As the white light before her eyes gradually dissipated, Lexi looked up and saw a vast sea of flowers stretching out before her.
Butterflies and bees danced incessantly above the vibrant blossoms, while the garden paths were carpeted with petals of various colors.
The air, filled with floral fragrance, tickled her nose.
"Where is this...?"
Lexi stared at the sea of flowers in a daze.
It was as if she had returned to the lush flower beds in the forest.
It was evident that this floral paradise was frequently tended to.
Viktor had told her that she could find the person she was looking for here.
Could it be that the Elf Queen was here?
Lexi looked around as she gently treaded on the petals, following the small path deeper into the sea of flowers.
As she walked, an unfamiliar aura emanated from within the floral expanse.
Feeling a surge of panic, Lexi quickly hid behind a flower bed.
She poked her head out, peering over the tall floral wall.
Lexi saw a young girl tending to the flowers in the sea of blossoms.
She was cheerfully walking into the floral sea, carrying a watering can.
One hand held scissors, constantly trimming excess buds from the flowers, while the watering can sprinkled water over the blossoms.
A black robe seemed to conceal her body, but the warm sunlight refracted through the crystalline water droplets onto her flushed face, accentuating her sunny disposition.
Lexi, with only her eyes exposed, watched the girl from afar, trembling slightly.
What... what kind of place was this?
How could there be humans here?
Could it be that... the Queen... had been imprisoned by humans!?
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Lexi's mind, making her heart pound.
She didn't even notice that she had inadvertently crushed several flower buds to pieces.
The girl seemed to sense something and turned her head to look in Lexi's direction.
Lexi quickly ducked down, curling into a ball and burying her head between her knees.
'Oh no, don't see me... don't see me...'
Perhaps her prayers were answered, as the surroundings remained quiet, with only the sound of her own heartbeat audible.
Seeing that the other person didn't seem to have noticed her, Lexi opened her eyes and looked around.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But at that moment, something soft bumped into her back.
Lexi felt her body stiffen as she raised her head.
The sunlight before her eyes seemed to be obscured by clouds.
A shadow gradually enveloped her.
She was startled and wanted to turn around to see what it was.
But the deep-seated nervousness in her heart prevented her from turning back, leaving her limbs immobile.
At that moment.
A soft voice came from behind.
"Hey, you there, turn around."
"You dare sneak in here, did you think I didn't exist?"
The moment the voice sounded, Lexi felt her hair stand on end, with only one thought left in her mind.
She had been discovered! She was about to be caught!
"Uh... don't catch me, don't catch me..."
She hurriedly said, turning her body stiffly and slowly.
Looking up, their eyes met.
Viktor was right.
She really did see the person she wanted to see.
Upon seeing the other person, Lexi was slightly stunned, frozen in place.
Cocotte Yade, sitting on a cloud, also saw Lexi's long, pointed ears.
"Eh?"
"Ah?"
Cocotte opened her mouth, sitting on the cloud, stunned for a moment.
Her expression also stiffened a bit, as if suddenly realizing something, she quickly covered her ears and buried her head in the cloud.
Then, she shouted loudly.
"Help! Someone help!"
"There's a thief who snuck into the garden! Catch her!!!"
The huge shout, carrying thick natural energy, spread throughout the entire garden.
Lexi instantly became panic-stricken.
She tried to stand up, but her body was already immobilized.
Suddenly, Lexi noticed the green magic array flashing beneath her feet.
Several green vines had completely entangled her, continuously draining the magic power from her body.
A wave of weakness washed over her, and Lexi instantly realized that she had been restrained by someone's magic!
This was only a second-tier magic spell. Under normal circumstances, Lexi could easily break free.
However, this second-tier magic array was inexplicably complex.
It was as if countless intricate magical patterns were intertwined.
Although the magical power was simply at the second tier, its complexity was comparable to the third tier.
Most importantly, Lexi was not a mage.
She couldn't instantly break this magic spell.
Finally, the caster of this binding spell appeared.
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Henie emerged from behind the floral wall.
Her expression was solemn, with invisible magical power floating around her.
Countless patterns began to link between several arrays, forming elf-like totems, with runes continuing to carve complex patterns at the edges of the magic arrays.
"Who are you?"
Lexi opened her mouth, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Silencing magic!
Moreover, the strength of this silencing magic was definitely not something that the human second-tier mage before her could achieve.
Lexi's mind instantly came to a conclusion.
She turned her head, her gaze filled with confusion and disappointment, looking at the elf who didn't even dare to raise her head from the cloud.
Queen, why?
"Quick! Henie! I've already controlled her with silencing magic! Hurry and catch her!"
"Otherwise, she'll chant super powerful magic!"
Hearing Cocotte's voice, Henie's expression became even more solemn.
She couldn't help but think that this person who had somehow sneaked in was so dangerous.
Even Cocotte couldn't stop her!
She no longer thought too much about it, as the magical power around her body continued to surge.
The magical incantation began to chant from her mouth.
"Verdant garments unfurl, entwine and restrain heaven's law, sealed within creeping vines."
As she gradually chanted, the flower petals beneath Henie's feet began to slowly rise and rotate.
A massive whirlwind rose from the ground, gradually engulfing the entire garden.
"Life's prelude, obstructing the path of life, whispers declared amidst purgatory."
All the flowers began to tremble incessantly, streams of green aura emanated from the blossoms, gathering towards Henie's chest in the sky.
"Seal the covenant, ancient trees merge forms, imprisoned in the marsh's temple."
An extremely dense green magical orb began to expand continuously in the sky.
