Alchemist of Forbidden Arcane

Led by Lily, a group of thirty of us took a hidden path through the Silverleaf Forest. Although this was the fastest shortcut, it still took three days to reach the Holy Land of the Holy Elf clan.

Speaking of this Holy Land, I only knew about it from books and rumors, because this place is never open to humans, and only a very small number of humans have ever been there. Legend has it that Gaia's Ridge is not a real mountain ridge, and that it possesses the most magical and natural technology. I have always wanted to personally verify this ambiguous legend, and for me, Gaia's Ridge also had a reason I had to go.

"Master, another hour forward and we will enter the Holy Land. From there, we will encounter the barriers set up by my people, and the area is also filled with poisonous plants. Please instruct the knights to follow us closely."

After three days of getting along, Lily had already gotten used to my embraces. Even when I affectionately kissed her cheek, she began to accept it. Once we reached the elf tribe, I should move to the next stage, hehehe...

Finally, after passing through the Silverleaf Forest, we arrived at a small river. After leaving the dense forest, I was immediately dumbfounded.

Before me stood a tree, but not an ordinary tree. It was a super giant tree comparable to a massive mountain range. I knew this was the legendary Elf Holy Land - Gaia's Ridge.

Our group would still need at least two hours to reach it, yet here, we were already overwhelmed by the tree's astonishing presence. The top of this giant tree reached close to the clouds in the sky, and its trunk was terrifyingly thick. Its leaves hung like a green sea of clouds high in the air, and its roots stretched for miles. Even I, who had read extensively, had never imagined that such a towering tree could exist in the world.

"The divine tree ahead is Gaia, the son of the Mother of Nature whom we worship. Thanks to its protection, all 1.4 million people of our tribe can live at its feet, protected in all seasons, and with an endless supply of fruit year-round."

Lily gazed at the giant tree Gaia before her, lost in thought. For the first time, she voluntarily leaned on my shoulder. From the side, I could see her incomparably beautiful features and the reverence for nature in her sparkling eyes, along with a hint of ease after returning home.

To make this simple elf live in human society, I suddenly realized how selfish I was. Wouldn't she be more suited to living in nature?

I turned to look at my subordinates; they too had stopped, staring blankly at Gaea, and like Lily, were filled with wonder at the magic of nature.

"Good! Holy Land Gaia, Orcs, Dark Elves, 400,000 allied forces, I, Avanti Radell, will meet

Brothers, let's go!"

Throwing everything else aside, I enthusiastically signaled my subordinates, and the knights behind me cheered. I spurred my horse, heading towards Gaia's Ridge in the direction Lily indicated.

Lily was not wrong. This path was protected by tens of thousands of barriers, and along the way, many poisonous flowers and fruits entwined on the ground. It would be truly difficult for any other race besides elves to pass through.

When we reached Gaia's Ridge, the scene up close was different again. Layer upon layer of platforms were built on Gaia's enormous trunk, and between the platforms, different wooden boxes ascended and descended for transportation. Each platform was large enough to accommodate a small village, and thousands of platforms could form a small nation, becoming a true tree kingdom.

Before I could properly admire the magnificent scenery before me, my gaze was drawn to something else. An army, which I estimated to be around five thousand strong, was already lined up before us. Standing at the very front was a handsome, golden-haired male elf dressed in a pure black robe, holding a purple staff.

Although I didn't know who this man was, based on my intuition for talent, I immediately sensed the astonishing power he concealed, and he also possessed a broad-mindedness that embraced the world.

"Uncle!"

Lily cheered, jumping out of my grasp and running to the man to embrace him.

To embrace another man without asking me, her master, right in front of me... it seems I need to properly discipline this Lily and teach her the proper etiquette of a female slave.

As soon as I dismounted, the handsome man led Lily to me and bowed halfway. The thousands of elves behind him also bowed uniformly to me. I was startled and returned the bow, feeling uneasy at the same time. Elves rarely bow to humans. This male elf immediately put me in a high position, forcing me to work for them.

"Esteemed Baron Avanti Radell, I, Sebiel, General of the Holy Elf Mage Corps, welcome your honored presence with the highest elf etiquette."

Sebiel? A very strange name.

No matter what tribe of elves, they all liked to use plants and animals as names, but using the word 'Sebiel' was a bit odd.

It was then that I noticed the thousands of people standing behind Sebiel, all wearing neat but different colored mage robes. They were the five thousand strong Mage Corps that even the empire dared not confront.

Within the empire, mages were rare and highly paid, so it was customary to have fifty mages per division. The approximately one thousand mages nationwide actually formed only about eighteen divisions. An army having three mage divisions was already remarkable. Even my family's Black Dragon Knight Order only had two mage divisions, and my 30,000 defenders in Ferbenley City only had one division.

But before me were one hundred mage divisions, five times the total number in the entire empire.

"Elder Sebiel, greetings. I am Avanti Radell, representing the Vorust Empire and the Radell family in greeting the Holy Elf Clan."

Phew, more of these long and tedious diplomatic courtesies.

After introductions, Sebiel proactively led Lily and me to the roots of Gaia. My goodness, Gaia's roots were already as tall as several houses. As I walked up the stone steps built on the roots, I felt like I had turned into an ant.

Sebiel sent an attendant to take my subordinates to their rooms to rest, while he himself had Lily and me ascend to the higher levels of the trunk using those strange wooden boxes.

"We call these wooden boxes 'lifting platforms'. They are a means of transportation powered by natural magic stones storing sunlight. Their structure is very stable; our tribe has never had any accidents here."

Lily saw me looking a bit uneasy on the lifting platform. She proactively reassured me, but she omitted the term "Master" from her words, clearly still not wanting to reveal our relationship in front of Sebiel.

Sebiel didn't seem to notice these things. Instead, he was more concerned about the situation of the allied forces of the two races. He first asked, "Lord Avanti Radell, I will be introducing you to our chieftain shortly, but before that, please allow me to ask a question. According to our calculations, the allied forces of the two races should have arrived within the range of Gaia's Ridge yesterday, but they are still nowhere to be seen today. This truly puzzles us. What are your insights on this, my lord?"

"Insights, not so much. Just a simpler thought. If you were Tenshu, and the 100,000 Black Dragon Knight Order stationed in the empire suddenly vanished under your nose, how would you react?"

Lily and Sebiel were both stunned. Sebiel was the first to understand and burst into hearty laughter, even slapping my shoulder forcefully. Lily's eyes flashed with excitement, finally understanding why I hadn't brought soldiers to the Holy Land.

Although this was my first time here, I believed that a place called a Holy Land would certainly not have poor defenses. If the 200,000 elf troops couldn't hold it, I believed bringing my own one or two thousand troops here would only mean more people getting beaten. Rather than that, it would be more worthwhile to send them to carry out my plan outside.

Faster than I expected, the lifting platform had carried the three of us to the densely leafed area. This was undeniably another forest, but just thinking about fighting a guerrilla war in such a place was enough to cause a headache.

As the lifting platform ascended, the temperature dropped, and the density of the leaves gradually decreased. Finally, Sebiel led us into a natural tree hollow. This seemed to be a vital military area, guarded by at least one hundred soldiers, and a small training ground was built inside.

Entering the training ground, we walked directly into a confidential meeting room, where dozens of elves were already seated.

Since all the elves appeared young, I could only infer their identities from their seating positions and attire. The silver-haired elf at the head of the long table should be their Grand Elder, and the armed individuals seated at the end should be the junior military commanders.