The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 549: The Dark Elf’s Predicament

Shien was above the Elven Homeland, suspended in mid-air, bathed in the cascading waterfall of evil aura, as if undergoing a baptism of darkness. However, his eyes were clear and bright, unaffected by the aura. Thanks to the [Supreme God’s Blessing], the evil god’s power was nothing to him.

But as Shien gazed at the Tegor Forest, now engulfed in darkness, his eyes were cold.

“You can’t escape now, can you?” Shien sneered.

Suddenly, Shien looked down towards the Elven Homeland.

“As expected, they’ve been alerted.” He murmured.

Several figures flew out from the Elven Homeland. One was enveloped in emerald green light, another surrounded by swirling leaves, and the third carried by fragrant flower petals.

The three legendary archmages of the Elven Race, braving the descending waterfall of evil aura, came to Shien.

“What are you doing, Earl Buztout!?” Sophie, radiating emerald light, her staff in hand, floated before Shien, her face anxious and questioning.

Not only Sophie, but Leia and Nia also looked at the Tegor Forest, engulfed in darkness, with fear and disbelief, unable to imagine what had become of the largest monster forest in the human world.

They had all heard the rumors about Lilith, the evil god who, ten thousand years ago, had plunged a continent into darkness with her madness-inducing power, turning it into hell, forcing the Divine Race and the Demon Race to temporarily halt their war. This evil god, whose power rivaled even Demon Lords, was on par with Artemis, the Goddess of Justice, and stronger than the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Nature.

Now, although this evil god had regained her sanity and was no longer out of control, who would have thought that today, she would suddenly unleash her power and turn the entire Tegor Forest into a land of evil aura?

And judging from Shien’s appearance, this clearly had something to do with him. Sophie sensed a chill emanating from him, his usually frivolous demeanor replaced by a cold indifference.

Sophie realized that all this was probably Shien’s doing.

But just as she was about to question him, Shien said calmly,

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. Soon, after I’ve done what I need to do, everything will return to normal.”

“Return to normal?” Sophie was taken aback.

“That’s right.” Shien said directly, “Lilith’s power is terrifying, capable of driving any living being mad, turning them into creatures of evil and chaos. And it’s a transformation at the soul level, eroding their very existence.”

These words shocked Sophie.

Transforming the soul?

Eroding existence?

This was the power of the strongest evil god, the one who governed evil and chaos?

How terrifying!

No wonder… no wonder a continent had fallen ten thousand years ago. Facing such power, even she couldn’t resist for long. If constantly exposed to this evil aura, she would eventually become a mindless monster. If directly targeted by Lilith’s power, Sophie wouldn’t even be able to resist for a second.

Realizing this, Sophie’s face paled, and Leia and Nia were also shocked and angered.

Fortunately…

“It’s not irreversible.” Shien said calmly, “As long as they don’t stay in that state for too long, before the transformation of their souls is complete, Lilith can restore them at any time.”

So, it was only temporary.

“Please just watch and don’t interfere.” Shien looked at Sophie. “Just make sure no elves leave the Elven Homeland.”

Now, the Elven Homeland, protected by the barrier, was the only safe haven in the Tegor Forest, untouched by the evil aura.

As long as the elves stayed within, they wouldn’t be affected.

Of course, since Lilith wasn’t specifically targeting anyone, the erosion of the evil aura was relatively weak. A powerful archmage like Sophie should be able to resist it to some extent, using defensive magic or spells that countered negative statuses, at least for a while.

But eventually, no one could escape being corrupted by the evil aura.

After all, this was the evil aura released by Lilith herself, far stronger than the residual aura Shien encountered in Cosmos.

“That’s how the Stalim family’s First Knight Order, the Empire’s Second Princess, and the Severed Blade Knights disappeared.”

Shien said.

“Please don’t do anything reckless.”

Before Sophie could respond, Leia and Nia were enraged.

“Who’s being reckless here!?”

“After we treated you with such courtesy, this is how you treat us and the entire Tegor Forest!?”

Leia and Nia strongly condemned him.

Sophie also stared at Shien with a grim expression, seemingly wanting an explanation.

Shien, however, wasn’t in the mood for explanations.

“I’ll only say this once.” Shien said indifferently, “The Dark Elf has appeared.”

These words shocked Sophie, Leia, and Nia.

“What…!?” Leia was aghast.

“Impossible!” Nia exclaimed reflexively.

“A Dark Elf…?” Sophie was stunned, her beautiful face showing unprecedented confusion. A painful memory resurfaced, a memory from before she became Queen, thousands of years ago, when she was still young, naive, and full of hope, her magic just beginning to develop.

The Dark Elves’ wickedness forced the Elven Race into a war that decided the fate of both races. The elves won, but at a great cost, including the death of the previous Elven Queen, and Sophie’s own near-death experience. And then she was targeted by that evil being, leading to a series of tragedies. These were shadows Sophie didn’t want to recall.

