778 How Long are You Going to Play Dead?

Within the starry cave, the star that was about to be snuffed out not long ago gradually began to brighten again. Even though it wasn't as dazzling as it had once been, it was slowly recovering, displaying a lot of resilience.

The tense expression on Helena's face gradually eased upon seeing this.

In contrast, Hetty was looking up at the star from down below, and the resentment in her eyes was only growing more pronounced.

All of the elves in the Wind Forest were looking up toward the west as that was the direction that the rays of green light emanating from the Tree of Life were heading in. Also in that direction was the Roth Empire, which was where Princess Irina was currently situated.

No one knew what'd happened, but the Tree of Life's abnormal display seemed to be indicating that something was wrong.

The elven queen, who was standing atop the tallest tree in the Wind Forest, heaved a sigh of relief. However, her eyes were still filled with concern as she cast her gaze toward the northwest, and she murmured to herself, "What happened, Irina? If someone dares to try and hurt you, I definitely won't let them get away with it."

Standing atop another tree in the Wind Forest was a slightly disheveled female elf. She was also looking at the green rays of light in the sky with a worried look on her intricate countenance.

This "female" elf was none other than Blour, and he had been situated here for over 10 days. He murmured to himself, "Could it be that something happened to Princess Irina in Rodu? Has someone attacked her there?"

Right at this moment, a burst of rustling footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.

Blour's expression changed slightly as he concealed himself behind a lush canopy of branches and leaves. He cast an intense gaze into the distance, where a group of several dozens of people was approaching.

The leader of the group a demon, and the rest of the group comprised weapon-wielding demons and orcs, as well as gagged elves who also had their hands bound. Within the darkness, the sound of footsteps and the cracks of whips on elven skin were particularly pronounced.

"They're finally here…"

Flames of fury were burning in Blour's eyes as he appraised the group from afar. A wand appeared in his hand, and he leaned forward as he prepared to attack.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"

All of a sudden, three arrows flashed through the air before plunging into the throats of two demons and an orc. The specks of green light on the tips of these arrows exploded within their throats, creating gaping holes in their necks. The trio died almost without any struggles.

"We've been ambushed!"

The demon leader let loose a roar of rage as he raised a hand, following which an earthen wall appeared before him. An arrow pierced into the wall, and its sharp tip was almost able to puncture through to the other side before exploding amid a puff of dust and debris.

The group of orcs and demons immediately burst into an uproar. All of them readied their weapons as they looked around with tense expressions, trying to find their assailant. Despite their best efforts, two more demons were killed by arrows in quick succession.

A lithe and graceful figure traversed through the forest, harvesting the lives of demons and orcs with bow and arrow like a deity of death.

"Why is she here?"

Blour was just about to attack the demons and orcs when a hint of surprise appeared on his face at the sight of the figure racing through the forest. He didn't hesitate any longer as he raised his wand toward the demon leader. Green light quickly converged, forming a sabertooth beast that pounced toward the demon.

…

"Where are they?"

Krassu and Novan emerged from the teleportation formation with furrowed brows. Both of them looked at the horrified and wary black-robed figures, then at the wounded and dazed Josh, and finally at the fifth street, which had virtually been razed to the ground.

"It was Alex! I didn't think that he was still alive." Novan looked around with a surprised expression.

Krassu strode forward as he clicked his tongue in wonder. "Six 10th-tier beings were killed, and even Benson's Eye Beast was slain. Benson himself was most likely wounded as well. The duo of Alex and Irina really is unstoppable; I'm really glad I'm not their enemy…"

Meanwhile, Novan wore a concerned expression as he murmured to himself, "Orcs, demons, and forest trolls… All of them have joined forces to attack Princess Irina in Rodu in such a blatant manner. It appears that they no longer wish to uphold peace."

"Not necessarily. Three years ago, over 10 of their 10th-tier beings were killed during their attempt to assassinate Alex. Now, six more have perished in their attempt to assassinate Irina, but both Alex and Irina are still alive." Krassu shook his head with a smile as he chuckled. "They have to reconsider whether they can beat us humans and elves in a war."

"Greetings, Master Novan, Master Krassu."

Josh rose to his feet with the assistance of the black-robed men around him before cupping his fist in a salute to the two great magic casters. His features were still deathly pale, and there was a haunted look in his eyes.

Krassu glanced at Josh, then at the two halves of his griffin steed on the ground, and he said with a hint of mockery, "I didn't think you would've gotten here so quickly, Your Highness. You're looking a little worse for wear. Were you injured during the battle here earlier? You have to be more careful. I've heard that it's not a good idea to walk these streets at night, because the ghosts of your past may catch up to you."

Josh's expression was slightly strained, but he still did his best to maintain a calm facade as he replied, "I was concerned for Princess Irina's safety, so I came here as quickly as I could."

Krassu completely disregarded Josh's strained expression as he continued, "Then, did you see Alex?"

"Alex is already dead, but Princess Irina was taken by an unknown man. I'm not sure if that man harbors ill will for Princess Irina, and I'll deploy troops to chase them down." Josh shook his head in response, but he seemed a little reluctant to look Krassu in the eye as he spoke.

"I see. You'd better hurry up, then. After all, you won't be so lucky all the time." Krassu nodded before turning to Novan with a wide smile, and said, "Let's go have another drink to celebrate the fact that Alex is still alive!"

…

Complete and utter exhaustion radiated from every single muscle fiber in Mag's body. Mag felt as if his soul were hovering outside his body, and that every last shred of his energy had been sapped away. He finally understood just how fearsome the debilitation effect that the system had mentioned was.

He was suddenly struck by a sense of lingering fear. If Ah Zi hadn't appeared, he would most likely have been lying somewhere on the fifth street, being killed by a certain black-robed figure.

If it weren't for the warm embrace behind him, he could've fallen off the griffin's back already, and been reduced to a patch of crimson graffiti on the face of a certain building.

Irina's embrace was very warm and very soft.

Even in such a terrible condition, Mag could still feel the warmth being transferred into his cheek, as well as the faint scent of orchids in the air.

"What's wrong, Alex?"

Irina cradled the feeble Mag in her arms with a nervous look on her face. Green light flowed from her fingertip, injecting itself into Mag's body. The ray of green light surging toward her from the distance had already dwindled down to the extent that it was barely visible.

Mag had been gallant and invincible a moment ago, but he had suddenly slumped into her arms, seemingly having lost all of his power in an instant. Even his heart had almost completely stopped beating, and Irina was thrown into a blind panic.

Her life magic was quickly nourishing Mag's body, and his heart began to beat again as his feeble muscles slowly regained their energy. All of the overexerted cells within his body were also revitalized, and Mag's fingers twitched, but he continued to play dead in Irina's warm embrace.

10 minutes later, Irina looked down at Mag with a calm expression, and asked, "How long are you going to play dead?"