Chapter 723: No One Can Save You
And the misfortune seems to be growing worse. According to the Grand Elder's calculations, in another twenty years, it will trigger an irreversible catastrophe...
The Second Elder spoke of this with a pained expression, and the other elders didn't look any better.
At the current rate, in twenty years, the entire Dark Elf race will lose the ability to reproduce. Only a handful of adult Dark Elves will remain—these will be the last of our kind. Once they pass away, the Dark Elves will be utterly extinct.
Leon listened to the Second Elder, nodding quietly to himself.
Just as I thought!
In the future, there will be a Title Archmage named Curis Quinn. He once entered the Blazeforge Realm, and when he left, he suddenly possessed a strange Essence Relic.
Back then, Curis was just an ordinary mage with no background, pitifully lacking even a single Essence Relic. When he entered the Blazeforge Realm, he was only a Fifth-Rank Title Archmage; his strongest artifact was merely a mediocre Soulbound Relic staff.
With no connections, he had no resources. His journey was full of setbacks. By the time he reached Fifth-Rank Title Archmage, even with decent talent, he had hit a wall—he couldn't compete for any of the resources he needed.
Whenever he discovered ruins, he couldn't outcompete other Title Archmages of the same rank. He remained stuck at Fifth-Rank for over a hundred years.
He wanted to visit powerful factions to view magic tomes, but couldn't afford the price. Even when trading, he lacked anything valuable enough to exchange.
Everything changed after Curis visited the Blazeforge Realm, searching for ruins.
After returning to the Northend World from the Blazeforge Realm, Curis immediately joined another expedition for ruins. At that time, the team included several Eighth-Rank Title Archmages. For a Fifth-Rank Title Archmage with no backing, joining such a group was extremely dangerous, and there was no guarantee he'd get any valuable rewards. It was better to search on his own.
Sure enough, once the expedition began, Curis took on the most dangerous tasks. After making a substantial gain, the three Eighth-Rank leaders kicked Curis out, giving him nothing. When Curis argued, they even tried to kill him.
At that moment, Curis revealed a strange Essence Relic. The relic's avatar was bizarre—it could summon the souls of Dark Elves.
Dark Elves had vanished from Northend World for countless years, and few knew how to fight them. The outcome was obvious: three Eighth-Rank Title Archmages were instantly killed by three Dark Elf wraiths of Seventh-Rank strength.
A dozen instant-cast advanced spells struck, giving the three Eighth-Rank Title Archmages no time to react—they were killed on the spot.
Curis claimed the rich rewards for himself. From then on, he relied on this strange relic that could summon Dark Elf wraiths, venturing into ruins and amassing greater gains.
He overcame countless dangers thanks to the Dark Elf wraiths. With enough resources, Curis rapidly advanced, breaking through to Sky Rank in just over a hundred years.
Even after reaching Sky Rank, Curis continued using this strange relic to explore ruins, eventually becoming a powerful Sky Rank mage.
Among Curis's exploits, he acquired several Essence Relics, but the records focus most on the strange relic that could summon Dark Elf wraiths—a phenomenon almost unheard of in Northend's history.
At the time, Leon was researching Dark Elves and noticed something odd about this relic's avatar. Logically, such a powerful and unique relic should be well documented in history, but there were no records at all.
It only appears in records when it was in Curis's possession.
It was as if the relic had simply appeared out of nowhere.
Strangely, the relic's avatar could only summon Dark Elf wraiths.
Back then, Leon speculated that the relic's avatar was actually the avatar of the Life Sigil Crystal!
Due to the Dark Elves' unique nature—their life and power come from the Life Sigil Crystal—their wraiths can't be summoned by necromancers, let alone retain most of their original power and only summon Dark Elf wraiths.
Only the avatar of the Life Sigil Crystal could achieve this; nothing else could.
Now that I've arrived at the Dark Elf enclave, my guess was right—the avatar of the Life Sigil Crystal is missing!
If history follows its normal course, this Dark Elf enclave will likely fade away in time. Elsa, the Dark Elf with the Skyblood lineage, will perish as well, never getting a chance to shine.
Combining what the Second Elder said, Leon pondered. If that's truly the case, then maybe there's a way.
After a moment's thought, Leon raised his head and looked at the Second Elder.
I can try to help you recover the avatar of the Life Sigil Crystal, but I have one condition.
You're delusional!
Hearing Leon's words, the Third Elder was completely enraged. He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked and glared fiercely at Leon.
Damn outsider, this is your scheme, isn't it? It must be your scheme! I don't know how you got this information, but why didn't you say anything before? Why say it now, right when we're about to arrest you?
A scheme! This is a complete scheme! Yes, you must have done those things before, and now you want to escape—it's not that easy!
The Third Elder felt a chill in his heart, a look of unwillingness flashed in his eyes.
Damn it, today no one can save you...
The Third Elder could no longer maintain his righteous composure. Because Leon spoke so clearly and knew so much, all previous suspicions and accusations could be dispelled.
Even if there was evidence of a grand conspiracy against the Dark Elf enclave, there would be no way to act against Leon now.
The fate of the entire race is paramount; nothing else compares to the possibility of total extinction. Everything else must be set aside.
The Third Elder screamed hysterically, looking ready to kill Leon on the spot.
The Fourth Elder stood expressionless beside him, magical energy surging around him, making it clear that if the Third Elder dared attack, he would retaliate without hesitation.
Leon stood aside, shooting a cold smile at the Third Elder. He didn't even bother to channel his magic, clearly unafraid.
Just as the Third Elder was about to lose control, the Second Elder barked coldly: "Third Elder, do you realize what you're doing?"
At that moment, the Third Elder seemed to snap out of it. Looking around, he saw the Second and Fourth Elders staring coldly at him, even the Fifth Elder was frowning, and the stewards looked displeased.
The Third Elder felt a chill in his heart, a look of unwillingness flashed in his eyes.
It's over. There's no way to deal with this damned outsider now. These fools are actually siding with him, even the Second Elder, usually the peacemaker, is supporting him so strongly...
This outsider's background is unknown. Ever since he appeared, our enclave has suffered losses. Now he knows all these secrets—there must be a grand conspiracy. He must know where the avatar of the Life Sigil Crystal is! If we interrogate him, even scour his soul, we'll find it...
The Third Elder gritted his teeth, making a final stand, but Leon just sneered in silence.
The Fourth Elder was the first to speak, sneering: "Third Elder, you've spent years purging rivals—we all know it. You're targeting Merlin because your son had a conflict with him, aren't you? At a time like this, with our entire race on the brink, you're still hung up on a personal grudge?"
The Third Elder's face turned red as he glared at the Fourth Elder, but before he could speak, the Second Elder interrupted him forcefully.
Third Elder, you have to understand—the Queen has been searching for years, risking her life, but still hasn't found the avatar. In twenty years, our race will be doomed. Merlin is our greatest hope. I don't care how he knows these things, but he may know more than any of us. This is our best chance to find the avatar. Your son's personal grudge must be set aside!
With that, no one could argue. The Second Elder had the most authority with the Grand Elder absent, and even the Fifth Elder stayed silent, tacitly agreeing.
Even the stewards who usually supported the Third Elder fell silent, some showing clear discontent. Everyone understood the gravity of the situation—their families had all been affected, and even descendants born in the last century suffered.
Jairus, who had been shouting earlier, now had a red face and didn't dare say a word. Even those nearby distanced themselves, as if to avoid association.
The Third Elder's face was dark as he glared viciously at Leon.