“Impossible… impossible…” Sophie murmured. “The Dark Elves are extinct, aren’t they…?” It was less a denial, more a desperate hope.

But Shien ruthlessly shattered it.

“According to her, she’s the last Dark Elf, having miraculously survived that war thousands of years ago.” Shien said frankly, “I’m going to find her, so I’ll be using some extreme methods. Just watch.”

These words made Leia and Nia exchange glances, at a loss.

Sophie bit her lip and asked, “What’s that Dark Elf’s name?”

Sophie already had an answer in her heart. If anyone could have survived that war, it could only be that Dark Elf. The one who had toyed with her, almost killed her, and trampled on everything she held dear. Only she could have miraculously survived. Because on the day of the war, that Dark Elf was with her. To make her lose everything.

“What’s that Dark Elf’s name?” “What’s her name?” Sophie asked repeatedly, as if in a daze.

But Shien no longer paid attention to her. He was looking at the Tegor Forest, now completely engulfed in darkness.

“That Dark Elf must still be in the Tegor Forest.”

“And if she’s in the Tegor Forest, she can’t avoid being engulfed by Lilith’s evil aura.”

“But with her abilities, she should be able to resist it for a while.”

Under such circumstances, to avoid being corrupted, she would definitely try to leave the Tegor Forest as quickly as possible.

But to leave quickly, she wouldn’t be able to hide her tracks.

“Having received the suggestion from Lilith’s power, the countless crazed monsters in the Tegor Forest will definitely discover her and attack her.”

“The commotion of the battle will definitely be noticed by those three.”

“After all, in the current Tegor Forest, the crazed monsters won’t fight amongst themselves. Their only target will be that Dark Elf.”

Of course, the Tegor Forest was vast, and there weren’t only monsters.

Perhaps there were also humans hunting monsters or searching for treasures.

And with Lid, Millu, and their demon subordinates who came to deal with the Demonic Refining Ritual, there were many beings besides monsters in the Tegor Forest.

But they would also be the same, either being driven mad and only targeting the Dark Elf under the influence of Lilith’s power, or using their means to resist the evil aura, wanting only to escape the forest.

Under such conditions, with the abilities of those three (Airi, Lilith, and Lid), finding the Dark Elf shouldn’t be difficult.

If all else failed, they could just seal off the entire Tegor Forest and let the Dark Elf go mad in the evil aura, meeting her doom.

“Want to play a game?”

“The game has begun.”

“However, I’m the one hosting it now, so I’ll set the rules.”

“Let’s see if you can still be so happy and excited then.”

Shien was ready to act.

As soon as there was news, he would rush over immediately.

At the same time, Sophie and her group also realized that the situation had become irreversible.

“…Inform everyone,” Sophie said after a moment of silence, “that no one from the Elven Race is allowed to leave the barrier today.”

Sophie gave this order.

This meant that she had compromised.

“What about us?”

“What should we do?”

Leia and Nia asked.

Sophie closed her eyes.

Then…

“Tell Carol to have the Elven Corps on standby.”

Sophie said to Leia and Nia.

“We’re joining this fight.”

Yes.

Joining.

They had to join.

Whether it was because of the feud between the Elven Race and the Dark Elves, or because of her own history with that Dark Elf, Sophie had to participate in this battle.

“This time, I won’t let you escape.”

“Machi.”

Sophie made this resolution.

However, it was useless.

Because Shien would personally deal with that Dark Elf.

There was no doubt about that.

…

“Boom!”

In a corner of the ancient, evil aura-filled forest, an explosion suddenly echoed.

“Screech!”

“Roar!”

Several crazed monsters were sent flying by black lightning, crashing to the ground, their bodies charred black, cursed, twitching a few times before becoming still.

“Ugh…”

Machi, the Dark Elf, appeared, her staff in hand, breathing heavily and looking unsteady.

A dark curtain flickered around her, warding off the encroaching evil aura.

“Damn it…” Machi’s expression was grim.

“Such a terrifying evil aura, even high-level defensive magic can hardly resist it, and after the battle, the erosion is even stronger. If this continues, I’ll go mad like these monsters soon.”

Machi realized the gravity of the situation.

Therefore, just as Shien predicted, she hurriedly tried to escape the Tegor Forest.

But in her haste, how could she hide her tracks?

She was quickly discovered by the monsters and attacked several times.

Machi knew that this was all the evil god’s doing.

Only that evil god could do such a terrifying thing.

She also knew that the purpose of this was likely to target her.

“Turning the entire Tegor Forest into hell just to target me?”

“How ruthless, Shien Buztout.”

“I underestimated you.”

Machi’s eyes flickered.