Chapter 020: The Dark Elves

Seeing the two green vines shoot toward her at high speed, Naixiu pushed off the ground with both feet, causing the ground to shake. This peak archer of her realm soared into the air like a cannonball.
“Naixiu, you can’t escape,” Frida called out.
As expected, after Naixiu flew into the air, the two green vines also changed direction and rushed upward—still aiming at Naixiu!
“Huh, the magic of the elf race actually has such an effect.” Seeing Frida’s move, Du Fan frowned. This automatic tracking skill was indeed very practical.
The elves were shocked by Frida’s move. She had combined the magic of entangling vines with tracking skills—each used separately wasn’t anything special, but merging the two required exceptional magical talent, even among the elves.
Naixiu, now in mid-air, saw the entangling vines change direction and shoot toward her again. Unfazed, she drew her elf bow and fired two arrows in quick succession. The swift arrows whizzed and struck the vines.
With a crackling sound, both vines burst apart, turning into powder that scattered through the air.
The shattered vines turned into small emerald dots that drifted down slowly, creating a beautiful sight.
The elves truly lived up to their reputation as the most elegant race among all. Even their battles were so graceful, Du Fan thought, marveling at the scattered emerald dots.
After firing two arrows to destroy Frida’s entangling vines, Naixiu quickly waved her arms in the air, firing eight arrows in a storm-like barrage!
“Eight directions!” Naixiu commanded in a low voice.
The eight arrows fired from the front, accompanied by piercing sounds, shot toward Frida in eight different directions! Each arrow carried a fierce momentum. Moreover, one arrow curved sharply, moving faster than the others and aiming at Frida’s back!
Seeing this arrow, Frida’s expression turned grave. She quickly pulled out a magic staff and muttered a few words. Suddenly, several giant petals grew beneath her feet, tightly wrapping around her body.

In the blink of an eye, just as Nayixiu’s arrows were about to strike Frida, the magic Frida unleashed instantly formed a giant bud that tightly enveloped her. The eight arrows struck the giant bud with loud bangs, but the powerful elf arrows failed to break through Frida’s protective magic.

The Flower Guardian was a ninth-level advanced protective magic in elf magic, covering the entire body in protection. This magic bore some similarities to Du Fan’s domain skill.

There was no other way out—unless Nayixiu kept attacking continuously to exhaust the magic that created the giant bud, or Frida voluntarily stopped using her protective magic.

Once on the ground, Nayixiu still held her long bow, an arrow nocked, staring intently at the giant petal. As an archer, she had to maintain this stance during battle, ready to shoot at any moment to deliver a crucial arrow in critical situations.

“Nayixiu, you shot so many arrows just now—do you want to kill me?” Frida’s angry voice came from within the giant flower.

“Stop talking nonsense! This is a competition—don’t be so wordy!” Nayixiu said coldly.

“Fine, fine. If you treat me like this, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” A series of Frida’s screams came from inside the flower.

With Frida’s scream, the giant flower suddenly bloomed, facing Nayixiu! Its petals, which had been folded back, suddenly unfolded like an octopus swimming in water, channeling all its force toward Frida. With tremendous power, it pushed Frida forward in Nayixiu’s direction at lightning speed!

Nayixiu shot the arrow she had prepared long ago, one charged with great momentum.

Just as Frida’s and Nayixiu’s arrows were about to collide, a small sword appeared in Frida’s hand—about three feet long. She aimed the blade at Nayixiu’s arrow, which instantly split in two and slipped past her.

Frida’s momentum remained fierce, and now she was also wielding a sword. It seemed she had completely changed her role, shifting from a mage to a swordmaster of the highest caliber.

