Chapter Sixty-Eight: My Game Is Not Over Yet

A seasoning packet? It was actually a seasoning packet? Bard stared wide-eyed at Linley, unable to tell if Linley was joking or serious—the boy’s tone was utterly inscrutable.

“Stop joking!” Eve suddenly shouted, her voice raised in anger. “Boss, why did you come here? Is it because I’m a forest elf and you want to kill me too?”

Bard hurried to stop her: “Quiet, girl!”

He sensed something was wrong. Eve was clearly drawing a line and warning Linley, giving him the chance to keep pretending to be her boss. Bard didn’t know whether this fourteen-year-old boy had realized it, but he couldn’t let the situation spiral out of control; he had to seize the moment to expose Linley’s true identity.

Yet neither Bard nor Eve expected that Linley was genuinely searching for a seasoning packet.

“Ah, found it! Old man, it’s in your pocket—why did you steal my seasoning packet?” Linley had spotted the packet in Bard’s pocket. “Don’t even try to deny it, I saw it already!”

Bard dumbly pulled out the packet. “You were really looking for this?”

“That’s right, hand it over.” Linley nodded.

Bard examined the packet closely. What was so special about this thing? Was it some kind of treasure, more precious than the elf girl herself? He couldn’t help but squeeze and sniff it; there was a unique aroma, but nothing obviously extraordinary. Suddenly, Bard realized how foolish his behavior was and, frustrated and embarrassed, he flung the packet aside.

“Brat, are you playing me on purpose?”

He raised his dagger and pressed it to Eve’s throat. “Boy, if you want to save this woman, drop your weapon and walk over here.”

Linley picked up the seasoning packet, brushed off the dust, and tucked it into his pocket.

“Idiot, this is a special seasoning packet. I can’t do without it.”

He turned to leave, as if he hadn’t heard Bard’s words. Bard was stunned; Eve sighed and closed her eyes.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” Linley paused after a few steps and turned to Eve. “Eve, what’s my name?”

A tic appeared on Bard’s forehead. What on earth was this boy doing? Why couldn’t he guess Linley’s intentions at all?

Eve opened her eyes to look at Linley, equally baffled.

“Well, since you’re about to die, just call my name out loud!” Linley urged again. Eve shook her head; she couldn’t. If she spoke that name, the night elves would instantly know his identity.

“Is that so? What a pity…”

Linley turned to leave again. Eve watched his back, her lips trembling, and Linley’s steps suddenly halted.

“You said it, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You did!” Linley spun around, smiling. “Why be shy? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Yes, I am Linley—my name is unchanged, my surname unchanged. I am the little prince of the forest elves!”

He threw off his black cloak, revealing his true form: black hair and black eyes, no disguise except for the mask still on his face.

The crowd fell silent. The night elves stared in disbelief at Linley. Bard was overjoyed and couldn’t help shouting, “See! I wasn’t lying—he’s admitted it himself. The little prince of the forest elves, the founder of your organization, he deceived you, all the events of the past few days were orchestrated by him!”

Bard’s words exploded in the crowd like a bomb. Scores of night elves began cursing in fury.

“The boss is the little prince of the forest elves!”

“He betrayed us!”

“Despicable, shameless!”

“Kill him, kill him!”

Night elves could not forgive betrayal. Linley seemed oblivious to the curses. He dropped his broken sword and walked lightly toward the pyre.

He had clearly heard Bard’s terms and decided to accept them.

“Wait!” Seeing Linley’s obedience to save Eve, the new king sensed something was off. He grasped Eve’s throat and tossed his dagger to Linley. “No need to come over—stab yourself in the hand with this dagger, and I’ll let her go.”

Linley picked up the dagger, recognizing its familiar aura.

“Don’t stab!” Eve’s face changed dramatically. “That dagger is the tentacle of the Twin Moon Wheel; it will absorb all your power. My magic is already…”

“Shut up!” Bard clamped a hand over Eve’s mouth and threatened Linley. “Hurry up and stab yourself. If you do, not only will I let her go, I’ll heal her wounds as well.”

Linley turned the dagger in his hand. Without much hesitation, he plunged it into his palm.

Red liquid slowly oozed from his hand and was absorbed by the dagger. Not only that, a powerful pull emanated from the dagger; Linley’s inner energy poured out like floodwaters toward the blade, his face turning pale in an instant—the Twin Moon Wheel favored his strength.

“Has the young prince gone mad?”

In Twin Moon City, the royal mages watched in shock.

“Inner energy is a form of power. Why would he let the Twin Moon Wheel absorb it?”

“He’s just a star mage—must he go to such extremes?”

“Guardian, quickly save the young prince!”

The royal mages were extremely anxious; the little demon was their precious treasure.

They pleaded with the Guardian to act. In ancient times, the Guardian was a weapon of higher rank than the Twin Moon Wheel; rescuing the little prince should be no problem.

“Stay calm.” Yet the Guardian remained composed. “The new king wants to use him to threaten the queen. Even if Linley loses his power, he won’t die—let’s wait and see, the boy surely has a plan.”

Despite its words, it instructed the mages to seal the mage tower. If the elder prince barged in and saw this scene, disaster would ensue.

“Ha ha, what is this, what is this power!”

In Emerald City, Bard felt the force from the Twin Moon Wheel quickly strengthening his body. “Such miraculous power! How do you possess it?”

He was ecstatic; the power was truly incredible. The Twin Moon Wheel contained the memories of all its holders, and among them Bard had never encountered such exhilarating energy.

“I can win, I can win!”

Confidence surged in Bard. With this power absorbed, he would not be defeated by the queen in the palace.

“Astonishing, utterly miraculous.” Bard gazed at Linley with joy, as if he’d discovered a treasure. This forest elf was remarkable; his value was far greater than just threatening the queen.

“I’m going to the palace.”

Bard suddenly soared into the air, radiating white light—the power of inner energy. Though he was unaccustomed to it, he could feel his body growing immensely stronger.

“Bind him up, don’t harm him, and treat the girl’s wounds. I’ve drained their power, but they’ll recover in time.”

Bard looked down on Linley and Eve, then eagerly flew toward the palace.

Linley, drained and weak, collapsed to the ground, allowing the night elf guards to hoist him up and tie him to another pyre, where he endured the angry stares of the night elves.

“It seems he doesn’t intend to let you go as promised…” Linley turned to Eve, his lips pale.

Eve bit her lip. “Why did you do this?”

“Because you called my name.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.”

Linley closed his eyes to recover his strength, while the guards bandaged Eve’s wrists.

Just as Linley could threaten the queen, the new king perhaps thought Eve could threaten Linley—in that moment, Eve realized why Linley had saved her.

A few days before, when Linley had thrown her the token, he’d said, “From now on, you’re my deputy commander. If anyone bullies you, just tell them my name.”

“It’s only a word; why go so far?” Eve looked miserably at the square. If the guards weren’t blocking them, the furious night elves would surely rush up to burn them alive. “Now that you’ve exposed yourself, not only will we die, but the queen will be killed by the new king—all the plans we worked so hard for are ruined.”

Linley didn’t reply. Several minutes passed before he opened his eyes.

“My game isn’t over yet.”

His strength had barely recovered enough to speak.

“Strange! Why do you all assume that as soon as I reveal my identity, it’s game over?”

Linley had never considered his identity a real problem. This crowd of night elves was easy enough to deal with; at worst—he’d sacrifice a bit more charm and acting skill.