Chapter 110: She Gave Birth to a Little Angel

A serious meeting was underway. Caesar spoke with fiery passion, yet none of the kings were listening; instead, they were pricking up their ears to catch the conversation between two other elves.

"My dear brother, my admiration for you is like a surging, endless river, and also like..." Lin Lei recited poetry to Lin Wen with a look of pure adoration.

"...She and her husband were both my friends," Lin Wen replied, suppressing his anger. "Her husband is dead, and I was merely comforting her. Stop making up nonsense."

Overnight, the entire palace had become rife with rumors of an affair between him and the Queen of Ashia. If there hadn't been outsiders present, Lin Wen would have surely taught the culprit before him a lesson.

"You were friends with her husband..." Lin Lei’s mouth hung open. "You won't even spare a friend's wife? Brother, I truly admire you!"

"..."

Lin Wen nearly vomited blood.

The kings seated nearby were nodding to themselves. That woman was the Queen of Ashia, after all. The eldest prince of the Wood Elves had indeed gone too far; the King’s body was not even cold yet, and he was already trying to poach his wife.

"Prince Lin Wen, it’s not that I want to lecture you..." King Felix of Snowfall began, unable to hold back, but he was cut off by an irate voice.

"We are here to discuss the werewolves, not gossip!" Caesar, who was mid-speech, had reached his limit. He slammed his hand on the table. "Can you all be serious for once!"

He had spent days preparing his speech, and the atmosphere he intended to create had been utterly destroyed by this group.

"Your Majesty the High King, could you please be quiet as well!"

Caesar glared at Lin Lei. How could this little fellow be so oblivious to the mood and try to steal the spotlight? Seeing that Caesar was so angry his beard was trembling, Lin Lei wisely held his tongue.

"Very well, let us get to business," Caesar said, waiting for everyone to quiet down. "The Kingdom of Ashia has fallen. We must form a coalition army to reclaim it!"

The Human Alliance was a multi-racial coalition centered around human kingdoms. According to the alliance treaty, when any member kingdom was invaded by foreign enemies, the others were obligated to send troops to assist.

Ashia’s geographical location was critical; it served as a shield for the Alliance. Once occupied, the werewolves could strike deep into the heart of every other kingdom. If the werewolves were not stopped, the flames of war would continue to spread to more nations.

"Are there really that many werewolves?" Lin Lei asked curiously.

"Indeed," Caesar replied, looking at him. "The number of werewolves is no less than our own. They have lived on the Faron Continent for a long time. Their invasion of Ashia must mean that something has gone wrong on Faron."

There were four continents on this planet. Faron was the smallest, protected by a World Tree named Lora. The Ancient War had not affected Faron, and it was only after that war that the werewolves had invaded it. They had lived there for five hundred years, and their sudden appearance in Ashia could only mean one thing...

"Lora may have withered."

The expressions of all the kings grew grave. Over the last few centuries, World Trees across the globe had been withering.

Faron relied on its World Tree more than any other continent. If the tree had truly withered, the werewolves’ invasion was not merely a simple raid; they had likely lost their homeland and were attempting to repeat their history from five hundred years ago, seeking to seize this continent for themselves.

Werewolves had always been prone to pillaging. They were creatures born for war, and their vast numbers were sufficient to swallow an entire continent.

"We must form a coalition immediately," Caesar declared. "No one can afford to stay out of this. The more land the werewolves seize, the stronger they become. We must destroy them before they gain further strength."

The kings began to deliberate. Lin Lei turned to ask Lin Wen, "Will Father agree to send troops?"

Lin Wen looked solemn. "The stakes are too high. We will send troops."

"How many?"

"..."

Lin Wen did not answer, instead looking toward the other kings. This was not the first time the Alliance had formed a coalition. After an hour of discussion, a silent consensus was reached.

"Our kingdom is willing to contribute seventy thousand troops."

"Eighty thousand."

Without much bickering, the kingdoms decided on their troop counts. Lin Wen pledged thirty thousand for the Wood Elves. As their population was smaller than the other kingdoms, the kings were satisfied with this figure. Finally, they turned their eyes toward Lin Lei—he was the only one left to decide.

This was the Night Elves' first time attending an Alliance meeting, and since they were not yet formal members, the kings were curious about how many men Lin Lei intended to send.

"Don't worry, everyone. I have come here with nothing but sincerity," Lin Lei said, patting his chest and giving a solemn promise.

The kings felt a brief spark of joy, only for Lin Lei to add, "I intend to send six thousand."

Everyone was stunned.

Six thousand... only six thousand? How stingy! The kings looked at Lin Lei with contempt. Lin Lei sighed, his face filled with sorrow. "I had originally planned to send sixty thousand, until I took an arrow to the knee..."

"Fine, six thousand it is!"

Caesar cut him off. He knew exactly what Lin Lei was going to say and could not allow him to continue. Victoria could not wash away the suspicions surrounding that assassination attempt. If Lin Lei said it aloud, not only would the other nations blame Victoria for the low troop count, but it would also dampen the willingness of the other nations to commit their own forces.

Caesar accepted the number. The Night Elves were not allies yet, and the kings hadn't held high expectations anyway. Since Lin Lei had shown a willingness to participate, Caesar felt the group's expectations had been met.

"Your Majesty the High King has only just ascended the throne; we won't add to your burden," Caesar said, adding a justification before asking, "Do you Night Elves agree to join the Alliance?"

"I can agree for now," Lin Lei nodded, "but I would prefer to discuss the specific arrangements after this war concludes." He did not want to appear too eager.

The meeting to form the coalition had only just begun. Beyond the troop counts, there were issues of personnel, provisions, and more. The meeting lasted a full day before the kings reached a preliminary consensus.

To Lin Lei's surprise, the commander of the coalition was to be Lin Wen. None of the kings intended to lead their armies in person, himself included, so the role naturally fell to Lin Wen.

"Twenty years ago, I participated in an Alliance war," Lin Wen explained to his brother after the meeting concluded.

Alliance armies were usually led by humans, but twenty years ago, there had been a war between the Alliance and a faction of dragons. Lin Wen had been the representative for the Wood Elves at the time. He had performed with great distinction and earned the recognition of the human commander, which was why the kings were so comfortable entrusting him with the coalition forces today.

"After that war ended, I even served as the leader of the Skyward Walkers in the Sky City for a time, though I resigned after a few years."

Lin Lei was puzzled. "Why did you resign?"

Lin Wen sighed; the past was too painful to revisit. "Your mother said she had given birth to a little angel."

He had rushed back to raise the angel, only to end up raising a demon. At what point had things gone so wrong?