A golden-haired male high elf suddenly appeared next to the gate.
The reason I judged him to be a high elf was simple.
He had a unique earring only on his right ear.
And that earring was the same as the one worn by the bald Ear Goblin, Lucian, before.
It was a green decoration inside a blue, squished circle.
It was an ornament indicating he belonged to the Pond Leaf Tribe among the high elf clans.
“Where are you rushing off to, Ershiana?”
“…… How…?”
Elcia froze in place, her face pale as a ghost.
She seemed so shocked that she could hardly form a sentence.
Her eyes were filled with surprise, and she was only pointing at the high elf with trembling fingers.
“It’s been a while since we’ve met; shall we have a little chat?”
“How… how are you even here…?”
“Well… it’s obvious.”
The high elf lightly smiled, tapping his head as he spoke.
“For some reason, I had a feeling that you, Ershiana, would come this way today.”
“I- impossible…”
“By the looks of your surprise, it seems you didn’t expect to see me today?”
And the high elf gave an excessively grand greeting.
He crossed his left foot behind and bowed, with his left hand behind his back and his right hand drawn in a large arc inward.
Then he raised his head to look at Elcia and said.
“Or maybe you saw me on another day?”
“Uh, um…”
“For example, in a few years?”
“…Could it be you too?”
“Let’s end the small talk here. Now, will you follow me?”
Elcia stood still, unable to say a word.
Her eyes, once filled with surprise, began to fill with other emotions.
Sadness. Hatred. Despair. Resentment, and so on.
Elcia looked resigned, and the high elf reached out his hand toward her.
However, that hand did not touch her.
– Kwah!
“Ah! You bastard!”
“The meat’s tough, you little bitch. If it’s past the use-by date, put a discount sticker on it.”
“…Husband…”
I had bitten the high elf’s hand.
The high elf hastily pulled back his hand, expressing pain.
I stepped in front of Elcia, standing protectively, glaring at the high elf who was still rubbing his hand.
Just then, Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon ran towards Elcia.
“Elcia! Are you okay?”
“Elcia, soldier! Are you hurt anywhere?”
Seeing Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon approach, Elcia’s legs buckled, and they helped her stay upright.
It seemed the tension had made her legs weak.
Meanwhile, the high elf shook off his hand, looked at me, and suddenly twisted his face into a snarl.
“Aha! It’s you! I’m truly lucky!”
“Get lost.”
“Nice to meet you, inferior race Kim Shinwoo.”
“I’m not happy to see some asshole, so just get lost.”
The high elf then regained his calm demeanor, speaking softly but with eyes burning with rage.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am blessed by the World Tree—”
“Just get to the point, you water lily tribe!”
A vein popped up on the high elf’s forehead.
“…I am Sharit of the Pond Leaf Tribe.”
“Don’t keep the speedy tribe waiting.”
Sharit took a brief breath.
Then, with a sly smile, he continued.
“I am the father of Lucianer, who was insulted by you.”
“I was looking forward to meeting that father; just like father, just like son.”
“Keep running your mouth.”
With those words, Sharit raised his right hand as if to swear an oath.
Suddenly, around a dozen elf warriors began to reveal themselves from the surroundings.
It seemed they had been hiding and received a signal to appear.
“This will be the last chance.”
The overwhelming pressure from these elf warriors was incomparable to the previous ones.
Moreover, their unique weapons suggested they each had custom gear suited to them.
The only commonality they had was the earring on their right ear proving they were high elves.
Of course, the designs varied.
However, no matter how I looked around, I couldn’t find the sky-blue butterfly pattern matching Elcia’s earring.
It seemed Elcia’s clan didn’t exist among them.
Meanwhile, two elf warriors with the same earring as Sharit stood beside him, holding spears and axes to support him.
“I will give you two choices.”
Sharit held up his index and middle fingers to me.
Then he folded his middle finger and said.
“First, bow your head and beg for your life, leaving Ershiana behind.”
Suddenly, Sharit grinned widely.
His face looked even dirtier as he folded his index finger.
“Second, make a worthless resistance and die here. To be honest, I prefer the latter.”
“Seriously, what’s with your confidence? There’s a truly dangerous guy here.”
– Grrr…
Hearing my words, Hyeji started to growl.
Seeing that, Sharit laughed madly, wiping the tears forming in his eyes as he said.
“Those here are the elite of the elite! They are elf warriors! Do you think you can win against them?”
Elf warriors.
A group composed of a select few among the strong elf fighters.
As if they were veterans, the elf warriors were the product of long-term training.
‘No wonder the atmosphere was different from those guys earlier.’
[It might be a bit dangerous.]
At that moment, Elcia shook off the support of Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon and stepped forward.
With a determined expression.
“Stop it.”
“Oh! So, Ershiana, have you made your decision?”
“…… Just do I need to go over there?”
“You thought well!”
Sharit exaggeratedly started clapping.
