Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Hospitality and Sparkling Iron
I didn’t know what the elves called their most important building . But probably, if we translated it into human terms, it would be called the Royal Palace .
The water flowing from the mountains was constantly pouring into the valley . The small river never stopped its momentum . The surroundings were overflowing with the smell of fresh water . A large and magnificent building stood at the center of the hanging gardens of Ghazalia . The scenery was extremely beautiful and breathtaking .
Most probably, their king, the Fin, lived undoubtedly on that grand palace . By the way, the message said that he would welcome us here, correct?
「…Ah, no . I never expected this type of welcome . 」
The words muttered by someone at my side unintentionally disappeared as if they blew by the wind .
Silver sparks were pointed towards Matia and me . Dozens of bows with arrows and spears were facing against us . The glistening of iron seemed strangely bright, probably because the sun in the sky stood at the very top of our heads .
Odd . I wondered how I didn’t notice this before . Why didn’t I perceive that message as a hidden trap? I hardened my cheeks when I realized the large number of elves that surrounded us . I immediately looked at Caria and Filaret . We had to avoid making a slight movement, since the surrounding elves were vigilant of us in a harmful way .
The silvery black eyes were both indicative of negative feelings . They weren’t here to welcome us with a smile . Indeed, how idiotic of me . It wasn’t farfetched to say that I was surrounded by elves as a result of my carelessness . I came to that conclusion quite bitterly .
If they were just mere numbers, then we would have a chance to subjugate them . However, that wasn’t the case . I understood why Matia was put on this tricky situation . But, I was an ordinary man, unlike the talented girls that accompanied me on this quest . Why me as well?
I bit my lips because I felt like blaming myself for something I didn’t notice beforehand . I moved my eyes quickly to every angle, but there was no place where I could escape . If I tried to escape, I would be just like a rat . I would be skewered and die on the spot .
I tried to desperately appease my heart, which was about to burst with anxiety and agitation . Then, I opened my mouth and spoke with a sarcastic tone . At the edge of my eyes, the silver tips of their weapons continued to spark brightly .
「…So, this was the so-called welcome ceremony of the elves . What comes next? I wonder if they used that demon beast that we came across in the middle of the road to lure us in . Perhaps, they will feed us to that thing . 」
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I tried to show as much margin as possible . While pressing my mouth lightly, I noticed the staring eyes of the elf in front of me . For a moment, I could see that his eyes were shaking . Those eyes were the eyes of someone staring at a foreign object .
Well, this was an advantage . I mean, they were elves, yes . But, they were also living beings . That meant that they certainly had feelings of fear . Great . That proved that they weren’t just monsters .
A voice arrived from the Royal Palace . I loosened my cheeks when I heard those words .
「Please, stop this useless resistance . You won’t be our prisoners for long . A message has reached Gharast, the human kingdom . 」
That voice implied that reinforcements were about to arrive at any moment now .
My eyelids swayed involuntarily when I heard the name “Gharast” .
I see . We have chosen the worst option . Nobody thought nor recommended that the Gharast officials could negotiate with the elves . Moreover, they were the ones to take the first step before we had a chance .
It tasted bad . Very unpleasant . As expected, I fell into the wrong side once again . I didn’t even know what kind of predicament would fall upon us . I had no idea about what to do at this precise moment .
The elves raised their voice, and a female elf dressed in a slightly better looking armor emerged from inside the palace .
She was probably the captain . Yes, she was probably the commander of the elves, since everyone surrounded her . She had a confident face . That was the proof of her higher rank . Ah, I truly hated that type of face .
However, despite hating her face, I couldn’t move even one bit . If I took a step forward, they would surely cut my flesh with a glittering silver weapon .
Even if I resisted, I wouldn’t be able to defeat this opponent . At best, I’d make them lose some of their limbs, but in return, they would kill me for sure . That was the obvious outcome if I were to rebel against them now .
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Even so, I could hardly contain my bursting emotions . Besides that hateful expression, the elves played a musical instrument for the grand entrance of that female elf . I gritted my back teeth so that my rage would be invisible to them .
「By the way, your Elf King…I heard that Fin Lagias would welcome us here . But, you detained us instead . Is your Elf King a liar?」
I felt a cold sweat running through my spine .
I desperately suppressed my own heart . I almost fainted from the growing tension that was trying to suffocate me .
No way . We mustn’t get caught here . To be honest, there was no promise in their words before . All they wanted was to lure us in . No promises were made . No oath was made . It was highly possible that the elves could’ve heard the great feats of the Gharast Kingdom from the very beginning . If they heard that, then there was a small possibility that they would want to join hands with a powerful nation . A small but plausible possibility .
Thinking deeply about it now . It would be extremely bad for us if they really held hands with the Gharast Kingdom . That would be the worst scenario possible . Being captured here meant the end of everything that I accomplished so far .
