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Join the ServerOutside the Cursed Lands, all the elves stood ready, their formation tight and unwavering.
Closer, ever closer!
The lone figure had already reached the outermost perimeter.
Just a few more steps, and they would be free of the no-fly zone!
Warriors crouched low in the grass, their grips firm on their weapons. Archers high in the treetops had already drawn their bows, while mages had strategically placed numerous large-scale area spells.
They waited, poised for their target to fall into their elaborate traps.
Yet, fate had other plans.
The figure suddenly halted.
They clutched their forehead, their form swaying precariously, before ultimately collapsing to their knees.
From this distance, the elves could clearly discern her appearance.
Her face was etched with an expression of profound agony and struggle. A fiery red greatsword, suddenly wreathed in a layer of grey flames, began to consume her. The ominous fire crept from her hand, up the hilt, and relentlessly climbed her arm.
She propped herself up with the sword, leaning heavily upon it. Lifting her gaze, she looked towards the hidden elves, her voice trembling.
“Please… do not stop me…”
“I do not wish to be your enemy…”
Yulim was acutely aware of her precarious state. Her stamina and magical energy had been all but depleted in the magma pool before she had drawn her sword. Now, having been forced to kill four more individuals, her curse had deepened once again.
Compounding this, days and nights without rest had left her head throbbing. Her nerves and sanity were stretched to their absolute limits.
These myriad factors plunged her into an extremely unstable condition.
Though the stubborn resolve in her heart had kept her from losing control entirely, any further provocation, or another desperate battle like the senseless assaults she had just endured, would surely allow the curse to fully consume her last vestiges of reason.
At that point, all would truly be lost!
Thus, Yulim could only attempt to reason with them, hoping words might dissuade them from hostility.
However, for a socially anxious girl like Yulim, normal negotiation was an impossible feat.
Her voice, utterly devoid of confidence, coupled with her deferential tone, made her sound utterly vulnerable and easily bullied.
This was especially true now, as Yulim knelt on the ground, clearly not at her peak.
Many elves instantly conceived the idea of eliminating her while she was weakened. Only General McAs, the venerable old commander, furrowed his brow, contemplating the possibility of a peaceful resolution.
After all, the enemy they faced was a monstrous entity who had emerged on foot from the forbidden Cursed Lands, wielding the Godslayer Sword!
Yet, she was still a monster. Who could truly vouch for the credibility of her words? They absolutely could not gamble the safety of their forest and the lives of all their people.
Glancing at Valorman, who stood beside him, eager for battle, the aged general let out a long sigh. The answer had solidified in his heart.
‘Indeed… this battle is truly unavoidable, then…’
As this grim reality settled upon him, the old general’s eyes sharpened, becoming as keen as a hawk’s. A palpable killing intent radiated from his form.
“Since our opponent is so careless, we shall use their own tactics against them.”
“Agree to her terms for now, lull her into a false sense of security. Once she steps outside the Cursed Lands, everyone will proceed according to plan!”
“We will ensure that monster is slain on the spot!”
Once the decision to become enemies was made, there was no need for mercy. Any stratagem, any cunning ploy, was justified to secure ultimate victory.
For this battle, they, too, had a compelling reason to win.
They fought to protect their home!
General McAs’s orders swiftly disseminated. From the forest, an elf chosen by the collective emerged as an envoy, shouting to Yulim in the Cursed Lands: “As long as you leave without harming the forest, we will not stop you!”
The envoy’s words reached Yulim’s ears with perfect clarity.
A wave of joy washed over Yulim. She hadn’t expected to persuade them so easily! ‘Them!’ She had always believed that since they were all elves, how could they possibly…
[Have you forgotten how you were hunted down?]
Suddenly, a searing, intense pain surged through Yulim’s head. Memories of the Elf Forest, all the past events, flooded her mind, causing her eyes to widen involuntarily.
Deception, expulsion, relentless pursuit…
Even Yulim’s own birth mother had wished her dead…
Only bitter memories surfaced, yet a faint flicker of hope still lingered within her. Trembling, Yulim reached up and pulled down a corner of her eye patch. The sight that greeted her sent a chilling sensation from her feet straight to the crown of her head.
The ground was riddled with traps, and every tree held archers with nocked arrows aimed directly at her.
An unusually vibrant magical energy permeated the air, unmistakably the aura of magic arrays! All of this, it was clear, had been meticulously set for her.
Yulim finally understood.
The ‘everyone’ here…
They weren’t Sister Anna, nor Luosha, and certainly not companions.
Just as before, they had never considered her one of their own. They only wanted her dead.
They only wanted her dead!!!
In the depths of her being, a fragile string seemed to snap.
A strange, low chuckle escaped the girl’s lips, echoing across the scorched earth. Slowly, the sound detached itself from its subdued origins, growing in intensity.
“Hehe… hahaha!”
Yulim tore off the eye patch from her face, rising abruptly from the ground. A vortex of ash instantly expanded outwards, centered on the girl! She lifted her greatsword, its sharp blade now pointed at everyone before her.
“You! Are all my enemies!”
With a wild, unhinged smile, the girl raised her sword high and brought it down with devastating force, unleashing a vast, crescent-shaped wave of grey flame sword qi. The sword qi moved with such blinding speed that it was utterly imperceptible to the naked eye.
It carved conspicuous fissures into the very earth. Everything that stood in its path, be it hidden traps or living flesh, was instantly severed, incinerated, and reduced to ash.
Valorman watched in horror as a hapless elf, struck by the sword qi, was instantly cleaved in two. Grey flames then erupted from their body, consuming them in a flash.
Unending terror spread through Valorman and the other elves. A single thought consumed their minds.
“Mon-monster…”
But it wasn’t over. The girl raised her sword once more. This time, she did not unleash another wave of sword qi. Instead, she wielded the greatsword as a staff, closing her eyes as she began to chant a spell.
“All things in this world, born of a beginning, return to an end. Behold this final apocalypse; I shall annihilate this world.”
As her chant resonated, an impenetrable grey magical barrier ascended, spanning a hundred miles and enveloping everyone present. Simultaneously, a colossal grey magic circle slowly materialized behind her, gradually forming a golden-backed clock face with black markings and a grey pointer.
The entire area slowly bled of all its colors, fading into a stark grey and white. The only remaining splash of color was the immense golden clock face, visible to all.
It was then that the girl finally opened her eyes, now completely transformed into a chilling grey. With a mocking, almost blissful expression, she gazed at the despairing elves in the distance, laughing cruelly.
“Hahaha! I can use magic too!”
“Let’s see whose magic is truly stronger!”
“If you wish me dead, then be prepared to die!”
“Let’s see who kills whom first, hahaha!”
*Clunk—*
Accompanying the girl’s laughter, the grey pointer shifted heavily to the next moment on the clock face, emitting a dull, resounding thud. It echoed like a death knell, signaling the imminent arrival of oblivion.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Moon Reflected In The Water! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
