“Princess Irina!”


  All of the elves turned toward the cave to find Irina slowly emerging from within in a flowing white dress. Her expression was as calm as ever, and she seemed to be completely unfazed by the collective chants advocating for her deposition.

  All of the younger elves became rather conflicted at the sight of her. Not only was Irina the elven princess, she was the idol of the younger generation of elves.

  All elves wanted to live as carefreely and wilfully as Irina did. All of them aspired to become as powerful as her, and in their hearts, she was just as important as the elven queen. In fact, many of them had already convinced themselves that she was going to become the next elven queen.

  However, Borg was aiming some very severe accusations at her and proposing for her to be ousted, and there were even some family leaders proclaiming that she should be killed!

  Now, Irina had appeared before everyone.

  She was just as domineering and straightforward as ever. She didn’t try to hide, nor did she offer any explanations. Just her presence alone had silenced the entire plaza, and even the leaders of the eight major families had all fallen silent.

  Regardless of what they thought of her, they had to admit that she was far too powerful to be ignored.

  She had slain Schubert with just a single attack, and just a few days ago, she had slain seven 10th-tier powerful beings alongside Alex. As such, the rumors that suggested that she had been severely debilitated following her difficult childbirth were naturally debunked. She was still the same elven princess who was so powerful that others could only tremble in her presence.

  Irina stopped in front of the Spring of Life and cast a cold, derisive gaze at Borg as she sneered, “Looks like you couldn’t hold back any longer. Her Majesty has only just gone into seclusion, and you’re already trying to replace her?”


  Borg turned to Irina with a cold expression, and replied, “Irina, you slaughtered our innocent brethren and released elven traitors on many occasions. Your actions clearly indicate that you’ve been infected by dark magic, thereby turning your back on the Goddess of Life!”


  Expressions of rage gradually appeared on the faces of many elves as they looked at Irina. The Goddess of Life was the faith of the elven race, and she had provided protection as well as guidance to the elven race for countless years. All those who turned their backs on the Goddess of Life were traitors of the elven race. They cultivated dark magic, thereby renouncing their origins, and even after being detained at the Wind Forest and cleansed of their dark magic, they would be reduced to slaves for the rest of their lives.

  If Irina really had turned her back on the Goddess of Life, then she was a traitor who had cultivated dark magic, thereby making her an enemy of the entire elven race! This was unacceptable to all elves!

  “Dark magic? Heh……” A derisive sneer appeared on Irina’s face as she looked at Borg. All of a sudden, a burst of bright green light appeared on the palm of her hand, and a seed began to sprout from there before growing into a small tree.

  Specks of green light then drifted out of the cave behind her as a branch of the Tree of Life extended from within. The branch wound itself around Irina before gently tapping the small tree, and faint green light shone down onto the small tree, giving its leaves a translucent form.

  “On what basis are you calling me a traitor, Borg? Is everyone just supposed to believe that big mouth of yours?” Irina slowly raised the small tree in her hand as she asked, “If I were a traitor, do you think the Tree of Life would’ve found out after you did? If I had turned my back on the Goddess of Life, do you think the Tree of Life would’ve sent energy to me from afar when I almost died in Rodu? If I were using dark magic, then how did I manage to make this seed grow?”


  All of the elves gradually fell silent at the sight of the small tree in Irina’s hand as well as the branch of the Tree of Life that was revolving around her in an affectionate manner. All of them then turned to Borg for answers.

  The Tree of Life was the sacred tree bestowed upon the elven race by the Goddess of Life. It couldn’t directly communicate through speech, yet it possessed an extremely potent divine nature. In the past, only the elven queens had been able to secure the approval of the Tree of Life, and Irina was the only elf to have been acknowledged by the tree even before inheriting the throne.

  A few days ago, Irina had been in a dire crisis in Rodu, and all of the elves present had witnessed the Tree of Life sending life energy to her despite how far away she was from the Wind Forest at the time.

  There was no way that a traitor who had cultivated dark magic would continue to be blessed by the Tree of Life, as dark magic originated from death, which stood on the opposite extreme to life.

  Irina turned to Helena with a serious expression, and asked, “High Priestess Helena, do you also think I cultivated dark magic? Do you also think I’m a traitor?”


  All of the elves also turned their attention to Helena. Aside from the panel of elders, the only being present who possessed the same level of influence as Borg was High Priestess Helena.

  “Princess Irina hasn’t cultivated dark magic. There’s no way that the aura of darkness could escape the detection of the Tree of Life.” Helena shook her head as she said, “As for whether Princess Irina is a traitor or not, I won’t comment on that, as I have no evidence to suggest that to be the case.”


  A hint of surprise appeared in Irina’s eyes upon hearing this. She had thought that Helena would take this opportunity to contribute to her downfall, but that was not the case here.

  Borg cast a glance at Helena with a hint of wariness in his eyes. He had never been able to glean just what Helena’s true objective was, and this time was no exception.

  “Her Highness hasn’t cultivated dark magic, so there’s no way that she’s a traitor!”


  “Not necessarily! She killed Master Schubert and Mater Cobil for the sake of those traitors; why would she do that if she weren’t a traitor?”


  “But Her Majesty has already abolished slavery and given everyone free will to leave or stay in the Wind Forest as they please. Are we really doing the right thing here by capturing and forcing them to endure this torture?”


  “They’re traitors! They betrayed our faith, and they betrayed our Wind Forest! They should be forever branded as traitors, and their descendants will carry that shameful brand as well! They’re not fit to be called elves; they’re all just lowly slaves!”


  “That’s right! They’re all lowly slaves!”


  Vehement cries rang out across the entire plaza again. There would occasionally be a few elves who tried to stand up for the elven slaves, but their voices were quickly drowned out by a sea of fury and prejudice.

  Borg’s expression returned to normal as he turned to Irina. In a cold voice, he said, “I don’t know how you managed to swindle the Tree of Life, but it’s not up to you to tell everyone whether you’re a traitor or not. Her Majesty has gone into seclusion, so the panel of elders will be responsible for deciding all of the matters in our elven race. They will be the ones to pass judgment on you, and you must pay for what you’ve done!”


  “If all those who value freedom are branded as traitors, then I am indeed a traitor, just like all of those wandering elves who left the Wind Forest in pursuit of freedom.” Irina looked at all of the elves present with a serious expression, and said, “However, both our elven forefathers and the Goddess of Life have decreed that freedom is the soul of the elven race. They left the Wind Forest to pursue freedom, yet all of you are restricting the freedom of your brethren and oppressing them for your own personal gain. You are the traitors of the elven race!”