Chapter 496 - Three Cities, One Heart

"Such a situation might arise in the future, but the likelihood of it happening today is extremely small. Those Dwarves Elves wouldn’t be able to react so quickly, especially since my decision was made on the spot," Gaven analyzed. "I’ll need your help next to suppress those who try to cause chaos. Wait, I will grant you the freedom to come and go as you please, and after you have migrated your people down here, you can reside in the Tower of Dominion. The entire Crystal Hall on the first floor is at your disposal."This was a classic case of killing two birds with one stone.

Not only did it provide a place for the Golia in Mesnoel, but it also found a group of powerful, free bodyguards for the Tower of Dominion.

Unless the Dwarves Elves sent thousands of their Elite troops, it would be hard to defeat the Mountain Tribe in a short amount of time. Once he returned to Mesnoel, it would be the time for those invaders to be trapped in a hopeless situation, tasting the terror of the Elves’ ultimate defense weapon.

"Then we shall thank you in advance, sir," the Chieftain of the Mountain Tribe did not refuse.

The height of the Crystal Hall in the Tower of Dominion was very suitable for them. Other constructions made of living rock or trees were presumably built to Elf scale, which would be inconvenient for them to access.

Moreover, they preferred stone constructions over those made of wood.

"If there are no other matters, we will go and move our women, children, and living supplies here. We will return by sunset at the latest tomorrow," Kellysha suggested from the side.

"You may go. It will also take some time to settle them properly," Gaven referred, of course, to the sufferers of the Necrotic Plague.

Gaven did not personally visit each of the wise beings who had come for purification; instead, he and Darnell went straight back to the Tower of Dominion.

With the Tower of Dominion in place, there was no need for such trouble. It was connected to the Mystlock Locks. Although the Mystlock Locks were opened, they were not completely opened. As they entered, they would leave a spirit mark on the locks.

Gaven could categorize them through these spirit marks and tally their numbers.

As for the birds and animals, there was no need to speak of them for now.

Just speaking of the number of wise beings had already exceeded a thousand.

The majority were various members of the Fae Race, who, although still in a cautious, invisible state.

There were also a small number of Awakened Plants, not Treants, but those that had been animated by the Corruption Power, somewhat resembling monsters. However, since they hadn’t shown any aggression, Gaven didn’t harm them. He planned to extract the Corruption Power from their bodies first and then see what they would turn into.

The reopening of any Dwarves Elf City with Mystlock Locks was no small affair.

Especially since the Divine Root had previously caused such a stir in the Mir Forest, the entire North Mir Forest had been alerted. Particularly when Mesnoel revealed its ability to purify Corruption Power, within half a day, the entire Mir Forest knew about it.

Do not underestimate the speed at which these nature races transmit information; in the forest, every blade of grass, every tree is their eyes and ears, their friends. Not to mention, many Transcendent members of the Fae Race and Druids possess abilities like the Wood Escape Technique, allowing for rapid travel in the forest.

Countless members of the Fae Race began to converge on Mesnoel, some even moving their entire tribes, intending to seek refuge with the new Crownbearers of Mesnoel.

This was all thanks to those Dwarves Elves.

The Fae Race brought Gaven the information he currently needed most, about the native powers in the Mir Forest.

The most powerful native force in Mir Forest turned out not to be the Fae Race, but the Dark Elves who had previously clashed with Gaven and his comrades.

The sheer number of them astounded Gaven.

There were three Dwarves Elf colonization cities underground in the South Mir Forest, namely Holderbin City, Isca Yole City, and Delnox City, from south to north. They were all devout followers of Velen, operating under patriarchal rule.

The Dwarves Elves who had previously fought with Gaven for Mesnoel came from Delnox City, which was no more than fifty kilometers away from Mesnoel in a straight line, making it a true neighbor.

The establishment of these three Dwarves Elf colonization cities had some history, known to the Fae Race of the Mir Forest for at least half a century.

Prior to this, their attention was mainly focused on the war with the Shadow Walkers of Guadus City—this city lying beneath the Slave Empire of Karinshan.

Guadus City, the mother city of these three, had witnessed most of its defectors rise up and form their own settlements. Here, the followers of the Spider Queen held sway, constantly attempting to destroy these three cities and eradicate all the Velen zealots, in hopes of regaining the Spider Queen’s favor.

Before this year, the war had always been in Guadus City’s favor, due to the treacherous and selfish nature typical of Dwarves, the three patriarchal Dwarves Elf Cities, although they shared the same origin, mostly fought their own separate battles.

Guadus City also secretly controlled a large portion of the Pashas (a special term for the ruling noble class) of the Slave Empire of Karinshan, manipulating them into organizing a crackdown on these surface invaders.

Everything changed at the beginning of this year, when a Dwarves Elf named Masoji Nas, nicknamed the Blade of Venom, burst onto the scene, leading his own Dark Dagger. Using betrayal, intimidation, and bribery among other dark means, he united the three Dwarves Elf Cities for a full-scale counterattack against the followers of the Spider Queen.

This war involved a series of special tactics like selling out, betrayal, bribery, and assassination, and it was also known as the Shadow Walker War.

The vast network of dark control that had been built by Guadus City over the years in Karinshan was completely demolished, and the city was left isolated and without support. Although it wasn’t utterly destroyed, it could not threaten these patriarchal Dwarves Elf Cities for the foreseeable future.

