After quickly surveying the battlefield and confirming that he was unharmed, Pailanode relaxed his tense muscles and slumped into the dense branches, looking again towards the distant edge of the cliff. There, he once again saw the mysterious figure clad in black robes. The figure had appeared here and remained in a prostrate position, appearing very weak.
Naturally, this mysterious figure caught Pailanode's attention. Driven by curiosity to find out who this person was, Pailanode leaped down from the giant tree and stealthily made his way out of the Mist Forest, using the uneven terrain and lush vegetation outside the forest as cover.
Not long after Pailanode hid in a natural shelter not far from the mysterious figure, the figure finally stood up unsteadily and removed the wide hood. Then Pailanode saw clearly that the figure was a female elf with slightly purplish-blue skin, but her facial features and body characteristics were identical to those of the Laites elves.
This woman looked extremely weak, so much so that she stumbled not long after heading towards the cliff edge and knelt down again. But the moment the female elf knelt down, she immediately lunged towards a nearby corpse of a Dark Elf. Struggling, she pressed her lips against the face of the Dark Elf and began forcefully inhaling.
Soon after, Pailanode saw wisps of black smoke emanating from the corpse's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, all being sucked into the female elf's body. As the black energy within the corpse was absorbed by the female elf, the body visibly withered until it became a horrifying dried corpse.
"She seems to be absorbing the energy from those corpses," was Pailanode's initial reaction to the scene. He began to regret his decision to investigate this female elf. He now sensed that she might be a terrifying entity he had never encountered before.
After absorbing energy from several corpses in succession, the female elf's spirits noticeably improved. The dried corpses she left behind sent shivers down Pailanode's spine. He instinctively covered his mouth tightly to avoid making any sound due to the terrifying scene before him. At the same time, Pailanode quickly activated his white magic spells to blend his breath better with the surrounding nature, lest he be discovered by the female elf and encounter trouble.
As Pailanode struggled to digest the extremely eerie scene before him, another bizarre sight unfolded before his eyes. He saw several elliptical black energy forms appear out of nowhere not far from him under the slope. These energy forms rapidly expanded and eventually coalesced into a larger elliptical energy mass before exploding into a cloud of black mist. Then, on the slope, there appeared a group of elves dressed in white robes and dozens of soldiers wearing the heavy armor characteristic of the Laites elves.
Pailanode was puzzled by this suddenly appearing group of Laites elves. Firstly, he wasn't clear why those heavily armored elven warriors all wore fully enclosed metal masks without eye, nose, or mouth holes, resembling mirrors.
Secondly, the teleportation spells they had just used were evidently the same as the one used by the female elf when she appeared here. However, Pailanode was quite certain that, for now, no one from either tribe could use such powerful teleportation spells. The spells they used probably didn't belong to either white or black magic.
For these two reasons, Pailanode found this group of people very strange and unusually dangerous.
"But these fully enclosed masks like mirrors? Could those soldiers be them?" Hao Yun looked at Dao Lao with confusion, feeling a slight sense of fear.
"What's wrong? Do you know these elven warriors?" Biscuit Tang asked, noticing Hao Yun's changed expression.
"More than just knowing, we were brought here by a group of elven soldiers that matches Pailanode's description from Mist Town," Hao Yun replied, gesturing for Pailanode to continue his account.
So, Pailanode continued his account of the scene at that time.
He saw an elf in black robes take off the hood and, after scanning the surroundings, ordered the soldiers to split into two groups. One group was to check if there were any survivors at the scene, while the other was to enter the depths of the Mist Forest and notify any potential encounters with Laites elves in the area.
The elderly Laites elf, who had the standard appearance of a Laites elf, gave the reason that the zombie soldiers of the Dark Elves attacking here carried a new type of black magic curse. This curse not only killed all the soldiers of both sides but also contaminated the area with black magic. Therefore, until this black magic curse was completely eliminated, no one should be allowed to enter here to avoid further harm.
Upon hearing this, Pailanode knew that the elderly Laites elf was fabricating a lie, as he was currently safely hidden in a natural shelter formed by a pit and weeds. Furthermore, he did not feel any discomfort in his body due to the black magic curse.
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After giving the order, the elderly Laites elf turned and walked towards the slope. There, the female elf was busy absorbing energy from the bodies of the Dark Elf soldiers, so she did not notice the sudden appearance of the group here. The elderly Laites elf quickly approached the female elf from behind and, in a respectful and expectant tone, softly asked, "Excuse me. Are you Lady AElinna?"
"Who are you—?" The female elf wiped her mouth, turning to look at the newcomer with a hint of confusion. Despite having absorbed energy from several corpses, it was evident that her condition was still very poor.
"Ha ha ha, my lord, don't you remember me? I am the personal servant of Archbishop Anselin, Siewen of the Black Magic Association! We have been awaiting your return for a long time, Lady Eileen!" exclaimed the elf named Siewen, his excitement evident.