When the clapping quieted down, Sharit spoke to Elcia.
“Even if you are not pureblooded, the World Tree has recognized your talents.”
“……”
“Besides, the Sky Butterfly Tribe consists only of you, Elcia. If you don’t reproduce, the tribe can’t survive.”
“……”
“Even though it’s mixed with the filthy blood of the short-lived race, you’re still three-quarters high elf. We will take great care of you in the Pond Leaf Tribe.”
“…… Okay.”
Elcia answered vaguely in a completely sunk voice.
Regardless, Sharit continued to run his mouth.
“Through mating with the overwhelmingly talented Elcia, we elves can become superior beings above all!”
“……”
“Don’t worry too much. The blood of the short-lived race will disappear rapidly over generations!”
Suddenly, Elcia turned to us, beaming with a bright smile.
Yet her eyes were filled with sadness.
“Thank you all! But this time, it will be hard to meet at the academy!”
“…Elcia.”
“But, husband! We will definitely meet again! Just like before!”
“……”
“So please wait for me! It’s a promise!”
Elcia spoke with more energy than usual, cheerfully.
But no matter how you looked at it, it was nothing more than a forced smile.
When we didn’t respond at all, Elcia turned and walked toward Sharit.
Currently, Sharit was kneeling with a polite hand extended toward Elcia.
The moment Elcia took her last step to grab that hand.
Hyeji and I each grabbed Elcia’s shoulders.
Elcia momentarily looked startled at us but then began to smile bitterly.
“It’s okay. I escaped well last time.”
Ignoring Elcia’s words, Hyeji and I exchanged glances.
Only our eyes communicated silently between us.
Then we shoved Elcia behind us with all our might.
Right towards Jeong Ahyeon.
Without any signal given, Jeong Ahyeon caught the flying Elcia.
As Elcia suddenly distanced herself, Sharit’s previous calmness vanished, replaced by fierce rage.
“Scholar! Soldier! You caught her!”
“Do you even know what you just did?!”
“”Shut up and stop barking!!!!””
Hyeji and I charged at Sharit simultaneously.
We swung our weapons toward Sharit’s head.
Hyeji’s side was using a polearm with an axe on the side.
I wielded two maces, summoned from my magical power at three o’clock.
And our charge was being met by the two elf warriors who had been waiting beside Sharit.
“Ugh!!”
“What kind of strength is this!!”
I kicked the elf warrior’s knee that was blocking my mace with his spear with my magically enhanced right foot.
The elf warrior wavered for a moment.
Seizing that chance, I dodged the spear with one mace and took a step forward with my left foot.
Then I struck the inside of the arm of the elf warrior holding the spear with my right mace.
– Pow!
“Ugh! You short-lived bastard!”
“Dirty blood? Clean blood? What the hell does it matter?!!”
Meanwhile, Hyeji was also fending off the elf warrior’s attack with his axe.
Hyeji hooked the axe head of her polearm inside the blade and stomped hard on the spear.
Caught off guard by the sudden force, the elf warrior staggered for a moment.
Not missing that moment, Hyeji summoned a shotgun and unleashed a barrage at the elf warrior.
– Bang!
“What the hell! This monster-like!”
“Breeding? Breeding? Are you fuckers machines that give birth to children!!!”
The elf warriors managed to steady their breath and positioned themselves back near Sharit to guard against us.
Then a recovered Sharit spoke again.
“You pathetic short-lived races wouldn’t understand! We elves are the most superior beings among the long-lived races—!”
“”We don’t care about any of that! You dog bastards!!!!””
Hyeji and I shouted, cutting off Sharit’s words as we lunged at the elf warriors.
The elf warriors each launched their attacks.
One stabbed his spear toward my solar plexus while the other swung a huge axe down at Hyeji’s head.
I jumped diagonally, kicking the side of the axe aiming at Hyeji.
At the same time, Hyeji elbowed aside the side of the spear coming at my solar plexus.
“What the!”
“How did this happen!”
The elf warriors didn’t panic but quickly discarded their weapons from the attack paths.
Then they raised a large shield standing behind Sharit to prepare for our attack.
That shield was too big to be called a shield; it was more like a wall.
Two elf warriors supported that wall-like shield.
In response, Hyeji manifested a file bunker in her right hand, and I condensed mana in my left.
We didn’t exchange a single word, but—
We attacked simultaneously without a single miscalculation.
“”If you want to create an superior being through breeding!!!!””
– Thump!
– Kaboom!!
“”Then go play Pokémon!!! You incest bastard kids!!!!””
The file bunker pierced through the shield, and through that gap, the magical power of the Cheonma Repulsor exploded.
The shield, which boasted of its toughness, turned into tatters in an instant.
As a result, the two elf warriors flew off, leaving only Sharit trembling in front of us.
We looked around and, finally, glared at Sharit.
“Come at me, you incest bastards.”
“Now let’s show you the fear of exogamy.”
