398: The Empress's elf, "Lia"

When the last elf's figure disappeared behind the light gate, the portal vanished like shattering glass, leaving no trace of its existence.

You Yu slowly walked to Tudor's side, reached out to remove the mask from his face, revealing a cold and somewhat playful countenance, and whispered, "Lord Judge, this Elven Prince's temper is truly stubborn!"

"Fortunately, he was somewhat sensible and didn't continue to hold out."

Tudor's expression remained unchanged. "It doesn't matter. Once they fall into the hands of the Underworld, even a dragon must coil up, and a tiger must crouch."

"What Her Majesty values is the worth behind their 'pride', not making the royalty yield."

"Besides, next, we just wait for the others." As soon as he finished speaking, the talismans guarding the perimeter sent a faint ripple.

A figure quietly emerged; it was Chiliarch Yin Shu.

Behind him followed ten squads, their members all dressed as Orc slave hunters, with a lingering murderous aura around them, clearly having just finished an operation.

"Lord Judge, Minister You," Yin Shu cupped his fists in greeting and said in a low voice.

"How is the situation?" Tudor asked directly.

Yin Shu took out a jade slip and handed it over. "Reporting to the Lord Judge, this operation captured a total of two thousand and forty-five elves, all of whom are female and have been transferred in batches through the portal."

"Initially, some Blood Elf squads did try to seize them. After I 'communicated' with their superiors as planned, such conflicts have basically been eliminated."

The "communication" Yin Shu spoke of was naturally a double blow of force and profit.

With the main force of the Blood Elves currently launching a full-scale assault on the Eternal Song Fortress, the high-level officials were unwilling to completely fall out with a mysterious and ruthless "Orc slave-hunting party" over a few "scattered scraps of food."

You Yu sneered, "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong—that certainly fits the usual style of those fallen scum."

Tudor scanned the data in the jade slip and nodded slightly. "Well done. Settle these elves properly; Her Majesty has other uses for them."

He paused and looked at Yin Shu. "How much longer can the Eternal Song Fortress hold out?"

Yin Shu's gaze beneath his mask narrowed slightly. "Three days at most. The outer barrier has shattered, and the Blood Elves' offensive disregards casualties. The Elf Race is using their own flesh and blood to fill the defensive lines."

Tudor said no more.

The situation was developing faster than expected; Sabrina's backup plan was indeed ruthless.

He waved his hand, and Yin Shu, taking the hint, bowed again and led his squads silently back into the shadows, as if they had never appeared... Netherworld, Reception Side Hall.

The light was dim, and the cold scent of agarwood floated in the air.

Kailanthos supported the still-weak Arathmir, standing with Ilena and the other elven guards, looking around uneasily.

The aura here made the elves instinctively feel repulsed and oppressed, a stark contrast to the vibrancy of the Everlasting Song Forest.

The only consolation was that the chains suppressing their magic had been removed.

The light and shadow at the palace gate shifted, and a slender figure walked in. The newcomer wore the civil service attire common in the Underworld, not the standard uniform of the Underworld Soldiers.

Her silver hair was simply tied up, revealing a face of peerless purity and beauty. Her long, pointed ears indicated her identity as an elf.

A glimmer of hope from seeing a fellow kin had just risen in Kailanthos's eyes, but when he saw her face clearly, that spark instantly froze, turning into shock and disbelief.

"Leah?"

He blurted out the name, his voice filled with astonishment.

Ilena also recognized this half-sister who had been forced to flee the Royal Court years ago and subconsciously gripped Kailanthos's sleeve.

Leah's gaze calmly swept across every elf present, lingering for a moment on Kailanthos's face without any emotion, as if she were looking at a stranger.

"By Her Majesty's decree, I have come to receive you all." Her voice was cold, betraying no emotion.

"Please follow me; I will arrange a temporary place for you to stay."

Kailanthos took a step forward, his brow furrowed. "Leah, why are you here? What exactly is this place? Who are those people who captured us?"

A string of questions were thrown out in the questioning tone customary of royalty.

Leah stopped in her tracks and turned her head slightly, her green eyes like a calm, deep sea. "Prince Kailanthos, there is no Elven Princess Leah here, only the Underworld Elf 'Leah'."

Her expression was indifferent, yet it felt like a block of deep ice striking Kailanthos's heart.

"As for this place, it is the Netherworld, the land that governs reincarnation. Bringing you here was to give you a way to live. There is no need to ask anything else."

"The Land of Reincarnation?"

Ilena repeated in a low voice, the color draining from her face. For elves who believed in natural life, the shock was too great.

Arathmir's cloudy old eyes snapped open. He looked at Leah, then at his surroundings, and finally let out a long sigh.

He understood the meaning of the words 'Land of Reincarnation' better than the young prince and princess, and he could better appreciate the weight of Leah's phrase "a way to live."

Kailanthos was stung by Leah's attitude, especially the word "Prince," which was filled with detachment and mockery.

He recalled the struggle for the succession within the Royal Court back then, and his face darkened. "Leah, even if you have joined... this place, have you forgotten that you were born of the Elf Race?"

"The Eternal Song Fortress is suffering in blood and fire!"

Leah slowly turned around to face him directly. A very faint ripple finally appeared in her eyes, but it wasn't nostalgia; it was something much colder.

"I haven't forgotten. That's why I remember very clearly who issued the pursuit order that made me flee the Everlasting Song Forest like a stray dog, nearly becoming a sacrifice for Wormrock City."

"Kailanthos, did you and your elders ever think about the survival of the Elf Race back then?"

"Did you ever give your own younger sister a way to live?"

Kailanthos was momentarily speechless. He hadn't been the mastermind behind the events of that year, but he had acquiesced to his mother's decision.

Now that it was exposed by Leah to his face, his royal pride wouldn't allow him to bow his head. He could only hold his ground. "That was for the stability of the Royal Court."

"Tsk, stability?" Leah interrupted him, the corners of her lips curling into a very faint arc, almost one of pity.

"Now, your Royal Court is about to be gone."

The single sentence left Kailanthos flushed with frustration, all his words stuck in his throat.

Ilena looked at her relatives, who were at each other's throats, tears welling in her eyes, but she didn't know what to say.

Leah no longer looked back at those former compatriots, nor did she reminisce about past grievances. She turned toward the outside of the hall. "Follow me. Or, you can choose to stay and wait for the Wraiths or whatever else might come for you."

She walked straight ahead, offering no further words.

Arathmir gently tugged on the prince's sleeve and shook his head.

Kailanthos watched Leah's resolute back, then looked at his scarred clansmen. Finally, he humiliatingly suppressed all his resentment, helped Arathmir up, and followed.

The elves followed Leah in silence, walking through the dim corridors of the Netherworld.

Their former nobility and pride seemed so pale and powerless in the kingdom of the dead.