Chapter 430: Greed of the High Elves
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Bryant was caught by a Levitation spell by one of the High Elf elders.
The High Elf queen frowned as she looked at Link. "What happened here?"
"He killed Ravenna!" Bryant shouted, before even letting Link have a chance to reply. Saying so, Bryant spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and glared hatefully at Link. If looks could kill, Link would be dead many times over.
Bryant was disgraced. Initially, he had come to take revenge for his granddaughter. However, his hatred for Link reached new heights after he was defeated disgracefully in the presence of the queen and the elders.
The High Elf queen's expression turned dark.
She was not aware of the circumstances surrounding Ravenna's death. A few moments ago, she received a report saying that Bryant had utilized the High Elf's teleportation portal.
Among the High Elves, the portal was classified as a strategic weapon that could transport anyone anywhere throughout Firuman. For a Legendary-level Magician to use it was not a small matter that could easily be overlooked.
The moment she saw that the teleportation target was Ferde, she feared that something might happen and immediately summoned two High Elf elders to go along with her.
Once she reached the harbor, she saw the dismembered corpse. However, due to the head being missing, she didn't immediately recognize it as Ravenna's corpse.
She never expected that Ravenna would have died in Link's hands. This would be trouble.
Ravenna was not just Bryant's daughter. She was also a member of the High Elf royal family. Her mother and grandmother were both of direct descent from the High Elf Royals.
In fact, Ravenna could also be considered a High Elf princess. She was blessed with talent since young and reached Level-9 by the time she reached 48 years old. However, because of her bloodline, she did not qualify for the throne. Nonetheless, she was still famous on the Isle of Dawn, and there was nobody that didn't know her.
Many High Elf's secretly thought that Ravenna could be the next Legendary Magician from the elves.
Now, a talent like Ravenna had died at Link's hands. Not only was she infuriated, but the two elders also were affected strongly by the news.
Bryant clenched his jaw and continued, "Not only did he kill her, but he also tortured her in the cruelest manner. Your Majesty, I must have revenge for my granddaughter!"
The High Elf queen's face was dark as she looked at Link. "Lord Link, is this the truth?"
Link shook his head. "I did not kill her."
Bryant immediately argued, struggling to stand up. "He's lying! I've seen the battleground. There were only two auras there. Besides Ravenna, there was only him! If it wasn't him, don't tell me Ravenna tortured herself to death?"
As he said this, Bryant drew out a spare wand and got ready to take action.
However, hearing what Link had to say, the queen and the two elders breathed a sigh of relief. The reason was simple. If Link had truly done it, the matter would never be resolved today.
If it wasn't resolved, then the four of them would no longer be able to leave the place alive.
When she saw that Bryant was still going to continue talking, the High Elf queen gestured for him to stay silent. She looked at Link and asked, "Lord Link, would you mind explaining what happened?"
Link finally eased up. This was the proper attitude if they wanted to talk things through.
Link nodded and began recounting how he encountered the thief that stole the Legendary Magician Gewell's Hidden Seal, until his encounter and battle with Ravenna. It was only after he finished talking about the God of Destruction's involvement in the battle did he finish.
Link raised his hand and said, "This was what happened. I swear upon the name of the God of Light, everything that I've spoken is true."
"Oaths have no way to bind you. Where is the evidence?" Bryant rejected Link's oath.
Link was a Legendary Magician that could even travel across dimensions. For someone like this, oaths were literally useless.
"All the evidence has been wiped clean by the God of Destruction. He was very thorough, and even the memory crystal that I recorded has been wiped clean. Look, there's nothing inside at all."
Link took out a transparent crystal from his dimensional bracelet and handed it over.
As he saw the crystal, Bryant laughed. "Hah! You take out a piece of crystal that was never used, and you say that the evidence was wiped away? That's still no proof! Say what you will, but what I saw was that you tortured my granddaughter to death!"
Link couldn't be bothered to deal with Bryant. This legend of the past was already blinded by vengeance. There was no point in trying to reason with him.
The High Elf queen was silent for a long while. Finally, she spoke. "Lord, can we trust you?"
As she asked this, she stared deeply at Link, especially into his eyes.
Link did not avoid her gaze, and said calmly, "If I really did kill Ravenna, there would be no need to leave her corpse behind, nor would I need to torture her. Furthermore, if I really wanted to kill her, then Bryant would not be standing here right now, and the three of you would have no chance to be questioning me right now."
As he said this, Link took a deep breath and prepared for the worst outcome.
Bryant laughed coldly. "There's nothing impossible in the world. Who knows what you're thinking…"
This time, however, he was interrupted by the High Elf queen. "Alright! This stops here! Link didn't kill Ravenna; it was done by the God of Destruction."
Bryant wanted to argue, but he checked himself. He could see that this queen who was 200 years younger than him was already enraged. Nonetheless, she was still the queen, and he needed to give her face.
The High Elf queen looked slightly apologetic and said, "Lord Link, this is my clan's responsibility. Ravenna was greedy. There's nothing to say for it. Let me compensate you for it."