Henie was in the midst of the petal storm, as if the surrounding flower beds were transmitting astonishing magical power to her.
Her amber eyes glowed with a faint green light, and the surrounding vines danced wildly as if they had broken free from their restraints.
Lexi was immobilized in place, unable to speak.
She watched the continuously rising clouds obscuring the sun, shaking her head repeatedly.
Her eyes seemed to contain a few drops of tears.
But Henie just looked at her and said without mercy:
"I won't hurt you."
"But you need to be controlled for a while, I need to know your purpose for sneaking in here."
[Second-tier Magic: Fantastical Cage of Nature Spirits]
As the words fell, that extremely terrifying magic instantly erupted.
Endless vines, as if transformed into countless shackles and fetters, all poured towards Lexi.
At the same time, as Lexi watched those terrifyingly numerous wooden vines, only one thought remained in her mind.
This is fucking second-tier???
But almost at the instant the magic was about to touch Lexi.
A figure appeared in front of Lexi amid a blue light.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, not even bothering to specifically block it.
In front of him, only an ordinary magic barrier was generated.
The enormous magical power extended countless branches, completely blocking those endless tree vines on that barrier.
The tree vines gradually transformed into wisps of magical power, following the barrier and slowly dissipating in all directions.
Finally, as if nothing had happened.
It gradually dissipated.
The moment the magic disappeared, Henie was slightly stunned.
Until she saw the person before her clearly, her amber eyes suddenly widened, and she exclaimed in surprise.
"Professor!"
The blue barrier gradually shattered, the wild wind slowly ceased, and Viktor's wildly dancing coat also slowly fell.
He looked at Henie and said faintly with approval.
"Not bad magic."
"It seems my absence these days hasn't made you neglect your practice."
Receiving the professor's recognition instantly made Henie feel satisfied.
She stood in place, smiling happily like a fool.
Viktor didn't continue to pay attention to Henie, he turned around and pointed a finger at Lexi.
That complex and abstruse binding magic instantly transformed into points of starlight, dissipating into the air.
Lexi could speak now, and she could move.
But what she had just experienced left this timid elf unforgettable.
She crouched on the ground, crying in fear.
"Wuu... wuu wuu wuu..."
After doing all this, Viktor turned his gaze back to Cocotte.
This Elf Queen, who didn't want to take responsibility for her people and even instigated Henie to restrain her own kind, needed to be taught a lesson.
Seemingly sensing that the situation had been exposed, Cocotte hurriedly urged the cloud beneath her, intending to flee the scene.
But she only heard Viktor's utterly cold voice:
"Now, if you leave, I'll blow that cloud of yours into cotton."
The cloud instantly froze in place, no matter how Cocotte urged it, it didn't dare to move even half a meter.
Cocotte's body stiffened, and she couldn't help but turn her head.
One hand scratching the back of her head, she stuck out her tongue and closed one eye.
Completely looking like she was asking for a beating.
"Hehe?"
......
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Henie bowed rapidly, almost folding her waist in half.
Unfortunately, her figure wasn't enough to support her doing so, as she would hit her legs.
Lexi sat in front of her, hugging her knees, slowly raising her head, her red-rimmed eyes still carrying many crystalline tears.
As if she had become autistic, she didn't want to say a word.
Cocotte sat on the cloud with an unconcerned expression, and Lia, seeing this, couldn't help but glance at her.
"You're fit to be the Elf Queen?"
"When your own people come, the first thing you do is call someone to catch her."
Cocotte felt a bit guilty, her eyes frantically drifting to one side.
"I... I didn't recognize her at first..."
"Even if you didn't recognize her, there's no need to attack her with magic, right? Does she look like someone with much combat ability to you?"
Lia complained with exasperation.
Somehow, Lexi's head was buried between her knees again, and even deeper.
She seemed to have become even more autistic.
Cocotte was quite helpless, she urged the cloud to float to Lexi's side, reached out her hand, and patted Lexi's head:
"Ah, alright, alright, don't cry anymore."
Lexi slowly raised her head, her eyes still glistening with tears.
"Then... are you willing to come back with me?"
"No."
She lowered her head again, her crying voice becoming louder.
Lia stood to the side, arms folded across her chest, asking the question she had been puzzled about all along.
"So, why don't you want to go back?"
Cocotte sat on the cloud, spreading her hands helplessly:
"Do you like staying inside a tree all the time, watching a bunch of elves worship you every day, and not letting you leave freely?"
Lia thought for a moment, then continued:
"But you sleep all day except for sleeping, what's wrong with staying in that tree sleeping all the time?"
"But! But I get bored when I wake up!"
"Tch, that's quite reasonable."
Lia rolled her eyes, her voice carrying a hint of disdain.
"Then it seems your Elf Queen isn't very useful, just staying in some broken tree every day."
"It's not really a broken tree, you know that we elves grow from nature, right?"
Cocotte sat to the side, explaining:
"But this nurturing ritual requires a designated elf to stay in the divine tree, only then can the divine tree nurture new elves."
She pointed at herself, grinning and saying:
"In other words, if I don't go back, the Yade Divine Tree won't nurture new elves anymore."
"Hm?"
Lia blinked.
She felt like she had heard something that seemed quite serious.
But Cocotte didn't seem to care about those things, still having the leisure to ask questions.
"Oh right, where did Viktor go?"
"I still have some things I want to talk to him about, how did he just leave as soon as he came back?"
"You mean Viktor?"
Lia turned her head, looked left and right, then said with absolute certainty.
"Wait a while then."
"At this time, he's probably demolishing someone else's house."