Irina drifted out of the cave like a celestial maiden, and appeared in front of another black cave in the blink of an eye. She stood before the opening of the cave and looked up at the vines climbing all over the rocky mountain face. Even though it was already deep into fall, and vines and leaves and were still lush and green, presenting quite a pleasant sight to behold.

  A hunched elderly woman was huddled up inside the cave with a slightly panicked expression on her face.

  “You should know why I’m here,” Irina said in a calm voice as she descended before the cave.

  “I do.” Helena turned around to appraise Irina with a pair of eyes that were inky-black as the night sky, but also seemed to be twinkling with the exuberant light of stars. She also wore a calm expression as she looked back at Irina, and said, “However, I spared her life because you should be the one to do the honors. You can do with her as you please.”


  Irina looked into Helena’s eyes, and raised an eyebrow as she asked, “And what about you?”


  Hetty stumbled out of the cave with a frenzied look on her face as she yelled, “Irina, I’m the one behind all this; none of it had anything to do with Mistress Helena! You can do whatever you like with me, but if you dare to try and defile Mistress Helena’s name, even if I die, I’ll haunt you as a ghost!”


  Helena’s expression remained unchanged as she replied, “If I wanted to kill you, why would I have waited for so long?”


  Irina withdrew her gaze from Helena before turning her attention to Hetty, and the surrounding air temperature suddenly seemed to have plummeted significantly.

  Thud!

  Hetty suddenly fell to her knees before kowtowing a few times to Helena, refusing to stop even as the sharp rocks on the ground cut a gash into her forehead. Blood flowed from the gash into her eyes, then slid down her face alongside her tears, and her voice was quite hoarse she sobbed, “Mistress Helena, if I am to ever be reincarnated, I’d wish for nothing more than to be your slave again!”


  As soon as her voice trailed off, a ball of red flames appeared in her hand, and she slammed it toward her own heart.

  Helena turned to the side and conjured up a green leaf in her hand to obscure her line of sight, seemingly unwilling to behold what was about to happen next.

  However, before the ball of flames struck Hetty’s chest, it was suddenly snuffed out. Her wrinkled and wizened palm struck her chest with a dull thump, but that was certainly not a lethal attack as she’d intended it to be.

  “I don’t want to hear some tear-jerking story from you, nor do I want to see you die on your own terms. What right do you have to kill yourself before I’m done with you?” Irina withdrew her hand with a cold smile on her face, and Hetty’s face gradually paled as a long thorny whip appeared in Irina’s hand.

  “Slap!”


  The whip whistled through the air before striking Hetty’s back, tearing through her skin and flesh to inflict a gruesome wound. Hetty was nothing more than skin and bones already, and her bones were now visible through the gash.

  A bloodcurdling howl erupted from Hetty’s mouth, startling away a flock of nearby birds. At the same time, many of the elves in the forest turned in that direction with bewilderment etched on their faces, wondering just who it was that would dare to wreak havoc in Mistress Helena’s cave.

  “That one was for Firis. Remember this, before you can confirm that I’ve died, don’t touch any of the people close to me. Otherwise, I’ll make sure that you suffer a terrible death.”


  Irina’s cold voice was audible throughout almost the entire forest, and her bone-chilling tone struck horror into the listener’s heart.

  Very few people were aware of the context behind her warning, but they still couldn’t help but shudder with fear.

  “Slap!”


  Another whip strike landed, flinging more blood and flesh into the air.

  “That one was for Snarr. I was always wondering how he’d been ambushed in Rodu, but now I know,” Irina continued in a cold manner before raising her whip again to unleash another strike.

  “That one was for me. Of course, the ones that follow this one will also all be for me. As for the reasons behind them, I don’t think I need to reveal them to you one by one.”


  The thorny whip flashed through the air like a scalpel, tearing away Hetty’s flesh in bloodstained chunks. Her bloodcurdling cries rang out one after another, and she’d almost been reduced to a skeleton by Irina’s unrelenting assault.

  The entire Wind Forest was deathly silent. All of the elves were listening to the horrific cries echoing throughout the forest, and even though many of them were extremely far away from Helena’s cave, they still couldn’t help but be struck by a sense of fear.

  No one knew what was happening, and no one dared to go and investigate. Ever since Princess Irina had reemerged from her cave, the Wind Forest had been plunged into a state of unrest. Even the normal elves in the forest could sense the dark shadow that loomed over their homeland.

  “That’s enough!”


  Helena raised a hand, and the green leaf she was holding shot forth before slitting Hetty’s throat, thereby putting an end to her life.

  “Enough?” Irina tossed her whip onto the ground. Despite the horrific torture she’d just inflicted, her white dress remained completely pristine and devoid of bloodstains. She turned to Helena with a deriding look in her eyes, and asked, “There’s still so much trash in this forest that thrives on tormenting their own brethren; how is this anywhere near enough when they’re still alive?”


  Helena looked into Irina’s eyes in a calm manner, and asked, “Can you kill everyone on your own?”


  “No, I’m not on my own. All of the wandering elves that you’ve labeled as traitors, as well as all of the elves in the forest who’ve yet to lose their sense of conscience, all of them stand with me. When these sparks burn into a raging fire, you’ll realize that I’ve never been alone.” Irina’s expression also became quite placid as she looked back at Helena.

  Helena was silent for a long while before she furrowed her brows, and continued, “I’ll admit that I made an unwise decision in order to keep more of our brethren in the Wind Forest and bolster the strength of our elven race. Our elven race has indeed become significantly more powerful during the past century, but all of the elves in power have been blinded by their pursuit of more power and benefits, making protecting the forest and their brethren merely a secondary objective in their minds. This was something that I had not envisioned in the beginning.”


  “You planted the seed of evil in their hearts, yet when those seeds develop into unsightly monstrosities, you merely make a grudging admission that you ‘made an unwise decision’. What a joke!” Irina sneered.

  Helena cast her gaze into the distance and shook her head as she said, “I haven’t planted the seed of evil in their hearts; I’ve merely given them more power, and they chose this path for themselves. It may be a little late, but I can still force them to exercise restraint so they can be of benefit to our elven race.”


  Irina glared coldly at Helena, and asked, “So even now, you still don’t think you’ve done anything wrong?”


  Helena calmly replied, “I’ve dedicated my entire life to protecting the forest and our brethren. In my mind, the ends justify the means, and any sacrifice is worth it as long as I can achieve that final objective.”


  “So you’re saying the lives of countless innocent elves is a worthy sacrifice for your pitiful scheme. No matter what your original intentions might have been, you’re an abhorrent being in my eyes, and I’ll protect the forest in my own way.” Irina left Helena with a meaningful glance before turning around to depart.

  “They’re going to try to bring you down during the ceremony in three days; I don’t want to see you die,” Helena suddenly said. “After we pass away, you’ll be the guardian of this forest.”


  Irina paused momentarily before replying in a calm voice, “I won’t die, but I won’t live for your sake.”


  Faint golden light flashed, and Irina disappeared on the spot.

  Helena stood in silence for a while before waving a hand through the air. The chunks of flesh and blood splattered all over the cave converged to form an elf again, while the soil within the cave piled up to form a grave without a tombstone.

  “You can continue to stay by my side during this life……”


  Helena’s forlorn voice echoed throughout the cave.