Danilla, however, did not seem to mind Faust's presumption, or perhaps as a member of the Purple Chamber, she simply did not care if the name of the White Court had been misappropriated.
She merely lowered her gaze and said calmly:
"Indeed, Mystoria does not approve of such methods; they run contrary to the teachings the Princess has bestowed upon us."
"But we have no other choice. To wait a hundred years means to let Princess Irithea endure the torment of a century-long nightmare. The mere thought of such a hateful thing makes my heart burn with vengeance!"
Danilla gritted her teeth, her beautiful face twisting as she gripped the collar of her robes. She looked as though she were about to enter a state of pure fury.
Faust took a subtle half-step back, unwilling to get too close to a woman with such volatile emotions.
He had experienced the path of the 【Observer】 firsthand; it utilized constant emotional manipulation to run spell-circuits in parallel, and its level of brutality was, if anything, higher than that of a 【martial saint】.
The modules loaded onto the titan mecha were essentially clumsy imitations of the 【Observer】; otherwise, the initial modules of the 【frost-walker】 would be nothing special, as their startup was far too slow.
Faust carefully weighed his words:
"You seem to adore that princess deeply. I recall that being a princess of the Elven Royal Court is not exactly an exalted status."
Whether it was Mystoria or Danilla before him, even from different sects, they all displayed an extraordinary, irrational devotion to that Irithea.
And this reverence was clearly not due to the title of "princess."
For the Zhexuan Kingdom had far too many princesses.
Although the civilization of the elven kingdom was unbroken and continuous, this did not mean the elven royal lineage was a single, eternal line.
The elves were masters of internal strife, and unbeknownst to the outside world, they engaged in intense power struggles every single day.
As long as one could occupy a seat of power within the Great Forest Sea of Zhexuan, they could establish their own royal court and claim the title of monarch; all such courts were recognized as legitimate dynasties.
As for whether such a disjointed system could even be called a kingdom... A kingdom is not such an inconvenient thing! Whether it is a republic, a parliament, or a joint rule of many kings, all can be called a kingdom!
In short, over the long history of the Zhexuan Kingdom, countless royal courts had been established, and naturally, there were many who could be called princesses by blood.
Yet this princess, suspected to be the "Sleeping Beauty," had clearly won over her compatriots through her own achievements and personal charisma.
"The Zhexuan Kingdom has been torn apart for far too long. Princess Irithea is the only princess worth following; only she has the ability to unify the many courts and end the strife."
"Not everyone adores Princess Irithea, but to us followers, Princess Irithea is the liege worth dying for."
Danilla wore a pained expression, shaking her head as she said:
"We have failed Her Highness. If not for the sacrifice of Lady Irithea, none of us would have escaped our doom. Even if only to repay such kindness, we could never remain indifferent!"
"Mystoria has exiled herself in pain and self-reproach, waiting for that long century. There are many followers who share her thoughts, but we are unwilling to be so decadent, so we remain active in the outside world, doing our best to save the Princess."
The prince nodded, sighing, "Is that so? That is truly loyal."
"Loyalty is the one thing we cannot betray."
The silver-haired, purple-eyed elf woman let out a long breath and pulled her hood back up:
"Since Mystoria is pursuing her own path, I shall say no more. Please, pass on a message to her: we will continue to seek aid across the continent, using our own methods to rescue the Princess."
"Archduchess Artedinis has been very cooperative with us, and the results obtained here are quite gratifying. But after today, we will leave the empire and travel to other nations to spread the word."
"Prince Faust, I hope we meet again in the Zhexuan Kingdom."
Faust almost laughed in disbelief. Although he would indeed be heading to the 【witches' feast】, bringing it up directly to his face was no different than asking him to go to his death.
"Wait, didn't you clearly state earlier that you wanted to use human princes as sacrifices? Now you're turning around and trying to rope me in?"
Yet the elf Observer saw no problem with this at all. She shook her head and said:
"Whether it is a hundred years of waiting or the blood sacrifice of a hundred princes, both are far too long and cruel. Furthermore, that would only dissolve the barrier of the curse; to truly save Princess Irithea, something else is required."
"A true love's kiss... The prophecy states that only a true love's kiss can awaken the sleeping princess. Although I am skeptical of human character, I can only pin my hopes on this. And you, you are a rare candidate with a glimmer of hope."
"Is it because I have great inner depth?"
"No. Even among the humans I have seen, you are staggeringly shallow."
Danilla denied it flatly, stating the real reason:
"Because you are good-looking. I feel like you are the type the Princess would like."
Sigh, there is no talking to an elf obsessed with looks.
...
After the elf Observer's small team departed, Faust arrived at the primeval forest south of Saint-Vevia in the early hours of the following day.
On the horizon, the morning light was tearing through the last veil of night, spilling an orange-red glow across the earth.
This forest served as the border of the empire. Unless the expansion of the Radiant Dynasty hit a wall, it would never stop, and this place was one such wall—an endless, sprawling forest teeming with countless monstrous beasts.
Although the average strength of these monstrous beasts was not high, if one held the intent to exterminate them, the empire's fiend defense line served as a prime example that the backlash would be unbearable.
However, there was no need to clear them out anyway, as this forest posed little risk; it would neither spawn beast tides nor breed major fiends. On the contrary, as a decent spot for grinding monsters, it supported countless adventurers.
The troops of the empire and the Sanctuary had arrived early to clear the planting sites. An entire imperial legion was stationed here, and in the distant mountains, there were even clusters of heavy artillery to ensure no titans could escape into civilized lands, striving to drive any potential escapees deep into the forest.
And if all that were not enough...
Below the clouds, a behemoth was slowly descending.
It was like a towering mountain.
It was an airship capable of holding a thousand people.
Its lines were simple and sharp, like a giant unsheathed sword lying across the sky. The bow and stern were pointed, with the midsection rising high. The hull was covered in a layer of white-gold metal, which shimmered with a faint fluorescence in the sunlight.
Huge sail-wings extended from both sides of the ship, constructed from countless layers of metal plates as thin as cicada wings. Each sail was etched with dense, intricate runes that shifted in color with the angle of the sunlight—sometimes gold, sometimes silver, and at other times, a brilliant spectrum of colors.
The entire warship descended slowly, blocking half the sky. The shadow it cast crept steadily across the woodland.
Rate on N.U.
