Chapter 331: Rendezvous

A few kilometers south of the capital city of Paradis...

Perched atop one of the largest ancient trees in the vast expanse of the Forest of Eternity, three figures sat at the edge of a treehouse balcony with their legs dangling freely.

"I didn’t expect there to be treehouses this large outside the settlements..."

Regis remarked as he gazed toward Xerxes Village, where his comrades would soon be arriving from.

Noticing where his attention was directed, Elysia offered a faint smile but made no comment on it.

"These treehouses are mainly used by scouts. Although monsters do not exist within the Forest of Eternity, there are still occasions when wild and dangerous beasts wander close to the settlements."

"Hmm, is that so?" Regis nodded before asking, "By the way, are you sure you don’t want to stop by the capital first?"

"Yes. It isn’t necessary, and doing so would only waste time."

"May I ask why?"

"Hmm... let’s just say my presence would only disrupt the smooth flow of affairs there at the moment."

Although Regis had a feeling she was deliberately withholding something, he chose not to press further.

’I don’t know exactly what the queen is planning, but it’s probably best not to meddle in it.’

While the two conversed, the little Wisteria sat between them, her mauve eyes bright and carefree, free from any worries in that moment.

After they left the Temple of Life, they immediately went towards the capital.

However, instead of directly entering it, they decided to stay at a treehouse to wait for the other members of the Sanguine Order.

Thinking back to their plan, Regis could not help but ask, "Are you certain you won’t need to bring any of your forces with us?"

"Mhm, it’s too risky." Elysia responded before continuing, "From what I learned through the Eternal Orb earlier, our enemies seemed to have a way of demonizing elves discreetly."

Her emerald gaze settled on the silhouette of Paradis on the horizon.

"Besides, I believe they’ll be safer there. When I analyzed the core of this Sacred Land, the Ancient Tree Flonaralavenrosa, through the Eternal Orb earlier, nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Elysia then glanced at Regis and spoke, "By the way, you remember what we agreed on earlier, right?"

"Of course," Regis responded, a carefree smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Originally, the queen wanted to go straight to the Sanctuary of Life and Death, the Sacred Land that housed the resting place of the fallen elves throughout generations.

However, he had insisted on waiting for his members.

Elysia knew this was the better option.

From the reports she had received and analyzed through the Eternal Orb, she had concluded that bringing any elven forces would be too risky.

Human companions, however, could bolster their manpower without carrying the same risks as bringing elves.

Still, with time working against them, she decided to compromise.

They would wait for at most thirty minutes.

If there was still no sign of them after that, they would have no choice but to proceed with Elysia’s original plan of facing the enemy with only the three of them.

Even then, Regis showed no hint of doubt as his mind wandered, ’When I completely digested the divine fruit of the World Tree earlier, I vaguely sensed something strange...’

He analyzed the state of his body internally as he tried to remember the sensation that his Perfect Adaptation gave him earlier.

’I don’t know if it became stronger... It’s more like it’s close to awakening. Like something inside me became a little more complete...’

’Anyways...’

Regis chose to put the matter at the back of his mind for the time being.

’It’s good that, aside from the damage to my soul, all my injuries have healed completely. Even my mana and aura have fully recovered.’

He could not help but feel satisfied. Under normal circumstances, recovering from completely depleted mana and aura reserves would have taken at least a few hours.

Thanks to the power of the World Tree Fruit, however, the entire process had taken less than an hour.

’If it had not been for my Perfect Adaptation absorbing more than half of the nutrients, then I believe I could have recovered everything in one go.’

Still feeling a little bitter, Regis could not help but complain in his mind.

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, Regis vaguely sensed a change in the queen and her contracted spirit.

’Hmm, what’s the matter?’

Following their line of sight, he looked into the distance.

The moment he saw what had caught their attention, a smile spread across his face. "Why did it take them so long?"

In the far distance was a large crowd of elves being led by familiar faces.

Furthermore, Regis could see with his sharp eyes that although they looked exhausted, none of his members were missing, which made him inevitably heave a sigh of relief.

’It’s good that none of them died...’

Elysia stood up slowly, ’It had only been twenty minutes since we started waiting... to think that they’d be this efficient even without their leader...’

Wisteria also flew onto her contractor’s shoulder before lazily lying on her side.

Regis looked at the two of them and asked, "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes," Elysia replied with a nod. "It’s better if we meet them before they arrive. That way, we can save as much time as possible."

Without any delay, the two immediately leaped down from the treehouse and went to meet the large crowd that seemed to be heading towards Paradis.

Meanwhile, within the caravan...

The first to notice the two presences approaching them was Pandora.

Her ruby-red eyes immediately gleamed as she extended her magic, probing the identities of the approaching figures.

The process was swift and practiced.

After enduring numerous ambushes along the way, identifying approaching presences had become second nature to her.

However, her exhausted expression suddenly froze.

In the next instant, her eyes lit up with joy.

Marzana, Aurelia, and the others nearby immediately noticed the abrupt change in her demeanor.

They began asking what was wrong, but Pandora paid them no heed.

Only a single word escaped her lips.

"Brother..."