Chapter 119: The City of the Forest

Amidst the vast, ancient forests brimming with vibrant life, under a clear blue sky and between endless clouds, two small figures flew, leaving long trails in the clouds behind them.

"It's true, you can't see the World Tree anymore," Muria turned his head, looking back to see only the slowly drifting sea of clouds, the seemingly infinite World Tree had vanished. As Hesel had mentioned, the still maturing World Tree twisted the space around it as an instinctual means of self-protection.

"There hasn't been anything particularly interesting happening on the Eternal Island recently, but there has been something that displeased us elves," Hesel said, glaring at Muria.

"What happened?" Muria feigned ignorance.

"Just the other day, the legendary Titan Asherbone sent us a nearly dead human, asking us to heal him inside the heart of one of the Eternal Trees."

Hesel gritted her teeth as she spoke, clearly agitated, "According to Lord Asherbone, that human has earned his approval. You, being part of the Titans, must have heard about it!"

"I know," Muria touched his nose, "That human dueled with Lord Asherbone, who was suppressing his power, and earned his approval with his swordsmanship."

"Hmph!" Hesel's expression darkened at Muria's description, "Why should we, the elves, have to use the essence of our Eternal Tree of Life to heal a human just because the Titans recognize him?"

"Hesel, it's not a bad deal for you to heal that human," Muria was puzzled, "Didn't Lord Asherbone say he was giving up all his shares to that human? With a human's physique, their consumption can't compare to a Titan's."

"Do you really not know anything?" Hesel rolled her eyes at Muria, "Lord Asherbone is about to embark on the path of legends, and at his current level of physical development, the Eternal Tree of Life hardly affects him anymore; he's stopped using it long ago."

"Oh." Muria's face stiffened, as he hadn't expected this revelation; he had thought Lord Asherbone was making a significant sacrifice and concession for the human, Sword Saint Ron.

"So, did you end up refusing Lord Asherbone's request?"

"How could we possibly refuse a request from a legendary Titan? It's just that I heard some additional demands were made."

"What kind of demands?"

"I don't know, the elders discussed it privately with Lord Asherbone. How would I, a not-yet-adult elf, know?"

"But you're a royal."

"Just an underage royal."

"So in the end, did you heal that human?"

"We did, and he's already been placed inside the heart of an Eternal Tree of Life."

"Which Eternal Tree?" Muria inquired.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'd like to see him."

"Why would you want to find that human? Even if Lord Asherbone has approved of him, what does it have to do with you?"

"Cough, I should be the first Titan to have contact with him." Muria cleared his throat, facing the increasingly suspicious look from Hesel, and quickly explained, "When he came to find me, he dumped a legendary sea monster's corpse on my island. I mainly want to ask him if he still wants that sea monster corpse. If not, I can help him dispose of it."

Hearing Muria's explanation, Hesel looked at him with disdain. She hadn't expected Muria to be so shameless, actually wanting to covet someone else's spoils of war.

However, she then realized that, after all, Muria wasn't a pure-blood Titan; he also had dragon blood. As is well-known, dragons, whether good or evil, are extremely greedy — it is their nature.

"You really live up to the dragon king blood in you."

"Heh heh." Muria, facing Hesel's disdainful gaze, chuckled nonchalantly. Let the misunderstanding stand; after all, what he had just said was indeed characteristic of a dragon, especially a good one who would ask for opinions before swiping someone else's property.

"Can you take me to the Eternal Tree where the Sword Saint is being healed?" Muria asked sheepishly, "Given the magical properties of the Eternal Tree of Life, the Sword Saint should have awakened by now, it would be good to ask him. If he disagrees, I can find someone to return the sea monster carcass to him."

"It's possible." Hesel sighed resignedly. Although she found Muria's words somewhat contemptible, she could understand it; after all, a dragon's greed is a common trait.

...

The majestic tree, nearly a kilometer high, with gnarled branches and powerful limbs, stood at the center of a city built from trees, vines, and shrubs. This city, shrouded in a misty halo and sprinkled with flickering lights, emanated a robust life force.

With this vibrant tree as its core, a city structured from the forest itself stood proudly. High above the city, elven knights on griffins or silver-winged pegasuses patrolled the skies. Throughout the city, the elegant songs of elves and the sounds of their music floated through the air.

Upon Muria and Hesel's arrival, this was the serene and peaceful scene that greeted them.

"What a beautiful city." Muria truly admired the view. Not only elves lived in this Forest City, but also chimeras, unicorns, silver-winged pegasuses, and griffins — numerous creatures that loved peace and upheld good and order.

The vast creatures lived harmoniously with the significantly smaller elves. Just witnessing this scene filled Muria with delight.

"Hesel, this city is truly beautiful," Muria praised generously, "Are all elven cities like this? This harmonious atmosphere?"

"Of course," Hesel nodded affirmatively, "All the settlements we elves establish are like this."

"Hesel!" As Muria and Hesel approached the Forest City, several elven knights came up to greet them warmly, their faces beaming as they greeted Hesel.

"Adult wood elves." Observing the several elves with green hair and rather plain appearances compared to Hesel, Muria shook his head in amusement.

Elves have over a dozen different branches, among which the Silver Moon Elves and Sun Elves held the highest positions, leading their people. Naturally, this was determined by their strength; Silver Moon Elves and Sun Elves had the longest lifespans and the greatest potential, naturally assuming leadership roles.