Chapter 155: Astonishing Discovery

I had expected to merely view these memories from a third-person perspective; I didn't think that I would actually experience the memory as if I were there living it. It was slightly weird at first, experiencing something from the eyes of ones that aren't your own, but I quickly got accustomed to it, though what I couldn't get accustomed to was the fact that I could vividly feel every emotion the person whose memory this originates from.

It wasn't painful or anything, but it was uncomfortable; thankfully, the emotions seemed to have been severely damped, hardly even affecting me, though it was still a sensation I wasn't fond of.

'It seems this memory comes from that of a little girl, though who knows which ancestor this could be.' Thought Elaine in intrigue as she experienced the morning routine of Lourdes.

This specific memory was from the Primordial epoch, a time when cultivation wasn't yet discovered until the very end of that epoch, and from what I can view from this child's eyes, it seems cultivation hasn't been discovered, or at least widespread.

When she finally finished her morning routine, which was quite extensive, she exited her room and began walking down the hallway while several guards followed behind her.

'That's quite a lot of guards, though I suppose back then when everyone was merely a mortal, quantity was more powerful than quality.' Thought Elaine while viewing the palace hallways through Lourdes's eyes, only to get shocked when she noticed a servant bow towards her.

I didn't think much of that servant as she walked by, but the moment she bowed to me or the person's memory I'm currently occupied in, I was utterly shocked by what I saw. I couldn't even formulate coherent thoughts; all I could do was mindlessly stare at the servant's forehead, which had a golden star symbolizing Royal Elves or Elven Royalty. It was only until the servant left that I finally snapped out of my astonishment, but even so, I didn't know what to think; I had just laid eyes on a Royal Elf who was obviously not of Royal descent.

I continued walking through the hallway while passing numerous servants and guards; in doing so, I made sure to look for the golden star mark every single time, and to my dismay, each and every Elf I laid my eyes on carried the golden star mark with them.

'Is the Royal bloodline a lie?' Thought Elaine as various complicated emotions arose in her heart.

When I or I should say the little girl, approached a heavily guarded door, each guard carrying the golden star mark, they said a name that caused me to be nearly as shocked as I saw the first servant.

'L-Lourdes!? Did I hear that correctly!? Am I experiencing the memories of Progenitor Lourdes herself!?' Exclaimed Elaine in disbelief.

Although I found it hard to believe, given the time period and the fact that no Royal Elf would dare name their child Lourdes, I knew it must be Progenitor Lourdes whose memories I was currently experiencing.

As I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts, I missed the conversation with the guard, and now we were already inside the room, which seemed to be a debate room or something of that nature, from how many seats and people there were. While looking around at the numerous people, my eyes momentarily stopped on two people: one was the man sitting at the head of the circular table, and the second person was a woman sitting beside another very old woman.

'Her eyes, they sort of remind me of Sarah's eyes.' Thought Elaine as she eyed the Elven women.

Anyways, once Progenitor Lourdes was discovered by the group, I listened to the conversation before the King, Progenitor Lourdes's Father, had her sit in the queen's seat. Once I sat down, the king's next words caused me to focus intently as he brought up an essential matter.

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With slight assistance from Father, I sat beside him in the Queen's seat, though unfortunately, I was only tall enough for my head to appear above the table.

"Anyways, back to the topic, General Alfhild, if you could inform us about the army's situation over the past few years." Said the King with a slight smile while looking at Lourdes before his expression hardened as he glanced at a buff Elf sitting a few seats to his left.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Said General Alfhild solemnly as he grabbed a few papers and stood up.

"Within the last decade, the Elven army has participated in two-hundred-thirty-six skirmishes, ninety-five battles, and finally, three large-scale battles." Added General Alfhild while looking at the King.

"And, can you inform us how many we have won and lost?" Asked the King while already preparing for bad news, though what he heard was worse than expected.

"We've achieved victory a total of seven times over the last decade; five of those are from minor skirmishes that I would hardly call important, and two of them are from normal battles. Now for our losses, we've been defeated a total of three-hundred twenty-seven times; two-hundred thirty-one losses are from skirmishes, ninety-three are from battles, and we've lost all three large-scale battles, and if I'm being truthful, my King, we were defeated so early in those large-scale battles, that it's pathetic to say we even participated in it." Stated General Alfhild solemnly as he set his papers down and sat back in his chair, though his words caused a chilling silence to permeate the room.

