Chapter: Chapter 575: Alice Abdicates
“Cough, cough… Stop!”
The Elven Empress, who was lying nearby, suddenly came back to life. Green vines shot out from her hands, wrapping around Britt Grey Bear’s feet and flinging him away.
However, Britt Grey Bear merely somersaulted, a whirlwind instantly rising from beneath his feet to catch him steadily, allowing him to land smoothly.
“Your Majesty, you’re not dead?!”
He stared with astonished eyes.
Moments ago, the Elven Empress had shown no signs of life. Even now, she didn’t seem to have much life force, appearing more like an empty shell, ready to crumble into dust at any moment.
It was just a false alarm.
A relaxed smile spread across Britt Grey Bear’s face.
He stroked his beard and said with feigned sincerity, “Your Majesty, you should have said you weren’t dead earlier. I only intended to take these Life Springs to the battlefield for the many injured elves, ensuring the Life Springs were used where they were most needed.”
Britt Grey Bear was unaware that the Life Tree Spirit had already accompanied the King of Winter.
He naively believed that the Life Springs in his hand represented the last of their kind.
Previously, the Life Springs had been frozen into ice by the Ghost Dragon Angus’s dragon breath. Even if thawed, they were utterly contaminated by undead energy and rendered unusable.
Therefore, these Life Springs were incredibly precious in his eyes.
“I… I don’t need your healing. Take the Life Springs for other elves…”
Alice Frost tried to force herself to sit up but failed. Adenasi, already covered in wounds, quickly got up from the ground, enduring the intense pain to support Alice Frost’s body.
For Adenasi, Alice Frost was an extraordinarily special existence.
This had nothing to do with Alice’s identity. Primarily, it was because, in the past, on the day she fled back to the Emerald Forest from the humans, no elves had offered her any help when she was on the verge of death.
It was the Empress who carried her back to the royal palace and healed her injuries with the Life Springs. It was also the Empress who prayed to the World Tree, begging for strength…
It could be said that without Alice Frost, she would have become a pile of dry bones long ago.
Alice struggled to lift her head and look around. All the elders loyal to her had fallen in battle, leaving only Adenasi. The rest were either Britt Grey Bear’s people, neutrals, or ordinary elves.
If she were at her peak, these elves would undoubtedly obey her every command.
But now, she was on the verge of death for the sake of the entire elven race.
This meant that a succession of the throne was imminent.
These elves all knew where their allegiances should lie. If they continued to support her, the Empress, they would face dire consequences later.
Her gaze gradually dimmed.
A nameless sense of disappointment spread through her heart.
She had been so utterly defeated.
What had she been ruling for these past few centuries?
When had the elves become like this?
Alice gradually recalled.
It seemed that after the second Elven King banished the Demi-elves and some dissenting Treants, the entire elven race had changed.
Ultimately, there was no going back to that innocent and carefree era.
“Let’s go…”
Alice Frost took a deep breath and, with all her remaining strength, turned her head, casting one last look at the World Tree she deeply revered. This glance was filled with her final affection and longing.
She no longer wished to remain here.
She didn’t even want to die in the Emerald Forest.
“Your, Your Majesty, where are we going?”
Adenasi’s voice trembled as she carefully supported the Elven Empress, afraid she might dissipate into thin air at any moment.
“Go south… to the Emerald Fortress…”
Adenasi gritted her teeth and nodded gently.
If it were in the past, she would never have gone to human territory. But now, the support from the King of Winter had changed her perception of humans, and they truly had nowhere else to go…
“Your Majesty, you’re leaving?”
Britt Grey Bear frowned.
“What about the Emerald Forest? What about the Elven Royal Court?”
Alice Frost closed her eyes.
She didn’t want to speak and lacked the strength to.
As they passed Britt Grey Bear, he quickly made way but still pressed on, “Your Majesty, if you abandon the elves, then everything about the elves is no longer your concern!”
Alice’s footsteps faltered.
In the end, she said nothing.
A gentle breeze whispered through the forest, and birds flew to Alice Frost’s side, bididng her a reluctant farewell. Where she walked, grass sprouted anew. Where her blood dripped, tender flowers bloomed. Vines cleared their path for her and Adenasi, and from the direction of the World Tree came the rustling sound of leaves colliding in the wind.
“I… am leaving, World Tree.”
Alice Frost muttered to herself, lowering her head.
She knew the breeze would carry the message to the World Tree.
Two streams of tears fell, caught by the morning glories held in the beaks of birds.
She had let go of her last restraint.
The thorny crown fell from her head, rolling like scrap metal into the burning ruins.
Britt Grey Bear, like a ravenous dog, pounced, intending to retrieve the crown.
The Codex of Nature, the Scepter of Nature, and the Elven Crown—possessing any one of these was a symbol of the Elven King.
The Codex of Nature and the Scepter of Nature would return to the World Tree upon Alice’s death.
Only the Elven Crown could still be salvaged.
But no matter how much he rummaged in the flames, he could not find the pure gold crown.
The flickering flames dazzled him.
It was as if they were silently mocking him.
“Sister!”
A cry sounded behind Alice and Adenasi.
It was the Second Princess, Ashilia.
“Sister, are you alright?”
“Go back,” Alice said coldly, turning her head.
Her icy gaze sent a chill down Ashilia’s spine, and she stood frozen, not daring to move.
Ashilia was different from Adenasi.
Alice knew clearly that Adenasi would not be accepted by the current elves, and she herself was also dying. Conversely, with her status as the Second Princess, Ashilia could live well in the Emerald Forest.
This was the last refuge Alice could leave for her sister.
She had grown up, and from now on, she had to rely on herself.
…
…
“Why are you here? And Alice, are you alright?”
Xi Wei looked at the Elven Empress being helped over, his expression surprised.
Alice Frost had only a sliver of health left.
She was practically locked in!
Below her HP Bar, in stark bloody letters, were the words:
[Death God’s Curse]
It was clearly not something easy to deal with. Compared to the Love Poison Curse and Heart Puppet Curse that Lord Felton had concocted, these four words alone had a much higher gravitas.
In the sky, four Archangels sat outside a Holy Light cage, watching Audoin spin and dance within.
Occasionally, they let out bursts of laughter that echoed across the horizon.
Xi Wei scratched his head and suddenly thought.
Could the Incarnations of the four Archangels, with their level 99 strength, possibly save Alice’s life?
It wasn’t out of overflowing sympathy.
Mainly, if Alice died, it would be inauspicious to strip her of the Vena Holy Garment…
