On the easternmost of the Arcadia continent between the eastern impassable mountains laid a gap about 5 miles apart.
Right in the middle of this gap were rocky hills with a construct; a pagoda stood in the middle of those hills.
At the moment, a few figures gathered just on the hill next to the pagoda. These figures were the strongest elven elders of the continent.
A few moments later, three flying creatures came approaching; two purple-skinned wyverns and a huge one with black skin. The black wyvern was an elder wyvern, a mythical creature just below dragons in terms of power.
Seeing the three wyverns approaching them and landing next to the pagoda, a man in white robe spoke with a cold voice.
"King Vizier."
The elf who just spoke was Castian, the king of the high elves.
"Welcome. We are grateful that you decided to join us," the king greeted. Despite uttering words of gratitude, his expression contained absolutely no trace of it. Instead, there even was a hint of disdain in his eyes.
The one just arrived was the king of the dark elves, Vizier the Unbroken, with two of his magi dark elf elders.
The dark elf only nodded at the high elf's welcoming greet and gestured for the two elders behind him to follow as he walked forward. The two dark elf elders followed him without speaking a word.
The gathering room in the pagoda currently consisted of those who were going to join the expedition to the Mist. Among them were the Queen of Vanyar Leena who came by herself, the King of Mirkwood Haladar with one of his elders, and the king of dark elves Vizier with his two elders. In total, there were six guests, and there were all magus-level elves.
Castian, the king of the high elves, however, had five magus-level high elves with him and an army of 50 saint-level elves; the high elf king brought the full force of the high elves in the Arcadia continent.
"Welcome, all of you. Thank you for joining us in this expedition," Castian greeted the present elves and turned to look in the direction in front of them, causing the other elves to follow his gaze.
In the distance in front of the pagoda, the Mist extended to approximately 100 meters into the air, separating the two hills. Although they were a distance away, they could still feel the unsettling air emanating from the Mist. Even the two hills on its sides seemed lifeless.
The high elf king then swept his gaze at the present elves.
"Today, we will finally follow the will of our ancestors and learn about our origin. Once again, I am grateful for your participation," he began speaking.
Just as Castian was about to continue his words, he heard the sound of a flying ship approaching.
The high elf king and the others turned to look in the direction of the sound. To their west, they could see a flying ship heading their way.
It was the famous flying ship normally used by the king of Arcadia, the Firefly.
As soon as the Queen of Vanyar saw the flying ship coming their way, her neutral expression slightly lit up. Meanwhile, the unknowing elves' curiosity was soon answered when they saw Tristan and Illiana coming out of the flying ship.
The moment Vizier saw Tristan come out of the flying ship with his daughter, he immediately walked toward them with a big smile on his face.
"So you decided to come after all!" the dark elf king's cold face turned much warmer seeing the two newlyweds.
Illiana only responded to her father's enthusiasm with a smile. Meanwhile, Tristan nodded and greeted the present elves.
"An honor to see you again, King Castian, King Vizier, Queen Leena. I hope I am not too late."
Tristan's arrival was not something the present elves expected. After all, everyone here knew that Tristan was looking for powerful individuals to gather in the capital in preparation for what he claimed was a threat from outer space.
He himself also did not think that he would join the expedition. However, after the little discussion he had with the clever and charming Illiana yesterday, he realized that a lot of the most powerful elves would gather in this expedition. Knowing how dangerous the expedition was, Tristan was actually hoping to see some casualties among them. Which means a source of quality Blood Essence and maybe even spirit souls for him.
Of course, Tristan would never tell them about his real intention. He only told them that his scientist managed to gain a deep understanding of the space knights' communication system, and from it, he believed that the enemy would not arrive within the week. Because of that, he had time to see what the Mist was all about.
Although this was not his main reason for deciding to participate, it was not exactly a lie either.
Tristan's explanation confused the listening elves, but among the confused faces, there was someone who was unfazed.
"I always knew you would come," Leena, the Queen of Vanyar, remarked.
"You knew?" Tristan asked with a curious smile.
Noticing Tristan's curiosity, Leena cited a phrase that piqued the interest of the other elves present.
—The leaves are falling, the seas are raging, and the forests are drowning. Blood will rise and the Monarch will lead through the mist.
After hearing the prophecy of thousands of years, many of the elves began to look at Tristan differently. At the same time, their confidence in succeeding in this expedition soared up.
Castian was slightly displeased with Tristan's abrupt visit, but the feeling did not last long as he still remembered the reason they all gathered here.
The high elves king reminded, "We have no time to waste."
Everyone present turned their heads toward the high elf king, and they quickly prepared themselves to enter the Mist.
As they walked toward the Mist, the corners of Tristan's mouth rose. Looking at the Mist in the distance made him think of what they would see inside and the amount of Blood Essence or spirit souls he could get.
In total, there were 14 magus-level elves and 50 saint-level elves entering the Mist. It was the biggest expedition the elves had ever had in the last 4,000 years since the Mist existed.