Chapter 112: The Elf Queen's Last Hope
There is always a price to pay for using power that does not belong to you.
Even gods are no exception. The Lich God Velsharoon accepted the gift from the Lord of Storms and became a god, but he couldn't bear it and ran away.
How can a mere mortal master the power of legend without going through a long period of time?
Catherine used her legendary power to forcibly promote others, allowing half of the elves to gain power, but also inevitably infected them with magic addiction.
The power that has been integrated into the blood cannot be eradicated, and it will be used unconsciously in daily life, and then the magic addiction will become stronger and stronger, and begin to drain everything. If the elves are just short-lived species, it’s not a big deal. As long as you are careful, they will die of old age before the magic addiction takes effect.
But elves happen to be immortal.
According to estimates, even if one restrains oneself from using this power, the addiction to magic will begin to set in around the age of three hundred.
At first, I just felt that my appetite had improved. But ordinary food was hard to make me feel full, so I needed to eat magical food, such as some refreshing drinks.
Then, I can’t leave the magic drink at all, otherwise I will feel listless and have all kinds of discomfort in my body.
After the condition worsens further, your magic power will be lost quickly even if you lie still. At this time, you need to take magic potions directly as meals, but this ever-growing black hole will never be filled.
The feeling of having their magic drained away will drive the elf mad, not only physically tormented, but also corroded by the soul. Normal emotions will begin to blur, leaving only violence and cruelty, as if they want to transfer their pain to others, using this method to alleviate their symptoms.
There are already dozens of elves who have developed sequelae of magic addiction, which symbolizes that the first wave of magic addiction is about to arrive.
If the elves do nothing, the magic addiction will continue to erupt, and then the elves will fall into despair and perish completely.
In order to solve this problem, Catherine once tried to pray for a long time, hoping to get guidance from the gods. However, the solution given by the elves shocked Catherine.
Abandon those elves that have been infected with magic addiction, save the elves that have not been infected, and just split these infected ones away.
Catherine couldn't believe it. This was the answer given by the elven gods.
It sounds like there's nothing wrong with it, but that's half of the elf population.
Catherine could not accept this result. She didn't understand why the gods, who had always loved the elves, would make such a cruel decision.
Catherine continued to ask questions at the risk of blasphemy, but in the end she only got a counter-question: "Are the elves facing a crisis of extinction that they have to struggle to survive in this way?"
This question left Catherine speechless.
When it came to sharing their power, the elves did not face any internal or external troubles. It was Catherine who lost her restraint after gaining this legendary power.
If she could enable all the elves to possess legendary powers, she would be the greatest queen in the history of the elves.
She couldn't resist the temptation and ended up making this big mistake.
The elven gods will never give up their own people. They generously give the elves various blessings to make them the best race, and at the same time teach them patience, kindness, and restraint of desires.
For many years, the elves have lived in peace with the world. No matter how other kingdoms change, even in the era of dragon rule, the elves must be given enough respect.
This is the protection that the elven gods give to the elves. External dangers have never posed a real threat to the elves.
As a result, the spoiled child played with fire at home.
Perhaps, an ugly scar can make this spoiled child remember the lesson and let the child truly grow up. Losing half of the population is a painful experience for the elves, but if they can truly recognize their mistakes, the elves will be able to prosper again sooner or later.
The elven gods love the elves as a race, not just a group of elves in a certain period.
If a civilization needs to develop, it needs to correct its own mistakes.
This may seem cruel, but in the eyes of the gods, the elves have been multiplying, and life and death have been intertwined. Today's elves are no longer the first batch of elves, and the total number of those who died is dozens of times more than the current number of elves.
Death is nothing. If it can correct the direction of civilization development, such sacrifice is worthwhile in the eyes of the gods.
But Catherine couldn't accept it. She couldn't watch half of the elven population die without them even knowing they were going to die.
With the first batch of magic addiction diseases about to break out, Alchemy City was in such a big mess that the kingdom was about to be destroyed. Catherine saw an opportunity and after discussing with the elves' high-level officials, she decided to launch a foreign war.
The Alchemy City still retains a large number of alchemical industrial systems. If the elves can seize these things, they can produce a large number of cheap alchemical potions at low cost, which can effectively alleviate the mortality rate when the first batch of magic addiction disease breaks out.
Although it can only delay the time of death, as long as there is enough time, maybe there will be a turning point?