Without the pressure of this powerful enemy, these Dwarves Elves started to turn their attention to the surface, and then the native Fae Race residents of the Mir Forest began to suffer: they had to either flee or become the new slaves of these Dwarves Elves.

The Masked Sovereign Velen was merely advocating for patriarchy among the Dwarves Elves, attempting to gain greater power and more followers from his mother, Spider Queen Rose. Being a notorious agent of chaotic evil, his followers naturally couldn’t become good citizens.

Other than the ruling class having become male and showing great interest in invading the surface, there were no fundamental differences compared to the cities ruled by Priestess Rose of the Dwarves Elves, especially regarding their attitude towards other intelligent beings—they were all potential slaves.

Below the South Mir Forest, in a cave labyrinthine as a maze, numerous ghost-like figures, following the cloaked figure on the altar, swayed together and chanted with devotion. With the final, inhumanly high-pitched shriek, the agate walls reflected a luminescent sheen, casting the place in an eerie glow.

Black fog condensed and stretched atop the altar, emitting a scent reminiscent of a tomb opened in the depths of winter.

The fog twisted and contorted, finally taking the shape of an over six-meters-tall giant, radiating a terrifying chill, its body dark as ink and muscular contours pronounced as though clad in a layer of muscle armor. With no nose or mouth, there were only a pair of eyes emitting tangible evil and cold.

This was also a Nightshadow, a more powerful entity than the Winged Night Shadow—the Shadow Walker Night Shadow.

If the Winged Night Shadow was the nightmare of the skies, then the Shadow Walker Night Shadow was a disaster on the ground, most adept at stealth and assassination. Should it fail, its terrifying strength and size also enabled it to engage head-on with raw force, to overpower with violence.

"Bunir, do you know of your sin?" a cold rebuke came from the dark throne behind the altar.

Sitting there was a Dwarves Elf of no great stature, wearing a golden half-mask, most of his figure enshrouded by a large cloak.

Bunir referred to the Shadow Walker Night Shadow just revived and summoned there.

The Shadow Walker Night Shadow trembled involuntarily, fear seeping from the depths of its being. Its tall frame crashed to its knees as it declared loudly, "Bunir has seen the Blade of Venom, Sir. I know my sin."

If Gaven were here, he would immediately recognize that the voice of the Shadow Walker Night Shadow was identical to that of the Velen Sacrificer he had forcefully smitten earlier.

Considering the current situation, this was clearly no coincidence.

Instead, the soul of that Velen Sacrificer had been summoned back by the Dwarves Elves here and transformed into a Shadow Walker Night Shadow.

The Masked Sovereign was known for his peculiar fondness for using various shadow creatures, indicating that he not only coveted the thievery priesthood of the King of Thieves, Mask, but also his shadowy priesthood. Consequently, their priests naturally followed their master’s lead, employing these shadow creatures and transforming erring Dwarves Elves into such beings, to continue serving their evil deity, much like the Spider-Transformed Elves of Spider Queen Rose.

"I know my sin," the Shadow Walker Night Shadow said respectfully.

Now that he was here and transformed into a Shadow Walker Night Shadow, even if he were innocent, he became guilty.

For becoming a Shadow Walker Night Shadow was the punishment from the Masked Sovereign, or else he would have been resurrected as a Dwarves Elf, as a Velen Sacrificer.

"Where does your sin lie?"

"My sin lies in not working together, in missing the golden opportunity to seize Mesnoel, in betraying the trust the Master of the Masked placed in me, in losing the chance to extend his grace throughout Mir Forest," Bunir replied without hesitation.

Although he was unaware of the subsequent developments in the battle for Mesnoel, this did not prevent him from making a reasonable estimate.

Only one possibility could anger the person before him, causing the Masked Sovereign to unleash divine punishment: Mesnoel had already fallen into the hands of others, and their chances of capturing it had become significantly harder. Thɪs chapter is updated by ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

"No, your real mistake was to think too highly of yourself, believing you could manipulate the power of an evil god, conquer Mesnoel on your own. The reason for the Master of the Masked’s punishment is your foolish act of splitting the Dark Dagger. Unity among the three cities is the foundation of our victory in the Shadow War, what sets us apart from other Dwarves. Only by uniting can we be invincible."

By the end, the Blade of Venom Masoji had risen from his throne, raising his hands to the sky and shouting fervently, whether it was his own true conviction or that of the Masked Sovereign Velen, no one could tell, not even he himself, because he firmly believed that this was the divine revelation granted by the Master of the Masked.

"Unity among the three cities, invincible in every battle!"

"Unity among the three cities, invincible in every battle!"

The Dwarves Elves below followed suit, calling out in a fever pitch.

The Blade of Venom’s gaze fell upon the Shadow Walker Night Shadow once more, his voice cold, "Do you now know what to do?"

Respectfully, Bunir said, "I will return to Delnox City immediately, muster the city’s forces, and capture Mesnoel to present it to you..."

"Foolish," bellowed Masoji, "How foolish are your thoughts? How does the Master of the Masked usually teach us? We are the night, we are the dagger, we are the venom. Secret operations are the foundation of our success, especially on the surface. Although we currently have a certain advantage in Mir Forest, what does our numbers mean compared to the numerous surface races?

Marching with an army to seize power forcefully is the last resort, never our strength.

We should start with what we’re best at, find their fatal weakness, and strike. Just like how we dealt with the foolish spiders of Guadus City, their conspiracies and schemes were their strongest weapons, but once exposed, they became their fatal flaws."