Advent of the Archmage

Night, river valley

"Stay here. Don’t talk or move and I’ll go check the situation," Evelina murmured.

"I can’t move even if I wanted to like this." Eliard sighed.

Evelina realized he was right and left the cave without speaking further.

The sky outside the cave was starry. It was warm in the South. Frogs in the valley croaked, and some nocturnal birds sang occasionally. It was very lively.

She used a spell and levitated. Soon, she reached the top of a stone wall on the side of the river valley. There was a narrow platform there. She chose a place to stand and waited quietly.

Around half a minute later, three shadows arrived soundlessly. They stood in three different directions. Their features were obstructed in the darkness, but they had sharp ears. Their eyes also glowed with eerie silver light. These were the most obvious characteristics of High Elves.

Furthermore, the silver eyes were a symbol of pure High Elves. A mix like Evelina wouldn’t have something like that.

Evelina recognized these three, and she was a bit surprised. The Isle of Dawn was for real this time. However, she pretended that she didn’t know anything.

Impatiently, she said, "Eloven, Sonya, Milose, it’s you three this time? Is the Elder Council planning on forcefully bringing me back? Don’t forget that I’m a princess. My mother is the queen’s sister!"

The three elves were the best of the Isle of Dawn’s younger generation. Eloven, the eldest, was only 50 years old. This was equivalent to 30 years in human age. It was the prime of their life.

They could only quickly raise their power according to the changes in the world’s Mana during this time. The elders couldn’t do it because their vitality had decreased. Their powers were already set.

This situation was similar for the other races. Evelina was like this, and so were the three. They were all part of the new generation of High Elves about to enter the Legendary level.

On the other side, a tall High Elf walked forward. It was Eloven. "Evelina," he said coldly. "It is because of your status that Her Majesty tolerated you time and time again. However, there is a limit to her tolerance. Now, I will ask you one more time. Will you return to the Isle of Dawn with us?"

Evelina had a bad feeling and furrowed her brows. "What if I agree? And what if I don’t?"

Sonya, the woman in the middle, walked forward. She looked average, but her talent was above average. "If you agree, nothing will happen. If you don’t... we can only apologize first."

As she spoke, she stared at Evelina’s practically perfect face. She hated that face because it wasn’t hers.

"Apologize?" Sensing danger, Evelina grasped her wand and went into full alert. "You’re ready to attack me just because I don’t want to go back?"

The elf with the least sense of existence walked up. He was Milose. "I’m sorry, Your Highness. This isn’t what we want. This was the decision of the Elder Council. Your mother knows about this. She agreed too."

Evelina winced at this. "My mother... she actually agreed?"

Her blood ran cold. Her mother could have abstained from voting, but she actually agreed. Even the one closest to her had chosen to abandon her? Was she just a lost soul now?

Evelina didn’t know what she was feeling now. She wanted to cry, but she knew that the three High Elves would just mock her if she did.

Elovan sighed. "Your Highness," he said, voice a bit gentler. "You should know the tradition of our race. We never impulsively participate in the matters of the mainland. You are from the royal family and joined the Syndicate. Their reputation is horrible. Your actions will damage our race’s reputation."

Evelina hadn’t wanted things to become so out of control. Softening her stance, she said, "Then what if I give up my status as a princess?"

"We cannot decide," Milose said. "Our mission is to bring you back to the Isle of Dawn. As for anything else, you can explain to the Elder Council."

"It’s not open to discussion?" Evelina didn’t want to give up. She knew what would happen if she returned. She’d escaped this time. If she went back, she probably would never be able to leave again. That wasn’t the life that she wanted.

She wanted to explore the mainland and learn about new worlds. She wanted to be respected, not mocked behind her back.

The Isle of Dawn couldn’t give her any of this.

Milose shook his head while Elovan said, "Come back, Your Highness. The Isle of Dawn is where our race should be."

"But I don’t want to go." Evelina pursed her lips tightly, unwilling to give in.

Sonya’s face was expressionless. "Your Highness, stop being stubborn," she scolded. "Don’t force us to act."

Evelina fell silent. She stood between the three without moving. Wind rushed past her, blowing her flowing dark red hair. It looked like flames.

The three High Elves were silent as well. They went into defensive poses, ready to react to this so-called princess’ sudden attack.