"I expected bad news, but this." Said the King with a sigh, not even able to finish his sentence.

"Although I hate to admit it, if I were an enemy kingdom, I wouldn't even view us Elves as a threat anymore; the only reason we haven't been invaded is because of the forest surrounding our Kingdom." Said Sage Lymph while frowning.

"Even then, we're only living on borrowed time; the forest that protects us will only hamper their advances. One day, they'll eventually bypass the forest, and when that day comes, it'll be the day the Elven Kingdom collapses." Added Sage Oakley as she and everyone else sighed in frustration since they knew her words were most likely true.

"General Alfhild, do you know why our army has suffered so many losses? The enemy isn't that much stronger, are they?" Asked Lourdes curiously, her young voice causing her to be the center of attention.

"That isn't the case, Princess Lourdes; in fact, I'd say with the utmost confidence that our soldiers are much stronger. Our normal soldiers can defeat multiple enemies simultaneously, and our experienced Elites can even take down an entire squad of soldiers. The problem doesn't lie in our soldier's incompetence; it's because of how little our army is compared to our enemies." Replied General Alfhild, to which he silently sighed to himself.

General Alfhild's words somewhat surprised me; I have always thought our Elven army, which consisted of fifteen thousand soldiers, was quite large, but for him to call it small only caused me to wonder how large the enemy armies possibly were.

"Could you tell me how many soldiers your army faces in battle?" Asked Lourdes, wishing to know the difference in manpower.

"On average, our army usually faces upwards to eighty-thousand, all the way to one-hundred fifty-thousand soldiers; however, the enemy with the largest army among all the different factions is undoubtedly the human army. Although I've never seen it with my own eyes, I've heard they have an army comprised of nearly ten-million soldiers; even though our army is potent, fifteen-thousand men is nothing in the face of ten-million men." Said General Alfhild solemnly as he squinted his eyes, his words not only astonishing the young Lourdes but even some of the nobles who weren't the most informed were astonished.

"T-Ten-million soldiers! How can an army so large even exist!? They have more soldiers than there are living Elves." Remarked Lourdes while finding it impossible to comprehend such a massive army.

"Yes; however, we all don't need to worry; that specific army is currently battling against the Demons and Golems in the Forsaken region." Said the King, his words calming the restless nobles.

"Though, I'm glad you've brought that topic up, Lourdes; that is actually why I've summoned you all to this important meeting." Added the King sternly, garnering the attention of everyone present in the room.

"So this is why you've summoned us, old fogeys." Remarked Sage Lymph while eyeing the King, who merely nodded in response.

"I'm sure you all have realized that while us Elves are incredibly long-lived compared to nearly every other species, there are very few Elves. From my understanding, there are roughly sixty-six thousand Elves in our Kingdom; only a few of us are born every one-hundred-years; we'd be lucky if even a hundred of us are born within a one-thousand-year time frame." Said the King as he paused to catch his breath before continuing.

"However, because of the war, we are losing soldiers faster than our entire species can reproduce, and if it continues at this rate, we'll be extinct before any enemy even breaches the forest that protects our kingdom." Added the King while letting his words sink into everyone's mind.

"Sage Lymph and I have already discussed that a few centuries ago when Sage Hok was still alive; however, no solution was discovered." Said Sage Oakley, though the King's next set of words surprised both her and Sage Lymph.

"It seems like Sage Hok didn't inform you, but the last time I saw him, which was a few decades before he died, the two of us had a secret meeting, so secret that not even the Queen knew. However, during that meeting, the two of us discussed the decline of the Elven population, and while doing so, Sage Hok gave me a solution, one that neither I nor any of you will like, but as the years went on, I became more and more fond of his solution." Declared the King solemnly, and the moment he finished talking, a guard emerged from a hidden spot in the room and approached the King while carrying a sleeping baby.

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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/JXqGGDbc (Note: this link only lasts for one week)

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 170: Punishment Concluded / End of V5) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 51: Lunch) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 81: Color of the Supreme King) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]