Chapter 844 - Ah Zi, Turn Around

“Freedom should be valued above all else. A life lived without restriction and oppression is what we should all aspire to. Elves who pursue things like power and wealth at the expense of their own brethren are the true traitors of the elven race!”

Irina’s voice wasn’t very loud, but it was clearly audible to every single elf in the Wind Forest.

All of the elves present gradually fell silent as contemplative expressions appeared on their faces, and some of them were even hanging their heads with shame.

She really is the spitting image of a younger version of Her Majesty… A reminiscent look appeared in Helena’s eyes as she appraised Irina. Her mind wandered back to those days during which the Wind Forest had been ravaged by war and the elven queen had fought alongside her brethren.

At the time, they had engaged in a heated argument about freedom at the foot of the Tree of Life.

In the end, she had convinced the elven queen that her philosophy was correct, and the family system was thus established in the Wind Forest.

What was freedom?

That night, she had said to the elven queen, “Without power, how can there be freedom?”

Even to this day, she still stood firmly by her philosophy and beliefs, yet she no longer wanted to repeat those same words to Irina.

Perhaps she really was getting old, or perhaps it was because the stubborn and wilful Irina was different from the elven queen, after all. In any case, there was no point in engaging in some argument when she knew that Irina wouldn’t agree with her viewpoints anyway.

As for the freedom of the wandering elves outside the Wind Forest, how did that have anything to do with her?

The freedom that she wanted was freedom for all those in the Wind Forest, and that freedom hinged entirely on keeping enemies away from the forest.

The distance between the forest and its enemies was the freedom that she aspired to.

All of the servants and slaves who were locked in underground cellars and prisons, as well as the troops on the most perilous borders, had also heard Irina’s words.

All of them were had tears flowing down their faces and dripping onto the ground below.

The abhorrent “traitor” brand had been forced upon them despite the fact that they had once fought so hard to protect the Wind Forest and the freedom of their brethren, the very same beings who were now repaying their efforts with animosity and oppression.

At the conclusion of the war, they had chosen to leave this place where countless comrades and loved ones had been buried so they could search for their own freedom elsewhere. They wanted to forget the traumatic war they had endured by traveling the continent.

Never would they have thought that their own brethren would’ve become the most prominent obstacle to that dream.

All of a sudden, all of the elves who left the Wind Forest were deemed as traitors, and the orcs and demons who had once invaded the Wind Forest and slaughtered countless elves were being commissioned by none other than the elves to continue capturing more elves.

Many of the free wandering elves all over the continent were horrifically slaughtered, and those who were lucky enough to have survived were tortured before being sold as auction items or sent back to the Wind Forest to become slaves.

This was the beginning of a dark age for all wandering elves.

The helpless elves had once hoped that their kind queen would put an end to all of this, but that didn’t happen.

The elven queen seemed to have remained oblivious to all of this, and she never even expressed her opinion on the matter.

Perhaps she was the one who had ordered for all of the wandering elves to be captured in the first place.

None of the elves knew the truth, as the elven queen barely appeared other than during the annual ceremonies.

Thus, the major families became more and more powerful, and in order to satisfy their insatiable desires, more and more mercenary squads were employed to capture wandering elves, and those mercenary squads also became more and more reckless in their approach.

In the face of the large number of mercenary squads, the wandering elves virtually had no power to resist.

They were detained and brought back to the Wind Forest, branded as traitors and dark magic casters, and forced into slavery.

The beautiful elves were chosen as servants to important figures in the elven race, while the elderly elves and those who were ordinary in appearance had the word “traitor” branded onto their faces before being reduced to slaves.

The new elven laws enforced countless shackles on them, and the oppressive hierarchical system completely crushed their spirits, making them powerless to resist.

Perhaps only the elves who had still retained some empathy in their hearts would be willing to help them, and the most renowned of those elves was undoubtedly Princess Irina.

She scoured the continent for mercenary squads, destroying countless such squads in just a few years. All of the demons and orcs were so petrified by her crusade that all mercenary squads were disbanded for a time.

She was like a ray of light that had shone onto the hearts of the wandering elves.

Some of them were even beginning to imagine that if she were to become the elven queen one day, then all of this oppression would be over. They would be rid of their identities as traitors and slaves, and embark on a voyage to freedom once again.

However, three years ago, Alex was killed, and Irina also virtually disappeared off the face of the continent.

The mercenary squads that had been disbanded appeared again, and they began to capture wandering elves with reckless abandon. The ray of hope had been snuffed out, and everything was plunged into darkness and despair once again.

However, two months ago, Irina reappeared.

She slew Schubert and convinced the elven queen to abolish slavery, and then killed Cobil and released all of the wandering elves that had been detained.

These tales had rekindled the flames of hope in the hearts of all of the oppressed elves once again.

They learned that there was still someone who was willing to fight for them, that there was still someone who remembered what all elves had been pursuing all along.

…

Mag was still searching for ducks on Warden Lake when he suddenly cast a surprised glance toward the Wind Forest with narrowed eyes.

Right at this moment, a pair of vibrant, colorful ducks suddenly flew out of a nearby spruce of reeds.

“I’ve finally found you!” Mag’s eyes lit up before instructing the griffin to swoop downward, and he quickly locked his fingers around the neck of one of these ducks.

This was a Red-top Tricolor Duck. It was as plump as a goose, yet it looked as if someone had accidentally spilled a paint palette all over its body. As expected, it really was breathtakingly ugly.

Mag tied the duck to the griffin’s back before instructing, “Ah Zi, turn around; we’re going to the Wind Forest.”

…

“Nonsense!” Borg roared with rage to rouse all of the elves from their stunned stupor.

All of the major family leaders wore complex expressions on their faces, yet they were more determined than ever. No one could make them relinquish the power and status that had been bestowed upon them.

Irina was trying to take everything away from them, so she was their enemy; it was as simple as that.

Borg wore a serious expression as he turned to the panel of elders, and said, “Esteemed elders, on behalf of all of the family leaders, I request for the deposition of Irina as the elven princess, and also for her powers to be permanently disabled. Please give us your verdict!”

“The Berman Family requests for the deposition of Irina!”

“The Earhart Family requests for the deposition of Irina, and for severe punishment to be dealt to her!”

…

One family leader after another chimed in in agreement. Among them were leaders from both the eight major families as well as the smaller families, and almost half of them were in support of punishing Irina.

Irina merely looked at everything with a disdainful expression on her face.

The elder sitting at the center of the panel of elders slowly rose to his feet, and said, “According to elven laws, if more than three of the eight major families have expressed their support for a proposed course of action, then the decision will come down to a vote among the panel of elders. All elders, please state your stance on this matter!”