The queen took out a textbook.
"This is one of the treasured magic books saved by my clan. It was written by the Legendary Magician Darfa 800 years ago. Take it as your compensation."
The magic book floated over to Link, and Link caught hold of it. On the cover, it was written The Anchor of Space in deep gold letters. Link leafed through the pages and was very impressed by what he read.
Link was pleased with this compensation and said, "I accept the apology. Bring Bryant back with you. As for this wand… Alright, I'll return it as well."
Link threw the Fiona's Touch wand back to Bryant.
Bryant caught it. His expression was cold and dark, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
The High Elf queen then walked forward and gestured, "Lord Link, if you don't mind, can we speak in private?"
Link knew that the queen wanted to ask about Milda, so he nodded and agreed.
After walking for 90 feet, the High Elf queen created a soundproof barrier and asked, "How is Milda doing right now?"
"She's in Aragu and has already reached the Legendary level. My puppet is by her side, and I left a Loco stone with her that I can use to teleport to her side. If there's any danger, she can use it to contact me, but so far, I haven't heard anything," Link replied.
No news was good news.
The High Elf queen exhaled in relief. "Thank you… Is it possible for you to give me the coordinates of the Loco stone? Perhaps I may be able to lend her a hand."
Although the other party was Milda's mother and it was fair for her to ask for the coordinates, Link was considering other implications of this request. In the end, he nodded and agreed. He took out a rune stone and channeled his Dragon Power into it, at the same time inputting a dimensional coordinate within it.
"Take this to a Spatial Magician. He should know what to do with it." Link handed the rune stone over. As he did this, he stared hard into the High Elf queen's eyes. He noticed that in the pair of eyes that were almost identical to Milda, there was a trace of unbridled joy.
This was not something that would appear in a mother's expression. Link sighed. He had guessed that the queen had other intentions. Nonetheless, he still had no reason to refuse. Some things simply should not be mentioned. If the other party went overboard, he would then think of a way to make them pay it back.
"Understood." The High Elf queen kept the rune stone, and then said, "Bryant did what he did because of what happened to his granddaughter. From now on, I will keep an eye on him and prevent him from running wild. Let's put an end to this matter, alright?"
Link turned to look at Bryant, who was staring at him hatefully. There was evident hatred in the dark green eyes.
Seeing this light, he knew that he had now become irreconcilable enemies with Bryant. However, since the High Elf queen had promised to keep an eye on Bryant, Link nodded. "To me, this matter is over. I'll take it that this matter never happened."
"My thanks," the queen replied.
Then, Link's body was enveloped in white light. By the time the white light dispersed, Link had teleported away, leaving the four elves alone in the canyon.
"Your Majesty, Ravenna cannot die in vain," Bryant protested.
The High Elf queen looked at him coldly and asked, "And what would you have me do?"
Bryant bit his teeth and said, "We must sanction against Link! He is the killer, and he is out of control. He must die!"
"Even if he were the killer, this matter ends here!" The queen said, leaving no room for disagreement. "Ravenna died in Ferde territory, and she was here to steal a book. That is a disgrace to our race!"
"Ravenna cannot possibly be trying to steal a book! She doesn't need to!" Bryant protested.
When he heard this, one of the High Elf elders spoke. "I'm afraid this is true. I can feel that Gewell's Hidden Seal is somewhere nearby. That proves that at least some of what Link said is true."
With the presence of the Hidden Seal, that was sufficient proof. Bryant wanted to protest further, but he realized that he couldn't come up with anything reasonable. After thinking for a moment, he sighed and said, "Link will not be useful to our race. He's not a great threat. This book is a good reason to deal with him."
The High Elves were once the rulers of the continent a thousand years ago. They oppressed whoever they wanted. Now that Link was rising up and they had no way to contain him, he posed a threat to the elves. If there was a need, they would have to take action against him.
Once Bryant said this, the three High Elves became silent in thought.
After a moment, the High Elf queen said, "We'll talk about this later. I've gotten the coordinates of Aragu. Once we return, I will first contact Milda. From what it seems, the Mana density in Aragu is extremely high. If we are able to open a dimensional portal, we might be able to produce a huge batch of Legendary experts. At that time, Link would no longer be able to pose a threat, and our clan can regain our former glory!"
Hearing this, the other two elders showed signs of excitement on their face. Bryant also smiled, but the look in his eyes was cold. Exactly what he was thinking, nobody knew.
Meanwhile, Link had returned to the harbor and met up with Felina.
"The thief was extremely tricky, I lost him," Felina said, dismayed.
"No problem. Let's go, we'll return to the magic tower."
Link was going to prepare some magic equipment, one that could detect any changes in the dimension that Firuman lay in. As long as anyone tried to open a portal that could cross dimensions, he would be able to detect it using this equipment.
Although he had given the coordinates the High Elves, things weren't that simple. He needed to have a handle on the High Elves' movements.
Even though they were allies, the High Elves were ultimately of another race, one that was similar to the Dark Elves. This was something that could not be easily overlooked.