416 The Escape
Selma Payne’s POV:
There was still a lot of work to be done in Garland City, but we obviously couldn’t participate. The situation at the southwest border was urgent, and Aldrich, who received the news, also led his troops to guard the Spring Rain Pack. I had to return to the Elven Capital City immediately to carry out the next step of my plan, to stay or leave.
I purified the land of Garland City from head to toe to ensure that there would be no trace of evil power left here. Before I left, I asked the mayor if the garland of the Goddess of Nature was safe. He said, “We’ve been occupying the goddess’ legacy for too long, and it has been proven that such an approach is of no benefit. The goddess’ garland is safe, and I think it will be of greater value in the future.”
The Elven Capital City sent out a small team to receive us and those cunning captives. The one leading the team was Kaya.
“Thank God you’re safe.” She was relieved to see us and the captives tied up. “The capital is in a mess. If anything happens to you, I really don’t know where to go next.”
I asked Kaya if she knew anything about the situation at the southwest border. Kaya frowned and said, “Ever since the four cities of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter became ghost towns, a large area of the southwest border’s defense has been emptied. The other city-states did not have time to seal it off, and the wanderers disappeared into the ghost towns.
The borders of the werewolves were also on high alert. At the very least, I hadn’t received any reports of the wanderers’ tracks, so it was highly likely that they hadn’t left the Elf Forest.
After I returned to the capital, I could feel that the atmosphere had changed dramatically from when I left. The Council of Elders hurriedly took half an hour out of their schedule to meet me. The Great Elder’s ashen face made me suspect that he would meet the Goddess of Nature in the next second.
Although Garland City still suffered huge losses, at least we eradicated most of the cultists’ effective forces and captured their leader. This could be considered a morale-boosting victory, but it still couldn’t dispel the haze hovering over the Elf Forest.
I told the Council of Elders about the disappearance of the mark of nature. They were even more confused than I was because there had never been a historical situation where someone could deceive nature. Unless this power was even stronger than the Goddess of Nature, it was impossible.
Even the power of Azazel and Leviathan would be suppressed in the natural forest, not to mention the cultists who relied on others’ breath.
But now, there was no time to deal with these minor details. The cultists that disappeared at the southwest border were a thorn in everyone’s heart. What the heretic cult believers had stolen as a sacrifice was still unknown. None of the city-states had discovered any theft of treasures.
The Council of Elders had thought of the limitations of the offerings. They were worried that if the cultists had only collected some common items, the screening work would be almost a bottomless pit.
The gentle elves were not much better at interrogating their enemies than other races, let alone dealing with their mortal enemies. I was busy discussing the follow-up plan with Dorothy and had no time to pay attention to the status of the captives. Eve went to take a look and said that the elves had not been able to get anything out of Locke and the others.
“Where’s Adele?” I suddenly thought of the pale and dull woman. “How is she?”
“The elves haven’t interrogated her yet because of her mental state.” Eve shook her head. “She’s in a very bad state. Her crazy appearance made the elves think that keeping her alive was a hidden danger, so they began to consider dealing with her in advance.”
Locke, Kafka, and the others could be left to the elves to deal with. Unless they had a spy within them, I was not worried that the elves would let go of these enemies who had a blood feud with them.
But Adele couldn’t be left to the elves. I was sure she couldn’t do anything bad in her current state. Not to mention that she was the daughter of the southern Duke. Neither I, the southern Duke, nor the werewolves would allow Adele to fall into the hands of outsiders.
There was nothing much left for me to do in the elf territory. After some discussion, I decided to take my team to the southwest border to find traces of the remaining cultists and then leave the Elf Forest. But before that, I had to get Adele back.
Of course, the Council of Elders rejected my request.
“Unless you can give us a reason that we can’t refuse, I’m afraid we can’t do as you say,” the Great Elder said. “It doesn’t matter if the witch is crazy or stupid. She’s the enemy of the elves. Even if I let her go with you, how will I explain it to the public? The mayor and the nobles will not agree to it.”
The simplest way was to tell them about Adele’s origin, but this was a secret within the werewolf pack, let alone to outsiders. The Council of Elders was unwilling to give in no matter what, and I had to take Adele away. For this, we had no choice but to be in a deadlock for a whole day.
However, before this could be resolved, a sensational accident happened.
The captured Locke, Kafka, and the others killed the guards and ran away.f𝓇ℯℯ𝚠e𝒃𝘯𝒐νel. co𝐦