Moreover, the desert dwarves will also fight for the territory of the Alchemy City, which will be a tragic war. Instead of letting the people die in despair, why not let them die in the war, which is at least less painful. They will also be recorded in the history of the elves as war heroes, rather than a bunch of "numbers" who died in vain because of the stupid behavior of the Elf Queen.
This is why the elves must send troops.
This is also the reason why the elves want to expel all the locals. The elves cannot let outsiders discover their magic addiction, otherwise it will lead to a devastating consequence.
The previous closure of Silvermoon High Court was also related to this. They cannot let any information leak.
And now, the war has begun.
The magic contract signed by the Dusk Guards with those lords is actually a special legendary power.
As we all know, rangers can choose a race as their "enemy".
When facing his nemesis, the ranger will gain huge advantages, such as higher hit rate, lower hit rate, enhanced resistance, etc. When the ranger is promoted to legend, this power against the nemesis will also be strengthened.
Catherine shared the legendary power with the elves, allowing non-Ranger elves to also gain the effect of locking on to their "enemies".
All lords who signed the contract and then violated it will be locked as the "enemies" of the elves. Fighting in these territories will give the elves a corresponding powerful advantage. It is like you shoot an arrow and it happens to bypass the wall and shoot the defender in the head, while others fire a magic cannon at you and end up hitting few people.
With such an advantage, the elves' attack will be very smooth and they will quickly capture those cities with alchemy systems.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Then you can start working overtime to produce alchemical potions to prepare for the upcoming magic addiction disease.
Although the battle seemed to be going well, Catherine couldn't be happy.
Regardless of the outcome of this war, the elves will suffer a heavy blow.
Catherine took out a letter, handed it to the old king beside her and said, "This is a letter from a lich in the Alchemy City. I don't know how to respond."
The old king took the letter and read it. The content of the letter was very simple. It said that some Dusk Guards were captured. As the local lord of Alchemy City, this lich wanted to sit down at the negotiation table with the elves.
The old king sighed and said to Catherine: "Our war is not for negotiation, nor is it a reason to avoid casualties."
"I know, but are we just going to give up like this? How do you want me to respond to that kid?"
Catherine felt like an executioner, constantly forcing her people to die, all just to cover up her mistakes. She had thought countless times that if she could sacrifice herself to solve the problem, she would die without hesitation.
However, doing so will only accelerate the collapse of the elves. Once the magic addiction disease breaks out, the elves will become crazy, and the damage caused will be far more than half of the population.
This is a kind of despair where there is no choice at all.
The old king sighed, he knew that Catherine could no longer hold on.
Before the war officially began, the elves had suffered heavy casualties due to this aggressive tactic. Elves had raised questions more than once, and they could only watch these Dusk Guards, who had shared their power, die without being able to tell them the truth.
Every report of battle damage would make Catherine feel guilty, and the constant accumulation of pressures brought the Elf Queen close to mental collapse.
"Your Majesty, let's talk to this lich. I remember that Cicero did not accept your sharing of power. He should have survived."
The old king's words made Catherine's eyes light up. Could she finally save an elf? It felt like a ray of light appeared in the dark night of despair, and she couldn't help but pin all her hopes on it.
Catherine said excitedly: "Then let's get ready immediately. I want to negotiate with this lich personally."
The old king quickly reminded, "Your Majesty, there is no need to be so grand. If you go there in person, it will only give the other party the opportunity to offer an outrageously high price. Liches have never been kind creatures. They have no humanity at all. I will send someone to do this. If you go to negotiate in this state, you are likely to make a wrong judgment."
Catherine shook her head and said, "Please give me this chance. You and I both know that after this is over, my soul will fall into hell. This is my last request. I want to save them myself. Please."
Seeing Catherine's desperate and pleading expression, the old king realized that it would be difficult for him to refuse this request.
This is the lifeline that allows Catherine to hold on. If she is not allowed to go, it would be like cutting another wound to her tense spirit.
Now is not the time to collapse. If Catherine can't hold on, the elves will be completely destroyed.
"I will arrange the negotiation as soon as possible, but Your Majesty, please stay calm and do not expose our secrets in order to save people. Any unreasonable price will make the other party suspicious..."
The old king gave earnest advice, and at the same time decided in his heart that before any negotiations he must thoroughly investigate the lich and find out his background, and he must not let the lich discover the crisis facing the elves.
(End of this chapter)