Advent of the Archmage
chapter-534

The sky was a fiery red. In the midst of the inferno, a red silhouette landed with a bang like a meteorite.

When the silhouette approached, a white light flashed across it. All sound died off, and a man materialized beneath a tree out of thin air.

The man's black eyes gleamed beneath his black hair. He was wearing a dark blue battle robe with silver linings. A red magic sword with dragon scales dangled from his waist. His body was shrouded by a mist, which gradually thickened around him until he was completely obscured by it.

From the mist, a deadpan voice rang out, "Quite a party you have here."

Dread came across the three High Elf Magicians' faces. They were aware of Link's feats. Half a year ago, he had dueled with Bryant, one of the most powerful Magicians among the High Elves. Since then, Bryant was reluctant to share the outcome of their duel with anyone. It was clear that he had lost badly to Link.

Half a year had passed, and young Legendary talents had emerged from the Isle of Dawn ever since. However, none of them had forgotten that the Lord of Ferde was a lot younger than any of them when he reached Legendary and possessed an innate potential to develop himself even further.

There was no telling how much more Link, who was first to reach Legendary in Firuman, would still able to grow. It was simply unthinkable.

Right now, his mere presence had managed to unnerve the three High Elves.

Despite not knowing why he had come, they were not so foolish as to dispense with formalities, especially when they were dealing with Link himself. Elovan stepped forth and bowed down before him. "My lord, it is an honor to meet you."

Without a word, Link eyed his surroundings and noticed a heavily injured Evelina on the top of a tree near him. She was leaning against Eliard, whose hand gingerly held her body. He had not anticipated such a development.

Eliard had buried himself in his magical studies and was generally unmoved by the female gender ever since his last breakup. Link had never seen him so concerned over another woman's well-being.

From the looks of things, he must be infatuated with this woman, who seemed to reciprocate his feelings as well. In that case, Link saw no reason not to help them out here.

After thinking for a while, he said to the High Elves, "I've come to apprehend a fugitive of Ferde. She's a half-elf called Evelina. Have you seen her?"

The three High Elves looked at each other for a moment. Elovan then asked carefully, "I don't suppose you would care to share with us what crimes Evelina has committed?"

Link gravely replied, "She was found guilty of conspiring against the Southmoon Kingdom. Her actions have basically turned the kingdom upside down. She has even abducted my best friend, Eliard. Don't you think she should be tried for such crimes?"

"Well..." Elovan was left speechless.

Just then, Sonya walked up and said, "My lord, I won't try to hide the facts. We're also trying to bring Evelina to justice, but we did not realize that she had committed such offenses. Though she is a princess of the High Elves, she has shamelessly joined the Syndicate. The Isle of Dawn does not tolerate traitors like her. Rest assured, she'll be executed on the spot once we find her. We will most certainly not cause you any trouble."

"Straight execution, you say?" Link was stunned. He did not realize that Evelina was in such a tight spot. She had basically turned her back on the Isle of Dawn. He had never encountered such a scenario in the game.

On the tree, Evelina had gone pale.

Eliard too was shocked by this. He then immediately came to his senses and smiled coldly at her. "Ha, so your name's Evelina. Nice name, not too bright though. See, this is the Isle of Dawn you're trying to protect. These people are intent on killing you."

He was not worried about being heard by the High Elves beneath the tree. The Folded Dimension was soundproof. Though he could hear everything outside the Folded Dimension, no one else could hear him.

Beneath the tree

Link was the only one who was aware of everything around him. He glanced up at the two on top of the tree and noticed Evelina's dejected expression. For a moment, he had the same thought as Eliard: it would be a great boon to him if she were to join forces with Ferde.

And so, he waved a hand at the three High Elves and said, "No need to concern yourselves, I'll handle this myself. I've already found her anyway. She's hiding on top of that tree, so why don't you just go back home and let me take care of this?"

Elovan immediately caught on to what Link had in mind. If Evelina was any other Magician, they would be fine letting Link take her in. But she had mastered a wide array of Legendary spells native to the Isle of Dawn. If Ferde took in someone like her, the Dawn of Isle's magical knowledge would be revealed to the outside world.

He looked up at the top of the tree. As a Folded Dimension was cast on it, he could vaguely sense the presence of someone in it. He had no way of knowing who was in the Folded Dimension, though.

Left with no other option, he spoke, "My lord, I would not dare hide this from you, so I'll just say it right now. Evelina has betrayed the High Elf race, and the elders on our island have demanded that she be executed on the spot..."

Link slowly shook his head. "I think you misheard me. There's nothing else for you to do here. Whatever goes on in the Isle of Dawn has nothing to do with me. If you still wish to carry out an execution, you'll have to wait until I'm done interrogating her."

"You..." Elovan choked up in exasperation.

The three High Elves exchanged solemn looks with each other. This time, Milose stepped forward. His expression was one of humility and respect. "My lord, how about this? We take Evelina with us, while you take back Eliard, and the Isle of Dawn will compensate you for your losses. What do you think?"

Link fell silent. A few seconds later, he spoke, "I'm not in the habit of repeating myself a third time. Go. Now."

There was no turning back at this point.

The three High Elves were in their youth. The oldest among them, Elovan, was no more than 50 years old. They were all brimming with youthful vigor. Seeing that their negotiations had hit a dead end, their faces darkened considerably.

The female High Elf took another step forward. "My lord, we respect you, but that doesn't mean you can do as you please. If still you insist on walking this path, I guess we have no choice but to settle this the old-fashioned way."

Saying this, she pulled out her magic wand. Though it seemed like an ordinary tree branch, unimaginable amounts of Nature Power flowed within it.

The other two High Elves had followed suit. Their wands resembled branches as well.

Though their wands did not look aesthetically pleasing, they were in fact carved out from the High Elves' World Tree, and they possessed unimaginable power. In the game world, these branches were the standard gear of every Legendary High Elf master.

Judging from the stances they had taken, it seemed that they were now ready for combat.

Link sighed. He placed a hand on the pommel of his Dragon King's Fury sword. His voice had grown cold. "You are among the finest the Dawn of Isle has to offer. It would be quite a waste to throw away your lives like that before my sword. How about this: I'll just stand here without moving, and I'll let you youngins hit me first with your best spells. If you're able to make me move an inch, that means I lose, and you get to take Evelina away. But if you can't even do that, you go back home. What do you think?"

If he were anyone else other than the Lord of Ferde, Link would not have given himself such a handicap. He would have struck first and killed all three of them with three quick stabs of his sword.

However, Ferde was not in a position to incur the Isle of Ferde's wrath at the moment. He could not just kill the youngest talents of the Isle of Dawn without any reason.

Even so, it was arrogant of Link to offer such a handicap. They were all Legendary masters, and Link stood all alone against the three High Elves. He was evidently belittling them!

All three High Elves were now red with anger. They would not stand for such mockery!

Youngins? They've been studying magic for more than 30 years, and how long had Link only been a Magician? Only two years or so!

Evelina looked on wordlessly at this. She asked Eliard in a low voice, "He's not serious, is he? He's going to kill himself! Even Bryant would not dare pick a fight with all three at the same time!"

Eliard shrugged. "I don't know. But I know for a fact that Link would not do anything he was unsure of."

Below the tree, Elovan took a deep breath and calmed his nerves down. He knew that this was the only possible road out of their current dilemma. "My lord, isn't this a bit ridiculous?"

"I'm not one to joke about such a thing." Link gave him a faint smile.

"Alright, then allow us to give you a taste of the true power of the High Elves' Nature Magic!"