Chapter 22: Treeman

Chapter 22: Treeman

Nibus was drenched in cold sweat right away.

He really couldn’t comprehend the thoughts of the person in front of him.

Seeing Nibus remaining silent, Domiya promptly said in a rather bored tone, “Nibus, you may leave now. If there’s something, I’ll come find you.”

“I await your presence, Lady Domiya.”

Nibus respectfully replied, then hurriedly left Domiya’s office.

Outside the office, Nibus finally felt his heart lighten a bit.

However, just thinking about his earlier conversation with Domiya made him feel quite uneasy.

Although he didn’t consider himself a wise man, he had a premonition that something significant was about to happen within the Elven Race.

It was likely related to their newly crowned Queen.

Thinking this, Nibus couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, hoping he could dodge this calamity in peace!

Inside the office, Domiya was as unconcerned as ever, as if nothing had happened earlier, continuing to look over her list of mages.

The next morning.

After spending another night in the wild, Airael and the others set off on their journey once again.

Ever since they had driven off that group of cunning Magic Wolves, they hadn’t encountered any more trouble with hostile beasts, making their journey quite smooth.

Still, Hela didn’t let anyone lower their guard; scouts were still dispatched as needed.

Safety was still the priority.

As they approached a canyon, Hela turned to Airael beside her and said, “Your Majesty, we’re almost there.”

The entire party halted in response.

Airael nodded, a look of joy on her face.

After two days of travel, they had finally arrived.

And she was back in this place.

“Captain Iis, please send a few people to scout the situation of the canyon ahead.”

After speaking to Airael, Hela directed her words to Iis.

“Understood!”

Iis responded and dispatched several capable subordinates to scout ahead.

The Royal Palace Guards climbed the slopes on either side of the canyon, starting to observe the situation within.

Airael and the others quietly waited outside the canyon.

After a long wait, Airael couldn’t help but voice her thoughts, “Teacher Hela, according to Linis, the area ahead is likely the territory of the Treeman tribe. It should be safe, right?”

“Your Majesty, while that’s true, it’s still best that we remain cautious,” Hela replied solemnly.

Seeing this, Airael chose not to say more.

She understood that being careful was never a bad thing.

However, waiting outside like this was quite nerve-wracking.

They were just a short distance away from their destination.

Once they passed through this canyon, they would reach the great forest where the Tree of Life stood.

It was a vast forest; Airael couldn’t recall just how large it actually was.

But what remained most vivid in her mind was the massive, thick, and tall tree.

In comparison to the surrounding trees, it seemed like a giant among mere mortals.

As she contemplated what lay beyond the canyon, combining it with the hints Linis had given her, Airael had a guess pop into her head.

Those Treemen were likely hidden in that great forest.

Although the Treeman tribe had had fierce conflicts in the past with the Elven Race, their mission had never changed.

That was to protect the Tree of Life.

Thus, that great forest was very likely their hiding place.

Given that they were tasked with the protection of the Tree of Life, they couldn’t stray too far from it.

And the great forest was the closest place to the Tree of Life.

Besides, it seemed quite normal for Treemen to dwell in a great forest.

What lay ahead was to successfully find the Treemen within the forest.

Before too long, the scouts sent out to gather intel returned.

They had encountered no danger while scouting ahead, so the party continued their advance.

However, they were much more cautious while traveling through the canyon.

After nearly spending a whole morning, they finally emerged from the canyon around noon, arriving at the great forest that Airael remembered.

“We’ve made it!”

Looking at the familiar great forest ahead, Airael spoke up.

She gently closed her eyes, savoring the air that belonged to this place.

This was the first place she had ever stayed in this world; it could be considered her birthplace.

Moreover, the environment here was far better than that of the Elven territory.

Additionally, the Magical Elements were denser here.

In this place, Airael felt as if she had returned to the womb.

She felt completely at ease.

Hela, observing the entranced Queen, furrowed her brow slightly.

After quite a while, seeing that Airael showed no signs of coming back to her senses, her frown deepened, and she finally called out, “Your Majesty!”

In her daze, Airael snapped back to reality and looked at Hela, asking, “Is there something wrong, Teacher Hela?”

“We need to continue on our journey.”

At this moment, Airael realized she might have lost her composure and felt rather embarrassed, nodding apologetically, “I understand.”

Then, Airael shook off her daze and focused on the road ahead.

That state could not happen again.

The party of Elves promptly followed the path into the endless expanse of the great forest.

Deep in the forest, as Airael and the Elves stepped into this vast woodland,

A remarkably ancient tree suddenly sprouted facial features like those of a human—nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and eyebrows, all distinct and vividly formed.

“She… has returned!”

The ancient tree spoke.

Its aged voice paused for a moment.

Once it finished speaking, several other ancient trees nearby also sprouted their features, gazing at the speaking tree.

They appeared to be somewhat younger than the first, yet the ancient aura surrounding them was still unmistakable.

Clearly, they were all ancient beings that had existed for quite some time.

The leading ancient tree continued, “She is accompanied by other Elves, who are protecting her. Furthermore, I sense the presence of the Staff of Eternity from her—she has clearly become the Queen of the Elves!”

The ancient trees fell into silence for a moment.

After a while, one of the ancient trees voiced, “Shall we meet her? As the Queen of the Elves, she has earned the right to converse with us.”

The other ancient trees remained silent for a while before the ancient tree replied, “Indeed she has the right, but we are still unclear about the specific purpose of their visit.”

“Then let’s wait and see,” the leading ancient tree responded again.

Then, the other ancient trees returned to their original forms, appearing just like ordinary trees surrounding them, only markedly older.