"Siewen? Anselin's servant, Siewen?" Haoyun was surprised when he heard the name Siewen mentioned by Paladin, knowing that Paladin was referring to Eileen.
"Yes, indeed, it is Siewen," affirmed Paladin.
"But isn't he a Darktribe elf? How does he have the same appearance as a Lightribe elf? Did he undergo some kind of cosmetic surgery?" Haoyun questioned, puzzled.
Paladin's friend, Dao Lao, replied with a hint of fear, "Unfortunately, Haoyun, you guessed correctly. According to the information I overheard later, he indeed received assistance from Anselin's black magic. Using the bodies of multiple Lightribe elves, his appearance was completely transformed."
"Using the bodies of multiple Lightribe elves for transformation." Clearly, upon hearing this rather unsettling revelation, Haoyun understood why Paladin reacted with such fear when answering the question.
Dao Lao continued to recount the events. According to Siewen's explanation, the reason they suddenly appeared in this place was that even after the unfortunate death of Eileen, Anselin had not lost faith in her. Therefore, Anselin specifically helped Siewen change his appearance, allowing him to remain in the Lightribe elves' territory and await Eileen's return.
"Wait for me? How did she know I would come back?" Eileen asked, puzzled.
"Archbishop Anselin did not explain the reason. She only said she had confidence in you and asked me to maintain hope and not give up easily. And behold, thanks to Archbishop Anselin's blessing, a miracle has indeed occurred!" Siewen said, his hands clasped in excitement as he devoutly prayed.
"So why did she wait for my return?" Eileen inquired once more.
"Because you are Archbishop Anselin's most proud disciple, her only beloved student. Archbishop Anselin believes you are the best bearer of her power."
"Her power? What power?" Eileen asked incredulously. As a priestess of the divine realm, Eileen thought even if Anselin's power before her passing was formidable, it was nothing compared to the divine power she now possessed in the upper realm.
Ignoring Eileen's disdainful attitude, Siewen respectfully replied, "My lady, Archbishop Anselin's legacy power is the power to help you return here and end this battle!"
Upon hearing Paladin's account, Haoyun and Dao Lao couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Mold energy! There really are other mold energies hidden here! And indeed, the black magic used by the Darktribe elves is related to mold energy! It seems that the problems on the Elven Planet are far more complex than what we've seen!" Haoyun exclaimed in their private chat channel.
"I never expected Anselin's legacy power to be mold energy! This complicates matters significantly," Haoyun continued.
"Yes. It seems Eileen is well aware of what Anselin left behind. Although much of what she said is true, she has also clearly concealed many truths," Dao Lao responded.
"Alas! We should have captured Eileen directly at the time!" Haoyun regretted deeply.
However, Dao Lao disagreed with Haoyun's idea, "This is not entirely true. From the current situation, it is evident that Eileen has not obtained mold energy yet, and she doesn't even know where that mold energy is. Furthermore, even our mold energy tracking system cannot detect the presence of mold energy here, indicating that the hidden mold energy here must have something unusual about it."
"It's really hard to say how it completely concealed itself. And this is what we must find out now. If other mold energies also have this ability to perfectly evade our mold energy tracking system, the divine realm will completely lose its ability to track them, and the consequences would be unimaginable."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Haoyun asked again, "So why would Eileen voluntarily tell us that there might be mold energy here, especially when she wants to obtain that mold energy?"
After pondering for a moment, Dao Lao replied, "She might just want to divert our attention with the topic of mold energy. Perhaps she already knows our true identities, or at least suspects them. Or maybe Eileen hopes we can help her in searching for the mold energy."
At this point, both Dao Lao and Haoyun looked around. If Eileen indeed wanted to use their actions to find the whereabouts of the mold energy, then she would certainly have planted her eyes among them to report Haoyun and Dao Lao's movements at any time.
"So, there may be Eileen's informants among these people?" Haoyun asked.
"Very likely. Moreover, given Eileen's relationship with Siewen, it's difficult for us to determine the identity of this informant, whether they are a Darktribe elf or a Lightribe elf. In any case, we must be more vigilant in our future actions," Dao Lao replied.
While Haoyun and Dao Lao exchanged opinions privately in the system, Paladin continued to recall the situation at the time. According to his account, upon hearing Siewen's explanation, Eileen's fatigued expression immediately lit up with a gleam of excitement. Siewen then began to recount Anselin's instructions to Eileen.
Siewen told Eileen that the main reason Anselin chose to enter the archives room for seclusion after being forced to abdicate the position of archbishop was that she had already sensed greater and more abundant sources of power in that room. Although she was still unclear about what those powers were and how to obtain them, she knew that hiding in that archives room and desperately trying to obtain that mysterious power might be her only way to turn the tables and regain her rightful authority.
Therefore, Anselin gave Siewen a lifeguard badge and instructed him to immediately reach the territory of the Darktribe elves, awaiting the opportunity for a counterattack. Then, she voluntarily entered the archives room, under the pretext of seclusion for cultivation, and was permanently sealed away by the elders of the Black Magic Association.