Chapter 39 : New Elven Queen

New Elven Queen

"It's Chief Aruka! He's come to help us!"

Suddenly, an elf shouted loudly. The rest of the elves all turned to look at the werewolf named Aruka, hope gleaming in their eyes.

Seeing the elves surrounded by a group of skeletal monsters, Aruka bared his fangs and let out a "ruru" sound—this was the signal of aggression among his kind.

"Elven friends! We'll be right there!"

As he spoke, Aruka raised his broadsword and pointed it at Little Black and the others.

"Wolf Cavalry, charge!"

"Awwooo!"

The wolves' howls echoed through the jungle, and then eight melee cavalry plus two archer cavalry from the werewolf tribe charged at Little Black's heavily armored skeleton troops.

At this moment, Lola also recognized who was coming and called out his name.

"Aruka!"

"Hm? Do you know them?"

"I do. They're a werewolf tribe that migrated here from another forest. On the way, they were attacked by humans. When they arrived, their leader—Aruka—was on the verge of death. My people saved him, so he formed an alliance with us. I'm guessing they came this time because they heard that humans were planning to attack us and rushed over to support us."

"Oh, I didn't expect them to be so loyal,"

Serea praised with admiration.

At this point, Aruka had already rushed at Little Black, who showed no fear at all—both of them clashed head-on like two blades meeting point-blank.

Clang!

Little Black retreated a few steps after blocking the charge of the giant silver wolf. Aruka was a bit stunned by this.

Meanwhile, the other wolf cavalry collided with the shields of the armored skeletons. The two sides fought in close quarters. After knocking down a few skeletons, the wolf cavalry took advantage of their agility to maneuver around them.

"This won't do. They're mistaking milady's subordinates for enemies. I have to stop them!"

Seeing Aruka and Serea's Skeleton Warriors entangled in battle, Lola shouted from the wooden house.

"Chief Aruka, stop! They're our friends!"

Her voice carried out, and Aruka looked up at the high wooden house.

"Lola!"

But while Aruka was distracted, Little Black's bone blade had already slashed toward him.

Aruka raised his broadsword to block—the bone blade was caught by the broadsword, but Little Black's other bone blade swept toward Aruka's neck.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Little Black's incredible speed, Aruka was surprised. In his experience, ordinary skeletons were not supposed to possess such combat ability or swiftness.

But his opponent was beyond expectations. Facing the incoming bone blade, he showed no fear and lunged forward with his massive wolf claws.

Clang!

A metallic sound rang out. A segment of his sharp wolf claw was cut off by Little Black, while Little Black's bone blade was also chipped by his wolf claw.

Seeing this, Serea quickly ordered Little Black to retreat. First, there was no need to fight their elven allies; second, she feared Little Black might not be able to win.

That's right, Serea was afraid Little Black would lose.

Aruka was a Gold-tier elite, a stage above Little Black in terms of potential, and his level was 28, much higher than Little Black's.

The brief stalemate just now was due to Aruka underestimating his opponent and Little Black's agility. If the fight continued, Little Black would likely be defeated.

Having received Serea's command, Little Black jumped backward to put distance between them.

Hearing Lola's reminder, Aruka didn't pursue but instead ordered the wolf cavalry to withdraw as well.

The wolf cavalry led by Aruka and the skeleton warriors led by Little Black now stood facing each other. Since both sides were only testing each other, there had been no casualties.

Witnessing this, Lola breathed a sigh of relief. Then she followed Serea down from the wooden house.

"My Queen!"

As Lola descended, the elves moved to gather around her—but for some reason, they felt she was somehow different than before.

Looking closely, their eyes widened in shock: the Queen's Mark on Lola's forehead had vanished, and the mark was now on that monster's head.

"My Queen, you..."

"Don't call me Queen anymore. She is the queen now."

Lola consciously stepped over to stand at Serea's side.

"I am Serea. Please take good care of me."

Serea introduced herself with a smile, apparently unbothered by the gravity of the situation.

Yet she smiled in the face of a group of elves with eyes full of anger.

"Monster, how dare you force our queen to give up the Queen's Mark—this is an insult to the Darkmoon Clan!"

A group of elven guards tried to rush forward to seize the mark. Seeing this, Lola quickly blocked their way.

"No, I willingly entrusted the mark to Queen Serea. She is more qualified to inherit it."

Lola stepped forward to explain, leaving the elves dumbfounded.

"My Queen, how could you..."

Facing her people's questions, Lola replied apologetically.

"As queen, my decisions led our people into dire straits. I am unworthy of my position."

As she spoke, Lola turned to Serea.

"But she is different. She saved us—she is a friend of our elven race and possesses great power to protect our people. She is more suitable to be queen than me."

"But she's not of the elven race—she's a monster. How can she be our queen?!"

A guard loyal to Lola stepped forward, but before she could finish, someone in the crowd muttered,

"If she wasn't an elf, she couldn't have inherited the elven Queen's Mark. So she must be of the elven race."

As these words spread, everyone began to observe Serea with curiosity. None could tell which subrace of elves she belonged to—for she possessed none of the elven features, aside from her stunning beauty.

"The inheritance of the Queen's Mark proves Queen Serea's identity and bloodline. She had protected us and even rescued our companions. Therefore, in facing the new queen, your duty is not to question but to welcome her."

Lola continued, and with just a few words, all dissent fell silent, as the Queen's Mark only recognized the purity of bloodline. The fact that Serea inherited the mark proved she was qualified.

"I hereby name Serea as the new Queen of our people. Does anyone have any objections?"

Lola asked the elves. The elves looked at one another, feeling the natural energy that flowed from Serea. None could challenge her status.

"But those monsters..."

Someone looked over at the skeletons. Lola was already prepared for this.

"Didn't those monsters just save you? Gratitude is an elven tradition. From now on, the monsters you call will protect the elves—and they will be the proudest warriors of our tribe."

As Lola spoke, Serea couldn't help but admire her way with words—from every sense of the phrase...

Thus, opposition vanished. After exchanging glances, all the elves sank to one knee before Serea.

The crowning of a queen had always been the result of the pureblood elven royal lineage "abdication". Although some still doubted this outsider Serea, they ultimately obeyed Lola's decision.

"We pledge our loyalty to the Queen of the Darkmoon Clan!" xN

Watching the Darkmoon elves kneel, Serea smiled and said,

"Rise, all of you."

The elves all stood up. By now, they no longer harbored animosity toward Serea, for she was their new queen—and the so-called monsters would also henceforth be the warriors of the Darkmoon Clan!

After settling the affairs of the elves, Serea turned her gaze toward Aruka, who was still watching the proceedings from nearby.

(To be continued...)