Getting a Sugar Mommy in Cultivation World!! - Chapter 802 - 802: The Captives

While walking through the maze-like passage of the cave, Noah noticed Wuhan’s distracted look and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Snapping out of his daze, the emperor finally voiced his suspicion.

“Don’t you find it odd? Why were those cultists who could control anyone they wanted killed by the elves who opposed them, and where were the rest of them?” Wuhan’s eyes turned sharp as he spoke. “We only encountered a handful of them. Why did they not send a full force after us? Why call for other generals? Why not act herself?”

Noah calmly listened to each question and nodded in understanding. He already knew the reason for all of this.

“Because they did not have any.”

His answer left the whole group stunned, but Noah was not done speaking.

“To be more precise, their armies have already left this continent, and the ones left behind are finishing their tasks before they will eventually disappear as well.”

Under the flickering of the pale light, a new sense of unease crawled into the minds of everyone else.

As if hearing what everyone was thinking, Noah paused and turned around to face them and said, “Now is not the time to think about all of this. We cannot stop them with ourselves even if you all were in your peak state.”

Realizing their thoughts were exposed, some of the guards showed an embarrassed expression.

Noah also smiled and turned to look at his friend before sending a thought transmission, ‘That woman… we both combined cannot kill her when she is not even capable of using her full power.’

Wuhan’s eyes widened in shock; he wanted to say something, but Noah suddenly turned around and said out loud, “Now while they are busy searching all exists outside the empire, we have to finish our work under the castle. So talking can wait until we have left this place.”

The group continued the rest of their journey in silence. Before long, they arrived before tall doors, a thick mass of metal that Noah kicked open like it was made from some lower-quality wood.

Bang!

The door flung open, and some shards of metal flew inwardly, leaving the group to watch his action with wry smiles.

On the other side of the door, the cave continued, but now it was filled with several cells.

The air inside was stale and heavy, carrying the smell of rust and damp stone.

Rows of iron-barred cells stretched deep into the cave. Inside them were hundreds of elves—men and women of all ages. Some leaned weakly against the walls; others lay curled on the cold floor. Their faces were pale, their eyes empty, and their clothes were nothing but torn rags.

Spirit-sealing shackles bound their wrists and ankles, faint runes glowing softly on the metal.

At the far end, in a slightly larger cell, sat a middle-aged elf woman. Her frame was thin and frail, her once-elegant build reduced to skin and bone. Long silver hair hung in tangled strands, streaked with dirt and dulled of all shine.

Her skin bore cuts and bruises, yet there was still a trace of the beauty she must have carried once. But her eyes were the most striking—dull, lifeless, and clouded, like they had not seen hope in years.

Even when the group entered, she did not look up. It was as if nothing in the world could stir her anymore.

Her eyes kept gazing outside the small window on the wall of her cell. She kept watching the rise and fall of the ocean waves.

“Who is he? He does not look like an elf?”

“I have seen something like him in records…”

“He is a human…”

“A human?”

Noah ignored the whispers in the distance and walked up to the closest cell, where a bunch of old elves were held. As he moved, all elves followed his figure with a dazed look on their faces.

Wuhan and the group followed behind Noah, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

“You…” It was only when she was standing right before the cell that one of the older women gasped in shock, her eyes widened. Those lifeless eyes finally gained a hint of amber. “Is it really you? The one blessed by the world tree.”

Her words drew more sharp breaths from her fellow elven captives. Everyone heard her words, and even the middle-aged woman in the farthest cell raised her eyes to look at Noah for the very first time.

Before they could get any ideas, Noah coldly declared, “As we speak, the world tree is dying. I made sure of that.”

“What?!”

“How is that possible?!”

“Sinner!!”

All sorts of voices yelled at Noah; rage and despair brewed among the captive elves before a cold and crisp voice shattered it all.

“Silence!” The one who spoke was none other than the middle-aged woman who was held captive in the farthest cell.

Everyone seemed to have followed her words and did not dare to utter one word. She turned her attention to Noah and asked, “Can you tell me what is happening outside?”

No one, not even the old elven members, said anything and allowed the woman to speak, but all of them looked at Noah with complex emotion; some looked at him as if he was a traitor, someone who had killed his own family, while some looked at him with confusion, resignation, and sadness.

“You must be Sylvheriel’s mother?” Noah turned his attention to the real queen of the elves and spoke the same way he had always spoken to the elven princess. The coldness in his voice made the queen show a self-deprecating smile.

“So, she has really betrayed us.” There was no surprise in her voice, and hearing her words, the rest of the elves lowered their heads in shame.

“What do you know about the Red Dawn Cult?” Noah did care about their reactions and cut to the chase. “The people who have now taken over your empire and used it to corrupt the world tree.”

“What?!” No one reacted to hearing Noah’s first words, but when he finished speaking, they looked as if their world had collapsed.