The purple-striped griffin hurtled through the air, sweeping up strong winds with its powerful wings that sent ripples running across the calm surface of the lake beneath it.

  Mag looked down at the schools of fish that were dispersing with fright, and an elated smile appeared on his face.

  This was much more exhilarating than flying on a helicopter!

  The griffin skirted around the Wind Forest and reached Warden Lake, and as expected, they really did encounter no elves along the way.

  After taking care to avoid the three small groups of elves who were patrolling at the shore and center of the lake, Mag instructed the griffin to swoop down and fly close to the surface of the lake.

  Warden Lake was extremely large in surface area, and a few little islands dotted its surface. Golden reeds could be seen everywhere over the lake, and they acted as the perfect camouflage even for a massive beast like the purple-striped griffin.

  However, it was exactly due to the existence of these reeds that catching a duck here would not be as simple as Mag had imagined.

  As the griffin flew through a bunch of reeds, a multitude of birds flew up into the air from the reeds in a blind panic. There were wild ducks, geese, and various types of unidentifiable birds. Some of them had even been frightened to such an extent by the menacing aura emanating from the griffin that they fell dead onto the surface of the lake.

  “Hold back your aura a little; we’re not trying to kill everything here.” Mag heaved a resigned sigh as he looked down at the dead birds they’d left in their wake.

  The purple-striped griffin nodded and suppressed its powerful aura significantly. There were still all types of birds being startled into flight, but at the very least, none of them fell dead on the spot.

  Mag inspected the birds that flew up from the reeds with rapt focus, but even after half an hour of intense inspection, he still didn’t find what he was looking for. He massaged his tired eyes in a resigned manner as he said internally, “System, what do those Red-top Tricolor Ducks look like? Can you at least give me a picture?”


  “Can you seriously not figure out what they look like from such an obvious name? They’re ducks with tufts of red feathers on the tops of their heads and feathers of three different colors all over their bodies. Do you understand now?” the system replied in an exasperated manner.

  “Give me a picture,” Mag requested flatly with a roll of his eyes. He hadn’t seen any ducks which fitted that description this entire time.

  “Alright, looks like I overestimated your capabilities.”


  Thus, an image appeared in Mag’s mind, depicting a very…… unique duck.

  To put it simply, it was as if someone had grabbed a white swan, smeared red paint on its head, then splashed green, black, and red paint all over its body, and insisted on calling it a duck.

  Mag fell silent with a complex expression on his face. “System, you didn’t just draw this duck on the spot, did you? Is this another new species that you created?”


  “You’re so narrow-minded that it’s absolutely appalling! Nature is the greatest creator of all; it can even create something like you, so why insinuate that I drew this duck? Also, the duck may not be the prettiest bird you’ve ever seen, but when God closed a door on it, he opened a window instead. Despite its appearance, its meat is even more delicious than that of geese.”


  “Is it a good thing for a duck that it tastes good? It feels like not only did God close a door on it, he also sealed the window shut, and then tossed in a hand grenade for good measure,” Mag countered with a shrug.

  “Er……” The system was slightly stumped before continuing, “In any case, just keep searching according to that image. If you want to secure the best ingredients, patience and diligence are your best friends. The best ingredients will often be hiding in the most unexpected places, so it’s not that easy to find them.”


  Mag rolled his eyes in response, but he really did begin to inspect his surroundings with more care and diligence thereafter.

  The ceremony was going to last around three hours. During this time, he had to find a duck, and then depart from this place to complete the mission……

  Borg’s words immediately drew deathly silence from the entire crowd.

  Hesitant expression appeared on the faces of all of the elves present. Even though Borg was accusing Irina of these crimes, it was still quite a big jump for her to stripped of her position as princess.

  As the elven princess, Irina had received the acknowledgment of the Tree of Life, and had been especially blessed by the Goddess of Life since birth. She possessed astonishing aptitude and was the most powerful elf among the younger generation. She had even surpassed many of the elves who had lived for several centuries, and even Schubert had fallen to her in just a single attack.

  She reigned supreme across the Norland Continent and was revered by countless beings. She was the pride of the elven race, and in the hearts of all of the elves, she was the next elven queen.

  At just 30 years of age, she had become a 10th-tier great magic caster, and she still had centuries ahead of her. Who knew what dizzying heights she would reach during this time? Perhaps she’d grow to become even more powerful than the elven queen.

  However, Borg was suggesting for her to be demoted.

  “One cannot kill our brethren for no reason, even if she is the elven princess! Besides, senseless slaughter is not something that a princess would engage in! Schubert was such a kind elf, and he was my good friend for hundreds of years, yet he was killed by Irina for no reason whatsoever!” the leader of the Berman Family, one of eight major families, yelled in a vehement manner.

  “Irina has impeded our efforts to capture elven traitors on many occasions, and not only has she thrown her support behind these traitors, she has even killed Schubert and Cobil for their sake. Master Borg is right! Her horrendous deeds are enough for her to be labeled a traitor, and not only should she be stripped of her title as princess, she should be killed to avenge all of our innocent brethren who have died by her hands!” the leader of the Earhart Family concurred in a cold voice.

  “On behalf of the Brad Family, I support the ousting of Princess Irina! Please make the final decision, esteemed panel of elders!”


  “I also support the ousting of Irina!”


  In just a few minutes, four of the eight major families had thrown their support for Irina’s deposition, and more and more family leaders were beginning to contribute to this trend.

  All of a sudden, many of the elves on the plaza became extremely heated, and a loud chorus of chants rang out.

  “Oust Irina! Avenge our innocent fallen brethren!”


  Borg cast his gaze toward the other four major family leaders who hadn’t yet expressed their stance on the matter, and a cold light flashed through his eyes.

  The four family leaders didn’t dare to meet Borg’s cold gaze, and all of them turned toward Helena. These four family leaders naturally included Elliot and Vincent.

  All of the family leaders who hadn’t joined in on the chorus of chants in the crowd were also looking at Helena, and even many of the elders had turned to her in order to gauge her reaction.

  As she was the high priestess of the elven race, Helena’s influence exceeded that of Borg, and was second only to the influence of the elven queen herself.

  During these past years, the elven queen very rarely took care of matters in the elven race, and Helena had been the one to manage the elven race in her absence.

  Hence, despite the power of Borg’s Sette Family, he still wasn’t able to sway everyone’s opinion.

  The family system had been proposed and established by Helena from the very beginning, and most of the major family leaders present had been chosen by her.

  Hence, her stance on the matter was of utmost importance.

  Borg’s brows furrowed as he turned to Helena, and began, “High Priestess Helena—”


  “The Goddess of Life and Her Majesty chose me; who do you think you are to think you can depose me?”


  A graceful figure slowly made its way out of the cave.