WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈
Chapter 92: King of the High Elves
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Using the cloak Eleanor gave me, I activated [Stealth] and quietly climbed the tower.
The High Elf watching the surroundings from the top did not notice my presence.
Mercedes had told me to only knock them out, but unfortunately, I did not have that kind of finesse.
Stab!
I covered the guard's mouth and stabbed them in the neck, cutting off their breath. But guards always worked in pairs.
“Wh, who are you? Agh!”
I covered the mouth of the guard who spotted me too late, then immediately snapped their neck and killed them.
That was close. I almost got caught.
After dealing with the tower guards, I climbed back down and met up with Mercedes, who had secured the tower on the other side.
Mercedes frowned the moment she saw me. She must have realized I had killed the guards.
Her gaze looked extremely displeased, but she seemed to understand that it could not be helped, so she did not argue.
This infiltration route could minimize combat, but it was not so easy that we could avoid getting blood on our hands entirely.
Once we had cleared each tower, we used the equipment Mercedes had prepared.
It was a strange device that looked like a small glider. I did not know how it worked, but apparently, it allowed us to glide for a short time.
“Let's go.”
We equipped the gliders and jumped straight from the towers. Since we had cleared all the watchtowers, nothing interfered with our flight.
We flew across the Great Forest, which had been fortified like the Dark Elf village, and easily entered the heart of the High Elf village.
After that, it was even simpler. I activated [Stealth], picked up speed, and sprinted into the castle where the king resided.
Crunch.
I smashed the castle window frame with my axe and lightly landed inside.
The moment I entered, I spread out Mana Detection. At the same time, I sensed an overwhelming presence.
“This is no joke. Is this the World Tree?”
The overwhelming amount of mana radiating from the World Tree, which I could feel from the seventh floor, naturally took my breath away.
How should I put this? Thank goodness it was coming from a tree and not a monster.
“It is far weaker than it was a thousand years ago. Our World Tree is not something the human race could ever dare covet.”
Mercedes clicked her tongue as she watched me flinch at the World Tree's mana. Well, I agreed with her.
I had at least seen it from afar on the seventh floor, but this castle had been built where the World Tree stood. I could truly feel it now.
The High Elves were merely protecting it, but if it fell into human hands, they would surely use it somehow.
If someone deliberately made use of such an enormous mass of mana, it would certainly produce terrifying results.
This was a crazy thing that no group or individual should ever use for private purposes.
“Maybe this is how people felt when they first saw a nuclear bomb.”
“A nuclear bomb?”
“Something like that. So where is the king?”
I pulled my thoughts back from that brief tangent. Mercedes pointed toward a door in the distance.
The audience chamber, where the throne directly connected to the World Tree was located. The High Elf king's audience chamber.
Creeeak.
The door moved open on its own.
* * *
Mercedes and I quickly hid behind nearby objects.
But there was no sign of anyone coming out through the open door. I could sense only one presence inside.
It was familiar, yet unfamiliar. The prince bastard I had met on the seventh floor was definitely in there.
But why had the door opened by itself? It was not like some High Elf automatic door sensor had malfunctioned.
“Come in.”
“What?”
A voice suddenly echoed inside my head. What was this? It was fucking strange. More importantly, was it talking to me?
I cautiously moved from my hiding place and looked at Mercedes. It seemed she had heard the same voice.
We nodded slightly at each other as if asking for agreement, then stood before the wide-open door.
“Come inside.”
As we entered the audience chamber as the voice instructed, I saw the king sitting on the throne far away.
“Your Highness.”
Mercedes called to him with a mournful expression. I could not believe it.
So that was the prince bastard from the seventh floor?
He definitely looked the same. A delicate pretty-boy face that screamed he could not fight worth shit.
But his eyes were far too different. They were more hollow than those of the previous Dark Elf queen.
“You need not sneak around like that... I had intended to summon you here someday. Come closer, all three of you.”
This time, the High Elf king spoke aloud instead of using that mysterious telepathy.
