Chapter 185: Discussed very politely

With a light wave of her hand, Tella tore open a crack in space without warning. Through the fissure, Perletti could see a vast forest stretching beyond.

“There’s no mistake… this is the Elven Forest!”

It was the first time Perletti had truly witnessed the power of a Sunrise-tier powerhouse. Crossing half a continent in an instant—even impossible magic like freezing time—seemed effortless for Tella.

Compared to her, every powerful being Perletti had ever met before was insignificant.

Following Tella into the Elven Forest, Perletti immediately realized the World Tree here was completely different from the one in her memories.

Desolate. Decayed.

That was her first impression.

The World Tree that once held up the heavens, its canopy spreading like clouds, was now nothing but withered branches, like the gigantic corpse of some ancient being stretching broken limbs toward the sky. Sunlight pierced through the barren branches and shone directly upon the leaf-covered ground below, filling the forest with an eerie sense of lifeless ruin.

“This is the World Tree? No… how did it become like this?”

“It’s decay. During the time you were gone, the elves exhausted every possible method trying to drive the God of Decay out of the tree. In the process, they only accelerated the World Tree’s corruption.”

“There are barely any branches left… can it still produce nectar?”

Perletti lowered her gaze toward Feye lying in her arms, worry filling her voice.

“Relax. There’s definitely still some left.”

As they spoke, the two arrived before the elven palace. There were even more guards than Perletti had expected. The moment they noticed the sudden appearance of Perletti and Tella, the guards instantly raised their weapons.

Before they could even finish shouting for reinforcements, Tella killed them all.

“Tella… honestly, there was no need to kill them, right?”

Perletti felt lingering fear. Tella slaughtered elves without the slightest hesitation, treating them no differently from livestock.

Tella’s tone remained extremely gentle as she reassured her.

“I’m just giving that little blondie a warning. Otherwise, I’m afraid she still won’t remember who she really is.”

After that, Tella no longer bothered using spatial magic. Instead, she openly walked through the elven palace with Perletti.

Every elf who appeared before Tella along the way exploded from within before even managing to scream, their blood bursting through their bodies.

Holding Feye tightly, Perletti watched the massacre with lingering dread all the way until they stopped before a large door. By then, the entire elven palace had been dyed crimson with blood.

Perletti swallowed hard.

It couldn’t be helped. To others, all this blood might have looked horrifying.

But to Perletti…

It felt like a waste of food.

Fresh, fragrant, like morning dew mixed with blooming flowers. The scent invaded her nose, stirring the bloodlust buried deep within her bones. She could almost imagine the warmth and sweetness of it sliding down her throat…

She desperately resisted the urge to kneel down and lick the floor clean.

Faint voices drifted from behind the door.

“This method failed too… Is there really no way to break this so-called contract?”

“All our previous attempts used ordinary beings. Maybe divine-blessed individuals might—”

Bang!!!

Tella kicked the door open and strode inside. Perletti hurriedly followed behind her.

Inside the room, a group of people surrounded a large table discussing something intensely. Among them were many familiar faces to Perletti—the Witch of Stars, the Witch of Flames, as well as the Witch of Dust and the Witch of Wind.

Hearing the sudden intrusion, everyone immediately rose from their seats and drew their weapons toward the intruders.

Seeing people she once knew pointing blades at her placed yet another crushing weight upon Perletti’s already strained heart.

At the same time, they also noticed the dying Feye in Perletti’s arms.

“Hey, little blondie. Your ancestor’s here.”

Tella spoke directly toward Xiao Mu.

That nickname…

Could it be that Feye’s habit of calling elves “blondies” came from Tella?

“S-S-Sirra…?”

The moment Xiao Mu spoke the name, her entire body trembled. She stuttered so badly she could barely form words.

How?!

She had spread roots throughout the entire Elven Forest. How had Sirra managed to appear here without her noticing anything at all?

And she had even brought two people with her.

Where were the guards?!

Even if the guards had died before making a sound, Xiao Mu still should have sensed something!

Only now did she realize her sensory network had somehow been completely flooded by an unknown force.

It wasn’t that she failed to notice abnormalities within the Elven Forest.

Rather, every piece of information had been intercepted by Sirra before it could reach her.

As expected of that monster…

“So you still remember me. Good. That makes things easier.”

Sirra raised her right hand into a grasping motion toward Xiao Mu.

The long table shattered under terrifying force. A gigantic blood-red hand seized Xiao Mu like a chick and lifted her into the air.

Despite both being Sunrise-tier, Xiao Mu possessed absolutely no ability to resist before Sirra.

More importantly…

She had already been beaten into psychological submission long ago.

It wasn’t as though Xiao Mu had never resisted before.

Every single attempt had ended with Sirra nearly beating her to death.

Over time, she had become terrified of this murderous monster.

“Sirra…” Perletti reminded softly. “We agreed to talk first…”

“Aren’t I talking very politely already?”

Sirra tilted her head, looking almost innocent.

The blood hand tightened further.

Xiao Mu let out a miserable scream.

Perletti glanced at the blood beginning to spill from the corner of Xiao Mu’s mouth and honestly couldn’t see even the slightest trace of “politeness.”

…Was this some kind of vampire tradition?

“Little blondie, hand over the World Tree’s nectar obediently. This time I won’t beat you up.”

But unexpectedly, Xiao Mu forced out a weak response.

“No…”

“No? Ha. Looks like after over a thousand years without disciplining you, your bones have gotten tougher.”

“N-No, that’s not what I mean! There really isn’t any left! You saw the World Tree yourself—it’s already withered like this! There’s truly not a single drop remaining!”

“You think I’d believe that? Xiao Mu, Xiao Mu… you still love playing the liar.”

“There really isn’t any left!”

Xiao Mu looked on the verge of tears.

Why wouldn’t Tella believe her?

They had known each other for thousands of years. No matter how bad their relationship was, surely it wasn’t so terrible that Tella wouldn’t even listen to a single word she said?!

“Your Majesty, please wait!”

Isabena suddenly rushed forward and stood between them.

No one had expected Isabena to do something like this.

Tella’s gaze slowly settled upon her, her gentle voice carrying dangerous undertones.

“Isabena, even if your real body isn’t here, I can still crush it with one hand from thousands of miles away.”

From this alone, it was obvious Tella treated Isabena far better than everyone else present.

At the very least, when Isabena offended her, Tella didn’t kill her immediately and even addressed her by name.

“You won’t do that. Even if you slaughter everyone here, you absolutely won’t kill me.”

There was an oddly firm certainty in Isabena’s voice.

The Vampire Queen might have been the strongest mortal on the continent, but Isabena knew very clearly where her weakness lay.

Family.

Whenever family was involved, Tella would always hesitate.

And Isabena had Masha’s connection standing behind her.

As long as she merely contradicted Tella verbally, Tella would never truly kill her.

Sure enough, Tella crossed her arms and curled her lips into an amused smile.

“Heh. I permit you to speak.”

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