Elven cultivators

The City of Ten Thousand Trees.

It is less a city and more a verdant kingdom composed of countless flowers, plants and trees.

The elves of the Emerald Court call it "the homeland of roots and crown".

There was no longer an inch of bare soil in the entire area. The trees grew wildly in a way that defied common sense, with trunks as thick as city gates and canopies that converged hundreds of meters in the air to form a continuous canopy, filtering the sunlight into patterns of green shadows and golden threads.

Alicia walked along a corridor that wound its way up the trunk of an ancient tree.

The corridor is paved with revitalized tree bark, which has a slight springiness when stepped on, like stepping on the back of some giant beast.

Silvery-white moss hangs from the branches on both sides, and tiny, rice-grain-sized fluorescent fruits adorn the tips, which light up on their own when the light dims.

The elves they encountered along the way all stopped and bowed slightly to Alicia.

The latter nodded slightly in return, without slowing his pace.

Only after Alicia's figure turned a corner and disappeared behind the curtain hanging from the air roots did the two young elves at the edge of the corridor straighten up.

"Have you heard? The council is preparing to award Lady Alicia the honorary title of the Twelfth Seat of the Star Ring."

"As expected, the twelve seats in the Star Ring are only awarded to the twelve youngest saints in the clan. Lady Alicia is the youngest saint in the history of the royal court, so it is only natural that she has been awarded the title of the twelve seats in the Star Ring."

The two elves spoke with words full of praise and admiration.

In the royal court's lineage of glory, the twelve seats of the Star Ring far surpass the significance of the Morning Star, the Shining Star, and the Holy Star.

The latter is merely a title given to young geniuses.

However, the twelve seats in the Star Ring can only be obtained by the most outstanding experts and geniuses in the royal court, and both strength and potential are indispensable.

Throughout the history of the Emerald Court, every elf who has ever earned this title has ultimately joined the Emerald Council.

That was the highest decision-making body below the Elf King, holding the lifeline and direction of the entire royal court.

Alicia was unaware of the conversation taking place behind her.

She passed through the curtain woven from aerial roots and climbed up a vine ladder that stretched diagonally upwards to a higher branch.

The space before them suddenly opened up. The top part of the World Tree was now clearly visible.

The elves built layers upon layers of structures at the fork of the main trunk, with flying corridors and spiral staircases winding their way up the branches.

The walls of those buildings were made of translucent panels of vines and resin, some inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl flakes, others covered with a tree membrane that changed color under light.

The higher you go, the larger the gaps between the buildings become, and the bridges connecting them become increasingly slender.

The residences of royalty and elders were located on the highest branches.

It is said that at that altitude, you can occasionally touch the raindrops leaking from the edge of the clouds.

Alicia arrived at the outer corridor of the Cloud Palace through the teleportation array.

This is one of the tallest buildings on the World Tree, and it is also where the Emerald Council holds its daily meetings.

On days when the parliament does not convene, at least one elder is on duty at the Cloud Peak Palace every day.

She stepped forward and knocked on the door. Only after a short and steady "Come in" came from inside did she push the door open and enter.

Elder Lucien was sitting behind his desk, with a scroll of documents spread out in front of him.

Her long, silver-gray hair was tied back at the nape of her neck with a plain-colored vine. Her face was still young, but there was a calmness in her eyes that could only be honed by the long years.

On the other side of the long table, Alvin stood straight and upright, his posture impeccable, every fold of his robe neatly arranged.

"Elder Lucien, I apologize for disturbing you." Alicia bowed slightly.

Elder Lucien put down his pen, looked up at her, and smiled gently: "What brings you here today? Is there something you need?"

Alvin, who was standing to the side, watched this scene, and his expression turned slightly somber.

Among the younger generation of the royal court, he and Alicia are the most talented.

The two have always been in a state of rivalry.

But ever since Alicia ascended to sainthood, her prestige has completely surpassed his.

Not only did the elves below worship and admire her, but many elders also favored her.

This is a privilege that even he, a member of the royal family, does not enjoy.

Alvin was quite unhappy about this.

Alicia, who had not inherited any bloodline, possessed a talent far superior to his, a sun elf, which truly infuriated him.

But in front of Lucien, Alvin did not show his emotions, but kept them deeply to himself.

In response to Lucien's question, Alicia went straight to the point without beating around the bush: "Just yesterday, the Bloodclaw Clan, in alliance with more than twenty forces in the eastern part of the continent, launched a war against the Silvermoon Clan."

Lucien paused slightly. "I already know about this."

Alicia continued, "The Silvermoon Clan is our vassal. According to custom, when a vassal is subjected to a large-scale invasion, the overlord should send troops to assist."

The side hall fell silent immediately.

Lucien's expression was inscrutable.

A moment later, Alvin suddenly spoke.

"I don't think it's appropriate."

"The Silvermoon Clan is nominally a vassal of the Royal Court, but in reality, they have never truly considered themselves a vassal. They refused when the Royal Court summoned them to fight, but now that they are in trouble, they expect the Royal Court to lend a hand. That doesn't make sense."

Alicia glanced at Alvin and said calmly, "Although the Silvermoon Clan has not sent troops to participate in the war, they have been supplying us with supplies at below-market prices for years, which has greatly alleviated the supply pressure on the front lines."

"And that's precisely why I think now is a good time. The royal court is sending troops to help the Silver Moon Clan stabilize the situation. The Silver Moon Clan naturally owes us a favor. After this battle is over, we can talk about conscripting them to participate in the war. They certainly won't refuse then."

"Now that we have vehicles that can project organized forces across half the continent, we might be able to turn the tide of the current situation."

Alvin said calmly, "That's just wishful thinking on your part."

During the war in the subspace, Alvin also tried to extend an olive branch to Anton, but the latter ignored it completely.

Subsequently, all the collaborations between the Silvermoon Clan and the Royal Court were spearheaded by Alicia.

In his eyes, Anton and the Silvermoon Clan had long been considered part of Alicia's faction.

He was eager for the Silver Moon Clan to be destroyed, so naturally he would not support the royal court sending troops to aid them.

"alright."

Lucien interrupted their conversation.

He glanced at Alicia and slowly said, "The situation on the front lines is currently extremely tense, and the Royal Court simply cannot spare the resources to help the Silvermoon Clan. Bloodhowl Fortress is likely in the same situation. Otherwise, the Bloodclaw Clan wouldn't have needed to enlist so many small and medium-sized forces; they could have directly sought help from Bloodhowl Fortress, where they would have had a much better chance of annihilating the Silvermoon Clan."

Alicia remained silent.

She knew, of course, how urgent the situation was at the front, and that the royal court was indeed unable to send a large contingent of troops thousands of miles to the eastern part of the mainland to assist in the battle.

As for small elite units... their role would be limited in a war of that scale.

Lucien continued, "Moreover, the Silvermoon Clan hasn't sent any formal request for aid to the Royal Court yet. We can't very well, as the clan leaders, go and fight for our vassal, can we?"

Alvin chimed in at the opportune moment: "Perhaps the Silvermoon Clan is confident enough to win this war on their own and doesn't need our help at all."

That's what he said, but anyone could hear the hint of sarcasm in his words.

Lucien glanced at Alvin indifferently.

The latter's expression turned serious, and he shut his mouth without saying anything more.

Seeing this, Alicia sighed inwardly, lowered her eyes, and said, "I understand."

She said nothing more, bowed to Lucien, and turned to leave the side hall.

I was originally thinking of helping Anton, but now it seems there's no way to do it.

We can only hope that the Silvermoon Clan can survive this.