The immense magical energy converted into kinetic and potential energy was enough to turn Frida’s attack into a full-power strike on par with that of a Sword Saint!
Naixiu frowned sharply—a powerful energy fluctuation emerged.
Archeresses also needed to train, but what the elven archeresses practiced was different from the combat energy and magic on the continent; it could be described as something between the two.
This energy, temporarily called arrow energy, could be used either like magic or like combat energy, though the magic and combat skills unleashed using such arrow energy were far less powerful than those using pure magic or combat energy.
However, when applied to archery, it could achieve 120% of its potential!
With this energy fluctuation, a bright light shot out from Naixiu’s hand as she drew back her bowstring! As the light grew brighter, an object resembling a shooting star shot rapidly toward Frida!
“Sun Shooting!”
It was the elven archery technique known as Sun Shooting—a move only elven archeresses of the sacred rank and above could use!
In mid-air, Frida’s expression changed, and the petals behind her enveloped her again. A glowing sphere collided with a giant petal in the air!
The sphere, shining like a small sun, struck Frida head-on. Intense energy fluctuations could be heard in the air!
It was comparable to a forbidden spell at the human level. Watching Naixiu unleash Sun Shooting, Du Fan nodded in satisfaction. Such a skill, if used in siege warfare,—what kind of wall couldn’t be broken by a single strike like this?
The sphere gradually shrank, losing its brilliance, while the petals surrounding Frida also began to dissipate.
Silently, both the sphere and the petals vanished into nothingness. Just as they disappeared, Frida continued to swiftly thrust her dagger at Naixiu!
The distance was now extremely close—Naixiu didn’t have time to draw her arrow or draw back her bow!
With a twist of her wrist, a gleaming dagger appeared in Naixiu’s hand as well, and the two fought hand to hand.
What a spectacle, Du Fan thought with a smile. Two long-range attackers—one a mage, the other an archeress—these typical long-range professionals were now fighting with close combat weapons.
Frida made a sudden lunge, thrusting her dagger fiercely at Naixiu’s chest. Naixiu twisted her wrist, using clever movement to deflect Frida’s dagger aside.

Frida quickly changed her position, her small sword still aimed at Naixiu’s neck. Dodging the strike by turning aside, Naixiu raised her dagger and slashed across Frida’s clothes, creating a long cut.

Du Fan stood outside the barrier, watching with interest. He wasn’t worried at all, as it was clear that Naixiu’s skill level was higher than Frida’s. Although the combat effectiveness of arrow energy in close combat couldn’t compare to that of combat energy, Naixiu still handled the situation effortlessly. Reaching the peak of domain mastery wasn’t just talk.

Although the two elves were engaged in close combat, in Du Fan’s eyes, it was like a wonderful dance. The two beautiful young female elves, as the most elegant race, still displayed their grace even in close combat—through the way they moved their sleeves, swayed their hips, and lifted their legs.

“Elder Du Fan, from your perspective, do you think Chief Naixiu will win?” Lan Ling asked from the side.

“If Frida doesn’t use that energy, Chief Naixiu will definitely win,” Du Fan said with a smile.

“That energy? Elder Du Fan, who is it? Is there another kind of energy hidden inside Frida’s body?” Lan Ling said in surprise.

“Yes. If I’m not mistaken, it seems to be dark energy,” Du Fan replied calmly.

“Dark energy? Could it be that Chief Frida has also been influenced by the Dark Elves?” Lan Ling asked anxiously.

“Dark Elves? Great Sage Lan Ling, what’s going on?” Du Fan asked, puzzled by this new term.

“Tens of thousands of years ago, within our elf race, the Dark Elves suddenly appeared. Those elves share one common trait: they are extremely cunning. Since their emergence, they have regarded the elf race as their enemies, always trying to take control of the Ancient Elf Tree,” Lan Ling explained.

“Suddenly appeared? Is it a completely new species?” Du Fan frowned.

“No, they branched off from our elf race. At first, a small number of special elves appeared among us, all with black patterns on their bodies. More and more of them showed up later, but it didn’t catch our attention at the time. We simply regarded them as somewhat special elf brethren. But one night, those Dark Elves suddenly united and attacked the Ancient Elf Tree, trying to take control of it. Although they failed in the end, they hid in the darkness from then on, constantly opposing our elf race,” Lan Ling explained the origin of the Dark Elves.

“Later, among our elf race, we gradually discovered some elves who had been corrupted by darkness. Those corrupted elves either fled or were imprisoned. After a major battle, the Dark Elves rarely appeared in our territory anymore,” Lan Ling continued.

Just then, something happened in the battle within the barrier. Flinda’s skill level was clearly inferior to Naixiu’s. Under Naixiu’s relentless pressure, she was clearly struggling to hold on. Since arrow energy was far less effective in close combat than combat energy, Flinda could still stubbornly persevere.

Suddenly, Flinda revealed a sinister smile. “Naixiu, I’m sorry. For the sake of my master’s cause, although I like you very much, I have no choice but to sacrifice you,” Flinda said softly to Naixiu.

Book 34: The Elf Tribes