"It was you... You're the one behind all of this," the Umbryan Patriarch seethed behind his barrier.
I chuckled at his words. "All is a ridiculously big word, but yes."
We were behind the presence of the stampede here.
We orchestrated the stampede partial attack on the Argyrian Capital.
We were responsible for the Argyrian Patriarch and his stampede attack on the Umbryan capital.
Goblin, Bortz, Blondie, and Charlie were to blame for the Patriarch’s madness, so in the grand scheme of things, yes, I was involved—through White, who had taken full advantage of the authority I had sneakily allowed to be used again for this mission to recover the Rule and Overrule authority. That authority being Authority Gathering, which Goblin and the others quickly realized could be used to bait the Argyrian Patriarch wherever we wished him to be. So I couldn't bring myself to not use it when there was so much to be gained. I went on with my plan, lying to Licht at first, pretending to have returned the authority back to Dungeon Master 00.
I know I’m going to be torn apart by Dungeon Master 07 upon my return from this mission, but at least everything went well—no, not just well, it went fantastically well.
The Patriarch glared at me. "What’s so amusing that warrants such a horrible smile?"
"A lot," I sneered.
"What exactly do you plan to do here?"
He was stalling, wasting time. I didn’t mind. In fact, it pleased me that he was doing just that.
"Isn’t that obvious already from what I did to the Aurian Matriarch?" I tilted my head. "I’m going to kill you, and—"
"And?"
"This discussion takes me back to a conversation we had before. I told you I aimed to defeat Cleon, and you called me a fool. I told you my plan to borrow help to defeat the One and Only Emperor, and you refused. Now, Patriarch, do you still see me as a fool? How does the idea of working with me compare to your current circumstances?" I inquired dramatically.
Seconds passed in silence. He said nothing. I smirked. "What? You’re not even going to offer to work for me?"
"You expect me to do that?"
"Why would you?"
"I think I’ve seen enough of you to know that you have no intention of accepting such a suggestion. You just want to see me beg."
I snickered. "Hehehehe. You’ve figured me out. You’re right. I just wanted to make you pay for looking down on me. There is no plan where you, Patriarch, live."
I let the silence settle before adding, pretending to hesitate, "Though, I suppose, there’s a way for ‘you’ to still live."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that you can still live as Linh, but no longer as the Patriarch of the Umbryan Elven Family, Monarch of the Noctils elves. In other words, give up your title of monarch, surrender your ancestral tree."
I already knew his answer from his expression, but he still asked, "To who?"
"To whom else but me?" I grinned widely.
It took him a moment to piece it together, but when he did, he frowned. "You want my Ancestral Tree."
I nodded. "Yes, Patriarch, I want your Si—"
"Madness!"
Ancestral trees, due to their tangible and indestructible nature, had a unique quality: they were claimable not just by monarchs and former monarchs, but by anyone with the mental capacity to make the claim. That meant that any elf, any human, even a monster, could claim an ancestral tree if they had the will to do so.
Naturally, those with stronger claims, like monarchs or former wielders, had a greater chance to do so. But without anyone to contest my claim, I could acquire the Umbryan Patriarch’s ancestral tree if he, just like Goblin had once with his Blood Elemental Ancestral Tree, lent it to me.
"Surrender it to me and li—" I began, only to be rudely interrupted.
"Madness!" he spat, barely containing his rage. But as he regained his composure, he asked, "Are you doing this because you think that with my Obsidial Tree, you will stand a chance against him?"
I didn’t reply, but my little smile confirmed it.
Hoping that he might reconsider, I said, "That’ll be the only outcome in which you leave this place alive, Patriarch. Accept it as it is or—"
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"What makes you so sure that I’d be so easily defeated as her?"
At that moment, we both glanced at what little remained of the Aurian Matriarch.
"I admit I'm not sure how much resistance you will put up, but I know for a fact that you're far enough from your domain and your subjects. The ones you brought along are dead, so I know for a fact that you can't come up with any drastic recovery that my recovery speed can't keep up with. Heck, if you could, I'm sure that someone with such a big ego as you would have already thoroughly crushed me. But you know that you can't."
The Patriarch kept a straight face at my remark. Wanting to further get under his skin, I asked, "What will it be, Patriarch? I'm going to be alright with whatever decision you take, just so you know."
"You could surrender your Ancestral Tree to me, start anew in some untrodden corner of Quel'thalas. The continent is big enough for all of us, so I wouldn't mind you coming up with a little village of your own. Or you could just come out of your barrier, face me, and die against me. Or, or, or, you could also keep doing what you're doing—stay inside your barrier waiting to recover. But here's my question: what will be faster? Your recovery speed, my recovery speed, or them?"
