Chapter Forty-Five: My God, a Harpy

In the dining hall, Linley was savoring his dessert before the meal. The dish included jelly, an item from his dreams, and he wondered how the wizards had managed to concoct it.

Eve watched him, her gaze flickering. “Young prince, the lord has entrusted the war to you. Why don’t we launch a full-scale offensive during the night elves’ chaos?”

Eve cared more about the future of the soldiers in the Dark Forest than the queen’s affairs; she wanted to hear Linley’s opinion. Lady White had considered a full assault—the night elves' disorder presented a golden opportunity for the forest elves, and an attack now would surely bring great success.

“...Hmm, no...” Linley ate his jelly. “Lady White wants me to solve the night elves’ problem once and for all, but I don’t think a full-scale attack will resolve it.”

The forest elves and night elves had been skirmishing for over a hundred years before this war. A century without a decisive victory made it hard to believe that the forest elves could wipe them out just because of this current upheaval—the night elves’ throne had changed hands before, after all.

“Whoever obtains the Wheel of the Twin Moons becomes the king of the night elves.” Linley repeated Lady White’s words, knowing their significance.

He voiced his suspicions. “With such a blunt and simplistic inheritance mechanism, there must have been plenty of betrayals among the night elves. I doubt all previous successions were peaceful; they’ve surely had chaotic times before. Yet we never managed to win, did we?”

Eve nodded, the worry in her eyes easing.

The young prince, though inexperienced, had managed to deduce all this from Lady White’s words—remarkable indeed.

“Twenty years ago, the Wheel of the Twin Moons changed hands,” Eve said. “We forest elves launched an unprecedented attack on the night elves, even deploying a host of royal wizards. We meant to destroy them during their turmoil—but the outcome was the opposite. The war unified the night elves around their new king.”

The night elves were not a strong race; their history was rife with calamity, no less than the forest elves’. Precisely because of their weakness, their desire to survive was all the stronger. Whenever faced with grave danger, they set aside internal quarrels and united against outsiders.

“The forest elves gained some territory in that war, but paid a heavy price in casualties,” Eve explained. “Our little princess was assassinated.”

“What?” Linley paused, dessert forgotten. “The little princess?”

Eve knew she’d touched on an old wound, but the matter was long past; it might be better for Linley to hear it from an outsider.

“You have an older sister,” Eve said. “She and the crown prince shared the same mother. She was killed when she was ten.”

Linley was struck dumb. He’d wondered why his brother’s concern for him bordered on the pathological—now he understood the shadow haunting him.

“They never told me.”

“Perhaps they didn’t want you to be upset.”

Eve didn’t wish to dwell on old sorrows; she was more interested in Linley’s plan. “If you don’t intend to launch a full assault, Your Highness, how do you mean to proceed?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I need to see for myself first.” Linley resumed eating his dessert. “There’s too little information. Lady White’s words have hidden meanings—I suspect she’s concealing something from me, perhaps involving the Wheel of the Twin Moons. I’ll go to the Dark Forest and review the intelligence before making any decisions.”

He knew nothing of the scale or situation of the war in the Dark Forest, and his information was scant; Linley refused to decide blindly.

“If the intelligence supports an all-out attack, then I’ll launch one.”

Eve’s eyes sparkled—this young prince seemed capable after all, quick to adapt.

The fact that he could sense Lady White’s secrecy surprised her. She had indeed withheld some crucial intelligence, yet few commanders could have guessed it.

“You’re unexpectedly rational, young prince.” Eve laughed, relieved that Linley wouldn’t recklessly send them to their deaths.

“I’m no fool—war isn’t a game.” Linley raised his eyebrows proudly, though he truly did see it as a game. He longed to stand in the Dark Forest and shout, 'Charge, my minions!'—but that would be far too dull.

This rare major event demanded careful gathering of intelligence and understanding of all circumstances so he could play to his heart’s content.

After a satisfying meal, Linley decided to set out.

He wanted to bring his three maids, but feared errors in teleportation.

“I’m about to use the Great Shift. Are you sure you want to come with me?” Standing in the courtyard, ready, he asked Eve for confirmation.

Eve nodded, “I’ve asked Annie to prepare a carriage. If you fail, we can go by road.”

She still doubted Linley could teleport such a distance, so she made preparations just in case.

“I won’t fail,” Linley declared confidently, taking Eve’s hand and grabbing the leopard. The leopard struggled one last time. “Do I have to go? I’m about to turn into a dragon!”

It was obsessed with its impending new skill—dragonhood was no small matter!

During Linley’s dragon sleep, some of his power had flowed into the leopard. Now the leopard felt it was on the verge of becoming the greatest druid in the world.

It didn’t want to leave the magic web node.

But Linley was never one to listen—

“No, the Great Shift!”

After a burst of white light, the two and the leopard vanished from the castle.

Two thousand kilometers away, in the Dark Forest, a black-feathered raven soared comfortably through the sky—until a hand seized it.

“How lucky! Caught some wild game the moment I arrived!” Linley laughed heartily as he grabbed the raven, but his companions screamed.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Stop laughing! We’re going to crash!”

Eve’s face turned pale as she saw the forest rushing up beneath them—they were in free fall.

“No worries, just hold tight!” Linley continued laughing. Once Eve clung to his waist and the leopard hooked its claws onto his shoulder—

Linley summoned his power. “I anticipated this... I can fly!”

Suddenly, a pair of enormous wings blossomed from beneath his feet.

Eve stared in astonishment; the wings were pure white, radiant with holy light. As soon as they appeared, their descent halted abruptly, and then, like birds, they soared through the air.

“See? Even in three years of sleep, I never stopped cultivating!” Linley laughed, his progress in cultivation far outstripping other elves; the two feathers he possessed had awakened their true power.

On the ground, a group of night elves looked up at the wings in the sky.

“Heavens, a harpy! It’s flying so high!”

“It’s speaking Elvish—wait, report to the lord immediately! It could be forest elves infiltrating!”

“No way, the front lines are hundreds of kilometers from here!”