457 Gathering of Elders

At the same time, Leon quietly observed the surrounding elves.

King Erendriel was a Preliminary Accession-level Transcendent, and the royal guards were all 9-Star Ranked Awakeners. 

This was a strong lineup. 

However, even amongst the Elven Tribe, there were strong elves, and there were weak elves. He had seen the strong. 

As for the weak, they were before him.

Every elf in Elvengarde had some achievement in their Awakening Cultivation, no matter how big or small. Even so, none of the elves before him were above the 9th step of the Awakener Realm.

He could see the disparity between the common elves and the high elves.

"Quiet! Can't you see that you are all making it difficult for the Fifth Princess?! We should be asking this human here instead!" Said a hot-headed male elf, who was a fervent admirer of Princess Faelyn.

Once the words were spoken, the male elf quickly gained supporters.

Amongst the four princesses and crown prince, the fifth princess, Princess Faelyn was the most favored by the commoners within Elvengarde.

"He's right, guys! Let us not make it difficult for Fifth Princess Faelyn!"

"Sorry, Fifth Princess! Human, please tell us what is going!"

"What is happening outside? Why hasn't the king told us anything?"

The elves shouted one after the other.

They gathered dangerously close, causing Leon to frown slightly. In response, the infant Guardian Spirit used its tree roots to ward off the elves. 

"Uwahh!"

The elves exclaimed.

As they retreated in alarm, one of them asked with surprise, "Why is the Guardian Spirit shielding this person?"

"Right? I believe this is the first time this person had visited our tribe. How did this person earn the Guardian Spirit's favor so quickly?"

The elvish tribesmen were all puzzled. 

It was not like they were going to attack the human or anything. But even then, why was the Guardian Spirit so protective of this person?

"Human, what did you do to our Guardian Spirit!" A female elf interrogated.

The female elf felt envious that the Guardian Spirit favored a human so heavily upon their first meeting, while she had been faithfully praying to the Elder Tree every day without any gains.

Leon patted the tree root calmingly before casually answering, "Nothing much. I just befriended it, is all."

"How can you befriend the Guardian Spirit so quickly? What secret method did you use?"

"Mind your manners." Princess Faelyn warned with creased brows, displeased by the female elf's inquisitiveness. 

She did feel it had something to do with the green stone, but she did not ask.

"This person here is the Crown Prince of the Crawford Empire from within the Human Domain, Prince Leon. Please show him the proper respect." Faelyn said with a soured expression.

The female elf had overstepped her boundaries.

When the male elves saw their idol princess like this, they all threw deadly stares at the rude female elf, causing the female elf to be startled.

"I'm terribly sorry, Fifth Princess Faelyn." The female elf quickly apologized. 

At the same time, the crowd slightly calmed down by Princess Faelyn's royal aura—or perhaps it was her personal charisma that calmed them down slightly.

"I know you are all anxious regarding the fire in the forest. However, I request you all to be a little more patient. My father, the king, will surely make an announcement soon enough regarding this matter." Faelyn said solemnly. 

Some of the elves were slightly surprised. 

Their Fifth Princess appeared to have become more mature after her trip from the Human Domain.

"We understand, Fifth Princess Faelyn." 

"Thank you for understanding. Please make way now. I am going to head to the outskirts to check on the situation with Prince Leon and Miss Maria here." Princess Faelyn said to the crowd.

The group of elves shortly made a clear path for them to leave. 

…

Elder Tree Crown, Great Hall.

An elderly elf in a luxurious golden-white robe pushed opened the doors made of hardened vines and entered the building. 

At the back of the Great Hall, there was a vine staircase leading up to another room. After making his way over and pushing open the second set of doors, he gazed into the room. 

Inside sat King Erendriel, Supreme Elder Haldir, and five other Elders of the High Council.

He was the sixth elder to enter.

"Where are the other six elders?" The Sixth Elder asked.

"Still on the outskirts of the Great Forest. I have already sent out my royal guards to fetch them. They should be here soon." King Erendriel answered calmly.

"I see."

The Sixth Elder nodded and took his seat by the round table.

Shortly after, there was a knock on the door to the council meeting room, which everyone was seated inside.

"Come in." King Erendriel's voice rang out clear and audibly.

A royal guard quickly came in and reported, "Your Majesty, the general has been brought into the Great Hall for questioning."

"Understood. Wait outside for me." King Erendriel nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The royal guard saluted before exiting the council meeting room as the king directed him.

One of the Elders shortly turned his head over to King Erendriel questioningly and asked, "What is this about?" 

"We will put the discussion of the Supreme Elder's gains in the Human Domain on hold for now. Let us head outside and see the general, Elders. You will all know very shortly." King Erendriel said calmly, standing up from his seat before walking out shortly.

"Alright."

Two Elders followed shortly.

Supreme Elder Haldir wrinkled his brows slightly in question, feeling something was off. Nevertheless, he stood up and headed out after some delay. 

At the same time, the remaining four Elders of the council stood up and followed only after the Supreme Elder had done so.

It was clear whose side they leaned towards.

…