But all three?
“Were we discovered?”
I was shocked by the powerful presence that suddenly emerged behind me.
“What are you? Where did you come from?”
Eleanor appeared wrapped in shadows and pointed bitterly at my feet.
“I opened a path through your shadow. I could not think of any other way to stop you.”
A chill ran down my spine. I knew Eleanor was a master of Shadow Magic, but I had not known something like this was possible.
It was probably an application of the summoning she had shown at the entrance to the seventh floor. Depending on how it was used, would this not make an incredible assassination technique?
“Do not look at me like that. Is this truly the part that should surprise you now?”
As she spoke, Eleanor pointed at the High Elf king seated on the throne.
“That thing on the throne saw through both your infiltration and my Shadow Magic.”
“Even if a hundred years had passed, that fool I knew could never do such a thing, even if he died and came back to life.”
“He had not the slightest talent for magic. So what exactly is that thing sitting there?”
Eleanor was thinking the same thing I was.
That thing sitting there was absolutely not the prince bastard from the seventh floor. Everything except its appearance was different.
I recalled this Epic Quest's objectives.
[Quest Objectives]
1. Uncover the secret.
2. Reveal the mastermind.
3. End the war.
Uncover the secret, reveal the mastermind, and end the war.
The fact that I had received objectives like these meant there was a secret and a mastermind to uncover. That must be it.
“Are you curious who I am? Then come closer. I will tell you everything.”
The king gestured as though inviting us in, and I stepped closer.
* * *
When I stepped forward, Eleanor and Mercedes cautiously followed.
Then the door we had entered through closed with a Creeeak! and a Thud!
That was expected.
Mercedes, Eleanor, and I were not weak enough to be helplessly trapped just because a door had closed.
“Greetings, noble knight Mercedes. Beautiful shadow Eleanor. And you, nameless human.”
The High Elf king descended from the throne and slowly approached us.
“I offer greetings, yet none of you answer.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”
“Yes, such a straightforward answer is pleasant to hear.”
The High Elf king gave a faint laugh as he looked at us. As expected, only his appearance was the same. He was a completely different person.
“I should introduce myself as well. My name is El'rofen. I am the father of Elruion, whom you came here to meet.”
I knew it. The person inside was different. As expected, the previous king had pulled some kind of trick.
But Eleanor frowned upon hearing the name the High Elf king revealed.
“The previous High Elf king's name was certainly El'ronabel...?”
I turned my head. Mercedes, silently drawing her sword, also looked greatly shocked.
“Oh, do not misunderstand. I am Elruion's father, but at the same time, I am also El'ronabel's father.”
El'rofen grinned at us.
“I am the father of all High Elves.”
At that moment, an immense amount of mana overflowed like a wave.
Rumble!
The massive mana of the World Tree, which dominated this entire area, undulated as though it had a will of its own, causing the surroundings to tremble.
“Ever since the Forest Elves began calling themselves High Elves, I have been the king and father of all at every moment.”
I drew my sword in tension. I also gripped the Pendant, ready to use Mana Enhancement at any time.
The king gave a small laugh as he looked at us. He seemed to find this situation highly amusing.
He was practically announcing that he was the mastermind. But why reveal his true nature at this moment?
“You know that the World Tree is a device that cycles Souls. Then you must also know when that cycle began to break down.”
“In truth, the cycle was never broken. It has merely been working at full capacity to cycle my Soul.”
“Every High Elf king is replaced by me the moment they formally inherit the throne, grasp the royal scepter, and sit upon the throne.”
The king continued looking down at us.
“You are all silent. Was it difficult to understand?”
There was no fool who could fail to understand such a simple story. We were simply too dumbfounded to speak.
“There is only one thing I do not understand. Why are you telling us all this now?”
When I spoke with a frown, the High Elf king gave another quiet laugh.
“Why indeed?”
Smiling, he pointed at the tightly closed door.
“Because all of you obediently came close when I summoned you.”
Right. He was telling us because he thought it did not matter if he did.
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