Chapter 81: Impact

"Why are you wrapping your wings around your body? Are there male light elves below?"

Elara looked confused by my words, but her attention was not focused too much on these questions. Instead, she asked me again.

"What did you guys throw out just now? A magical array? That explosion was too terrifying, it makes forbidden spells look like child's play in comparison!"

"This is hard to explain..." 

I scratched my head, avoiding her gaze as I replied.

"Overall, it was a kind of large-scale destructive weapon that Reed and Nicola created together. The magical array was just a small part included in it..."

"Large-scale? Destructive? Weapon?"

Elara looked back at the mushroom cloud that was almost dissipated, seeming to understand the meaning of these words a little.

After all, the power of a nuclear explosion is enormous. Looking at the distant forest that had been razed to the ground from here as survivors, the only phrase that could describe it was 'shocking'.

With the base of the mushroom cloud at the center, the areas within a radius of nearly ten kilometres were affected, including the city within this range.

Luckily, the city was located right at the edge, so apart from the taller buildings like the landing platform at the top of the Tivi Palace...the damage was not too severe overall.

As for the regions a bit closer to the explosion center, they could only be described as "Hell". The further in towards the center, the more severe the damage to the trees.

The trees first just fell over, then gradually turned into burnt and carbonized states as you moved closer to the center...By the inner ring, you basically couldn't make out any details - because everything in sight was just charred black, and in the most severely affected areas around the mushroom cloud's base, you could vaguely make out flickering red shadows.

I guessed that the forest maze near the explosion center had probably turned into a lava sea by now.

"Too scary! If you hadn't given me a warning, I could have been seriously injured. But even so, the shockwave from the explosion was too strong, I couldn't keep holding onto Cyra midway, so we got blown apart..."

Saying this, Elara pointed in a direction.

"Based on the possible falling range, I couldn't have landed too far from Cyra. And I know the direction she got blown away in, it should be over here..."

It was impressive that she could still discern the direction they fell in. Not like me who had my eyes shut the whole time - it was like going on a rollercoaster ride.

"But this area is all forest too. There's no way the two of us keep searching in there, right?"

Looking at the sea of trees before us, I suddenly felt finding Cyra in a short time would be nearly impossible.

"No problem. I know there's a light elves settlement around here. We can go ask them for help." 

Elara seemed to know what she was doing, flying off in front as she finished speaking.

"Then let's hurry back to the city after! I'm very worried about the situation there, plus there's still lots of problems like the monster invasion left unresolved."

"But..."

I looked back again at the mushroom cloud, hesitating to speak further. I felt we should confirm if Michelle was dead or alive first right? But then I thought that with an explosion on this scale, if she didn't have any warning, the chances of her surviving were low. Elara probably took that for granted too.

Anyway, saving lives took priority...

"Notice anything about where we are?"

We hadn't flown far before Elara suddenly asked me thoughtfully.

There was a continuous mountain range below the forest, nothing special about it from afar. But the closer we got, the more familiar it looked.

"Isn't this near the cave Reed just moved to!"

I finally realized it. We had fallen into this area after all the drama. As we flew over a mountain peak, we could even vaguely see the cave within the mountainside, as well as the stream we had played in just yesterday.

"If this is the place, then the so-called light elves settlement is probably...?"

I immediately linked it to the place Cyra didn't return from last night.

"What a coincidence..."

Following Elara as we flew on, what came into view over the mountain peak was a small lake area. In the center of the lake was a small island, occupied almost completely by a single thick and lush gigantic tree. A turbulent stream flowed right by here, emptying into the lake, before flowing out from the other end.

"That tree is the light elves' settlement!"

Elara said and dove down onto the island. She had barely landed before numerous light elves jumped down from the tree branches, both males and females. Seeing an angel descend, especially Elara herself, they immediately knelt to pay respects.

"Lady Elara, have you come in person because of the strange sight in the distance?"

The leading light elf looked very old, supporting himself with a cane as he stood and asked from within the kneeling crowd.

Here, tucked away behind the mountain range, the explosion site was too far to witness directly. They might not even be able to see the mushroom cloud without crossing over the peaks. But they should still have heard the enormous sound from the blast, including the large swathes of dust kicked up into the sky afterwards, causing immense panic for these light sprites.

"Sorry to disturb everyone, our main purpose in coming today is to seek help..."

Elara didn't seem to want to waste time on pleasantries, getting right to the point. 

"As for the distant explosion, it is related to our visit. It was primarily prepared to resist foreign enemies, so you need not be overly alarmed."

"What! Resist foreign enemies?"

"No way, how could there be foreign enemies within Edenmere!"

"Whether it's humans or monsters, if battles break out within Edenmere..."

"Don't know how the fighting is going, which areas have they advanced to?"

"Seeking help, does that mean conscripting us?"

"...

Hearing this, the light elves immediately exploded into chatter, whispering to each other.

"Edenmere City was just attacked by monsters. Looks like you're still unaware, right..."

Seeing their isolated lifestyle here, with no wings for flight like angels, it was normal they didn't know about today's happenings. So I quickly explained.

"What! Edenmere City has fallen?"

"No way, are the angels about to be wiped out!"

"If even Edenmere has fallen, then the mortal realm is probably..."

"What do we do? Will the light elf tribe perish along with them?"

"We're doomed! I'll be conscripted and die on the battlefield!" 

"It's the end of the world!"

...

But hearing my words, their reactions grew even more intense instead of calming down.

"That exaggerated?" 

I couldn't help but retort. Did these light elves have hidden careers as sensationalist reporters in Edenmere? Such lively imaginations! Everyone was so talented...

"Forget it, we're not that close to them anyway. Better not let them know about these things." 

Elara shook her head, stopping me from saying more. Then she turned to ask the elderly light elf chief.

"Chief, do you have any spare hands who can help us search the forest areas around here? We're looking for an angel who fell from the sky."

"An angel who fell from the sky?"

The chief's expression immediately turned odd upon hearing this. He looked back at a female light elf behind him, whispering some questions.

"Lady Elara, speaking of angels falling from the heavens, there is one now actually. But she's still stuck in our ancestral tree up there!"

What a coincidence!

"Then hurry and take us to see!"

I was shocked and immediately suggested to the chief.

The so-called ancestral tree naturally referred to the single gigantic tree on the island. Although not that tall compared to the trees along the lake shore, its trunk was absurdly thick, easily several hundred meters around. Two-thirds of the island's area was taken up by it.

The top branches then spread out horizontally in all directions. Their reach had long exceeded the land area below, extending out over the lake's surface. Looking down from above, it was like a massive umbrella erected in the lake center.

The light elves' dwellings were built among these branches. Looking up, you could see exquisite tree houses everywhere, though there were also platforms built onto the trunk, with houses constructed on them in a "convenient traffic" layout.

"This way, please!"

The chief personally led the way, taking us around the back of the trunk where there was a spiral staircase entrance built into the outer wall.

"Do...angels need something like this?"

Perhaps the flightless light elf required such facilities, but I was anxious - so I just flew straight up to the branches overhead.

"Sorry for the offence due to our haste..."

Elara also smiled slightly, grabbed the chief, and brought her up to join me.

The rest of the way was walking atop the branches. As many light elves lived up here, the obstructing twigs had been cleared to form interweaving treetop pathways after joining up.

But the higher we went, the thinner the branches below our feet grew. Our group's combined weight was probably pretty huge. I kept feeling the branches flexing softly underfoot, as if they might snap and drop us any moment.