Starlight looked at his hand inserted into the barrier in pleasant surprise. Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and signaled to Moen that he had succeeded.
Seeing this, a look of determination flashed in Moen’s eyes. She quickly reached out and firmly grasped Starlight’s extended hand, and together they stepped forward.
She felt a warm, powerful energy flowing through their joined palms. The barrier’s energy seemed to ignore their presence entirely, being diverted elsewhere before it could touch their bodies.
In the next second, the two of them easily passed through the ancient barrier that had stood for thousands of years.
Just like the view from outside, it was terrifyingly quiet within the barrier. Even though they had waltzed right in, no one came to stop them.
Exchanging a quick look, they followed the path toward the center of the lake, heading straight for the massive building that housed the Council Chambers.
As the supreme decision-making center of the elves, the Council Chambers had a unique architectural style quite different from traditional elven dwellings. It was shaped like a circular stadium, said to symbolize unity and harmony.
Following the path, they soon arrived before an exquisite wooden door several meters high.
Looking up, Starlight saw countless intricate patterns carved into the wood, seemingly narrating the long history of the elves. However, it wasn't the door’s ornate exterior that caught his attention, but the muffled voices drifting through the cracks.
The voices rose and fell, suggesting a heated debate was underway.
With questions in mind, Starlight pressed his hands against the heavy wood and pushed, stepping into the interior of the Council Chambers.
The heavy door scraped against the stone floor with a low rumble.
Starlight looked ahead to see a massive circular hall. A ring-shaped conference table, dozens of meters across, sat in the center, surrounded by various elves engaged in intense discussion.
Though the hall was buzzing with noise, the sound of the door opening was unmistakable. It instantly drew everyone’s attention, and the entire chamber fell silent.
An elven Elder snapped his head around, eyeing the uninvited guests, and barked in a suspicious voice.
“Who goes there? This is the Council Chambers. How dare you intrude without being announced? Guards! Seize this person at once!”
However, his voice echoed under the circular dome only to vanish like a stone dropped into the ocean, failing to stir even a ripple.
The Divine Concealment Squad, who should have responded instantly to protect the Council, was nowhere to be seen. This sudden turn of events made the already tense atmosphere feel even more eerie and unpredictable.
Starlight looked around, trying to find answers in the expressions of the dozens of elven Elders present, but their faces showed nothing but surprise and confusion.
Just then, someone finally recognized Moen behind Starlight. On the other side of the round table, Lian and Ryan also caught sight of the two and looked on in astonishment, speaking almost simultaneously.
“Are you... Priestess Moen from the Tree King Palace? Does Lady Angela have a message for us?”
“Big Brother Starlight? Sister Moen? What are you doing here?”
Observing the mixture of surprise and bewilderment on the Elders’ faces, Moen quickly grasped the situation. It seemed someone had taken advantage of the council meeting to quietly sever all contact with the outside world.
Under these circumstances, even though the world outside was being turned upside down, the high-ranking elves within the Council Chambers remained in the dark, completely oblivious to the impending disaster.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, Moen and Starlight exchanged a look, silently deciding not to waste time explaining how they had managed to enter the chambers.
They knew that every second was precious and they had to convey the news from the outside to the Council as quickly as possible.
Moen cleared her throat and spoke in a firm, clear voice. “Elders, please forgive our interruption. We have come from the Tree King Palace with an urgent message.”
After hearing their account, the hall fell into an unprecedented silence, as if the very air had solidified. The Elders looked at one another, their eyes filled with disbelief and shock.
Many among them were veterans who had weathered countless storms and witnessed a millennium of history. Yet even they found the facts hard to swallow—that an enemy could bypass the formidable defenses surrounding the World Tree and directly threaten the heart of the elven territory.
Such a thing had never happened in the ten thousand years of elven history; it sounded as incredible as a fairy tale. Starlight’s status as a human only added to their skepticism.
Many present began to doubt the credibility of this outsider’s words, and some even started to question the authenticity of Moen’s identity.
Only Lian jumped down from her chair in front of everyone and ran quickly to the two of them.
Furrowing her brow, she scanned every inch of them with her large silver eyes. After a few seconds, she spoke.
“Their identities are legitimate. Something really might have happened outside! Where are your guards? Why has no one come to deliver a report until now!?”
Her voice received no effective response. Despite her high status among the Night Elves, the vast majority of the Tree Elf Elders did not take this young Night Elf Princess seriously.
“Enough. Everyone, I believe there is no need for further debate over such baseless rumors. Although I do not know why this priestess is with a human, for the safety of everyone here, I am willing to personally take action and detain these two until the truth is revealed. What do you all think?”
Just as a strange silence fell over the chamber, a familiar voice rang out from a corner of the hall.
Starlight looked over and saw Ming Ye, the Ranger Captain they had met briefly in the archives, watching them with a playful expression.
It was clear that as a veteran Saint Rank expert, he was also a member of the Council.
He took a leisurely step forward, and the supreme pressure of a Saint Rank powerhouse surged out like a tide, crashing toward Starlight and Moen. The air in the entire hall seemed to freeze.
Faced with Ming Ye’s sudden eruption of aura, Starlight and Moen quickly adjusted, their bodies tensing as they entered a state of high alert.
“Elder Ming Ye, do you truly intend to take such drastic action?” Lian’s voice rang out suddenly. She turned sharply, her gaze piercing as she glared at the poised Ming Ye.
“To attempt to suppress them with force before the truth is even clear—is this how you act as a member of the Council of Elders? Furthermore, I can clearly smell an unusual scent on you... the distinct stench of a lie.”
Her words were sharp, direct, and powerful, instantly drawing everyone’s attention back to her.
Seeing his Princess speak up, Ryan immediately took action, appearing in front of her in an instant and silently watching Ming Ye’s every move.
However, in the face of Lian’s challenge, Ming Ye did not stop. A meaningful smile appeared on his face, as if he couldn't care less about her status.
“Oh? So it's the high-spirited young Night Elf Princess. What, are you dissatisfied with my proposal? In the face of a Council resolution, even a Princess should know her place.”
“You—”
Lian’s voice was a mix of anger and helplessness. She knew that in this setting, despite being a Night Elf Princess, she couldn't easily change anything based on status alone while on the Tree Elves’ home turf.
This was especially true when facing an Elder as senior and prominent as Ming Ye, which made her influence particularly weak. Moreover, having an outsider like Starlight standing with her only made her position feel more isolated.
Rate on N.U.
