LHAHS Chapter 535
"The Pureblood Society's lackeys!"
"Unforgivable!"
A vein bulged on Lunia's forehead at the words the surrounding elves shouted while closing in. Swinging her tightly clenched fist with tremendous force, she snarled, "Did you just… call me… part of the Pureblood Society?!"
Thwack…!
"Urk?!" The elf who had charged straight at Lunia took a punch to the jaw and collapsed on the spot.
At the same time, the knights surrounding Lunia pointed their swords at her, tightening the encirclement.
Lunia smirked and snapped her fingers.
Snap…! Fwoosh…!
The elves rushing in to subdue Lunia recoiled in shock.
Lunia narrowed her eyes as she observed them.
They have no killing intent.
They clearly held hostility toward her, but not to the extent of wanting to kill. If they did, she wouldn't have held back either.
Even so…
Lunia's eyes sharpened.
These people aren't mages.
It was a surprising realization.
Only those who had learned Stellar Magic were allowed entry into this elven city, yet, here were people who were not mages and they clearly harbored deep animosity toward the Pureblood Society.
Just what is going on here?
Lunia furrowed her brows..
Meanwhile, Eiran swung her sword, sending a gentle breeze sweeping forth from her blade.
However, that breeze soon turned into a fierce snowstorm, engulfing the attackers.
"Dodge it!"
"D-Damn! She's a magic swordsman?!"
Voices filled with panic echoed around them.
"Damn it!"
"She's just a kid, but she's that strong?!"
"S-So we really can't win against the Pureblood Society…!"
Despairing voices rose from all directions, but a woman's firm voice urged them on. "Don't give up! If we get caught now, we're dead anyway! We don't matter, but think of the others waiting for us!"
"Who's waiting for you?" Eiran asked.
"Ugh!" The elven female knight gasped as she found Eiran suddenly standing right in front of her.
Reflexively, she swung her sword.
Clang…!
"Hup!" Eiran deflected the quickly drawn sword and before knocking it away. Then, using only the strength in her wrist, she forcefully redirected the knight's sword.
"Tsk!" The sheer power behind the move caused the elven knight to lose grip of her weapon, so she hastily gathered mana and began chanting a spell.
Wind-element Stellar Magic.
Eiran swiftly analyzed the type and range of the magic from the chant.
Rumble…!
A raging storm erupted, and Eiran quickly moved out of its range.
In that brief moment, the knight reclaimed her sword and took a stance.
Eiran's eyes widened. "You… where did you learn that?" she asked, baffled.
The knight shouted back, "Hah! Surprised that traitors like us can use Stellar Magic?!"
"No, that's not the issue…"
"You all probably think you're on the side of righteousness! But you're no justice!"
"I mean, that's…"
"Prepare yourself!"
"Ugh." Seeing that her opponent had no intention of listening, Eiran sighed and lowered her head slightly, but then, gathering her resolve, she said, "Can you tell me why you attacked this place?"
"Because people are starving!"
Eiran's eyes widened slightly at those words. Glancing back, she confirmed the storage they had raided, then looked closely at the knight.
Like most elves, she was stunningly beautiful, yet the sword scar on her cheek, her firmly set lips, and the unwavering conviction and responsibility in her eyes marked her as a seasoned warrior.
She's not lying.
Eiran was very familiar with the Pureblood Society's corruption. She was well aware that the world she sought to protect was far from perfect.
Thus, she wasn't surprised that in a land where those who could not wield Stellar Magic were not even allowed entry, those who couldn't use magic at all had been reduced to raiders, attacking the city like common thieves… just for food.
Seeing these people's actions, she could imagine hardships beyond her understanding.
Still, what truly shocked her was how much the knight's swordsmanship resembled the one passed down in the Ersar family.
Can this really be a coincidence?
"Lunia!" she shouted.
"What?"
"Let's surrender."
"Huh?!" Lunia's eyes widened.
The elves who had surrounded them also looked shocked.
"You…" The knight stared at Eiran in disbelief.