If so, then we had to find a way to get out of this perilous situation . I had to find an opportunity to escape . We had to take time away from them, so that I could search for any means . Something, I had to find something . That’s why I spoke those words in order to find more about this situation .
「Be quiet . Our Fin is a great sovereign . He won’t pledge to any of you, worthless humans . 」
I saw a greenery sword that reflected the colors of trees . The soldier pulled it out from his waist, when the elf captain spoke as if she sentenced us to death . As the momentum grew, the hostility from the surrounding silver weapons became stronger . I felt that this situation got worse, but somehow, we were still alive .
I released a small breath of relief from my chest .
That’s right . We had to be the ones to start a conversation with them . But, a conversation that could earn us time . I had to think about it . I had to find a solution . C’mon, think . Where could I match their reasoning? All I had to do was drag them into our side . I slowly opened my lips .
「Is that so…I see, then fine . But, please . I’d like to leave a message for the great Fin, so can you hear me?」
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I spoke with a somewhat mysterious tone, rather than reciprocating the hateful tone of my hidden emotions .
The elves were beings that took pride very seriously . They felt self-important somewhere deep in their hearts . That’s why they would not simply overhear a proposition if we tried to speak to them with unscrupulous words or by using brute force .
No, actually . I didn’t know other elves except the Elf Princess from my previous journey . In fact, I thought that she was one of a kind . A very big exception . However, I probably had no choice but to rely on her . To rely on my memories of her . Therefore, I made that woman a representative of the elf race . Somehow, a representation on a woman that broke every boundary with fear and conceit .
Summing up, I had to spin my words very carefully . For a second or a few moments, I just had to stretch our time . Ah, please . Let time be in our favor .
The elf captain snorted and said the following words .
「Yeah, no problem . Our Fin is loving and gentle like pouring rain . However…I can’t admire those who try to take advantage of others by hiding their true colors . 」
Simultaneously with the captain’s words…I heard two sounds slashing through the wind . Those particular sounds . The first sound was the stretching of bows that gained tension to aim at the enemy . And the second sound was position of arrows ready to fire .
Those weapons were pointed to an obvious orbit . It was predictable . Filaret was enchanting magic behind me . Indeed, this action was the trigger that could kill her immediately . No, of course . I wouldn’t let that happen . But, when did I become so firm of my thoughts that I could confront the enemy without fear?
It was no longer just an act of reflection . At the moment, when the edge of my field of view was covered with the silver weapons, my body and arm pushed forward against them . I didn’t think properly . Maybe I wasn’t in time . I just had to move forward . So, I moved regardless of the consequences that could fall upon me .
The next thing I remembered was the shock of having my left hand thrown into the ground . I thought from the depths of my heart that my arm was torn off .
My right shoulder swallowed the iron weapon without hesitation . My body blew away, while my blood and flesh burst from the impact . I could feel that my eyes quivered violently . My blood spilled in the blue sky and mixed with the deep greenery grass of the forestry ground .
My senses were numb after I received a tremendous attack on my body . When the shaking of my body calmed down, a serious sight returned to my eyes . I realized that I was lying on the ground .
I felt no sensation on my left hand . No, my left hand was barely connected to my arm . Countless of fibers and muscles were ruptured . The paralysis was so severe that I couldn’t even feel a slight emotion of pain .
Therefore, I could only understand what my body could grasp from this situation . The arrow pierced through my left hand, and pierced through my arm as if it were about to eat me alive . My right shoulder also swallowed the iron . I could feel it into my body . The arrowhead hid inside of my flesh .
A horrendous amount of blood spilled on the grass, as if the “chains” of my body that were suppressing the blood, went loose .
「Lugissss!? 」
I could hear Filaret’s voice . However, the next moment, I noticed that a white haze covered the entire surroundings . No, this was an actual fog .
I thought that the old Filaret was capable of using magic from the natural elements of this world . But, was the current Filaret able to do that? If she did that now, this could be a great way for us to escape from here . Did she use the water that was overflowing around us to create this mist?
If this was the case, then we had to take advantage of it . If we did well, everyone, including Caria and Matia, could escape alive .
…Ah, nonetheless . I didn’t think that I could escape from here with these severe injuries .
I could no longer lift my left arm . It was unlikely that I would move it by dragging it . The sense of balance had not returned yet, and my blood kept flowing from my wounds into the ground .
Why was this happening? I didn’t expect this outcome . Surprisingly, the elf captain was quicker than what I expected . I miscalculated this . But, this consequence was somewhat foreseeable . At least, on me . After all, things never rolled positively or easily for me . It seemed as if everything bad fell on my shoulders .
Die . No . I didn’t want to die now . I didn’t want to perish at the hands of the elves . This wasn’t the end that I envisioned for myself .
…However, that was strange . Yes, my thoughts were strange . I used to think that it was okay for me to die at any moment . Yet, those feelings changed now . Then, while a white fog surrounded my field of vision, something passed at the edge of my eyes .