamiliar existence. It was an elf elder wearing a light green robe, with a somewhat simple crown of leaves on his head. Upon seeing Laeticia, he let out a sigh of relief, “Has the time finally come, Dream God from another world.” He knows me?! Laeticia was shocked and blurted out a question, “Who are you? Why do you know me?”
