Chapter 530 - The woods (2/2)

Evelina said smilingly, “I’m saving up my energy for Link. He probably thinks I’m going all the way south without stopping. I’d like to see how he tries to stop me.”

Eliard was speechless. The woman was being excessively cautious. However, unlike her, Eliard knew Link. If he were in the woman’s shoes right now, he would probably exercise the same amount of caution as well.

Once inside the cave, Evelina pushed Eliard into the stone wall. The stone behind Eliard turned into putty. When Eliard had sunk into it, the stone hardened around him once more, forming a stone prison around his body. Only his head remained hanging out from the stone wall.

“Alright now, don’t try anything funny.” Evelina gently patted on Eliard’s face and then chuckled. “Little one, your skin’s still as smooth as a maiden’s.”

Eliard remained silent. He watched as the woman spread out a fur bedding in the cave, ready to spend the night here. He then said, “May I ask you something?”

“Ask away. I’m bored anyway.” Evelina had laid down on the bedding and put her cape over her body like a blanket.

The cave was dark. Eliard did not possess night vision and so could not clearly see the woman’s face. All he could see was a curvaceous silhouette in the darkness and the outline of her pointed ears. However, he was not at all curious about what she looked like. He asked, “I was wondering, as a High Elf Legendary master, why are you helping the Syndicate?”

Evelina laughed. “High Elf? No, only half of the blood flowing in my body is of High Elf origin. I’m like you, a half-elf. Do you really think my life on the Isle of Dawn was a happy one?”

Eliard was stunned. Due to his own High Elf ancestry, he understood what it was like for half-elves like him to live on the Isle of Dawn and be subjected to constant discrimination and disdain from the other High Elves. He was able to understand the woman’s motivations. Why continue staying on such a tiny island and endure the contempt of its inhabitants when a master such as herself would be celebrated anywhere else for her talents?

“Then why choose the Syndicate?” Eliard asked again. He felt that there was no way to compare Ferde and the Syndicate; they were polar opposites of each other. What good could there be in siding with a shadowy group like the Syndicate?

“You ask too many questions.” Evelina laughed and continued, “Though I suppose it’s okay to speak about this to you. There are two reasons why I’m doing this. The first one is that Morpheus had given something good. Naturally, one good deed deserves another, don’t you think?”

“I guess. So what’s the second reason?”

“The second? The second reason is that Link has made way too many enemies. He’s still not strong enough, and it’s only a matter of time before he gets himself killed. If I were to go to Ferde, won’t I be embroiled in his troubles as well?” Evelina chuckled.

Saying this, she turned towards Eliard. “Truth be told, seeing that you’re a half-elf yourself, if you choose to abandon your allegiance to Ferde, I’ll spare your life. If I manage to defeat Link, I may even let you go free.”

Eliard shook his head. “That’s out of the question. Link is my friend. I’ve known him for a long time and have been through many things by his side. I will not betray him.”

“Hmm, and what if he betrays you?” Evelina asked.

Hearing this, Eliard laughed out loud and said, “That won’t happen.”

“If you say so. It’s still too early to be sure of anything. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Eliard added, “I’m aware that Ferde has many enemies. Followers of the God of Destruction, the Syndicate, they’re both enemies of Ferde on the surface. On the other hand, the High Elves pose a threat to Link from the shadows, but if you knew just how powerful Ferde really is, you’d be in for a surprise yourself.”

Evelina was now more inclined to continue the conversation. “Well, at least you aren’t completely clueless about the state of Ferde. But don’t get too cocky. You need to understand just how powerful the High Elves are.”

“How powerful are they?” Eliard was curious about this himself. It was a question he had been meaning to find an answer to. But the Isle of Dawn was too isolated from the outside world, and so the answer had eluded Eliard for a long time.

Evelina raised three fingers. “Three things to keep in mind. Firstly, the High Elves have a huge number of Magicians. As of right now, there are 80,000 Magicians above Level-6 among the High Elves.”

“What? That many?” Eliard was taken aback upon hearing this.

“Of course. Most of these Magicians are below Level-10, but with the increase of Mana concentration around the world, there are now 5 Level-10 masters from the Isle of Dawn, myself included. Soon, this number will increase.”

Eliard sucked in his breath. “And the other two points?”

“The other two… I won’t tell you.”

“Why?”

Evelina explained, “I simply left the Isle of Dawn, doesn’t mean I intend to betray it. Why would I tell you the island’s layout? Unless…”

“Unless what?” Eliard asked hastily.

“Unless you promise that you’ll leave Ferde as well. There doesn’t seem to be much hope left in that place, anyway.”

Eliard shook his head. “Forget it then.”

Despite saying this, Eliard was still trying to figure out how to extract such an important piece of information out of her. He needed to report this to Link.

Evelina yawned. “Fine, it’s getting late. I’m going to sleep. I’ll need to save up my strength and be prepared for anything.”

Silence fell upon the cave. Only the sound of wind and flowing water could be heard from outside.

After spending two hours in silence, Eliard’s ears suddenly pricked up to a muffled commotion outside the cave. Has Link caught up to them? thought Eliard hopefully.

Evelina had sat up. She strained her ears to listen to the sound outside. A few seconds later, she said with an irritated voice, “Oh, these people just won’t leave me alone. I already told them I wouldn’t be going back, and still, they keep pestering me.”