Eiran drove her sword into the ground and met the knight's gaze directly. "We're not part of the Pureblood Society, nor are we citizens of this city. We're students of Seiren."
"Students of Seiren?"
"The school for those high and mighty elites?"
The high and mighty? Lunia frowned as she listened to the murmuring elves.
"We already know the true nature of the Pureblood Society and the corruption of this city. So, won't you tell us?" Eiran continued firmly, without hesitation. "Tell us why you had no choice but to do this."
Lunia scratched her head. Then, with a sigh, she stood next to Eiran and crossed her arms in support.
"W-What should we do?"
"…We've already wasted too much time. Let's get these two out of here first."
The elves nodded in agreement, but they remained wary, keeping Lunia and Eiran surrounded as they walked.
Glancing at the female knight she had just fought, Eiran asked curiously, "The swordsmanship you used earlier, who did you learn it from? It doesn't seem like you've practiced for very long."
"…We recently learned it from someone who has been helping us."
"……" Eiran's eyes darkened.
The place where they're headed… that person might be there.
Boom…!
Leo narrowed his eyes as an explosion echoed from the direction of the palace.
Lunia and Eiran should be there right now.
The city stirred in commotion at the sudden explosion.
Might be best to call it a day.
Leo activated Hyper Perception to locate Chen Xia. Since they had only split up a short while ago, he expected her to be within range, but suddenly, his eyes twitched.
He couldn't sense her presence.
Immediately, he expanded the scope of his perception, but still, Chen Xia's presence eluded him.
If she had deliberately hidden herself, even his Hyper Perception wouldn't easily detect her at a distance, but as far as he knew, Chen Xia had no reason to conceal herself right now.
She couldn't have gone far in such a short time… which means that she was probably kidnapped.
Chen Xia was by no means weak, and Leo was certain that in the near future, she would grow strong enough to be worthy of the title of hero. Even right now, he was certain that most heroes wouldn't be able to abduct her without a trace.
But that person would be able to do it.
Velkia, the one he and Chen Xia had been tracking, was the only person who could have captured Chen Xia without alerting him.
If Velkia is the culprit, then why? Why would she take Chen Xia? Because she's human? Or… did she recognize her as Bihar's descendant?
Ever since learning Leo's true identity, Chen Xia had been learning Bihar's swordsmanship and aura breathing techniques from him. If it was Velkia, she would have noticed it in an instant.
First, I need to regroup with Lunia and Eiran.
Leo turned back toward the inn.
Lunia and Eiran stared in shock.
"Where… are we?"
"As you can see, this is underground."
"N-No, I can see that, but… why is there a whole city beneath Eldon?" Lunia urgently asked.
The female knight let out a small sigh. "Both of you should know that Eldon is the greatest magical nation among the elves, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you also know why Eldon was able to become the greatest magical nation?"
"Because this land holds the power of the stars."
"That's right." The knight let out a deep sigh. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Rel Conea."
"Conea? Are you from the Conea family?"
"The Conea family? The one famous for being full of stubborn hardheads?"
"Lunia!" Eiran scolded Lunia for her blunt remark.
Rel simply smiled bitterly. "It's fine. You're not wrong. Besides, I don't hold any particular pride in my family. They've always considered me a failure anyway."
The Conea family was one of the five most influential noble families among the elves. For generations, they had produced Eldon's parliamentary leaders and were known for their powerful Stellar Magic, second only to the Tingel family.
They had gained prestige nearly equal to Seiren's Tingel family for one reason, because of the unique nature of Eldon itself.
The land where Eldon was founded was imbued with immense stellar power.
A thousand years ago, a meteor had fallen upon this land, naturally infusing the earth with the power of the stars. Since Stellar Magic originated from stellar mana, it was only natural that Eldon produced many Stellar Magic users and that the field of Stellar Magic itself advanced rapidly.
A chosen land for chosen people. To the purist elitists, those words must have been irresistible. With that, the Pureblood Society naturally took root in Eldon.
"But contrary to what's publicly known, the stellar power in this land ran out a long time ago."