This stalemate went on for three minutes. Finally, Evelina slumped and sighed. "Fine, I’ll go with you all."

The three High Elves relaxed. Elovan exhaled deeply. "That’s the right choice, Your Hi—"

Before he could finish, Evelina suddenly moved. She pointed her wand at Elovan, the strongest of the three—Natural Flames!

Natural Flames

Level-10 Talent Spell

Casting Speed: Instant

Effect: Using the power of nature as fuel and the power of dragons as fire, ignite an extremely powerful and bright pillar of fire.

(Note: Evelina’s talent.)

This spell was Evelina’s strongest attack. It wasn’t the most powerful, but it was the most suitable for battle. Paired with the instantaneous might, the opponent could be hit if they weren’t careful enough.

This attack was too sudden, and Elovan wasn’t prepared at all. He only had time to activate his defense ring before he was pushed down the cliff by the red and green pillar of fire.

This heavily wounded him even though Evelina had held back some power. Otherwise, she could have killed Elovan with that.

"So cruel!" Sonya screamed.

"I’m not going to play nice," Milose uttered.

The two attacked at once. Two black vines with a golden shine broke through the boulders of the mountain. They transformed into poisonous thorns that flew towards Evelina.

She’d just used the Natural Flames, so she was a bit delayed. Faced with these two fatal attacks, she could only defend herself.

Red and green light flashed on her, and a crystal shield spread across her body. Fire burned outside the shield. The black vines arrived the moment the shield was completed.

Boom, boom, crack. Under the continuous attacks from the vines, the shield shattered. After that, the vines retracted, preparing to spring towards Evelina again.

"Go away!"

At this critical moment, Evelina cast a range defense spell. This type of spell was very effective in a battle with regular people. But against the strong, it could only lower the density of power and was rarely used. There was no perfect spell in the world. There was only one that was most suitable.

This type of spell could be incredibly effective at the right time.

Natural Dragon Power surged in Evelina’s body, transforming into the illusion of a dragon. It roared, soundwaves spreading throughout the air. When the soundwaves hit Sonya and Milose, they shook violently. Their attacks paused.

It was only for one-hundredth of a second, but to Evelina, this was the chance to turn the tides.

She slightly adjusted her body and sent another Natural Flames attack towards Sonya.

Boom! Sonya was also thrown back from the attack, but she’d added a defense spell that was powerful enough. When this attack hit her, flames shot in all directions and the air screamed. However, there was an emerald barrier on her.

Once the barrier was consumed, the flames’ power was used up too. In the end, Sonya was only lightly wounded. Before she was thrown back, she was still controlling her black vine and pierced Evelina.

Milose didn’t hold back either. He was affected by the soundwaves, and his mind paused, but his attack continued. The dark vine pierced Evelina’s chest.

There were two reasons why he didn’t hold back.

First, this was between Legendary fighters. Evelina was publicly recognized as a rising star, and he didn’t dare to hold back. Second, even though Evelina was a princess, she was only a half-elf. Since she had traitorous thoughts, she deserved to die!

Poof, poof. Evelina was stabbed through by the vines, but she’d dodged at the last moment. The vines missed her critical organs; she didn’t die.

Dragon Power gave her a powerful body. Though she was heavily wounded, her mind was still clear. Power surged, and she cast her specialized Natural Flames. Milose, who’d thought that everything was set, was thrown into the air.

Without hesitating, she gritted her teeth and grasped the vines in her. Applying force, she yanked them out. The vines had barbs and high resistance to spells. Regular spells were completely ineffective against them. Only someone with Natural Power could control these vines.

Evelina could only use her hands. Blood streamed down her hands. When she yanked the vines out, the barbs came away with a lot of flesh.

"Ah!" She involuntarily screamed in pain. However, she didn’t slow down at all. The vines were extremely poisonous. She immediately gulped down Elf Nectar and jumped down the cliff without hesitation. When she reached the cave, she grabbed Eliard and used all her might to flee.

She was heavily wounded in her stomach and the left side of her chest. She desperately needed treatment, but she had to run as far as possible. Elovan was heavily injured, but Sonya and Milose only had light wounds. They would catch up quickly.

If they caught up again, it would be a fight to the death.