17 The Magnolia Fores (2/2)

”I, Diana Lockear, shall accept your surrender”, the elven leader spoke in a clear voice.

A few seconds later, Selene fell on the ground. An arrow had pierced her head. She had been killed in cold blood.

The Water Troop had been ma.s.sacred in the Magnolia Forest, its commander Selene Dawins, a rising star, had fallen. In the middle of the night a cold winter, ambushed and failing to cause even one tenth of the damage they received, the Water Troop would never get back on its feet. Everyone knew that. Some knights were traumatized by the experience, others were bleeding to death and wouldn't survive till next sunrise. All in all, only 50 knights or so would survive and be captured as prisoners.

A few days later, shock, incredulousness, sadness, anger. A flurry of emotions soared through the elders in the Water Fortress upon hearing the news from a scout. How could it be? What kind of forces could contend against several hundreds of knights, and a few acolytes? How come the elves were so strong?

It must be known that because of elves' low fertility rate, elven settlements with more than a few hundred individuals were extremely rare. Most of elves were nomads, or hermits, living in communion with nature. Elven large settlements, like the one in Magnolia Forest, were unique and very rarely seen in Alphen, much less in the Phuinem Kingdom! If the elders heard about Diana Lockear, a pseudo-adept powerhouse, protecting the settlement, they would cough blood! However, the scout who reported to them only saw a pile of bones and flesh, drown into a sea of blood. He had been so frightened that he came back to the Water Fortress immediately.

Of course, this was all part of Diana's plan. If she wanted to, she had thousands of means to deal with a mere scout with preparatory knight physique! She wanted the power who had invaded her territory to know what they were capable of. This way, she would have the higher grounds in future negotiations.

'No wonder the Huntingwood family supreme elder was laughing at me when I shared with him my plans of conquering the Magnolia forest…what a cunning b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you must be laughing, right?', elder Water Dragon thought.

There were ten elders in the room. Originally, there were 15 elders, but Drodosis' parents, elders themselves, were out in a special confidential mission, while three elders had been either brutally murdered in the Magnolia forest, or captured. Their fate was unknown. This was a huge blow to the Thornfield higher-up's confidence!

The remaining elders were more or less famous in the Water Fortress. Supreme Elder Water Dragon, head of the clan and most powerful man in the family, held unmatched prestige in the Fortress, loved and feared by everyone.

Elder Ice, Drodosis' aunt Lily, and her husband Elder Hugo, were the only 2 advanced acolytes in the building, and had contributed quite a lot to the family.

Count Hubert, here as Elder Spear, owner of the Elysian County, also possessed tremendous influence here.

However, the one with the most influence in this room, besides Water Dragon, was Elder Blue Beard. The old intermediate acolyte, with his long and majestic blue beard, looked like a grandpa. However weak he looked like, he was the most important craftsman in the Thornfield family, someone who knew alchemy better than anyone in the region.

His greatest creation was the Internal Energy elixir, a potion he could brew once out of ten times successfully. Despite using very precious ingredients and the cost of refining just one elixir was over 100 magic crystals, this potion enabled a preparatory knight to break through. Not to mention that it enabled one to get past a bottleneck, it also had very beneficial effects to one's strength and physique. However, the secondary effects were quite dreadful: unimaginable pain which would last for the three days and three nights following consumption, and because the elixir used the 'Negative Flower' famous petals, it also decreased one's lifespan by 15 years, a sacrifice that very few people could accept.

However, this potion was the reason why the Thornfield family had so many loyal knights as subordinates. Unlike other families, the Thornfield family didn't hire outsiders. This why the Thornfield family rarely had any spy or betrayer in its inner or outside circles. This was a huge advantage! The Water Troop was the crystallisation of Elder Blue Beard's genius, with more than 150 knights within it, some having broken through the intermediate realm, others stuck but still strong as novice knights. Now, the Water Troop was no more than a ghost of what it used to be.

He seemed to have aged by several years, he seemed furious.

The other elders were trembling, not knowing how to react, seeing their colleague, usually easy-going and happy, showing such a frightening stare radiating with killing intent!

The other elders had less influence, but still possessed a minimum of intermediate acolyte cultivation. The most famous was Elder Silver, financial heart of the Thornfield family, someone who dealt with n.o.ble territories and evaluated how much they could reap harvests from the lords, and he was also the keeper of the family's heirlooms. He was Drodosis' great uncle.

Elder Justice was a middle-aged woman, but instead of combat power, her field was judgement. She had mastered unique spells she came across in her youth in some ruins, spells which allowed her to determine the truth and investigate on events. She had tracked several betrayers, and managed to get the truth out of hundreds of captured prisoners! She represented righteousness and truth in the family.

Elder Gale was the library's keeper, and the most scholar-like elder in the room. He was also the most knowledgeable, having spent his life with books. He was as old as Water Dragon, nearing his seventies. Yet, he was healthier and only looked like 40.

Elder Shadow, always hidden under his hood, was named leader of the Shadow Order, a spying and investigating organization answering to Water Dragon only. With the new flow of Huntingwood's acolytes full of potential, and soul bound to the family, the Shadow Order had grown incredibly powerful.

Elder Turtle was an average man who had risen to the peak of the intermediate acolyte realm, and after transplanting an elder water turtle sh.e.l.l on his back, his defence was unmatched in the whole family. He had accomplished many feats in his prime, hence his status. However, he was just a secondary family's descendant, and obviously lacked influence and strength when compared to the other elders.

Elder Windcaller, an outsider who was adopted into the family, possessing wind affinities and having peak intermediate acolyte strength, was quite influential.

These 10 elders were all very respected in the family, some were even feared. Bards sang praises of their achievements on a daily basis in taverns, cantines and even castles!

However, someone broke into the confidential meeting room. Someone who was young, very young, compared to them. Blue Beard looked at the youth: ripped muscles, a foxy-like att.i.tude, and a huge scar surrounding his left eye, which seemed completely unhuman. Wild and unrestrained, he was a problem child, very contrasting with the respectable elders in the room.

”Who dares to…”, the hot-tempered Elder turtle exclaimed, only to be interrupted.

Drodosis had proved his worth quite a few times in the Huntingwood war, but laid low for a while. The Ironcloud Knight Order had been founded, but no one knew what it did in the past few months.

”Hi, grandpa!”, Drodosis emphasized on his status, by showing off his connection with the supreme elder of the family.

His grandfather was narrowing his eyes, 'what kind of scheme is he planning?'

In the past three months, Drodosis had interacted more than once with elders, and he had benefited quite a bit. He had successfully armoured all of his subordinates with the most finely crafted ironcloud armours which could be found in the treasury, and their ironcloud spears were even more precious, yet Drodosis looted it all, saying his order would be laughable if it wasn't really equipped with Ironcloud gears, despite being called the Ironcloud Knight Order!

After long negotiations, and duels, Drodosis proved his strength and was given what he wanted. Yet…he never lifted a finger to contribute to the family, even when the elders offered him the opportunity to do a joint cooperation with the Water Troops.

”What are you doing here, Drodosis?”, Elder Water Dragon said. Despite having white hair and wrinkles, his vigour had not diminished one bit, instead being at his peak. He still had at least forty years in front of him, and his authority was extraordinary.

”I am here because you have a problem: The Magnolia Forest, and I happen to have a solution: the Ironcloud Knight Order”, Drodosis said straightforwardly, full of confidence.

An eerie silence followed his says. Shock, doubt, hope. They all felt that. But n.o.body said anything.

<script>