"Them..."
At first, the Patriarch didn't immediately grasp my meaning, but it didn't take long for him to catch on.
There are many differences beyond skill between a low-level person and a high-level one. There's skill, there's status, there’s ability—both in quantity and quality. And then there’s something called recovery speed.
At low levels, even if one were to bring their MP or SP to zero, they could recover fully within less than a day. But past level 20—or level 15 for MP-centric or SP-centric individuals—that would be impossible without a skill specifically increasing the recovery speed of these resources. Needless to say, for someone whose HP, SP, and MP are in the five- and six-digit range, full recovery takes far longer than days. The same was true for him. Meaning that if he wanted to hold this front to recover a reasonable amount, this stalemate could last for days—and that was more than enough time for Goblin and the others to cripple him by cutting off his main source of resources.
"You wouldn't dare!" he seethed.
"Mh, you're sure about that?" I asked, patting the head of the serpent clinging to my shoulder. "Little White over here almost exterminated your people just playing around. What makes you think that someone as unhinged as Goblin, as dedicated as Bortz and Honey, and as loyal to me as Blondie wouldn’t wipe your capital off the face of the earth for me?"
White hissed challengingly at him, and I added, "Oh, and I almost forgot—the Ferron Patriarch. You were curious why he worked with me? The answer is simple: because he has crappy neighbors. So really, he wouldn't be the one hesitating to handle what needs to be handled to get rid of these crappy neighbors."
These last words shattered the facade of composure the Umbryan Patriarch had maintained. Because at the mention of the Ferron Patriarch, he understood—his Ancestral Tree, which he had left behind to protect his people, wouldn't protect them against a Patriarch like the Ferron Patriarch. Moreover, he wasn't the only Elven monarch heading there. His Ancestral Tree wouldn’t protect them. Not from that.
"What will it beeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Paaaaaaaaaaaaatriarch?" I teased.
Pressed between a rock and a hard place, the Patriarch struggled to make a choice, but like many times before, he was forced to settle on one nonetheless. Withdrawing his barrier, he then took a course of action that made his ultimate decision clear.
The Umbryan Patriarch summoned several Shadow Creatures, just as he had when he first opened hostilities against the Argyrian Patriarch. His intentions were clear.
Glancing at White on my shoulder and exchanging a nod with him and my cold-blooded copy, I told the Patriarch, "Very well. As difficult as you make it for me, this is a decision I can respect. Now then, let's finish this, Patriarch Linh."
***
[Hex Components Harvested]
[Level Up Interface]
Experience requirement met.
Congratulations! You've Leveled Up!
Attribute Points Earned: 13
『Expand』
[Level Up Interface]
Experience requirement met.
Congratulations! You've Leveled Up!
Attribute Points Earned: 13
『Expand』
[Notification]
Congratulations! You've been bestowed a Title!
Title Name: Elven Slayer
Description [Identification Lvl.10]: You are a scourge upon the long-lived. The title of Elven Slayer is reserved for those who have perfected the art of hunting and eradicating elves with relentless precision and cruelty. Wielding unmatched ferocity, you strike fear into the hearts of even the most battle-hardened elves. This title grants extraordinary power against elven opponents, turning you into a living nightmare for their kind.
Title’s Bestowed Enhancement:
- Attack Potency (Elven Bane): With this ability, your combat proficiency against elves is unparalleled. You deal 60% increased damage to elven opponents, ensuring your strikes cut deep into their graceful forms.
- Critical Strike Chance (Elves): Your precision reaches lethal levels when facing elves. Critical strike chance against elves increases by 40%, making every blow a potential death sentence.
- Resistance Bypassing (Elves): Your attacks pierce through elven defenses, reducing their resistance by 80%. Whether through magical wards, natural agility, or armor, nothing will protect them from your wrath.
- Grace Reaver Surge: For every elf of similar tier or level slain in combat, you restore 20% of your maximum HP, MP, and SP. This sustains your fury in prolonged battles, ensuring your onslaught remains unyielding.
- Endurance of the Hunter: Your fatigue is drastically reduced when fighting elves, lowering your fatigue accumulation by 500%. This allows you to hunt tirelessly, outlasting your prey with ruthless efficiency.
"Not quite the reward I was praying for to slaying yet another long-lived monarch, but alright."
[Sigil Aquired]
[Interface Adjustement in progress...]
[Interface Adjusted]