"What? But doesn't Eldon still produce many powerful Stellar Magic users?"
"Yes. Because stellar power still flows through this land."
"That doesn't make any sense…"
"It's because of that." With a look of disgust, Rel pointed toward a towering structure covered in magic circles at the center of the underground city.
"That's…"
"Everyone living in this underground city is incapable of using Stellar Magic." Rel's face twisted in rage. "Because that tower drains their life force to circulate stellar power throughout Eldon, just like before."
Lunia and Eiran's faces contorted in horror at the unexpected revelation.
"…At first, they only imprisoned criminals here."
"Ah…" Lunia's expression stiffened as a memory surfaced. There had been a time when Eldon actively accepted criminals from elven society.
"But soon, even that wasn't enough. So Eldon's council came up with an idea, to establish a hidden social class, one unknown to the outside world." Rel's face twisted with utter disgust. "Those deemed unworthy of using Stellar Magic… were imprisoned underground and turned into livestock to sustain Eldon's stellar power."
Lunia felt her mind go blank. If Luna had seen this, what kind of expression would she have made?
Eiran, too, was trembling, her face drained of all color.
"Haven't you ever thought of tearing down this system?" Lunia asked urgently.
Rel bit her lip. "The elves sent here have accepted their lives. They grew accustomed to this place from the moment they were old enough to understand, and they were never lacking in necessities. They simply didn't know about the outside world."
Rel's expression clouded over.
To settle for reality and live on. Perhaps from their perspective, they were satisfied in their own way, but to Rel, it was a miserable existence, one where they couldn't even claim their own lives, completely controlled by others.
"But recently, as food shortages worsened, unrest has begun to spread in this place."
"The food shortage, is it because the Pureblood Society's influence in elven society has weakened?"
"That's right."
The northern continent was a land of winter. As such, it had always been heavily reliant on external sources for food.
Previously, with the Pureblood Society's dominance, they had been able to allocate a significant portion of the food supply to Eldon, but now that the Pureblood Society's status had fallen, securing food had become increasingly difficult.
Rel had long since realized the truth about this city and, in shock, severed ties with her family and come here voluntarily, choosing to care for the people trapped in this place.
"How… how could they do this to their own people…!" Eiran's eyes blazed with fury. "If there's a food crisis, can't they just leave this place?"
"A barrier has been placed over the underground city. Only those who have learned Stellar Magic can leave."
"But the ones who went out earlier to get food could use Stellar Magic, right?"
"That was made possible by an outsider who arrived in this underground city recently."
"An outsider?"
"Yes. We're heading to where that person is staying now. As of now, they're the one responsible for this city."
Lunia's face twisted in confusion at Rel's words.
They arrived recently and became the one in charge of the city?
Finally, Rel stopped in front of a building and knocked.
"Come in," a voice answered from inside.
Rel opened the door and led Lunia and Eiran directly into a living room.
The scene inside left the two young elves gaping, and Rel, too, looked visibly taken aback.
It was an image that didn't belong in this underground city, where food was supposed to be scarce.
The table was crammed with plates, each piled high with delicious-looking food.
Moreover, sitting at one end of the table was Chen Xia, stuffing food into her mouth with trembling hands.
"L-Lunia? Eiran?" Chen Xia's eyes widened as she called out to them. "Save m…"
"Did someone come in?" A beautiful woman with a blank expression stepped into the living room, holding a pot in her hands.
The moment Lunia and Eiran saw her, their eyes grew wide.
Velkia smiled faintly. "You must be the friends Xia mentioned?"
"Teacher… this is…?" Rel cautiously asked.
She replied, "Oh, she's the granddaughter of an old friend of mine…? Seems like she hasn't been eating properly, she's too skinny, so I was making sure she ate. Xia, you have to finish it all."
"I-I can't eat all of this…"
"You shouldn't be picky with food."
Chen Xia's face turned pale.
Velkia's gaze then shifted to Lunia and Eiran. "You two look pretty skinny too."
The two girls felt an inexplicable sense of dread.