Chapter 656 - 654: The Beast Tide Approaches
"How’s the situation over there?"
"Not optimistic."
Elina’s projection appeared in front of Hilia, as Hilia was communicating with her, inquiring about the situation at the source of pollution in the Elf Forest.
Elina’s expression was very heavy.
"The first wave of demons has already reached the underground area of the pollution source, and those demons have destroyed the signal tower set up by the investigation team. They’ve discovered that the pollution is leaking onto the surface."
"Has it gotten to this point?" Hilia frowned slightly and asked, "What about the Royal Court Guard? Have they done anything?"
"I saw the Royal Court Guard go underground, and they only returned the next day, with their numbers reduced by a third."
Elina’s expression became even more grave, and even through the projection, Hilia could feel her concern.
"Has the Phoenix Kingdom intervened?" Hilia asked.
"Phoenix Kingdom?" Elina was a bit taken aback and shook her head. "I don’t know."
"Alright."
It was a bit too much to expect Elina to know this.
"With such significant losses for the Royal Court Guard, have they done anything in follow-up?" Hilia asked.
"They haven’t gone underground again. The Elf King personally ordered the cessation of all underground investigation activities, and instructed all investigators to form special teams, standing ready on the surface. Meanwhile, they used some distance-enhancing magic to bombard the underground... I don’t know if this magic did any damage, as the underground is too deep."
Saying this, Elina sighed and continued:
"The Royal Court has already completely controlled the area around the pollution source’s rift. I can no longer get close, and can only watch from afar, without knowing how their investigation is going or if they’ve thought of any solutions."
"What about other units from the Elf Race, have they gone to the pollution source?"
If other units were moving to the vicinity of the pollution source on standby, it indicated that the situation was very serious.
Elina shook her head, "Currently I haven’t seen other units arriving, but it shouldn’t be long before they do... Hilia, what about the Phoenix Kingdom forces you mentioned? Are they preparing to send troops into the Elf Race territory and intervene in Elf Race affairs?"
Hilia replied, "I’m just guessing, but the Phoenix Kingdom seems to be stirring, and the Elf Royal Court should be aware of it."
"Alright."
"Have you not made a decision yet?"
"Exposing myself now wouldn’t help with the Beast Tide. If the Phoenix Kingdom really sends a team of mages to help, I might not need to expose myself."
Elina seemed to relax a bit.
Hilia raised an eyebrow, "Aren’t you worried that while the Phoenix Kingdom is helping, they might overthrow the Royal Court?"
"They shouldn’t... right? The Elder Council of the Royal Court is made up of Tier Six Mages. It’s not that easy for Phoenix to topple them, right?"
As Elina spoke, she became somewhat unsure.
The Phoenix Kingdom is very low-key, but it’s commonly believed to be the strongest. Elina couldn’t be unaware of this.
However, it didn’t take long for Elina to smile again.
"Why should I worry about this? If Phoenix really wanted to invade the Elf Race, the one most worried should be the Elf King. As for me, what can I do in the current situation?"
Saying this, she paused and continued, "I heard that the Phoenix Kingdom is known for its efficiency. They’re a bit mysterious, but if they could transfer that efficiency to the Elf Race, I think it wouldn’t be a bad thing..."
"What if they only want the Elf Forest and not the Elf Race, and end up driving you all out?"
"Then forget it."
"Hahaha!"
After chatting a bit longer, Elina bid farewell, planning to continue observing secretly, checking on the situation with the Royal Court Guard and whether the Beast Tide would emerge.
As for Hilia, she remained in the camp of the Law Enforcement Knight Order at the border.
Melina hadn’t sent anyone to ’protect’ her. Whether she was inside or outside the camp, no one stopped her.
Seeing this, she didn’t attempt to enter the Elf Race territory to observe Melina’s reaction.
Since there was nothing she could do until the Beast Tide came, she decided to see whether the Elf Race could withstand it.
Time quietly passed.
A few days later, news quickly spread from the Elf Forest.
The Beast Tide had indeed started.
The first wave to emerge were those demons with Tier Four strength.
They seemed to be learning.
They seemed to notice that the mages entering the underground could fly, or perhaps they wanted to escape through the huge rift to see the unknown world. Or maybe, the ceremony by the Recovery Temple prompted them to desperately wish to escape or expand their territory.
Thus, they learned to fly.
They followed the tide of pollution, bursting out from underground like artillery shells, heralding the beginning of the Beast Tide with a loud bang.
The demons that first rushed out naturally became cannon fodder, barely making a splash.
But soon, more and more demons learned to ’fly.’
Whether demons below Tier Four or those of higher strength,
They all learned to use the tide of pollution to burst out onto the surface.
Their numbers grew, more and more.
Eventually, it reached a point where the Royal Court Guard and the investigation team couldn’t handle it.
This incident was quickly learned by other empires but was not disclosed to the populace.
It wasn’t until the fifth day after the first demon emerged that even the support troops dispatched by the Elf Race couldn’t resist the Beast Tide pouring out like diarrhea. The Beast Tide from the pollution source was discovered by other passing elves and travelers, which then spread to the public, quickly causing an uproar.
Thereafter, the grand mages, minstrels, and others in the public carefully analyzed the situation, quickly uncovering the source of the Beast Tide and the news the Elf Royal Court had been hiding.
At this point, other empires swiftly expressed their opinions on the diplomatic front, saying that if the Elf Race couldn’t withstand the Beast Tide, they could send troops to provide support.
Naturally, the Elf Royal Court stepped forward to decline the offers of other empires to send troops into the Elf Race. However, if it was just to send weapons and equipment, they were not opposed.
Under international scrutiny, other empires did send over quite a bit of soon-to-be-phased-out equipment to assist the Elf Race in resisting the Beast Tide.
Because when the Elf Royal City refused the other empires, they also stated that they could handle the demons emerging from the pollution source rift entirely because the demons could only come from that place. By employing large-scale destructive weapons, that is, forbidden spells, they could completely obliterate all demons. It’s just that since it’s currently controllable, there was no need to use them yet.
This statement initially gave confidence to the people worldwide.
Although the Elf Race was weak, they displayed considerable strength.
Tier Six Mages were not few; if they took action, they could solve the Beast Tide calamity.
At least, until the first elven village was overrun by the Beast Tide, leading to the demise of all elves, including many travelers from other empires.
This trust collapsed entirely.